Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. - Chapter 47
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 47: C-Rank Labyrinth – Nightmare World (5)
《Time remaining until the Hypocrite Goddess’s Divine Beast absorbs all nightmares: approximately 3 minutes!》
We were closing in on the end.
Merely three minutes.
The exact amount of time a cup of instant noodles takes to cook just right.
And yet when you’re hungry enough, even a few minutes can feel like an eternity.
“The time feels like it’s… crawling by!”
Buoyed by Maku’s buffs, Fendrick swept through the undead legions like a force of nature, speaking between strokes with an easy smile.
“And the corpses keep growing stronger!”
He was right—the tide of zombies pressing in from all directions grew more formidable with each late arrival.
They were durable enough to withstand a single blow, they dodged attacks, and some even demonstrated tactical footwork.
Had this appeared in a zombie film, the audience would have drowned it in mockery.
“Astremia!”
I hurled Spark of Glory wildly, flames erupting in all directions as I shouted.
“It’s time to illuminate the second star!”
Astremia, Goddess of Joy.
Seven jewels of different colors were embedded in the blade of this beautiful cyan Ego Sword, arranged like stars.
In the West, it would simply be called the Big Dipper.
Each time the user reached an appropriate level, another star would shine, unlocking new abilities.
– Understood! Fendrick!
“…Ready!”
Fendrick secured one dark-magic zombie tinted a murky green, planted his feet, and took his stance.
– Star, arise.
Beside the already-glowing star, another blue radiance bloomed into being.
The second star: Merak.
The star that weakens enemies and reveals their vulnerable points.
Shiiiiiii—!
Radiating outward from the white ground, the space erupted in blue light.
The undead caught in its glow began to move with sluggish, labored motions.
At the same time, blue lines and dots inscribed themselves across various parts of their bodies, glimmering with an ethereal brilliance.
– Everyone, aim for the marks!
Before Astremia had finished speaking, Fendrick charged forward, his blade cutting through the air with sharp, relentless precision.
A dogged swordsman’s strike, targeting only the weak points Astremia revealed.
His stance and footwork were still awkward, yet his force was unmatched.
“…….”
Rosalia, having already dispatched most of the living black mages and priests, now methodically cut down the undead one by one with fluid grace.
I couldn’t simply stand idle.
“Go. Peck them all to shreds.”
– Caw!
The blind raven launched from my eye socket and darted nimbly around, driving its beak through the blue marks covering each zombie’s body.
The radiance of Artein’s Divine Beast protected all equally, even Evil God’s extensions.
– Goooo!
Amused by our efforts, Maku danced freely through the air, devouring nightmares as it went.
I paused for a moment to hold it close, swaying our bodies joyfully side to side.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
– Goo!
More than half of the Nightmare World—that desolate realm where only suffocating silence and shadow had dwelt—had transformed into pristine white space.
Pure dreams enough to trigger the ardent detection of the Sky Invader’s noble sense.
Evil nightmares were fading, replaced by a sublime dreamscape that offered glimpses of the future—and it was nearly complete.
– …Goo.
Maku, its front legs draped across my shoulders as it swayed, suddenly fixed its gaze on something distant with an unusual intensity.
A natural reaction, exactly as foreseen.
‘About a hundred and fifty seconds left, then.’
If that was the case, the time had come.
Boom.
From far off, heavy footsteps began to reverberate.
It was coming.
The final phase of exploring the Nightmare World.
A monster that no strategy could defeat—not yet, anyway.
Thud. Boom. Thud.
A giant who simply walks toward us, yet trembles the earth beneath like an earthquake.
The Undead King.
Fully liberated from the constraints of sleep by the world’s distortion caused as the Nightmare was absorbed—this thing was now approaching us.
With the darkness lifted, only now could we see its true form properly.
Crackle!
An abhorrent visage that would repel even the exalted.
A colossal rotting corpse of a body whose very mechanics of movement and support defied comprehension, and atop a face the size of a boulder, a single eye socket set in lonely isolation.
