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Maou no Hajimekata Volume 3 Chapter 1 Part 1

Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist

Chapter 1: Let’s wake up in a new Dungeon, Part 1

「Gone. Gone! He’s gonegonegonegonegonegonegone!」

She opened all of the chests and drawers, looked under the beds and even turned every trash can inside out, all to no avail.

「Where the fuck did you go?!!!!」

The right hand of the Demon Lord Aur, his first and most trusted subordinate, and the absolute number 1 among all of his wives and mistresses, the succubus Lilu, yelled in frustration. She was in a state of an absolute panic, complete with shaking hands and tears welling up in her eyes.

「As amazing as he is, there’s absolutely no way for him to fit in such cramped spaces.」

Spina, a witch who is Aur’s apprentice in the art of magic and a half-human, half-slime remarked emotionlessly as she searched through the entire Dungeon with her slimy clones that also share their vision. So far her attempts at locating Aur have also proved to be in vain.

「Hey, Sophia. Are you really sure that he’s nowhere in the Dungeon?」

「Yes, I am sure of that. I even scanned its every inch three times in a row, but I cannot find him anywhere.」

Mari, a girl who was practically raised in the Dungeon by Aur & company asked with a voice filled with worry and anxiety, and Sofia, Aur’s and Mari’s “daughter” and the God controlling the Dungeon, gave her a negative reply.

「Are we sure that he really came back to the Dungeon after he finished his visit to the moon?」

The only one who maintained a calm and level-headed attitude no different from her usual demeanor was the former Hero, Yunis.

「He most definitely did, because Marina saw him going down the well connected to the earth, and seeing how Marina is also in the state of hysteria, I don’t think she’s lying.」

Despite her uneasy expression, Zana, the queen of the ice kingdom of Himuro and Marina’s priestess, gave such an answer.

「Hey! Can’t Marina use her power to locate him!?」

Supposedly Marina’s ability was incredibly powerful, but it showed only the steps needed to achieve the desired result, and not the result itself. But now that Marina herself was supposedly so upset, there’s no telling how it might impact her revelations. Or so everyone thought, however…

「I’M TRYING! I’m really trying… but I don’t see anything! It’s like the thread that connected him to me has been completely severed!」

Lilu clung to the one single hope they had left, but Marina, through Zana’s body, which she can possess, yelled that it was impossible. After all, her ability only shows the best possible way for her to achieve her desired outcome, not the universal power allowing her to do anything. If there is no actual way for her to achieve her goal, then there was nothing she could do about it.

「You’re shitting me… you have to be FUCKING kidding me!」

Fully realizing the meaning behind that, Lilu fell flat on the ground.

「I…」

In spite of this hopeless situation, Yunis still raised her determined voice.

「With my ability, I could…」

「Do not even think about it.」

However, Spina stopped her before she could finish her sentence.

「But why?! With my ability, I could instantly go to wherever Aur is!」

Yunis’ Spirit name is 『Bouncing Piece』, and her power is Metastasis, the ability that allows her to teleport freely, but lately Yunis tweaked it a bit in such a way that if the situation ever called for it, she could be able to instantly jump to wherever Aur might be, regardless of whether or not Yunis herself ever been to that location.

「If it was possible to go to him safely, Marina’s revelation would have shown such an option to Zana.」

Of course, Yunis’ technique was not free of drawbacks. For example, she could jump to any place she desired, but she had no idea of discerning the situation at her destination.

「…Right now, for whatever reason, master has himself involved in an unprecedented situation. Probably… he is probably in this world no longer. Maybe he is in the Demon World, or perhaps in some other place unknown to us. Be that as it may, the fact remains that wherever he is, it is a place where the power of the Moon Goddess does not reach. And if that is the case, Yunis, then it is more than likely that your ability won’t be able to reach him either.」

The power possessed by the spirits could be likened to an afterglow of the power of God. Even if the differences in the natures of the Gods themselves were to be subtracted, it would still be clear as day the power of which is stronger between Marina and the now dead God who additionally split his power between many Spirits.

「But then, that’s all the more reason for me to…!」

「Do you really want Arc to grow up as an orphan that badly?」

With that one word, Yunis completely lost all of her build-up momentum.

Arc… Arcrain, a child of Yunis and Aur who will soon be three years old. Despite his age he could already speak and displayed an understanding of the world around him atypical for a normal boy his age, but if Yunis were to leave and never come back, no one had any doubt that it would absolutely shatter him. And there is also a matter of him being Aur’s only son. Of course, Lilu, Spina and the other Dungeon dwellers would never treat him badly or astutely, but without Aur and Yunis’ protection he could end up dragged into power struggles and schemes concocted by those who were still loyal to the God of Heaven and opposed Aur.

「But…!」

Yunis wanted to continue to argue, but then she noticed that Spina was clenching her fist so hard that blood began to drip onto the ground from it, and she gasped sharply.

Everybody knew that Yunis will never lose to anyone in her love and affection for Aur, but at the same time no one was more loyal and devoted to him than Spina. If she was told by him to sacrifice herself, she would do it without a second’s hesitation.

But now that very same Spina stopped Yunis. Part of her reason for doing so might be her friendship with Yunis and love for Arc, but the biggest, most important reason was her consideration of Aur himself, because he swore that he would never allow Yunis to be hurt or placed in danger.

「…… I understand.」

Yunis whispered, and took a deep breath.

「It’s going to be okay.」

Lilu patted Yunis on the shoulder.

「Aur is definitely alive out there somewhere. We all know that he’s not someone who would be offed so easily, right? Besides, if he was really dead, then the contract that connects me to him would have been nulled.」

「Yeah… I guess you’re right.」

The bond originating from the contract between Lilu and Aur is even stronger than the connection between Aur and Marina. That’s why Yunis was able to nod and believe in her words, even though Lilu herself knew perfectly well that there was no guarantee for Aur to be safe.

*          *          *

「Ghh…..」

Aur’s body, which has been slammed into a wall finally slid down onto the ground while making a loud noise.

His body felt hot. His field of view was blurred. He felt like he was suffocating, and he most probably wouldn’t be able to stand straight even if he tried.

(What… happened to me?)

The last thing he remembered was descending down the well on the moon after he said his goodbye to Marina. He was supposed to be transported back to the well in the Forest Dungeon back on earth, but instead he found himself in a Dungeon he has never seen before. On top of that, he felt as if some mysterious illness was spreading throughout his whole body. He thought that he recognized some of the symptoms, but the rapid spreading of severe pain and chills prevented him from thinking clearly.

Suddenly, the wall approached him and a cold stone hit him in the cheek. After a moment of confusion Aur realized that it was not the wall that approached him, but that he was lying down on the floor. But noticing that changed nothing and helped him with nothing. His limbs were getting weaker by the second and his field of vision grew increasingly more blurred.

A sudden thought flashed in his mind. A thought that whoever made this stone floor has royally fucked up such a simple job. The floor in his own Dungeon had a much better, more solid structure.

He sensed the light footsteps coming towards him through the rough floor stones, but he could no longer see or hear. All he could sense were the vibration s of the floor beneath him.

「──…………」

Still, he tried to look up and say something, but he didn’t even know what it was that he said, because when he was speaking, his consciousness was already slipping into the darkness.