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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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The Demon Lord’s castle dungeon, where prisoners were held, was located outside the main castle walls.
It was one of the four towers connected to the walls surrounding the castle, its entrance heavily guarded day and night by Death Knights, tireless undead sentinels.
As we approached the dungeon, following Camilla, the Death Knights guarding the entrance placed their hands on the hilts of their sheathed Zweihanders.
A clear warning not to approach any further.
Camilla glanced at the Death Knights, then turned to me.
“As you can see, unauthorized personnel are not allowed inside the dungeon.”
“Whose permission do I need, then?”
“Someone recognized as a superior by the Death Knights, such as the Demon Lord, or…”
“Kaldrash! Camilla! You’re back!”
“…Someone like Vanessa over there.”
Speak of the devil. Vanessa, appearing at the perfect moment, was fully armed as usual, her helmet tucked under her arm.
I shook her hand and asked what she was doing.
Vanessa tapped her gauntlet against her armor and replied confidently,
“As the Demon Lord’s Captain of the Guard, I’m patrolling to prevent any unwanted intrusions.”
She was surprisingly diligent. Most Captains of the Guard would delegate such tasks and remain in their offices, shuffling paperwork.
As I expressed my admiration, Camilla said dryly,
“The Demon Lord was almost assassinated just a week ago. Since the Captain of the Guard failed to do her job, she has to make up for it with menial tasks like this.”
“Waaaaah! Don’t say that!”
Ah, right.
It had only been a few days, but it felt like ages ago, and I had completely forgotten.
As one of the culprits behind the assassination attempt, I looked at Vanessa with renewed interest.
“And you still have your job after that? If it were me, I would have fired… oh, wait, you’re already headless.”
Dullahans were immune to decapitation. There was no helping it.
“That’s mean! I’m already self-conscious about it!”
Vanessa, abandoning her previous composure, hunched her shoulders and pretended to cry.
It was rather disconcerting to see the Dullahan, known as the Death Fairy, acting like this.
On the battlefield, Dullahans were formidable opponents.
Anyway, I couldn’t keep joking around with Vanessa, so I got straight to the point.
“Vanessa, I need to go inside the dungeon.”
Vanessa stopped her fake crying and asked, her voice laced with suspicion,
“What for?”
“I just met with the Demon Lord. He ordered me to interrogate the Hero and his companions.”
Vanessa gasped.
“In that case, I’ll gladly assist you.”
She gestured for the Death Knights guarding the dungeon entrance to step aside.
The Death Knights, who had been glaring at us moments before, obediently moved out of the way.
Vanessa held up her key ring and urged us to hurry.
I blinked.
“Weren’t you on patrol? You’re coming with us?”
“The third basement level, where the Hero is being held, is reserved for those sentenced to death or life imprisonment. A guard must always accompany anyone going down there. Since the other guards are off duty, I’ll have to go with you.”
That made sense.
As I followed Vanessa towards the dungeon entrance, Camilla tugged on my sleeve.
“Was this why you sent me out of the room earlier?”
She hadn’t heard the last part of my conversation with the Demon Lord.
So, she must have been suspicious when I suddenly wanted to go to the dungeon after leaving his office.
While the Demon Lord hadn’t mentioned anything about interrogation, there was no need to tell Camilla the truth.
“Hmm… it’s classified information.”
I said vaguely, offering a plausible lie.
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The dungeon.
The typical image of a dungeon was a dark, dirty, and gloomy place.
Unlike in the modern world, there was no need to protect the rights of prisoners, so the lightless underground space was truly unfit for human habitation.
We descended a short flight of stairs to the first level, a long corridor lined with cells.
Each cell was about 330 square feet, its only entrance a heavy iron door. Aside from a small barred window and a food slot at the bottom, it was completely sealed.
Glancing inside the cells as we passed, I saw prisoners in ragged clothes sleeping against the walls or playing cards.
With about ten prisoners per cell, it felt surprisingly similar to a modern prison.
According to Vanessa, those who committed minor offenses near the Demon Lord’s castle, or officials caught accepting bribes or engaging in corruption, were imprisoned on this level.
After passing dozens of cells and walking for about ten minutes, we finally reached the stairs leading down to the second level.
“This is the second level.”
As we descended the steep stairs, Vanessa explained who was imprisoned there.
“Unlike the first level, which houses relatively minor offenders, the second level is reserved for those who have committed serious crimes. Murder, assault, robbery… well, you get the idea. Captured human soldiers are also brought here, to solitary confinement. If we put them in the communal cells on the first level, they’d be lynched by the other prisoners.”
Unlike the first level, where prisoners were housed together, the second level consisted of solitary confinement cells for serious offenders.
However, the cells were much smaller, only about 100 square feet.
Barely enough space for a grown man to stretch his legs.
Otherwise, there wasn’t much difference in the structure compared to the cells on the first level.
We reached the end of the corridor.
The second level seemed much longer than the first.
Vanessa knocked on the stone wall at the dead end.
“And this is where the third level begins. The Hero you’re looking for is imprisoned here.”
The wall slid open, revealing a hidden staircase.
Vanessa turned to us.
“I personally call this place the Abyss. Once you’re in, there’s no escape until you die.”
Her words struck me as particularly ominous.
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Unlike the stairs between the first and second levels, the spiral staircase leading down to the third level was quite long.
We must have descended another thirty feet or so.
Just as I was starting to lose my sense of direction, we finally reached the exit leading to the third level.
Following the light, we emerged into a wide corridor lined with torches.
Vanessa, leading the way, pointed down the corridor.
“The Hero is imprisoned over there.”
Camilla gulped nervously.
To demons, the Hero was their sworn enemy.
Having been the Hero’s companion until recently, I was well aware of the resentment and hatred directed at him.
Unlike the upper levels, where the cells were separated from the corridor by iron doors and walls, the third level resembled a police holding cell, with only iron bars separating the prisoners from the corridor.
As we walked towards the Hero’s cell, I saw some familiar faces.
“You! Kaldrash! You bastard! How dare you show your face here!”
The blond Warrior, still full of energy despite having been imprisoned for almost a week, glared at me. The blue-haired Sage was drawing on the floor with a resigned expression, while the Priestess, her back turned, prayed facing the wall. They all seemed surprisingly well.
I waved mockingly at the gorilla-like Warrior and continued towards the cell at the very end of the corridor.
Vanessa stopped and pointed.
“This is where the Hero is being held.”
I turned my head.
“Oh.”
There he was, the Hero, looking battered and bruised after just a few days, sitting on the floor, his limbs bound by shackles.
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