~ Chapter 62: Madness and destruction ~

[Illsyore’s point of view]

 When I took a seat in the Gatling Laser Turret I built, I felt neither joy nor sadness, neither fear nor excitement, neither exhilaration nor sorrow of what I was about to do. My fingers gripped the joysticks responsible for controlling the terrifying guns, and with a simple press of a trigger, powerful beams of concentrated magic enchanted light were fired upon my unsuspecting victims.

My target was the palace in front of me. Beautifully decorated towers rose up to the skies, sheltering vigilant archers and mages. Sturdy white walls surrounded the courtyard, where green patches of grass and beautiful flowers offered a touch of beauty to the usual imposing building. Statues of various humans were scattered all over the courtyard for another decorative touch. Behind the palace, I could see smaller buildings, which I guessed were used as barracks, stables, or even for crafting. The palace itself was at least four stories tall and covered a floor surface of maybe 100000 square meters, give or take. It was three times smaller than Romania’s Palace of the Parliament, however, it had the basic resemblance of a medieval castle. A powerful steel gate marked the main entrance. All of these things were pretty much unnoticeable from ground level.

The first beam hit an invisible barrier. It was an enchantment made to prevent ranged attacks from possible enemies. I wasn’t feeling discouraged by this, in fact, I was curious to see how many blasts it would take before the whole thing came crumbling down.

Infusing Magic Energy into my weapon, I began to let loose countless AGLMC laser beams upon the barrier. The turret could fire around 150 rounds per minute without overheating the crystals. If I cooled down the air around it and forsake its durability, then I could push almost 750 maybe 800 rounds per minute.

In under a minute, the barrier crumbled and the first beam passed through and burned a hole into the ground of the courtyard. The following strikes rained down upon the soldiers and the wall closest to me. I showed no mercy.

A single laser beam was powerful enough to vaporize a soldier if it hit him. The palace itself, the walls, the towers, and the other buildings in the back were made out of stone enchanted to resist powerful attacks, but as I continued to pummel them, they began to crack and shatter.

As I did this, I felt nothing. In my eyes, I was playing a game of squash the ants and take down the towers. I pressed the triggers and something else, no… someone else killed the humans, not me. I was innocent.

Maybe that was why I wasn’t releasing any killing intent from my Dungeon Territory. The black fog could be used to cripple down my opponents if used properly, but it could also hinder me. To my surprise, to activate it was the same as flipping a switch, but I preferred not to most of the times.

Even now, I had no need for it when I had Nanya, Ayuseya, and my Little Friend, the Gatling Laser Turret.

About five minutes in, the whole palace was covered in cracks and holes, the soldiers were hiding, and many of them laid dead where I struck them. On the ground, guards were getting closer in an attempt to stop me, but Nanya was there. They would be met with an unexpected surprise if they dared to challenge her.

“Time to switch to continuous fire.” I grinned.

At the push of a button, both the AGLMC Gatling Laser to my left and the one to my right changed their inner Power Crystal arrangements in order to focus their beams of enchanted light into a single focal point. Now, I could fire two, very powerful, continuous beams, but I could only maintain each of them activated for about 20 seconds. Afterwards, the metal parts would start to melt away or the crystals to crack. Worst-case scenario, the whole thing would explode in my face. It wouldn’t be the first time, unfortunately.

Aiming at one of the towers, I pressed the trigger and two red beams were let loose upon it. As if controlling the pointer on a monitor, I drew an horizontal line on it. The tower then crumbled down upon its unsuspecting victims. Luckily, this palace had many more towers to cut down, both as part of its structure and part of the walls.

With a big smirk on my face, I began to destroy this prized possession of the royals. Like a child burning down ants with a magnifying glass, so did I destroy the soldiers and walls of this place. Nothing escaped my wrath. Walls, towers, statues, gardens, all of them were burned down by my lasers. For them, it was raining hell, while for me, it was a mere game.

When I got bored with destroying the palace, I stopped. Fifteen minutes after I began my assault, the entire area was in pieces. Fires were spreading all over the place, people were screaming and crying, bodies were littered on the ground, and I stood triumphant at the top of the tower in my Gatling Laser Turret.

