The brightness of 《Transfer》 vanished from the surroundings.
In an instant, his sense of balance went strange, and he felt like he would fall over.
Putting strength into his abdomen, he somehow braced his legs.
Diablo was a Demon King. He did that sort of roleplay.
No matter what the situation was, clumsily going down onto his hands and knees on the floor was not allowed.
「Hmph……」
Acting like he had leeway, he laughed through his nose, and surveyed the surroundings.
It was a place that was surrounded by eerie walls that reminded him of the internal organs of animals. An imposing throne asserted its existence.
The black haired Pantherian who was clinging onto his right arm the whole time──Rem Galeu held down her mouth.
「Upu! A, as I thought, I am weak with……Transfer.」
She was weak with travel where she did not use her own legs, and she seemed to easily get motion sickness. She was fine with gigantic ships that mostly didn’t sway and slowly moving carriages though.
On Diablo’s left arm, a young Elven girl──Shera L. Greenwood was clinging onto him.
「Wahー, this is somehow, nostalgic.」
The 《Demon King’s Labyrinth》
It was a dungeon that Diablo created in the MMORPG Cross Reverie. He had met with countless challengers here.
This was a story from within game.
That’s how it should have been, but mysteriously enough──Not just Diablo, even his labyrinth existed in this other world.
Will a time where he will understand the reason why ever come?
The time that Shera and the others came to his dungeon he created was around the middle of July. Close to half a year had already passed.
(There was no guarantee that there was twelve months in a year in this world, but when talking about the calendar, it seemed that even the numbers were translated in a way that matched Diablo’s senses. In a similar way, even units for distance and weight, the people of this other world use the Lifelia Kingdom’s units, but it is translated to meters and grams to Diablo and he hears it as such. The theory behind the translation remained unknown.)
──I understand the words, but I can’t read the letters. Due to it being half-assed, it feels unnatural.
At any rate, for Diablo, his own made dungeon was something like his house. It felt as if he had returned home.
The third young girl looked around restlessly, and leaked out a voice of astonishment.
「Hawawaa……This is an amazing place……」
Having pointed dog ears and a bushy tail, she was the Master Swordsman Graham Sasala. She was a Dwarf, and as part of her racial traits, she was short and her chest was big.
A tachi hung on her waist. Not only that, she also carried a sword and a spear.
Shera puffed up with pride.
「It’s amazing, isn’t itー. Diablo here made it.」
「Ehh!?」
With a gaze of astonishment turned towards him, although he was bashful on the inside, Diablo made a face that said it was only natural.
「Something of this level……Since I am a Demon King, it was of no trouble at all.」
Though, in actuality, since he had made it pressing operations on the game’s edit screen, in this other world, let alone a labyrinth, he didn’t even know how to make a cave.
Sasala asked him a question.
「Um, this seems like a very dangerous place but……what was it made for?」
「This place, is my base.」
「By base……is it your house?」
「Umu」
「Even though it’s this eerie……?」
──Ugh!? I thought it was cool though……
Shera smiled.
「It’s eerie, isn’t itー. I’ve already gotten used to it though.」
While still covering her mouth, Rem nodded.
「……It sure is in bad taste.」
Going “Uugh……!?”, Diablo flinched in his mind. If he was speaking as his original self, he might have suffered from too much shock and would have become a hikikomori.
However, this labyrinth was a result of his Demon King role play, so it had a fearsome design. There was no problem.
──No matter what they say, since it isn’t my true self, it’s fine!
Diablo curved the ends of his lips into a sneer.
「Hmph……I am a Demon King after all! The symbol of death, the embodiment of destruction, the incarnation of collapse──Those with life harboring disgust, is only natural!」
「Hii!?」
Sasala made a frightened face. It was a cute reaction.
Rem and Shera had completely gotten used to it.
They were already advancing inside on their own.
「Let’s hurry! Everyone is waiting you knowー?」
「……Let us hurry, Diablo.」
「U, mu.」
He had somewhat mixed feelings about it but……
──Well, with us being together for this long, I guess it’s better than them being forever scared of me.
It was also a fact that they were in a rush.
They had received news that the Great Demon King Modinalaam was headed towards Faltra City.
Right now, it was a race against time.
However, this wasn’t an opponent that they could just rush over without sufficient preparations and win against. Everything would be lost if they lose.
Diablo had stored a great number of equipment and tools that he had gathered in the game in this 《Demon King’s Labyrinth》.
Also, he had one more objective here──
Shera opened the door to the treasury that was at the back.
A blade was swung at the tip of her nose.
Her carefree smile froze.
「Biyaa!?」
From within the door, a young lady with a maid appearance had appeared.
She held a double-headed sword in her hand.
「For miscreants that would try to rummage through My Master’s treasury, I shall bestow them a gruesome death.」
Her emerald colored eyes bewitchingly shining, she brandished her double-headed sword.
「Waaaah, wait wait, Rose-san! It’s me, it’s Shera, you know?」
「What of it?」
「We’re companions, aren’t we!?」
「This Rose, does not have any companions.」
She declared that.
Rem shrugged her shoulders.
「……Is Diablo different?」
「How rude. Master is a subject of worship, and an existence that should be protected.」
「That is what she is saying. Please say something, to this bothersome maid.」
Being drawn out, Diablo magnanimously nodded.
