Act Like a Boss, Mr. Swallow

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[Translator – Kie]

[Proofreader – Demon God]

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“Wow, boss. No matter how I think about it, you’re the best. You didn’t stop at driving away the humans, you even chased Renne away!! I’m so shocked, I can’t even shut my mouth. Your kicks really don’t discriminate between friend and foe.

“Patrick, how do we handle a situation like this…”

“Why should I find the solution when the boss is the one who caused the problem?”

Well, he says that, but it’s already the fourth day in this state.

With a sidelong glance at the unresponsive Devourer, Patrick took a seat. It was pitiful, but there was no lack of a sense of pity. Seeing him sprawled out like a dried squid with such a massive figure, even Patrick felt a loss of strength in his body.

Well, saying such things in this situation won’t improve anything.

Time might not resolve it, but for now, Patrick thought that being by Devourer’s side was all he could do.

After the incident, a day has passed since Renee was forcibly expelled from the Primordial Core.

Chay, who had playfully chased away the bored Devourer and was taking care of the lovely figure of the greatsword ’14th Masterpiece, Tanabella,’ was cleaning it. While wiping away the fine particles of lime embedded in the sword, he felt an overwhelming amount of memorization bursting out from the dungeon entrance direction.

For the first time in decades, Patrick could feel the immense memorization, and he rushed towards it with Tanabella still in hand. The situation felt unusual, and he could sense it just from the atmosphere. Prepared for the worst, ready to fight if necessary when he pursued the memorization—

There stood Renee with lifeless eyes like a doll, and Devourer, still possessing reason but unable to calm down, emitting memorization that seemed capable of overwhelming everything. They were standing in a straight line.

‘What happened next?’

He scratched his skull with sharp fingertip bones. He couldn’t remember well due to the confusion, but that was probably how it went.

* * *

“Boss!!!”

Shouting at the top of his lungs, Patrick, however, received no response from Devourer. Without a moment’s hesitation, Patrick sprinted towards Devourer, who remained motionless. In an instant, countless spikes erupted from Devourer’s body, all aimed at Renee. There was no doubt – Devourer, the boss, was trying to kill Renee. He perfectly recognized her as an enemy.

As Patrick’s mind raced with uneasy thoughts amidst the overwhelming memorization filling the room, an unsettling image flashed through his mind – the black spikes piercing through Renee’s body, splitting it into thousands of pieces like a turned-over lump of meat. Or perhaps, a future about to unfold.

Patrick’s footsteps halted in front of Devourer. He grabbed Devourer, who was partially released from the polymorph, but he didn’t budge at all. Instead, the ground couldn’t bear Devourer’s weight, crumbling beneath. Without any delay, Patrick turned towards Renee.

Renee still stared blankly at the ground. The black gems that had fallen from her body caught Patrick’s attention. After briefly examining the gems, Patrick immediately grabbed Renee’s hand.

It was cold. Patrick needed to create some distance somehow, but Renee seemed so stiff that he began to doubt if she was still alive.

“Renee!”

“Ah… Aah… What… have I… done?”

Communication was impossible in this state.

Making that judgment, Patrick lifted Tanabella, the greatsword he was holding. He swung the massive sword, half a rotation, piercing Renee’s abdomen with the blunt end. Renee didn’t scream; she just forcefully exhaled the held breath.

Although this level of attack wouldn’t render her unconscious, her body had undoubtedly weakened. Patrick, making that judgment, threw Renee with all his might towards the direction of the dungeon entrance.

Renee, tossed powerless, collided with the wall with a loud crash, and the wall collapsed with a clamor.

“Well, I managed to create some distance in a hurry…”

Patrick wasn’t particularly skilled at throwing. He had only slightly increased the distance rather than securing a physically stable one. He adjusted his posture, muttering to himself as if asking Devourer what to do.

In the most basic and bizarre stance – the sword’s tip aimed at Devourer.

Can I win? It’s truly a foolish question. What are you thinking, Patrick? Don’t act like an amateur. He scolded himself.

“Boss, you seem serious after a while. It’s not cool because the target of your anger is completely wrong.”

If I don’t exert all my strength at every moment, I might end up dying instead of Renee.

A crisis that could be described as overwhelming desperation. The worst-case scenario. Nevertheless, Patrick faintly smiled.

“I didn’t expect it to be like this, but to be honest, I’ve always wanted to have a serious match with the boss.”

The overwhelming despair unfolding before his eyes, combined with Patrick’s exhilaration, made his bones tremble ever so slightly.

