The Virgin Hero Who Fought in the Dungeon for 20 Years Returned to the Surface Only to Find the Population of the World Has Dropped Drastically, with a Male-to-Female Ratio of 1:1000 - 93

Chapter 93: The Strange Jester

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While holding her longsword in a straight line against her eyes and maintaining her stance, Loria suddenly made a pained expression and pressed her lower belly with her left hand.

Her stomach let out a cute little growl.

“Uuugh… Come to think of it, I didn’t really have a proper breakfast this morning.”

All of a sudden, an abnormal killing intent surged from behind. Loria’s entire body bristled, and she swiftly turned, sword at the ready. Light, jaunty clapping echoed through the cavern.

She turned her gaze. From the wreckage of the collapsed golem, a lanky jester popped his head out. His height was towering, easily over 190 centimeters by estimation. His clothes were strikingly divided into black and white halves, and his face was covered thickly with white makeup, erasing any hint of expression. Judging by his flat body contours, he was most likely male.

But Loria felt such an intense sense of revulsion to the point she couldn’t move an inch. The jester wore white fingerless gloves and twisted his long fingers nimbly, then acted as though he had only just noticed the golem’s remains, feigning surprise.

What is that? I feel like I shouldn’t be looking at it.

Several teachers remained in the area with Loria. The jester turned to them, flailed about in exaggerated shock, and even purposely tripped on the golem’s debris to make a show of falling. Every motion was contrived.

On a proper stage, perhaps his pantomime might have drawn a small chuckle from her. But now, the revulsion was like seeing a caterpillar with all its poisonous hairs standing on end, and she couldn’t even bring herself to make a sound.

The one who broke the silence was the teacher of the Magic Department. Dressed all in black, she must have decided that this bizarre jester was nothing but an enemy. Without a word, she began chanting a spell and summoned forth a massive fireball, then hurled it at the jester. 

The orange inferno screamed through the air, a fireball meticulously crafted—powerful enough to incinerate an entire tank with ease. The jester thrust both hands forward in a flustered pantomime. Pressing his cheek against thin air, he continued his strange movements. 

Ah. So the act was that there was an invisible wall before him. A common street performance routine. But spells cast in this dungeon were not illusions. The enormous fireball looked as though it would consume the enigmatic jester whole. In the next instant, the fireball ricocheted violently off the invisible wall and hurtled back at the Magic teacher with tremendous speed.

“Ku—!”

The teacher didn’t even attempt to dodge. Shock and fear had rooted her in place. Loria darted forward and swung her longsword with force. The sword’s immense magical power granted it a terrifying sharpness. With ease, she cleaved the deflected fireball in two and shouted.

“Who are you!?”

The split fireball smashed into the cavern walls, shaking them with a deafening roar. The jester’s lips, painted a deep crimson, curled upward, and he spoke in a loud, clear voice.

“Well, well, forgive my late introduction. I am a jester who serves His Excellency the True Demon Lord. For convenience’s sake, let us call me Clown, as per worldly custom.”

The jester introduced himself as Clown. Yet, that name would almost always be ignored in the future.

“The True Demon Lord—?”

“Yes, the true ruler of the dark worlds. The being who transcends all dimensions and is destined to rule everything—an exalted being beloved by us demons. Perhaps one might call this existence the Demon Lord of Demon Lords.”

“That’s impossible. The Demon Lord was already defeated—”

“Humans only see what they want to see, oh brave warrior of mankind. The Demon Lord you speak of—surely you mean the previous one, the one slain by Ryuuto Sakazaki?”

“The previous Demon Lord—”

“Precisely! The current Demon Lord can rightly be called a transcendent of this era. My noble master eagerly awaited the true awakening of the man you humans call Hero, Ryuuto Sakazaki. In that sense, today’s visit is but a courtesy call from my master. Rejoice! His Excellency the True Demon Lord has deemed Ryuuto Sakazaki the sole material worthy of standing equal to him. What an honor this is. Oh yes, today’s stroll is nothing more than securing a playground for us demons, drawn from the Abyssal Labyrinth. Think of it as no more than an afternoon walk. For now, we’ve come to lightly level Tokyo, the capital of this nation called Japan. Ah, but don’t worry. This time, we have no intention whatsoever of earnestly annihilating you. Consider this merely a warm-up exercise. Out of special mercy, we grant humanity a grace period. Let’s say… Twelve hours. If you can evacuate this land within half a day, we will not bother pursuing you with any grand manhunts.”

