Reincarnated as the Final Boss of an Eroge, but I Just Want a Peaceful Life After the Game Ends - Chapter 21: The Abyssal Labyrinth

Chapter 21: The Abyssal Labyrinth

When I finally woke up, I had a long talk with Ivelia and Queen Celebres of the Forest Elves.

Apparently, I’d been asleep for about seven days. And during that whole time, Ivelia had been looking after me with unwavering devotion.

“Ufufu. I did everything for you that you once did for me, Sidol.”

Not long after I opened my eyes, Ivelia looked at me with a smug, triumphant smile. It was honestly kind of cute.

While I’d been unconscious, she’d probably chewed food and fed it to me mouth-to-mouth, cleaned up after me when I needed to go, and even wiped down every inch of my body.

I’d done all of that for her before, so this was probably her way of getting even in the most devoted way possible.

Even Celebres, who was a literal queen, made time to come check on us—personally.

“You still won’t be at full strength for a while. Rest here a bit longer. Feel free to explore the village once you’re up to it. But Ivelia—please don’t go out alone. It might cause… complications.”

Elves had a deep, unwavering faith in spirits. And because humans didn’t share that same devotion, elves often saw us as impure or unclean. 

That meant most elves held strong prejudice toward humans.

Celebres’s warning to Ivelia—asking her not to walk around alone—was partly because she was human, but also had to do with how elves viewed beauty.

To the Forest Elves, the kind of curvy figure humans found feminine and attractive was considered distasteful.

“But Sidol, since you’ve learned [Summoning Magic], if anyone gives you trouble, just call forth a spirit. That should be enough to keep the forest folk from trying anything.”

Celebres lowered herself onto the bedding beside me.

I couldn’t exactly tell a queen to mind her manners, but when she leaned in to look at my face—those large, bell-shaped breasts of hers dangled and swayed right in front of me.

She was doing this on purpose. No doubt about it.

Across from her, Ivelia stood quietly… but then leaned in over the bedding too, clearly trying to counter the queen’s move.

I knew Ivelia had grown quite a bit, but since she was wearing human-style clothes, I figured nothing would show. Turns out, I was wrong.

The soft swell of her chest spilled just enough through the gap in her collar, swaying gently with gravity.

“You’re looking much better now. Your complexion’s back, and your magic should recover soon. You do seem to bounce back quickly, Sidol.”

Celebres gently stroked my head as she said that, but then one of her attendants called her away, and she left the room.

“Haa…”

I let out a quiet sigh of relief—only to find Ivelia’s face right in front of mine.

“Honestly. You were totally drooling. I get it—Her Majesty is stunning. But the way she so obviously tries to tempt you is really irritating. And you—letting your guard down like that? You looked ridiculous.”

“Sorry, Ivelia.”

I reached out and gently patted her head.

“You think I’m that easy to win over? Not a chance.”

Once Ivelia got off me, I slowly pushed my still-weary body up into a sitting position.

All I did was learn [Summoning Magic★], so why did I feel this drained?

It wasn’t the kind of fatigue that comes from using up MP, and it didn’t feel like a debuff either. Just… heavy.

That’s when I felt it—a sharp surge of magical energy prickling through the air from outside.

“Ivelia!”

“You sensed it too, Sidol?”

“I’ve got [Magic Detection★], remember? That’s how I picked it up.”

“There’s mana spilling into the air.”

As we exchanged glances, one of Celebres’s attendants approached and called out to us.

“Sir Sidol, Lady Ivelia. Her Majesty requests your presence.”

Answering the summons, Ivelia and I stood up and made our way toward the palace audience chamber.

My body didn’t feel too bad while walking—if anything, moving seemed to be helping.

I used the walk to quietly check how I was holding up.

“Forgive me for calling you so suddenly.”

“Not at all. It was actually good timing—I got a chance to see how my body’s doing.”

“I see. That’s good, then.”

Celebres straightened her posture, her expression shifting to something more serious.

“A dungeon sealed long ago by the previous king—just beyond the Lost Woods—has been unsealed. Countless monsters are pouring out, and they’ve begun attacking the border checkpoint of your kingdom.”

Ah… so it’s the final dungeon.

The Abyssal Labyrinth—the last dungeon in Violation of Eternia II.

It was a short, five-floor underground dungeon you could enter around level 50. Depth-wise, it wasn’t much, but the place was massive, full of twists and turns, and packed with the kind of pervy monsters you’d only find in an eroge.

Apparently, the way I learned [Summoning Magic★] right before the final dungeon’s seal broke was no coincidence. It was basically the story of Violation of Eternia playing out step by step.

In the game, after Sidol passed through the elven forest, Elmia, who couldn’t accept her Queen favoring humans, rebelled and got kicked out. She wandered beyond the Lost Woods and ended up breaking the dungeon’s seal.

The only real difference this time… was that I had Ivelia beside me.

Still, this part of Sidol Meltrix’s story—the stuff that never showed up in Eternia II and only got hinted at in Eternia IV—felt like the behind-the-scenes truth finally being filled in.

