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Prologue

 

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It is dark and deep underground, a place where no light would ever shine to, a man was swinging his pickaxe. It would be suitable to call it a narrow dark underpass and the man was in a dilapidated condition.

His age seems to be considerably old, there was not a single part of his face that wasn’t covered in wrinkles and his back was crooked. He was also wearing a worn-out gray robe, and this was further being smeared by the dust and dirt of the confined underground tunnel. It accentuated his miserable state. The lantern attached to his waist look like an old antique, and it was barely able to illuminate his surroundings.

His whole body was covered with sweat, and his arms which were swinging the pickaxe, no longer had any energy in them. He was gasping for air, and it wouldn’t be weird in the slightest if this man were to just drop dead from exhaustion.

The long years have evidently chipped away at his soul, the man was completely spent, both mentally and physically. Only his eyes had a compelling spark of fire left within them.

The man swung his pickaxe desperately digging through the tunnels as if he was possessed. He swung and swung.

And then, finally…

There was a clanking sound, a portion of the clay wall collapsed. The man widened his eyes, and he looked on the other side.

「Fu…..Hahah, Ahahahahahaha! 」

And then, a zeal and enthusiasm that wasn’t there before, suddenly arose within him and he commenced digging with his full ability.

The mud wall quickly crumbles and the crack continues to grow, before long it became big enough for a human being to pass through it.

The man throws away his pickaxe, and along with his loud laughter he was also dancing.

「Hahahahah! I did it, I finally did it! Such a rich flow of magical energy that I could even taste it in the air! I have finally discovered it! 」

The man fumbled around in his chest area, and forcibly tore off the necklace that was around his neck. It was the only piece of decoration attached to this man who was even more miserable than a beggar, it was a glass vial the size of a person’s little finger.

He hanged the vial in the center of the cave where he had previously dug a hole. The air around started to whirl and slowly converge into the vial. At the same time, a liquid amber in color sprung into the bottle.

「It’s a magical density so high that it formed into a crystal and it is able to be seen visually…….! Magnificent! If I have this much then! 」

Now he placed the vial on the ground, and begins to utter an incantation with a deep voice. He was in this position for at least half an hour to a good hour.

His long winded incantation gradually built up the heat in the tunnel, and before one is aware, his weak mutter became a full resonant powerful chant. Towards the end, he was screaming out the words and at the same time, his body was wrapped in a strong light.

「Power, is flowing into me……..Is this what it feels like to be young again?!」

After the light fades away, a young, stout looking man was standing in place.

There was no trace of the old man, whose face was covered in wrinkles and whose waist was crooked. His figure was straight like a sword and he looked handsome. His limbs were overflowing with power, and his skin was smooth as silk. There was only one thing in common between this young man and the elderly person, it was his eyes which shone like a dazzling stone.

「Uh-oh, are you already full?」

Liquid gushed forth from the full glass vial, and it already filled about 90 percent of the contents of the bottle.

When the man was rejuvenated, a slight amount of the magical liquid was reduced, however, the speed in which it is recollected is overwhelmingly faster.

The man displays his ability and quickly chants out a new spell. Amber colored magic shoots out from his finger tips and penetrates the vial. The vial swells up rapidly and becomes really big, it becomes huge enough so that a person could fit in it.

「For the time being, this much should suffice. Now then……..」

The man mutters a short spell and light illuminates the room, next he prepared a longer incantation. Magical energy flows out from the man’s finger tips and the underground tunnel which resembled a cave is quickly covered by bricks and was transforming into a dull basement room.

He bit his finger and started to use the blood to write a magical formation on the flagstone floor. He lightly patted the magic formation he wrote checking on its craftsmanship, then he began to utter a further incantation.

It was an even more complex spell, then the one he used to rejuvenate himself.

Sweat was profusely dripping down his forehead and his face was painfully distorted.

The air was trembling, and the flame of the lantern, which he left besides the room was whiffed out of existence.

The space which was silent up until a moment ago was now reverberating with a sound, it was the sound of a bow getting wrung up to its very limits.

Darkness ruled the room when the flame went out, as if it had a will of its own, the shadows squirmed as it began to take shape slowly.

The room did not have a single speck of light in it, and that shadow was clearly forming into a silhouette.

And then, the figure let out a voice which sounded like the tinkling of a bell.

「…..The one who has called me here, was it you? 」

What appeared in front of the man was, a very bewitching woman who was barely wrapped around any clothes.

A deep black glossy long hair and delicate white fair skin.

Her slender hands and feet was well-proportioned, however she was bound by the formations that the man fully controlled.

「That’s right」

In response to the woman’s question, the man nods.

「Oh…..Then, allow me to reward you with an extraordinary dream in return. Can you erase this magic formation? At this rate, I cannot kiss those wonderful lips Even if I desired so」

Enticing him with her seductive voice, the woman was luring the man with sweet words. The man scornfully laughs at such an attempt.

「I cannot allow that to happen. If I were to erase the magic formation, you would be free to do what you wished. You would instantly suck my soul out of my body and return to the devil world, isn’t that right? I will release you from the seal as soon as we complete our contract」

As soon as the man said such a thing, the woman’s face took a complete turn. From her previous frail and feminine look which tried to garner pity, her face changed to that of an impudent, experienced harlot.

「How boring, it was just a joke, gimme a break! For a magician who is able to prepare this much magical force, there is no way you would have made such a rudimentary mistake that much was obvious」

The demonic woman was sitting on the air space as if there was a chair, and she crosses her legs.

Without even putting any effort into it, her movements were inherently lascivious and captivating. (Illustration: Lilushana the Succubus)

「So? What is it that you want me to do? You want me to suck out the life energy of foolish men? Or is it that, you want me to show an infinite nightmare to your enemies? It will also be fine, if you want me to show you the best night of your life」

「Umu. I want you to make a dungeon」

「Haaa!?」

Hearing the man’s word, the demonic woman reflexively fell off her invisible chair.