This is it. Vague terror. A crisis that proves to myself that ‘I exist.’

If you ask about the odds of winning, they’re probably extremely low. In the first place, the boss, Devourer, is not a creature that exists to win. Winning is not the goal. A matter of seconds or minutes, just keep him at bay until he regains consciousness on that side.

Are you trying to kill me too?

Devourer’s voice, scratching like iron, sounded as if it was proclaiming death. Simultaneously, in the form of a grotesque monster, Patrick charged towards the boss.

* * *

“Well, it wasn’t entirely the boss’s fault,” Patrick remarked, wrapping up a brief reflection.

It took quite some time before Devourer, now fully composed, could hear the complete story of the incident. From Patrick’s perspective, this wasn’t a situation caused by anyone’s fault in particular. It wasn’t a matter of both parties being right either.

“No, I think it’s mostly my fault when I think about it.”

“Feeling guilty about it now won’t change anything. Even if you consider driving Renee out as fortunate, it was still a less than ideal situation.”

It was both unfortunate and fortunate that Devourer had displayed more than necessary madness when losing rationality. Due to Devourer momentarily perceiving Renee as ‘a source of vague fear’ rather than ‘a loved one,’ it inadvertently led to driving away Renee, who lost her sanity.

If Devourer had shown even a bit of his usual behavior, causing Renee to feel more guilt.

“She might have died.”

Before Devourer could even lay a hand on her, Renee would have taken her own life right there. There would have been no hesitation. This could be asserted with confidence.

Considering Renee’s intense attachment, bordering on pathological obsession, to Devourer, a mix of strong attachment and loyalty, there was no reason for her not to end her life. That was certain.

“Well, it seems like both sides share some blame. Of course, to me, the boss is definitely the one at fault.”

“Well, I don’t quite remember it…”

“Really? Let me remind you. Do you remember saying, ‘Are you trying to kill me?’ I remember it vividly. Boss’s voice is truly something I can imitate only after grinding my jawbone. I should try it again sometime. How did it go? Like this, precisely fitting the bones, ‘Are you trying to kill me…?'”

“That…!”

“Do you still not remember?”

“Ugh… Damn it… I’m sorry…”

“Well, admitting it quickly is good. Be careful, boss. With thousands of years, I’ve gained quite a bit of experience.”

Taunting Devourer, who was sprawled out as if giving up, Patrick mocked him.

Though he said that, Devourer’s actions were somewhat understandable.

According to Devourer’s account, what Renee had taken out was a magic stone containing a sealed demon.

The demon sealed in the magic stone forms a contract with the user who injects mana into it. The problem is, it’s more like a contract only in words. Since the demon forcibly takes over the body of the one who injected mana, and there’s no way to revert it. Naturally, the demon’s power also corresponds to the user’s strength. Although the demon in its pitifully shattered state took on the form of a fetus, if it had awakened at Renee’s call, it would have turned into a monstrous entity.

It wasn’t even an ordinary demon summoned by a human; Renee herself had called forth the demon. In such a situation, Devourer feeling threatened with murder was, in a way, an inevitable circumstance.

“Besides, it was a demon. That makes it even worse.”

Another period of silence. The sound of water droplets falling from the ceiling and hitting the floor seemed to echo like the ticking of a clock.

A slow passage of time. Just when it was starting to become tedious, a low voice escaped from Devourer’s long mouth.

“As expected, we need to go find Renee…”

“Why state the obvious…?”

“Huh? Oh? I thought you’d say not to….”

“It’s not that. I just find it hard to believe that you’re saying it like it’s nothing.”

“Well, anyway, I don’t have the confidence to cook or clean. Hurry up and come with me before it’s too late.”

“Whether you prostrate yourself, beg, or kiss Renee’s shoes, figure it out yourself.” With these words, Patrick addressed Devourer.

“If the news of Renee leaving the dungeon spreads through the dungeon network, do you know what will happen? Other dungeons will go crazy trying to recruit Renee. We’ll have a hard time too. If I hear that Renee has joined another dungeon – before the boss returns – I’ll resign neatly and disappear.”

“Patrick, you don’t have ears.”

“Do you want to fight?”

As if deflated by Patrick’s words, Devourer’s body rapidly shrank, transforming into a plausible human male figure. Seeing Devourer like that, Patrick seemed to recall something and pulled out something from between his ribs.

“Oh, you’ll need this when you go outside.”

A bracelet with a faint green glow.

Before Devourer could ask what it was, Patrick threw the bracelet towards him. Ignoring Devourer catching the bracelet with a clumsy movement, Patrick continued speaking.

