Chapter 110: The Zombie Titan

"Sweet dream, my little prince…" The young elf suddenly recalled the time when Kibadios discreetly kissed him after their exhausting intimate moment back at Vernys, right before they left for Alsen.

「You're worried for Kibadios sama?」Yue softly spoke up as she approached her brother, who was quietly leaning back against the mossy wall, looking toward the middle of the empty square where the dungeon sat.

「... As if, why would I?」

「Because you know there's something weird about this dungeon… as if it's an artificial gateway to a completely different dimension, much like the feeling we had when we stood in front of the gate the First made to physically connect this realm to Modun.」Yue answered.

「But if that's the case, who constructed it? Why is it here and why was, as Kailos told us, Alsen built around it?」Ren frowned.「I just hope he's not walking into a trap of or something.」

「Even if it's a trap, I think Kibadios sama would still take on the Trial without hesitation, since he wanted to build his "Kingdom" here, where he was born, and the only way for him to achieve such title is to take on this trial.」Yue reminded Ren, before letting out an understanding smile「... You've really fallen head over heel for Kibadios sama, Nii sama.」

「What are you talking about? I'm not…」

「Says Nii sama, but you cannot hide from me the fact that Kibadios sama's incubus mark had appeared on your body for quite a while now, indicated that you have completely devoted your mind and body to him.」

「... How… How did you know? I used a talisman to perfectly conceal it…」Ren was flusterring.

「Because just like you, I, too, am a genius when it comes to Runecraft.」Yue grinned.「But why did you try to hide it? You don't want the other harem members know?」

「Yeah… but more importantly, I don't want him to know!! I can just imagine his smirking face when he know how I feel about him…」

「Nii sama…」Yue looked straight at Ren with her blinded eyes, her eyebrows slightly raised in amusement.「Did you not know that Kibadios sama would for sure sense the very moment you receive the mark, since it connects the two of you together?」

「...」Ren stood frozen for a moment with a blank expression. Since the incubus race was almost like a mythical race due to their low population, everything the two elves learned about the incubus marks were from the books. Ren himself had read about the incubus mark functionality almost five decades ago so the elven prince had not been able to recall that tiny detail.「Damn it, I totally forgot about it!! Why the hell did he act like he didn't know anything about my mark then?」

「To spare you the embarrassment, I guess?」Yue audibly let out a soft laugh.「I'm glad, Nii sama.」

「Glad?」

「That you have found your Lebenslangeschicksalsschatz.」said Yue flawlessly, using the incorrect composite German word that Zaeryn had taught Faye millennia ago as a joke.

「Turns out he's a pervert who's only thinking about sex 80% of the day.」Ren pouted. 「Who would have thought?」

「He's an incubus in his teenage years, Nii sama. He just can't help himself.」

「Maybe you're right…」The elf looked at his younger sister sympathetically.「You were glad for me but what about you, Yue? ... Maybe it's time for you to live your life and forget about…」

「Nii sama… 」Knowing what her brother was going to say, the former princess interrupted him.「I can devote my body to Kibadios sama, but you know I just can't devote my heart to him, even though he was a great man. I do feel guilty every time I stand by his side… They said time would heal all wounds, but there still will be some scars that can never fade. It's not something I can just decide to forget…」

「Ren sama, Yue sama. What are you guys still doing here?」Reuk shouted out to the pair as she and Haden made their way across the town square. Sitting on top of the man's head was Nu, the slime that Kibadios had adopted as a pet. The slime had wanted to join him for the trial, but Kibadios had refused it so it was now laying depressingly, its body all partially melted away on top of Haden.

「Maia dono wants me to inform you that dinner is ready.」The former adventurer, who now has taken on the role of the hybrid's servant, bowed respectfully at the twins.

「Thanks for letting us know, Haden san.」Yue nodded.「Though, you don't have to address us politely like that. We're all Kibadios sama' servants in the end. Same with you too, Reuk kun.」

「No, of course not, Yue sama. Compared to me, you and the others are much more important to Kibadios sama and are held in high regard by him. I'm merely his lowly servant.」Haden refused.

