wusss~

BOOM~

Unilateral massacres took place in every place where Izuku and his soldiers went. The sound of fighting was accompanied by the explosions and screams of every demon they killed. It has been two days since he entered the Demon Castle. He rose at a terrifying speed.

With the newly joined army of High Orcs and the 'Orb of Avarice' in the hands of Tusk, they have no problem climbing the Demon Castle.

Notifications have kept popping up before his eyes since the battle began. Izuku looked at the battlefield where Tusk was wiping his enemy using his fire magic. He had analyzed the battle from afar to match the fighting style of the High Orcs with his current army.

" What a tremendous power. Although he was holding the 'Orb of Avarice', his ability should have been nerfed after becoming a shadow.

The size of the Orb of Avarice seems to be changing according to users. I have to leave it for Tusk for a while. "

Meanwhile, Izuku checks his status while waiting for his soldiers to finish.

Status
Name: Izuku
Level: 81
Job: Shadow Monarch
Title: The One Who Overcame Adversary (+1 More)
HP: 24,406
MP: 5,019
Fatigue: 0

Stats
Strength: 186
Vitality: 145
Agility: 175
Intelligence: 192
Sense: 126
Physical damage reduction: 46
(Equipped)
Remaining points: 0

[Skills]
Passive Skills
-(Unkown) (Lv. Max)
-Perseverance (Lv.1)
-Advanced Dagger Arts (Lv.2)

Active Skills
-Sprint (Lv. Max)
-Vital Strike (Lv. Max)
-Bloodlust (LV.2)
-Dagger Throw (Lv.2)
-Stealth (Lv.2)
-Dominator's Touch (Lv.2)

The number of shadow soldiers he could extract and save increased after his intelligence status increased.

[Shadows can be extracted: 128/825]
[Shadow can save: 128/160]

Seeing how many demons he had defeated to this point, he should be able to fill the void in his warriors if he could turn them into his shadow, but because of the contaminated magic, he couldn't do that.

Since he entered the dungeon that day he got another quest.

[Normal Quest: Collect demon souls! (Part 2)]
The Monarch of The Demons, 'Baran', lives on the highest floor of the Demon Castle.
Eliminate Baran and collect his soul.

Quest Completion Requirements:
- Defeat the Demon King

Reward
- 1. Highest Quality Runestone
- 2. Stata Bonus +30
- 3. Hidden Rewards

[High-Quality Runestone: Shadow Exchange]
Job-specific skills can be obtained by solving runes.

Just looking at the gift itself is bigger than before, even so, the final goal is upstairs, the last material for making the 'Holy Water of Life,

[Purified Blood of the Demon King]

This was the reason he climbed up the Demon Castle at such an insane speed.

After such a long battle, he felt that it was inefficient to move into one large group. He then decided to divide his soldiers into six different teams, each with a stronger shadow as the leader. Tusk, Igris, Iron, Tank, Baruka, and a group led by High orcs.

They were given two orders, one was to eliminate the enemy they were facing, and the second was to notify Izuku once they found the 'Entry Permit'.

Not long after Izuku dismiss his army, experiences notice appeared in front of him. But because he was on the top floor, high-level demons began to appear, and normal-class warriors had a hard time dealing with them. So he had to constantly use potions to recover his magic power so he wouldn't lose his soldiers.

This continued for several days, and as the result, not only leveled up quickly, but his soldiers managed to level up 10 times since the last time he saw them. He still has 20 floors left to conquer, but he is currently stuck on the 80th floor for two days because he has not been able to find the Entry pass.

" It's been two days since I reached the 80th floor but I still haven't found the entry pass, is there a powerful enemy somewhere? "

Just as he was deep in thought, his mana was suddenly drained at a rapid rate. It was from the team that Iron led. Since the regeneration speed of his soldiers couldn't keep up, the enemy must have defeated them.

" It's unexpected that there is a demon strong enough to defeat Iron "

Izuku thought about checking the situation there but called back his soldiers because his mana ran out quickly.

The next day, because of the continuous ambush, the deployed soldiers were pulled back. Izuku kept observing the situation constantly while analyzing the enemy's attack pattern, but he felt something is strange.

Based on how Izuku deployed his soldiers after the enemy attacked the High Orcs team, they attacked the Igris team but missed the Tusk team and attacked Baruka's team instead.

The enemy seems to be deliberately targeting an enemy they can win, it means that the enemy has enough intelligence to detect the weakness of their enemy.

" if they deliberately target the Baruka team, the next target must be the Tank team "

Izuku looked in the direction the Tank team was going, he then headed there to monitor the situation and meet the enemy who had destroyed his soldiers.

He hides behind the ruins of buildings near his army while suppressing his presence and hiding his figure with the skill 'Stealth'. Not long after, the armed demon army approached the Tank team.

' one demon noble and three demon knights '

" GWAAAAH! "

The battle began, and one of the demon knights sliced Tank's neck like butter without any problems. He continued to attack the Tank but his regeneration could not keep up.

Seeing his soldiers being pushed back, Izuku decided to show himself. The demon knight noticed Izuku's presence. They attacked him, Izuku kicked the first demon knight who attacked him directly killed him, and hit the other two, leaving the demon noble alone.

" I wonder if monsters can also feel fear "

The demon trembled with fright at Izuku's presence. He grinned at the demon.

" but now I'm sure "

Even so, the demon fought back, he attacked Izuku by stabbing him in the forehead, neck, and heart with precision. Its power can destroy buildings behind Izuku.

Inside the Demon Castle, the grade demons are divided into D-rank low-grade demons, C-rank middle-grade demons, B-rank high-grade demons, A-rank high-grade demons, A+ rank ancient demons, and noble demons, S-rank mini-bosses.

