D stands for Double

I could obviously choose to explain the events of what had happened in that D-Rank Dungeon, but that would literally be a waste of time. Not only were the enemies dealt with easily by all the other members participating in the raid, but the dungeon doesn't result in anything major either. No character growth, nothing new to be learned, not even a cool fight scene which can be graphically animated by swinging a sword around. In easier terms, the D-Rank Dungeon was a useless event.

With that out of the way, the time flew by in a flash. During those two years before the plot started, I felt like banging my head against a wall. Having my strength limited was a serious hindrance and, in several situations, I had almost died (stupidly) because I didn't have my previous strength. I did eventually manage to get used to it, but it still sucks.

Besides that, something else had happened, I was labeled as the second weakest hunter. Having hung around with only Sung Jinwoo, plus the fact that I barely kill anything, I was labeled as such.

Yet since the two of us were together, we got a special group name, the Weakest Twin-Headed Hunters. Don't know how that caught on, but it did. Even if it was demeaning to us, the two of us managed to score just enough cores to allow me to keep living with the Sung family.

This is turn allowed me to become introduced to their mother who was stuck in what's called Eternal Slumber. Eternal Slumber is a sleeping disorder that occurs to those who are intolerant to mana and as a result, they fall into a deep slumber in which they can't awake from. Even more so, their father had also disappeared into a dungeon long ago. The Sung Family story is a sad one.

On another interesting note, I must say that Jinwoo's sister is rather cute. Her reactions are so innocent to any sort of teasing that I do, and I can tell that having lived under the same roof with me for two years has started to affect her mental as she'd act much like Nezuko did when she first had a crush on me. Now, I understand the fact that I'm already married, but… it gets rather lonely.

…So, now, it became a running gag for me to constantly bug Jinwoo to let me date his sister. Yet, each time that I asked about it, he shot me down instantly, coming up with whatever excuse he could at the time. Teasing him was much like teasing Tanjiro and I love every moment of it.

However, with the passage of two years, it finally came time for the D-Rank Dungeon that truly matters. Where there is character growth, something new to be learned, and a cool fight scene. And at least to Jinwoo and maybe me will get powers. Though GOD had been so unspecific that I honestly don't know what to think.

"Shiro, if we don't hurry, we're going to be late."

Broken from my thoughts by Jinwoo's voice, I continue to walk at the same exact speed as before. "I highly doubt that. After all, all D-Rank Dungeons are orchestrated and I'm sure that someone won't forget about the Twin-Headed Hunters."

Jinwoo makes a face of disgust, "I still hate that name, you know that."

"Why of course… which is why I use it."

Finally arriving in the area where the D-Rank Dungeon was set to be, the usual greeting come onto us, like trumpets to a King.

"Yo~ Sung! Uro! You're Here!"

"Thanks for coming Twin-Headed Hunters."

"It's cold out there, isn't it? Glad you could make it."

Replying to the touch on my shoulder, "Haha, It's nothing… we'll be in your care today too."

"Yo, Sung! Uro! You eaten yet?"

"Yeah, we have. Thank for worrying about us, Mr. Kim Sangshik." Jinwoo responds.

Passing by the two of them, the person that Sangshik had been talking to asks, "Those guys… are they powerful hunters or something? Everyone's happy to see them!"

"Hehehe… you wouldn't know since they came right after you quit. Their nickname is… the "World's Weakest Hunters." or as we like to call them, "Weakest Twin-Headed Hunters"."

"The world's weakest? Not the strongest?"

""Strongest" is what we call S-Rank Hunters… and Sung and Urokodaki are considered to be the weakest. I mean their weak enough to get hurt in E-Rank Dungeons…"

"Are they actually the weakest?"

"Yeah, they're probably the weakest of us all."

"They're really that weak?"

"It means that the dungeons they're sent to by the association are weak as well."

"Ah… I see."

"Anyways, they might hear us. Let's stop talking about this for now, heh."

Both Jinwoo and I had the exact same thought, 'I've been hearing you this whole time, you old geezers… ha…'

Arriving at the ever-gracious coffee stand, Jinwoo asks for two cups.

"Ah, Hunter Sung Jinwoo and Urokodaki Shiro. I'm sorry, we ran out of coffee just now…"

Stalking away from the coffee stand with gloom over our heads, a scream rattles us.

"Ah! Jinwoo! Shiro! You two got hurt again!"

"Oh, hello Juhee, pleasant evening we're having, right?"

Getting right up in my face, Juhee wiggles her finger at me, "Don't try and change the topic mister! Why are your faces injured again?!"

"We went on a raid, and I did my duty to protect Jinwoo. The others with us were all higher ranked, so they didn't bring a healer." I answer.

"You didn't really do your duty properly if Jinwoo is injured too. You realize that right? And they really didn't bring a healer? Just because they would be safe?"

"It's okay." Jinwoo pokes his head from around me. "It's only because we're weak… We're used to it. You should know that by now, right? Juhee? …Well, looks like everyone's getting ready to head into the gate. Let's go as well."

-

"Everyone! We're off to go happy hunting! Now, I'm not really qualified to say this, but… I'd like to be the party leader for this raid. Is that alright with you people?"