The jester openly declared he had come to invade Japan. Of course, such a thing could never be overlooked.

“Sorry, but if you go so far as to declare war that boldly, neither the Explorer’s Association nor I can just stand by and watch.”

“My, my, young lady. Your opponent is not me. I am but a jester. Your true adversary will be this one.”

In that instant, the ground behind him shook violently.

“An earthquake—!?”

Loria readied her sword and shield once more. The cavern shook harder, and behind the jester, a massive explosion of dust and debris erupted. The tremor was so great she couldn’t keep her eyes open. Accompanied by an earth-shattering roar, a giant appeared.

It stood over five meters tall. Not as large as the golems they had defeated earlier, but the oppressive aura it exuded was overwhelming. Its entire body was dark gray, covered in massive scales. Its eyes glowed red. Its appearance was like a gigantic, berserk armadillo, with two enormous saber-tooth-like fangs jutting out from its maw.

“I am one of the Five Divine Kings who serve His Excellency the True Demon Lord, Lucifero. I am Chiriat of Earth. Are you the human called Ryuuto, the one who defeated the previous Demon Lord?”

Just standing before him,  it was obvious. This being’s threat level was beyond anything they had faced before. Unnatural killing intent saturated its colossal, rocklike frame.

She glanced behind her. The few remaining teachers of the Explorer’s Academy trembled, unable even to move, let alone face such a monster. It was only natural though. Back in their active years, even their highest rank might have only reached B or C at best. Against this thing, they wouldn’t stand a chance.

But Loria remained composed.

“Hey, human, can’t you hear me? Answer my question, now.”

“No. I’m not. But it makes no difference to you, does it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Because you’re going to die right now.”

In an instant, Loria became a gale of wind. She poured every ounce of her magic into her longsword, doubling its sharpness and destructive power. The monster who called himself Chiriat thought his massive body gave him an edge in speed. But the moment Loria dashed forward, his form shimmered like a heat haze—

And vanished.

A chill shot down her spine. It didn’t feel real. She boosted her vision with magic to the utmost limit…. And realized.

He was fast.Unbelievably fast.

Chiriat came charging on all fours like a beast.If she took him head-on, she would die. That much, she understood.

She weaved in zigzags to throw him off.

“Ryaaaah!”

With all her strength, she brought her sword down. The neck. The unguarded neck.

Got him.

Her blade’s trajectory had locked perfectly onto Chiriat. No matter how tough he was, Loria’s speed-driven strike could slice through steel like butter. Suddenly, she felt a crushing pressure from the left. The next moment, her body was airborne.

A fist. Chiriat’s right fist had struck her with the force of a storm.

Her consciousness flickered. Had she not poured all her energy into the shield on her left arm in that instant, she would have been killed outright. That was how devastating the blow was.

“Gahh!”

If not for reinforcing her left side, her body would have been pulverized. Her vision went red. She was hurled tens of meters back, slamming into the cavern wall.  She couldn’t breathe, but she had to stand.

Even as she tried to rise, Chiriat came thundering toward her like a tank. She forced her right knee to the ground. Her shield, barely intact, was now little more than shards. The immense impact had shredded it. Only the crystal set into its center remained.

Her shield was a rare artifact obtained deep within the dungeon, boasting divine power and defense worthy of the top five in the Association.

Chiriat quickened his pace. If this continued, she would be crushed against the wall, reduced to nothing but pulp. Just then, his massive body stopped abruptly, as if pulled back by something.

“Ichika!”

Loria turned her gaze. Ichika, her squad’s vice-captain, stood with arms outstretched, unleashing countless threads from her fingers toward Chiriat. Ichika had learned the skills of a giant spider, and her specialty was thread-based attacks. From her fingertips, thousands of threads wrapped around Chiriat, binding his massive body. Each strand boasted strength thousands of times greater than steel. Loria could see the white threads tightening, encasing Chiriat like a cocoon.

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