I am the Demon King of the Dungeon!

"A world-class Noble Phantasm?"

Arthas repeated the four words in a low voice, his fingers still pressed against the surface of the crystal, the slippery sensation still trying to push his senses away.

It wasn't resistance, but more like a skilled dance partner, gently pulling you away from your force. He tried three times in a row, and each time his senses probed less than three inches into the crystal before being gracefully pulled out by that force.

When Arthas was summoned for the third time, he was certain he heard a voice.

It didn't come from the crystal; it leaked out from the gap between the magic powers the instant the senses were slipped open, like someone humming a tune from a very, very far place, the melody lazy and nonchalant.

"interesting."

Arthas withdrew his finger, took a step back, and re-examined the black crystal. Three meters tall, multifaceted, with a surface as smooth as a mirror, reflecting no light—these characteristics combined pointed to a name he had heard of but never seen in person.

The Fall of Eternal Night.

Boris Fording brought back spoils from the Niflåm Abyss. When the heart of the Deep Sea Witch was cut open, there were two gems inside. The light core was given to the eldest daughter, Anrivi, and the dark core was given to the second daughter, Alicia.

The light core revives life, while the dark core seals away the enemy.

What sealed Pirien was the Dark Core.

"My Lord Demon King..." Perion's voice drifted from the depths of the crystal, as light as sand slipping through fingers, "Are you still there?"

"exist."

"Pirien just thought about it again... Being sealed away by a World-Class Noble Phantasm does seem a bit embarrassing..."

"It's not shameful."

"Really?"

"Hmm." Arthas's voice was calm. "There are no more than twenty wielders of World-Class Noble Phantasms on the entire continent of Ashu. It's not shameful for you to lose to one of them."

Inside the crystal, Pirien forced a smile, then her eyelids began to droop, and her amber pupils gradually lost focus.

Arthas knew he couldn't wait any longer.

However, forcibly shattering the crystal would cause Perion to shatter as well. A gentler unsealing would require the cooperation of the Dark Core holder. Relying on Alicia's cooperation is less desirable than hoping for the Dawn of Light to surrender voluntarily...

That leaves only one last method.

Arthas raised his right hand, fingers spread, palm facing the black crystal.

"Pirien, close your eyes."

"Huh?"

"Shut up."

Pierion tried to close his eyes.

Arthas pressed his palm onto the crystal surface, and this time, he unleashed his dragon's might.

The dragon's might of the primordial dragon god exerts absolute suppression over all races on the continent of Ashu. This suppression is not a contest at the level of magic, but something much more fundamental.

It is a look down from the top of the food chain, an instinct of "I exist, therefore you submit," and even legendary monsters are within its scope, even those that are already dead.

Black dragon scales emerged from the back of Arthas's hand, spreading along his wrist to his forearm. Amber vertical pupils replaced his brown round pupils, and golden light shone deep within his pupils.

The surface of the crystal began to vibrate, and fine ripples spread outwards from the point of contact in the palm.

Then, a crack appeared in the crystal.

The edges of the fissure glowed with a dark blue light, like the ripples on the sea surface at night, broken by a boat oar, while the inside of the fissure exuded a damp, cold air with a salty smell.

The scent of the sea.

Arthas's pupils contracted slightly.

Something is moving deep within the crevice.

It's not walking or swimming, but drifting, like a jellyfish in the deep sea, or a tattered sail on a sunken ship, or even the long hair of a drowning person spreading out in the water.

It rose up from the crack.

First, there was a hand, long and pale, with translucent webbed fingers and dark blue nails, like seashells stained with ink, and seaweed wrapped around the wrist.

Next, I looked at his arms. Beneath the pale, almost bluish skin, I could vaguely see dark blue veins pulsating. The fluid in those veins wasn't red, but inky black. The inky black blood flowed slowly beneath the bluish skin.

Finally, there's the face.

Arthas had seen the Deep Sea Witch.

The Deep Sea Witch was a beautiful and captivating woman with cascading hair, eyes as deep as the sea, and a subtle, almost imperceptible, compassion on her lips, but...

The face that emerged from the crack was indeed beautiful, but it was completely unmoving, let alone to demons.

Anyway, her appearance doesn't fit the aesthetic standards of Alsace.

She looked at Alsace.

Arthas looked at her.

The scorching sun above the desert beats down on the crystal surface, but it can't penetrate the cracks at all. Inside the cracks is still the deep sea—a dark, cold, and high-pressure deep sea.

"The Primordial Dragon God," the Deep Sea Witch spoke. Her voice didn't sound like it came from her throat; it was more like the sound of seawater flowing through a crevice in the rocks—deep, resonant, and with a natural echo. "You've stepped on my shadow."

Arthas glanced down and saw a shadow fall on the sand, the dark blue light shining through the cracks tinging the edges of the shadow with a thin layer of blue.

"Is this your seal?"

"It's my heart." The Deep Sea Witch gently tapped the edge of the crack with her finger. "Boris split my heart in two; I am only one half of myself."

Her gaze passed over Arthas and landed on Pirien inside the crystal.

"Little sandworm."

There was no malice or kindness in the tone; it was just a statement, like a human pointing at a hermit crab on the beach and saying "little crab."

"Can the seal be broken?" Arthas asked.

"Yes," the Deep Sea Witch's voice remained languid, "but I don't really want to move right now."

Arthas was silent for a moment. He seemed to understand what the Deep Sea Witch meant: it wasn't that she couldn't, but that she didn't want to.

The consciousness of the Deep Sea Witch has been sealed in the Dark Core for decades. Her true form has long been resurrected in the dungeon, and what was brought out was only a wisp of her soul.

The state of this remnant soul was probably similar to that of Pirien before he was sealed away—drowsy, lazy, and uninterested in anything.

"Name your conditions," Arthas asked again.

"The Primordial Dragon God wants to negotiate with me?" A flicker of emotion crossed the Deep Sea Witch's vertical pupils. "Do you know when the last time a dragon tried to negotiate with me was?"

"have no idea."

"Eight thousand years ago."

The Deep Sea Witch traced circles on the edge of the crack with her fingers. "That dragon was called Nidhogg. It wanted to trade a dragon artifact for the Eye of the Abyss in my possession. I refused."

Why?

"Because I'm very tired."

The Deep Sea Witch lowered her eyelids, her tone so sincere it was infuriating, "Negotiations are tiring; you have to think, weigh options, and haggle. I'm too lazy to use my brain."

"..."

This was probably the most difficult opponent Arthas had encountered since his journey through the world.

It's not because it's strong.

It's because there's no desire.

"Then let me rephrase my question," Arthas said, looking into the sea witch's languid, vertical pupils. "What do you need?"

"What do I need?" The Deep Sea Witch repeated the question, a hint of confusion in her voice. "I need nothing. Death needs nothing."

Is this thing on drugs...?

Arthas was speechless.

"Then why are you still here?"

The Deep Sea Witch fell silent, seemingly deep in thought.

"Because... I forgot..."

"Forgot what?"

"Forget about being completely dead."

He was definitely on drugs...

Arthas waited three breaths, making sure she wasn't joking, before asking, "So, do you want to die completely?"

"Oh? The Primordial Dragon God." Something finally lit up in the Deep Sea Witch's vertical pupils, and her voice, no longer languid, became solemn.

"Are you really going to let me die completely?"

"sure."