Hearing only acceptance from the crowd of hunters, Song Chiyul becomes the leader for today's party.

Entering the D-Rank Dungeon, it takes us only a few moments before we start to engage with small naga and werewolves. Along the way, both me and Jinwoo got into fights against monsters as we needed to make a living off this sort of dangerous business. Jinwoo managed to take down one of the naga by himself while I managed to deal with three.

Even if I couldn't use breathing arts, I could still use my experience from the Demon Slaying world to deal opponents here. But even with such skill, I couldn't overcome the boundaries between my strength and those at D-Rank, leading for me to get injured.

Being the one to kill the werewolf, Mr. Song hoisted his C-Rank Monster core that he had earned. Just as all of us want to proceed to leave, someone calls out that there's another entrance.

"Double Dungeons… looks like they're actually real."

Using his fire magic, Mr. Song conjures a small flame in his hand and then sends it off into the depths of the secondary dungeon, not even coming close to truly revealing where it ends.

"Hmm… everyone, listen to me for a moment. The gate foes not close if the boss is still alive. Since the gate is still open, it seems the boss is inside the tunnel. Usually, we'd contact our guild and await their orders, but… If other hunters were to get it first, our profits would dwindle. So, I would like for all of us to go kill the boss… Since it could be dangerous, why don't the 18 of us take a vote? And no one complaining after the vote results."

Everyone begins to simultaneously shout out their votes until both me and Jinwoo are left.

Giving a nod of my head, I answer for Jinwoo, "We vote to fight."

With that, and a few grumbles, we proceed down the long corridor which doesn't have the natural ambient lighting of an average dungeons, forcing us to use flashlights. Even after forty minutes of walking, we still don't an end to it all. Apologizing to Juhee for the way that our votes were cast, we gratefully accept the berating that she throws our way and Jinwoo manages to score himself a date with Juhee, something I'd been trying to push whenever she'd party with us.

"It's here!! The boss room!!"

Broken from our mingling, we find two doors which were something that you'd most likely see leading into a throne room. Not even hesitating in front of such an oppressive door, Mr. Song opens it for us, and the insides are illuminated by blue flamed torches.

In such room, my eyes are attracted by the huge statues covered in moss, stating the age of this dungeon itself. But when my eyes land on the statue that sits upon a throne, the blue box I hadn't seen in two years shows up again.

[Criterion to begin test have been met. Restrictions are being released for now…]

Looking apprehensively down at my wrist, I see the black band shatter, only leaving the Demon Slayer insignia on the forefront of my wrist. Taking a breath in, my lungs finally feel refreshed, the strength in my body returned, and the comfort returned. Hoisting a huge smile on my face at no longer being restricted, an unshed tear glistens from my eye.

"Shiro, you good?"

Before I can answer Jinwoo, Mr. Song begins to read the commandments of the Carthenon Temple.

"First, Worship The Lord.

Second, Praise The Lord.

Third, Prove Your Faith."

Upon uttering the commandments, the air seemed to get colder and the doors behind us closed shut.

"Those who do not follow these commandments… will never return alive."

Grabbing both Jinwoo and Juhee who had been staring at the King's head to see if it had moved, I force them down onto their knees, facing the lord. As Jinwoo goes to ask what we're doing, one of our members had enough and walked towards the doors, trying to open it. At a speed faster than what my own eyes could see, he was beheaded, and the spear wielding stone knight put its bloodied blade back into place. Everyone began to scream and to make matters worse, when I looked up, I saw the Lord staring back.

"These statues are all S-Rank, and this one," I point to the King. "Is Nation Level."

Moving its head just a bit to aim at the huge crowd next to the commandments, both Jinwoo and I yell, "Everyone! Duck!!"

Those who were quick to follow directions lived. Those who were a bit too slow, were immediately vaporized into ash. Though, Mr. Song, even though he listened, still had his arm removed.

Someone "smart" enough to not listen to directions decided to make a break for the exit, boasting about his speed, only to be seconds later reduced to ash, leaving his two feet to tumble across the ground, bodyless.

Eliciting another wave of screams, I yell out the first rule of the dungeon, telling everyone to bow their heads to the lord if they wanted to live. Moments after our all our heads were bowed, the Lord's eyes dimmed, and changed expressions.

From dim to a sinister smile that could leave nightmares. Seeing it change, I stood up, with everyone else following my example. And as if to mimic us itself, the Lord stood up, shattering the ground where he stood and revealing the true abomination of his height and how even his soldiers were dwarfed in size.

"Follow the second commandment. Praise the Lord."

"I will give it a shot! I was a member of a church choir. If it's singing and praising, we need… I've got this."

As he goes to walk out in front of me, I grab him by his collar and pull him backwards. "Unless you feel like dying for praising the wrong lord, I would recommend that you don't do that."

Turning to everyone else, I yell, "Look around you! There aren't just weapons here! If we want to praise the Lord, then let's use his own soldiers to do so."

Listening to my words, everyone scrambled towards one of the instrument wielding statues and they began to play their tunes. But with the excess of people, two people tried to stand at the same statue, preventing it from playing. In the madness, a few got culled by the statues wielding weapons, but that was less of a concern now that I found myself facing off against the Lord himself.

