TPDGR 12

Chapter 12….

Finally, the long standoff with Han Hyunjin had ended.

A grueling ordeal lasting over twenty days.

We all gathered together to celebrate Griffith’s feat after his fierce battle with Han Hyunjin.

I had explicitly told him to fight only as much as necessary to stay alive and leave the rest to me.

But Griffith—either misunderstanding my words or simply stubborn—didn’t die, nor did he end the fight quickly.

To go all out and face Han Hyunjin for twenty days straight…

He was like a bamboo—stubborn and inflexible—the perfect archetype of a hero straight out of a game.

I placed a wreath made of Mapitnun flowers around his neck.

“Good job, Griffith.”

“No, it’s nothing,” he said, blushing shyly.

Under the clear sky, fifteen of us applauded Griffith’s valor.

Honestly, I didn’t expect Griffith to perform this well. Even accounting for the power of the Saintess and the artifacts, it was still remarkable!

I felt a twinge of guilt for treating Griffith and Joanna like extras from a puppet troupe until now.

Perhaps this was an opportunity.

“In recognition of your accomplishments, I appoint you as the captain of this castle’s guard.”

“!”

Griffith, fiddling with the dark red Mapitnun flower, widened his eyes.

I had actually planned to make him guard captain all along, but I was wary that the orcs who had been here for a few days might resist.

However, after twenty days of battling a hunter, even the orcs would see that Griffith’s promotion was justified.

Besides, leaving the gate in the hands of just three orcs seemed risky. Someone of Griffith’s skill could be trusted to handle it as an intermediary.

Somehow, capable individuals were gradually accumulating.

Griffith’s face glowed with gratitude as he spoke.

“Such an incredible position… truly, I am grateful, Demon King.”

“Promotion doesn’t always mean good things. It means you’ll have more responsibilities.”

“Whatever it is, I will carry out my duties with a glad heart.”

“Ha. At this rate, will the next battle take forty days?”

“Yes! If that’s my best!”

“Uh… try to make a decision within a day if possible…”

Honestly, after twenty days, it was hard to judge whether he was good or bad at fighting.

In any case, driving the hunter away was something to celebrate. Saintess Joanna happily fluttered over to congratulate Griffith as well.

She mumbled prayers in the name of God, but the tingling sensation on my skin made me quietly slip away.

I didn’t show it in front of the orcs or the new dungeon residents, but I couldn’t help feeling a little unsettled.

“Han Hyunjin has finally come.”

The protagonist of this novel.

Han Hyunjin, known as a hero who closes every dungeon and is called the savior of the citizens, had discovered my existence.

Although I had successfully driven him away this time, having read the original story, I knew Han Hyunjin’s persistence.

“Having failed once, he might come back fully prepared.”

I gathered my share of Mapitnun flowers and walked toward the gate.

As the dungeon boss, I was bound to this dungeon and could go nowhere else.

The dungeon and I were a shared destiny. If I died, the dungeon would collapse. I couldn’t leave even like a ghost.

Until now, I had intended to live leisurely and enjoy dungeon life… but now, other guilds and Han Hyunjin would keep trying to invade my dungeon, as usual.

“Tsk. I guess I have to strengthen the dungeon to survive…”

If it became a dungeon strong enough to rival a kingdom, hunters wouldn’t easily take it, and I wouldn’t have to fear death.

In that sense, Griffith and Joanna entering my dungeon might be a stroke of luck.

Without a mask, the wind swept across my face, cooling my eyes and reflexively making them water.

Time flowed in my dungeon, with day and night repeating—just like on Earth.

The blazing sunset and red sky in front of me also resembled Earth closely.

“Earth…”

I guess I’ll never see Earth again in my lifetime.

Thinking I could never return to Earth, even after death, suddenly made me feel sorrowful.

Everything else was fine. No rent, no office, no work—being born as a Demon King wasn’t unfair at all.

But there was one thing.

I missed the food of the mortal world…

I held no attachment to my previous world, but not being able to eat what I wanted was heartbreaking.

Take kimbap, for example.

I loved kimbap the most, but here, I could never produce it myself.

Even if I had rice, how would I make the seaweed? Tuna cans? Sesame leaves, bamboo mats, sesame oil?

Making just one roll required so many ingredients. It was impossible to dream of fruit or other special ingredients here.

If I were a business-savvy heroine, I could have whipped up kimbap and built a whole building from it…

But I was just an ordinary Demon King.

Being bound to the dungeon was already frustrating, and now I was doomed to eat only what was available forever.

Everything else was fine, but never being able to eat what I wanted felt utterly unfair.

I sulkily stared at the gate.

A strange sensation ran through my body, and suddenly, a hand reached out from the gate.

Even seeing that hand, I hesitated.

No way… right?

Why is a hand suddenly reaching out here?

Surely, the person entering my dungeon now couldn’t be him.

Logically, after over twenty days of battle, he should have rested and come back fully prepared!

But contrary to my expectation, Han Hyunjin emerged from the gate, saw me, and immediately raised his hands in surrender, speaking rapidly.

“Demon King, I didn’t come back to fight you. I already realized that you’re different from other monsters. That you can think and show compassion… like a human. So I can’t treat you like other dungeon bosses. What I really want to know is whether you are a monster in human form, or some other being…”

Then he froze upon seeing me.

“Why…”

His face was filled with bewilderment.

I was just as perplexed.

After twenty days of fighting, why did he return in just one day? Didn’t he rest?

It was absurd and infuriating. At that moment, I even resented Han Hyunjin for being able to get whatever kimbap he wanted for just four thousand won.

Various emotions flashed across Han Hyunjin’s face in the sunset.

He hesitated briefly and rummaged through the inner pocket of his jacket.

What was this? Trying to pull out a new tool? Seize this moment to take advantage of me?

I was about to call out, “Griffith, we’re screwed!” and summon my shadow, but then Han Hyunjin extended a handkerchief.

“Use this to wipe it first.”

“…Huh? What?”

“Quickly.”

I was flustered but accepted the handkerchief from Han Hyunjin.

Was it tears from the wind? Or fear of Han Hyunjin? Or sadness from not having kimbap?

I pressed it to my eyes, but nothing came off.

What was going on?

Then Han Hyunjin, looking frustrated, brought the handkerchief to my lips.

Tap tap.

The delicate touch against my lips made me flinch.

Rolling my eyes, I noticed Han Hyunjin watching me with concern.

“…What on earth happened to you, Demon King?”

Happen? What does that even mean…

At that moment, a faint bloodstain appeared on Han Hyunjin’s gray handkerchief.

“…Huh? Blood? Whose blood is this?”

The moment I smelled the faint metallic scent, my vision blurred.

[!Abnormal Status!]

[Public sentiment of ‘Demon King Dungeon’ rises slightly from 0 to 5.
Conflict detected between Demon King ‘Anastassios’ identity and public sentiment.
Abnormal Status: Hemoptysis, Anemia.]

What?

“Abnormal status… hemoptysis?! Waaaah?”

Hemoptysis? As soon as I read the message, a gush of blood shot up my throat.

…It was my blood?

As a large amount of blood poured out, my head spun, and my legs went weak.

“Hey, Demon King!”

I collapsed into Han Hyunjin’s arms and lost consciousness.