Dungeon Defense (WN)

* * *

***

– I’m so relieved.

The oldest memory he had was that of a greatly contorted face.

She was a beautiful girl. Men found words like ‘beautiful’ and ‘girl’ to be embarrassing. They weren’t words that men should utter. This was a rather aggressive way of thinking, but it was an era where you could only survive if you wore that aggressiveness around you like armor.

Among the many races of demons, the man was one of the prideful tiger beastmen. He had been on the battlefield for a hundred years and he had just now met his end. He died instantaneously after being impaled through the heart by a knight’s sword. ……That was definitely what had happened, but why did he see a girl before him?

Tears were flowing down from her eyes.

– I’m so relieved……you are alive.

The tears were clearly falling on the man’s cheek. The sensation felt foreign to him. It didn’t feel cold or hot. It only felt like something was falling and colliding against his cheek.

The girl continued to cry. Her face was a mess of tears and snot.

This is troubling, the man thought. His memories were slowly returning to him. The girl in front of him was his lord. His lord who possessed beautiful optimism. He wanted to follow that belief to the end of the world. That was why he left his home and took up her banner.

– Are you crying because of this humble one, Your Highness?

– No.

She sobbed heavily as she spoke.

The girl could no longer speak. Her crying had swallowed her voice. This is troubling, the man thought once more. His dull-wittedness must have made the girl cry. How could he make his lord cry? He was a disgrace as a subordinate.

– I have disgraced your death. I ridiculed your conviction as a warrior.

– What do you mean?

– You fought splendidly and fell splendidly in battle. Meeting your end like that would have been the greatest end for you as a warrior. However……I have revived you. I am sorry…….

The man looked down at his hands. His right hand with brilliant copper fur was nowhere to be seen. All he saw was the rotten hand of a corpse. Is that so? The man thought. I died and came back to life…….

– I defiled your life and creed. I’m sorry……I’m truly sorry…….

According to an old saying, warriors are those who are honest to a fault and meet their ends in a single ultimate moment. The girl was the lord of those individuals. She knew better than anyone else how wrong it was to deny the death of a warrior.

– Do you require this humble one again?

– Yeah. I’m sorry. I didn’t know until now, but it seems I was a helplessly foolish child.

The girl laughed. The ends of her mouth were trembling. She was just barely able to maintain the awkward smile on her tear-ridden face. It was a mess.

– Life is unbearable since you guys are gone. I don’t feel like I’m alive. A world without your cheering and laughter simply feels cold to me. I’m sorry. Because of my selfishness……could you please live one more time?

He already knew fairly well that the girl before him was unexpectedly fragile. There was a time where he and his comrades had a discussion about this in secret. It was incredibly impious to think this, but it might have been better if their lord hadn’t been born as a Demon Lord.

She was a sincere person and, above all else, she was someone who couldn’t lie to herself. She accepted being born as a Demon Lord and clearly understood what it meant to live as one. While other Demon Lords were satisfied with the authority they had, the girl was the only one to raise her battle scythe and continue forward.

The man smiled. Was he capable of smiling after becoming a living corpse? He wasn’t confident; however, he wanted to tell the crying girl that it was all right now.

He had been swayed by her a long time ago and he had already resolved himself to always live as a warrior.

– A hundred years ago, I vowed to support Your Lordship till the day I die, but……it seems I am lucky. I can continue to work for your sake even after death. Lord, be it once, twice, a hundred, or even a thousand times, I, Ulain, will always live for your sake.

So please stop crying, the man asked.

– Our lord whom we are proud of, Barbatos.

The girl’s face crumpled up again. Her expression contorted before she started to sob again. It wasn’t like earlier where she was crying calmly. She was sobbing so loudly that it could be heard from every direction. The man raised his right hand to pat the girl’s head.

– …….

However, he stopped once he noticed how unsightly his hand had become. He was no different from a zombie now.

On the other hand, the girl’s white hair was radiant. The man couldn’t forgive himself if he sullied such a magnificent work of art. ……From now on, he will most likely never be able to touch the girl’s head. The man accepted this fact, but also felt bitter about it.

Grab.

Something grabbed the man’s hand at that moment. The girl had grabbed his hand with hers. The man was surprised. Come to think of it, his lord had the ability to read the minds of demons. She didn’t let go of his hand even as she continued to cry.

This is troubling, the man thought as he tightened his grip as well. He still couldn’t feel any heat, but something warmer than any sort of heat was being transferred to him. It was being transmitted to him directly without any tampering whatsoever…….

This was how <Death Knights> were born.

A total of 500.

They were all equipped with pitch-black armor from head to toe. They claimed that it was for the sake of raising their defensive power, but the truth was different. They didn’t want their lord to see their bodies that had become living corpses. A look of guilt would appear on their lord’s face whenever she saw their bodies. They didn’t want that.

These individuals who were able to serve their lord again for a second time raised their swords proudly.

– Now then. Let us go forward, brothers, fellow Walkure.

– Here and now, we are an invincible and immortal army. Here and now, we have already died, so we cannot die again. Thus, we will never know defeat.

– Gods, please look over us. Valhalla is here on the surface.

Their lord’s smile eventually returned. She started to joke around like usual.

This alone was enough to satisfy the death knights. That’s right. They didn’t need to go to some heaven in the sky. If they could see their lord smile and fight by her side, then they were already in heaven.

On the day the Goddesses no longer granted a future for their lord, then they too would become dust and disappear since they lived on their lord’s magic. They would be meeting their end together with their comrades and their lord. That was enough. They couldn’t ask for anything more. This was what the man thought.

Before that damned brat showed up.

* * *

“…….”

Death Knight Ulain became silent.

