Dungeon Defense (WN)

Ο Ο Ο I rampaged in whatever way I could.

I picked up a nearby chair and swung it against the ground several times.

I didn’t have any sort of goal. I was just carrying out the repetitive motion of swinging something. The chair was sturdy since it was made of high-quality wood. It seemed like it could withstand hundreds of hits without breaking. But contrary to my expectations, the chair couldn’t endure even twenty strikes before it snapped.

All things can be broken with ease.

I reached my hand out to the ornamental sword on the wall. It didn’t take long for me to unsheathe it and begin swinging it around wildly. Things with life can die easily and things without life can break easily.

Feathers scattered into the air as I sliced into my bed.

Feathers, so many feathers descended from above.

Something fell with a clang. Before I knew it, the handle of the sword had slipped out from my right hand. At the same moment, the strength from my legs gave out as I fell to my knees like a puppet that had its strings cut. Feathers brushed past my chest, cheeks, and palms.

“…….”

I could make out the faint outline of an individual beyond the cascade of feathers that was blinding my vision. Standing in the distance was Daisy with her black attire, black hair, and eyes as dark as a pair of wells.

“Do not utter even a single word.”

Daisy slowly approached me. I grabbed the sword that had fallen to the floor. I planned on stabbing Daisy in the heart if she dared to say something ridiculous. It was an irrational thought, but I was currently in an irrational state of mind. Daisy was basically comparable to a hero now, but she couldn’t retaliate against me. Go ahead. Try to say something snide. I’ll stab you in an—.

Pop, a clear sound rang out.

Daisy had pulled the cork out of a wine bottle she was holding in her arms. She held the bottle upside down above my head, and, naturally, the wine poured down on my head.

The wine flowed down my hair and jawline.

The red liquid soaked my face, clothes, the ground, and the feathers that were scattered around me. During all this, Daisy continued to look at me indifferently.

It didn’t take long for the bottle to become empty. Once it was, Daisy went to grab another bottle from the wine storage in the room. Pop, the sound of a cork being pulled out echoed again, followed by the content of the bottle pouring down on my head again.

One, two, three, four times.

It wasn’t until the tenth bottle that Daisy stopped. The floor was soaked in red.

“Have you cooled down, Father?”

“…….”

“This is approximately the amount of blood I lost while receiving the heart-engravement surgery.”

I scoffed. Or perhaps, it was more like I was letting air out from my lungs.

“It was only a third of this.”

“Since you have a habit of exaggerating one thing as ten, it would not exactly be a lie if I were to inflate something by only three times the amount.”

I took out a handkerchief from my pocket, but it was completely soaked in wine as well. Seeing this, Daisy handed me a white handkerchief. I muttered in a passing tone as I used the handkerchief to wipe my face.

“More have to be killed. I’ll have to kill a lot more than this.”

I became coolheaded.

I could clearly see what had to be done and how it had to be done. It was so clear that it felt like it was drawn before me. Normally, I would consult with Lapis to see if a plan has any holes, but it was so clear this time that I didn’t need any consultation.

This will entirely be my judgment.

“Daisy, call Paimon here.”

“Understood.”

Daisy didn’t appear even remotely confused as she followed my order. I sat on my ruined bed as I awaited Paimon.

Paimon entered my room after about twenty minutes. She must have been sleeping as she was in her sleepwear.

“My word. Dantalian?”

Paimon was taken aback as soon as she entered the room. Every piece of furniture was destroyed and the floor was covered in shards, feathers, and wine. It wasn’t surprising that she’d be shocked.

“What is all this? What happened here……?”

“Barbatos betrayed me.”

I smiled faintly.

“Barbatos, betrayed me.”

“…….”

How did my expression look in Paimon’s eyes, I wonder.

Paimon closed her mouth and approached me. She took a seat at the edge of the bed and carefully pulled me into her arms.

“It is okay, Dantalian. Barbatos simply has a different belief. Of all things, it just had to be a belief that is completely opposite to ours……. A belief that child can never abandon. Yes, Barbatos is that kind of Demon Lord.”

“Paimon…….”

“Fufu, we may have to take a step back here.”

Paimon said in a bright tone. She was most likely doing her best to sound bright.

It was none other than Paimon who should have been feeling the worst about the abolishment of slavery not going through. Honestly, I didn’t care much whether the slave system was abolished or not. I was proceeding accordingly because I had decided to silently bear Paimon’s beliefs on her behalf.

“It is fine if we push the freedom of human slaves back a little. If we alter the conditions slightly to only free the demon slaves, I am sure the notion will pass without any issue during the next Walpurgis Night.”

“But, Paimon, are you really okay with that?”

I muttered with my head leaning against Paimon’s chest.

“If that happens, the archdukes will start to purchase human slaves en masse. Demons will be freed, but the humans will suffer proportionally to that freedom. Are you fine with that?”

“No. There is no way that this lady would be fine with that.”

Paimon responded in a tone that sounded as if she were suppressing something.

“But this is much better than slavery remaining intact in its entirety.”

“…….”

“This lady knows that the world will not change all at once. Even if it appears as such, you will find countless reformations and sacrifices behind the curtains.”

Paimon softly kissed my forehead.

Our eyes interlocked. Paimon was crying, but there was still a smile on her lips. It was a sad smile.

