The Successor to the Underworld Is a Cheat Player

It signaled that the maze had finally been conquered.

Gulp.

It meant that at last, the victor within had been decided.

Members of Rasiel’s organization and Dante’s organization gathered upon hearing the news.

“……”

No one had emerged from the maze’s gates yet.

However, upon reflecting on the past, it was evident who the victor would be.

“I, I’m coming out!”

The first to emerge.

“Who goes there!”

“Who’s coming out!”

Those who survived were truly the victors of history.

“…!”

Amidst everyone’s attention, a shadow slowly revealed itself.

“Tha-“

The one who saw that figure up close shouted.

“Dante!”

Clang.

Armor in disarray, a face marked by fatigue and battle.

But they were unmistakable.

“Dante is coming out!”

Candidates for Dante.

Kimo, Vita.

Candidates for Dante leading the way through the labyrinth under the two masters.

“Whooo-!”

Cheers erupted among Dante’s organization members.

Initially hesitant, only Dante’s candidates were stepping out.

It was the throne of victory.

“Looks like we’re winning this time. Alman.”

Rohan said to Alman who stood beside him.

“It’s a shame.”

Expressing regret, yet genuinely happy.

“I thought you’d grown up. Seems like you haven’t outgrown your crybaby days.”

“…?”

“It’s better to keep watching till the end. If you don’t want to go through what you did back then when you cried.”

At that moment.

“….”

Silence fell.

Because something that seemed impossible was unfolding before their eyes.

“La…Ciel?”

Candidate La Ciel following Dante.

“It’s La Ciel!”

The candidates for La Ciel, whom they thought would have been wiped out by Dante, were revealing themselves.

But there was something even more impressive.

Comparing La Ciel’s candidates, who appeared unscathed, to Dante’s candidates.

“What on earth happened?”

They looked too unharmed.

Equipment shining as if untouched, in a labyrinth where scarcity of provisions was inevitable, faces and hair gleaming.

Snick.

A smile that filled the whole face.

It was said to be different from before, but there was nothing more certain than that.

“Raciel… is the winner.”

Certainty.

“Raciel has won-!”

Someone’s shout marked the beginning.

“Wow-!”

“Raciel won! Raciel won!”

“Look at that! Damn! Raciel won!”

Raciel’s subordinates couldn’t contain their excitement as they shouted.

And that excitement built up until it exploded like a volcano.

Candidates coming out one by one.

And the one who stood last.

“Wow-!”

Saint Demorus.

His appearance, as if being escorted by everyone.

Even Dante, bowing his head and stepping back.

“Well, my ears will be ringing.”

It was nothing short of acknowledging a clear victory.

“Yes, we won.”

Saint’s simple words.

That marked the end of the exchange.

It felt like the day when Dante’s candidates came to find Raciel for the first time.

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“You have plenty of food….”

Snick.

“Eat and drink as much as you want.”

As Alman’s voice faded, the candidates started their meal in a frightening silence.

“This is it….”

“Oh, damn…. I’m tearing up.”

“Raciel forever!”

Candidates shedding tears while enjoying the banquet.

Even though they had brought a well-prepared meal from the Labyrinth, it couldn’t compare to Raciel’s banquet.

And that sight was clearly different from the first day.

“Kimo, get me more beer over there.”

“Got it.”

“Balak, you really handle your drinks well.”

Candidates who had been divided like water and oil, guarding and restraining each other.

Because they were now gathered together, enjoying the meal.

Cleaned up and dressed in new clothes, but with faces and bodies covered in wounds.

It made them feel like one instead.

“Rasiel must be happy. Eating this every day.”

“What are you talking about? We can’t eat this every day.”

As they started to get along, they could also confide in each other.

“Master Almani is more of a schemer than you’d think. Last dinner, he was trying to intimidate Dante and you guys.”

“Oh, really?”

In that moment, they looked like friends of the same age.

“But still, it’s not up to combat rations.”

“……”

“Ha ha ha.”

The fate of being a bloodline from the Dark Valley, capable of uniting against it.

It was an experience not easily found in this harsh world.

Originally, one of them might not have even existed.

“Hey, I told you to stop gnawing on my bones.”

The young man at the center.

It would have been impossible without Sein.

“What’s with that kid?”

“Don’t ask.”

The overwhelming presence of Sein.

It bound together those who had to fight each other.

A power that could defy even the given destiny.

‘Hero.’

Sis recalled that word as she watched Sein.

Sigh.

But Sis soon chuckled, shaking her head.

‘The successor of the Dark Valley as a hero.’