I smiled…

Inside, I was happy, but the real me was emotionless.

You made me do it… But it was good… We liked it. I thought.

It was time to get back down. I absorbed my weapon and lowered the ground. Several city guards were keeping their distance away from me, Nanya, and Ayuseya. They were all within my Dungeon Territory, which was expanded at around 40 meters around me. I didn’t need a larger area than this one, so if I wanted to cast or summon something, I could do it with ease in here.

“Illsy! What did you? Why did you attack them?” the draconian asked surprised.

“They sent us Shanteya’s arm and Tamara’s ear.” Nanya replied for me.

She was horrified when she heard this. I closed my eyes and nodded once, confirming the demoness’ words.

“Take off your ring Nanya. No need to hold back now. Kill on sight if you have to.” I said.

“Are you sure, Illsy? We’re going to become the enemies of this kingdom, you know that, right?” she told me, but I could tell she was a bit reluctant to show her true self to these humans.

“I just filleted the palace. I think we’re way past that stage, my love.” I replied with a smile.

“Sigh… You are right, I was just hoping we could still get away without destroying this country’s army…” Nanya shrugged and looked at her finger.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and then removed the ring responsible for casting the illusion of the blonde woman upon her. Now, only my beautiful, wild demoness remained. Her body, although covered in Godlike armor, was far more attractive this way. I found this true form of hers far more enchanting than the other one.

All around us, the people met her sudden change with a gasp of surprise and maybe a gaze of fear. In their eyes, demons, draconians, and Dungeons were the enemies, so it was only natural for them to react like this, but I didn’t care. I honestly didn’t care how they saw us as long as they didn’t plan on attacking us. If they did, I wouldn’t hesitate to bury them six feet under.

Nanya let out a sigh when she met their eyes.

“As expected…” she said.

“You’re more beautiful like this.” I told her.

She blushed and looked away.

“Illsy, Tamara and Shanteya… are they…” Ayuseya approached me and looked with a worried expression at me.

“No, they are still alive.” I shook my head.

She exhaled in relief.

“Let’s go.” I said.

“H-Halt i-in the name of the Prince!” shouted one of the guards who up until now, kept their distance from us.

I pointed my arm towards him and shot a laser beam right at his feet.

“Take one step closer, and the next one will go straight through your heart.” I warned him.

The man gulped and fell on his bottom, trembling from all of his joints. I pitied the fool for following a leader who would soon be nothing but ashes on a wall, but if this guard tried to oppose me in any way or matter, I wasn’t planning on showing him any mercy… I had enough of that.

Yes… kill… I thought or maybe I was just imagining it?

Without the need of holding back, I rushed towards the destroyed palace. Nanya and Ayuseya were running at a close distance behind me. The guards were left far behind, while those in front had no way of stopping us. From the start, they realized we were far too powerful for them to do anything to us. In this town without a Supreme, we were three existences beyond their imagination.

Even so, there were some Godlike fools who tried to stop us. They wore enchanted armors and weapons typical to those found among the men I killed from the distance.

“You three! Stop in the name of the Prince!” one of them shouted.

“I presume you are Royal Guards, right?” I asked just to make sure.

“Indeed, we are!” he replied proudly.

“So, why should we stop?” I asked tilting my head to the right.

He narrowed his eyes at me and pointed the sharp tip of his sword at me.

“You are accused of conspiring with demons and draconians against the royal family! You were the one who attacked the palace moments ago, were you not?” he asked.

“Yes. It was fun.” I smiled.

“You bastard!” he looked upset and ready to attack.

“Anyways, Royals Guards, please meet my wife, the overpowered draconian.” I said and then looked at Ayuseya “Go wild.” I told her.

She nodded and dashed towards them with her sword unsheathed.

“Kill them all!” shouted the man as he jumped forward to intercept her.

Although she lacked the training and skills Nanya and Shanteya had, her brute strength and speed could easily outmatch theirs. Thanks to the fight at the coliseum, they probably believed she was only an Emperor Rank, but this woman’s stats were past 2000.

