Debuff Master-Chapter 1093

Chapter 1093
After Siegfried left the meeting hall...
“
Ha!”
“How reckless.”
“That greenhorn needs to know his place...”
The demon lords clicked their tongues in disbelief at Siegfried’s recklessness.
And frankly, that ought to be the natural reaction here. The Maze of Evil was infamous even within the Demon Realm, so much so that even the demon lords themselves avoided entering it at all costs.
Created by the very first Demon King, Tiamat, the Maze of Evil was absurdly complex. Not only was it nearly impossible to find one’s way through it, but it was also teeming with all kinds of deadly monsters.
In other words, it was a place with unimaginable danger lurking behind every corner.
Throughout the history of the Demon Realm, only two individuals had ever successfully conquered the maze, and this was a testament to its infamy. It was proof that it was not to be taken lightly.
—
Tsk, tsk!
As expected, that kid’s the real deal! Now that’s the kind of guts a real man should have!
Rather than fearing the Maze of Evil, Siegfried had jumped straight into it without the slightest hesitation, and it absolutely delighted Baal. He couldn’t help but admire Siegfried’s confidence.
— Look at that, you fools. Look at the sheer fire in that rookie human-born Demon Lord! But what about you lot? You all want to become the Demon King, yet none of you have the guts to show for it!
The demon lords couldn’t utter a single word in response. They stood like mute puppets after being completely silenced by Baal’s scolding.
To be fair, Siegfried’s behavior was indeed reckless.
However, he only acted that way due to the fact that he had no knowledge whatsoever about the Maze of Evil.
From another angle, his actions exuded courage, boldness, and self-confidence, making him look like a demon lord who believed in his own strength and capabilities.
— You cowardly rats! You think I’d let him go there if it were impossible to deal with in the first place?! Haven’t I told you already that I’ve been through it myself?! Do you know how many traps I’ve dismantled and how many monsters I've killed while going through it?! The maze’s difficulty dropped significantly after I was done with it! So what the hell are you all so scared of?!
Those words were more than enough to stir the demon lords.
“W-Wait, are you serious?!”
“Ah! So that is what you meant!”
They let out sighs of relief after hearing that the maze’s difficulty had dropped significantly.
The demon lords couldn’t be faulted for being so scared of the maze, as its infamy was truly well-known throughout the Demon Realm. In fact, the demon mothers would often scare their misbehaving children with two things.
“If you don’t listen to your mother, Archangel Michael will come and get you!"
or
“I’ll lock you up inside the Maze of Evil!”
— So stop shaking in your boots, you spineless wimps!
Baal roared, chewing them out.
– It’s all about personal skill and a bit of luck when it comes to the Maze of Evil! Also, once someone reaches the heart of the maze and becomes the Demon King, it will temporarily open up, so there’s always a chance to get out safely! Lastly, I cast a spell, so no one will die inside it! Even if someone gets killed in there, they will just be forcibly expelled from the maze!
That last part was the clincher.
“What? Really? I will not die in the Maze of Evil?”
“
Ooooh!
”
“Then this is doable!”
The demon lords found courage after hearing the fact that there was no risk of death inside the Maze of Evil. Now, they had nothing to lose. Even if they died inside it, they would only be eliminated from the contest for the throne.
It'd be disappointing, but it was still better than dying.
However, if luck was on their side and they were the first to reach the heart of the maze and clear it, then they would become the Demon King and be reborn as the ruler of the entire Demon Realm.
In short, this was a challenge worth attempting, as it was with minimal risk yet massive potential rewards.
— Why do you think they say fortune favors the bold? When you’ve got courage, you will get power, and when you get power, you'll win over the beauties, too!
Tsk, tsk, tsk!
I swear, kids these days! You spineless little shits with no guts and no fighting spirit!
Baal kept hurling insults at the demon lords, stomping on their pride and egos. However, he was not merely insulting them for the sake of insulting them, as every word he said was true.
The entire demon race had grown soft compared to the past. There had not been any proper wars in ages, so the demons had grown complacent. The lack of battles made it impossible for lower-ranking demons to advance, while the higher-ranking ones had no risk of downfall.
