Demon Lord, Does Even a Crap Game Have an Ending? - Chapter 4

“Acris!”

“Yeah, this way.”

Voices exchanged from different spaces. Though narrow passages occasionally appeared, it was a dungeon surrounded by gray walls, commonly called a maze. Judging by the volume of their voices, they were not far from each other.

“I came to a fork in the road and I’m not sure which way to go. Ah, this is where you left your cloak.”

“If it’s there, you just need to turn right.”

The sound of his characteristic, long strides grew closer, and his golden hair, his signature, peeked around the corner. Seeing his familiar face, Liheros, perhaps glad, smiled brightly and handed over the cloak Acris had left as a marker.

“You brought it back without losing it.”

“Thanks to you.”

Liheros might be poor at navigation, but he was excellent at comprehension. Without needing explicit instructions, he’d grasp things intuitively and act accordingly. He was the epitome of the corporate talent they sought. Someone who understood even the most poorly phrased instructions perfectly. Acris was sure that if Liheros were a real person, he’d be easy to collaborate with.

“You figured out the maze this quickly, Acris. You seem to be good at finding your way.”

“I guess I am, somewhat.”

In truth, it wasn’t difficult because Acris had played this place extensively in reality. It was a maze dungeon where the paths changed at regular intervals. Initially, people thought the structure was just irregular, and it had a notorious reputation despite being an early-game quest. However, indomitable K-gamers pooled their knowledge, staying up for days to collect user experiences and data. They discovered that while there were many variations, the maze operated according to a set of consistent rules. Because Acris had gotten lost here for so long, he had spent an entire day meticulously reading, and even memorizing, the strategy guides players had created, which made it easy now. Without further delay, he pulled a heavily rusted iron door, and the cries of various beasts echoed from within.

“Found it.”

The theme of this dungeon was a quest to ‘eradicate the black market that illegally captures, trades, and consumes protected rare species on the Aliento Continent.’ It was set as a clandestine space known only to those in the underworld. It wasn’t a quest received from ordinary mercenaries or residents, but a direct order from the royal family, meaning the rewards upon completion were quite substantial. Acris had heard at the tavern that nobles secretly came here to eat. Couldn’t they just go after the nobles first? He felt a desire to show the nobles the fiery taste of revolution.

Anyway, this quest had two objectives.

First, defeat the traffickers and illegal food manufacturers.

Second, rescue the captured animals.

Most people would think it easier to defeat the dealers first and then leisurely free the animals, but that was a mistake. If the animals weren’t freed first, a time attack would commence. For every minute of delay, one dealer would escape the dungeon with animals – a mandatory cutscene. If a certain number of animals were smuggled out, the quest reward would decrease by that amount, making it a rather tricky quest, as Acris remembered.

‘It’s so great that I don’t have to try this a few times since I already know.’

As soon as they sensed their presence, the animals barked ferociously, but some were cowering in corners, terrified. Witnessing this horrific sight, Liheros seemed momentarily stunned before stepping forward and opening the barred cages. Afterward, he examined the open cages and, if any animal was too scared to leave, he personally carried it outside to release it.

“Whew, finally I can straighten my back.”

After checking the entire space, which was nearly 100 pyeong (about 330 square meters), Acris took a breath. A bigger task remained, so he hurried to find Liheros. Liheros approached with cautious steps, cradling something in his arms.

“Acris, look.”

“Huh?”

It was a baby Lupusnis. In reality, it was like a wolf-dog, but according to the lore of the Aliento Saga, there was a long-held superstition that eating its blood and heart granted the courage and valor of a Lupusnis. This led to the species being hunted indiscriminately and becoming endangered. To think they’d captured even such a small cub, they were truly the scum of humanity. The cub shivered, wrapped tightly in Liheros’s cloak, looking pitiful.

“It seems to have injured its leg. It won’t be able to go far like this.”

“…So? What are you going to do?”

With a look of disbelief, Acris crossed his arms, taking a defensive stance. It was already tight managing one person, and now an extra burden? Absolutely not. He furrowed his brow, his expression resolute.

“Acris. Please. Let’s take it with us.”

“Coo, yip, eeeng…”

The imposing man’s pleading expression, combined with the whimpering cub cradled in his arms, made it impossible for Acris to say anything harsh.

‘I really can’t stand this.’

“…There’s a carriage nearby. Leave it there. You can pick it up after the mission is over.”

“Really?”

“If we leave it in the wild like this, it won’t survive long. We’ll release it once it recovers, so understand that.”

“Thank you, Acris.”

“If you understand, hurry up and go. We have work to finish.”

Liheros, his face brightened, carefully hugged the little creature and went off to find the carriage.

No, Acris thought, it’s his choice whether he wants to keep it or raise it. The way Liheros kept glancing at him, seeking permission, reminded him of a child who’d brought home a stray puppy on a rainy day. Acris touched his forehead, reflecting on how and when this relationship had gone wrong. Liheros had actively helped him a lot, but he also seemed excessively dependent. Acris wondered if Liheros would cry buckets if he were to leave. The thought of the tall, blond man crying. It wasn’t an entirely unpleasant image. After thoroughly making Liheros cry in his imagination, he heard a voice.