Thanks to that, Elmia’s actions after leaving the forest made a lot more sense now.

The monsters pouring out of the final dungeon… the kingdom would definitely be trying to fight them off.

“Has the kingdom made any moves yet?”

“The defense forces arrived early on, but they seem to be struggling a bit.”

“I see…”

“The battle’s currently at a standstill, so they’ll likely hold out for a while. Still, it’ll be difficult for the two of you to return to the kingdom anytime soon. I’ll speak with the Dwarf King of Moria—see if he’s willing to ferry you across the lake to the far shore.”

For now, it seemed like we’d be able to stay here without any problems.

But still—I absolutely had to get my hands on the [Skill Crystal: Hypnosis★].

Which meant… I’d probably have to leave Ivelia in Celebres’s care and head into the dungeon alone.

If I remembered right, the event kicks off about two weeks after the seal breaks.

That’s when Ars, newly knighted by the King, arrives with reinforcements at lightning speed and pulls off a dramatic rescue of Elmia.

Elmia, despite being one of the main heroines and an elf who hates humans, falls faster than anyone else in the entire series. She’s notoriously weak to pushy guys—especially if they’re human.

I remember reading in a magazine once that they deliberately included a sex scene with her just shortly after she meets the protagonist, thinking fans would lose their minds with a “YES! ELF GIRL UNLOCKED!!” moment.

After adding Elmia to his party, Ars heads straight into the final dungeon. And in the very first safe room near the entrance—a save point, basically—he takes Elmia’s virginity right in front of the other main heroines.

That was exactly the window I planned to strike.

While Ars and his harem were busy having their “celebration,” I’d sneak into the dungeon using [Perception Disruption★], blitz my way through the depths, and reach the final floor ahead of them.

Since none of them had scouting or detection skills, I could just wait near the final boss room. And the moment they started fighting in the lower level—

I’d swoop in and finish off the boss myself.

“I’m truly grateful for Your Majesty’s kindness.”

“It’s nothing. I wouldn’t mind letting you and Ivelia stay here for as long as you like.”

“I offer my heartfelt thanks as well, Queen Celebres.”

“Hmph. I do wish Ivelia would warm up to me a little more, though.”

Celebres threw in a playful jab before straightening up and continuing.

“But setting that aside—Sidol, what do you plan to do?”

She shifted her posture again, her tone more serious now.

I figured she wanted to hear what I had decided.

“I believe the second wave of reinforcements from the capital has probably already left by now. They should arrive in about two weeks. I’d like to dive into the Abyssal Labyrinth alone around that time.”

“Alone…?”

“Yes. I can suppress my presence using [Perception Disruption★], so I’ll be able to sneak into the dungeon without being noticed. My goal is to gather intel and scout out the area.”

Just then, Ivelia chimed in from the side.

“I’d love to say ‘no way I’m letting you go alone,’ but if I came along, you’d have to carry me everywhere again, right? So this time… I’ll let it go.”

That kind of honesty was a blessing.

“But promise me one thing—make it back alive.”

Her voice had a weight to it that caught me off guard.

When I looked at her face, I saw how seriously she was watching me.

She wasn’t being her usual composed self—this was Ivelia showing her age, her heart. A rare, vulnerable side of her that she didn’t often let anyone see.

“Then allow me to ask the same—come back safely,” Celebres added, following Ivelia’s lead.

“I’ll be cautious, of course. But there’s no way I’m dying in that dungeon. So if you could just think of it like a kid going off on a little adventure and waiting for him to come back—that’d really put me at ease.”

Once I’d managed to reassure both Ivelia and Celebres, I began preparing for the trip—starting with supplies.

The preparation window was only a week.

My focus was mainly on replenishing food for the journey, but since we were in the elves’ hidden village, I could only work with the ingredients available here.

Still, that gave me a solid insight into how the forest elves lived and ate.

Their diet was mostly centered around nuts and legumes.

They also ate a lot of leafy greens raw—kind of like wild arugula or mustard greens.

They didn’t really have farmland—at best, just tiny patches. Most of what they ate came from foraging edible plants growing naturally in the forest, which they either ate immediately or preserved.

For vegetables that couldn’t be eaten raw, they’d boil them, but seasoning was almost nonexistent.

Even elves needed salt to survive, of course, and when I asked about it, I found out they imported a small amount from the Dwarven Kingdom of Moria.

In my previous life, I’d read that elves supposedly didn’t like meat.

But in this world, the forest elves did hunt rabbits and ate them in small amounts.

It turned out large game like wild boars or cows didn’t even exist in this forest. According to Celebres—who’d lived for over five hundred years—they were so rare that most elves had never seen, let alone tasted, anything like that.

The forest’s bird population was limited too, so meat in general—both in type and amount—was scarce.

Because of that, elves rarely had opportunities to eat meat, which naturally led to them developing a bit of an aversion to it.

That’s what Celebres explained, with the insight only a long-lived High Elf could provide.

“I like meat too, you know. This forest has no shortage of herbs or spices like pepper, but without access to salt, it’s tough. And with only small animals to hunt, there’s never enough meat to go around. Our diets inevitably become unbalanced.”