As a result, the Demon Realm stagnated until eventually, they regressed. All they did was squabble among themselves with petty fights or indulge in debauchery day and night.
This was the reason Baal often referred to them as nothing more than fattened pigs, as their burning spirit of the past had long faded away.
“I will head to the Maze of Evil right now,” Belial said, rising from his seat without hesitation.
As the Demon Realm’s second-in-command, Belial fully intended to conquer the maze and claim the title of Demon King.
“I’ll go too!”
“
Kehehe!
What a golden opportunity!”
“I’m the best candidate to be the Demon King!”
One by one, the demon lords also stood up and began leaving the meeting hall.
The fact that it was such a low-risk, high-reward trial meant that there was no reason for them not to challenge the Maze of Evil.
Who could say things for sure? Perhaps luck would smile upon one of them and crown them as the next Demon King.
***
Siegfried and Metatron arrived at the Maze of Evil before any of the other demon lords.
While the others hesitated, the two of them confidently marched into the maze. Of course, who entered first was not that important, as it would not really matter who entered first or last if they got lost inside the Maze of Evil.
“Are you really not scared at all, my lord?” Metarton asked.
His face was riddled with unease as he stared at the entrance to the Maze of Evil, which looked like the gaping mouth of some monstrous demon.
“Nope, not at all,” Siegfried replied with a shrug. Then, he continued, “It’s not like this is my first time going into a place like this. I even cleared the Daedalus Underground Great Labyrinth. Well, that was just a child's place compared to this place, but still.”
“
Haha...”
Metatron laughed nervously in response, sweat dripping down his face.
“Why? Are you scared?” Siegfried asked.
“Yes, I am,” Metatron replied honestly, not hiding his fear of the maze. Then, he explained, “Saying that I am not scared of the Maze of Evil would be a lie. I have heard so many terrifying stories about the maze since I was a child... it is something instilled in us, demons, since childhood, so we instinctively fear it.”
“
Oh?
”
“But I must go. My father did not raise me to be a weak demon. Overcoming fear must be one of the virtues of a demon lord, too, mustn't it?” Metatron replied firmly.
“You punk,” Siegfried muttered with a smile. Then, he gave him a pat on the back and said, “You’re pretty cool.”
“
Eh?”
“I’m sure your father would be proud of you.”
“
Hahaha!”
“I should’ve paid your father a visit back then, too bad.”
“N-No, that was not necessary!”
“But seriously, you’ve really grown a lot. You should be proud of what you accomplished.”
“T-Thank you, my lord!”
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, my lord!”
Siegfried started walking toward the entrance of the Maze of Evil with confident steps while Metatron quickly followed behind him.
Ding!
[Maze of Evil]
Ding!
[Alert: You have entered the Maze of Evil!]
[Alert: Fear not, for you will not die!]
[Alert: You will be forcibly returned to District Zero if your HP falls to 0% while inside the Maze of Evil!]
[Alert: You will also be forcibly returned to District Zero if someone obtains the Demon King’s Legacy at the heart of the maze!]
Siegfried quickly grasped what the notifications were trying to say and scoffed, “
Tsk,
seriously? It’s not even a life-or-death trial?”
He couldn’t help but be surprised after seeing that the Maze of Evil had essentially been turned into a training ground. He had expected something thrilling and dangerous, but instead, it turned out to be a dungeon where one could fail without dying.
Then again, the goal of this trial was to choose the next Demon King while preserving the Demon Realm’s military strength, so obviously, no one was supposed to die in it.
“Well, for now...” Siegfried turned to look at Metatron, but...
“
Huh?
”
He tilted his head in confusion after seeing that Metatron had vanished without a trace the moment they entered the maze. Just moments ago, they entered the Maze of Evil together, but now, he was nowhere to be found.
“Where did he go? Oh wait, are they not allowing parties in here?” Siegfried wondered.
There were dungeons that separated party members into different areas or even different timelines once they entered them. The Maze of Evil was likely one of those dungeons.
“Oh well, no one’s going to die anyway,” Siegfried muttered with a shrug.
He saw no need to go looking for him, as Metatron was not in any danger of dying.
“
Hmm...
Let’s see...”