「I have kept you waiting, Rose. First, put away your sword.」
「ッ!」
The bloodlust that was fired at Shera and the rest vanished in an instant, and the double-headed sword that she held in her hand was put away somewhere.
Rose made a very deep and perfect bow.
「Welcome back, Master. There have been zero intruders up until today. Right now, there are three of them though.」
Shera and Rem displayed displeased expressions.
Going “The third one?”, Sasala pointed at herself.
「I, am not an intruder though?」
Rem explained it to her.
「……With Rose, occasionally……no, with a high probability, talks won’t get through to her. However, since she has absolute obedience to Diablo’s commands, she should be harmless as long as you are careful.」
「Eh? So she isn’t harmless if you aren’t careful……That’s scary though……」
Staring at her, Rose glared at the trembling Sasala.
Come to think of it, this was their first time meeting.
Diablo pushed her back, and put her in front of him.
「This girl, is the Master Swordsman. Her name is Sasala. Amazingly, she is a level 200 Warrior.」
「Level 200!? Is that, so……」
Maybe due to being a Magimatic, or maybe due to her role as a maid, Rose didn’t show too many expressions on her face.
Despite that, *shun*, he could tell that she was depressed.
「What is wrong, Rose?」
「……This Rose……in the previous battle, had taken a loss against a mere Demonic Being.」
「Yeah, it was because he was strong.」
Maybe because he was given magical power by the Great Demon King, when they thought that he was a small fry, he was a surprisingly a hard fight.
There was a need to develop levels as a Warrior-type──he was the reason Diablo drew decision.
Unless he was able to see the opponent’s attack, he would not win no matter how powerful the magic he tried to use was.
In that battle, Rose had damaged her right arm, and she was receiving repairs here.
「Is your arm doing well?」
「By means of Master’s magical power, it has been perfectly repaired.」
「Umu.」
「However, this Rose……is no longer needed.」\n「What?」
「If there is a level 200 Warrior……This Rose, is useless. Dismissed. Oversized garbage is taken on the third Friday of the month.」
「Nonono……Ahem! What are you saying? I am a Demon King. Isn’t a Demon King accompanied by many subordinates!?」
「I, in that case……May this Rose, still be at your side……?」
「Of course! If that were not the case, I would not have come here.」
「I had thought that you had come to sentence me for disposal……」
──I wouldn’t do something so cruel, you know!?
However, giving gentle words wasn’t Demon King-like.
Diablo said it bluntly.
「No matter what happens, you are eternally my property. I will not allow you to arbitrarily declare yourself as being disposed of or as unneeded.」
Like a Magimatic Maid, Rose returned to being perfectly expressionless.
「Please excuse me, Master. I shall etch those words into my nonvolatile memory, and repeatedly replay them every morning and every night.」
Heavy.
That being said, her mood seems to have been repaired.
「Rose, my objective for coming here, was to join up with you. Also, there was one more reason.」
「By all means, please give me your order, Master.」
「The one that will be confronting me is the Great Demon King Modinalaam. I will use my equipment for battles against Demon Kings.」
「Understood.」
Guided by the Magimatic Maid, they advanced within the treasury.
The equipment that Diablo had gathered and strengthened in the MMORPG Cross Reverie were all enshrined here.
In the airspace that seemed infinite enough that they couldn’t see the limits of it despite being underground, countless pedestals were lined up, and no matter how trivial the item was, it was stored with great care.
If he were to search for it himself, finding the equipment that were his objective would probably take several days.
Rose had a grasp of the location of all of them.
She guided them to the place he requested.
In the MMORPG Cross Reverie, it was the equipment that Diablo used when fighting against Raid Bosses like Demon Kings.
Incidentally, Raid is a word that means to make an assault or surprise attack, and in games, it indicates that several groups join hands to make a large force.
In other words, a Raid Boss is a powerful boss monster where it is assumed that it will be fought with a larger group of Players than normal.
──Well, I challenged them alone though.
Even though it was impossible to join even a single party, to participate with multiple parties, it was an impossible impossibility of impossibilities.
Rem asked him a question looking very interested.
「……Diablo, are these also rare equipment?」
「Half of them are. As for the other half, I suppose there would be at least one person who would own them as well?」
Even in this other world, there was also equipment with low reality to them that could be found if one searched for them.
She was surprised.
「Eh? But……This is equipment meant to fight against a Demon King, right!?」
「When fighting against a Demon King, rather than a slight difference in ability, affinity is more important.」
「Affinity……Do you mean the four elements and light and dark?」
「That isn’t all.」
Talking about tactics and strategies to another person like this, he hadn’t experienced it in the game. Even after coming to this other world, he hadn’t had a chance to do so.
This was his first time having to fight a formidable enemy after making preparations.
Rather than fighting against the Great Demon King, he was more nervous about speaking about his own intentions. Before he blurts out something strange, he decided to wrap it up with something random.
Suddenly, Diablo had a thought.
──Come to think of it, there was one more thing that seems like it would be needed. I guess I’ll bring it along just in case……I know its location even without having to be guided by Rose after all.
Diablo arranged his equipment, used 《Transfer》 once again, and hurried to Faltra City.
Liked it? Take a second to support Novels on Patreon!