Chapter 22

Chapter 22
Chapter: 22

Chapter Title: How Can I Endure This?

—

“…”

Hillun’s eyelids fluttered open.

The environment was oppressive—shrouded in absolute darkness, damp, and foul.

A sharp, nauseating odor caused his nostrils to twitch involuntarily. A dull ache throbbed through his skull. Instinctively, he reached back to touch his head, but the sharp clinking of metal halted his arm.

The reality of his predicament crashed down on him. His arms and legs were shackled, and his internal mana had been completely suppressed.

Once a celebrated savior, he was now reduced to a common captive.

The memories of his defeat flickered through his mind like a fever dream.

That woman—the one who had greeted him wearing a mask more suited for a royal gala than a battlefield.

She had claimed to be a servant of the Dark Lord, a practitioner of shadow spirits, but the truth was written in her features.

That shimmering platinum blonde hair was the undeniable hallmark of the Hilderan dynasty.

And those mesmerizing violet eyes possessed a magnetic beauty that burned into the memory of anyone who saw them.

There was no doubt. She was Ernyan Hilderan, the First Princess of Hilderan—the very person he had ventured here to liberate.

How could a princess be part of this?

The logic defied him.

A Demon King abducts a royal.

A hero challenges the darkness to bring her home.

That was the natural order of the world. Or, at least, it was supposed to be.

Hillun had conquered a multitude of sinister spires in his career, but he had never encountered a situation so utterly inverted.

“Are you finally with us?”

“…Granada.”

Hillun wasn’t the sole occupant of this dungeon. Nearby, bound in a similar fashion, Granada blinked away his exhaustion.

*To hell with all of this.*

Granada cursed silently.

His role was supposed to conclude the moment Hillun was neutralized. Instead, the Demon King had tossed him into the same pit as the hero he helped capture.

—Humans become remarkably transparent when they’re broken. Sit in that cell with him and extract every secret he holds.

What was the master’s end goal for a hero?

This wasn’t just any warrior; this was Hillun Kagil, the man famous for actually ending a Demon King’s reign.

They had used the princess to catch him off guard this time, but such a trick wouldn’t work twice.

It felt strange for an elf to think this way, but from the perspective of a Dark Lord, leaving such a threat alive was an invitation for future calamity.

*Surely he doesn’t intend to draft him into the ranks like he did with me.*

Granada found the thought laughable.

A legendary hero serving as a minion for the Demon King? It was a farce.

But then, look at the dwarf.

What was a master craftsman doing in this tower, polishing mana-fueled artillery?

By all accounts, he should have been a hero as well.

“Are you injured?”

“My head feels like it’s splitting. I can’t move my limbs, and my mana reserves are completely frozen.”

“I’m in the same boat.”

“I remember the princess appearing before us. After that… I can’t recall what struck us down.”

“Nor can I…”

“This is a disaster. Every bit of it.”

Hillun let out a heavy breath. Their journey to Hortonwork had been a series of triumphs. How had it collapsed into this?

“There is something profoundly wrong with this tower.”

Hillun’s legendary status was cemented after he toppled the Lust Demon King, but he had raided dozens of towers before that.

Every single one of them followed a predictable pattern.

“The first floor is for grunts and pitfalls.”

“The second floor increases the threat level.”

“The third floor is even more lethal.”

That was the standard. It wasn’t just his observation; it was a fundamental law that had governed the world since the first Demon Kings appeared.

So why was this place different?

“The entrance was guarded by mana cannons and heavy ballistae.”

It was a nightmare no one had prepared for. Aside from Hillun and Granada, their entire party had been vaporized in a single volley.

“Who puts siege engines inside a residential tower?”

“…I have no answer for you.”

“Of course you don’t. No one would.”

If it had ended there, he could have dismissed it as a unique hurdle. A single mana-cannon ambush would have just been a harrowing story to tell after he killed the Demon King and saved the girl.

But it didn’t end there.

“Floor one was a death trap, yet floor two was a void.”

“Floor three was exactly the same. And then, when we reached the fourth…”

A sickening crunch echoed as Hillun bit his lip hard enough to draw blood.

“Why her? Of all the people in the world!”

A surge of volcanic fury made his pulse race.

“Why would she betray the man who came to rescue her? Why would a princess stand by a Demon King!”

His whisper escalated into a jagged scream.

“After everything I sacrificed to reach this place!”

“After all the effort I put into making this hero persona a success!”

