Free Web NovelChapter 33: Deadline pushed up
When they arrived at the fifth floor, they walked into the boss room, and there it was, the guardian goblin, seated with its back against the wall.
It looked up, and when its eyes met with those of Lilith, it jolted to its feet at the speed of light and gripped its blade, eyes burning with a desire to defend itself.
"Be calm, I have no plans to kill you," she said in a calm voice. "Not that it would matter if I did," she added, the last part a threat to show her dominance.
The guardian goblin ground its teeth together in anger, but then placed the cleaver aside.
"What do you want?" Its voice came out deep and very gruff; it caused the walls to tremble.
"You can talk?" Kael asked, shocked by it.
The guardian looked at Kael, and then it picked up the cleaver again, pointing it at him. "You, you caused my first death," he said in a rage-filled tone.
"Tch, I’m guessing you also know who I am," Kael said. He folded his arms and kept speaking. "I honestly do not care what all of you have against me and what I did, but I was simply doing what I had to do to ensure the dungeon’s survival," he stated.
The guardian groaned. He kept his hands pointed at Kael but did not make a move.
"You are somehow alive now, how is that possible?" Kael asked.
"Because of the core, as long as the core of the dungeon remains, all dungeon bosses and special monsters will always be reborn. Each death makes us stronger," she explained.
"Huh? Each death makes you stronger? Then why have you all not died multiple times over to get reborn?" he asked.
The both of them shuddered when they heard that. Lilith clenched her fist. "Death is horrific," she muttered.
"Your soul is split apart and forced together into a fully healed, reborn, and stronger state," the goblin said. He looked at the ground, and his eyes held fear. freewebnσvel.cøm
"It never gets better. Every death is more gruesome than the last. It is the dungeon’s way of ensuring we never get complacent with death and allow our semi-immortal state to get to us," she explained.
"I see," Kael muttered in realization. He looked at the guardian goblin. "Then please accept my apologies, I had no idea that was how it was for you."
The guardian goblin heard that and lowered his blade. "You did what you believed was right," he said and dropped the blade. Then he scanned Kael with his eyes. "How have you taken the body of this goblin?" frёewebηovel.cѳm
"Long story, it is an ability of mine," Kael said. "By the way, I am Kael," he introduced himself.
"Hmmmm, I am Guu," the guardian goblin replied.
"Hmm, pretty weird name, but nice," Kael replied. He looked at Lilith and Guu. "I know the both of you do not like this situation of me suddenly becoming the mind of the devil dungeon and all that, but I have no choice but to do what I have to.
I needed to bring more humans, and that’s why I did what I did. In the future, more and more changes will be coming as I evolve as the dungeon. I don’t know what to expect, but I can say for sure that I’ll ensure that it’s for the best interest of the dungeon," Kael said.
"Hmm, you might not be as incompetent as I thought you were. You do have the best interest of the dungeon in mind, it seems. But before I’ll swear allegiance to you, you must show that you are worth it," Lilith spoke.
"Hmm, fine, I’ll make sure that I make you believe. The first step in all this is the dungeon break," he said.
[Requirements have been met for the dungeon break, do you wish to initiate it?]
"Whoa, whoa, pump your brakes, we can’t just do that. I’m not willing to cause the utter destruction of their town. We are going to have to do this in a planned way.
To do that, I’ll first need to speak to William and Violet, get them ready for what is to come," he explained to the system.
[Requirements have been met. Time limit has been cut down to 48 hours.]
"What the hell? You can’t do that," he snapped at the system but got no response. His anger spiked, but he managed to hold it in.
"The dungeon break will be in two days," he said, looking at Guu and Lilith. "I don’t know how this will go, but when that day comes, I’ll work it out. We need to do it to trigger my evolution," he explained and then walked out of the room. "I’ll talk to you guys later, I need to find something," Kael said and left them.
Immediately after he was gone, Lilith turned and looked at Guu. "Do you believe he will be able to get it done?" she asked.
Guu knew what she was talking about, and he knew it was not about the dungeon break.
"Too early to tell. I will not get my hopes up. The last time we did, we ended up in a worse situation," he said and then walked to sit down in the corner.
"I will support him, though. He seems... different, in a good way. The others might not agree, no, they will definitely not agree. I can tell that you don’t," he said and looked at her.
"I don’t. I cannot trust him that easily. If he gets to the level of the past, what will he do when such power lies in his hands? He might follow the same path."
After she said that, she turned to leave.
"Hey, when you meet him again, tell him that some good booze is needed. I haven’t had any in over three decades."
"Tch, you are still as childish as you have always been, Guu," she said that last line in a half-caring and half-mocking tone.
