Crown had been dreaming.

The last player.

The final rebel and challenger.

Prince Ash ’Born Hater’ Everblack, his eyes glowing in the darkness, had been screaming at him.

- ’The Pied Piper’...!

"Ugh!"

Swallowing hard, Crown snapped his eyes open.

The safe zone between the third and fourth sectors of the Lake Kingdom Dungeon - the base camp - was shrouded in complete darkness.

Only the permanent magic stone embedded in the corner gave off a faint light.

Crown was sitting under that magic stone, leaning against the wall.

’It seems I dozed off.’

He couldn’t remember the last time he had a good night’s sleep.

Crown tried to wipe his weary face with his hand.

But soon he realized his face was covered with a ridiculous mask.

"..."

Crown slowly looked down at his hands, and then his body.

A black hooded hat, a minstrel costume.

And a laughing mask.

"Ha."

He couldn’t even remember how long it had been since he put on these ridiculous clothes and started playing the fool.

Suddenly, he recalled the scene where Prince Ash had screamed at him.

’The Pied Piper, he said?’

The Pied Piper.

There was such a tale in the Lake Kingdom, too.

A village was infested with rats, and the villagers hired a minstrel to get rid of them.

The minstrel played his pipe and controlled the rats, drowning all of them in the lake.

But the villagers, stingy and regretful, did not pay the minstrel as promised.

Angry, the minstrel played his pipe again and controlled the village’s children, drowning all of them in the lake as well.

’That’s too much, really.’

Crown bitterly clicked his tongue.

’That’s way too accurate...’

Then.

"Crown."

A metallic voice reached him.

Turning around, Crown saw one of the Nightcrawler squad members standing next to him.

"What’s the matter?"

"The commanders under the Demon King are being summoned. It seems there’s a war council today."

War council.

Crown’s lips twisted behind his mask.

The Nightcrawler squad member asked slowly.

"Will you attend?"

"...I have to."

Crown slowly got up, his body creaking as if he were a wooden puppet.

"After all, I am the representative of this Lake Kingdom."

"..."

"Even if this kingdom has fallen to be a colony of demons."

Crown staggered out of the base camp and started walking towards the center of the Lake Kingdom.

The Nightcrawler squad member muttered in a low voice.

"Be careful."

"Careful..."

Crown shook his head weakly.

"I wish something would happen where, if I’m not careful, I would just die..."

***

The very center of the Lake Kingdom.

In this place, shrouded in a fog as thick as smoke, a colossal tower loomed ominously.

King’s Castle.

Once the most bustling and beautiful place in the Lake Kingdom, it was now smothered in dripping, inky darkness.

Crown strolled nonchalantly into the palace engulfed in this darkness.

"He’s just a jester."

"Shameless fool."

The palace gatekeepers, demons, sneered at his sight. However, Crown walked on, ignoring them and crossing through their midst.

Walking a distance along the hallway, a vast hall unfolded before him.

A space where the subjects revered the king.

There were three thrones on the stage, but the two thrones on either side were grotesquely destroyed and empty.

Only on the throne in the middle sat a figure, blurry as a shadow.Above its head, it wore a radiant golden crown. It stared at the chessboard placed next to its throne in silence.

"..."

Crown, having glared at that shadow for a moment, eventually cast his gaze down to the stage below.

Below the stage, a long table was placed, huge chairs arranged around it.

And seated in them were nine monsters.

"You’re late, Crown!"

A werewolf with a silver mane among the monsters hollered cheerfully.

"How dare a puny human like you, come late to the meeting summoned by the Demon King! Don’t you humans understand the concept of shame?"

"Puny human..."

Crown muttered under his breath and took a seat at the end of the table.

"Born from the nightmares of those humans, a piece of trash. Amusing."

"What did you say? You insolent-"

"Let it be."

A solemn voice echoed from the throne.

The king had spoken. The werewolf immediately shut his mouth.

"That one, Crown, is a jester. Mocking, ridiculing, satirizing, jesting, and making a fool of himself is his job. That’s this human’s main occupation."

"..."

"And Crown’s words aren’t entirely wrong. You all were refined from the fragments of human nightmares."

The king’s voice hardened a bit.

"But, the one who lets these humans dream of immortality, and fulfills that dream, is me."

"..."

"Isn’t that right, Crown?"

"...Yes, Your Majesty."

"Don’t forget, Crown."

The king’s voice grew increasingly heavy. Crown could feel an intangible force settling on his head and shoulders.

"All the humans of this Lake Kingdom are nothing more than our livestock. They supply nightmares when we need them... no different from the cows or pigs you used to raise."

"..."

"Always be grateful that such livestock is brought to the council table. Do you understand?"

When the king finished speaking, Crown was almost leaning over the table, his torso almost touching it.

Crown nodded silently.

Surrendering to the power of the king was not a shameful act.

To feel humiliation over something so trivial, when they had endured so much greater indignities over the countless ages...

"Well, let’s leave that topic here," the king shifted the discussion. The oppressive air pressing down on Crown disappeared.

"The reason I summoned your legion commanders today, as you probably know, is because the time for the ’Great Rampage’ has arrived."

The king scanned the legion commanders, his fingers draped with rings.

