Reincarnated as a Dungeon Master, I Became Unstoppable by Doting on My Monsters—My Gorgeous Monsters Have Started to Conquer the World on Their Own! - Chapter 53: The Great Tower of Nadinalezre - Part 1

“Where had you gone?”

Ryuujo-sama asked me. The scene was the familiar Core Room at the top of the Great Tower of Nadinalezre. This library seemed to haphazardly stack together architectural techniques from various eras without any particular focus.

“I took the liberty of researching our last dungeon attack,” I answered without a flicker of emotion. It was a lie, of course, but in terms of the failed dungeon attack, I had better information, being acquainted with those who led it to failure.

“Hmm.”

“The cause of its cancellation seems to have been a stomach ache. Someone had spread poison gas in our dungeon. But I heard there were no fatalities.”

I couldn’t believe that Rosarosa, who still seemed indifferent to that person’s life, had not caused a single death in Nadinalezre. Moreover, she was now the center of attention as a notable hunter.

His reply, however, was unexpected.

“…You’ve been looking quite happy recently. That guy, too, often had such a smiling face.”

I realized I had unwittingly let a smile slip while thinking of Rosarosa. It had been a while since I showed Ryuujo-sama a smile, and his eyelids raised slightly, more than usual.

“…I apologize. It seems some things unexpectedly amuse me.”

“Collecting information is good, but don’t assume that the dungeon conquest ends with the last attempt. You should stay here.”

But it seemed the small talk was over.

“Understood.”

Ryuujo-sama was no fool. Precautions had already been taken in the dungeon. Indeed, his intuition was correct, as Wito and his group would arrive at the dungeon the next day.

Yet, Ryuujo-sama showed neither fear nor confusion, simply calmly continuing his duties.

(…So he’ll die, betrayed by me, without knowing anything.)

That thought suddenly crossed my mind.

I had no intention of saying we had been together for 200 years. He was the master, and I was his servant. We had barely conversed. However, the sight of Ryuujo-sama, who quickly averted his eyes after giving an order as if trying hard to control himself, felt like a needle piercing my heart.

XXX

“Ugh. A monster that looks like Jacqueline, huh? Bad taste… But I guess it’s rude to say that since Jacqueline is one of them.”

As we invaded the Great Tower of Nadinalezre, we were greeted by a horde of monsters, all sharing the common trait of being black-haired female figures. Their faces, veiled in black hair as they approached us, were somewhat horror-esque.

However, their movements seemed less scary and more awkward. In the bright dungeon, they looked less like ghosts and more like actors playing the part of ghosts.

“Neither heart, wealth, nor face, Delilah is,” “A face torn apart by scissors.” “With this, I can finally kill you all. Oh, how infuriating. ‘Hot. It’s hot. Master, my body burns with hatred,’ ‘But I must become a goddess,’ ‘Forbidden book designation. Such emotions.'”

As I murmured my thoughts, I heard Delilah chanting from my left. It was the “Forbidden Book Designation.” In her human form, aside from sparks flying from her head, she showed no other change in appearance, but surely, in her book form, she must be just a cover.

Delilah had been walking through the dungeon timidly, hugging her elbow with her other hand. But now, void of emotion, she seemed like a machine that finds and incinerates enemies.

However, the monsters I thought had been burned by the purgatory flames were still moving, flames blazing.

“Oh, they’re still alive.”

“…Still, it’s too fine a line. ‘Forbidden Book Designation’…!”

It was Hazel who stopped Delilah.

“Hold on a sec, Delilah-chan. Are you going to do area attacks every time enemies appear? You cannot keep using it, and it’s better saved for when a horde comes.”

“What should I do then…”

Delilah muttered discontentedly… Even though her emotions should have been emptied earlier, her words were now filled with anger. How easily angered she is.

“I’ll do it,” Hazel said, extending her hands like a jiangshi.

Then, without any strain, her wrists began to split, and the part beyond her wrists flew towards the enemy. It was like a rocket punch, but with more control as she attacked the enemies with open hands.

When her hand grabbed the burning enemy’s neck, the wrist exploded. The blood splattered on the walls looked disturbingly real.

But Hazel showed no emotional fluctuations. Of course, her wrist had already regenerated and was torn off again to attack. Before the wrist exploded, the next one had already started growing.

As this continued, the hallway in front of us began to look like a sea of advancing wrists.

“As long as Hazel is here, we can handle even stronger enemies in the dungeon,” I thought. She’s the strongest and most convenient of Nanaya’s shrine maidens.

Due to her strategic nature, her unique skills and all others meshed well, making her the best in battle regarding range, close combat, and endurance. Of course, she has weaknesses, but they’re not easily exploitable by outsiders.

Surely, weakened enemies that Delilah had yet to see would be taken down by Hazel’s wrists.

───And so, we continued to ascend the tower, hardly facing any enemies, just chatting away. It felt more like exterminating a beehive than conquering a dungeon. That’s what I thought at the time.