Welcome to the Impregnable Demon King Castle

168 – The Tenth Stratum – The Realm of Demons and The Awakened Interceptors 1

About the reborn tenth stratum.

First, let’s go over my weapons. There are three.

The first is my Black Magic that surpasses that of ordinary people.

The second is the Magic Tool that her Highness lent to me, the ring that can summon Contracts.

The last is the fact that I know a lot more about these adventurers than the average person because I am an Adventurer fanatic. In other words, knowledge.

Making use of all of that, I have established a stratum with key differences from the previous strata.

On top of that, I’ll have the Monsters that have appeared in the previous ninth stratum play an active role.

The result of that is this, the realm of demons and the awakened interceptors.

A space ruled by the Demon King Army’s Chief of Staff, where he will call upon a variety of Monster races and command them all to intercept the enemy.

The interior is the same. A black passageway with black pillars on the side.

It feels like the previous tenth stratum.

「…To my side.」

Heeding the will of the summoner, the Contracts cross over to this space.

Through vast amounts of Magical Energy, strong Monsters who are bound by a Contract all start to appear.

「……!」

The robed man, the Faceless Archer Suuri, wasn’t exactly shaken, but more surprised.

That is to be expected.

I was immobile. With his Godspeed, he intended to shoot down a defenseless Lemegeton. A course of action that is both quick and correct on his part.

But there was someone who shot it down. It was a surprise.

Furthermore, he was shot at from a different direction.

The arrow that he evaded pierced the ground and dissolved into it with a sizzle.

「Well done, my faithful subordinate… Archer of the Deep Woods Stolas.」[1. TL Note: Stolas is a Great Prince of hell that is depicted as a raven or a crowned owl with long legs.]

「I am merely doing what is to be expected of a subordinate, Lord Lemegeton.」

An Elf archer.

Previously the Hunter Lily of the Fenix party, but now the Archer of the Deep Woods Stolas.

Her long hair was shortened to about shoulder length in her Monster Avatar.

Her bow was modified to be black and her outfit, which originally was of a color that made one think of the fresh verdures of the forest, now makes one associate it with the image of twilight in the deepest parts of the woods.

Wearing a cloak reminiscent of the wings of an owl, suppressing her curly hair, and instead, there is a small crown-like ornament on her head.

She wore a mask over her eyes and a piece of cloth covering her mouth, but her long ears, the proud characteristic of her race, are majestically exposed.

Through a voice-changer hidden behind the cloth. her voice becomes indistinguishable from her real voice.

The one who shot the poison arrow was the Black Wound Hunter Leraje.

But she couldn’t be seen.

She was made invisible by the Invisible Slaughterer Glasya-Labolas, so the Adventurers cannot see her.

「Oh Faceless Archer, I have heard tell that your Godspeed was originally a bow technique of Elf origin. Pray tell, just where did you learn such a thing?」

Suuri does not answer.

I already know the answer. He is an Elf, just like Lily. A man who became 5th ranked while hiding that fact.

Lily does not approve of how he hides his racial characteristics.

「Lord Lemegeton asked you a question. Answer!」

Stolas piles on, but he still doesn’t say a word.

Instead, he answers with an arrow.

It soared in the air. But the arrow was blown off course by a gust of wind, rendering it harmless.

「…Wha-! Th-thats…!」

The Gale Hero Ewan shouted.

「Hmph, this would mark the first time that I have ever had the opportunity to attain two of the same Avatar. You should be honored, Gale Hero.」

It was a puppet of the Spirit Commanding General Kimaris. A necromancy technique that puts him in direct control of a fallen enemy’s Avatar.

Ewan’s Avatar, who was defeated in the second stratum by the Frost Hero Bella’s Zombie, is now under Kimaris’s control.

That Avatar blew away his ally’s arrow with Wind Magic.

「…! You think you can get me again? I don’t think so, and this time, I’ll release Bella’s Avatar too!」

「She, too, said that she would return to free her own Avatar. Either way, neither will happen.」

「It will. Because I…am a Hero…!」

The wind swirls around him in response to Ewan’s determination.

You can’t just pay attention to the Boss Class Monsters.

「Hm?」

A Hellhound was biting on Herv’s arm. It was invisible up till now.

Unsurprisingly, she uses her other arm to grab it by the neck and break it, tossing the Hellhound aside. The Hellhound was defeated before long.

「…I get it. it’s a combination of the two. The first stratum and second stratum have combined.」

The Far-Reaching Swordsman Hamill was right. For now.

He swung his blade and the rattling sounds of Skeletons breaking apart could be heard.

A little later, their invisibility was dispelled. A side effect of them being defeated.

Did the sound of their footsteps give them away?

The first area – the realm of watchdogs and necromancy.

「…Even after seeing it, I still can’t believe it. Summoning this level of Monsters all at once. Just how much Magical Energy does he have.」

Said a very surprised Thunder Hero Scathach.

I summoned five Monsters. Two Floor Bosses, two Rare Monsters, and the best archer.

The ordinary Monsters like the Hellhounds were rearranged to deploy here.

In the Raid Battle, Monsters who have already appeared in a different stratum are forbidden from reappearing elsewhere, but the Monsters here have been set to deploy in the tenth stratum since the Raid Battle started, so there is no issue.

However, I had to summon the Boss Class Monsters with the ring.

「Hah! Bring it on. I was itchin’ for a rematch with Haagenti and Carmilla! Are they next? I can’t freakin’ wait!」

Herv was very excited. She was cracking her knuckles.

「Yeah, you’re right. To be able to defeat that many Monsters again, this is gonna be fun.」

Even the Water Hero Wraith looked like he was having fun.

Unsurprisingly, his childhood friend, the Destroyer Fran, lacks any expression on her face.

「So then, Sir Lemegeton, Are we going to fight here?」

Only the Storm Hero Aerial was standing there, calmly.

He looked at me with a gentle smile.

「Do you dare to try, mankind’s strongest?」

「Hmm…what to do? I’m interested in what you will do. If I choose to challenge you here, I have to be vigilant and anticipate your strategies. If you had no plans to fight, then you most likely prepared an escape path.」

As he said that, his eyes were blazing with passion. He was overflowing with fighting spirit.

He is looking forward to getting a chance to go all out.

「Indeed. If you defeat all my subordinates, I shall fight the one who did so. It is as simple as that.」

Hearing my words, his smile widened.

「Ah, rest assured. It will come to that because we aim to Clear this Dungeon. We’ll pay you a visit once we’ve annihilated everyone.」

「Daring of you to say.」

「I’m looking forward to it. To the fight that you and I will have.」

Mankind’s strongest has set his sights on me.

The battle is on.