Welcome to the Impregnable Demon King Castle

200 – The Best

Sitri’s Charm seemed to be effective and the dazed Yetis were defeated one after another.

However, more Yetis are springing up one by one. There is a tunnel inside the cave and they keep on coming out from there.

These members would be able to handle this, but this Dungeon is different from the normal ones.

This is not like a Dungeon where there is a finite limit to the number of personnel, the Imitations here are created by the Magical Energy of nature and can appear in an almost inexhaustible supply.

When you also include the regenerative abilities of the Kraken and Hydra…

「You shouldn’t face them seriously.」

「Yeah, it’s ridiculous to wear yourself out in this kind of entrance.」

Merlin nodded to my muttering.

Our objective is to investigate the 3rd Stratum, but building a Safe Room in the passage leading to the 4th Stratum is also one of our objectives.

We shouldn’t wear ourselves out this quickly.

If this was a Floor Boss battle, I’d be fine with us going all-out for the sake of victory, but it’s not that kind of battle.

「I’m sure our leader will find out about this soon enough, but for the time being, let’s leave the extermination of the strange-looking dragon to them and we’ll deal with the disheveled ones.」

「I agree.」

「So, what are your instructions, leader?」

Maybe it was because she was temporarily part of my Party, but she seemed to have a policy of following my decisions.

「Merlin.」

「Yes?」

「The right side.」

Oddly enough, that phrase was similar to the one I used with the group of thieves.

「Ah, what’s your order?」

「Defeat the Yetis and block the tunnel.」

「I’ll make that happen.」

Then I immediately called out to Furcus.

「Furcus.」

「Should I destroy it?」

If she destroys the tunnel, the Yetis won’t be able to come out, but…

「It’ll be trouble if it gets destroyed, so can you use your spear to plug the tunnel?」

「……Interesting.」

Furcus disappeared. More accurately, she kicked the ground and headed for the tunnel on the left side.

With their backs to the door, Merlin was in charge of the right side and Furcus was in charge of the left side.

「Lem. Sitri is tired~」

She may have a lot of Magical Energy to spare, but I can understand why she would be mentally exhausted with all the new Yetis coming out.

Sitri leaned against my back and let out a sigh.

「Let’s switch.」

Thanks to her, I was able to easily repel quite a lot of Yetis.

It’s just the right time, so let’s give her time to rest.

「Ehh, Lem is going to use Charm? I want to see that.」

「I can’t do that, so I’ll use Black Magic to deal with the Yetis.」

「Is that so? Well, you’re quite the player even without using Charm~」

Sitri said, while rubbing her little head against my back like a whimsical and spoilt cat.

「Milla-」

「I’m aware of my role. No matter what happens I’ll-」

「Nope, I want you to help out in the battle against the Hydra.」

「…But then, I won’t be able to protect you.」

「Can you please switch places with the Defender?」

I’ve judged that Milla’s offensive power is more necessary than his defensive power.

Maggie has already changed her outfit. She flew with her white Heavenly Wings, held a Mysterious Bow that can be loaded with an infinite number of arrows just by having the motion of knocking an arrow, and equipped with a Lightning Bracelet that adds lightning attributes to her attacks.

Of course, her partner, a Bear Demi-Beast named Nick, has also appeared.

Merlin is also here, so it’s better to have the Defender near in order to make good use of his power.

On the contrary, Milla is the one protecting us, but she’s better at attacking.

I’m sure she is aware of this as well.

However, Milla was delighted to be in a Party with me and was enthusiastic about protecting me.

My body had already started to move and since I’m going to do this, I want it to be a pleasant fight.

「Milla, I know full well how cool you are and I want everyone to know that too. Is that…not okay?」

Milla made her blood sword shorten and made it look like a knife, aimed it on her back, and used it to cut the flesh around her waist.

Blood spurted out from there and became bat wings. They were really big, as big as the ones used by Birdmen for flying.

「If that’s what you want, I’ll even slaughter a dragon…!」

After being fully motivated in an instant, Milla flew away.

She collected all the blood swords scattered that were intended for the Yetis to use and fused them all together…to make a huge stake.

She plans to use that to strike the dragon’s neck to the ground.

The Minotaur Defender that came after changing places with Milla, stood in front of me and said,「I will protect you.」

「Thank you.」

After saying that, I called out to the White Sorcerer.

