Dungeon Defense (WN)

“Many people came to see you. Gamigin, Vassago, Zepar…….”

“Do you think I’d be able to remember each and every one of those names? How foolish. Write the names down on a piece of parchment.”

“The Minister of State Affairs and the Minister of Government Affairs are resting in the next room.”

I opened my eyes.

A breeze entered through the crack of the window. It briefly lingered on my cheek before flowing away, making me unconsciously touch my cheek. When I examined my palm, there was no trace of blood.

“And Paimon’s corpse?”

“It is being strictly guarded with an eternal preservation spell. The funeral procedures are still under discussion. However, it seems they have agreed to finalize them after Demon Lord Sitri returns from her expedition.”

“I see…….”

“There were also those who suggested that the decision should be made after you woke up, Father.”

Most Demon Lords don’t have families or close friends.

Normally, when a Demon Lord passes away, the person closest to them would be appointed as the chief mourner. In this case, Sitri and I were most likely prime candidates for this position since we were Paimon’s lovers. However, Sitri had gone on an expedition to avenge Paimon and I was out cold. The Demon Lords must’ve been rather troubled.

“Daisy.”

“Yes, Father?”

“Sing for me.”

Daisy blinked in surprise.

Daisy was famous for her beautiful singing voice. During our pilgrimage in Frankia, she was praised by the mercenaries for having the voice of an angel. There were even times when she’d sing quietly on her own in my Demon Lord Castle. Perhaps it was one of her few hobbies alongside reading.

I’ve never asked her to sing for me before. This was probably why she was surprised.

“……Let me cry.”

After a short moment, Daisy’s small mouth opened.

I closed my eyes again as I listened to her sing.

Ο* * *Ο

Many people went in and out of my room incessantly.

I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise, but the first people to visit were Laura and Lapis.

Laura burst into tears the moment she saw me and latched herself to my bed. She mostly shouted childish insults like “You’re an idiot!” and “Stupid!” incoherently. I smiled bitterly as I stroked Laura’s hair.

“…….”

Lapis, however, was a lot harder to handle compared to Laura. All she did was stare right at me. It was like a type of silent protest. She was basically asking why I didn’t tell her beforehand and why I executed all of this on my own. I felt bad for Lapis, but this was a matter that I wanted to take on my own.

Almost every Demon Lord came to visit me. Thanks to this, I had to stay in bed for several days even though I wasn’t in much pain.

As a side note, the most amusing visitor was Vassago.

“Tsk.”

As soon as Vassago entered my room and saw my face, he turned around and left. It really was in an instant. So the only thing Vassago did was click his tongue and leave. I have no idea why he even visited me.

Brother Beleth informed me of some shocking news from the demon world.

“Every demon residing in Utpala Hell, regardless of their race or class, is being slaughtered.”

“……Sitri is committing slaughter?”

Sitri of all people was slaughtering civilians.

“The territories that belonged to the traitors have already surrendered. How could they possibly retaliate when their leaders are already dead?”

“Are you saying that she is killing them even though they have surrendered?”

“Indeed. I couldn’t stop her.”

Brother Beleth shrugged his shoulders.

Brother Beleth was not particularly inclined towards pacifism. On the contrary, he belonged to the faction that preferred massacre. The fact that even he had to intervene indicated how indiscriminate and ruthless the actions were.

“She was using the darndest method. First, she’d have a trench dug out in a straight line. Then, she’d line up the demons in front of the trench and make them wait.”

“Was it a live burial?”

“Burials are burials, but this had a twist.”

Brother Beleth chuckled.

“The people in the back row would be given weapons and ordered to stab the person in front of them.”

“Pardon me?”

“So after the first line of demons fell into the pit as corpses, the row behind them would be next in line. The weapons are passed back to the people behind them and the same order is given. They’re ordered to stab the people in front of them.”

In other words, civilians were being forced to stab other civilians.

“Countless people cried saying that they couldn’t do it, but Sitri would personally tear out the limbs of those people. So they were basically given a choice to obediently die or die by having their limbs torn out. Sheesh.”

“…….”

“Later on, the demons would cry and apologize to the people in front of them, and ask that they forgive them since they will be killed as well anyway. The people in the front row would even reassure the people behind them……. In any case, it was horrifying.”

