I led Luna and the Cookie Elf squad forward while we hashed out our plan for raiding the enemy dungeon. After we’d roughed out the operation, I double-checked just to be sure and got hit with something pretty wild.

"For real? Not a single one came crawling out?"

"Yep. Guess the other side was just as rattled. For three whole days the portal was just open with total radio silence. Not even an ant crossed over in a 24-hour span."

"Heh. Flauros and Gremory at least dipped a toe in to feel things out, but this guy’s clearly a coward through and through. All right, then. Let’s go introduce our coward to the new faces of our legion."

The dark elves raised their bows in unison. Their own bows brought from the Elven Forest, dyed black, were sturdy enough you could beat someone with them.

"Shaitan. Tell Nifela to seal up the entrance. Final phase of Operation [3-on-3 Mixer]. We’re kicking off the ’Asking for a Second Date’ stage."

[Understood. Time remaining, 5 minutes....]

Listening to Shaitan’s countdown, I arrived at the very back of Basement 1, where the portal was open. A new portal had formed at the exact spot where the old one used to sit, the same spot where we’d tangled with the Halphas Dungeon.

I opened this one.

I’d triggered the Seizure Battle that made this portal.

[48th Hagenti Dungeon, 52nd Allocen Dungeon, 59th Orias Dungeon. 10 seconds remaining until each portal becomes bidirectional.]

"This Hagenti jerk. We opened the portal first, he should at least be sending a reply. Just sitting there? Time to bust in."

I lifted my hammer high. The shape was blunt and squat like a meat tenderizer, but the thing was heavy and dense enough that I had to grip it with both hands.

"Three, two, one."

[Notice: Portal has become bidirectional.]

"Charrrrrrrrge!!"

With a hearty war cry, I took off hammer-first. Whatever the enemy had cooked up on the other side, someone always had to go in first to check out the situation, and that someone was me.

Whoooosh.

The second I stepped through the portal, the world warped around me. I gritted my teeth through the dizziness and swung the hammer blindly forward.

Thwack!

That was unmistakably the sensation of smacking something. And on the inside, I was cheering.

’This bastard had the exact same idea!’

Clubbing something that I assumed had to be a living creature, my blurry vision suddenly snapped into focus. One more swing of the hammer, and on the other end, a minotaur bent backward at the waist was sprawled out on the floor.

"So minotaurs are the main force around here?"

Did minotaurs taste like beef, or were they just inedible garbage meat? I’d never had the chance to try one, going all the way back to my time in Forneus’s Dungeon, so I was getting kind of tense.

"If it hits me with that beef flavor, my wallet’s gonna take a hit like crazy."

Even if it’s meat laced with demonic energy, once you get hooked, you’d keep coming back for more. Praying that this minotaur was just a one-off, I hurled a slime bead back at the portal I’d come through.

"Clear!"

At my shout, the Cookie Elves poured out through the portal. Unlike the typical dark elves you’d find enslaved by demons with all the life drained out of them, our Cookie Elves were seasoned hunters who went after their prey with full aggression.

Average rank: 3.5-star.

Average level: 60.

The one catch was that not a single one could evolve into 5-star, but 40 of them clearing Vapula’s sub-dungeon in 30 minutes flat was no fluke.

"Ugh, this place reeks of cow crap."

And then the strongest in our dungeon, stigmata still glowing even inside someone else’s territory, Luna, stepped through the portal between the Cookie Elves.

"The stench is brutal. Can’t we just turn back?"

"Nope. It’s the 48th-ranked dungeon, right? Who knows. Maybe they’ve got a high-grade magic stone or two stashed in their vault."

"Tch. I’m running every piece of this outfit through the wash when we get back. Actually no, I’m just getting whole new sets made."

"Already planning the after-party before we’ve even gotten started. Your ego’s as massive as your chest, Luna!"

"Pfft. We beat the 38th just fine, like we can’t handle 48th. Okay, I’ll get serious. Nobody dies, nobody gets hurt. ’Look before you leap,’ right? Got it, so ease up on the intense eyes."

"Sorry. Just worried something might happen."

"I get it. Save the intensity for the bedroom and put it in your hips. Right now, kick back and leave it to us. You just call the shots."

Guess I was laying it on too thick. To take the edge off, Luna pressed her chest right up against me, not even bothering to clock the Cookie Elves standing around us. The Cookie Elves just took it in stride and stayed locked onto their perimeter duty.

