[High Lord Wolnir]
From Dark Souls III—the final boss of the Catacombs of Carthus, once guarded by the Farron Undead Legion.
In an era when many kings stood shoulder to shoulder, the gods bestowed crowns upon them without distinction.
Wolnir was one of those kings.
Leading the kingdom of Carthus, he embarked on a campaign of conquest, shattering the crowns of rival monarchs one by one. When only his own crown remained unbroken, the title High Lord was born.
Yet at the very moment he reached the pinnacle of power, ruin followed close behind.
Wolnir began to pursue the forbidden force known as the Abyss. Whatever his original ambitions had been, they were ultimately swallowed by that darkness. The Abyss dragged him relentlessly toward destruction, and only by slaughtering clerics and seizing their holy relics was he able to resist being completely consumed. He lingered on within the underground catacombs—until he was eventually suppressed by the Farron Undead Legion.
It was said that he built the Catacombs in order to claim the power of the ancient gods, longing to inherit the strength of Gravelord Nito and become the "last of the dead." Unfortunately, before that grand ambition could be realized, it was crushed by the Undead Legion, drawn to the place by the scent of the Abyss itself.
Wolnir—who had never believed in the gods during his life—ended his existence cowering within the Abyss, clutching the bracelets and holy sword stolen from clerics, praying desperately for salvation.
A pitiful and deeply ironic figure.
In the game, one did not even need to defeat him—simply shattering the bracelets would cause him to be dragged screaming into the Abyss.
But that was only in the game.
When High Lord Wolnir was summoned into the real world—
The Abyss completely corroded the land, showing signs of spreading even toward the Lake of Rot.
And the one directly connected to the Abyss was none other than Wolnir himself.
His gigantic skeletal body towered over the battlefield. Even with only his upper half manifested, his presence was overwhelming. A crown symbolizing absolute dominion rested atop his grotesque skull. The powers of death and the Abyss twisted endlessly around him—clashing, eroding, regenerating in a perpetual cycle—while the bracelets shone with pure light, forcibly suppressing the darkness.
Anyone who had witnessed bonfire visions would be shocked by how closely Wolnir resembled Gravelord Nito. Though his dominion over death was still far inferior, it was nonetheless genuine—undeniable power.
He was several times larger than his in-game incarnation. Compared to him, even the Mother of Chimeras looked like a half-grown child.
Before the High Lord, all beings were incomparably small.
"..."
High Lord Wolnir slowly turned his skull. His hollow eye sockets first fixed upon the Mother of Chimeras—then shifted to Ganago standing behind it.
Trembling.
Still trembling.
Ganago no longer knew how to react beyond that.
Unlike the gut-wrenching despair he had felt upon first seeing the Lake of Rot, his current state was closer to complete mental collapse. His thoughts had ceased entirely, filled only by the towering existence before him.
Fear. Confusion. Incomprehension.
And reverence.
He feared the Abyss. He feared Wolnir's overwhelming power. In Ganago's eyes, this was not a pitiful being clinging desperately to life—but a king who ruled over death itself.
His confusion lay in how the Sein Dungeon could possibly summon such an existence. Even generals of the Demon King's army would kneel before this power—perhaps even the Four Heavenly Kings.
His incomprehension lay in the mana required. Even a dungeon with Level-4 authority should not be capable of summoning something like this. No—this was no mere monster.
This was a Demon King.
And the reverence—
The moment Ganago laid eyes on Wolnir, the urge to kneel and worship bloomed uncontrollably in his heart.
Before the High Lord, he was nothing more than an ant.
How am I supposed to fight this…?
Ganago's knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground.
He looked at the Mother of Chimeras and felt a bleak hollowness spread through his chest.
Even ten Mothers of Chimeras would stand no chance. How absurd his earlier bravado now seemed—refusing defeat unless killed by monsters.
Forcing a crooked smile, Ganago stammered,
"C-can I surrender… and only lose half?"
At a time like this—was he really joking?
The Sein Dungeon's silence only deepened his terror. It was then that he realized something horrifying:
Since the battle began, Aldwin had never responded to him even once.
He had arrogantly assumed the other party was afraid.
Now it seemed more likely they had never taken him seriously at all.
"Haha…"
Ganago laughed hollowly, eyes unfocused.
High Lord Wolnir raised his massive skeletal arm.
He did not invoke death.
Nor the Abyss.
Boom!
Relying purely on his overwhelming size, he smashed the Mother of Chimeras into the ground as easily as crushing an insect.
Tentacles flailed wildly beneath the white bones, struggling in vain.
Ganago's thoughts shattered completely. Under the Mother's command, the remaining insect swarm charged forward in suicidal desperation.
Wolnir exhaled a cloud of black miasma.
The instant the chimera insects touched it, their lives were stripped away. They fell from the air like rain. Before the power of death, such creatures were utterly insignificant.
Skeletal warriors of Carthus—long reduced to bone—fell from Wolnir's body. These bloodthirsty veterans, masters of slaughter, rose instinctively to protect their king.
But by the time they stood—
Every enemy was already dead.
They drew their swords, glanced around in confusion, then scratched their skulls in boredom.
The Lord of Death loomed faintly behind the black fog, his immense form radiating endless pressure. His warriors, awakened from their long slumber, were eager to once more swing their blood-soaked curved blades.
