Demon Lord, Does Even a Crap Game Have an Ending? - Chapter 9

“I think we need to find Lumi.”

“Lumi…!”

“They’ll keep swarming us until then.”

After finishing our conversation here, we focused again on dealing with the swarming bandits. They charged relentlessly, never tiring. It was clear that the movements of drawing bowstrings were gradually slowing.

[Time Remaining: 0 hours 45 minutes]

‘I’m really at my limit now.’

As I reached my limit, my powerful and precious skills came to mind. If only I had approached them pretending to be an insurmountable, overpowered mage from the start, couldn’t I have deceived that kind and simple man and used him? Even though it was my mistake for taking the wrong first step, my mind was unfairly blaming Liheros. It was as if I needed to blame someone to avoid regretting my choices.

“Damn it!”

While constantly regretting my predicament, I lost sight of a bandit who had circled around behind me. The bandit lunged, aiming his well-honed dagger at my side. I twisted my body sharply to change direction, but lost my balance and fell, and he charged at me without hesitation. He climbed onto me, and the dagger he raised was aimed precisely at my throat.

“Krrrk! G-get off!”

“Heh, die!”

─Slaash!

Blood spurted like a fountain from the torn skin. The bandit coughed up dark red liquid from his mouth and collapsed powerlessly onto my body. As I pushed his heavy body aside and struggled to sit up, the hand of the one who had defeated him was thrust out to me. It was a hand covered in broken fingernails and stained scars.

“Liheros…!”

“Acris, I’ll hold them off, so hurry and go!”

“What? Me?”

“You… you can find Lumi! I’m counting on you!”

“…Alright!”

I couldn’t understand why he trusted me so much and was so sure I could find her, but as usual, there was no time for bickering. After all, I had wasted over an hour on the ground. Why hadn’t I figured out the dungeon’s structure sooner?

‘No. It makes sense. The previous quest was structured such that you cleared it by defeating all monsters. Those Fractal bastards are truly insane. I never expected them to pull a trick like this.’

Players naturally accept the structures they’ve learned to overcome as given, but changing the clear condition in a sudden, urgent quest, not a leisurely main quest, clearly showed their intent to mess with users. Liheros alone would have been unable to clear it. How could they develop AI when they couldn’t even get the basic dungeon difficulty right? Just like other users said, this company shouldn’t be making games. If I met the developers, I’d want to unleash every curse in existence.

─Thump!

I kicked my way into one of the tall, towering buildings. The interior of the building was made of wood but had the appearance of a sturdy, three-story prison. Normal prisons have bars on the doors, allowing visibility into the rooms, but this place had doors that looked like windows, secured with locks. It was a structure where you couldn’t just pick out the desired hostage.

‘Damn, this is troublesome. But if I’m lucky, she might be here?’

I spotted a bandit guarding the inside of the building. As soon as I aimed my bow at his head, he raised his hands in a signal of non-resistance.

“Where is Lupusnis?”

“Lupusnis? I-I don’t know…?”

“Is it right to lock hostages in a building like this?”

“Uh… Yes! It’s a prison for locking up hostages.”

As soon as I heard his answer, I released the bowstring. Rummaging through the fallen bandit’s waist, I found a heavy set of keys.

[Time Remaining: 0 hours 36 minutes]

‘Let’s do this. I can do it. There’s still enough time.’

I honestly opened the locks from the first floor, checking each room. It was only after belatedly reaching the second floor that I thought it might be okay to use my skills since Liheros wasn’t watching, so I lightly broke down the doors. It was a shame I couldn’t use magic, which was so convenient, because I was conscious of him. I checked all of the second floor but found nothing. I held onto the tiny hope that she would be on the third floor of this building, but sadly, it was in vain. Watching unfamiliar faces of hostages leave the building, I felt a sense of emptiness.

[Time Remaining: 0 hours 18 minutes]

‘…I need to hurry to the next building.’

─CRASH!

I shortened the time by using magic from the start on the second building, but I could see two floors waiting for me above. I wondered if this was possible within the time limit.

