What If the Strongest Villain from the Original Story Became the Protagonist's Ally?

I neutralized the mysterious gray-robed men who had been guarding the dungeon entrance. Both of them were hit by me and rolled on the ground.

“Geez… before calling someone suspicious, take a look at your own appearance.”

You guys were more than suspicious enough yourselves.

I brushed off the dirt on my hands and turned around. A little distance away was the corpse of the orc that had guided me here. It had been burned beyond recognition. I put my hands together in front of it.

“Rest in peace… I’ll eat pork tonight.”

I mourned the orc with that declaration.

And then—

“…So? Who exactly are you guys?”

I grabbed the men I’d knocked unconscious in my enthusiasm.

When I removed their hoods to check their faces, they were just ordinary middle-aged men with nothing distinctive about them.

“I was hoping for beautiful girls there, but… from their voices they were clearly men. Oh well.”

For now, I searched the man’s pockets to see if there was anything that could prove their identity. I felt a little bad about doing something slightly inappropriate.

However…

“Hmm… they’re not carrying anything special. Just artifacts that let them use magic?”

No matter how much I searched their pockets, nothing particularly interesting came out. I tried searching the other one too, but again, nothing came out except artifacts.

“Tch! How boring… this would’ve been perfect if they were girls.”

I complained once more before throwing the unconscious men aside.

I had no more use for these guys. But it would also be troublesome if I left them here and they escaped. In that case, there was only one method to take.

A method that reduces risk while having no disadvantages. That was…

I smoothly drew my sword from the sheath at my waist. Beyond that point, no further explanation was needed.

▼△▼

After disposing of the two men who seemed to be Empire soldiers guarding the entrance, I entered the dungeon. This was a cave-type dungeon. It was dimly lit, and an unpleasant smell drifted from deep inside.

“The smell of blood… and also the smell of rotting corpses…”

I’d never actually smelled it before, but Yuguram’s memories contained that scent.

Were they killing monsters inside the dungeon and leaving them? I couldn’t understand what meaning that would have at all.

On top of that, the dungeon was unnaturally—devoid of monsters.

I’d been walking inside for a while now, so it wouldn’t be strange to encounter at least one monster.

“Are most of them deep inside? Hmm…”

This development wasn’t in the original story. Including the fact that the event had started early, the progression was definitely different from the original event.

What exactly was happening in the depths of this dungeon… I slowly walked toward the back.

After walking for a while, I finally encountered an enemy. Not a monster. I ran into Empire guards on watch.

“Ah”

“What!? Wh-who are y—”

Swoosh.

The Empire soldier’s voice instantly disappeared.

By the time my opponent noticed me, I was already swinging my sword.

I cut off his head with precise accuracy. To seal his voice and kill him at the same time, aiming for the head was best.

“Damn… I should have kept him alive to extract information.”

Should I have captured him first and squeezed information out of him? Oh well. There are probably more crawling around like bugs ahead anyway.

I steeled myself and continued deeper.

Then, just as I’d expected, there were several more Empire soldiers. It seemed we were getting close to the final destination.

“—There’s an intruder! An intruder has appeared!”

Only then did the Empire soldiers notice my presence.

Because the surroundings were dim, their visual recognition was delayed. You should at least light some torches…

I killed everyone except the lively young ones. Getting information from one person would be enough. It would be troublesome if they coordinated their stories too.

I swung my sword and slaughtered the gray-robed men one after another. There were women among them, but since time was precious, I killed them normally too. Eventually only one man remained. I grabbed that man’s neck and—

“Hey. What are you guys doing here? Sounds interesting, so tell me about it too.”

I began the interrogation.

“Guh… ugh…! Wh-who would tell someone like you…!”

“I see. You don’t have to force yourself to talk. There seem to be other comrades around, and—more importantly—”

Swoosh.

I severed the man’s wrist. Pain and blood gushed out in large amounts.

“Gyaaaaaah!? M-my arm is gooooone!?”

“If you don’t answer, I’ll dismember you bit by bit. On the other hand, if you do answer, I might heal your injuries. I’m a skilled doctor. Something like a wrist is simple.”

“Aaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Hey, so about what I was saying…”

The man didn’t answer my question. He just went mad with pain and eventually lost his life. His arms and legs hung limply. That signified the man’s death.

“…Damn. What a pain.”

I threw the man aside and headed for the depths of the dungeon once more.

Hoping that some boss-like guy would show up soon.