SSS-Rank Overlord: Defend the Dungeon or Die-Chapter 189: Episode _The Eve

Cractio, the Demon King, was the ruler of the Demon Realm. Having surpassed the highest-class demons through his mighty magical power, he was also a unique demon who possessed white horns that no other of his kind had. Cractio’s first act was to declare war on the Celestial Realm, sacrificing tens of thousands of demons in the process. The ceaseless conflict was enough to devastate both realms, forcing Archangel Kamiel to make a decision. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"We will summon the humans of the continent," she declared. "The raiders should be more than enough to handle the demons."

She chose to summon the raiders of the Astral Continent. As seasoned dungeon conquerors, they were veterans of countless battles against monsters. Kamiel chose to use the raiders as a shield to strike the Demon King’s castle, and so the final war began.

"Guaaaak! I curse you, you damn angels!"

"You deceived us! You said we would defeat the demons, but you sacrificed us instead!"

"This is too much... We believed in you."

Amid the pained screams of humans, their resentment and cries, the angels used them as stepping stones to enter the Demon King’s castle. All responsibility fell to Archangel Kamiel. And so, Kamiel and the other archangels succeeded in sealing Cractio, putting an end to the endless war.

But the victory came at a terrible price. The archangels, remembering their fallen brethren, tried to destroy the Demon Realm entirely.

"You angel bastards! In the end, you summoned humans and caused this mess!"

The one who appeared at that moment was Duke Nikunbel. He ambushed the archangels with thousands of elite demons, forcing them to retreat to the Celestial Realm. What became of the Demon Realm after that is unknown. With its leader gone, one could only guess that it had fallen into chaos.

And so, the archangels focused their efforts on restoring their home, Pletas. Under Kamiel’s leadership, it began to be reborn as a new Celestial Realm. The restoration took a full two thousand years, but eventually, they began to see success.

"Pletas has now been reborn," Kamiel announced. "Its structure, divided into lower, middle, upper, and highest levels, will be a land of opportunity for all angels, and we archangels will form its center!"

There would be no more war. There were no beings left who would threaten the Celestial Realm. Pletas, a world for angels alone, was reborn. And so, Kamiel, as the Archangel, maintained a peaceful Celestial Realm.

---

"What are you thinking so deeply about, Nikunbel?" a voice echoed from the darkness.

They were in a hidden basement within the mansion. Nikunbel, who had been lost in reminiscence, finally came to his senses. He’d been held captive by a sudden memory.

"My apologies. I seem to have strayed for a moment."

"How is the current Player faring?"

"Hmm. He has been doing well so far. He even developed his dungeon to A-rank. He will likely be able to continue progressing."

The A-rank dungeon, Balak. Having established itself as the center of the West, Balak had been reborn as an integrated territory and was operating four dungeons. Taehyun had a habit of defying expectations and turning crisis into opportunity, so Nikunbel was confident he would continue to succeed. Duke Nikunbel checked the screens that appeared in the air before turning his head. The being who gave orders to him—the de facto ruler of the Demon Realm—stood across from him, now little more than a disembodied consciousness.

"I see. It is time to deploy the third Player," the Black Fog commanded. It was a formless being, but its voice compelled obedience.

"The third Player... you must mean him."

The first and second Players had already been summoned to the continent. The third Player was also a person from another dimension who had to be newly summoned as instructed.

"The dimension was twisted the moment those angel bastards summoned humans. There will be no one to interfere."

"Indeed, even dimensional travelers are unable to move to this place. Shall we proceed with this one?"

An image appeared on the screen in front of him: a youth who had just come of age, dressed in splendid attire that ordinary nobles could never afford, with hair dyed gold. He did not look like someone from the modern era at all.

"He will suffice. The Player to be summoned this time is an NPC Player. To shake the continent, a status like his would be most suitable."

"Understood. Then I will need to create a separate objective system."

"The objective is continental conquest. Set the difficulty as high as possible and have him create chaos on the Astral Continent."

"Hoh. Continental conquest seems a fitting objective. I will create the objective system at once."

After the dimensional interferer disappeared, greater authority had already fallen into his hands. As long as the dimension was isolated, there would be no interference. Duke Nikunbel began to create a new system, as he always did. This third Player would change the fate of the continent. As instructed, he had to set the difficulty high to ensure the Player would faithfully carry out his objective.

’Eclat is already in Balak’s hands,’ Nikunbel thought. ’The first Player is also slowly approaching his goal. If this one is summoned now, the power dynamics of the Astral Continent will be overturned in an instant.’

This was the first time he was summoning an NPC Player. The target had already been selected. He would surely grow into a monster no less formidable than the first and second Players. Duke Nikunbel looked at the person on another screen, pleased.

---

[The contract procedure has been completed.]

[The contract has been activated.]

[Morpina, the God of Contracts, is observing Player Taehyun Yoo and Player Park Geonsun.]

The A-rank dungeon, Rivixian, had surrendered. With Balak’s forces pouring in through the permanent teleportation circle, there was no way it could hold out. Now, Rivixian and Balak were allies. Originally, Taehyun had planned to destroy the dungeon and take both ruins, but he had a change of heart.

’Cube Trap is quite useful,’ he mused. ’And the mercenary Lisita could be incredibly powerful in one-on-one combat if she has a Keeper to support her.’