“It’s a bracelet that helps stabilize mana. It’s a type of genuine jade with the name ‘Demeura.’ You don’t need to know the details, just remember it’s expensive. Although it helps stabilize mana, considering how severe the boss’s mana reflux is, the actual effectiveness is uncertain. It might not play a significant role, but it should at least prevent excessive fluctuation in polymorph state.”

“Where did you get this?”

“I found it lying around.”

“Cool!”

“And please, don’t do anything else with this, boss. It’s not as sturdy as you might think.”

“I’ll know when I use it.”

“Please.”

“I’ll make an effort, I will.”

“…And, you must return within five days.”

Devourer noticed Patrick spreading out his awkward palm. Patrick, as if emphasizing concentration, made a crisp contact with Devourer’s palm. Patrick’s voice, as he spoke, carried a fairly serious tone.

“It’s time for humans to come, boss. There hasn’t been any expedition news in the human newspapers for the past few days, but roughly estimating, they’ll probably invade within ten days. This is just a guess. The limit I can guarantee for safety is five days.”

“You’re telling me to come back before humans arrive?”

“Yes, boss. I can’t be sure how long we’ll last without information about the enemy.”

Every room is in a state of complete destruction.

It would take quite a bit of time to restore the empty rooms. Even the fifth room, which starts recovering automatically after some time, was in a situation where Antropophagus, the mother organism, had stopped breeding due to Devourer enthusiastically spewing out memorization.

“If I can’t stop the humans and they arrive at ‘that place’ while the boss is away, who knows what will happen. It’s five days, even if it’s a little late. Remember that.”

“Got it. I’ll definitely bring Renee back within five days.”

“And finally, a sincere request, if you happen to go near a human village, please refrain from overly conspicuous actions, boss. It’s not good if monsters from the dungeon are found secretly lurking around the human village.”

“Got it. If I mess up, I’ll destroy everything. If you hear banging sounds from outside, that’s me.”

“Oh, please!”

Before Patrick finished speaking, Devourer leaped towards the entrance passage. It would be more accurate to say that he threw himself with open arms and legs, landing on the ground. The human male figure, who had leaped high into the sky, instantly transformed into a gigantic dark mass as if expanding. Very naturally—yet so quickly that it couldn’t be followed with the eyes—the monstrous shape took form.

Although it was less than a quarter of the original size, the shape was large enough to completely fill Patrick’s field of vision in a pitch-black manner.

The massive figure landed on the ground with one step, and with that single leap, it disappeared completely from Patrick’s sight. In the place where Devourer had passed, a gust of wind swept through after a slight time interval. Feeling the refreshing breeze all over his body, Patrick shook his head.

“Geez, he sure departs noisily.”

* * *

After the gust subsided, and the dust that had been lifted several meters into the air by the reversed wind settled, Patrick finally stood up from his spot.

Brushing off the lightly settled dust from his shoulders, he pulled out something from his embrace. It was a human newspaper, and it was dated for today.

“Masterpiece 36 Lines, Number 34 ‘Brachycepthalic Tooth’ Genuine Article to be Auctioned… What will be the winning bid…”

“The situation has unfolded more complicated than I thought.”

‘Fangs of the Guillotine’ was undoubtedly one of the seals Renee possessed.

Miss Renee had gone to the human village. There, she handed over her cherished seal, ‘Brachycepthalic,’ to the humans, who were the objects of her hatred.

Four days ago, why did Miss Renee call the boss to her secret place? There’s no need to think deeply about it. It’s obvious that Miss Renee likes the boss. However, there might have been some variables introduced. In that situation, what Miss Renee brought out was a magic stone imbued with demonic power.

… She gave up the ‘Brachycepthalic’ she had and brought a magic stone infused with demon power from somewhere. In the end, because of that, the boss, who lost his reason, almost killed her.

“It seems we can get a rough estimate.”

What would the boss have done if he had known this fact?

He doesn’t particularly like humans, but that doesn’t mean the annihilation of humanity is an absolute happy ending. If that were the case, he would have done it long ago.

No, it’s not yet time to destroy humanity.

Sighing, Patrick flipped through the newspaper. The first page always contained articles about the imperial family. As he flipped to the next page, a large feature caught Patrick’s attention.

“Dungeon Raid Union Headquarters: ‘Will Conquer the Primordial Core within 3 Days.'”

“Hmm.”

“Return within five days.”

Suddenly, the words he had said came to his mind.

“I’m going insane.”

Phase. 2

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[Translator – Kie]

[Proofreader – Demon God]

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