"Waaah!"
"Gah!"
"Eeek—!"
For a moment, the entire square was filled with all kinds of screams.
A black shadow charged into the army of monsters. His speed was so fast that the naked eye couldn't keep up. Before the monsters could even see his figure, they were already sent flying by the tremendous impact.
It looked like a tiger pouncing into a flock of sheep.
The Dark Knights didn't even have a chance to swing their swords, and the mages couldn't even chant a single complete spell. One after another, figures were sent flying, smashing into the gargoyles hovering in midair.
A human-shaped storm swept through the entire square, the violently surging air currents even forming brief tornadoes.
Just half a minute later.
Eiji stood at the center of the square, casually brushing off nonexistent dust from the hem of his gleaming silver armor. His breathing was steady, as if he had only done a light warm-up, his demeanor utterly composed.
Not a single figure remained standing in the entire square.
Dozens of monsters lay sprawled on the ground, their grotesque faces twisted in pain—some wailing, others already unconscious.
"Take good care of my luggage."
Eiji turned his head to warn the two warriors at the center of the square.
"Otherwise, my sword might get angry again!"
Then, without looking back, he charged straight into the castle nearby.
"Mom, I wanna go home!"
"Waaah, I only took this job because my neighbor's uncle said guarding the Demon King's gate was a stable job! I never thought there'd be fighting!"
The two warriors lay on the ground.
After staring blankly for a long while, tears of regret finally streamed from beneath their helmets.
And their opponent was this terrifying monster who had taken down the Demon King's elite forces in the blink of an eye!
...
The Demon King's castle was vast.
The corridors inside were wide enough for over a dozen people to walk side by side. The floors and walls were impeccably clean, and the furnishings were both luxurious and well-kept.
Though the dim lighting gave it a sinister atmosphere, lanterns hung everywhere in the castle.
If not for the eerie vibe, one could easily mistake this place for an ancient royal palace.
"Intruder!"
"Did the forces outside get taken out already?!"
"Strong enemy! A strong enemy! Alert the executives!"
Eiji stepped into the first-floor hall.
The moment he entered, a flood of monsters surged toward him like a tide.
Birdmen, minotaurs, giant black spiders… All kinds of monsters leaped out from every direction, shouting "Eliminate the intruder!" as their crimson eyes gleamed with malice.
The castle was absurdly large—who knew how many hundreds or thousands of monsters lived here?
"So… these are the elite forces of this world's Demon King's army?"
Eiji muttered under his breath.
"...They feel weak."
BOOM!
A deafening explosion followed.
A storm swept through the entire first-floor hall.
Eiji didn't even need to swing his sword—just by running at full speed, he sent all the monsters spiraling into the storm, crashing into every corner of the hall.
Right now, he was Level 7 in the world of DanMachi.
That being said, because his agility stat almost always reached SSS rank—close to 1999—every time he leveled up, his current speed was extraordinarily fast!
To put it into perspective, his speed was equivalent to that of a top-tier Lv. 8 adventurer.
At full sprint, he could approach the speed of sound!
A casual charge from him could whip up a storm, and a single leap could rival a cannonball!
"But the layout is a bit complicated."
After clearing out all the monsters in the first-floor hall, no new ones appeared for a while, so Eiji took the opportunity to explore the first floor.
There were numerous rooms, and the corridors twisted and turned like a maze. Anyone who wasn't a long-time resident would easily get lost here.
"What's this?"
Eiji stopped in front of a room.
"Do not press!"
Large, bold letters were written on the door.
He didn't recognize the language, but he understood it instantly.
Next to it, on the wall, was a red button with a big "X" drawn over it, symbolizing extreme danger.
A trap.
Eiji understood.
But why did he feel absolutely no sense of danger?
On the other hand, he found it quite puzzling.
His intuition had always been sharp—exceptionally so in battle, tracking, and especially danger detection. Even Finn had praised him for it.
Yet now, facing this trap behind the door, he felt not even a hint of threat.
Click!
Eiji raised his hand and pressed the button.
Maybe it was actually an escape route disguised as a trap?
That was what he thought.
At the same time, the door to the room swung open instantly.
Whoosh!
A powerful suction force pulled Eiji inside.
He could have easily dodged it, but he didn't—because there was no sense of danger at all.
"Intruder... Huh? Where's the intruder?"
A wave of monsters arrived belatedly.
Among them were several who clearly stood out as far stronger than the rest. They scanned the area, looking at the scattered, groaning monsters, but found no trace of the intruder.
Eiji only felt a blur before his eyes.
Then, he found himself in a dimly lit room.
It was empty, covered in dust, and looked like a storage room.
Glancing back, he saw a narrow gap in the wall behind him.
How should he put it?
It felt a bit like an elevator.
Eiji stepped out of the storage room and into the corridor outside.
Through the windows lining the hallway, he could look down at the bloodied square outside, where two warriors stood guard over a large piece of luggage in the center, looking tense, as if ready to fight anyone who dared approach.
Hmm?
Looking down?
"Y-Y-Y-You... A human?! How did you reach the top floor in one go?!"
The corridor was bustling with monsters, all startled by the sudden appearance of an intruder.
A two-meter-tall, horned, burly red-skinned ogre appeared before Eiji, staring at him in disbelief.
"Did you predict that the executives would head to the first floor, so you deliberately avoided them and came straight to the top to strike at the heart?! Damn, what brilliant strategy...!"
This was the top floor?
As in, where the Demon King lived?
Well, this was a bit embarrassing—but actually, he'd just pressed a button and taken an elevator up.
"Eh, that room behind you... wasn't that just a device North set up for fun on the first floor, designed to teleport anyone who pressed the button straight to the top? The trap was so obvious that no fool would actually try it!"
The red-skinned demon paused in thought before suddenly realizing.
"So you're an idi—"
Boom!
Eiji kicked out.
The red-skinned demon shot through the glass like a cannonball, crashing into the square below. After bouncing several times on the ground, it twitched twice and lay still.
Eiji's face darkened.
"Don't say things you shouldn't. I'm a wise man!"