[...What?]
The demon sounded genuinely confused.
"Why do these gold coins taste like crap instead of metal?"
I tossed one of the coins in my hand straight at its face.
The coin passed through the demon's body, hit the ground—
and instantly transformed into a black pebble.
"If you're going to use illusions, at least put some effort into them."
I wrinkled my nose.
"The smell gave it away immediately."
My spirit sight couldn't be deceived.
What looked like a mountain of gold was actually a colossal heap of rotting corpses and writhing maggots.
The glittering gemstones?
Human eyeballs.
Dead ones.
[You insolent little bitch!]
The gentleman's elegant appearance twisted grotesquely.
Black mist exploded outward.
The entire landscape changed.
The mountain of gold vanished.
In its place appeared a foul-smelling swamp reeking of decay.
[You dare reject my generosity?!]
The demon's voice thundered across the marsh.
[Then die! Be consumed by your greed!]
Hundreds of hands burst from the muddy ground and clawed toward my ankles.
"Damian! Kairik!"
I didn't even finish shouting before both men moved.
"Filthy creatures!"
Damian slammed his shield into the ground.
A wave of holy energy erupted outward.
The grasping hands burned away upon contact, retreating into the swamp from which they came.
"Annoying."
Kairik swung his greatsword.
The shadow monsters charging toward us were swept away like dust before a storm.
Using the opening they created, I sprinted straight for the demon's true body.
"Generosity, my ass!"
I jumped into the air.
"This isn't generosity—it's fraud!"
Raising my hammer overhead, I roared:
"Entrance fees to Hell are paid in advance! Stop trying to skim off the top!"
[KRAAAAGH!]
The demon recoiled in panic.
Too late.
My hammer came crashing down on what I assumed was its head.
WHAM!
The impact felt strangely hollow.
Like striking smoke.
But the holy power embedded within the hammer pierced straight into the demon's core.
[GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!]
The demon shrieked.
Its body exploded into countless fragments of black mist.
But it wasn't dead.
The scattered shadows immediately began gathering together again.
A ghost-type enemy.
Physical attacks barely worked.
"Damn it."
I clicked my tongue.
"Physical immunity?"
The most annoying kind of opponent.
No satisfying impact.
Just sore arms.
Then Damian shouted:
"Violetta!"
His eyes scanned the battlefield.
"We need to find its core! The real body must be hidden somewhere!"
"The real body?"
I narrowed my eyes.
Looking through the swirling black mist, I searched for the source of the demonic energy.
There.
One location emitted an especially dense, sticky aura.
The exact spot where the mountain of gold had stood moments earlier.
Underneath it.
"There!"
I pointed.
"The floor!"
The instant I spoke, Kairik reversed his grip on his sword.
Then drove it downward.
"I've always hated hide-and-seek."
BOOOOOM!
The ground shattered.
A massive underground chamber was revealed.
At its center floated a giant crimson jewel.
It pulsed like a beating heart.
The Dungeon Core.
A reservoir where the Lord of the Abyss had stored its power.
[NO! DON'T TOUCH IT!]
The demon screamed.
Its scattered form rushed desperately toward the core.
"Not happening."
Damian hurled his sword.
A chain of brilliant light erupted from the blade and wrapped around the demon.
Binding it in place.
"Now!"
At Damian's shout, I leaped without hesitation into the exposed chamber.
The thorny black vines protecting the core didn't even register as obstacles.
"Eat this!"
I yanked a bottle of holy water from my pocket and hurled it.
CRASH!
The bottle shattered against the core.
Holy water splashed across the crimson surface.
SSSSSSSS—!
Black smoke billowed upward.
The core visibly shrank as if writhing in agony.
[AAAAAAARGH!]
Apparently the demon's senses were connected to the core.
Because the creature trapped by Damian began screaming like a man being flayed alive.
"Finish it, Kairik!"
I shouted.
Kairik grinned.
"Don't order me around."
He rolled his shoulders.
"I was planning to do it anyway."
Despite his words, he charged precisely through the opening I'd created.
His greatsword pierced straight through the center of the core.
CRACK.
The sound echoed throughout the cavern.
The red glow vanished.
The core hardened into stone—
and shattered.
[Impossible...]
The demon's voice trembled.
[How could I... lose to mere humans...?]
Its body began collapsing.
Losing shape.
Losing substance.
Damian retrieved his sword and spoke coldly.
"Return to Hell."
A flash of holy steel.
The demon was cut in half.
It didn't even manage a final scream.
Its existence simply vanished.
"Whew..."
I leaned against my hammer like a walking stick.
My entire body was soaked in sweat.
"Is it over?"
Kairik nudged a fragment of the destroyed core with his boot.
I shook my head.
"No."
