Bab 20: [Dantalian](5/6)
I tried to do some weird things in this chapter, and in the end, I felt like the chapter itself was weird.
I don't know, I just took a deep breath and wrote what I had in mind while trying to do something a little different, I kinda failed and succeeded at the same time.
Let me know if there's anything untranslated or any really concerning errors in the translation, I'll try to fix them as soon as possible.
Enjoy the reading!
[Word Count: 2.600]
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[Demonic Castle]
"My King, General 'Arno' has not yet returned from his Mission. The other generals are asking for him to be declared Dead or even as a Deserter, if he's still alive." A feminine figure with pink hair and large horns commented while kneeling in front of a large and menacing Throne.
"-...-" The target of her "report," who was seated on the throne, remained silent for some time, seeming to be deep in thought.
After seconds that felt like they lasted as long as minutes, the figure seated on the throne opened his eyes, which glowed with a scarlet red light.
"He's dead. Something killed him." A distorted voice with a mature tone came from the figure seated on the throne, revealing the sudden information that seemed to have just been gathered.
"!!" The woman's eyes widened in horror as she heard the news that her apparent King had given.
"Send a scout to retrieve his body and prepare a squad to follow this scout, we need to find out what killed him so easily." The King gave the final order before closing his eyes again, leaving no room for discussion.
"...I understand, my Lord. The Demon King's Order is absolute." The woman used a broken and somewhat confused phrase as she accepted her King's orders, mentally shaken by the news of General 'Arno's' death.
The woman rose and left after the proper farewells, leaving the dark and dimly lit room resonating with the demonic figure of the Demon King seated on his throne.
'The death of a General is not so simple. Concerns only increase when a battle hasn't even taken place...' The Demon King thought as his fists clenched lightly on his throne.
'Something dangerous has appeared. Something that will interfere with my plans.' A red aura covered the Demon King's body before disappearing completely, causing the room to return to absolute silence as the figure of the Demon King and his throne seemed to blend with the heavy atmosphere.
...
...
...
Fifteen minutes had passed, and Vesper had completely healed Serie, making sure to take a few extra minutes to ensure Serie's physical condition, as he didn't want to risk anything.
"What was the Reward?" Serie asked Vesper as they moved towards the exit of the Room, ready to continue exploring the Dungeon.
"A weapon. A very good weapon." Vesper replied, humming a bit at the end, quite happy to remember the Weapon he had received as a reward.
"At least the reward was good. I had never seen that type of Monster before; it would normally be the Final Boss of a Dungeon." Serie sighed with relief after hearing Vesper's response; it would be extremely strange and annoying not to receive something of appropriate level after going through such great difficulty.
"Hm." Vesper nodded in confirmation. "That monster is among the strongest Monsters I've faced; it would be strange if the reward wasn't as good." He would definitely be very dissatisfied if he had gone through that danger for nothing.
'Looking at it from that angle, I was quite foolish to activate that circle without any preparation. I could return at any time, but Serie...' Vesper glanced at the small Elf walking beside him before looking at the door they were approaching.
'It seems things aren't as simple as I thought they would be. I'll need to contact Mr.G. soon; I have no more magical knowledge to learn for now. It's the perfect time to focus on Mr.G.'s studies and try to find a solution to this feeling.' Vesper referred to a sharp sensation that arose in his chest whenever he thought that Serie could have died because of him; this sensation was probably the 'Fear of Loss.' He didn't die, but that didn't mean everything was okay. At least, not anymore.
Both arrived in front of the door, which emitted a small glow and opened, allowing the duo to continue exploring the Dungeon, which was strangely empty in this part. Instead of several paths, there was only one wide and straight corridor, dark and devoid of any life detected by the [Map], which was activated as their exploration continued.
Serie and Vesper spent several minutes walking in comfortable silence while worrying about their situation. It was strange even for Vesper, the situation they were in: unable to find Monsters.
'Any suggestions?'
[Response: The Mana in the air is broken, full of holes. It's as if something has devoured the beings that filled a given space and left nothing behind but 'absence'.]
'A rather problematic Ability.' Vesper's mood worsened a bit before improving suddenly, like a roller coaster. He became worried about Serie's safety, but then, he became enthusiastic again thinking about encountering another strong opponent who would use new powers.
