Chapter 11…..
Griffith, this guy… He’s not going to ignore my words, risk his life fighting, and end up dying at Han Hyunjin’s hands, is he…?
At the very least, I didn’t want to deal with a corpse on my land.
When I told him to fight but withdraw at the right moment, Griffith looked at me with trembling eyes before turning back to face forward.
“I will definitely win this fight! Even if I have to give my life!”
“Yeah, don’t do that.”
Annoying as it was, now was really the time to step back and leave them to their duel.
Well, it’s not like a boss pops up the moment you enter a dungeon.
I should wait for Han Hyunjin with a fearsome and overwhelming presence befitting a dungeon boss.
Griffith should be able to hold out for at least an hour, right?
“Kyuu! Kkyuuu!!”
I went back into the castle and told Gyu about the situation. With a shocked face, Gyu bounced away toward the village to deliver the news.
So I sat in the throne hall, dramatically perched on the throne, waiting for Han Hyunjin.
After all, there wasn’t much else I could do.
Either sit here sharpening my blade, or fight Hyunjin with everything I had.
Obviously, I’d have to choose the latter.
With my resolve made, I gripped the armrest of the throne with a firm expression.
And I waited for Hyunjin.
Waited, and waited, and waited…
Villagers who had heard the rumors rushed to the castle, trembling as they sneaked a look at me before fleeing.
The orcs ran to the castle gates, declaring they would stand guard to protect me.
Meanwhile, the pitch-black night sky brightened.
Then noon came.
Even tense as I was, my stomach growled, so I had no choice but to gorge myself on one of the demon bats.
After all, strength for battle comes from food.
Then I waited until evening…
Night fell again.
Night…
Night?!
“…What the hell, why hasn’t he come? Don’t tell me they’re still fighting. Seriously?”
Having sat tense on the throne all day, the strain on my back muscles forced me to collapse onto the floor for a moment.
Gyu hopped up onto my back and bounced around to loosen my muscles.
In the meantime, Unit 3 returned from scouting with a report.
“Griffith is… still fighting the intruder, sir…?”
“What? You’re kidding!”
Well, Hyunjin was a hunter. His inventory must’ve been stuffed to the brim with potions.
Mana, stamina—if you had enough money, you could just refill it endlessly.
But Griffith? How the hell was he holding out?!
“They say if you’re blessed with the Saintess’s holy power, you forget hunger and drowsiness. It improves focus and even prevents skin aging, apparently.”
“…That sounds like drugs.”
Damn it. I didn’t know holy power was that broken. That’s practically something the state should regulate.
No wonder temples in romance-fantasy novels are always painted as the root of evil.
Thinking that even I, the Demon King, was excluded from such blessings made me feel cheated.
“Fine, if Griffith has holy power, he can probably last a day… but two will be pushing it. You lot, prepare for the hunter!”
“Yes, sir!”
So I camped out in the throne hall, waiting for Hyunjin, who might show up at any moment.
A day passed, then two.
Three, four.
Five, six.
…Seven, eight, nine.
“Are these lunatics serious?”
Ten, eleven, twelve…
Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen…
“Son of a—”
By the time twenty whole days had passed, Griffith and Hyunjin were still fighting.
“Ugh…”
At last, Griffith dropped to his knees.
He was half a corpse, gasping for breath.
His lashes trembled, and his pale-blue eyes looked up at Hyunjin.
Confirming Griffith’s kneeling state, Hyunjin finally sheathed his sword.
“…Why go this far?”
It had been over twenty days of battle.
Hyunjin had drained nearly every potion in his inventory, and Griffith had burned through every ounce of strength he had, sustained only by holy power.
But it wasn’t just holy power that had brought him this far.
Even with his fading mind, Griffith answered:
“Because the Demon King is wise and kind…”
Clicking his tongue, Hyunjin sneered coldly.
“You’re completely insane. He’s the Demon King.”
“Believe it or not, it doesn’t matter. He gave us a home and believed in me. Repaying that trust is the natural duty of a swordsman.”
Hyunjin frowned.
What home?
From a dungeon boss?
Even during their twenty-day clash, Griffith had kept saying such things.
How he’d led refugees in search of a new home, wandering far and wide, until the Demon King took them in at last.
That beyond the Demon King’s dungeon lay another human world—and that the Demon King was helping them.
That was even harder to believe than the idea of another human world.
What kind of dungeon boss does that?
On Earth, even its so-called leaders were rotten to the core.
Every day, new dungeons opened and monsters poured out, yet those in power cared only for their own gain.
Capitalists, politicians, even hunters—none of them cared about suppressing dungeons, which should’ve been the top priority.
Hyunjin, who poured his very life into closing dungeons, felt only deep disgust for them.