For a fleeting moment, it was as though the Kingdom of Carthus had been revived.
The warriors found a new target.
Ganago.
They charged at him in excitement.
"No—no! Stay away from me!"
In blind panic, Ganago activated another authority—
[Blink].
It allowed him to instantly traverse short distances within the dungeon—a downgraded version of Wade's teleport.
He didn't care where he went. Anywhere was fine, as long as it was far from the Carthus warriors.
But he forgot one crucial thing.
The land corrupted by the Abyss still counted as part of his Blink range.
And it happened to be the farthest point from the warriors.
"Ah!"
Just as relief surged through him, Ganago realized—
He was sinking.
No—being dragged.
Dragged into the bottomless darkness of the Abyss.
"No—no, no! Help me! Someone help me!"
Without holy relics to protect him, the Abyss devoured its prey with delight. Ganago screamed hysterically.
"I surrender! I surrender! I'm willing to submit—!"
Just before being completely swallowed, he looked up—
And saw High Lord Wolnir looking down at him.
Within those hollow eye sockets, Ganago thought he glimpsed a trace of pity.
He had no time to understand why.
The Abyss swallowed his face.
Unable even to scream, Ganago vanished completely, dragged away by an irresistible force.
From that moment on, he could experience no emotion at all.
The patch of Abyss that consumed him writhed briefly—then fell still, as though nothing had ever existed there.
The Mother of Chimeras and its swarm had long since become lifeless husks under the power of death. Black sludge consumed the filth of the Hive Nest Dungeon, then turned to battle the Scarlet Rot of the Lake of Rot.
High Lord Wolnir stood silently.
The war was over.
[Sein Dungeon has achieved victory!]
When Wade saw the message, a faint smile curved his lips.
Just as he suspected—
Native-world dungeons were… a little underwhelming.
Perhaps among dungeons of the same level, the Sein Dungeon truly was invincible.
The crushing victory didn't make him cheer, but it did lift his mood noticeably.
[Hive Nest Dungeon is now available for plunder.]
He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but the system's wording felt more respectful now. Previously, it had always addressed him simply as you.
So even dungeons knew how to flatter strength.
But before plundering, Wade had other matters to address.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The gates of Farron Keep shook violently.
This wasn't an external assault—
It was coming from inside.
The Farron Undead Legion was pounding against the gates, clearly desperate to get out.
"Are they reacting to High Lord Wolnir?"
Wade watched with interest. Outside, Wolnir also turned his gaze toward Farron Keep, sensing the Undead Legion's presence.
But with his creator nearby, he made no aggressive move—standing silently instead.
The Undead Legion and Wolnir were mortal enemies. Wade hadn't expected dungeon-created entities from opposing factions to react this way.
This was the first time he had witnessed such behavior.
He knew his monsters had no true personalities.
Previously, the Darkwraiths and Ghrus only fought because he had designed it so.
Yet from B-rank onward, monsters seemed capable—at least to some degree—of reacting to stimuli beyond pure aggression. Just like how the Undead Legion had deliberately gone easy on Darrick, even guiding him.
Now, monsters of opposing factions were displaying genuine hostility.
That was entirely unexpected.
"Lingering obsessions… instincts etched into the body."
Wade shook his head and waved a hand, recalling High Lord Wolnir and the Abyss. Only then did the Undead Legion calm down.
No matter how monsters changed, as dungeon lord, he possessed absolute authority—summon, recall, control.
There was no risk of another Erebus emerging inside his dungeon.
He definitely didn't want to end up sitting on a golden toilet.
With that settled, Wade turned his attention back to the Hive Dungeon.
After this battle, he could claim all of its mana—and choose either ownership or one authority. Only one.
Information flooded before his eyes.
Mana reserves. Geography. Nearby intelligent life. Traffic flow over the past month.
The more he read, the deeper his frown became.
"No wonder Ganago attacked me. Stuck in a garbage location like this, who wouldn't be desperate?"
The Hive Dungeon's mana reserves were pitiful. The surroundings were barren, with no recent traffic whatsoever.
Left alone, it would slowly wither and die.
There wasn't a single intelligent species within a hundred miles. Worse still, the region was riddled with monster nests and swamps—a complete no-man's land.
Wade's disdain peaked.
It wasn't impossible to develop such territory—but the effort required would far outweigh the returns.
And he still had the Val Dungeon waiting to be built.
Overextending himself wasn't an option.
So he turned his gaze to Ganago's authorities.
[Authority I: Superior Breeding]
Monsters within the dungeon have an extremely low chance of producing stronger offspring. These offspring are automatically registered as available monsters.
"Tailor-made for chimera insects. Pass."
[Authority II: Blink]
Dismissed without hesitation.
[Authority III: Gigantification]
The bodies of monsters and the dungeon lord grow larger as their strength increases. By forcibly compressing size, strength can be enhanced.
"What kind of garbage abilities are these?"
His face twitched.
Both the Hive Dungeon and its authorities were profoundly disappointing.
Was this battle really going to end in a net loss?
With his final shred of hope, Wade looked at the fourth authority.
[Authority IV: A World You Cannot Leave Without Victory]
"…Oh?"
A smile tugged at his lips.
"This one's interesting."