That's how he worked and would work, and Serie wasn't a damsel in distress who couldn't fight. She would probably win every fight she encountered against the native beings of this World, which wasn't a simple feat considering that some things in this World could be quite... threatening, to certain types of forces.
'And not to mention-' Vesper stopped in his tracks while looking at the Map, his eyes slightly widened.
Serie noticed Vesper's strange action and stopped too, turning to him with a puzzled expression.
"What's wrong, Vesper?" She asked with a slightly worried tone; such a sudden and exaggerated reaction couldn't mean anything good.
"I detected something, a relatively strong presence." Vesper's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the Map, which displayed a purple dot instead of the usual red dots he was accustomed to.
"As strong as that little boss we encountered?" Serie questioned a bit concerned; the Dungeon didn't seem to want to give them a break.
"I can't say for sure, but I can guarantee that it's stronger than all the normal Monsters that were in the Dungeon before that little boss." Vesper shook his head, avoiding to state the strength of the being accurately, as it was truly impossible to discover for now.
'Maybe it has to do with that demonic trait I had felt before. If so, then demons are more dangerous than I thought.' Vesper tensed his body as he walked ahead, knowing that he could withstand at least one blow. That way, Serie wouldn't be in unnecessary danger, as the opponent could have something to overcome her defensive Magic, and that would be lethal for a surprise attack.
Serie simply followed Vesper, silently, while gripping her staff tighter.
(A/N: There's something in the final notes involving this sentence above ^)
Vesper and Serie walked for a few more minutes, getting closer and closer to the strange Purple Dot. From a certain point, the structure of the Floor and the surroundings changed in a strange way, causing the stone walls to be replaced by strange marble.
'It's close.' Vesper's senses warned him as he clenched his fists, imbuing Spiral Energy into both to face any possible attack.
As they continued walking, a small purple light appeared several meters in front of them.
This sudden light made both Vesper and Serie go on high alert, causing Vesper to prepare to strike in the direction of whatever might come, confident in his strength, while a magical circle appeared at the tip of Serie's staff.
"-Welcome.-"
A distorted voice that slowly shifted to a childish and mature tone echoed through the vast darkness, sending shivers down Serie and Vesper's bodies. It was absurdly uncomfortable and somewhat terrifying to hear such a tone in an extremely dark place.
'The local darkness seems unnatural; I should at least be able to see a little.' Vesper thought, a little concerned. They seemed to have entered the opponent's Domain without realizing it.
"Who are you?" A simple and direct question came from Vesper, directed towards the strange light.
"-I am KIng, GOd, DEMOn.-" The Voice seemed to 'stutter' as it pronounced some strange words, trying to generate a response that seemed like it would never come. It was as if there were several alternatives, and none of them were correct.
The Spiral Energy in Vesper's fists intensified, creating a small layer around his fists. Things were getting more and more serious; the uncomfortable sensation that this...thing's Voice conveyed was no joke.
"-Welcome.-"
The same word as before resonated through the environment, while Vesper and Serie felt that the escape route had disappeared.
"?!" Both looked back in surprise; this kind of thing would normally only happen-
[You have encountered the Dungeon Boss.]
[The final part of the Dungeon has just begun.]
[Kill the Dungeon Boss or die to it so you can leave.]
"Serie...be careful. As you probably already guessed, we are in the presence of the Dungeon Boss." Vesper, still facing backward, notified Serie, who widened her eyes before nodding with a serious look.
"-Welcome.-" The distorted voice echoed again as a heavy step reverberated through the darkness, causing Vesper and Serie to turn forward again.
"-Welcome.-" The Voice seemed strangely close, as if it were right next to them.
It wasn't like it was right next to them.
When Vesper looked forward, his eyes widened in horror, receiving the possibly greatest scare of his short life.
The source of the voice WAS in front of them.
Threatening red eyes and a highly deformed head, accompanied by two long horns. That was the description that fit perfectly with what was in front of Vesper's head, with both noses almost touching.
There was no chance to feel that the situation was strange, to feel uncomfortable, or even to complain; all of that had been erased, leaving only Fear remaining.
Vesper's arm moved instinctively towards the creature, causing his arm to almost disappear due to the speed at which it moved.
BOOOOOOOM
An extremely loud explosion echoed through the vast darkness, which seemed to embrace the sound generated by the impact of Vesper's punch.