「Anyways, are you and Ren sama worried for Kibadios?」Reuk asked.「That guy is a beast, he'll easily pass this trial, don't you worry!」

「...You're right」Ren nodded in agreement.「Let's go back… I'm just worried about his heat. I hope with Maia's medicine, he can at least last one night without sex.」

「You think he'll seduce Gyo, Ren sama?」Reuk grinned mischievously.

「Kibadios sama did seem to like Gyo kun.」Haden made an observation.

「Oh well, there are already 7 people in his harem, even if Gyo join us, that wouldn't really make any difference.」Ren complained.

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「Haa… haa… gaaaaa…」The sloshing noise echoed around the crystal cave.「This… feelllssss… sooooooo… gooooodddddd…. I… can't… believe….your… cock… can…give… me…. Thiis… much… pleasure….. BOSSSSS!!!! I'll be seriously addicted to it!!!!」

「Uri…」Kibadios, in his uncontrollable heat, reached out to his lieutenant's sweating hip. How did we get here? The hybrid asked himself.

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The trio stealthily leapt through the thick jungle terrain that dominated the vast space within the dungeon. Even for Kibadios, dealing with this many high rank monsters was not an easy task. Worse than that, up on the high ground, the hybrid had already identified more than five S class monsters that would have given him trouble in a fight. Several mid tier monsters have tried to attack the hybrid, but staying true to his purpose, all were smashed into smithereens by Gyo before they could pose a threat to his young Lord. The Yves, turned out, was extremely proficient at using his warhammer since he belonged to the class, which certainly explained why he was soaking in sweat when Kibadios first met him.

While traveling, Kibadios's shadow spread out, trying to locate any hidden cave that might lead the group down to the second floor. So far, the hybrid had found three caves, with two that led them to a dead end while the third one led to a pit filled with slimy tentacles, which reminded the hybrid of the dozens of hentai he read during his time on Earth.

「Not this one either.」Kibadios declared, before dashing toward the exit, followed by Uri and Gyo.

「Maybe it's not a cave that we should be looking for?」Gyo asked.

「What about bottom of a lake?」Kibadios suggested, since he personally did find an ancient entrance at the bottom of a lake just a while back.

「There's no lake around here though.」Uri pointed out.

「I wonder how big this dungeon is. Even on the top of the cliff, we weren't able to see its boundary.」

「It's a warp space, I doubt that you can find where the dungeon begins or ends.」said Kibadios.

BAMMMMM!!

A crashing sound sent shockwaves around the area as if they had just experienced a small earthquake. From the direction of the sound, Kibadios and the group could see the frightened birds soaring upward to the sky, fleeing the source of the tremor.

「What's there?」Uri asked.

Without waiting for Kibadios' order, Gyo took the initiative and sprung up the branches, quickly reaching the top of the tree to scout ahead. 「Kibadios sama, it's a Zombie Titan! It's attacking something.」

「Zombie Titan? Isn't it an S class monster that rarely attack people unless being provoked?」Kibadios recalled the information he had about the monster.

「Who would be stupid enough to provoke one?」Uri shook his head.

Titan… Titan… Wait a minute! Kibadios suddenly was reminded of something. The hybrid looked around his surroundings, then knelt down, placing his hand on the cold, dirty ground. So, it's like that, huh?

「Let's go there!」Kibadios sprung forward.

「Wait, shouldn't we run to the opposite direction?」Uri hurriedly followed Kibadios.

「Uri's right, Young Master.」Gyo landed onto the ground with a thud, then rushed after the hybrid.

「...Just trust me! I won't let you down.」Kibadios answered with his usual confident grin, which caused both Uri and Gyo's hearts to skip a beat.

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「Ectharen, you're okay?」Falkor, the red head beastman scrambled toward the head of House of the Mane after striking the monster with enough force that he was able to topple it onto the ground.

「Yeah, its strike is powerful, but fortunately for us, it's somewhat slow.」The lion beastman stood up, clenching his fists, which were protected by his trusty claw gauntlet made by Gyo.

