Chapter 207
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The peace of this nation rests upon deception.
The true nature of this deception is the Sealed Dungeon—a ultra-high-risk dungeon that could bare its fangs at the citizens at any moment.
Hero Ryūgūin already has a mission to destroy an incredibly troublesome dungeon called the Newly Constructed Most Challenging Dungeon. However, as a hero, he receives divine revelation. The revelation reveals that in the near future, monsters will overflow from the Sealed Dungeon.
For Ryūgūin, who has a strong sense of responsibility, there is no option to prioritize the Time Dungeon he’s currently working on while leaving the Sealed Dungeon unattended.
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Hero Ryūgūin’s only wish is for the peace of the people.
He doesn’t care what happens to himself as long as that’s achieved.
He possesses an exceptionally noble soul.
Though the hero has resolved to conquer the Sealed Dungeon that could cause disaster at any time, he doesn’t have nearly enough time to accomplish this alone.
「Damn it! At this rate, the people will be in danger!」
A voice calls out to him as he anguishes.
「Sir Ryūgūin, please don’t try to handle this alone.」
Saint Mika smiles divinely.
「That’s right, you have us!」
The wise Angelica puffs out her chest encouragingly.
「Master! If the four of us work together, we can definitely handle this!」
Sword saint Eris rallies her companions.
「Everyone, please! I know this will be a dangerous battle. But for the sake of our country and our people, I beg of you!」
「Please stop, we’re the hero’s party.」
They truly embody what it means to be 「true companions.」
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To eliminate the Sealed Dungeon, an item called the 「Dark Purification Orb」 is necessary. It’s said that by gathering three of these legendary items hidden in the Arcana Kingdom, one can not only seal but completely destroy this evil dungeon. After obtaining this information through his own intelligence network, the hero sets out from town alone in search of the Dark Purification Orbs.
He entrusts his reliable companions with using the Sword of Affirmation, the sacred treasure that governs the seal of the Sealed Dungeon, to break the seal.
To destroy the Sealed Dungeon, they first need to break its seal.
However, getting others to understand this is terrifyingly difficult.
「Haha, it’s fine. It’s just a matter of me alone taking the fall. If that’s all it takes to save tens of thousands of lives, it’s a small price to pay.」
The three saints are moved to tears by his noble soul.
The sight of the four of them in that moment is as dignified and holy as a religious painting.
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Sealed Dungeon, Third Underground Floor.
「It’s no use! Even when I cut it, it just reforms!」
Sword saint Eris’s godspeed sword reduces the huge slime to pieces, but it instantly reforms.
「I’ll hold it back, so Angelica, please prepare your magic during that time!」
A look of anguish crosses the wise Angelica’s face.
「Which magic should I use to defeat the huge slime…」
Eris is buying time by putting her body on the line.
There’s no time to hesitate. Then—
「Hey, sorry to keep you waiting. Angie, slimes are liquid. That means you can use fire magic to evaporate them. It’s a basic strategy.」
「Sir Ryūgūin!!」
「Sir Ryūgūin!!」
「Master!!」
The three cry out in joy at the appearance of Hero Ryūgūin in this dire pinch. Not a trace of their previous anxiety remains. His arrival marks a major step toward humanity’s victory.
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Sealed Dungeon, Twenty-Fourth Underground Floor.
Led by Hero Ryūgūin, the four steadily conquer the Sealed Dungeon, defeating powerful enemies one after another.
However, as expected of the Sealed Dungeon, humanity’s nemesis, their progress doesn’t continue smoothly.
A giant ghoul blocks their path.
「Ugh! This one too! Master! It keeps reviving no matter how many times I cut it!」
「Eris, fall back! I’ll heal you! Sir Ryūgūin too!」
「Ngh! I’m fine! Heal everyone else first while I hold it back!」
「Flare!! —What?! Fire magic isn’t working!!」
「Angie!! You’re too far forward!! Watch out!!」
「Eek!! Sir Ryūgūin!!」
「Haha, that was close… wasn’t it?」
Caught and held in his arms, an overwhelmed Angelica clings to the hero.
「A pinch is an opportunity. There was risk, but I figured out its weakness.」
The hero’s words encourage the three heroic young women.
「As expected of Sir Ryūgūin.」
「Don’t push yourself too hard, if anything happened to you, I…」
「Master!! To find its weakness in such a short time!!」
Ryūgūin points his sword toward the ghoul.
「When it revives, I saw its core glowing at its neck.
If we destroy that, we should be able to defeat it.」
Hero Ryūgūin’s divine eye gleams as he sees through the enemy.
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Sealed Dungeon, Final Floor.
「If we hold up the three Dark Purification Orbs here, we can erase the Sealed Dungeon—」
As he speaks, a dragon’s roar echoes.
「Master!! What is this?!」
「Sir Ryūgūin!! I’ll put up a barrier!!」
「I’ll prepare attack magic—」
「Here it comes!!」
「GYAAAAAAAH!!」
What appears before the four of them is a dragon so massive it fills their field of vision.
「This is the Venom Dragon.」
The hero’s words freeze the three in place.
「Everyone, it’s okay. With the four of us together, we can definitely defeat it!! Right, everyone!!」
「Yes!!」
It’s a moment when everyone’s hearts become one.
And so begins the death match.
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「One for all!! All for one!!」
Hero, Saint, Wise One, and Sword Saint.
A brilliant beam shoots forth from the hands of the four heroes joined together.
The beam collides with the dragon’s breath.
「Ngh!! Everyone!! This is where we hold our ground!!」
「Yes!!」
「HAAAAAAAAAH!!!」
The four release a battle cry that could split silk.
Then, the colliding beam gradually pushes back the breath, pushes back, pushes back, and then—
「This isssss!! The power of our bondsssss!!」
As if responding to the hero’s cry, the beam reaches maximum power.
And with a 「Sparkle-WHOOSH!!」 sound, the beam released by the four completely engulfs the dragon, making it vanish.
「We did it!! This is our!! And humanity’s victory!!」
The proud Hero Ryūgūin declares this victory as one for all humanity.
And with the successful conquest of the Sealed Dungeon, from this point forward, he comes to be praised by all citizens under the title of 「Once-in-an-age Heroic Hero.」
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「Phew!! That should do it!!」
Hero Ryūgūin puts his pen down on the desk, raises both hands up, and stretches out with a big 「nnngh!」
Though he doesn’t know the exact details of the battles in the Sealed Dungeon, he has a rough grasp of defeating the dragon, slime, and ghoul. That’s enough to know. The rest can be figured out somehow.
Ryūgūin is hard at work writing in a room at the Lemone Guild, which he’s already treating as his own.
The next stage performance is sure to be a huge hit.
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