Ankoku Kishi Monogatari ~Yuusha wo Taosu Tameni Maou ni Shoukansaremashita~-Chapter 180.1: Palace of The Goddess of Destruction

◆Dark Knight; Kuroki

Clad in my Dark Knight armor, I ventured into the underground prison of Qtar alongside the god of blacksmiths, Heibos.

The entrance gate loomed large, so immense that even gigates could pass through without difficulty.

And yet, the gate was already open.

The one responsible for opening it was undoubtedly Ribesal's golem.

It seemed that a variety of procedures were required to unseal the seal on the Wicked Beast.

「Please be very careful, Our Great Father, and Dark Knight Kuroki-dono. And our deepest apologies for our incompetence…」

The dwarf stationed as the gatekeeper spoke as he bowed to us.

At present, only Heibos and myself were present, along with other dwarves who worked as gatekeepers here. Their primary role was to protect the gate, not to deal with a rampaging golem, so it was understandable that they couldn’t deal with the situation.

Yet, the golems seemed to have already infiltrated.

The golems weren't only wreaking havoc here; they had also caused chaos in the dwarven village.

「Understood. I'll temporarily release you from your duties to stop the rampaging golem.」

Heibos said, tapping the leader of the gatekeepers on the shoulder.

It may have sounded harsh, but that was his way of encouraging them.

「Leave it to us, Our Great Father!」

With renewed vigor, the leader of the gatekeepers took off, rallying the other dwarves.

The dwarven technicians were dispatched to subdue the rampaging golems, while the dwarven warriors prepared to fight the invading werewolves.

To be honest, we were short on manpower.

Ideally, the golems should have been our allies, yet they had become our enemies.

Though Rena was assisting the ground forces, it was far from enough.

But alas, I had no time to dwell on that.

The reason being, I was about to face the most Wicked Beast. With only Heibos by my side, I was essentially going alone.

「Let's go, Dark Knight.」

Heibos called to me as he boarded the small sky boat.

The underground palace of Qtar was vast, and even with the sky boat, it would take a long time to navigate the area.

「Yes, Heibos-dono.」

I nodded and climbed aboard behind Heibos.

Though the sky boat was only large enough for four people, it was a high-end model designed and crafted by Heibos himself.

The sky boat lifted slightly off the ground and began its journey into the underground palace.

The moment we entered, we were engulfed in total darkness, but I quickly noticed that we were heading downhill—or rather, going further underground.

The deeper we went, the more I could sense the presence of Shade, a lower-ranked darkness spirit.

The Goddess of Destruction, Nargol, was the Great Mother of all Gods of Darkness, so the further we descended, the darker it became. But such a dark place posed no difficulty for me. With my night vision, I could see the surroundings clearly. 𝘳𝖆ℕоᛒĘS̈

I could make out numerous giant pillars and floors made of glossy jet-black stone in this spacious palace. It vaguely reminded me of the Demon King Castle.

I shook my head, pushing the thought away.

Perhaps it was the other way around; maybe the Demon King Castle had been built to resemble this place. This underground palace was ruled by Modes' mother, the True Demon King. So, it wasn't strange that Modes had attempted to recreate its architectural style.

The underground palace was composed of seven floors, each separated by a gate, with the throne room located at the deepest part, on the seventh floor.

Fortunately, we didn't need to go that far, as the Wicked Beast was sealed on the third floor.

「You seem to be interested in this place, Dark Knight.」

Heibos remarked, his gaze lingering on me.

I tilted my head slightly at his comment.

「Are you, by chance, unable to see in this darkness, Heibos-dono?」

「The darkness here is peculiar. Otherwise, this Heibos wouldn't have a problem seeing it.」

Heibos tapped the goggles-like device resting on his eyes as he spoke.

I had assumed it was just a regular pair of goggles, but it turned out to be some sort of magical tool.

「This world of darkness rejects the light of living creatures. In your case, it seems the darkness favors you, Dark Knight.」

Heibos chuckled, his voice light with amusement.