"Want me to squeeze you out a glass?"

"I’ll take one after we’ve locked down the summoning facility."

The tension of combat started creeping up on me, and I turned my focus straight ahead. The cavern walls were wide enough and tall enough that five minotaurs could hold hands and sprint through shoulder-to-shoulder.

"This has gotta be three or four times the size of our dungeon’s corridors. And this bastard’s messing with us right off the bat, huh? He’s already split the dungeon into two paths at the entrance?"

If you assumed the portal we came through was at the deepest point of the dungeon, then Hagenti had deliberately rigged things so the Seizure Battle’s portal would open right here. Like he was making us grind through his dungeon the way adventurers would, starting from the entrance.

"No scouts as far as I can tell."

No slimes stashed in the ceiling, no fire leopards peeking up through holes drilled in the floor. Looked like our only option was to clear things one chunk at a time, moving forward methodically.

"This is giving me a real bad vibe. I feel like we’re gonna eat it if we just walk in blind."

"Based on what?"

"My gut."

Going in to attack an enemy you haven’t scouted at all is just dumb. Even if it costs you a bit of time, it’s better to move one careful step at a time.

"The other teams got the same orders anyway, so we’re good. If anything, building one here’s gonna be easier."

I tossed two slime beads toward the portal. After a short wait, a group of ghouls came through the portal carrying logs slung over their shoulders.

"Let’s build a bunker."

The moment you step through the portal, if there’s room, set up a position.

Just like with Halphas, building a fortified position in front of the enemy’s portal right after coming through was the same one-trick strategy as before. But when the same move works on absolutely everyone you throw it at, maybe you’ve earned the right to call it something.

The textbook play.

"From here on out, this is the textbook play for Dungeon Seizure Battles."

***

[At the same time, Gremory’s Dungeon.]

"It’s been a hot minute since I’ve deployed actual troops. First time I’m moving legion soldiers for a Seizure Battle."

[If you’re nervous, I can send more.]

"Nah, I’m good. This is plenty. Thanks for chatting with me."

Gremory waved a hand toward the 30-odd Worwolf Riders lined up behind her. The orcs perched on top of the worwolves were decked out in heavy armor, ready to roll into battle at a moment’s notice.

"It’s the 52nd-ranked dungeon. I know that guy. If it comes down to a mobility war, I beat him."

[Still, be careful. The 53rd, 54th, and 55th are all gone. Could be the 52nd swallowed them up.]

"I’ll be fine. The only reason I was sitting at 56th was ’cause I was just coasting. Honestly, I should be playing in the top 40s, bare minimum."

[But you lost to the Master.]

Shaitan’s jab caught Gremory right in the chest for a second.

"...That means he’s got the skill of someone in the 30s, or even the 20s. Or maybe higher than that? Kihihit."

Gremory’s self-own had Shaitan’s face twisting up. If she fired back with a counterargument, it’d be like smearing mud on somebody’s face.

[So basically, outside of losing to Master, you can’t lose?]

"Obviously. Look, as a dungeon owner, the number of demons I’ve killed is no joke. Don’t sweat a thing on my end. The one you oughta worry about is Tentacles, Tentacles."

[I’ve already got eyes on that front right now.]

"Then we’re set. If things start going sideways I’ll bail immediately anyway."

Gremory stroked her own wings and waited impatiently for the timer to hit. In front of the portal, fluffy, fur-covered camel monsters were punching the ground with their fists and snorting out hot breath.

Jokamels.

The camel monsters Gremory had leaned on as her main force for the longest time. She’d resurrected every 2-star monster that still somewhat held a humanoid shape. As the deadline crept closer, Gremory started talking down at the jokamels.

"You guys, your lives are different from now on, got it?! The body you all used to pound has already been swapped out. I’m a whole new woman! Those dicks of yours go into the captured girls after we take over the enemy dungeon, got it?!"

Hrnnnggh.

The jokamels whimpered mournfully. Sad that they couldn’t have a go at Gremory, who was frankly gorgeous and poundable by anyone’s measure, and even sadder that Gremory’s new master was the head of a legion they could never dream of standing up to.

"Lady Gremory, is there really a reason we need to bring those things back...?"

Percival, captain of the Worwolf Riders, gave the jokamels blocking the portal a distinctly unimpressed look. The Legion Commander had given the okay, but these things were walking reminders of Gremory’s messy past.

