Welcome to the Impregnable Demon King Castle - Chapter 186-3

186 – Our Adventure Will Not End (Part 3)

『I must retrain my weak will.』

Said the Samurai Masamune while crossing his arms.

『Ahaha, did you get scolded by Pan? You were deceived by the allure of young girls and you ended up slashing at your allies, right?』

The Crimson Wizard Michelle was laughing gleefully.

『It is the biggest blunder of my life…!』

『That’s just how much of a threat they thought of you, Masa. Every Dream Demon in the Demon King Castle cast Charm on only you, after all.』

The Blade Alchemist Louie followed up.

Actually, Masamune, who is the best of the Samurai who are known for their strong will, was affected because it is impossible to fight against it unless you are someone who can maintain a large amount of Magical Energy to use for Resist.

I’m sure Michelle knows this, but she’s just teasing him.

『What I regret the most is having absolutely no memory of crossing swords with Aerial…! I saw the video and I could not believe it. I could have done better!』

『Ahaha, that’s what you’re sad about?』

『Indeed. If Masa’s mind had been normal while he was hostile, countless people would have fallen there.』

Aerial said while nodding.

『This time, it felt like the Demon King Castle clearly had countless plans for whoever would be coming. If it was just strong Monsters, there is no way we would have lost. But I believe they thought about who to kill and when, moving accordingly.』

Louie gives praise while stroking his beard.

『Ah, I think you’re right. Like how that Time Demon took Lou’s head off before you can even make any weapons. I was defeated by the spear of that incredible Reaper Knight. That branching spear thing…that was the first time she used it, right? On that point, our own little newbie did his very best, didn’t he?』

『Th-thank you very much…!』

『Your pure innocence really is adorable. Also, you kept growing and growing in this Clear, I think everyone has approved of you in this Raid Battle.』

Masamune and Louie both nodded their heads and Ewan’s face turned red.

『Thank you very much…』

『Indeed. I’m glad. At the end, your decision to save Wraith was the right one. You considered the damage you have sustained, thought about who would be necessary to attain victory, and moved. Well done.』

Aerial compliments him in passing, but then he continues.

『But you mustn’t be complacent. Do not be satisfied with losing a match, saving an ally, then getting defeated. Win, save an ally, then defeat the enemy. Doesn’t that kind of Hero sound far cooler?』

『…! Yes! I’ll do my best!』

『Good… Although…I went and lost as well.』

『Not at all, it was a terrific battle!』

『Ahaha, thank you. That said, the jury is still out on whether my actions were good or bad. When asked if I did the right thing, I honestly can’t tell you. It was simply…fun. Truly, it was a very, very exciting battle.』

No one said anything to Aerial, smiling with child-like glee.

But in some respects, his allies were smiling happily.

After a while, the interview resumed.

『Until this Raid Battle, you haven’t challenged the Demon King Castle in over twenty years, why is that?』

『Ah, I’m often asked this. Let’s see, at the time, we had challenged it countless times but lost every time. Furthermore, we got dangerously close to boring the viewers by constantly posting nothing but failed Clear attempt videos of the Demon King Castle. We knew that this could not go on.』

『…One cannot eat if one does not have money.』

『I apologize for that… We honestly became alarmingly low on funds. I kept stubbornly challenging the Demon King Castle and everyone always followed along, but we soon reached our limit, thought that we required training, and headed to a different Dungeon. There are many who know at least this much.』

『Even after that, when the party had stabilized, you didn’t challenge it again, yes? Did it really have something to do with the retirement of the Demon King Lucifer?』

『The disappearance of an enemy that I deemed as the strongest was certainly quite a shock. I couldn’t help but think that there is no pride to be had in Clearing a Demon King Castle without him and ending the battle between Adventurers and Monsters.』

『After that, strong Monster after strong Monster kept leaving the Demon King Castle.』

This is linked to the current state of the Demon King Castle where it’s full of young people. Actually, it is more those that Fellow pulled out along with himself which lead to how it is today, though.