His voice echoed through the stone chamber before dropping back into a heavy silence.

Then, a low, unsettling chuckle escaped his throat.

“You want to hear something funny?”

“…What? What is it?”

“Since we crossed the threshold of this tower, we haven’t seen a single demon or monster.”

A distorted, manic grin spread across Hillun’s face.

“In the home of a Demon King! No monsters, no guards—just a princess stabbing the hero in the back! What kind of twisted joke is this tower!”

“…I understand your frustration.”

Understand? Granada had been bewildered just witnessing it; he couldn’t begin to fathom the psychological toll on the man who had lived it.

“It is the tower of a Demon King. And I am its lord.”

The voice originated from the shadows outside the bars.

The figure stepped into the flickering light.

Dark eyes, raven hair. He looked remarkably like a human, yet he exuded a crushing aura that proved he was anything but.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Hillun Kagil.”

Berge offered a thin smile.

This was a novel experience. It was exhilarating.

Hillun Kagil.

In all his previous existences, Berge had never seen the man look so broken and pathetic.

In the old timeline, Hillun’s defeat was an impossibility.

He had been the golden child of the era, moving from victory to victory until the day he finally took Berge’s life, cementing his legacy as the greatest of all heroes.

But the script had changed.

Berge could not suppress his satisfaction.

This wasn’t just the capture of an enemy; he had effectively grounded a man who was destined to become a god-tier threat.

It was a complete deviation from the records of history.

This was why Berge felt an uncharacteristic jolt of excitement. This was his first true landmark achievement.

It was the ultimate proof that his gamble was paying off.

Finally.

He had the absolute certainty that the future was his to mold.

His revenge was no longer a dream; it was an unfolding reality.

“It’s you.”

Hillun’s gaze sharpened like a blade.

“You! You’re the one behind all of this!”

“If you are addressing the master of this domain, then yes, as I stated.”

“You absolute filth. I’ll tear your throat out, you miserable coward.”

“That’s surprising. I was told Hillun Kagil was the epitome of grace and chivalry.”

“To hell with that. You look like you’re one foot in the grave, yet you’re standing there playing the aristocrat. What is wrong with you? If you’re a Demon King, act like one! Send in the beasts and the traps!”

“I did employ traps. They didn’t have fur or scales, but they certainly did the job of catching you.”

“That isn’t how a Demon King operates, you bastard.”

Hillun spat the words with a sneer.

“You’ve ruined me. Even if I walk out of here, the creditors waiting for me will tear me apart.”

“Bankrupt because of one setback? You’re the legendary Hillun Kagil, aren’t you?”

“You demons don’t understand. There is nothing more terrifying than a debt collector. You have no concept of the fortune I’ve spent on public relations and networking, or the interest piling up. Just the thought of my balance sheet makes my skin crawl.”

“I was unaware of your financial struggles.”

This was a revelation.

Berge knew humans were greedy—he had seen them slaughter their own for gold—but he had never imagined a premier hero being strangled by debt.

It was a valuable piece of information.

In that moment, a new strategy began to form in Berge’s mind.

What if he could flip this one too?

A part of him still burned with the desire to kill.

The instincts of a Demon King, sharpened by the memories of his past death, screamed for him to execute every hero on sight.

Unlike the boy Roger, Hillun was a finished product. In a fair fight at full strength, the outcome would be uncertain even for Berge.

But he restrained the impulse. Hillun wasn’t one of the specific people who had mocked him during his execution.

And the success with Roger had opened a new door.

If I can use a hero to bring down the Aren Empire…

If I can use one of their own idols to crush the ones who humiliated me…

That would be the ultimate irony. The most exquisite form of vengeance.

The prospect made his heart swell with dark delight.

However, Berge didn’t make an offer yet. He needed the right moment.

A cornered predator only trusts its own kind; he would wait until the hero’s spirit was even more fragile.

“It seems you still have some fight left in those lungs.”

“What’s the plan? Use me as a bargaining chip with the high courts? Why not just finish it?”

“I’ll decide your fate in due time. For now, sit here and let your situation sink in.”

Berge turned and exited the dungeon area.

“We’re leaving.”

The moment the Demon King’s shadow disappeared, Hillun’s manic energy vanished, replaced by a cold focus.

“Forgive the outburst. I needed to vent to think clearly. It helped settle my nerves.”

“Uh, right.”

Granada could only nod, stunned by the sudden shift.