Currently, Balak was slowly extending its influence from the West to the entire continent. Having made its territory known once again through the bus raid party, the Holy Kingdom would surely be the first to react. Moreover, he had made an enemy of the Peyton Dukedom. His power was growing, and so were his enemies. To prepare, he needed allies beyond Balak’s own forces. With the Tarantula faction, the Peyton Dukedom, and Count Dinen already keeping him in check, Rivixian could be used as a very useful piece.

’I need to plan for what comes after the Faction War. The more cards I have to play, the better.’

Songyi and Narae were wild cards. In contrast, Geonsun, who was bound by a contract, could be moved as he wished. It was a shame he couldn’t occupy both Crystal Caves at once, but as long as Geonsun was bound by the contract, betrayal was impossible.

[Dungeon residents have moved to the Crystal Cave through the permanent teleportation magic circle.]

The permanent teleportation circle had been installed to continuously reinforce his soldiers, but its original purpose was to move the dungeon residents.

"Master, you anticipated this and installed the permanent teleportation circle in advance," Riel said.

"The moment that guy Geonsun didn’t commit his forces to the entrance of the Kollad Mountains, victory was all but decided. By the way, to maintain a dungeon using only crystal stones without even dealing with raid parties... it’s impressive, but also pathetic."

"It seems like he didn’t interact with any other Dungeon Masters at all."

"Well, he didn’t show up at the meetings and didn’t join a faction, so that’s a given."

There were many dungeons like Rivixian that operated without any interaction. They said there were even S-rank dungeons that paid no attention to the continent at all, so the number was likely quite large. Taehyun looked at Aquanteil on the world map before shaking his head.

"The only thing I know about Aquanteil is that its Dungeon Master is a woman," Geonsun had told him over the communication device. "I never bothered with interactions, so that’s all I know. I’m getting sleepy, can I end the communication now?"

Even Geonsun didn’t have proper information, so there was no way Taehyun would know. Moreover, Aquanteil was submerged deep in Lake Riff. Even if he were to invade, he would first have to solve the problems of underwater combat.

"Riel. Call Larkan and Tuperus."

"Understood."

As instructed, Riel contacted the two. Having recently finished constructing the waterway, they came to the Master Room once again.

"What is it, you demon spawn? It seems you have great need of the strength of our Rough Rock tribe!" Tuperus boomed.

"Ah, this time it’s a pretty big job. It’s something like this... what do you think?"

"Th-this is?!" Tuperus’s eyes widened as he received the blueprint. Even Larkan, who was beside him, was aghast.

"Take your time. I’m counting on you," Taehyun said, patting their shoulders before leaving the Master Room.

---

[The Blue Magic Tower has purchased 40 Parasites.]

[The Depra Magic Tower has purchased 30 Scythests.]

[The Sublime Magic Tower has purchased 30 Naplens.]

Trade with the magic towers had also begun in earnest. The prices had already been set through Kinjo, so the items would continue to sell as long as they were supplied. Taehyun checked the various messages, pleased. Just then, Hyena walked down the opposite hallway. Their eyes met, and she was the first to react.

"Excuse me. I will take another path so as not to be a disturbance."

"Hmm. You’d end up here even if you took another path."

"...My apologies, Master. I will adapt more quickly."

"No, it’s fine. Anyway, did you just finish off another raid party?"

A normal Trapper would set traps and then fall back, but she was different. Just looking at her dirty clothes, it was clear she had fought a fierce battle. Taehyun watched Hyena nod and let out a sigh.

Tsk. "Did you roll around on the ground or something? Look at all the dirt on your clothes."

"It is fine. This is something I experience all the time."

"I’m not fine with it."

Her dirt-blackened attire was unpleasant to look at. Taehyun stopped Hyena and brushed the dirt off her himself.

"Well, this should do. Hurry back to your room and wash up."

"...Yes. Understood."

"Ah, and rest sometimes. Don’t overdo it trying to take on raid parties. Take care of your body first."

"...That is not possible. As a slave, I must serve my Master without rest."

She was so thoroughly brainwashed by the demons that she remained bound by her status as a slave.

’So the memory loss is the problem,’ Taehyun thought. ’It must have made her easier for the demons to tame, but this is too extreme.’

Not only her memories from the modern world, but also her memories of the continent had been erased. For now, she had no choice but to be faithful to her status as a slave. Taehyun sighed and approached Hyena.

"Service or whatever, you can’t do it if you’re dead. If you’re a slave, you follow my orders to the letter. Your life is mine now, so I don’t even permit you to die."

His hand instinctively moved toward her head. Hyena flinched slightly before lowering her head as Taehyun began to stroke her hair.

"...I was not taught this. Lord Hetis said that I would be punished if I did wrong."

"I’m more accurate than that bastard. And you said you became my slave. Shouldn’t you trust me more than him?"

"The Master’s words are correct. H-however, something like this is still..."

"Ah, sorry. It’s become a habit because of a kid named Songyi. You can go now."

"Excuse me."

She disappeared with slightly hurried steps, probably to return to her room to rest. Taehyun felt a pang of disappointment before coming to his senses. A message had appeared before his eyes.

[A-rank Raider Hera is flustered by the Dungeon Master’s actions.]

[Favorability has increased by 2.]

[Hera’s favorability has surpassed 30.]

Her favorability had risen again. The rate of increase was slower than that of his core dungeon troops, but it was steadily climbing. Only then did Taehyun realize his mistake and frown.

’Why do I keep doing this? There’s no need to go this far. Why on earth does my body react first whenever I see Hyena?’

Lately, he found himself trying to take care of Hyena without even realizing it. Taehyun sighed, deeply reflecting on his actions.