SSS-Rank Overlord: Defend the Dungeon or Die

Chapter 352: Side Story 18

The Behemoth Cult. At first, it had simply been a means to step out of the shadows. Now, however, black magicians had gathered under its banner, focusing on a single plan: swallowing the empire and amassing demonic energy. Their ultimate goal was to cross dimensions through the rifts. The plan, initiated based on information uncovered by a single person, was already nearing its final stages.

But an unexpected interference had thrown a wrench into the works.

’Radik. It was supposed to be nothing more than our first testing ground. How did things end up like this?’

He remembered persuading the dungeon’s troubled previous master into making a certain deal. They had planted a rift in the basement and monitored its progress. When the desired results failed to materialize, they had simply stopped paying attention to the place. However, the newly arrived Dungeon Master had messed with the rift, thoroughly getting on his nerves.

"Balak, what are your thoughts?"

"Since the expedition led by Duke Darun Solodos failed, it would be foolish to assemble soldiers again," Balak replied. "We can no longer consider it a mere B-grade dungeon."

The black magicians, gathered for the first time in months, murmured in agreement. Just as Balak said, seeing that a Transcendent had been defeated, this was absolutely not an opponent to take lightly. Even if it delayed their plan slightly, stepping forward to solve the problem themselves would be the wisest choice. The only issue was their complete lack of information on Radik, which had suddenly begun to grow.

"The magic cast previously when Bamus was there is also too suspicious to be the work of a mere B-grade Dungeon Master. Just looking at the sheer amount of mana, it was almost at the level of a 6th-circle magician or higher."

"Couldn’t it simply be that he got lucky and obtained a high-grade magician as a soldier?"

"Hehehe. That’s certainly possible," Balak chuckled. "But there’s no need to worry so much. I will personally handle this matter."

He was a black magician who had already gained enlightenment and entered the ranks of the 8th circle. Although he had never revealed himself on the continent due to his experiments with the rifts, he could easily subdue even Transcendents. The others gathered in the room knew of Balak’s skills, so they didn’t bother stopping him. Rather, their faces brightened as they nodded and accepted his proposal. But at that moment, the entire building began to shake.

A deafening boom shook the walls, followed by a heavy thud.

The interior dissolved into chaos at the sound of artillery fire. Just then, a cult member burst through the door to report on the situation outside.

"W-We have a huge problem! Dungeon soldiers have invaded the capital!"

"What?!"

Wasn’t the capital, Behelm, known across the continent as the Wailing Wall? And yet, dungeon soldiers had invaded the very heart of the Paslan Empire. The black magicians in the meeting room were beyond bewildered.

"Wow. So you guys were having a little conspiracy meeting in a place like this. I had no idea. Ha!" a voice echoed.

"T-That guy is?!"

To make matters worse, the mastermind behind the attack revealed himself. Balak pulled out his staff, glaring at the mirror floating in the air.

"Ugh. I can’t take this anymore. Dungeon Master!"

"Oho. You’re even tracing my mana. Trying to come over here? Sure, go ahead and do whatever you want."

"Don’t regret this!"

The mana pattern instantly entered Balak’s mind. At the same time, his body was teleported to the registered coordinates.

"Hehehe. We finally meet..."

The Hellfire blazing above Balak’s hands died down. He saw a single young man standing right in front of him. Balak, who had appeared so triumphantly, snapped his mouth shut.

"It’s been a while, hasn’t it?" the young man said.

"Y-You?!"

It was the only person who had ever commanded him as a subordinate.

"Where do you get off stealing my dungeon’s name? You wanna die?"

It was Taehyun.

---

Meanwhile, three Transcendents had gathered inside the blazing imperial palace.

"Darun Solodos gets taken down, and now even these monsters are swarming the place."

"From what I hear, it seems the black magicians overlooked them too. So, what’s everyone planning to do?"