「We should retreat.」Falkor suggested.「Even if the both of us were to fight it here, it still won't go down easily. On top of that, our fight may attract the attention of other monsters too.」

「... You're right. But the Zombie Titan is pissed. It will undoubtedly chase after us. That can also cause enough unwanted attention.」

「Why is it mad at us though? It just charged and ambushed us all of the sudden.」

「Before it appeared, did you notice there were a few strange butterflies encircling us?」

「Yeah… You think there's a connection between it and the butterflies?」

「Heh… Those butterflies are Wylan's summons.」Ectharen explained.「That crafty kid lured the Zombie Titan to us. He wanted to use it to eliminate his competitors.」

「Wylan? I heard he's a really shrewd head, but to think he stoop to such a level.」

「Hahaha!!!」Ectharen laughed.「What are you talking about, Falkor? This is fair play!!! We're competing to be King, to be the one who leads everyone in Monas Kye to fight back against an impossible battle. We need someone like Wylan. Having him as one of the King Candidates gives me hope that we can still win this war.」

「Well, what do we have here? Falkor…」Kibadios called out from behind the two beastmen.

「and Ectharen dono?」Gyo continued.

「Yo!」Uri simply greeted the two as if it was natural that he'd be inside the dungeon.

「Huh? Isn't that Uri kun? What are you doing here?」Falkor noticed the uninvited Candidate.

「Let's talk about it later! Shouldn't we be focused on the Zombie Titan for now?」Kibadios pointed at the giant that was striding toward the beastmen.

「Let's go!」Gyo excitedly jumped forward, followed by Kibadios. Uri, of course, was staying back and sitting lazily on the side, watching the four trial participants combine their power and easily take down the monster in less than five minutes. Since the Zombie Giant could slowly regenerate, Kibadios decided to use his skill to absorb the half dead monster before it could recover.

「Thanks, Kibadios!」Ectharen bowed at the hybrid in appreciation as the group quickly moved away from the battle scene.

「Yeah, without your help, it wouldn't have been that easy for us to take it down like that.」Falkor agreed.「Though, at this very moment, we're your rivals… maybe you shouldn't have helped us.」

「If you didn't take down the giant quickly, the ruckus will attract even more monsters or one of the few other S classes. I doubt you two could get out of that situation unharmed.」Kibadios turned back to look at the two.「We may be rivals, but you're still my father's friend. I cannot just walk away and leave you two in danger.」

「Even if we were to lose to the monsters, we will be simply transported to the dungeon entrance and be healed of all our wounds. It's not like we will die.... Unlike Wylan, you're too soft, Young Lord of the House of Horns.」Ectharen noted.

「Soft? No, don't get me wrong.」Kibadios let out a twisted laugh.「First of all, even if we were told that we will be transported back and all our wounds healed as if nothing happened if we were to receive fatal wounds thanks to the ring we're wearing, that doesn't mean it's true. After all, no one has taken this trial in centuries. Maybe such instruction was only hearsay… or maybe the rings don't work anymore. Secondly, even if it works, you will still be mentally scarred by the near death experience. Who knows what sort of PTSD you will develop because of it? You're a good friend with my dad, I doubt he'd be happy knowing you experience a fatal wound, regardless whether you're fully healed or not. Lastly, It's all about self-interest. Once I become King, you will serve as a general under me so it makes sense for me to protect my subordinate. I just want to make sure you will still be of use to me and Monas Kye」Kibadios smugly declared.

「... Hahaha!!! Very arrogance, Young Lord.」Ectharen laughed.「But… You do have the power to back it up. Seems like this Trial will be a competition between you and Wylan in the end.」

「Ehto… Anyways, so where are we going, Boss?」Uri asked since he noticed unlike earlier, Kibadios now seemed to have a specific place he was heading toward.

「Wait a minute, first of all, What are you doing here?」Ectharen asked.

「It seems that I got sucked in because I'm Kibadios' fated pair, so the dungeon's transportation magic system identified me as an extension of him.」Uri answered.「But don't worry, I have not helped him in anyways during this Trial.」

「I see!!!」Ectharen nodded.「Fated pair huh? I've heard it exists in the succubus race, but this is the first time I've seen a pair in person. And don't worry, I trust the young lord of the House of the Horns to be playing fair. I won't be making a fuss to the fact that you're with him.」The beastman turned to Gyo.「I don't know if Wylan would share the same opinion, though.」

「... I can convince Wylan that Kibadios sama did not rely on Uri dono's help.」said the mutant Yves, Wylan's own brother, pumped his chest.

