Shadow Monarch in Tensura

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Dungeon Escape Room [Part 1]

"So you figured out who I am," Blanc said.

"Yeah, I did, but I can't understand how Ultima got you to wear a maid uniform."

"That wasn't my plan at first, but I somehow ended up as a maid, and I can assure you I will take my job very seriously," she said, still acting like a perfect maid.

I looked at Ultima and then at Blanc before looking at Ultima again. 'You want your own maid?' I asked through [Thought Communication].

Even if she didn't smile, I could feel a smirk from her. 'As expected, you know me best. Even if she wanted to become your subordinate after hearing you gave me a name, I made a few changes, and a maid would be nice to have.'

I wanted to sigh, but having Blanc as a subordinate wasn't a bad thing, and she could be Ultima's maid for a while. I knew that in terms of political machinations, Blanc's skills were on par with, if not superior to, Noir's.

"Very well, from today, you will be Ultima's maid." After I said that, I could see her eyebrow twitch slightly, but she did her best not to show it. "Make a body out of them," I said, bringing forth shadows so she could make a vessel for herself.

She did as I said and made her vessel out of the shadows, and the only noticeable change I saw from her was that her eye color changed to purple, just like it did with Ultima. I guess that making a body out of my shadows always changes the eyes of the demon to purple. If that's the case, then would their eyes be blue before my evolution?

"From now on, your name will be Testarossa." Right after I said that her evolution started, in terms of power, she would be stronger than what Ultima was after being named but weaker than the current Ultima.

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Ultima POV:

Walking down the halls with the now-named Testarossa, I tried my best not to laugh.

"You said I was going to be his maid," she said angrily. Oh, how I will enjoy having her as my maid.

"I said we needed a maid. I never said it was for my love," I replied with a smirk.

She kept her cool on the surface, but I felt a barely noticeable minuscule aura that escaped her. "Don't worry. You will surely be promoted if you keep up the good work."

"I truly hope so," she answered.

"Oh, don't be mad. If not for me, you wouldn't get a body and a name, so you should be happy to be my maid." Oh, I was already enjoying this.

In the Underworld, we were always competing and battling with each other. So now that I'm her superior, I will enjoy it for as long as possible.

"You are enjoying this, aren't you?" She asked with a forced smile.

Using a line that always annoyed me when Cale used it, "It's just your imagination." Seeing her expression, I finally understood why Cale always used it so often.

I continued strolling around the castle with a satisfied smile, together with my new maid.

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Cale Valentine POV:

Now that I think about it, Rimuru should visit the Dwelling of Spirits soon. I have already made a few prank traps with Ramiris, but we could make some more.

This will be fun, "Hehehehe..." I could make a puzzle trap with an hourglass-like timer that dispenses rice into a pit of lava. I want to see Rimuru's face when a grain of rice melts every second until he figures out how to solve the puzzle.

Quickly making my way to the Dwelling of Spirits, I saw that Ramiris was lazing around, "Ramiris, I have new ideas for traps."

"Traps?" She asked and flew towards me.

"Traps." I nodded.

"But what kind of traps?" She asked.

"The type that won't do any physical harm but will scar you for the rest of your life kind," I replied. It's always easier to make traps if you know who will be going through them.

Most of the traps will be made for Rimuru because messing with him is fun.

I also don't want to traumatize the little kids, so I'm not doing any traps that would hurt them. I may be a Demon Lord, but I try to keep traumatizing kids to a minimum.

Of course, if it was only Rimuru and Chloe, I would step the traps up a few levels.

...

..

.

"Welcome, brave souls, to my labyrinth of puzzles and challenges. Fail, and you shall remain trapped forever." I recorded the last line. My plan to make a few more traps changed into making a whole escape room-like dungeon.

The first floor they encountered resembled a library. The shelves were filled with ancient books, and a small wooden desk sat in the center. They would need to answer the riddle to proceed to the next floor.

Floor after floor, they would go through an array of puzzles, each one more challenging than the last, from needing to decipher cryptic codes, manipulate intricate mechanisms, and solve mind-bending riddles.

Some rooms would test their agility, requiring them to navigate through laser beams or stepping stones with hidden traps. Others tested their logical thinking, demanding them to arrange complex patterns or unlock the next floor.

But the best part is that I managed to block Rimuru's [Great Sage], so it wouldn't help him during the whole thing.

"Are you done with everything, Ramiris?" I asked.

She nodded, "Yup, the last floor is done, and now the only thing left is the golem you promised to help me with."

While I often liked to make dungeons that would traumatize the challengers, I think the fact that Rimuru has always given me different mangas and Chloe was the one who helped me a lot during my younger days made me go easier on them.

But what should I do for the golem? Maybe a Gundam-inspired golem...

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Author's Note:

Thank you for reading this chapter.

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