The presence and aura that matched its brutal appearance struck our minds in an instant of vertigo.
“…Ah…”
Fendrick and Rosalia staggered where they stood, if only for a moment.
Had Maku’s radiance not shielded us, all three would have collapsed outright.
Of course, had we not been able to summon Maku—a mechanism possible only within dream-space—we would never have attempted to clear this place in the first place.
“Do not lose courage!”
I called out again, clinging to Maku’s soft form.
“It cannot reach us in time!”
The final phase was not about defeating the Undead King.
It was about enduring the psychological shock that arose as this heavy giant approached.
“Hngh…”
“…Does fate draw near?”
The few dark mages and priests still alive were crushed beneath the Undead King’s momentum and fell one by one.
Since those who had resurrected them from death had all been felled, the undead themselves collapsed without strength.
Thud.
Now only one task remained.
To endure, tenaciously.
“Both of you, come here.”
I gathered the expedition members and embraced Maku with unified will.
“I beg you—please finish this before we fall.”
— Roooar!
Artein’s Divine Beast cried out as if to say trust only in it, accelerating the rate at which it drew in the Nightmare.
《Estimated time remaining until all Nightmares are absorbed: approximately 80 seconds!》
The text inscribed in the Eye of Piercing Truth, returned to my eye socket, carried an unusual excitement.
I’m thrilled too.
How could I not be delighted, exploring like this while crossing the threshold of death several times over?
Boom!
As the Undead King closed the distance, the earth roared so violently it became hard to stand upright.
The crushing psychological pressure emanating from its eye grew ever more intense.
— Just a bit longer! Everyone, hold on!
I held Maku tight and endured, meeting that enormous single eye with my gaze—when it happened.
— …Roar?
The Divine Beast, desperately inhaling the Nightmare through its nostrils, suddenly flinched.
My eyes widened involuntarily as well.
Whoosh!
From empty air itself, a sudden rainfall of flames poured down, incinerating the Undead King’s massive frame.
Life Mystery.
A ninth-tier secret of the Watcher of Lonely Silence—one that bestows an immense amount of life force upon its target.
The Undead King, who had been slowly walking while fixing its gaze upon us, now suddenly exhibited vast vitality and began dashing forward at high speed.
‘…It’s running?’
A new pattern that should not exist.
My heart pounds at this unforeseen variable.
《Just now, that foul-smelling body gained greater stability!》
The reason for this sudden turn of events was swiftly analyzed by the Eye of Piercing Truth on my behalf, given that my own condition was far from optimal.
The cause was simpler than expected.
《The Undead King’s body has been saturated with the dark secret of Leria! To be precise—the ‘Evil God’s Supreme Being, Leria’ from a thousand years hence.》
The Nightmare World’s timeline exists a thousand years in the future, after the demons have come to rule all creation.
Unlike reality, the Watcher of Lonely Silence has there annihilated the divine forces and reigns supreme over the world.
With such abundant faith, the blessing bestowed upon a ninth-tier undead would be mere pittance—hardly worth accounting.
《Originally, divine essence was never meant to materialize within this Labyrinth. This must have just been newly born. The reason? Even I cannot fathom it!》
I understand well enough.
Labyrinth Reinforcement.
A mechanism that activates with certain probability only in Labyrinths of B-rank and above.
Normally, the Nightmare World wouldn’t produce phenomena like this at C-rank, but has any Labyrinth ever truly favored the explorers?
These were clearly new content additions—much like the recent siblings from the ‘L’ family.
“This… this is getting rather difficult…”
– Fendrick!
As the Undead King closed the distance with alarming speed, Fendrick crumpled.
His experience was the least developed among us, and the enormous pressure bearing down on his mind had finally become unbearable.
Maku descended urgently to ground level and shielded his head with her body, but it was only a temporary measure.
“…….”
Rosalia’s condition was scarcely better.
Her complexion had turned ashen, and she was wavering on her feet—I caught her quickly to keep her from falling.
