Conquering The Novel

Ding!—

[You Have Entered The Dungeon Where The Demon Lord Pazuzu Resides!]

!?

"...What the fuck? Is this where the demon lord Pazuzu is sealed? Do I have to face a demon lord now?" I muttered, reading the system notification that appeared as soon as I entered the gate with a look of unease.

'Irethiel didn't mention anything about any demon lord being unsealed, so there's a possibility that he is still sealed,' I thought to myself. "Even if the Pazuzu's seal were to be broken, I wouldn't be able to defeat him as I am not the Chosen One."

"...."

I came out of my thoughts and looked ahead, and was met with a massive temple-like building, the wooden door to the temple was towering, easily over 50 feet tall, and adorned with intricate carvings of demons and other foul creatures.

Two massive lifelike and imposing statues of demons wearing armor stood on either side of the entrance door, each holding a huge axe lifted high above their heads.

The axes they held were covered in rust, but I could tell that they were still sharp enough to cleave a man in two.

'...Why do I feel like they'll attack me if I try to walk past them?' I thought to myself.

Despite my concerns, I cautiously moved forward, keeping my guard up. The only thing I could see all around was an endless desert, and I had no other choice but to enter the temple in front of me.

As I walked past the statues, I suddenly realized my worries were well-founded. The eyes of the statues began to glow a deep red and they smashed their axes toward me.

But I was ready. I quickly jumped backward, easily dodging the incoming blows.

THUDD—

The sound of the axes hitting the ground echoed through the surroundings as I narrowly avoided the attack.

Without hesitation, I reached into my inventory and pulled out a bow. I focused my mana and used my skill "Static Electricity" to create an arrow, before firing it toward one of the statues.

Swoooosh—

The arrow flew through the air and struck the statue in the head, blasting it into pieces.

Boooom—

I didn't stop there. I created another arrow and shot at the head of the other statue, blasting it as well.

Boooom—

The statues were massive and slow to react, and as their heads were destroyed, their huge, headless bodies fell to the ground with a thunderous crash, shattering into pieces.

THUD—

I approached the two statues cautiously, noticing the two circular, red cores within the remains of their shattered bodies. With my telekinesis, I picked up the cores and heard another system notification.

Ding!—

[You have Obtained 2 High-Level Mana Cores!]

"So these statues were powered by mana cores," I muttered to myself as I examined the heart-sized cores in my hand.

I was familiar with what mana cores were because there was a character in Lucas's party who created puppets using them.

But those mana cores needed to be regularly refilled to maintain the puppets' movements.

"These cores must be of high quality since the statues were still moving despite being here for an unknown amount of time," I thought to myself before storing the cores in my inventory. 'These could prove to be useful in the future,' I concluded.

I then walked towards the massive entrance door and as I was about to push it open, the door creaked open on its own, making a rusty sound as it did so.

CREAK—

I didn't give it much thought and stepped inside the temple. The interior was dark and devoid of any light, so I cast the spell "Electric Lumen" to create some light and survey my surroundings.

"....."

As I looked around, I saw the church-like interior with its walls and benches spattered with blood, and skeletons of armored people scattered in every corner of the large hallway. It was a gruesome sight that could send a chill down the spine.

"...Haha, what did I expect from the temple of the demon lord?" I said, forcing a nervous laugh as a bad feeling washed over me.

Creeeek—

Creeeek—

And my unpleasant hunch was confirmed as suddenly, the entrance door slammed shut behind me, and the skeletons scattered throughout the hallway came to life.

CLANK—

"...Well, no matter the numbers, they're still just low-level skeleton soldiers," I said to myself, trying to calm my nerves.

I reached into my inventory and retrieved a handful of shurikens. Using my telekinesis, I lifted the shurikens into the air, causing them to circle around me.

With a gesture of my hand, I sent the shurikens flying toward the group of skeletons that were advancing toward me.

The shurikens hit their targets with deadly precision, breaking the skeletons with each strike.

The shurikens didn't stop there; they continued to roam around, destroying any skeleton that came near me.

Crack— Crack—

The group of skeletons continued to approach me recklessly, as if they were moths drawn to a flame. However, their mindless movements were no match for the shurikens that continued to circle and strike them down, leaving nothing but scattered bones in their wake.

In a matter of time, all of the skeleton soldiers were defeated, their bones scattered across the floor.

"Was that all?" I muttered to myself as I retrieved the shurikens with a flick of my wrist.

The entrance door behind me remained shut and there appeared to be a dead end in front of me, with just a curious painting of a lion's head adorning the wall.

I approached the painting to take a closer look, intrigued by its intricate details. As the blood-stained walls and scattered corpses were now the only things that surrounded me, and the painting seemed to be the only noteworthy feature in the otherwise dreary hallway.

The lion painting on the wall suddenly came to life and spoke with a deep, rumbling voice as soon as I got near it:

"Greetings, mortal. I am a humble servant of Lord Pazuzu, and I have been charged with testing your wit and intelligence. If you can solve my riddle in 10 seconds, you may proceed further into the lair. Fail, and face the wrath of the demon lord himself."

The lion cleared its throat and began:

"I am the master of the winds, the bringer of plagues, the conqueror of kingdoms. My roar can shatter mountains, and my breath can reduce the mightiest armies to dust. But what am I?"

!?

'...This bastard can't be serious right?' I mused as I just stared at a painting for a second and then replied, "Why, you must be Lord Pazuzu himself!"

The lion let out a mighty roar of laughter. "Well done, mortal! You have proven your intelligence and bravery. You may proceed deeper into the lair. But be warned, the challenges ahead will be even greater and only the most loyal followers of Lord Pazuzu can pass them."

With that, the painting of the lion's head returned to its still form on the wall. Suddenly, the wall descended, revealing a hidden pathway.

"Proving the intelligence, my ass," I muttered to myself. "That same phrase is repeated countless times in the every time Pazuzu orders his minions. I can't believe he used it as the password to this pathway, bragging about himself."

Despite my initial thoughts, I had to admit that only his loyal followers would be able to quickly solve the riddle in 10 seconds, making the password not so bad after all.

I made my way down the long and dark pathway, ready for what lay ahead.