成人本色

The place where the five pairs of feet stopped was in front of an arched iron gate with a complex embossed pattern.

“What? This door won’t open on its own?”

“It’s big and fancy. It seems different from the rooms we’ve been through so far, maybe that’s the boss room.”

“Well, I’m sure our leader, Miss Ellet has a plan. What are you doing tanker? Open it quickly, Thesilid.”

“Okay.”

There was no need for Anaxia to instigate things. Everything was smooth until the end.

‘Hahaha! Stupid things! You can’t even imagine what’s going to happen from now on!’

It’s soon to begin.

It won’t be long before I see these humans shaking in shock and fear as they see me reveal my identity.

The silver-haired paladin pushed the door.

Kkiiiiik-.

The hinges, which had not been oiled on purpose, let out loud and beautiful ear-piercing screams.

‘Come one! Hurry!’

The door cracked open.

Accordingly, Anaxia’s face became flushed and her breathing quickened.

‘Behold! The empty boss room!’

The moment when the throne room was finally revealed.

“You’re here? I’ve waited a long time.”

“……Huh?”

There was someone in the boss room, which was supposed to be empty.

“Eh?”

“Hum?”

“Huh?”

Ephael, Hestio, and Ash made dumb noises with dazed faces.

At the gorgeous throne located in the deepest and highest part of the throne room, a woman was sitting with her chin resting arrogantly in her hand.

The pink color of her long, flowing hair was familiar.

A moment later.

“Ellet?!”

“Two sisters?!”

“What the hell! Why is the boss looking like our leader?”

The three looked at the real and the fake Ellet alternately, with faces full of confusion and astonishment.

Ellet, who was sitting on the throne, fixated her gaze on the person who had stolen her appearance.

She turned to the fake and said.

“This was the only chair I could find, so I sat here and waited. It took quite a while for you to arrive.”

“……!”

That appears to have been an effective provocation.

“How dare you!”

Fake Ellet’s pink hair shot up in anger.

“How dare you sit on my throne!”

Swiiiih!

Two chains sharply extended from the back of the fake Ellet, rushing straight into the face of the real Ellet, who was sitting on a throne of gold and jewels.

“……”

She sat back on the throne, motionless and relaxed.

The moment when the chains were about to pierce her defenseless body.

Kaan-!

Two knights appeared from blind spots on her left and right and knocked off the chains one by one.

It was Frintz and Raywin.

Ephael, Ash, and Hestio were still confused.

“What’s going on here?”

“N-No way, the sister who brought us here is fake……?”

“Crazy! Nonsense!”

Just then, Thesilid walked away, leaving the three of them alone.

“Eli.”

He raised his head and his gaze fell on the Ellet of the throne. With a smile.

“I was worried.”

There was no hesitation in his steps as he walked on the carpet and approached the real one.

“I’m glad you’re safe.”

“Terry……”

Ellet’s expression, which had been looking down at the group so coldly that they wondered if she really was the final boss, only then relaxed a little.

“You recognized me.”

“Of course.”

“I knew it.”

Ellet was just about to feel thrilled when Thesilid’s gaze flicked toward the two knights standing to her left and right.

“By the way, what are those two next to you? Maybe…….”

“Huh?”

“A familiar?”

“……What!”

The exasperated voice erupted from the two cadets who had just been treated as familiar spirits.

Ellet hastily intervened.

“Let me introduce you. The pink-haired knight cadet on the left is my older brother.”

“……Excuse me.”

“Kh-hum!”

“And the knight cadet on the right is……”

Ash, who had fully grasped the situation through a series of conversations, hurried forward.

“Long time no see, Brother Ray!”

“……The Little Duke Raywin Wallenstein.”

“Huh? I can’t believe you weren’t just a simple brother.”

“Why are you here, assassin?”

“I was hired by my sister.”

At this point, it was clear who was fake and who was real.

Anaxia no longer had any reason to steal Ellet’s appearance.

“How dare you ignore me……!”

A ring of light swept through Anaxia, starting at her toes and ending at the crown of her head.

The Chosen One with pink hair was erased and replaced by an alluring beauty with purple hair.

“Do you think it’s time for a leisurely exchange of greetings?!”

Whoarurururu!

Demon energy surrounded Anaxia like a burning flame. As she revealed her true colors as the dungeon’s owner, a message appeared in Ellet’s system window.

[<System> Dungeon owner, 207th in the Demon World ranking, ‘Anaxia, Duke of Mirrors’ has appeared.]

[<System> Warning. Due to the influence of ‘Newborn Chaos and Evil’, the power of the dungeon owner is growing stronger. The ranking increases in real time.]

Anaxia’s blood-red eyes flashed and she let out a roar.

“Come forth, my vassals!”

Six mirrors were summoned to the left and right of Anaxia and spread out like a folding screen.

