#533 The Fight at the Dragon Emperor’s Castle: The S-Class Adventurers’ POV

I’m Silver Wolf, an S-class adventurer, and I’m here at Dragon Emperor’s Castle!

It’s an extremely rare dungeon ruled by the Dragon Emperor!

Nothing would make an adventurer happy than venturing into such a place!

The moment you take a step inside, you’ll feel so content with life, nothing else will matter!

...No?

Ah, of course.

The outcome of this competition will determine the adventurers’ entry into the Demon King.

It’s up to us to pave a new road for adventurers and gain access to more undiscovered dungeons from here.

We S-class adventurers are adored by many. And we’ll do our best to live up to people’s expectations!

But then...

* * *

“Ahh! Kato is out!”

One of us already fell prey to an unexpected one-man trap.

We S-class adventurers have a keen perception that we use to detect and evade traps.

This time, however, the trap was different.

The first thing we heard was a sound.

Golden Bat, who has the most acute sense of hearing among us, was the first to notice.

Black Cat and I then noticed that something was unusual about the sound.

It was sustained, modulated, and upbeat...

Is this music?

But it was too late.

We were trapped. The first to fall was the otherworlder Kato.

“K-Kato?!”

Kato started dancing to the lively beat of the music, complete with strange choreography. 

He was raising and lowering his hands, shoulder to shoulder, in time with the rhythm.

“What happened, Kato?!”

We panicked, but Kato didn’t answer us verbally and only gestured with a thumbs-up.

Why is he gesturing? Is there a rule against talking?!

Damn, but the music is so cheerful, and Kato’s dance looks so fun that I want to join him!

“Nyaka nyaka nyaka nyaka nyaka...♪”

Black Cat already beat me to it!

She sure is the type to get into the groove of things quickly!

“Damn it! Be careful, you guys! This music is probably luring us into a trap!”

The rhythm is disrupting our concentration.

I have never encountered such a trap before! As expected of the Dragon Emperor’s dungeon!

Amidst the commotion, something unusual happened.

There’s a sword on the floor.

A slim saber in the middle of the dungeon? It’s blatantly suspicious, though...!

However, Kato, engrossed in the rhythm, picked up the sword casually. 

“You idiot, don’t let your guard down!”

Picking up something carelessly in a dungeon is synonymous with death!

But surprisingly, nothing happened.

Even after picking up the sword, Kato continued his weird dance.

Then... Ahhh, I knew it! There it is! The actual trap! 

Something flew at Kato! What was that? A lethal projectile weapon?

But Kato nimbly catches it with the saber he just picked up!

The object that flew at him was a hoop made of wood. He put his saber through the hole in the center and caught it with flying dexterity.

Marvelous!

“Wowie! He’s like an all-round purrformer!”

Clap, clap, clap!

I couldn’t help but applaud!

In response to the applause, Kato bowed and passed the loop through his saber in succession.

He’s really going at it!

“...How long is this going to last?!”

The area is still filled with cheerful music.

It’s a very rhythmic and enjoyable space, but we can’t stay here forever.

We have to delve deeper into the dungeon!

“Kato! Enough playing around, let’s move on! We’ll fall behind the other teams!”

But no!

Kato is completely absorbed in the music and can’t hear our calls!

Still dancing to the rhythm, he pops balloons with a blowgun next.

“Mwehehe, it’s useless. He can’t escape me’s trap, meow.”

“Shut it, Black Cat! Can’t you see we’re in trouble right now?!” 

“Look again, meow.”

“Huh?!”

Now that they mention it, their tone of voice is similar, but they’re not Black Cat!

As I look around, I spot a cat on an elevated platform.

It was not a therianthrope like a Black Cat, it was an actual quadrupedal feline!

Why is there a cat in the dungeon?

“Me is the strongest Lifeless King—one of the Three Wise and One Fool—the Professor! I was in charge of designing and constructing this floor with a countermeasure against S-class adventurers, meow!”

A cat is a Lifeless King?!

What does that mean?!

And it said this floor has a countermeasure against us?!

This is information overload for me!

“Hey, poser! The only cat character here should be me! I’ll purrove that by getting rid of a clone like you!”

Black Cat is outraged by the sudden appearance of another feline.

I guess there’s some rivalry going on.

“Quiet, half-cat! I’ve been a cat for thousands of years! We’re built different, meow!!!” 

It’s a catfight...

Things get scary when cats start hissing at each other.

“Excuse me, but um... What do you mean by a countermeasure against us?”

“Good of you to ask, meow!”

Professor Cat(?) positions itself on top of Black Cat’s head.

It’s a cat on a cat...

“We knew you S-class adventurers could conquer dungeons with your therianthrope-y ultra-sensitive senses! That’s why me has prepared a lot of traps that use your senses against you, meow!”

“Use our senses against us...?!”

Just like Kato dancing non-stop to that cheerful music...?

“Sight, hearing, and smell... high-performance senses sometimes pick up unnecessary stimulus and bring about disturbances. I turned that into a trap. It’s a revolutionary idea befitting a Lifeless King who has lived for thousands of years, meow!”

“Mreow!!!”

Why are you siding with the enemy now, Black Cat?

Did she form a sense of solidarity with the feline already?!

“I’ve already eliminated one person with my auditory trap! But many other traps in this area remain! You’re next, meow!”

“Me?!”

“I heard you have an excellent sense of smell due to your canine ancestry, Silver Wolf. And for that, I prepared just the right trap for you, meow!” 

“T-That’s...!”

I’ve seen this spiky fruit before.

“A durian?!”

“Long time no see, Silver Wolf.”

It’s that stinky fruit I was forced to be stuck with before!

I thought I was going to die just by having it near me! I had to suspend my adventuring activities for ten days because of my poor, dead nose!

“You’ve got to be kidding me! If I’m forced to smell that fruit again, my adventuring career will be over for good!”

“Oh, please don’t say such coldhearted things. We’re comrades who challenged Orkubo’s Castle together, aren’t we?”

Nooooooooo! Don’t come any closer!

The Dragon Emperor’s Castle is terrifying to have such a horrid trap!

“Nyahaha, it’s working! Me is a genius!”

“I’m curious to know what smell could purrovoke Silver Wolfie like this.”

“Hey! Don’t go smelling it yourself! Me is still on your head, so I’ll end up getting a whiff too, meow!!!”

Curiosity killed the cat(s).

Black Cat went after the smell and buried her nose in the spiky durian fruit, Professor Cat still on her head.

The next moment...

Two cats’ mouths were half open.

“Now’s my chance!”

I take advantage of their flehmen response and make a run for it!

I managed to get through this area by sacrificing Kato and Black Cat.

The Dragon Emperor’s dungeon is a cut above the rest, after all!!!