Chapter 106
Haruto tore his gaze away from the swarm of Walking Mushrooms and focused on Thistle, his mind racing through countless possibilities.
Leaving the Delicious in Dungeon world immediately would undoubtedly be the safest choice.
But if he did that, Laios and the others would have no chance of resisting the Mad Mage.
They probably would not die.
The Winged Lion had already taken an interest in Laios and would almost certainly interfere somehow.
Even so, a reckless idea began taking shape in the depths of Haruto’s mind.
What if he could seize the spellbook in Thistle’s hands and eat the half of the Winged Lion sealed inside it?
His Gourmet Cells would surely undergo an enormous evolution.
And it was not entirely impossible.
Thistle was a mage. If Haruto could close the distance before he finished casting—
Of course, approaching someone who controlled the entire dungeon would not be easy. He would need to create the right opening.
Haruto rapidly recalled everything he knew about the labyrinth.
Long ago, Thistle had sunk the Golden Kingdom beneath the earth to protect it.
At the time, the kingdom had been invaded by an enemy army and was on the verge of falling. In desperation, Thistle made a wish and sent the entire city underground.
During that process, however, the Winged Lion devoured part of his desires, causing Thistle to lose many of his memories.
At the same time, his determination to "protect" the Golden Kingdom became far more extreme.
When King Delgal later tried to lead his people out of the dungeon and rebuild their kingdom, Thistle refused without hesitation.
The two clashed bitterly, and in the end, the increasingly obsessive Thistle personally tore Delgal’s soul from his body. He also imprisoned the rest of the royal family and forbade anyone from leaving.
As the years passed, Thistle’s madness only deepened.
Eventually, Delgal escaped the dungeon by using his son’s body.
Not long after reaching the surface, however, he crumbled into ash.
Thistle knew none of this. As far as he was concerned, King Delgal had simply "disappeared," which only drove him deeper into obsession.
With that in mind, Haruto looked directly at Thistle.
"When this dungeon first appeared, a man emerged from it claiming to be the king of the Golden Kingdom."
"His name was Delgal."
Haruto’s voice carried clearly through the Giant Walking Mushroom’s roars and reached everyone present.
As he spoke, he watched Thistle closely.
Just as he expected, Thistle froze for an instant.
He himself made no obvious movement, but the Giant Walking Mushroom abruptly stopped attacking.
Haruto paused, then continued.
"That man promised that whoever defeated the Mad Mage would inherit everything belonging to the Golden Kingdom."
Laios and the others immediately showed signs of recognition.
They had all heard that story before, although very few people ever mentioned the king’s name.
Chilchuck glanced at Haruto and recalled Thistle’s earlier words.
Realization struck him, and he quickly joined in.
"That’s right! I remember now!"
"Someone did say the king who appeared on the surface was named Delgal!"
Marcille nodded beside him.
Thistle’s gaze swept across them, his expression darkening.
Haruto ignored it and silently concentrated Nen into his legs.
At the same time, he continued speaking.
"Not long after King Delgal said those words, he turned into a pile of ash in front of everyone and scattered into the wind."
"Impossible!"
Thistle suddenly screamed, his voice filled with disbelieving rage as his scarlet pupils widened.
"His Majesty could never have left the dungeon! He could not possibly be dead!"
"I forbade every resident of the Golden Kingdom—including His Majesty himself—from taking even a single step outside!"
"You wretched thieves dare invent such lies to deceive me?!"
Thistle completely lost control.
His previously composed face twisted into something vicious and deranged. His long silver hair whipped around despite the still air, while veins bulged beneath his brown skin.
To "protect" the Golden Kingdom, he had once made a wish and buried the entire city beneath the earth, transforming it into a dungeon. He had even personally stripped the royal family of their freedom.
How could King Delgal possibly have escaped?
To Thistle, Haruto’s words could only be a lie.
The spellbook in his hands began flipping through its pages even faster as his rage surged, clearly preparing some devastating spell.
Haruto frowned.
He had hoped that revealing Delgal’s fate would shake Thistle’s mind and force him into doubt, giving Haruto an opening.
Instead, Thistle’s obsession had reached the point of sickness.
Rather than wavering, he had become even more furious, and his murderous intent now burned far stronger than before.
Of course, the Winged Lion had been responsible for Delgal’s escape.
It had also secretly guided the people of the Golden Kingdom, constantly manipulating events from behind the scenes.
When Thistle raised the spellbook and vast amounts of mana began gathering around him, Haruto’s heart tightened.
