Dungeon Defense (WN)

Chapter 121: The Longest 15 Minutes (6)

Chapter 121: The Longest 15 Minutes (6)

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The saintess was also taken aback. She pursed her lips as she glared towards us menacingly. Her gaze appeared as if she were berating Paimon.

Paimon received her gaze with a smile as she continued.

“Life is full of coincidences, Saintess Gracia.”

“……The Gods will not forgive you.”

“Oh, I doubt that. The Gods are not so benevolent that they would care about this lady.”

Paimon waved her right hand.

“Memoria-recordatione.”

A video was displayed in the air. Similar to when the scene of me torturing Jack was being played, this time, a scene with Paimon and Gracia appeared. ……The two of them were seated and facing each other in a stone chamber that was lit dimly by the sun.

– Declare Demon Lord Dantalian as the culprit behind the Black Death……?

– Yes, that is correct.

– The evidence seems concrete, but why? I do not understand your intentions in giving this information to us.

The Paimon in the video showed a pleasant smile.

– Gracia, this lady knows very well about your people’s habits. You require a scapegoat, correct?

– …….

– As the complaints from the commoners gradually reach a boiling point and the divide between nobles becomes more severe, this situation must be making it incredibly difficult for you people to even manage your armies. Maintaining the royal throne’s authority, or even the authority of the church, during a time like this……must unquestionably be a difficult task.

Saintess Gracia replied coldly.

– That is not something for you to be concerned about, Demon Lord Paimon.

– That is correct. Let me return those same words back to you. Why this lady wishes to make Dantalian fall is something you should not be concerned about. Whether or not this lady’s proposal will benefit you, that is all you should be considering.

– ……Very well, then. If that is the case, let us vow.

– Yes. Let us vow. A promise with no lies.

The magically recorded video ended there.

I was completely stupefied. I watched the scene of the two people exchanging a secret promise in utter surprise. Just thinking about how far Paimon’s connections must go sent a shiver down my spine. I thought she was only cooperating with Elizabeth the Third Imperial Princess, but now it turns out she was acting in concert with the famous saintess as well…….

Until now, I thought that Paimon acted for the sake of the hero simply because she loved humans, but was there actually a different reason hidden underneath? Was it not only about her affection towards humans but a certain political reason as well……? Has she been engaging in secret political schemes that go so deep that you cannot see the roots?

If this is the case, then it made it even harder to understand. She has this many connections, this much manpower. She had crushed all of this simply to prove my innocence. Now no human ruler will trust Paimon. It is painfully impossible for her to recover their trust now.

Why?

Why has she helped me even though she was the one who dug the trap? There is a limit to giving a disease and the cure. If you look at this from another angle, Paimon had just thrown away the trust she had most likely worked hundreds and thousands of years to build up in a single moment by saving me. I can’t see this as a rational decision…….

“Demon Lord Paimon.”

Saintess Gracia’s voice resonated.

“I believed that your cause was for the coexistence of all rational beings……but it seems that was my mistake. Do you understand what you have done? It is over for you now.”

“Nothing is over.”

The saintess snorted.

“May God’s blessing be upon you.”

The saintess’ appearance disappeared from the plains. The magic they had prepared for the speech had ended.

The nobles of the human army received a blow because of my speech. Third Imperial Princess Elizabeth, who came out as the relief pitcher, had also fallen. Even Saintess Gracia, who came out as the firefighter to douse the flames, had been taken down. The ceremonial speeches ended with the human army’s 3 consecutive defeats. There was no human who could turn this around. They had lost completely.

Paimon raised her right arm and shouted. Her black mantle fluttered elegantly.

“Humans! These are the true faces of nobles and clerics! If it is for the sake of victory, they will cover their lies with sweet words and sacrifice the people. If it is for the sake of their authority, they will attack someone with fake evidence. Will you fight to protect these sorts of people?”

Her silvery voice echoed throughout the plains.

“The Gods have given you life. Your lives were not given to you for you to live fake lives. The red blood flowing throughout your body does not exist for that lie. Your hands do not exist to hold on to that lie. Your feet do not exist for you to turn away from deception. Our two hands exist to grab the truth. Our feet are meant for walking towards the truth. Therefore, we must shoulder the truth that we all know and walk towards the truth that must exist.”

Paimon shouted sternly.

“Nobles are two-faced. This is a truth that we all know! We must come to a world where people can cultivate their own land. This is a truth that we must all pursue! We were given life to realize this evident fact and no powerful noble or sharp blade can keep us from this truth. Mankind! Humanity!?Fight back under the name of God!”

A ray of light enveloped me and Paimon. The magic meant for the speech had ended on our side as well.

I stared at Paimon. She was quietly catching her breath. The small sound of her breathing felt unusually loud to me. Paimon spoke up first before I could reproach her.

“Do you have a handkerchief?”

“What?”

I didn’t know what she was saying so I glared at her. She smiled as if she had expected this response. Her smile looked strangely weak.

“Please carry around a handkerchief from now on. That is the refined duty of a gentleman.”

“What kind of nonsense…….”

At that moment, Paimon began to cough fiercely. After the ominous sound of coughing continued for a while, a clot of blood came out of her mouth. She bent down and vomited blood. It wasn’t normal blood. A blackish-red clot spewed out every time she coughed.

The abruptness of the situation caused me to panic and support her body as I completely forgot that she was my archenemy for a moment. The clots were all clumped together, so I couldn’t distinguish their shapes, but, at the very least, it was painfully clear that they weren’t things that should be leaving the body. You could no longer call what Paimon was doing as simply coughing as it was now mixed with painful groans and cries.

