Chapter 143
◇◇◇
Yamada and his companions have been systematically defeating monsters in the Sealed Dungeon that were once thought to be virtually unbeatable by humanity.
To begin with, the boss monsters they’ve faced on each floor of the Sealed Dungeon were actually the same bosses that had guarded the depths of the Newly Constructed Most Challenging Dungeon—the very dungeon that had been the cause of Yamada being summoned to this world. In fact, these bosses were even more powerful versions of those original monsters. With four such creatures appearing, one can understand just how dangerous the Sealed Dungeon truly is.
While the Sealed Dungeon has been considered humanity’s greatest enemy and worst threat, it has been consuming enormous amounts of energy to produce these vicious boss monsters, as well as the countless skeleton warriors and ghouls that the Saints have been mowing down like grass.
The energy possessed by the Sealed Dungeon has been accumulating over a long period, despite being suppressed daily by the Demon Seal performed by the three Holy Knights. This energy has been gathered through various means, such as absorption from the land and feeding off people’s fears.
Ichiro and Angelica’s theories prove correct—the Sealed Dungeon has been reading people’s fears and creating monsters that symbolize those terrors. The skeleton warriors and ghouls were born from people’s fears of death by famine or epidemic, or their dread of graveyards where the dead are buried.
Furthermore, the new monster created by the current Sealed Dungeon is the Fog Slime. These creatures were spawned from people’s fears of the seemingly endless rain and the resulting floods it causes.
Moreover, the liquefaction ability of Yamada’s Modified Crystal Doll appears to be a byproduct of this process.
As mentioned earlier, the Sealed Dungeon reads people’s fears—which implies that the Sealed Dungeon itself possesses a ‘consciousness’ or something akin to it.
And as Ichiro and his team race through the Sealed Dungeon, this ‘consciousness’ has been growing increasingly alarmed.
The ‘consciousness’ had prepared four bosses: the Modified Crystal Doll, the Modified Angel, the Dragon Bone Swordsman, and the Modified Claidheamh Soluis. Each of these monsters is capable of devastating an entire country on its own.
These monsters were created based on the fears read from the unfortunate sacrifices who had entered the Sealed Dungeon. However, they were trampled and destroyed in just a few days. The Sealed Dungeon was about to increase the number of Fogs to boost what Ichiro and his team call ‘tokens’ and ‘generators’, but its plans were thwarted before they could even begin—no, the damage was far more severe than that.
In reality, the ‘consciousness’ of the Sealed Dungeon has sensed the danger of being conquered and destroyed by Ichiro and his team.
The main fighting force, the Holy Knight and his female master, have emerged almost unscathed from battles with notorious and vicious boss monsters. It’s no wonder the ‘consciousness’ felt this way.
Above all, the ‘consciousness’ wasn’t just sitting idly by, waiting to be conquered.
The Sealed Dungeon had prepared an escape route.
The ‘consciousness’ had been quietly and steadily digging through the ley lines, unnoticed by anyone. This was to find land rich in power suitable for its growth, and more importantly, to enable immediate evacuation should a threat to its existence appear.
Thus, the ley lines excavated by the Sealed Dungeon came to connect Noble to Virtuous, Virtuous to Arrogance, and Arrogance back to Virtuous.
As Yamada and his team defeated each boss, the Sealed Dungeon continued to move its power through the ley lines to ensure its own survival.
The Sealed Dungeon became concerned that splitting its remaining power between Virtuous and Arrogance would leave it at too great a risk of being completely eradicated.
Therefore, the ‘consciousness’ of the Sealed Dungeon decided to send all of its remaining power to a single chosen refuge.
And this decision had a clear impact on Virtuous.
◇◇◇
We now turn back the clock to the time just after Purume En Dynast concluded a meeting about the upcoming battles with many formidable warriors at the guild in the town of Skuld.
If you enjoy it and wish to see more, please consider giving it a 5-star rating for the series on NU. Click Here.
Check out my Patreon for early access to upcoming updates. Patreon Link