At the question from the man with a longbow slung across his back, the other two shrugged. Their affection for the empire had already cooled. Their only goal was to participate in the plan to seize the continent itself. Even if they didn’t step forward, the situation would be sorted out by the Cult. Aside from the monsters invading certain sectors, they felt no need to intervene.

"Then I suppose we’re all heading back."

"Those oh-so-busy black magician lords will handle it themselves. We’ve suffered enough because of those rifts or whatever, so let’s just sit back and watch comfortably today."

The two dukes, who normally would have engaged in a battle of nerves over factional issues, were now of the same opinion. As the two left, Duke Jevil Philsrein remained behind and drew his bow.

’Should I quickly check out what kind of guys they are?’

Piqued by curiosity, he naturally headed outside. He immediately saw imperial citizens being slaughtered by dungeon soldiers, but his targets weren’t those grunts. Rather, his attention was drawn to the white-haired old man sitting on the opposite roof.

’Now that I look closely, that old magician has been interfering with the black magicians’ mana.’

To have the ability to infiltrate monsters while deceiving even the Cult, which possessed excellent detection skills... He was highly likely to be a high-circle magician.

’They said it was a mere B-grade dungeon. Let’s see what he’s got.’

Jevil nocked an arrow and smiled. If the old man could dodge an arrow from someone renowned across the continent as a divine archer, he would be a much more interesting opponent.

The bowstring twanged.

The arrow flew silently, its sound buried under the screams of the dying. At that moment, the hood of the old man, who had been bending over, slipped off.

"What. An... elf?"

The two pointed ears peeking through his blonde hair were genuine. However, what flustered Jevil even more was how the man had naturally dodged the arrow simply by straightening his back.

’...A coincidence? No, if he’s an elf, that changes things.’

Loading three arrows in rapid succession, Jevil curled his lips into a smirk and aimed precisely at the elf’s forehead.

Three arrows sliced through the air in a blur.

It was a rapid-fire shot that not even the most agile elf could dodge. But the old elf bent over again, nonchalantly avoiding the projectiles. Wait, did he really anticipate the attack and dodge it?

’What the hell is going on? It just looks like he keeps bending and straightening his upper body because his back hurts. Is it really a coincidence?’

Growing increasingly stubborn, Jevil scowled and continued to target him. Fierce arrows flew with practiced dexterity. One shot, two shots. Then dozens of shots. Before he knew it, all the arrows in his quiver were gone, but the old elf was just tapping his back with a groaning expression.

"Damn it. Is that bastard making fun of me right now?!" Jevil spat.

"Ouch. My back is killing me. Why did that damn Demonic King call me all the way out here to do... Hmm?"

Finally, the elf turned his head toward him. Only then did their gazes meet in mid-air. Jevil was the first to emit his aura and draw out his mana.

"Die, you elf!"

"Oho. You made arrows out of mana. Fascinating. However..."

With a light wave of his hand, the mana arrows vanished. Jevil, who had been pulling the bowstring with all his might, stumbled backward in panic. In a flash, the old elf teleported, thrusting his face right in front of Jevil’s.

"I don’t have the energy to play around with a young punk."

"W-What. My mana?!"

"Tsk. You were acting all tough with that pitiful amount of mana? I should get going now."

Jevil’s mana, which had refused to manifest as if it had been sealed, began to move again. The old elf suddenly vanished from before his eyes. Freed from the suffocating pressure, Jevil belatedly collapsed to the floor.

"...What in the world."

An elf magician who could render even a Transcendent powerless. His assumption that they were merely dungeon soldiers was completely wrong. Meanwhile, the monsters that had taken over the streets were disappearing one by one through portals to somewhere else. Swallowing hard, Jevil wiped away his cold sweat and struggled to his feet.

’It wasn’t just a B-grade dungeon. I have to tell the Cult about this immediately.’

Amidst the slowly scattering ashes, the attack was coming to an end.

---

"Right. It could just be a coincidence that the names are similar. But it’s only natural to be suspicious when a black magician uses that name. Especially a guy who goes around creating rifts everywhere."