If that’s the case, maybe once everything settles down, I could arrange to send live cows and sheep—and salt—from Bahamul on a regular basis.

But all of that had to wait until everything was wrapped up.

I still had a mountain of scenarios to get through. And first—I had to survive. Only then could I start thinking about a more comfortable life afterward.

Just as planned, my preparations were complete after one week.

Realistically, once I entered the dungeon, the mission would only take a day to finish.

The real risks were at the entrance and the exit—those were the key moments I needed to be extra careful.

“Well then, I’m heading out. I’ll be back in two weeks.”

I made sure to clearly state when I’d return.

I figured that would ease their worries—just a little.

“Once you make it back to the edge of the Lost Woods, I’ll send someone to guide you through. That means you should be home in under ten days, right?”

“If there’s someone to meet me, that’d be a huge help.”

“Mhm. The forest is under my watch, so I’m not too concerned. But even so—anything can happen. Take care of yourself.”

Celebres herself came to see me off.

Even though she was the Queen of the Forest Elves, she personally sent me on my way. That meant a lot.

“Sidol. I’m not that worried, but still… be careful. I’ll be waiting for you to come back. See you soon.”

As Ivelia said that, she wrapped her arms around me.

She wasn’t like the old Ivelia anymore—the one who rarely showed emotion and always came off a bit cold.

I gently patted her head.

“I’m off.”

I whispered it quietly into her ear.

“Mmh…”

She held me a little tighter for a second… then slowly let go.

“Seriously—be careful, okay? If something happens, I won’t be able to face Fina.”

“I know. See ya.”

With that, I stepped away from the base of the great tree and headed into the Lost Woods.

Compared to the first time I entered, it was much easier this time. Surprisingly, the scenery had a magical, dreamlike feel to it—it lifted my spirits.

Using [Presence Detection★], I scanned the area—no monsters, no animals.

Even so, I could hear birds chirping and the soft rustle of creatures brushing past leaves. Those sounds were probably just illusions created by spirits or fairies playing tricks.

The plants growing in this forest were highly poisonous.

It was a forest that devoured outsiders.

It hit me then—this was how elves, often labeled as demi-humans by humans, protected their homeland.

I spent five days walking through the forest, eating my travel rations as I went.

Nothing unusual happened. I made it out safely.

As soon as I felt the presence of people nearby, I activated [Perception Disruption★] to avoid being seen and quietly made my way toward the Abyssal Labyrinth.

Just as expected—it was the kingdom’s army.

There were plenty of monsters, too. The ones spilling out of the dungeon were mostly heavy-hitters: high orcs, ogres, and trolls in large groups.

At a glance, it was clear the Kingdom of Eternia’s forces had taken serious losses.

Things were worse than I’d imagined.

The kingdom’s army was struggling.

“You okay?!”

A loud, annoying voice rang in my head—one I unfortunately recognized.

It was Ars.

He was moving with a party of four, himself included. The others were:

Saintess Hanna, the high-ranked adventurer Eliza Gilmarie, and the petite mage Nana Nona.

And behind Ars, currently wetting herself in fear… was Elmia.

───

Name: Ars

Gender: Male Age: 14

Class: Hero   Level: 43

 ︙

───

Ars’s level was low.

Even with all his special skills, I doubted he had what it took to beat the dungeon boss at that level.

───

Name: Hanna

Gender: Female Age: 14

Height: 153 cm Weight: 43 kg

B/W/H: 76 / 57 / 79

Class: Saintess    Level: 42

 ︙

───

Name: Nana Nona

Gender: Female Age: 19

Height: 148 cm Weight: 41 kg

B/W/H: 74 / 57 / 82

Class: Mage        Level: 49

 ︙

───

Name: Eliza Gilmarie

Gender: Female Age: 21

Height: 157 cm Weight: 46 kg

B/W/H: 75 / 56 / 80

Class: Warrior       Level: 47

 ︙

───

Looking at the full party, the overall balance wasn’t bad.

───

Name: Elmia

Gender: Female Age: 294 Race: Elf

Height: 162 cm Weight: 44 kg

B/W/H: 72 / 52 / 74

Class: Archer     Level: 60

 ︙

───

As expected of a long-lived elf, Elmia had a pretty high level.

But even so… how did she end up in such a mess?

Turns out, she’d been completely surrounded—by dozens, maybe even hundreds of monsters—and her quiver was empty.

No arrows, no way to fight back. And with no route to escape, she was stuck.

Ars simply stepped in front of her, and that alone pretty much ended the fight.

Eliza and Nana quickly moved in and started cutting down the remaining monsters one after another.

Once the numbers had thinned out, Ars scooped Elmia into his arms and made a run for it—straight into the Abyssal Labyrinth.

Naturally, I followed right after them, slipping into the dungeon unnoticed.

They stopped at the very first spot inside—the safe zone where a story event is triggered.

They wouldn’t be moving from there for a while.

Which was perfect.

I quietly slipped past them and made a beeline for the deeper layers of the dungeon.