「...」Kibadios looked to Gyo as he suddenly realized the reason why his father had assigned the Yves instead of one of his ogre subordinates to assist him in this trial. It's all because Father knows how ruthless and scheming Wylan can be, he purposely had Gyo come with me so that Wylan would be constrained in any of his hypothetical plot against me since it may also harm Gyo. I feel like Wylan can become a good friend with Yllaner… or mortal enemy since they think and scheme alike.「...To your question, Uri, I don't know where, but I know it's a tree we're looking for.」

「So, just like Ectharen, you have also noticed.」Falkor smiled.

「Yeah, a bit late.」

「What do you mean?」Asked Gyo

「If you carefully study the giant trees around here, all of them look very similar. If you can sense their roots underground, you can tell that they are connected… They are all part of a singular tree, like Posidonia australis off of Australia coast or the Humongous Fungus in Oregon. That means there has to be something very special about the original Tree which all these vegetation sprung off of… like… I don't know, entrance to the lower level of the dungeon.」

「That's exactly my thought the moment I noticed these trees looks almost identical to one another.」Falkor nodded.「We determined the "Original Tree" should be somewhere ahead.」

「Despite the vibe you give off, I guess your intellect is really something, Falkor.」

「... Thanks for the… compliment?」Falkor laughed.「but did you not also notice that?」

「Ha…」Kibadios scratched his head and looked away. In his case, he only was reminded of the possibility that a large tree may contain a dark entrance to the level below due to the Zombie Titan. Zombie Titan, Attack of Titan, Attack on Titan's ending scene, where a kid is seen walking toward a giant tree with a dark hollow trunk, Kibadios thought to himself. I cannot really tell him it was glimpses of my weeb memories that helped me figure it out… But, to be honest… This whole dungeon's design is really familiar. Don't tell me it's her.

The group finally reached the "Original Tree" they were looking for and bravely entered the pit black entrance carved into the hollow trunk without a hint of hesitation.

「Be careful. We don't know if there's any trap or monster waiting for us.」Kibadios warned.

「Yo boss, this dungeon…'s dungeon is so dark, I can't really see anything!」Uri complained.

「Wait a minute…」Gyo put his hand into his pocket and took out a small tetrahedron. With his fingers, the mutant Yves twisted the crystal, causing it to emit a bright light that illuminated the dark corridor.

「What's that thing?」Kibadios asked

「Isn't that…」Uri studied the object in detail.「a dwarven invention?」

「Yeah. We got a few of them back in the Main House. Kailos dono gave me one in case I need it.」Gyo turned to his Young Lord.「I know you can create fire, but with this, you won't need to expend your Nen on something so trivial.」

「Dwarves, huh? Or if Tolkien had not made a mistake in his manuscript, it'd be dwarfs.」Kibadios muttered.「I wonder if they're still delving in the Great Mountain Range of Laymanas.」

「Actually, we have not seen a single dwarf here in Monas Kye for more than a decade.」said Gyo solemnly.「Since we do have trading relations with them, we tried to send out many expeditions to Laymanas to look for them in their holds, but all we found were eerily empty dwarven settlements. They seemed to have disappeared into thin air. The last expedition we sent out was 7 years ago, right before the Empire attacked.」

「The dwarves went missing?」surprised Kibadios「What's your thoughts on this, Ectharen?」The hybrid looked for the beastmen, but strangely, he found that the two members of House of the Manes had suddenly disappeared, much like the dwarves he was just told about. 「Falkor?」

「Weird! They were just next to us.」Gyo also frantically looked around.

「... Maybe there's another spatial magic that separated them from us again, much like earlier when we got sucked into the dungeon?」Uri suggested.

「Maybe you're right.」Kibadios nodded.「Nothing we can do but to move forward. After all, we're supposed to take on this Trial challenge independently from one another. 」

NOTE: THERE'S A NEW DJ DETAILING THE SCENE BETWEEN KIBADIOS X REN REFERENCED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CHAPTER. TO READ IT, GO SEARCH "Regarding dj bato.to" ON GOOGLE AND GO TO BATO.TO. IT'S CHAPTER 10. Lmk if you can't find it.