"What? Grossed out?"

"A little, yes."

"If you’re that grossed out, you should start by chopping off your old man’s dick. Kahaha."

Percival went dead quiet at Gremory’s off-color joke. Gremory slapped him on the back a few times and laughed.

"Don’t worry. That’s exactly why I got reborn. The slutty witch is dead and gone. What’s standing here now is a high-and-mighty fallen angel who’s only had sex with exactly one person."

"Ah, yes. I see."

"Your reaction’s kinda weak, huh? Hmph, whatever. I’ll just chew out your dad later. Oh, it’s time. Opening any second now."

Gremory watched as the portal slowly started to shift, then turned and shouted at the jokamels lined up in front of it.

"Hey! I brought you guys back from the dead, remember! If you wanna live, you survive!"

Hrnnnggh....

The jokamels whimpered mournfully. The transition from being Gremory’s trusty meat-shield back in the day to being plain old meat shields now had happened in the blink of an eye.

"Ten of you! Any of you that survive, I’ll hook you up with a dark elf for one round!"

Hrnnngggh!!

The jokamels roared and pumped their arms up. Gremory cackled and strolled over next to Percival.

"Is it really okay for you to be making promises like that?"

"Pfft. It’s not like your captain is a total stud or anything. The thing with the dark elf, I’m just doing what he does. Saying ’win and come back and I’ll give you a good pounding.’ I just switched the target to a dark elf."

"You think those girls are gonna actually go along with that?"

"Who knows. Maybe one of them’s into camels. Besides, none of those guys are gonna make it anyway."

Percival’s stomach dropped at how coldly she said it. Contrasting with the pure-white wings on her back in the strangest way, Gremory’s hair was a deep blood red.

"Subordinates are disposable consumables. If a few die, just resurrect them or roll new ones. A style of warfare that’s hard for you guys to swallow, huh?"

"...A bit, yes."

A war of attrition. Not really a style that fit the Wrath Legion. And yet, Gremory didn’t hesitate for a second to throw her old subordinates into one.

"Remember this well. And pass it on to your brothers. This, this is how dungeon owners actually fight."

Rumble, rumble!!

The dungeon started shaking. A four-legged monster hauling a chariot burst out of the portal and into Gremory’s dungeon.

"Stop ’em!!"

Hrnnnggh!!

The jokamels threw their bodies in the way to halt the monster-drawn chariot’s charge. Ten of them together, moving in lockstep, bottlenecked the chariots coming through the portal.

"The 52nd, Allocen. He’s the type who doesn’t defend inside his dungeon. He fights out on the open plains near his dungeon entrance. Main force is...chariots pulled by wolf-type beasts."

Krrrroaaargh!!

The 3-meter giant, an ogre, perched on top of the chariot let out a ferocious roar and hefted its club high. The club, caked with clotted blood, hammered down mercilessly on the jokamels blocking its path.

"He doesn’t use his own dungeon as the battlefield. Which is why I figured, why not attack him back on his own terms? Hehe, how about it? Too brutal for you to stomach?"

"...I was thinking it doesn’t quite match the image I had of you, Lady Gremory."

Percival packed his actual feelings down as deep as he could when he said it. Gremory read his expression and cackled, slapping him on the back.

"You guys are such ’human-like’ ones, seriously. Is it ’cause your roots are different? You guys could legit pass as half-orcs with half-human mixed in. Actually no, your personalities are practically full human."

"My biological mother is human, so you’re not wrong."

"I’m joking. Still, I’m not wrong, am I? Your mother’s human, sure. But there’s one demon around here who’s more human than actual humans."

"...Captain. Enemy numbers are starting to ramp up."

Percival switched the subject. The number of chariots pouring through the portal was way too high for pointless banter now.

Hrrrngh, roarr, grrrrrah!!

The jokamels, forming a living wall, screamed as they held back the chariots. Getting their necks clamped by the beasts, getting their heads hammered by clubs, they held the line like it was second nature.

Almost like they were buying ’time.’

"The Legion Commander wouldn’t get this style of warfare. But this Seizure Battle, I’m the one in command here. Watch this."

Gremory raised her hand high into the sky. A massive amount of mana started gathering in her palm.

"This, this is how demons fight."

With a grin, Gremory hurled the mana cluster, practically fit to detonate, right over the wall of jokamels.