I had assumed that Heibos could see in this darkness due to using night vision magic, but it appeared I had been mistaken.

Not long after, we arrived at an area where giant structures stood in a row.

「It looks like a city.」

「Yes, many giants once lived here. This is the remnant of that history.」

It was just as he had said—the giants once lived in this place.

The structures were far too large for humans. Though giants varied in size, even the smallest among them stood at least four meters tall. From the intricate ornaments and splendid architecture, it was evident that the ancient giants possessed highly advanced technology.

But the Gods of Elios had long defeated those giants, many perishing in battle. The stone ruins scattered across the world were the remnants of their civilization. The few survivors might have fled, retreating to the most secluded corners of the world to live in hiding.

Heibos and I walked along the main street, making our way deeper into the ruins.

Eventually, a massive structure appeared at the end of my line of sight.

「That's the gate to the second floor, Dark Knight. A guardian protects it and will attack any uninvited intruder. Golems, being inorganic, are ignored, but the same can't be said for us. Be on your guard.」

「Yes, Heibos-dono.」

A few moments later, we arrived at a vast plaza in front of the gate.

Numerous stone statues stood in orderly rows, their beast-like forms adorned with bat-like wings, frozen as if waiting to strike at any moment.

「INCOMING, DARK KNIGHT!」

Heibos shouted as he halted the skyboat.

At once, the statues turned their heads in our direction.

「A-Are they…!?」

「Gargoyles, Dark Knight!」

Before Heibos could finish his words, the gargoyles spread their wings and rushed toward us.

I was familiar with these creatures. I had encountered them before in the Demon King’s Castle.

Gargoyles were pseudo-living constructs, created by Nargol, the Goddess of Destruction. Their stone-like bodies resembled trolls, appearing as mere statues when dormant, but springing into action the moment they detected intruders.

The first one to charge was massive, far larger than a typical gargoyle, which was roughly the size of a human. I never expected they could fly with such agility.

「GET DOWN, HEIBOS-DONO!」

I called out, drawing my demon sword.

Yet, the gargoyle ignored me entirely, heading straight for Heibos.

「OVER MY DEAD BODY!」

I spun and, with a single swift motion, beheaded the creature before it could reach him.

The remaining gargoyles froze.

For a moment, they appeared completely bewildered by what had just happened. Perhaps they possessed some level of intelligence.

Five remained. All of them focused their attention on me, sizing me up.

Then, in unison, they opened their mouths and unleashed a barrage of water jets.

The most distinctive trait of a gargoyle was its ability to store water within its body. That was why they were often placed atop buildings, functioning as rain gutters. But that stored water also served as their primary weapon.

「O Black Flame!」

I conjured a wall of fire, blocking the incoming water.

Seizing the moment, I dashed forward and swung my sword at one of them.

The gargoyle raised its massive claws to block the strike, but size alone meant nothing. It was still no match for me.

One after another, I cut them down.

In the end, I eliminated every last one of them without breaking a sweat.

「As expected of you, Dark Knight. These gargoyles were no match. In this state, they’ll need some time to recover.」

Heibos observed the wreckage of the fallen creatures.

「These gargoyles can repair themselves?」

「Yes. I can't say for sure about the ones you just destroyed, but normally, they eventually recover and return to their pedestals.」

「Such strange creatures…」

I studied the broken remains once more.

There was something mysterious about them, an enigma surrounding their very existence. I wished I could investigate further, but now was not the time.

「Let’s move on, Dark Knight. The gate to the lower floor is just ahead.」

At Heibos' urging, I boarded the skyboat once more.

To our next destination—the second floor.

===

My first CN project, why waifu though? Well, coz the main heroine's job is buying soy sauce till the end of act 1

New Project:

Harem, Hero, Demon King, Seven Deadly Sin, Seven Virtue, Sacred Beast, Sword and Magic, Dystopian Future, DESTINY PROJECT HAD IT REALIZED!, Dungeon, Dragon, 72 Demons, Reincarnations

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