At the same instant that the sound of impact echoed, the sound of metal scraping against marble followed the sound of the explosion, signaling that whatever had been hit had been thrown away, sliding across the floor.
'THIS is dangerous, the foot of this thing didn't leave the ground when it was thrown away.' Vesper's eyes narrowed slightly as he had a simple certainty: that [Gaping Dragon] would have been sent flying with that Punch he just gave, while this...creature didn't even leave the ground when the Punch hit it.
"This thing is stronger than that Dragon, Serie. Be careful." Vesper warned the Elf, who became nervous but quickly overcame that nervousness with a strange determination that reflected in her previously indifferent eyes.
Vesper's eyes moved to the exact direction where the creature was located, with red eyes shining in the darkness. Red eyes that seemed absurdly threatening due to the ambiance and atmosphere generated by various past actions.
[Spiegel (Space-Time Mutation) - Form: Demon King-Dantalian]
[Threat Level: Menacing (Original) --> Devastating (Current-Mutation)]
'This thing...! It's dangerous, very dangerous.' Vesper became instantly serious as he felt the atmosphere around the creature changing.
"-Welcome.-" The distorted voice repeated its phrase again, but this time, it seemed to be welcoming them to something more special. Something that was indeed of this thing.
Spiegel's first and greatest spectacle; he was welcoming both of them as his first guests, and ultimately, the actors of his new stage.
The Premiere of his dungeon.
END
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Well, introductory chapter done. I'm trying to do some world-building here and there.
But anyway, I'll talk about some important points.
...
I'll probably make a chapter focused on Serie's POV to give a better understanding of what she's feeling (not sure about this). It's not Love or anything like that, at least, I hope not.
Serie is an Elf, and the Elves of Sousou no Frieren are TERRIBLE with Emotions and Feelings as a whole; Frieren herself only discovered that she felt something for Himmel after his Death, several years later. And she's not even sure about it, still trying to fully understand her feelings.
And it's necessary to consider that Frieren is the Elf with the most Emotions so far, which is quite strange in a way. But anyway, I think my Point got across. Serie will slowly develop her emotions; she'll be a Kuudere most of the time, regardless of what develops in the future (a stronger friendship or even romance, that won't change her Kuudere side).
So a chapter focused on Serie's POV might end up being quite useful to show more of what she's thinking during those strange moments when she's silent, staring at Vesper, or even what she was feeling during those years she spent with Vesper.
I hope to be able to develop something minimally cool, even if it's just a feeling of friendship.
(I personally don't worry too much about making a good romantic development, since in most Fanfics I've read, most of them are resolved with just a 'I can't handle him in bed alone, so I'll let others do it', while others fall in love with the protagonist because he's handsome and stuff like that. So I won't focus on trying to make the greatest romantic development ever, but I hope to be able to write something better than that.)
...
About this 'THING' that appeared, it's quite faithful to the original Boss that appeared in this Dungeon in Frieren; the difference is that he's immensely strengthened by the anomaly happening in the Dungeon and ended up catching something involving the Demon that was there: General 'Arno'.
In short, Spiegel doesn't just copy the Person in front of him now, but rather the strongest thing in that Person's memory, while this copied thing will be greatly strengthened in exchange for only one copy being able to exist (it's necessary to erase the current one to create another).
So, yeah. I don't know the exact strength of the Demon Lord of Frieren since there's almost no information about him, but I theorize that he's at least capable of destroying a Country, considering Frieren's strength and some other Characters, who are quite capable of decimating entire cities (only the strongest characters in the work, not any wizard).
That's why I decided to leave his reinforced version with this threat level: "Devastating: Enemies with the potential to cause large-scale destruction, threatening entire regions," which means that in one day this guy can destroy an entire Region if left alone.
...
And finally, the balancing.
To not make Vesper punch and kill everyone, I'm giving reasons for certain beings to become stronger. Much stronger.
But I'm also avoiding making Vesper weaker or diminishing his feats; so he won't just start losing for no reason.
I hate Nerfs, but I also hate it when the Protagonist just wins everything without difficulty, so I try to convey a sense of equality in the fights, but it's quite difficult with my writing level.
...
With all that said...
Any suggestions?
(Here)
Have a good day/good afternoon/good night.
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