I immediately started descending the stairs leading down to the 10th floor. This particular one was quite a bit longer than the previous stairs I had encountered, stretching deep into the earth.
But after walking for what felt like several minutes, I finally reached the bottom, and there—
"Oh..."
I was greeted by a massive, sprawling open space that took my breath away for a second.
It was exactly like I was standing in a grand throne room, which was honestly a bit expected seeing as the whole theme of this dungeon had been a ruined castle since the very beginning. The scale of the room was enormous, much larger than any of the floors above.
Starting right from the base of the stairs, there was a long, wide red carpet that stretched all the way across the hall. It was riddled with holes and frayed edges, clear signs that it had been rotting away for a very long time.
As the carpet continued toward the far end of the room, massive stone pillars stood on either side of it. They were engraved with strange symbols and supported the high, vaulted ceiling.
The room was surprisingly well-lit. Torches were mounted at regular intervals along the walls, and several large chandeliers hung from above, still holding flickering candles that cast a steady glow over everything.
Then, at the very end of that long-ass carpet— I saw a black throne.
And sitting right there, staring directly at me, was something that I honestly thought was just a dried-up corpse at first.
That was until he slowly turned his head to look at me the moment I stepped into his view. It was crepy.
He was thin— unnaturally thin. His body looked like it had been stretched over bone, with skin clinging tightly to a frame that seemed way too long for a normal human. Tattered robes hung from his bony shoulders; they were dark and heavy, looking almost fused in places to his dried flesh as if the fabric and the body had rotted together over the centuries.
"Are you the king of this place?"
I asked that, not really expecting a coherent answer from something that looked so dead. But to my surprise—
-That is right. I am the king.
The guy actually answered me. He even managed a smile, which was incredibly scary because his whole face was basically just a bare skull with skin stretched over it.
-I was previously the royal mage of this palace. But I turned against the royal family and cursed every single soul in this castle! I sacrificed all of their miserable lives just to gain immortality, but the gods condemned me for it.
He sat up slightly, his voice raspy and full of old spite.
-They made my body rot like this, and they trapped me in this ruined castle for centuries. Those bastards were just angry because I was trying to become a god just like them!
And then, after that initial outburst, he started launching into his full life story. He went on and on, expressing his deep-seated hate for the gods who had imprisoned him here.
’I really did not ask for his whole life story, but whatever... I will just think of this as an unskippable cutscene.’
I thought to myself as I slowly reached down to put Onyx on the stairs. I whispered to him to stay there where it was safe.
-I swear that I will have my revenge on them! So while I was trapped in this shitty place— I trained in the dark arts. I learned dark magic. I was eventually able to make the corpses move again and serve me. I became a king once more!
The mage-king gestured around the empty room as if he could still see his subjects.
-And just recently, I finally found a loophole in the curse put onto me by those gods. I escaped their grasp and came back to the world as a monster! A dungeon master!
-HAHAHAHAHAHA—!
The weird guy continued his ranting story and started laughing like a total lunatic afterward. He did mention that he had been trapped alone in a place like this for centuries... I guess he was just really starved for a conversation.
It felt like he started talking to me and telling me his secrets simply because he had no one else to brag to, even though I was a total stranger.
’He really gives off a narcissistic vibe... he wanted to talk about himself so bad he could not help it, huh.’
Anyway, this one clearly understood me, and I could actually converse with him. He might be a monster now, but he was definitely intelligent and possessed a human-like ego.
Because of that, I decided to try using words instead of immediately fighting him. I just hoped he was logical and reasonable enough to listen to a proposal.
"Hey, just in case you are interested... do you want to form an alliance with me? Like, let’s team up."
I said that while looking directly at the master of the dungeon.
-Huh? And why would I ever do that...?
He asked, turning his head toward me again. I could not read his expression at all because there was almost no muscle left on his face to move.
But I just gave a casual shrug of my shoulders.
"I got here all on my own. I defeated every single monster on the way down here, and I even took out your Golden Knight... That just shows how strong I am. Isn’t that already a good enough reason?"
I told him that, keeping my voice steady.
-Hmm, you are right... this place was not designed to be cleared by just a single person. For you to do all of that by yourself means you are truly something special.
-It doesn’t even look like you’re hurt at all, how did you do it...?
The dungeon master mumbled to himself, nodding his skeletal head slowly.
-...
"..."
He remained silent for a while as if he was actually thinking things through and weighing the pros and cons of my offer. I did the same, standing still and waiting for his response.
Then, after a long silence—
-Okay. Let’s team up.
The dungeon master simply said that, smiling his toothy, skinless smile again.
’Well, that was easier than I thought.’
-Wait. Are you not a devotee of any of the gods? In the first place, why would you even suggest forming an alliance with me, a monster?
But then, his tone shifted to one of suspicion as he asked that follow-up question.
I started walking toward him, stepping slowly onto the long red carpet to close the distance. I opened my mouth and spoke plainly.
"Well, I just thought we were in a similar situation. So we might as well team up so we both increase our survival chances in this world, right?"
I stated that as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
-Similar situation? What do you mean by that?
The dungeon master asked, his voice echoing through the hall.
And without much thought, I decided to be honest.
"I am a vampire. I am an enemy of the gods and the world, just like you."
I told him that.
"It is also the reason why I had the strength to get through this place alone."
I added that as an afterthought. I figured that I could tell him this if we were going to be on the same team, especially since we were both technically immortals who had been shunned by society.
It’s a good thing to think about that I have someone who will be with me even after a long time.
-You are a vampire?
The dungeon master asked again, his hollow voice sounding intrigued.
I nodded my head in confirmation. But then, all of a sudden— [Danger Sense] flared up in the back of my mind!
SWISH— BOOM!
I ducked down instantly by instinct. A split second later, I avoided a black projectile that was about the size of a cannonball!
It flew right over where my head had been, hitting the ground behind me and exploding with a violent impact!
If it wasn’t for my skill, that thing would have hit me square in the chest.
I quickly turned my head back toward the dungeon master with a deep frown on my face. I was pissed.
"What the hell was that for?!"
I exclaimed.
The dungeon master just laughed, and that creepy smile returned to his face.
-I know all about you vampires. I know exactly where you came from and how you acquired your immortality. I studied the researches your kind made in the past to get myself immortalized as well, after all!
He declared that with a manic energy.
"Then why the fuck are you attacking me?"
I grumbled, feeling my patience wear thin.
He looked at me with his empty eye sockets, and his voice turned cold.
-As you can clearly see, my immortality is not perfect. My body has continued to age and decay into this pathetic state. It is weak compared to what you vampires have managed to achieve.
"So what of it?"
As I asked that question— SWOOSH~
Countless black circular objects started appearing in the air all around the dungeon master. [Danger Sense] started screaming at me again.
As I stared at the dark magic gathering around him—
-It has been my dream to have a real vampire test subject! With your body and my knowledge— I will finally become a true god!
The dungeon master shouted that, his voice echoing loudly in the empty throne room.
My frown deepened.
’I take it back. He is absolutely sick in the head... I don’t even know why he is telling me his entire plan. What an idiot.’
I thought that.
FWISH~
Then I pulled my sword from its sheath.