"Shiro!! What are you doing?!?"

"Once all the instruments start playing, the Lord will stop. In the meantime, I'll give you time."

Watching as the Lord lifts his foot to crush me, I use 'Unarmed Thunder Breathing First Form: Thunderclap and Flash'. Appearing behind the huge statue, back where it first sat, the power I had oh so missed started to flow through me.

Looking behind itself in what seemed to be confusion, a wave of disappointment and relief floods over me when the statue loses all luster in its eyes. Walking through the legs of the Lord, I feel a sense of dread fall over me when I see that Jinwoo was missing a leg. And looking at the remaining survivors, I become dumbfounded to find that many of them had died, leaving us with only seven people.

Huh, so I guess it is true that those with power will use it to save themselves rather than others.

The Lord then moves again and raises what appears to be an altar. Being the first "sacrifice", Mr. Song steps up, creating a red flame.

Hoisting Jinwoo up, I carry him alone to the altar, creating two new red flames. Knowing that nothing would change unless all of us stood on the altar, the remaining Hunters stepped up. Upon the seventh red flame being lit, blue flames shot out and the door, which was bolted shut, burst open.

In time with such, the statues began to move towards us, illuminated by their blue interiors. The blue flames surrounding us also started to dwindle, like a timer. The statues also stopped moving when we looked at them. Under the pressure, one of the seven could no longer withstand it, and bolted for the door, safely making it out.

"To prove your faith, you must hold steadfast even in front of terror, danger, and sweet temptation."

Even though I had said this, Kim Sangshik and another one of our members left, leaving the four of us to stand there, holding off the statues.

"The door's nearly closed… it's too late now, but I finally get what's happening here…" Mr. Song begins, "The three of you should leave. The door won't fully close if there's at least one person on the altar, right? All of you have many years left… so you should leave. Miss Juhee, could you help Shiro to help Jinwoo?"

"Y-YES!"

Even though she said that, she still collapsed under her own weight, the effects of mana exhaustion when she had tried fruitlessly to heal Jinwoo.

"Mr. Song, you should take Juhee out of here. Me and Jinwoo will figure some thing out." "

No, I said I would stay!" Plus, the four of us could hold off these statues until the timer finishes!"

"Mr. Song, what I said about the third and final commandment, that was the false hope. When the timer ends, the doors will close, and the sacrifice shall be accepted. But if there's more than one, who knows what'll happen. So, it's better if more of us escape through the open door."

Mr. Song wanted to refute what I had said, but being rattled by the experience himself, he eventually huffed, knocked out Juhee and left. Leaving Jinwoo and I to deal with these monster statues.

"W-what now?" Jinwoo heaves.

"I was thinking a nice dinner with your sister with you sitting outside glaring at me…"

Laughing painfully, Jinwoo shakes his head, "Still joking around."

Banging my chest, I answer, "Of course. Through thick or thin, I shall stand by your side, bro-"

My words are cut off as the flat of a sword swings into me, shattering multiple of my bones and hurtling me into a wall. Damn, because these statues don't have killing intent, I hadn't even noticed.

Fighting off the dark specks that invaded my vision, the dust clears just in time to let me see a sword wielding Jinwoo get stabbed in the chest by a spear and the hoisted and dropped onto the middle of the altar. As the sword statue goes to cleave Jinwoo, he suddenly shines brightly, like a flashbang, blinding even me.

When the light clears, the only thing left in the room are the body parts of dead comrades and the commandment holder.

"Ai, I can't understand his decision to pick this lowly mortal, but let's see where it goes, I'm rather interested after all."

As the being raises his hand to snap, I raise my voice, "Don't go running away now, not after you killed my friends."

Turning his head in my direction, the commandment holder stares at me with clear confusion. "H-how are you alive? I clearly saw that statue hit you!" The statue huffs. "Well, not like it matters, I'll just kill you myself."

A blade of light and a spear of light formed in his two hands as he walked towards me calmly.

Not wanting to die like an ant, I plant my feet on the wall and use 'Unarmed Ice Breathing Fourth Form: Piasuaisu'. Blocking my arm with the shafts of his blade, the statue gives the same nightmare inducing smile which grows when he hears the bones in my arm shattering when they impact against his weapons.

"You should feel honored puny human… you get to die by the hands of the Architect…"

Trying to stab me with his weapons, I use 'Sun Breathing: Fake Rainbow'. But even though I use a technique that should eliminate my presence from the opponent, his head quickly whips around and an arm wielding an axe sprouts out from his back.

"Farewell insect."

As the axe passes through my abdomen, my torso lies there on the ground. Yet as I go to transform into a demon, the blue screen appears again.

[You have completed all the necessary conditions of the secret quest 'Strength of the One who stand above a King']

[You have earned the right to become a player. Will you accept?]

[You do not have much time remaining.]

[If you refuse, your heart will stop approximately 0.05 seconds later. Will you accept?]

'Of course, I accept you damned system!' I can't help but scream in my mind.

[Welcome, Player.]

With that, I pass out.