“The fact that we’re breathing means he wants a hostage. He’ll try to negotiate with the kingdoms, and that’s when we’ll find our window.”

“Do you have a way out?”

“I’ve been working on it since I woke up.”

With a sudden, violent heave, the mana-dampening cuffs and leg irons shattered under pure physical strength.

“…!”

“These trinkets aren’t enough to hold me forever. I’ve been slowly channeling my remaining mana while I kept him talking.”

“Incredible.”

He truly was a monster in human skin.

Hillun quickly moved over and tore the restraints off Granada as well.

“I’m too drained to fight that Demon King head-on right now. Our priority is a stealthy exit.”

“And the princess?”

“That lunatic? Leave her. I came to be her savior and she played me for a fool. If I had proof of her betrayal, I could extort a fortune from the Hilderan treasury. That’s the only part I regret.”

Muttering under his breath, Hillun used his bare hands to bend the heavy iron cell bars.

“The arrogant fool didn’t even leave a guard at the door. Let’s move.”

“R-Right.”

Granada’s mind raced.

What was he supposed to do? He had to stop the escape, but he was in no condition to fight Hillun. He decided to follow for now and wait for an opening to alert the master.

Hillun crept toward the main door, pressing his ear against the wood.

“Silence. Can you handle the lock? I’ll keep watch.”

“On it.”

Granada slowly pulled the door open.

“…God dammit.”

“Such foul language. Your fans would be heartbroken if they saw the real you.”

“How are you back here already…?”

“You thought I wouldn’t sense you breaking my property? I’ll admit, I’m impressed. I didn’t think you could snap those artifacts through sheer force. You really are Hillun Kagil.”

“Go to hell!”

Hillun lunged with a desperate punch. It was parried with effortless ease. A massive hand caught his fist, twisted, and sent the hero crashing into the wall.

“Granada! Now!”

Hillun scrambled to his feet, shouting urgently. Seeing the hero’s determined expression, Granada felt a sudden surge of obligation and launched a kick at the Demon King.

*Thwack—*

“Agh!”

The retaliation was instant. Granada was sent flying, coughing up blood. As he hit the ground, he looked up to see a sight that stunned him.

“Good luck, Granada! Fight him with everything you’ve got! I’ll make sure your sacrifice isn’t in vain!”

The hero was already sprinting down the hallway, the same man who had promised to fight together now using his comrade as a meat shield.

“…”

“Well, that’s a first.”

“…Is he actually just a complete scumbag?”

“A servant betraying his master versus a hero abandoning his friend. It’s hard to say which is more pathetic.”

“…I was just playing my part in the plan. Didn’t you order me to assist the hero, my Lord?”

“Let’s go with that.”

“Are you going to let him go?”

“I was just momentarily paralyzed by how shameless he is.”

Berge gave a dry laugh and began a leisurely pursuit of the fleeing savior.

—

Hillun scrambled up the stone steps. His lungs burned and his muscles screamed, but he didn’t slow down.

*Perfect—no guards.*

He was sure of it now. Floors one through four were ghost towns. No demons, no patrols. This tower was a hollow shell.

*Don’t get cocky. There were cannons and a traitorous royal. There’s more hidden here.*

He was prepared for anything. Or so he thought.

*At least the architecture is predictable.*

The cells were in the basement. One flight up would put him on the first floor, and from there, he just had to navigate the rubble to the exit.

“I hope that elf can buy me enough time…!”

The elf would be pissed about being left behind, but his hatred for demons would keep him fighting. He’d do his duty.

*That’s the beauty of working with elves.*

His promise to return and seek revenge wasn’t a total lie. He fully intended to come back with an army and erase this stain on his record.

He threw open the door to the first floor. He expected an empty hall, but someone was waiting.

“You?”

A short, stout figure stood there. He had thick, calloused hands.

“The hero from the fourth floor? The one who broke my masterpieces?”

The dwarf standing in the center of the room spoke with a voice dripping with malice.

“The Master said the mana cannon was a failure because it didn’t finish the job. He said there’s no payment for broken tools.”

His fingers tightened around the handle of a massive smithing hammer.

“Because of you!”

“I didn’t get my loot because of you!”

The dwarf hero let out a war cry and charged, swinging the heavy weapon.

Hillun stood paralyzed. The sheer absurdity of the situation drained the strength from his legs.

He had told himself nothing could shock him anymore. He was wrong.

“Are you kidding me? Another hero?”

How was he supposed to deal with this?