So he didn’t even pretend to listen to Griffith’s words.
The Demon King taking in and protecting people and monsters alike?
Impossible.
Yet Griffith gave a faint, bitter smile.
“The Demon King is the one who even embraced a useless extra like me with trust.”
“…No, come on. A mad dog of a swordsman who can fight an enemy for twenty days straight isn’t exactly an ‘extra.’”
Was he being too modest? Or maybe the Demon King had him brainwashed.
“Griffith, please don’t say more. You’ve already pushed yourself too far.”
Johanna’s tearful voice quivered.
Ignoring them, Hyunjin shoved his sword into its sheath and trudged toward the Demon King’s castle.
Honestly, the fight had been exhausting—so much so that he was sick of it.
Never in his life had he seen someone battle nonstop for twenty days.
With a look of disgust, Hyunjin shot Griffith one last glare before moving on.
Inside the grand hall, the Demon King sat tall and imposing.
A voice rumbled out from beneath the mask, echoing through the chamber.
“So, you’ve made it all the way here, Hunter Han Hyunjin.”
“You know me?”
“Of course.”
A faintly ambiguous voice, impossible to pin to any gender, seeped from beneath the mask.
“I know your existence very well.”
“…”
“Well then, since you’ve come this far, shall I face you?”
The black shadow draped over the throne writhed, surging toward Hyunjin. His eyes flared as he swung his sword.
Clang! Clang—!
Adjusting his breath, Hyunjin fought against the lunging shadow.
Truly, this was a boss fight.
Not just any boss—the Demon King.
The more their blows clashed, the more Hyunjin felt his breath faltering.
The power gap was greater than he’d thought.
“Kh!”
A sharp shadow carved deep into his swollen thigh. Agonizing pain seared through him, forcing Hyunjin to drop to one knee.
“Leave now, Hunter.”
“Han Hyunjin.”
Grinding his teeth, Hyunjin spat his name. The Demon King’s reply, however, was far lighter.
“Oh, right. Hyunjin.”
“….”
“Now, for heaven’s sake, go home. Who occupies another’s dungeon for twenty days straight?”
This insufferable bastard!
The Demon King’s tongue clicked, his inner thoughts slipping out—but whether or not he cared, Hyunjin pulled out his last remaining potion and downed it.
The deep wound in his thigh healed instantly.
With renewed vigor, Hyunjin lunged and struck.
The sudden attack made the Demon King snarl under his mask.
“Han Hyunjin!”
Up to this point, Hyunjin had given no weight to Griffith’s words.
A Demon King who cared for refugees?
There could never be such a gentle, benevolent dungeon master. That swordsman must have been mistaken.
Clang! Cha-ching!
Sparks flew as their weapons clashed.
At last, Hyunjin succeeded in splitting the Demon King’s mask in two.
“!”
But when the mask cracked open, revealing a snow-white face beneath, Hyunjin froze mid-attack.
For a moment, his mind blanked at the sight of fluttering lashes and jet-black eyes.
Every monster he had ever faced had a grotesque appearance—even those who wore masks.
If you tore the mask away, a beast’s face always waited beneath.
But instead of a beast, a clear human-like face appeared.
Human features.
Griffith’s words resurfaced in Hyunjin’s mind.
‘Could he really be… a monster who knows how to care for people…?’
“Han Hyunjin, you…!”
Hyunjin hastily raised his sword and stepped back.
The Demon King’s shadows swelled, writhing as though ready to explode.
But the half-exposed face was unmistakably human.
Confusion spread across Hyunjin’s expression.
“You bastard… while I was writhing with guilt, you dared to sneak in a cheap shot—like some villain, like a Demon King! How dare you!!”
The Demon King’s shoulders shook as he raged.
“To see the Demon King’s bare face without killing him first—that’s an insult!”
That’s the issue here?!
Covering his exposed cheek, the Demon King lashed out with shadowy tendrils.
Hyunjin, still stunned, was struck head-on. He smashed through the castle walls, again and again, before being flung back out through the gate.
Boom!
Crashing onto the ground, Hyunjin groaned in pain.
‘I always thought dungeon bosses were evils that had to be defeated…’
But the pale face beneath that bone mask haunted his mind.
‘What’s his story…?’
Coughing up blood, Hyunjin wiped his mouth and slowly stood.
Suspicion toward the Demon King surged within him. Monsters were always enemies to be slain. But this Demon King was different.
His thoughts tangled into chaos.
In the end, there was only one way to find the truth.
“…I’ll have to go back in soon.”
Hyunjin looked at the gate with determined eyes.
More than anything, he wanted to return to that dungeon as soon as possible—
to meet the Demon King again.