‘What if it’s impossible? I have to do it, come what may.’

I continued to push forward, trying to soothe my desire to give up.

[Time Remaining: 0 hours 7 minutes]

Even though I wasn’t slacking off, time flowed by relentlessly. As I tirelessly picked locks, I wished I had another pair of eyes. And then I realized I did have another pair of eyes.

‘Ferro!’

‘Yes, Master?!’

‘Come to my location and search the other buildings for that Lupusnis bastard.’

‘Understood!’

Since she’s an important NPC, she might be somewhere else. I’ll continue searching inside the prison, and for the opened areas, I’ll ask Ferro to split up and search. I was frustrated that my brain was only working this late today.

‘Idiot. Fool!’

In reality, I didn’t hesitate to use slightly unfair tactics, even resorting to sly methods, but being with Liheros, I felt like I was performing the quest too honestly. It felt like he had made me this way, and a pointless irritation welled up.

─Ding

[Notification] The countdown for the sudden quest ending in 5 minutes will not be displayed.

Those dirty Fractal bastards are skilled at pushing people to their limits. It’s not just that they can’t adjust the difficulty; I have a rational suspicion that they’re pouring all their effort into figuring out how to make players suffer more. Perhaps this isn’t a game but a real-life torture hell. It felt like a punishment for trying to obtain knowledge through illegal means.

“Damn it!”

Perhaps it was the pressure, but I was breaking down doors more irritably than before. I felt like I was going crazy with anger.

─BANG!

Was it anger at my own foolishness?

─BANG!

Or at the naive and foolish hero?

─BANG!

Or at Fractal, who had pushed me into this quagmire? I couldn’t tell.

‘Please… come out… Please!’

─KAAANG!

The door burst open with a loud roar. The hinges of the tightly shut door were ragged, and the creaking sound echoed eerily like a horror movie sound effect.

“Haa…. Huk, huff….”

The room I opened this time, unlike the previous ones, had a strange aura, and I instinctively knew I didn’t need to go to the next door. A sinister, chilling cold emanating from within made the fine hairs on my face stand on end. Animal instincts like these couldn’t be ignored.

“……”

Normally, I would bark loudly at a suspicious presence, but it was strange. As I cautiously took a step inside, I dimly saw a clump of grayish-brown fur lying limply in the darkness, and the dried, red bloodstains looked as if the goddess of death had descended and delivered an irreversible sentence. It was the end of a very small world that was just about to spread its wings.

“No. It can’t be.”

The conclusion had already been reached in my mind, but I uttered it aloud as if trying to deny it. Regardless of what I thought, the only way to confirm the truth was to go in and see for myself, but I couldn’t. No, I didn’t want to. I just stood frozen at the door, staring blankly at the shape.

The characteristic of being a critically endangered species, Lupusnis, a being that gave its heart unconditionally. For Liheros, who had no place to attach his heart since being born in Aliento, it would be more than a shock. I, too, had felt a bond with Cerberus for a brief moment, so I felt I could understand that emotion a little.

“……”

The commotion outside the building seemed to be subsiding. As I suspected, was the battle over now that Lumi was found?

‘Should I hide it before Liheros gets here?’

‘What if I just say I couldn’t find her?’

I thought of such base methods, hoping his morale wouldn’t be crushed; hoping his heart wouldn’t be hurt. But soon, familiar, wide-striding footsteps could be heard from a distance.

─Thump, thump

As the footsteps grew closer, my heart pounded wildly. And when they stopped beside me, I couldn’t move my body. I couldn’t even bring myself to look at him, let alone convey this fact. I blamed him, but in the end, it all felt like my fault, and I wanted to run away.

“…Acris?”

Sensing something was wrong seeing me standing there blankly, Liheros slowly entered and froze in the same spot as me. The sword, which seemed like it would never leave his hand no matter what happened, rolled across the floor with a cold, high-pitched sound, and the moonlight reflecting off the metal illuminated the corner where the shape was.

—illuminated Lumi, who showed no sign of movement.

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