If he were actually alive, then he would probably be sweating profusely right now. It was a relief that he was already dead. Seriously. The girl before him was that enraged.

“These……are Dantalian’s fingers?”

The girl gnashed her teeth as she spoke in a shaking voice.

Death Knight Ulain immediately thought of the perfect answer to this. ―Yes, they are. They are the fingers of that son of a bitch, Your Highness. Why are you so upset? Is it not normal for someone to lose a finger or two on a battlefield?

If anything, this is a good thing. I never liked that brat in the first place. He looks incredibly feeble despite being Your Highness’ lover. I thought that brat was a woman the first time I saw him. Seriously! How does he intend to get anything done looking like that? It’s ridiculous. He should go die somewhere.

It’s good that he lost his fingers! If he has an injury, then even a dandy-looking guy like him would look a little more manly. While we’re at it, I want to make a deep knife mark on that guy’s face. That’s the only way to fix this. Please allow me to make that brat into a true man, Your Highness.

―It took only 2 seconds for him to think of this answer. It was easy. The Death Knight had always contemplated what he could do to most effectively screw that brat over.

It wasn’t just Ulain. Dantalian was a common enemy for the other death knights as well.

Their lord had preserved her purity for no less than 2,000 years. And he took it! Their lord also looks only 12 or 13 years old on the outside too!

He doesn’t deserve a normal death.

All 500 of the death knights agreed with this. However, their opinions differed on the method of death. Let’s fry him alive, let’s cook him alive, let’s flay him, let’s hack all of his limbs, let’s throw him to the orcs, let’s drown him in the ocean, etc. A total of 36 ideas were suggested, but Ulain personally liked the idea of punching Dantalian’s face until he died.

However, contrary to his inner thoughts, Ulain answered courteously.

– Yes, Your Highness. They are undoubtedly Dantalian’s left index finger and middle finger.

Barbatos’ shoulders shook.

“What fucker……did this?”

– Dantalian told us to tell Your Highness the following: We do not know who ordered the attack on me. We suspect that it may have been one of the archdukes of hell.

Barbatos slammed her fist on a table. The wooden table shattered helplessly. She had to take a couple of deep breaths to calm her anger down.

“I definitely announced that Dantalian is my close aide and lover. By attacking him, they are saying that they don’t care that he is under my protection. I don’t know who did this, but I’ll show them hell.”

Aah, Ulain despaired on the inside. His lord used to always be calm and collected, but she got caught by a rotten dandy.…… Aah, our proud lord is…….

He wanted to tell her the truth immediately. He wanted to tell her that it wasn’t the attackers who cut those fingers but Dantalian himself. Thus, he was making a scene all by himself. Unfortunately, he was currently Dantalian’s subordinate. He had yet to fully accept Dantalian as his lord, but he could not betray his lord even if it was only by name.

Ulain deliberately said ‘Dantalian told us to tell Your Highness the following’ so that his lie wouldn’t be revealed. It was true that that was what Dantalian had said. Ulain didn’t lie.

“This was probably done by the archdukes under the Mountain Faction, those fuckers. If we weren’t already near the capital, then I would’ve personally descended on those hells……. Fuck, is that why they did this now? Those rutting mutts.”

Barbatos fumed.

“I’ll give you a hundred knights. Go fuck up the culprit.”

– Your Highness! That is too many!

Ulain complained.

Barbatos was currently leading an army of 5,000. Among them, she had roughly 500 death knights. If she dispatches a hundred of them, then that would be no different from removing 10% of her entire army.

They were soon going to enter a large battle against the human army with the capital of Habsburg on the line. Dispatching 10% of your troops at this time would definitely not be a wise thing to do.

“It’s fine.”

Barbatos remained firm.

“My legion is not the only one that is going to be fighting this time. The other legions are also rushing here like a bunch of frogs with their asses on fire, so there’s no way we would lose even if my numbers decreased a little.”

– But Your Highness, there is always a chance that something may happen…….

“Hey, hey. I also know that you guys don’t particularly like Dantalian.”

Barbatos let out a sigh.

“But think about it, you brat. Okay? What would happen to my honor if people found out that I did nothing after my close aide got attacked? The other Demon Lords would probably be delighted to have another thing to tease me about.”

– …….

“Of course, I’m also angry that Dantalian got hurt. I acknowledge that. However, my honor is more important. If you don’t step on a bug, then they’ll never know that they’re a bug. So think of it as doing something for your original master even if you dislike Dantalian. Okay?”

– ……Understood. As you command.

Ulain gave a salute.

She was right. A ruler’s dignity must always be prioritized. It was only right to be scolded since his distaste toward Dantalian made him forget about this. However, instead of scolding him, she consoled him instead. Ulain could only be grateful.

Ulain returned to hell with a hundred of his comrades the next day. The death knights were disappointed to leave Barbatos’ side when a huge battle was going to be happening soon, but protecting their lord’s dignity was also as important. They obeyed her order faithfully.

Barbatos gave them one last word before sending them back.

“Oh right. I’m saying this for caution’s sake, but don’t kill Dantalian and say that it was an accident during a fight. You guys will die by my hands, then.”

– …….

Tsk, starting from Ulain, all of the death knights clicked their tongues in their minds. It seems that Dantalian’s life was going to last a lot longer than expected. Unfortunately.

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. I totally forgot to release this chapter yesterday. Sorry about that. I don’t know how it slipped my mind entirely. I think I subconsciously thought that I had already released a chapter the day before, so I didn’t think about it too much. Welp. This means the next chapter will probably be out by tomorrow, so I guess it’s not a bad thing? 

I wonder if this death knight is going to have a more prominent role now. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!