「Yoss.」

「Yes!」

「Can you push yourself a little bit more? I’d like you to cast “Intelligence” on me and maintain it for some time.」

「I can do that…!」

I changed the channel to the whole clan and concentrated.

I saw it.

There’s a door behind me and the non-combatants have evacuated to the safety zone. The Kraken has been dealt with and there are no other Magical Energy responses.

It’s a good thing that we only have to worry about the front.

Directly in front of us is the huge water dragon with nine heads, Hydra. The ones handling it are Ex, Arthur, Maggie, and Milla. Adventurers and Demi-Humans that are confident in their skills are also participating in the fight.

Everyone has already adapted to its regeneration ability.

Milla sewed one of its necks with a huge stake to hinder its regeneration.

Arthur burned the wound with the Holy Sword of Light, which also hinders its regeneration.

The arrow wound caused by Maggie is also obstructing the regeneration because the arrow is still inside its body.

While my comrades were restraining its movements, some of them crushed its neck with giant rocks created by Earth Magic.

By the way, an Ogre that has a huge physique to the point of being admired by others used both of his arms to constrict its neck.

This is a powerful opponent equivalent to a Floor Boss, but the fact that everyone is able to attack it so well…a large part of it is due Ex’s power.

He touched the Hydra’s shadow, restrained it with its own shadow, and greatly reduced its mobility.

Now, little by little, its body is being encroached by a black shadow. Once the shadow covers its body, that part can no longer regenerate. The Hydra was trapped by the shadow and couldn’t move.

If it’s him, he wouldn’t cause any harm to the group dealing with the Yetis even if he made a mistake.

「Since we’re already at it, we should just use the resources that are already here. Let’s go!」

A part of the icy ground was shattered and a huge amount of water was sucked up from the sea.

When Merlin waved her wand, the water rushed into the tunnel on the right side.

It filled the tunnel along with the Yetis that were coming out from it, and then…

「It’s a little cold today, isn’t it?」

It froze.

I don’t know how long the tunnel is, but with this, I don’t think there will be any more Yetis coming out from the right side.

Furcus had also blocked the other tunnel.

For this side, with her small stature and just a single spear, she cut across the group of Yetis, and when she arrived at the tunnel…she thrust her spear.

The spear extended rapidly and there were simultaneous sounds of screaming.

But it soon disappeared.

Because Furcus’s spear had blocked the tunnel.

Her spear is a Magic Tool. Not only can it extend and shorten freely, but it can also flexibly change its shape.

Another noteworthy point is that it can also be cut off.

She can pierce the enemy, hold them back, make the spear return to her, block the tunnel by changing its shape, and cut it off.

Repeat it at a speed that is not noticeable.

The process was repeated at a high speed.

So yes, I only need to focus on the remaining Yetis.

I opened my mouth. Give out instructions through the transmission. To be more exact, I only gave suggestions, but everyone accurately moved according to them.

There are five parties from the second group participating today.

No additional instructions are needed for Ex’s Party and Lem’s Party.

Some of them are participating in the Hydra extermination, but basically, most of them are moving as a party.

If a person who seems to be alone gets surrounded by the Yetis, I’ll stop the movements of the enemy with Blank Space, and use that time to break through the enclosure.

Immediately afterwards, he and his teammates will rush to attack the enemy’s back, while I simultaneously cast Defense Down on it.

If the party has a member that has high offensive ability, but whose movements can be easily read due to his large swing, I’ll use Speed Down on the enemy.

There were enemies who were wary of this and cooperated with each other, so I cast Confusion to induce them to attack each other.

When a Wizard’s magic is completed, I would simultaneously cast Magic Defense Down on the target.

For the enemy who is trying to bash the shield of a comrade, I would cast Attack Down and instruct that comrade to rush at the enemy with the shield. Then, the Yeti’s fist would be smashed.

These are the people originally gathered by Fellow and Maggie, it didn’t take long until the enemies were wiped out.

After confirming that there were no signs of new enemies appearing, I released my concentration.

「Gotcha.」

Not long after that, the Hydra was swallowed by its own shadow.

It couldn’t even sink into the sea and just remained still.

「Merlin.」

「Yeah, your Magical Energy consumption level will be really high if it stays as it is, right? You should be grateful that this Great Wizard is willing to freeze it for you.」

「Ahaha, you are really dependable.」

「I know.」

As soon as Merlin froze the Hydra, Ex lifted his magic.

The gigantic sea beast sank into the bottomless sea.