“Acris?”

“Ah, you’re back?”

“What were you thinking about with that smile?”

“Nothing.”

He couldn’t exactly say he was imagining Liheros crying, so he brushed it off. Liheros didn’t press further, which Acris appreciated. He liked that they didn’t engage in petty wordplay.

“Let’s go.”

“Alright.”

They re-entered the maze. Previously, they had entered separately because there was a puzzle that required Liheros to press a button on the other side to open a shortcut. However, the path to the black market had no special mechanisms, so they walked side-by-side. As Liheros took down the black-market guards stationed at intervals in the maze, Acris provided cover for him.

“This is it.”

As they approached the entrance, they could hear murmuring from inside. The foul smell of mixed, strange spices confirmed they had found the right place. Acris waited for Liheros’s signal at the door. As soon as the signal was given, he burst in.

—CRASH!

“What the— GAH…!”

Before the enemies could even confirm the source of the commotion, Liheros precisely aimed for the solar plexus and thrust his sword.

As he pulled the blade out, blood spurted.

Seeing this, the humans in the hall drew their weapons and rose as one. Simultaneously, he fired three arrows, taking down three men at once.

‘Eight remaining.’

Liheros’s eyes gleamed like a predator in the dark. Before the blood on his sharp blade could even coagulate, he continued to slash and stab. The grunts swung their great hammers with all their might, but without the luxury of taking a hit, he severed their vital points. The structure was designed to be entered from the front, and thankfully, they attacked in sequence, allowing him to dispatch them one by one.

“Haa… Hoo…”

When no more enemies charged, he panted softly. In the blink of an eye, he surveyed the surrounding scene of carnage and realized Liheros wasn’t called a hero for nothing.

“Is it over?”

As soon as Liheros uttered a forbidden word, a hulking man wearing a dirty apron emerged from the kitchen, wielding a large cleaver in each hand.

“I’ll make you rats into stew.”

—DING.

[Dungeon] The Sewers’ Kitchen: Chef Braga

[System]

The number of entrants exceeds the recommended party size. Monster attack power and combat reaction speed will be increased.

(Recommended Party Size: 1 person)

‘Increased? This is really unfair.’

As Liheros lunged forward with a sweeping cut, Acris fired an arrow.

The chef deflected the arrow with the sword in his left hand, then used his right hand to block Liheros’s sword coming straight at him. Despite his appearance, he was surprisingly agile.

—CLANG!

The blades of the two swords, imbued with force, clashed, sending faint sparks flying.

As the metal slid with an ear-grating screech, Liheros’s stance faltered slightly. Noticing this, Braga attempted to strike down with his other hand.

‘Dangerous.’

Shooting one arrow at a time wouldn’t be enough to disrupt the enemy’s concentration, so Acris fired five arrows bundled together. Braga redirected the arm he was about to use to strike Liheros, deflecting the incoming arrows. However, he couldn’t block a few, and they embedded themselves in his arm.

“KRAAAAH!”

He tried to forcibly pull out the lodged arrows, but they snapped with a crunch.

Letting out a roar that was more monstrous than animalistic, he kicked Liheros far away and then charged at Acris, grabbing him by the nape of his neck. With his neck pinned, his back slammed hard against the wall, and Acris’s grip loosened. The bow and arrows he held clattered to the ground and scattered in all directions.

Braga, a giant easily over 2 meters tall, lifted Acris without much effort.

He was a monster, his eyes burning with killing intent and madness, fixated on his prey.

His thick fingers tightened around Acris’s throat, veins bulging, making it hard to breathe. He seemed intent on snapping Acris’s neck. Though his HP was undoubtedly superior, Acris was consumed by an unfamiliar fear, wondering if he might actually die.

‘…Kkrrk, this is annoying! Should I just close my eyes and blast him with a skill?’

As he thought, the skill window appeared before his eyes.

[Character Skills]

Orcus | Awakening (Area) | Cooldown 250 sec

Cerberus | Normal (Summon) | Cooldown 120 sec

Desdemona | Normal (Single Target) | Cooldown 160 sec

…See More

Acris searched for a skill that could assassinate without Liheros noticing, but they were all large, excessive skills that would surely be exposed. But what was the point of hiding his identity if he died here? Liheros, as a hero, could revive, but Acris was an NPC, and even worse, the ‘Demon King.’ If he died here, would it be okay to fail his purpose for coming to this world? And could he reach a proper ending? If he died, wouldn’t he just return to reality? No, he might even be unable to return. He might not be able to get the ending Fractal Soft liked. Instead of a montage of his life flashing before his eyes, a long series of questions flooded his mind, and he made a decision.

‘Right… I’ll live first.’

“…Des…demona.”

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