The battle between her and the soldiers was over in the blink of an eye. Their Magic Armors were shattered instantly. The first one she encountered tried to attack her with a frontal downward slash, but she moved out of the blade’s way and then cut him in half with her sword. The next one was hit in the face with the flat side of her blade, and his skull was fractured in numerous places. Another punch sent him flying through the wall of a nearby house. The one who ordered us to stop received the sharp end of her sword and was killed on the spot.

Out of all of them, only one begged for mercy. I let him go, and he ran away like a coward.

We continued on our way. Ayuseya didn’t say anything about what she did and neither did Nanya. To be frank, I thought she would hesitate or refuse, but this draconian princess was far stronger than I was let to believe.

A good mate she is… yes… a weird thought popped up.

I shook my head. She wasn’t a mate, she was my wife.

The moment my Dungeon Territory touched the gates of the palace, I stopped.

“There’s another Dungeon here…” I said.

My two wives looked at me with furrowed brows. This news worried them.

“Where is it?” Nanya asked.

“I think right in the middle of the palace. If I’m not mistaken, the palace itself is its construction.” I replied.

“I never heard of a royal family using a Dungeon like this. Did they tame it?” Ayuseya wondered.

“I don’t know, but I’m going to pull back my territory until I find out how powerful it is. Nanya, please make sure to have a Dungeon Level Detection Stone ready.” I told her.

“Alright!” she nodded and took one out.

After infusing it with magic, I saw a number appearing on the stone, but I refused to look at it. For some reason, I didn’t want to see my own level.

“As long as it’s not a Demigod Dungeon, we should be alright.” Nanya explained.

“You think we can’t handle a Demigod?” I asked her.

“Nah, it’ll just be slightly more annoying to defeat if those soldiers are protecting it.” she shook her head.

“Let’s go.” I said after I pulled back my Dungeon Territory all the way in.

When we arrived at the palace’s gates, we didn’t bother to open them and simply jumped over them. The soldiers looked at us surprised, but once we were inside the courtyard, I was able to see in close-up what sort of damage I inflicted upon these people.

The grass was burnt, the flowers were trampled by rocks, the statues destroyed, the whole place looked as if an entire World War 2 battalion dropped its artillery strikes right on top of it. Those who could still stand were trying to help the injured or pile up the dead. Tears could be seen on their faces and cries echoed all over the place.

Yet, despite seeing such a tragic scene and knowing full well that I was the one who pulled the trigger, I felt nothing for them. There wasn’t even one drop of regret or fear for my actions in my heart. I ignored them completely and moved towards the metal doors of the palace, now cut in half.

“S-Stop!” one royal guard shouted at me.

Those who could still stand rushed to his side and unsheathed their swords.

I sighed and then told them with a loud voice “If you attack me, I can guarantee your death! Look at this place, and you will know how powerful I am!” I spread my arms towards the devastated courtyard.

“If anyone attacks, kill them.” I told my two wives, who nodded at my request.

Only four were brave enough to do so, but they died smashed by Nanya’s fists and cut by Ayuseya’s sword. The rest stood still the moment they realized that I wasn’t joking around.

“Illsy, this Dungeon is level 258.” said Nanya.

Can I shatter its Dungeon Territory, I wonder? I thought as I walked up to the metal doors.

I kicked them open and entered the destroyed castle. Inside was just as big of a mess as it was outside. The ceiling was falling apart, the walls were crumbling down, soldiers and servants were struggling left and right with their injuries, dead bodies laid on the floor, crushed by the debris or pulverized by my beam attacks. It was pure chaos.

“STOP!” shouted someone the moment they saw us enter.

In front of us stood a group of 20 men wearing enchanted armors and swords, all of them were of a different design as if to show the fact that they were created by Godlike adventurers. If I were to guess, these guys were probably the so-called elites of this place.

“Hm, cannon fodder.” I said and then looked at Nanya.

I gave her a nod, and she walked up in front of us, hitting her fists together and showing them a smirk.