Since it wasn’t a Hydra that had rampaged around with its nine heads and powerful magic, but instead a Hydra that could no longer move, she was able to easily trap it in the ice.

It’s not very easy in terms of magic, but that’s Merlin for you.

「Now, we need to bring back the non-combatants.」

One person from the film crew rushed out in response. I guess he went to call them.

There was a brief silence in the ice cave.

Milla landed near me and put away her wings.

「You looked cool.」

When I told her that, she smiled shyly.

I was a little concerned about the fact that everyone’s eyes seemed to be on me.

The member who was in charge of the Hydra assault had done something really amazing though…

「I saw that.」

Merlin said.

She looked at me and continued speaking.

「Your instructions were really amazing, Greatest Black Sorcerer, sir.」

She called me that while laughing.

I couldn’t help but look at her face when hearing those unfamiliar words.

There are many ways to get a popular name, nickname, or something like that.

In the case of the Contractors of the Four Great Spirits, they had the same title as the previous Contractors, like Storm Hero or Flame Hero.

It is also possible to create your own title.

Or someone else can create the title.

The four Contractors of the Four Great Spirits are the only exceptions and the rest are divided into those two types.

Only a few Adventurers would create a title for themselves. Even if they do, it often doesn’t get established and stick.

In the case of the Monsters of the Demon King Castle, the Demon Lord will name them when they become a Floor Boss or an Adjutant.

As for the other Monsters, they often accept the name they have been given in the Clear Videos.

Of course, depending on their activities, they might fail to live up to their name or the name’s meaning might be ambiguous.

「Do you not like it?」

Well, there are also some conditions though.

Like staying inside in the Top 100 Rankings for more than three years, having debuted for ten years, or clearing at least one Dungeon under the rule of a Demon King.

Somehow… there’s an atmosphere that makes the Adventurers have to clear these requirements among the fans

The only exceptions are the Heroes that have made a contract with a Spirit, even the Heroes that haven’t made a contract with a Spirit won’t get a title for a long time. Maybe even until they retire.

This is why the Water Hero Wraith’s father, the Unyielding Hero Altreed, is so awesome.

Those who do not have an easy-to-understand special point, like a Spirit, would be hard to distinguish from each other, even if they are Heroes.

The Hero named Altreed has overturned that common sense and got his own title.

「Wh-wh-what, Mer-Merlin, that’s not fair…! I’ve been thinking of a title for Lem for a long time.」

Milla complained.

「Well, I’m sorry about that. By the way, what titles have you thought of?」

「The Strongest Black Sorcerer in History, The Unprecedented Black Sorcerer, The Unparalleled Genius Black Sorcerer-」

「I understand your feelings, but they’re a little long.」

Merlin smiled wryly, which is unusual for her.

「To summarize Lem’s greatness in but a few words… Hmm, how about this? The Great and Unprecedented-」

To Milla’s credit, there is nothing wrong with her naming sense.

That, precisely because she is my fan, when it comes to the Black Sorcerer Lem, her various abilities become a little bit disordered…

「I’m the Wizard of Foresight, that’s why I know. Lem, you’ll be called that someday.」

I’m not sure how many people can match Merlin’s ability to see ahead.

Just by looking at her during a battle, I think she has the ability to predict the future.

I’ll just refer to it as an eye that can see future prospects.

In fact, many of the Adventurers that she has taken a liking to are now flourishing on the front lines.

In my case, I can’t imagine myself greatly flourishing in the Adventurer industry after all this time…

Even if I’m in this industry, the viewers would rarely have the opportunity to see any scenes of me having direct combat.

Did Merlin solidify her evaluation of me through this trip and the previous battle?

The Greatest Black Sorcerer.

What should I say?

People can put pretentious expressions on their titles as much as they want. I know a lot of cool people who do that.

The greatest. It’s a simple and plain expression. I think there are only a few people who would hear this word and find it difficult to understand. In that sense, it doesn’t sound playful.

Ahh, but…

What an honor.

To say that I’m the greatest.

What kind of honor is that?

In the modern Adventurer industry, Black Sorcerers are said to be unnecessary.

Some people, like the Undefeated Hero Ellie, recognized the usefulness of Black Sorcerers and included them in her party, but there are too few of those kinds of people

A title that recognizes the existence value of Black Sorcerers.

「I’ll do my best to reach that future.」

I carefully engraved it in my heart.