"Therefore, one among you should lead your legion to invade the world of men."

The king’s gaze carefully swept over each of the legion commanders.

Eventually, the king raised his hand, preparing to point at the werewolf.

"Given that it is still the ’early stages,’ a low-ranking Dem-"

"Your Majesty."

At that moment, someone daringly interrupted the king and raised their hand.

"Please, send me."

"Hmm."

The one who raised his hand was a boy with pale skin and dark blue hair. Crown glanced at him.

The Nightmare Legion Commander, 5th in rank.

The head of the bloodline. The essence of the vampires.

The No Life King. Nosferatu. Dracula-

"Celendion."

The king spoke the boy’s name with a delighted tone.

"Quite unexpected. You, volunteering to lead the charge? Didn’t you always dislike coming forward?"

"...”

The commander of the bloodline, Celendion, remained silent for a moment before opening his mouth.

"The humans on the surface killed Ollorb."

"Oh?"

"I wish to seek revenge. Please grant me permission."

The Black Spider Queen, Ollorb.

A powerful 6th ranked legion commander, killed absurdly by a mere cannon. And during a scouting mission at that.

Her sudden and pitiful demise was something even the king hadn’t foreseen.

"Right! Those bastards killed Ollorb!"

"How dare those livestock!"

"If it weren’t for the ’Nameless,’ those trash would’ve been wiped out long ago!"

The table grew loud as Ollorb’s death was brought up. The king waved his hand.

"Don’t get too excited. Ollorb will ’return’ in the ’next round.’"magic

Ah yes, the king who had spoken, laughed heartily.

"Of course, it’s a concept you guys might not understand."Confused at what ’next round’ meant, the legion commanders couldn’t understand the king’s words.

"..."

Crown kept his mouth shut in silence.

"Anyway, good. I like it. Most of all, it seems like it will be fun."

The king nodded at Celendion.

"Celendion, I grant you permission to march. Begin your invasion four weeks from now, in earth time."

"I accept Your Majesty’s command."

Celendion, who had risen from his seat, deeply bowed towards the king.

"Good, this matter is settled. Next, we have the issue of Nightmare supply throughout the kingdom-"

Just as the king was about to discuss the next agenda item.

Boom!

The door of the Reality Chamber burst open, and a gatekeeper demon rushed in, panting heavily.

"Your Majesty, there is a problem!"

"What is it?"

"’The Nameless’... has invaded...!"

The table began to buzz. Crown’s eyes widened.

The king, sighing faintly, inquired.

"A message?"

"A message indeed."

"Figures, it’s always been that way."

"So, perhaps it would be best to conclude the meeting here and close the palace gates for the day..."

The words of the Water Gate Demon were cut off.

Thunk!

The upper body of the Water Gate Demon shattered into pieces along with a flash of light.

A sword hurled from a distance lodged into the back of the Water Gate Demon, simultaneously setting off an explosion of light.

Thud. Thud.

An unhurried silhouette strode down the corridor and slowly retrieved the sword from the body of the Water Gate Demon.

"You!"

"This blasphemer, even in our court!"

The outraged commanders all shot up from their seats.

"It’s a good night, monster lords."

The figure who sauntered into the demons’ lair was a woman in tattered robes. Her bleached white hair dragged along the floor, and the black sword in her hand was so worn it looked more like a lump of iron.

Facing such an adversary, the king voiced his dismay.

"So, you continue this pointless fight, tireless and futile, Nameless."

"Sure, since cleaning up your incessant dust is my job."

The dungeon merchant who roamed the grounds of the Lake Kingdom.

The NPC who first guided Ash and his companions - Nameless gripped her sword.

"Though it may seem sudden, I’m here to execute you."

The king shook his head disapprovingly.

"How much time has passed since you started swinging that sword? A hundred years? Five hundred? Or is it several millennia?"

"I don’t know. I’ve forgotten all about it."

"No matter how hard you try, your kingdom will never be saved. You’ll just wander this hell forever."

"If that’s the case, I will fight forever."

Nameless’ old sword began to slowly emit light.

"If that’s my duty, so be it."

The commanders blocking Nameless’ path drew their weapons.

Both sides entered a state of tension as if a collision were imminent.

Thud. Thud.

And then.

Crown walked out of this tense reality as if nothing were amiss.

"..."

"..."

Crown and Nameless brushed shoulders. But the two didn’t even glance at each other.

"Hahahaha!"

Watching this spectacle, the king roared with laughter.

"A surrendered one and a resister, huh? Haha! I love them all! They make excellent nightmare material!"

Listening to the demon king’s laughter, Crown murmured quietly as he left the palace.

"Resistance is futile. The nightmare never ends."

Holding her sword in front of her, Nameless dismissed him nonchalantly.

"Even so, someone has to keep the torch lit."

Nameless thought of the countless people who had perished in the effort to illuminate the darkness of this kingdom.

And she thought of the faces of Ash’s group, who were still fighting.

"Because someone following that torch... can light a new one."

With a whoosh!

Charging headlong into the monsters, Nameless thrust her sword.

The battle that had unfolded countless times in the hell beneath the Lake Kingdom was being repeated once again.

--TL Notes--

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