The number of civilians who were executed reached a staggering one hundred thousand.

The city where the Utpala Archduke resided was turned into a literal wasteland as massive amounts of salt were spread on the ground to ensure that no life would grow again.

Throughout all this.

As tens of thousands of demons were killed simply for the reason of living there.

“She was expressionless.”

Sitri didn’t make even a single expression.

Like a person who lacked any facial muscles.

Like a person who forgot the very concept of expressions.

Sitri carried out slaughter after slaughter to the point that even the Demon Lords, who mostly had mental illnesses of their own, thought she was being fanatical.

“In the end, everyone got sick of Sitri’s behavior. Most of them couldn’t even last 2 days before they returned here. Well, in truth, the war was over the day it started.”

Brother Beleth picked up an apple from the mountain of fruits next to my bed and bit into it.

“What Sitri is currently carrying out in the demon world isn’t war but a slaughter. Brother, you know me, don’t you? I may be a crazed warmonger, but I am not a cold murderer. There was no reason for me to partake in a slaughter that has no beauty or meaning, so I left.”

Sitri will probably go down in history as the Demon Lord who slaughtered the most demons, Brother Beleth commented as he chewed his apple.

“What’s funny is the fact that Sitri said she’ll stop after killing exactly a hundred thousand. What was it that she said? When I left yesterday, she said that she had only killed ninety-five thousand and still had a little more left.”

Brother Beleth let out a snort.

“Crazy people often become fixated on small things like numbers the more they lose their sanity. They try to attach reasons to every insane thing they do. Do you know what this is, Brother? It’s an obsession. Tsk tsk, that woman is done now. She’s gone too far.”

“…….”

Sitri finished her expedition and returned two days after this exchange.

For the first time in history, the Crescent Alliance directed its spearhead not toward the continent, but the demon world. This war concluded in less than 10 days. It became starkly clear what fate awaited demons who rebelled against the Demon Lords. In just a few days, Sitri became known as the cruelest and most ruthless Demon Lord.

The first person Sitri came to see after returning was me.

“I’m back, Dantalian.”

Sitri smiled brightly.

The expressionless slaughter that Brother Beleth had described was nowhere to be seen. The usual innocent and naive girl was in front of me.

“I killed a lot. I killed a whole bunch. Mhm, I’m sure Big Sister Paimon wouldn’t have liked it…… She’s so stupidly kind that she wouldn’t have liked it, but I just couldn’t forgive them.”

“…….”

“Dantalian, did I do the right thing?”

I quietly hugged Sitri.

Sitri had done an excellent job.

The Mountain Faction faced the risk of splintering since Paimon, the person who had been leading them all this time, was now gone. An assertive and nearly excessive group activity has to be done to bring them together again.

When we get angry, this is how terrifying we can be. Do not underestimate us. Bow to our strength…….

It was a move that reclaimed the group’s pride and identity in the face of potential division. Sitri, as the successor following Paimon, played her role remarkably well.

The fact that she slaughtered exactly a hundred thousand people was also excellent. It allowed this incident to be wrapped up cleanly by executing a hundred thousand traitors for the death of a single Demon Lord. It was an immense slaughter, but it also gave the impression of a calculated retaliation.

“Sitri, you will have to lead the Mountain Faction from now on. Don’t worry. I will help you. I am sure the two of us will do a good job.”

“Yeah. I’ll……do my best.”

Sitri cried into my shoulder.

—This was something I found out later.

Sitri didn’t actually regain her expression. It was just that she could only smile and chat as she used to when alone with me. She became emotionless, like an entirely different person, whenever in the company of anyone else.

No, perhaps she really did change.

To Sitri, Paimon meant that much.

However, Sitri believed I was in the same emotional state as her. She thought it wasn’t just her who lost Paimon, but also Dantalian. It was a sense of camaraderie. That’s why she could only display her usual smile in front of me…….

Ο* * *Ο

“The Walpurgis Night will now be held.”

The very next day. A meeting was held as all of the Demon Lords gathered.

As part of the overall post-war procedure, this meeting was addressing three crucial matters. The first of them was the slave system, the root cause of everything. Typically, several Demon Lords would engage in noisy debates over such matters, but this meeting proceeded unusually swiftly.

“On the matter of abolishing slavery for all races, cast your votes.”