『Indeed. After that, we sought those that had transferred to other Dungeons, asking them for a rematch. Because we lost a lot of times to them as well. There was a thought that we couldn’t truly say that we have Cleared the Demon King Castle unless we had surpassed them. This might not matter to the kids of the current generation, but we have experienced direct losses to them.』

『The Aerial party went around to crush each and every former Demon King Castle Monster who once defeated you all. Among all your activities other than Dungeon Clearing, there were a number of fans who voiced out about how they wish you all challenged the Demon King Castle again, but what was the reason to finally do it in Raid Battle form?』

『There were many reasons for that. It happened a little later than expected, but it was fun to join forces with other parties, Pan retiring made us all realize again that we won’t be young forever, and then, of course…』

『Yes?』

『I wished to try my hand against the man who killed a Four Great Spirits contractor.』

I could tell that the interviewer paused to gulp.

『……And what did you think?』

『He was magnificent. And not just him, all the Monsters of the Demon King Castle were magnificent as well. There were countless Monsters who did their best to kill even a Hero. They were those who staked their lives to do so. Individually, their strength was inferior to us, but it was an easy-to-understand Defense with the foundation of “So long as the Adventurers fall in the end”.』

『Do you have any plans for the next Demon King Castle Clear attempt?』

『I’m not sure. I mentioned earlier how we aren’t young anymore, but losing that battle reminded me of something. About how vexing defeat can feel. I want to train myself right away. To be frank, I am desperately suppressing the urge to burst out of this studio.』

『My apologies, just a little more. There have been voices of concern among the fans that you might finally retire…』

Aerial smiled.

『Adventurers are mysterious creatures. We are happy when we are victorious, but then we think about how we must win the next one. And then the next, and the next, and so on. We don’t want to lose, but winning all the time creates an empty feeling inside ourselves. I’m sure what we’re looking for are heart-pounding experiences. Excitement. Suspense. Feeling like they wanna go on Adventures until the day they die. This world is vast and filled with Dungeons. I’m sure one lifetime wouldn’t be enough to see them all. The Demon King Castle, the very symbol of the eternal struggle, is alive and well. Retire? Never. I simply can’t. Because…』

Aerial looked at his allies, and then he looked at me.

No, wait. His gaze was so intense that I had forgotten that I was looking at him through a camera.

『Our Adventure is far from over.』

◇

This is something I learned from the fight with the Fenix party; although a lot of the viewers want the Adventurer side to win, they will praise the effort put into a really serious all-out battle.

There are harsh opinions among them, but these are but one of the reactions.

We have no choice but to work every day toward our own goals.

The Raid Battle caused a huge splash.

There were plenty of topics. Just limiting to the final area, there were topics about the appearance of the current Demon King, the mysterious Majin Bennu, the appearance of the Tag Tournament winner Berith, also the appearance and struggle of the Ellie party, the three subordinates who are directly under the command of the Demon King Army’s Chief of Staff, the brave efforts of the Monsters from the Elementary Level –  Beginner’s Dungeon which is rumored to be an All Level Dungeon recently, the Water Hero’s Spirit Magic, Herv’s rarely seen Spirit Magic, Aerial’s full power and on and on.

If you looked at the entire tenth stratum battle, there are just too many topics to count.

From Suuri’s face reveal to Aerial’s declaration of never retiring, even the aftermath of the raid has caused more topics to pop up.

There are issues and even questions. However, let’s look at them one at a time.

What Aerial said is right. I completely agree with him.

The Job I was awakened to is Black Sorcerer? Who cares.

I left the party? That’s no reason to give up.

Fighting with my best friend, rebuilding a failing Dungeon, participating in a tournament with a Hero worried about her status quo, a Raid Battle that’s full of the industry’s strongest leading figures, and the road to our faraway destination.

My dream is to become the best hero. To become the hero of the Monsters.

I know that the end is still a long way away. Besides, I won’t be the one who decides it.

Up to now, and from now on, the people who watch us are the ones who will decide.

I’m sure I’ll still continue to fight even after they have made their decision. There will be many hardships, but even so, I’ll be having too much fun to stop.

「You’ve come, my Chief of Staff.」

The Demon King Army’s conference room. The room that only the Big Four, Chief of Staff, and also the Demon King may enter.

The Vampire Queen Carmilla, the Demon of Love Sitri, the Reaper Knight Furcus, the Time Demon Agares, and the Demon King Lucifa have already gathered.

The Impregnable Demon King Castle is my workplace.

I’m sure many more things will happen in the future.

But, no matter what happens.

I’m sure that, for all eternity…

…our Adventure will not end.