The rift in the basement of Radik, the mastermind of the Behemoth Cult. And the black magicians’ plan to swallow the Paslan Empire. It was the black magician Balak who was trying to plunge the continent into chaos by creating rifts connected to other dimensions. Taehyun, sitting on the throne, tossed the mask in his hand and chuckled.

"Wow. But seeing you in person makes it even clearer, doesn’t it?"

Raymond remained silent.

"Why aren’t you saying anything? Say something. It’s been a long time."

The moldy-looking guy’s face twisted spectacularly. The mercenary contract had been dissolved as soon as he defeated Nikunbel in the Tainworth Dimension. Although they weren’t exclusive, the temporary mercenaries who were occasionally summoned had naturally gained their freedom as well. And one of them was...

"Isn’t that right, Raymond?"

The black magician, Raymond. At Taehyun’s question, Raymond broke into a cold sweat, his expression pained.

"T-Taehyun. How are you here?"

"Well, I’m wandering around here and there due to some circumstances. But wow, I never dreamed you’d be on this continent. I did hear you were doing some experiments occasionally, but it turns out it was about the rifts."

Raymond was at a loss for words.

"Oh, look at you. You meet your master after all this time, and you can’t even answer properly?"

His personality was even more vicious than before. Raymond, who had been hesitating for a moment, belatedly realized his mistake.

’No. That guy is just a Dungeon Master, then and now. I don’t know what happened, but there’s no need for me to be scared.’

For a Dungeon Master, the mana he possessed was considerable, but Raymond was an 8th-circle black magician. Even when checking for any separately hidden mana, there was absolutely nothing detected. Only then did Raymond manifest his magic again and break into a smile.

"Hehehe. I forgot for a moment. I don’t know what’s giving you the confidence to act so arrogant, but do you still consider me your subordinate?"

"...Wow."

"Come to think of it, your situation is funny too. You suffered so much over there, and now you’re playing Dungeon Master here too. What a truly pitiful fate."

The system forcibly summoned humans from other dimensions and made them operate dungeons. He knew very well that Dungeon Masters fought life-or-death battles every time.

’That’s why I brought a part of that system through the rift.’

The rift was now on the verge of completion. There was no reason to be held back by a remnant of the past after coming this far.

"Your situation is pitiful, but you’re still as ill-mannered as ever—"

"Look at the way you talk."

A sharp smack echoed through the room.

Before he could even finish his sentence, a fist slammed into his abdomen. At first, Taehyun had tried to resolve things through conversation, considering their old ties. But his patience simply couldn’t hold out.

"Ugh. My mana shield?!"

"Hey. So you want to throw down, titles aside, is that it?"

"Damn it. Dark Light... Ack!"

"Where do you get off trying to use magic in front of me? First, take your beating."

Having rushed right up to him, Taehyun began to beat him mercilessly. Fists slammed all over his body before he could even cast a spell.

A sickening crack rang out.

When Taehyun snapped Raymond’s wrist with a kick, a scream tore out of the magician involuntarily.

’N-No. Magic isn’t working. If I stay like this, I’m done for.’

Raymond, whose consciousness was fading, barely managed to pull himself together.

A brutal thwack followed.

Just then, Taehyun kicked him in the abdomen. Even as his face crumpled in pain, his hand naturally reached for the scroll inside his coat.

"I-I will definitely return for revenge. Just wait, Taehyun!"

He tore the return scroll in an instant. With mana swirling around him, a streak of light swallowed Raymond’s body. As he succeeded in escaping, Taehyun, left alone, looked at the spot where he had disappeared with a satisfied expression.

"...Yeah. Of course I should wait for you."

He had no intention of finishing him off here in the first place. The guy would probably mobilize everything he had and come back to Radik.

"I’ll pull you out by the roots."

When that time came, he would be able to comfortably sweep up all his prey. Believing so, Taehyun slowly curled his lips into a smirk.