"That was only the gatekeeper."
Both men looked at me.
"The real Lord of the Abyss wasn't that thing."
I stared into the darkness ahead.
"It was just an illusionist guarding the entrance."
Defeating it had merely opened the way forward.
Behind the collapsed mountain of fake gold, a hidden passage had appeared.
And from deep within that tunnel...
A far greater presence emerged.
The demonic energy pouring out dwarfed anything we'd encountered so far.
"...The real one is inside."
Damian swallowed hard.
His grip tightened around his sword.
I hefted my hammer onto my shoulder.
"Come on."
A grin spread across my face.
"Let's go collect our payment."
Outwardly, I looked confident.
Inside?
I was still thinking about that mountain of gold.
Sure, it had been fake.
But if it had been real...
What a beautiful sight that would've been.
I clenched my fist.
When we kill the real mastermind, I'll squeeze something even better out of it.
After all this suffering, there was no way I was leaving empty-handed.
Step.
Step.
Step.
We walked deeper into the darkness.
Then Kairik casually spoke from behind me.
"That mountain of gold."
I glanced over my shoulder.
"Did you like it?"
"Obviously."
I snorted.
"Who doesn't like money?"
For a moment, he was silent.
Then:
"...I'll remember that."
"Huh?"
Kairik smirked.
"I'll build you a real one someday."
His crimson eyes gleamed.
"As part of my bride's dowry."
And with that, he walked past me.
I stared blankly at his retreating back.
Then turned toward Damian.
...
His expression was absolutely awful.
"...Blasphemy."
He sounded deeply offended.
"Being courted by that beast is blasphemy."
I laughed.
"That's not courting. That's just him showing off."
"Even if it is, I don't want to hear it."
Damian muttered darkly.
Then—
He grabbed my hand.
Firmly.
"...Don't you need to recharge?"
I blinked.
"Oh? Volunteering first for once?"
His ears immediately turned red.
"...Your hands looked cold."
He quickly looked away.
I couldn't help smiling.
His hand was warm.
Comfortingly warm.
As long as I had that warmth beside me...
I felt like I could survive any hell.
"Let's go, my human heater."
Our fingers intertwined.
And together, we walked toward the heart of the Abyss—
where the true demon awaited.
The deeper we ventured into the cavern, the heavier the air became.
It wasn't merely dense demonic energy.
This was something else.
A warning.
A pressure that screamed:
You do not belong here.
The weight felt like an invisible hand squeezing my heart.
Even breathing became difficult.
"Hard to breathe."
Kairik exhaled heavily.
Even his beast-like instincts were reacting with primal fear.
"Damian."
I looked at him.
"Shrink the barrier. Keep it tight around us."
Without hesitation, he poured more holy power into his spell.
A sphere of golden light enveloped the three of us.
The pressure eased immediately.
"There."
Damian pointed ahead.
At the end of the darkness lay a vast lake.
Black water stretched endlessly into the distance.
At the center floated an enormous throne crafted entirely from bones.
And seated upon it—
A giant clad in pitch-black armor.
Its face was hidden behind a helmet.
But crimson eyes burned through the visor.
Eyes that seemed capable of seeing directly into our souls.
The Lord of the Abyss.
The real one.
[I have waited a long time.]
Its voice rumbled across the lake.
[And now rats have wandered into my garden.]
The giant raised a finger.
The lake began to boil.
Black water erupted upward.
Hundreds of monsters crawled from the depths.
These weren't the creatures we'd fought at the entrance.
Each one radiated enough killing intent to qualify as a mid-boss.
"Quite the welcoming committee."
I rested my hammer on my shoulder and laughed.
"Stay sharp, everyone."
My gaze locked onto the armored giant.
"That one is the real deal."
"Don't worry."
Kairik drew his greatsword.
A savage grin spread across his face.
"Everything causing trouble in my territory dies."
His crimson eyes burned.
"That thing won't be an exception."
Beside me, Damian raised his blade.
Holy light gathered along its edge.
"God above."
His prayer echoed softly.
"Grant us Your light."
I spun my hammer once.
Then pointed it at the throne.
"Let's go!"
The three of us charged simultaneously.
BOOOOOM!
Kairik took the lead.
His greatsword carved a path through the monster horde.
Limbs flew.
Bodies shattered.
Damian remained close to my side, cutting down anything that tried to flank me.
Protected by both of them, I ran straight toward the Lord of the Abyss.
"Hey, big guy!"
Leaping across the floating rocks scattered throughout the lake, I pointed my hammer at the giant.
"Let's have a little chat!"
The Lord slowly raised a hand.
[Insolent creature.]
The black lake exploded.
A towering tsunami surged upward.
And crashed toward me.
"VIOLETTA!"
