How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps by Andrew Rowe

Author:Andrew Rowe [Rowe, Andrew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: sort1
Published: 2020-10-31T22:00:00+00:00

Step Eight — Okay, Now Clear The Remaining Dungeons In the Proper Order

There was a traditional sequence for clearing dungeons. Not every Hero followed it, but some dungeons were much easier than others, or provided equipment that would be useful in the next dungeon.

The gods had clearly stacked things in the Hero’s favor, at least in some respects. But we’d run into a small problem that got me to questioning whether going to the traditional second dungeon next was the wisest course of action.

There was a high chance that the Demon King already knew I’d cleared one of the dungeons. I couldn’t guarantee it — maybe Princess Fitzgerald’s disappearance was unrelated to the Demon King and/or unrelated to my dungeon clearing. I wasn’t egocentric enough to think that literally everything happening was because of me.

But if I presumed that there was a chance the Demon King knew what I’d done, I had to make adjustments. I didn’t know if he’d be concerned about non-Heroes, but I could at least be cautious.

So, rather than going to the next and most convenient dungeon immediately, I chose to make a somewhat less predictable move.

Ken and I headed straight for the Water Temple, the most notorious and dangerous of all dungeons. It had a legendary reputation for wickedness.

It was where the strongest Hero of all had disappeared, never to return.

***

On the way to the Water Temple, we encountered as strange figure on the road.

They were sitting on a rocky outcropping just off the path, playing soft music on some kind of a musical instrument. At first, I didn’t recognize that it was a harmonica, like the ones that several legendary Heroes were known to play.

The figure was covered head-to-toe in black robes, with some stylized golden threading across the shoulders. They wore a scarf, as well as a cloth mask that covered the lower half of their face, and an eyepatch over their right eye. Two knives sat on their hips, each with a distinctive gold-winged pommel. I couldn’t tell if they were male or female; they were skinny, with an athletic build, and very few of their features were visible.

Ken and I warily approached.

The figure finished playing the last notes of their melody — one that seemed somewhat familiar — and turned to look down at us.

“Greetings, Hero.” The figure hopped down from the rock, landing dramatically in the center of the road. Their voice, much like their appearance, was androgynous. As they landed, they tossed their scarf backward with a flourish. It would have been quite impressive if they hadn’t hit themselves in the face with it and stumbled a few steps after the landing.

That didn’t stop them from continuing to talk as if nothing had happened, though.

“So, Hero, you’ve finally made it here. The Water Temple.”

I blinked. “I’m sorry, not actually the H—”

Ken covered my mouth. “Yes, we’re here. Sorry for taking so long. How may we help you?”

The masked figure raised a single eyebrow, then replied. “The Water Temple is sealed, as it has been since the coming of the last Hero.

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