6 votes in favor.

1 abstained.

“With this, slavery will be abolished.”

For the first time in recorded history, slavery was now gone. Although much time and effort will be required before it truly disappears completely, it was fine. I was confident in my ability to do so.

It wasn’t only going to be in the Habsburg Empire and the demon world. Slavery will be abolished across the entire continent. As I have already sworn to carry this out, there isn’t a single group out there that could get in the way of my vow.

I simply have to erase those who resist.

The number of lives that had perished directly or indirectly by my hands had now reached four hundred thousand.

Even if that number were to increase to four million, it would not shake me.

“Next, for the loyal retainers who stepped forward to eliminate the traitors. The issue of allocating the territories of the traitors to the Serpent Archduke and the six other archdukes. Cast your votes.”

6 votes in favor.

1 abstained.

“With this, I announce that the number of individuals entitled to the title of archduke is now permanently restricted to seven.”

I now have a firm allegiance with all of the archdukes who ruled the demon world, meaning that I am able to heavily influence both the demon world and the Empire.

Now, the final agenda.

“Regarding the proposal to appoint the Elector of Mainz, Sitri, as the acting Grand Duke of Luxembourg, which has become vacant. Cast your votes.”

6 votes in favor.

1 abstained.

“With this, the Elector of Mainz, Sitri, shall be appointed as the Grand Duke of Luxembourg and the High Chamberlain of the Empire. Henceforth, Sitri shall have the right to 2 votes in all future votes.”

The High Chamberlain position that Paimon had was transferred to Sitri. Not only did this give the Mountain Faction a special exception, but it also prevented the authority of the Mountain Faction from going to someone other than Sitri.

I looked to Sitri.

Sitri nodded as she got up from her seat.

She approached a chair that was vacant and sat down. It was Paimon’s chair. Sitri’s previous chair was quickly carried away by the servants.

“With this, tonight’s Walpurgis Night has been adjourned. Thank you for your time, comrades.”

…….

………….

After the meeting was over, I found myself sitting in the palace’s back garden.

I had slept without any purpose for the past few days, so I figured I could skip a night of sleep. In the backyard of the palace, there was an artificial pond in the shape of a rectangle. I placed a chair in front of the pond and sat down in order to quietly drink my alcohol.

Seven empty glass bottles rolled around under my feet. The body of a Demon Lord was convenient. No matter how much I drank, it wasn’t easy for me to get drunk. Lapis suggested that I should stop drinking, but I’d receive divine punishment if I didn’t enjoy my authority with this body.

Clack.

Someone placed a chair down next to me. It was Barbatos.

Barbatos sat down and silently held out her cup to me. I responded in kind as I silently poured her a glass of wine.

“…….”

“…….”

We spent hours drinking, looking at the moonlight reflected on the water. Not a single word was exchanged. What more could we have to say to each other at this point?

Among the Demon Lords I have a friendly relationship with, Barbatos was the only one who hadn’t come to visit me. Naturally, Barbatos was well aware that she had no right to enter my bedroom to visit me while I was bedridden.

About three hours passed in this not-so-grand drinking session.

It was then that Barbatos opened her mouth for the first time.

“Dantalian, do you still like me?”

An utterly awkward question.

I removed my glass from my lips.

“I do love you.”

Slowly, I drank my entire glass of wine. I could feel the scarlet liquid trickle down my insides. My cup soon became empty.

“As much as I love myself.”

***

Author’s Afterword

– Chapter <The Dripping Night> END.

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. Man, I want to get back into the groove to translate more, but work is also stockpiling. A game we’re translating is about to get a global release soon, so they’re suddenly giving us a bunch of last-minute work, which is annoying. They could’ve easily given all this to us weeks ago.

In any case, this arc ended pretty heavily. Seemed like a lot of people were upset about how this arc basically transpired and it’s understandable. I had a feeling things would probably turn out this way with all the problems that have been arising around Dant. I recall someone complaining that Dant didn’t have to struggle or face any resistance in anything he did, but I feel like that’s been proven wrong a long time ago. The biggest instance was probably the lashing scene. That’s why I’m not too devastated by the loss. It was a compromise of sorts that I expected due to all the grievances from other characters. You genuinely can’t please everyone.

Welp, at any rate, I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.