“Dantalian, we are not scholars who get to casually watch over history. We are the ones who have to shoulder history. Even if it is only a single step, it is a step we have no choice but to take. Since everyone else refuses to move…….”

“We can still persuade the archdukes.”

I looked straight into Paimon’s eyes.

“Human slaves may be allowed officially, but we can ban it unofficially.”

“How would we do that?”

“Paimon, I intend to settle things with the archdukes. If we ban demon slaves, the archdukes’ forces will inevitably shrink in an instant. In that case, we simply have to compensate them for this.”

Paimon tilted her head.

“What kind of compensation?”

“We can distribute the territories of the six Demon Lords we previously purged to the archdukes.”

“……!”

Paimon’s eyes widened.

During the previous purge, we had removed six Demon Lords and eleven archdukes. The six Demon Lords naturally possessed land on the continent. At the moment, their land has been returned to the Habsburg Empire.

“B-But, Dantalian, the archdukes would suffer fewer losses if we give them that. In the first place, we brought up the abolishment of slavery to weaken the archdukes. This would be like putting the cart before the horse.”

“It was nothing but justification anyway.”

I answered firmly.

“Our true goal is to abolish slavery. Weakening the archdukes was just a justification we used to convince the Neutral and Plains Factions.”

“Yes, that is why I am saying that the other Demon Lords will oppose us greatly if we try to distribute land to the archdukes.”

“We will keep it a secret.”

“…….”

Paimon closed her mouth.

“There is no need to tell the other Demon Lords. This is by all accounts an unofficial exchange. If the archdukes accept our proposal and give up on having human slaves, we will leave the management of these territories to them. We do not have to appoint them as lords. We simply have to assign them as proxy lords.”

“In other words……you are saying that we should deceive the other Demon Lords.”

Paimon’s eyes narrowed. There was an air of seriousness behind them.

“That is a dangerous trade, Dantalian. If the other Demon Lords find out about it, they will criticize us greatly.”

“I know a way. Please trust in me.”

The two of us silently stared at one another.

Shortly after, Paimon nodded.

“I understand. What does this lady have to do?”

“I will have to borrow your ‘trust’ for a moment, Paimon.”

We exchanged whispers as the long night began.

* * *

News about the slave abolishment proposal falling through spread in an instant.

The archdukes were perplexed. They had already been firmly threatened by me, so they believed that the matter would naturally go through. They most likely want to know how events are unfolding.

During this moment, rumors that Barbatos and I were opposing each other intensely started to circulate.

‘Recently, Demon Lord Dantalian has practically monopolized authority over the Demon Lord Army. Barbatos, displeased by this, voiced her complaint to Dantalian and the two ended up at each other’s neck…….’ This was the gist of the rumor.

The rumor was mostly wrong, but it got the core point right. There was a cold war ensuing between Barbatos and I. I haven’t seen her properly since we fought that night. We’ve talked through communication orbs, but that was it. Even if we encountered one another in the palace, we would act like we didn’t as we passed each other by.

Thus, the rumor seemed rather credible. It was true that Barbatos openly gave an opposing vote against me during the Walpurgis Night, and it was also true that we were acting more coldly to one another compared to before.

However, it was probably difficult for the archdukes to simply trust the rumors immediately.

The archdukes are extremely wary of me, Dantalian. It’d be too risky for them to trust a rumor they happened to hear. It has only been half a year since more than ten archdukes were purged.

“Send a letter of reconciliation to the archdukes.”

I invited the archdukes to the imperial palace. The reason was simple. This was to apologize to the archdukes for personally threatening them last time. The 15 archdukes that were still alive sent their responses.

If you remove all the modifiers and only look at the content of their responses, it comes out as follows:

‘I accept your apology, but I am not willing to go to the imperial palace.’

The archdukes were doubtful as they suspected that I was scheming something again. They likely thought that I was plotting to eliminate them all at once, akin to the last New Year’s party. It was probably a prevalent sentiment among the archdukes – that they could place trust in the other Demon Lords, but not in Dantalian.

At that moment, the archduke of Serpent Hell gave a suggestion.

‘If the gathering is held at my palace instead of the Habsburg imperial palace, I will gladly comply.’

The other archdukes agreed to this proposal. In other words, they were telling me to come to their playing field instead of making them come to the continent. There was an implication here saying, ‘If you want to sincerely apologize to us, then show your sincerity’.

Some of the archdukes most likely expected that I would refuse.

However, I gladly sent a response agreeing to their proposal.

I did so saying that as the person apologizing, I must naturally put in the effort to show my sincerity, and as a Demon Lord, there is no reason for me to be reluctant about going down to the demon world.

Except I attached a condition.

I informed them that I would be visiting with Paimon.

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. I hope everyone had a good Christmas. I actually don’t remember if the last chapter came out before or after Christmas and I feel too lazy to check while writing this. In any case, I’m releasing this on New Year’s Eve, so uh, happy New Year’s everyone.

Man, Daisy is so cool… My one dream would be for Volume 6 of the LN to come out and for Daisy to be introduced. Dant and Daisy have such a level of mutual understanding, that it’s great.

In any case, couldn’t really get much work done this past week. Went to visit my dad on Christmas and he was actually really happy to see me. The nurses even mentioned that he seemed more energetic. I really hope my brother will be able to make the time to visit him as well.

In any case, 2024 is upon us. I’ll see you guys next year.