"I’m not finished! Before King Delgal turned to ash, he left one final message!"
Thistle stopped abruptly and stared at him.
"What... did he say?"
Haruto quietly released a breath.
He had gambled correctly.
King Delgal truly was Thistle’s greatest weakness.
"He said that the Winged Lion had already devoured your mind, and that the future of the Golden Kingdom could only be entrusted to outsiders."
"Then he disappeared completely."
Haruto had made up the quote, but the meaning behind it was true enough.
"No!"
Thistle released a piercing scream.
The scarlet rage in his eyes faded, replaced by a chaotic mixture of pain, confusion, and fury.
"His Majesty would never say that! You did this! You thieves invented those lies!"
His entire body began trembling violently.
The spellbook in his hand emitted a low hum as its pages turned by themselves.
Despite his denial, doubt had already taken root.
Thistle had always feared the Winged Lion.
That was precisely why he had divided the demon’s seal between two separate spellbooks and kept them apart.
If the Winged Lion had secretly interfered, then it was entirely possible that Delgal had escaped the dungeon and died outside it.
A sharp gleam flashed through Haruto’s eyes.
Now!
Without the slightest hesitation, he kicked off the ground and shot toward Thistle.
Haruto pushed his speed to its absolute limit. Wind screamed around him, and loose fragments of stone were dragged into his wake, forming a small vortex along the street.
His target was not Thistle himself.
It was the spellbook containing half of the Winged Lion.
Thistle was still trapped in a storm of emotion.
The words the Winged Lion devoured your mind echoed repeatedly inside his head, while broken fragments of forgotten memories flashed through his thoughts.
By the time he noticed Haruto charging toward him, it was already too late.
Haruto’s fingers touched the spellbook’s cover.
A powerful force of rejection struck his hand.
He refused to let go and tightened his grip, trying to rip the book from Thistle’s grasp.
Then something unexpected happened.
The spellbook moved as though it possessed a will of its own.
Just as Haruto was about to secure it, the book trembled sharply. Its pages fluttered without wind, releasing a piercing hum.
A sudden emptiness filled Haruto’s hand.
The spellbook had shifted backward through the air by half a meter, slipping beyond his grasp.
Haruto’s pupils contracted.
’The Winged Lion!’
Thistle had not had time to react.
The only being capable of moving the book in that instant was the demon sealed inside it.
And judging by the way the Winged Lion could still influence the Golden Kingdom’s people and monsters throughout the dungeon, the spellbook had never fully imprisoned it.
Haruto had no time to dwell on the matter.
He changed plans immediately.
If he could not seize the book containing half the Winged Lion, then he would deal with Thistle first.
Haruto stamped his left foot against the ground and twisted his body with the momentum.
His right leg whipped through the air like a steel cable and struck Thistle squarely in the chest.
A deep boom rang through the corridor.
Haruto’s kick landed perfectly.
Yet instead of shattering bone, he felt something impossibly hard, as though he had struck a wall of thick steel armor.
Powerful recoil surged up his leg, leaving his ankle faintly numb.
Thistle was still sent flying by the force of the blow.
He crashed heavily into the wall behind him, and the entire structure collapsed with a thunderous roar.
Rubble scattered in every direction as a cloud of dust filled the air.
Thistle vanished beneath the pile of broken stone and did not move.
"Did it work?" Chilchuck cried, his face lighting up with excitement.
The others also looked toward Haruto with cautious hope.
Haruto shook his head, his expression turning grim.
That kick had carried tremendous force, but it had done almost no real damage.
The protective magic surrounding Thistle was far stronger than Haruto had expected. It had dispersed nearly all the impact perfectly.
"That barrier... was that the Winged Lion’s work too?"
Haruto muttered under his breath, his mood worsening.
The Winged Lion clearly rejected him.
It was even willing to protect Thistle, the very person who had kept it sealed away for so long.
Perhaps the demon had sensed the threat Haruto posed.
It knew he intended to eat it and refused to let him come near.
If Thistle had the Winged Lion’s direct support, taking the spellbook from him was practically impossible.
There was at least one piece of good news.
The Winged Lion probably had no way to consume Haruto’s appetite.
Otherwise, given the vast desire within his Gourmet Cells, it should have been drawn to him rather than rejecting him so fiercely.
That meant Haruto did not need to worry about the demon devouring his hunger.
Unfortunately, he found it impossible to feel happy about that right now.