「Considering the fact that you are wearing barely any undergarments, I just wanted to tell you that such a thing won’t tempt or make me happy. Even as a joke, I almost thought that you succubus viewed flashing your underwear as an important thing……」

「Who cares about that kind of thing! Just now, I just heard something about you wanting to make a dungeon? 」

「Ahh, That’s exactly what I said」

The man nods he spread his arms out and took a good look around the basement.

「I plan to create a deep, wide and brutally fiendish labyrinth that no one has ever seen before. Filled with innumerable traps, monsters and treasures, a huge labyrinth. An underground dungeon that will be a world of its own, a unique existence that no man will ever be able to finish, I want you to help me create it」

The demoness instinctively suppressed her head. It was not because her body was sick or ill.

It was the first time, she had ever experienced a headache because of being shocked.

「Look here……If you were to summon me to be the guard of the dungeon, then even if I was reluctant, I would still understand. And might I add that I have never been summoned for such a ridiculous thing. However, what the hell do you mean by creating a dungeon!? If you wanted to do that kind of thing, why don’t you go get some goblin or golem to do it?!」

「Naturally, I will leave that laborious work to those types of fellows. However, there is an even more colossal task that you need to help me with. Things like the passageway of the dungeon, the distribution of the rooms. What about creating the traps and placing the monsters? If the demon who guards the dungeon is a living being, they will require food. How would we go about procuring such a thing? And when my labyrinth grows, there will be those that try to threaten it. There will also be insolent people who try to challenge my dungeon. How would you go about dealing with such people? Things that must be thoroughly planned, Things that need to be done, there are innumerable amounts of work to do. And I want you to help me with these things」

「……I get what you are trying to say, but why did it have to be me? 」

The demoness finally regained her cool and mends her body position, she asks the man, and the man thrusts out three of his fingers.

「There are three reasons. The first is that, I do not trust humans. Humans will always betray you without fail. Monsters and or Demi-humans are also the same. On the other hand, you devils will attempt to plot a betrayal if you see the chance, however, it is not possible for you devils to break your contractual agreement. This is precisely the reason I chose a demon instead of a human. The second reason is, if a high-ranking demon is summoned they will possess a high amount of power and intellect. At the same time, a large amount of magic is needed to maintain the contract proportionate to the strength of the demon. Your race of succubus is related closely with the human lust, and it is your job to suck out the life energy of living things. It is one of the peculiar characteristics that you have. Although you aren’t the strongest amongst demons, the amount of magic you require is minimal, you are wise, and you are able to read the nuances of human emotion. This is why I chose the Succubus. The third reason is…..」

The man cuts his words there, and whilst broadly grinning he gazed at the woman’s body.

「If I had to choose a demon to contract with, isn’t it obvious that I would rather have a beautiful young woman working with me? That’s the reason I chose you」

After blankly looking at the man for a few seconds, the demoness let out a small laughter.

「………I understand. Alright, I will help you with the job」

「In that case, please agree with the terms of the contract」

The man pulls out a paper from within his bosom and shows it to the woman. The room was still dark as ever, however, for demons who have an affinity with the darkness, being able to see in this place was a trivial thing.

「You’ve already made arrangements and covered the terms of the contract? Aren’t you well prepared….. Wha, this is ridiculously small!? Just how many paragraphs does this contract have!?」

The parchment which crossed over to the magic formation, was written in very small characters at a very fine print.

「Didn’t I mention it before, I know that if you demons had the chance, you would betray the humans you serve in a heartbeat. In order to prevent such a thing from ever happening, I prepared this contract. Do not worry about provisions which place you at an extreme disadvantage, those kind of texts are not included, so you can rest assured………Nevertheless, you probably won’t trust me on just my word. So please feel free to peruse the text as long as you wish」

「Geez, even if you don’t go to this extent, I have no plans in betraying you…..Ahh mou, the paragraphs are so detailed…..」

Whilst she was complaining, she was squinting her eyes to read the text and she briefly scanned through it.

「Nn, It’s fine for the time being….. This, doesn’t have any characters that are so small to see with the eyes, or an invisible ink or text which are concealed within, right? If there is, I’m sure you are aware that the contract will be invalid」

The woman was looking at him with doubtful eyes, and the man as if he had just been betrayed, puckered up his eye brows.

「Haven’t I told you that I have not included any terms which are disadvantageous to you? You are so full of mistrust」

「Coming from you?!……..Well it’s fine. In that case, I will form the contract」

「Ahh. Thou art Succubus. In accordance to this contract, will you swear on thine name to become my power? 」

The name, has an incredibly important meaning for people who are related to magic, they are words of power. In the case that you have more magical power than another to a certain degree, it will become possible to place a curse on the other party, as long as you know their name, even their soul can be dominated and ruled.

The contract with devils uses a similar concept, the contract connects the devils name and creates a link with the magician and no matter what happens it will not be possible to break such a bond.

「I swear by mine name, Lilushana. To abide by the contract and become thy strength」

「In that case, mine name is Ein Sof Aur and I henceforth pledge to uphold our contract」

In response with their words of oath, the contract shines. And in an instant, it was covered in flames as it burnt out. The contents of the contract was carved into the souls of the two people, and it was no longer possible to adjust or modify the existence of the contract.

「Then, I will be relying on your help hereafter. ……..You should call me by Aur」

「Yea, yeah. You can refer to me as Lilu……..Please treat me well, Aur」

She felt that she was getting into a strange thing, but Lilu didn’t voice out her thoughts.

The magic formation is finally erased and she crosses over it to shake hands. Thus, this is how the two people began their dungeon building journey.

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