While dodging his attack, Izuku gripped the 'Baruka Dagger' under his cloak, when he saw the opportunity, Izuku then cut off the sword the demon was holding and grabbed his face.

When he was about to stop the demon's face, the demon immediately gave up.

" I give up! I give up! "

Izuku stopped his attack and narrowed his eyes after hearing the demon's voice.

Are you... "

The demon could do nothing but let the mask be removed.

' a girl?! ... '

" I... I'm sorry, we were wrong. P-please spare my life "

Izuku froze for a moment realizing he was touching a girl's face, but after remembering the person in front of him was a demon managed to come back to his senses.

" You attacked my soldiers then and now you apologize? "

Behind him stood a team of Tanks angry over the attacks of the demons who were now their captives.

" I committed a big sin! But in our clan's orders, we must protect this area, we can't just sit idly by and let the bast-...

Ack! I mean...

... People go wild and kill other demons like ants. Please forgive me! "

" Is it okay for you to beg for your life from the person who killed your man? "

" The knight's task is to protect their master. I'm sure the knights will be happy if I survive "

Sweat formed on Izuku's forehead, he was a little confused because it was the first time he encountered such a selfish demon. Izuku retracted his gaze from her for a moment and looked at the dagger in his hand.

' After seeing her, I lost the will to kill her '

Seeing a gap, the demon took this opportunity to stab Izuku's back but was stopped by the Tusk's magic shield. Izuku glanced at the demon with a hint of mana exuding it.

" What do you think you're doing? "

The demon girl immediately kowtowed as soon as her sneak attack was unsuccessful.

" IF YOU SAVE MY LIFE, I WILL GIVE YOU WHATEVER YOU WANT! "

Izuku was again puzzled by the attitude shown by the demon in front of him.

' I don't know if she is shameless or just optimistic '

Izuku then orders Tusk to use 'Gravity Magic' to lift the demon from the ground.

" entry pass. Can you get it? "

" The e-entry pass is protected by our clan. If you can take me home unharmed, I can give it to you"

" I wondered why it didn't appear, but I didn't expect it to be kept elsewhere for protection "

" I even know where the entrance to the higher floor is stored. I can guide you if you can guarantee the safety of my life and the clan. "

" so tempting "

The demon girl struggled in the air while talking frantically. After speaking, Izuku doubted that he could believe her words. He walked slowly towards her. The demon girl's face turned red when she saw Izuku's face right in front of hers.

Izuku looked straight into her eyes and then she activated her 'Bloodlust' skill.

ring~

[Skill: 'Bloodlust' Activated]

" Can I trust you? "

The high pressure pressing on the demon girl made her face dark and her face wet with cold sweat.

" I... I'm not lying. I... I'm telling the truth. "

Her voice trembled with fright, she was frightened and told the truth. Tusk released 'Gravity Magic' and let it fall even though she was still shaking.

" Okay, if you can give me an admission pass, I will leave this place with peace of mind. "

" T-Thanks "

" but first...

Just who are you guys? "

After a few minutes of calming down, the demon girl finally introduced herself.

" I'm Lady Esil, the eldest daughter of the Radir clan. Our clan is... "

" I didn't ask about that... "

What Izuku was curious was about their existence. He has encountered several intelligent monsters, he asked the same question and ended up with the same answer. He had little expectation that the demons in this dungeon would give a different answer.

" Do you constantly hear voices in your head to kill humans? "

Esil tilted her head in confusion, after a moment of silence she finally realized what Izuku was asking.

" No, but we heard a different voice. To protect the area where we live. "

Finally, a different answer, the purpose of this monster is different from that of the gate monster. The purpose of the gate monster is to kill humans while this underground monster is to protect the dungeon.

' then does that mean I'm like a gate monster to these monsters? '

" When did you start hearing those voices? "

" When we open our eyes here "

Izuku widened his eyes as soon as he heard what Esil said. If she said they heard a sound when they opened their eyes here, it means that these demons used to live elsewhere. This can be a clue to know the nature of the system.

" Then where were you before opening your eyes here? "

" In the demon world. Before we knew it, we ended up here. "

" What are you doing in the demon world?"

" w r... W3 ar# pR3par!n9 Fo-R w-Ar."

" War? war against who? "

" Yes. It was a war against such a powerful enemy that all the demons had to gather together- "

Suddenly Esil's words went out of control and her eyes began to distort as if she had experienced some kind of distortion. As if she was being possessed by something, she started babbling words differently than before.

" You have exceeded the amount of information allowed. The conversation will be interrupted.

You have exceeded the amount of information allowed. The conversation will be interrupted.

You have exceeded the amount of information allowed. The conversation will be interrupted. "

' Again, the same thing happened to Baruka. The system forcibly blocked the conversation '

So far, Izuku has only collected information that only ends up at the same dead end, but by talking to Esil he can provide some kind of clue.

Level up, instant dungeons, quests, rewards, and penalties. Since everything is like a video game, it's not strange that monsters have a background like video games.

" Who is the powerful enemy you mentioned?"

" It's- # $%$& !*x... "

Esil tried to answer Izuku's question but the information in her head seemed to be too much. Her face went dark and she fainted instantly.

" Esil! "

Izuku rushed to catch her just before her body hit the ground. He then lay her down and used his cloak as a pillow.

Looking at Esil's faint face, Izuku began to collect the information he had just obtained and combine it with the pieces of information he had.

' the system has reacted violently to the identity of the enemy. If that enemy has transcendental power and tries to influence me or the earth for some reason... '

" Then the enemy that the demon fights... Maybe they are the key? "

.