“O-Oi. What’s wrong? What is this?”

“She’s going through mana reflux.”

I heard a familiar voice. Once I turned my head, Barbatos was already at our side. She clicked her tongue as she spoke.

“To a mage, it’s something far scarier than a fatal disease. It happens when your circles go out of whack, but it’s more severe for higher mages with more circles. Right now, the 7 circles inside of her are most likely throwing a chaotic banquet. Tsk. What an idiotic bitch.”

Barbatos looked down at Paimon with extremely cold eyes. She might understand all this, but I didn’t get it at all.

“Damn it, put it in simpler words! I don’t know anything about mana or circles!”

“To put it simply, her life as a mage is over. The thing she trained for 2,000 years was sent flying in a single moment. ……If she were human, then she would’ve died a long time ago. Well, you’d probably be better off dead than endure that pain. It probably feels like all of your limbs are being lacerated.”

“What……?”

Everything a mage had pursued in their life becomes pointless. 

It’s hard for me to understand as someone who isn’t a mage, but it’s easy to understand that this isn’t a normal situation. In other words, wouldn’t this be similar to a warrior losing their arms and legs?

While I was still dumbstruck, Paimon vomited more blood while being held in my arms. My clothes had become soaked in her dark blood. The smell of blood filled my nose. It didn’t smell even remotely as bad as human intestines. It simply smelled like blood.

“But why……?”

“I don’t know. She probably swore on her circles when she made a secret vow with that saintess person. So, what’re you going to do?”

What am I going to do? I gave her a puzzled look. I didn’t have the leisure to ask the question out loud. Someone was vomiting her guts out in my arms right now. It’s difficult for even me to remain calm in a situation like this.

Barbatos maintained her low voice as she explained.

“It’s become clear that this whore bitch screwed with you. You could convict her here and now if you want to.”

“Convict her? The Mountain Faction would oppose…….”

“I can take care of that.”

Her voice was firm.

“We overlooked it a few days ago because we didn’t have any proof; however, we now have undeniable proof in our hands. Dantalian, you may only be Rank 71, but you represented the entirety of the Crescent Alliance the instant you became our speaker. Therefore, Paimon betrayed the Crescent Alliance the moment she set you up.”

“…….”

“I’m not the only one who thinks this.”

She gestured behind her with her chin. Marbas, Gamigin, and the other high-ranking Demon Lords were seated about 10 meters away from us. They gave me a slight nod once I met their gazes.

“Agares, Gamigin, and even old man Marbas are in agreement. He may be stubborn about his position as the mediator, but this is way too clear. However, he put down a condition. Dantalian, he said that he’ll leave the final decision to you.”

My eyes met with Barbatos’. Her golden eyes looked completely indifferent. She wasn’t pressing me to answer or begging me to decide, she was simply waiting quietly for my answer.

“You’re the one who got betrayed and you’re the one who was saved. In the end, you’re the only one who can make the decision. If you want to convict Paimon, then I’ll cut her head off right here and now.”

“…….”

“Dantalian, I’ll give you a special explanation since it seems like your head isn’t working properly. This is a golden opportunity. If you miss this opportunity, then your chances of stopping Paimon will decrease greatly.”

I didn’t even have to ask her why as she calmly explained.

“Paimon will be able to make an excuse from her position. She could say that she made a secret promise with the saintess to throw the enemy forces further into disarray. After the saintess trusted her and tried to corner you, Paimon appeared and denounced the saintess. In the end, she managed to greatly lower the human army’s morale. This kind of scenario can be built up.”

Paimon’s Mountain Faction wasn’t officially declared guilty, but they didn’t escape from suspicion either. That’s why they’re standing as the vanguard of the Crescent Alliance. If they want to prove their innocence, then they would have to prove it through bloodshed.

At this point, if it becomes revealed that Paimon sacrificed her own magic for the sake of her allies in order to deceive the enemy. If this scenario is carried out……the Mountain Faction would be declared completely innocent. Not only did they agree to stand as the vanguard, but the head of the faction sacrificed herself. What more did they have to prove?

No one was saying this yet, though. The only truth that existed right now was the fact that Paimon communicated in secret with the enemy. If I wish to punish Paimon, then right now might be the best……or perhaps, the only opportunity…….

“The decision is yours, Dantalian.’

Barbatos concluded.

The bolts in my head weren’t turning properly. Would killing Paimon here benefit me? No, but why did Paimon endure this much risk to help me in the first place? I don’t get it. Was she hoping that I would feel sympathetic for her? Damn it, fine. I feel sympathy. It’d be a lie if I said that I didn’t feel any sympathy while watching her cough her guts out.

Nonetheless, even if I feel sympathy, I’m not so kind that I would let an opportunity go by……. Despite this, rather than sympathy, I felt much more curious about the reason behind her actions. I had a feeling that there might be something about Paimon that I don’t know about, something that doesn’t even appear all throughout <Dungeon Attack>.

Is this a golden opportunity? Or an opportunity to get a mystery answered? I’ll most likely have regrets no matter what I choose. Then which choice would leave behind less regret……?

“I…….”

I opened my mouth. My lips felt heavy as if weights were holding them down.

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. I’ve been finishing these too fast. I ended up translating during the holiday, too. I guess I sort of feel obligated to translate at a faster pace since I started those early access chapters. I have a desire to get everyone caught up and because of the poll that I’m planning to do. After I finished the last two chapters of this segment, I realized that I should do the poll once everyone is caught up to the end of this segment. There are some character moments that might warrant people having second thoughts, after all. So yeah, character popularity poll once the public chapters reach the end of this arc.

I’ll see you guys in the next release.