“You send a woman to fight us? Have you no shame?” asked the one who ordered me to stop.

He looked like a tough guy, gray beard, a scar on his right cheek, strong muscles, and imposing-looking armor. All useless if he wasn’t around Nanya’s stats.

“Why should I?” I asked and shrugged.

“Women are weak! Men should fight men!” he declared.

I raised an eyebrow and looked over at Ayuseya, then back at him.

“Yeah… No.” I shook my head.

“Kill this ruffian at once! That’s an order!” he shouted annoyed.

In that exact moment, Nanya dashed past him and punched the guy next to him into the floor. Only a bloody mess was left of him. The next one received a kick in the jaw, sending him spiraling through the air and crushing into the thrones.

“I’m a woman, so I’ll be gentle with you men because I’m… weak.” Nanya told them, showing them a small grin.

“Don’t falter men! You are knights of the…” the one who spoke was quickly shut up by having his jaw broken by my wife’s fist.

The man was sent flying backwards and crushing into the wall. He lost most of his teeth, and I doubted he was going to be eating solid food for a while.

So, they are knights, not just some elite guards. I thought while I kept my eyes peeled for traps and attacks from the unknown Dungeon.

Of course, I didn’t forget to pour Magic Energy into my Magic Armor either, I didn’t want to end up injured because of something as ridiculous as that. Without it, we were basically glass cannons. As long as we didn’t get hit, we could destroy anyone, but losing Defense for Damage Per Second in real life wasn’t a very smart choice unless you used certain tactics or had a buffed-up tank. Even so, I already knew the consequences of neglecting my own Magic Armor.

Although the knights tried to attack or cast a spell at Nanya, the demoness was far too agile and powerful for them. Their weapons simply shattered when meeting her fists, while their armors cracked under her might. It was as if their Magic Armor and enchants didn’t even matter when facing her.

By the time the battle was over, only the one who gave the order and spoke rudely remained. He was huffing and pointing his sword at her, but all that time, he didn’t manage to land even a single hit on her.

All around them laid the unconscious or dead knights of his group. Nanya showed them no mercy when she broke their limbs, shattered their armors, and destroyed their swords. They never stood a chance from the very beginning.

“Wh-what are y-you? H-how…” the knight mumbled while looking at Nanya with fearful eyes.

“If you want to live, will you be kind enough to show us to the dungeons? Your idiotic Prince thought it would be a good idea to piss me off.” I said as I walked over to him.

“How dare you insult the… the…” the man tried to shout, but then he heard Nanya cracking her knuckles and shut up.

“Your prince is to blame for all the destruction and death that happened today. He injured my loved ones out of greed and amusement, so I’m going to destroy his entire kingdom as a result.” I said as I stood in front of him.

“My Prince may not be perfect, but the royal blood of the former king still flows through his veins!” he declared.

I narrowed my eyes at him and asked “So? Does it look like I care? His heart can pump liquid gold or a god’s tears for all I care, but if he dares to harm my friends and family, I’ll rip him apart!” I grabbed his sword and shattered it with a single strong grip.

“Even if you defeat us here, this kingdom will become your enemy!” he still tried to defend his master.

It was an admirable act, but a foolish one.

“Who do you think I am, mortal?” I asked him.

“A foolish adventurer.” he replied.

“I’m not an adventurer or a human.” I pulled back my hood, revealing my green-colored hair and then showed him the crystals on my left arm. “I’m a Godlike Dungeon Lord. Not even your country’s Supremes can stop me.”

Only when I told him this did he begin to tremble and look with horrified eyes at me.

“If your… Prince, didn’t dare to attack me like that, I wouldn’t have bothered with disrupting the peace of your country. I would have acted like any other adventurer, doing some quests here and there, reading a few books in my spare time, and that was going to be it. Eventually, I would have left the capital. That’s why I say that the only one to blame for this disaster is your STUPID Prince.” I grabbed him by the plate of his armor and pulled him closer “Now lead me to the dungeon, so I can recover my friends, otherwise, I’ll kill you and everyone else still breathing in this place. Did I make myself clear?” I asked glaring at him.