Siegfried walked a few steps forward and activated Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance.
Ding!
A minimap of the Maze of Evil appeared before his eyes, with a green arrow indicating the right direction.
“I knew it,” he muttered with a smile.
Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance was truly something else. Even in a place like the Maze of Evil—a place that struck terror into the hearts of every demon—it still proved to be reliable by showing him the correct path.
‘But this is going to take forever,’ he grumbled inwardly.
The problem was that Siegfried was dropped in a location extremely far from the heart of the maze.
Even if he followed the correct path, it would still take him several days to get there.
“Damn it...”
It was then.
“
Oh?
”
A red dot suddenly appeared near the center of the maze, labeled Belial.
Belial had been lucky, as he was dropped near the heart of the maze from the start.
‘
Like that will help him,’
Siegfried thought, unbothered in the slightest.
Unless Belial possessed an overpowered artifact like Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance or had some insane stroke of luck, reaching the heart of the maze in a short period of time was virtually impossible.
In short, there was no reason for Siegfried to worry.
“Okay, time to move out.”
Siegfried ignored Belial completely and ran in the direction the green arrow was guiding him toward.
***
While Siegfried was making his way through the Maze of Evil in the Demon Realm...
“All troops, move out! We will be launching a full-scale assault on the Allied Forces’ camp!”
General Deldelos led an army of one million troops to the fortress where the Allied Forces were stationed.
It was truly an awe-inspiring sight.
Even excluding non-combatants like the medics or logistics corps, there were still one million troops available for combat.
The sheer force of the army marching was truly a grand sight that would overwhelm anyone who witnessed it.
Meanwhile, Hansen received a that the Holy Alliance was advancing on their fortress.
“This will be difficult...”
To be frank, Hansen was not confident this time.
Why?
How could they possibly fend off a full-scale assault from one million enemy troops with strategy and tactics alone? Most commanders would have thrown their hands up in surrender, as there wasn't much the Allied Forces could do if both sides clashed with brute force against brute force.
If they fought and somehow emerged victorious, the Allied Forces would still suffer devastating losses.
‘
Our entire army could be wiped out if we make one wrong move...’
Hansen thought.
What would happen if they lost?
It would be all over.
The entire continent would fall into the hands of the Holy Alliance, and the angels would descend en masse and rule the world.
‘
What do I do... What should I do in this situation...?’
It was then.
‘
Ah!’
An idea flashed in Hansen’s mind. ‘
That might work!’
Without wasting time, he immediately moved to put his idea in motion.
Hansen turned to his lieutenant and commanded, “Inform all our troops. As of this moment, we are retreating from the fortress.”
The lieutenant reeled in shock at the command, “W-What?! Sir?!”
The Holy Alliance was marching straight toward them with one million troops, yet they were going to abandon the fortress?
It did not make any sense at all.
“There’s no time. Get the message out now and have our men retreat,” Hansen commanded.
“Y-Yes, sir!”
The lieutenant did not quite understand the command, but he carried it out and relayed it to the rest of the Allied Forces.
“Major Hansen.”
Not long after hearing the news, Oscar came to find him.
“Why are we abandoning the fortress?”
Her tone was not confrontational or accusatory. She was simply perplexed by the sudden command issued that defied all logic.
“
Ah,
I have no intention of giving them the fight they want,” Hansen replied.
“
Hm?
You don’t intend to fight them?” Oscar asked.
“A full-scale battle is exactly what the Holy Alliance is hoping for, is it not?”
“It is,” Oscar nodded in response. Then, she added, “They’ve likely run out of supplies, so they’re desperate for a quick and decisive victory.”
“Exactly! So instead of fighting, we will keep retreating and running, stalling things.”
“...!”
“While we're avoiding a direct battle, the enemy’s food stores will dwindle. Their troops will grow increasingly hungry and exhausted. And what do you think will happen if we strike their overextended supply lines and raze the little supplies they have remaining?”
“They will dry out even faster...” Oscar muttered, stunned after understanding the reason behind the command.
She couldn’t help but marvel at Hansen's tactical ingenuity.
Why?
It was all because if things played out the way he planned, the Allied Forces would win this war without a doubt.