No matter how you looked at it, that couldn’t be possible.

It was just a fleeting dream.

A brief respite from the cruel reality they would have to face once they woke up.

“Relax your expression and eat your meal.”

Sein’s voice reached Sis at that moment.

“In a life where you never know when you’ll die, live for the moment.”

Was it reading her mind?

Or was it a message to her past self?

“Thank you.”

With Sis’s words, the cheerful atmosphere of the dinner faded.

“Sincerely.”

“I told you to eat your meal.”

Sein frowned beneath his mask.

“…I am grateful too, Saint Demorus.”

Valac said.

“…I genuinely appreciate it.”

Another candidate of Rasiel.

“My life was nothing but fear of when I would die. I knew being of Demorus’ lineage wasn’t anything special.”

Another candidate continued.

“I couldn’t bear the anxiety. I even wanted to give up everything. It’s all thanks to you.”

Forced or not, they ultimately survived following Saint.

Moreover, they knew what Saint had given them.

The power not to be anxious.

“Also, Dante.”

Kimoa and Vitta.

“We are grateful.”

They spoke on behalf of Dante.

“We understand that our fate as losers is death.”

Perhaps from a long life as candidates or due to Dante’s organizational nature.

Dante’s words were all solemn and heavy.

“…Even if those moments were excruciatingly painful, thanks to you, we could have a life worth living.”

Having already sworn loyalty in the labyrinth.

“Dante’s candidates will support you.”

Thud.

Saint put down his fork.

“The atmosphere is strange.”

“…….”

“Am I some major commander?”

“Major…?”

“Not throwing a tantrum about skipping a banquet.”

Clicking his tongue.

Saint stood up from his seat.

“Eat heartily amongst yourselves. I’m leaving.”

The candidates were momentarily taken aback by Saint’s departure.

And then.

“I-I felt awkward, that’s all.”

“……?”

A clear, soothing voice echoed in their ears.

“I’m kinder than I seem.”

Eyes turned towards the owner of the voice.

“Cecil…?”

The little blonde who had been by Saint’s side, Cecil.

*

*

*

“Damn.”

Lying in Raphael’s garden, Sain looked up at the sky.

“So damn dark.”

Even back in Sanctuary, Sain used to be here often like this.

The beautiful starlight that embroidered the sky in Sanctuary used to evoke strange emotions just by looking at it.

But now, that beautiful sky was no more.

As dark as an uncertain future, endlessly black.

“I came out here to take a break.”

Sain, with a scarf around his neck, looking up at the sky, said.

“Well, do you have something to say?”

A presence.

Someone’s shadow crept up next to Sain.

“Already black as death, now you make it even harder to see.”

“Still, I am the master. It might be better to watch your words.”

Alman’s voice.

Sain smirked.

“Out of the blue. Coming to check on a friend.”

Saying that, Sain slowly got up.

There stood Alman, Raphael’s master, and Rohan, Dante’s master.

“A consistent friend, indeed.”

Adding another word, Rohan said.

“But if it’s Demorus’s bloodline, that’s how it should be.”

“Weren’t you warned before?”

“That’s a story from when you lacked qualifications.”

Rohan continued.

“You’ve proven yourself. You carry Demorus’s blood thick in your veins.”

They were already briefed on the outcome of the exchange match.

What happened, how it came to be.

Even though they could conceal internal matters.

-Just tell the truth.

Sain commanded the candidates to tell the truth.

“I killed your precious candidate.”

“That’s just Demos’s fate.”

Sain’s face twisted slightly.

“I know about Demos and Sis’s matters.”

“….”

“I also knew that Demos’s vessel was small.”

The exchange match.

“This exchange match was also for the growth of Damos.”

I thought it was only to restrain Sain and Rasiel.

“I thought he would grow even more when he hatches the egg. I hoped his meeting with Sis would teach him something.”

All I thought about was killing and being killed.

“I thought it was about him being forgiven by Sis or making Sis submit.”

Rohan seemed to be looking at something bigger, something deeper.

“I heard that Damos had awakened a blessing. And at that moment, he made a choice.”

Rohan said.

“Trapped in that narrow vessel, crouching even more. That’s why.”

It was an incomprehensible statement.

But I felt I knew what emotion it carried.

“I thought there were only those resembling eggs in the darkness, but there were quite decent human beings too.”

The Rohan in front of me genuinely cared for Damos.

Even if it was for the future of Demorus, he wished for Damos to mature and toughen up as a human.

“So, I understand you didn’t come here to claim Damos’s life, but what story do you want to tell?”