The only one still standing relatively intact was me, having clung to Maku far longer than the other two members.
“…Haah.”
Though I wasn’t faring much better myself.
My mind had grown distant, and all strength had drained from my body—I was on the verge of collapse.
If I lowered my guard for even an instant, I would crumple like paper.
《Thirty seconds remain.》
《That’s all we have left! Hold on somehow!》
This wasn’t the moment to savor new patterns.
Clinging desperately to consciousness as it grew ever more distant, I withdrew a small stone statue from the pocket dimension of my staff with trembling hands.
The Fire-Containing Cobra.
An idol embodying the majesty and dominion emanating from the Watcher of Lonely Silence.
“Leria.”
Covering my eyes with my palms to honor the quiet silence of that serene being, I offered a prayer—deliberately choosing words that would please them.
My translation, rendered for maximum effect.
“An eternal moment of silence. I yearn to hold within my breast the forever of the starlit night where your gaze rests. I beseech you for gentle grace, laden with the longing of destiny’s inescapable wheel.”
A prayer-translation.
– Just look once.
“I beg that you do not turn away from my cry piercing the abyss.
Ordinarily, such words would fall on deaf ears, but my prayer would reach. Because I possess the trait Fanatic—unconditional favor from all Evil Gods.
My prayer, perfectly crafted to strike at their preferences, had found its way to the depths below.
Whoosh.
The Life Mystery cascaded down upon us as well.
Not burning heat, but a warm, living flame—the fire of life itself.
【O Watcher of Silence, come from ages past.】
And then.
A voice so quiet it seemed to suffocate sounded within my mind.
【You have kindled the eternal wrath of the Divine through fleeting ignorance beyond reproach. Yet considering your base petition and the spark of possibility yet to bloom, I shall withdraw the flame of judgment.】
– Roaaaah!
Displeased by the Evil God’s presence, Maku roared loudly while rapidly absorbing the nightmare.
The Undead King’s legs, now only a few paces away, began to tremble violently.
【If you tread once more upon the dominion of silence, your spirit and flesh shall burn in extreme flame until the day time itself greets its twilight. Remember this well.】
I would certainly remember it deeply.
“I am but grateful for such boundless grace, O Watcher of Lonely Silence.”
Only after the Evil God, having issued their stern warning, withdrew could I finally gather my wits and lift my head.
– Roooooaaah!
The moment Maku absorbed even the last, most desolate darkness.
A world now covered in nothing but pristine white was complete.
A pure dream realm.
A world filled only with bright, clean light and warmth newly stirring.
A noble world where smiles came unbidden—one where no impurity could ever take root.
– The giant… it’s disappearing!
The Undead King was caught in the snow-white light, dissolving slowly from its head downward.
Only about five steps remained, by giant reckoning.
Thwarted by the narrowest of margins from crushing us, the Undead King glared at me with venomous fury.
“Right. You’d be furious.”
But so was I.
A strategy that relied on the Evil God’s mercy? On sheer fortune?
This was not the kind of expedition I wanted.
“…Next time, in another Labyrinth, let’s settle this properly.”
The Undead King was a demon that had existed since the distant ancient past.
The Labyrinth in which it appeared was not confined to a single Nightmare World.
“And should we meet again, then you will hold your breath, praying that death does not come for you.”
It would be some time before that day arrived, but eventually I would bring it down cleanly.
A perfect conquest with no luck involved, no room for doubt.
That is the kind of exploration I pursue.
“Farewell.”
The Undead King, which had been trudging forward with stubborn resolve until the end, scattered into pure white petals.
The corpses of demon priests and dark sorcerers strewn all around us were being purified into pristine white as well.
Ding.
Soon a crimson gate leading outside rose up before us.
Accompanied by a single snow-white Treasure Chest.
《The formidable Labyrinth, the Nightmare World, has been conquered without incident. The Forerunner of Twisted Truth standing before your achievements is clapping their hands in unstinting praise!》
It was the most grueling exploration yet, but also the most rewarding one coming to a close.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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