“Yes.” he nodded in fear.

After I let him go, he dropped on his knees, trembling from all of his joints.

“Move it.” I ordered.

“Yes! This way.” he got up and led us to the dungeons.

“Illsy, I’m surprised there are so few knights and soldiers in this place.” Nanya remarked.

“The barracks and all other buildings capable of housing them were destroyed by me before we ran up here. Besides, we took a slight detour on our way here and avoided many unnecessary battles.” I replied.

“Illsy…” she said and then looked down.

I stopped and turned my eyes towards her.

“Do you think that what I did was wrong?” I asked.

The demoness looked at me for a moment and then shook her head.

“No, I’m just wondering if this is the real you… or just a side of you.” she said.

I closed my eyes and thought about her words. While I did display a rather brutal and vengeful side of myself, I was still a human or maybe a dungeon-human acting on emotions rather than logical thought. There were many other ways to get out of this situation without destroying the palace. I could have gone all stealth mode on them. I could have attacked the Dungeon in this palace, destroyed its core, and release my Dungeon Territory all over the place. All I had to do then was to call them with my [Summon Ally] spell. I could have negotiated for their release. I could have held the entire city captive in a dungeon. I could have even launched overpowered [Fireball] attacks at this entire city, reducing everything but the palace to ash. There were many things I could have done, some more peaceful than the others, but in the end, it all came down to what I wanted to do, not the Darkness or anyone else.

That was why even if my wives wanted me to have acted in a different manner, I would still have probably chosen the method I believed would fit me more.

Is this maybe a part of my selfish human nature? I asked myself.

I could remember that this had been the case even when I was playing MMORPG in my previous world. Some people wanted to use the most efficient and easy way to kill the boss, be it through exploits or group hugs and spamming skills, while I wanted to use the more fun-for-me approach. I loved using the unusually hard or the most basic of tactics for fighting bosses as it was intended by the developers. I loved following the story or the typical path of a dungeon without skipping mobs. Of course, many hated it, but I wasn’t a farmer, I was a gamer who wanted to have fun.

Maybe that part of the old human me stuck with the Dungeon me as well and manifested itself through some rather unusual situations. If I looked back, I knew I could have handled Dankyun in another way. Killing him faster or even trapping him somehow was quite possible if I applied the right tactic, but I wanted him to stay alive so my wives could have the pleasure of killing him even if through this I risked the lives of others.

Even fighting the Darkness… I can… no… I can’t fight the Darkness, I can’t… I shook my head as I felt a headache.

“Ugh…” I groaned.

“Illsy, are you alright?” Nanya asked a bit worried.

I looked up and saw her standing in front of me. I smiled and then gave her a kiss.

“We all have a bit of darkness inside of us… It’s the shadow we have to live with…” I said.

“Very well, just… promise me you’ll never become like those typical mindless Dungeons, alright?” she told me with a soft smile.

“I promise.” I patted her head and then turned around.

When I said those words, I felt a small throb in my chest.

It hurts to lie… I thought as I followed the knight.

A few minutes later, we arrived at a big hall. It had a surface of about 50 by 50 meters. Both to my left and to my right were solid brick walls decorated with shackles and small wooden beds. The ceiling was at about 6 meters above the floor, with no support columns or any cells of any kind. Magic Energy flowed around the place, showing that it was a heavily enchanted room.

In front of us, at about 20 or so meters away, a group of 58 knights were waiting for us with their swords drawn. Behind them, I saw a big, pale-red Dungeon Core.

“I thought I told you to lead us to the dungeons?” I told the knight in front of us.

“I-I did… I don’t re-remember this bein…”

Click!

“It’s a trap!” I shouted.

The knight didn’t react in time and was impaled by steel spears shot from below. It didn’t even scratch me, Nanya, or Ayuseya, but the poor bastard stood no chance. He died instantly.

“Traitors are always met with the death sentence!” someone said as he was raised up from the ground by the Dungeon behind him.

Just by looking at his clothes, I understood that HE was the Prince.

I lowered my chin and clenched my fists as an… evil smile formed on my lips.