Something black oozed from within.

The sewage-like substance soon took the form of creatures large and small who filled the throne room.

<We are your slaves, Lady Anaxia>.

<Lady Anaxia, please give orders.>

A legion made up of demons and fiends bowed in respect before Anaxia. As she stood in the center of the room, as if commanding every living thing, her power weighed down on the air.

She was truly a high-ranking demon boss with pedigree.

Sharply forged nerves warned of greater danger than during Hellkaion’s subjugation.

There was no time to be overwhelmed by the countless enemies and the boss’s pressure.

Ash, Ephael, and Hestio immediately moved toward the throne platform where I was sitting and joined Thesilid, Frintz, and Raywin.

A total of six allies lined up in front as if guarding me.

<They know their position well.>

With Thesilid at the center, Frintz and Raywin were at the forefront, with dealers Ash and Ephael in the middle.

And finally, Hestio……

“Kh-hm.”

“Yes. Welcome, Hestio.”

“Please keep me safe.”

“Of course.”

Our fragile and precious supporter stood close next to me.

Now was time for a little strategy meeting. For convenience, I kept my words short.

“Terry and I will hold Anaxia down. As for the others, please deal with the vassals quickly. Hestio, sing the sacred hymn well, watch the battle situation, and let me know if there are any injuries.”

“Yes.”

“Understood.”

“Aye.”

“Once the surrounding area is cleared, focus on providing cover and checks. Can you see the mirrors lined up behind Anaxia? Just blocking the chains pouring in from there is a big help. There is no need to overdo it and attack Anaxia.”

Everyone except me is a melee type.

Moreover, Anaxia was not a large boss with overflowing hitting places like Hellkaion. During combat, it may be difficult for melee dealers to approach Anaxia.

<Melee dealers have no choice but to fight in one-on-one relays. It’s almost like a two-man job for you two.>

Thesilid and I expressed our approval of Agnes’ words with a wink.

“I have to focus on damage and healing, so of course Terry is the tank. And there is a very important caveat.”

Seeing that everyone was focused on my words, I said.

“You must never…….”

“What?”

The faces of my allies were full of questions, but not because they couldn’t hear.

“Uh, hm, then, will the leader do it?”

“Of course, I should.”

I emphasized again.

“If you do, you’ll die and I don’t mean it as a threat, I mean literally.”

“Re-Really? That’s what you meant.”

“O-Okay.”

“I will be careful.”

My ‘slaves’, who were exempt from the rule of ⅓ of tributes, and the assassin mercenary who had a wanted bounty and had nowhere to go, did not complain.

Frintz and Raywin also nodded, as if long years of knighthood and military academy life had made them accustomed to protocol.

Now that I got my point across, it would be a good idea to end it on a warm note.

“Then lastly, everyone, please don’t get hurt.”

“……”

For a moment, it seemed like there was a special bond of camaraderie between us.

[‘The Troubled Architect of the Tower of Trials’ agrees that this is a necessary reminder because the more you heal, the less you can deal damage.]

[‘The Critic who adjusts the balance’ asks in surprise if you told your colleagues to die rather than get hurt because of Deal Loss.]

[‘The World-building God’ gets angry at those malicious interpretations.]

At the same time, Anaxia was also giving orders to her legions.

“Vassals.”

<Yes. Anaxia.>

“Offer to me the deaths of those humans. Anyone who cuts off their head will be set free.”

<……!>

The morale of the vassals was immediately boosted.

<Liberation! Liberation!>

<Free from the fate of slavery!>

<The head of the guy in the lead is mine!>

Anaxia was a fairly good commander.

Gathering momentum, she shouted.

“Go, my vassals!”

I also shouted at this.

“Return fire!”

The battle has begun.

Our allies clashed with the slave vassals of Anaxia.

Every time a blade carrying aura drew a colorful trajectory, black shapes were torn apart. Allies steadily expanded their territory by cutting down demons.

Hestio was also busy.

In addition to showering blessings on our allies, he cast extensive curses on his enemies to weaken them.

In some ways, Hestio was more threatening to demons than other dealers.

I shouldn’t touch Anaxia until Thesilid raises the threat level to a stable level.

So, I decided to join in cleaning up the surroundings.

Now was the right time to use wide-area skills as our dealers had not spread out yet.

“Divine punishment.”

A barrage of lightning opened on my left and right.

Kuagwagwagwang!

A horizontal bolt of lightning swept across the left and right sides of the room. Two huge straight tracks appeared on the floor of the throne room.

In an instant, about a third of the enemy’s power was wiped out.

“Wow, sister……”

“As expected, our leader!”

“Now that’s a Saint!”

“Ellet, you’ve gotten stronger since I haven’t seen you……”

“My sister is a saint……. My little sister is…….”