Hello! I'm sad to say that this will be the last chapter of The Demon Lord is Bored. I had a great time writing it, I hope you all had a great time reading it. Thank you for your continued support! I may or may not post another story, guess we'll find out! Anyway, enjoy the finale.

Erebus and his companions had found a small cave, just big enough for all five of them to fit into with barely enough room to wiggle around. Still, they needed to dry their clothing and change into new ones.

Untitled stood guarding the front of the cave, as it was the only one with complete immunity to any type of weather.

Vyne started up the fire to warm their bodies. Of course, they could always use some magic, but frankly that was a waste of mana when they could use the old-fashioned way.

After that, they put on significantly dryer clothing. The atmosphere was annoyingly calm for them to be sitting inside an undoubtedly high-ranked dungeon seemingly without a care.

Then again, they didn’t have much to be worried for.

Erebus sighed heavily, laying his head against the rough cave wall. “We’re going back to the castle,” he told the others.

Their heads all snapped in his direction, confusion apparent in every single face.

“But,” Tear began to speak, “we haven’t completed the exploration of the dungeon. There’s probably so much more to see!”

He waved her words away with a tired hand. “We can always come back, I’m sure Yvick would be pleased to see our faces once again.”

That was definitely not true, Erebus. He had grown extremely sick of your face, actually.

“Then, how do we get out of this place?” Lilian addressed the elephant in the room.

“Ah,” Erebus let out a gasp.

Silence all around.

“Muffin?” Tear supplied hopelessly. “We could find him...”

“How do we find him? Where did we come from?” Lilian shot down Tear’s words without any hesitation.

“Why don’t we just backtrack?” Vyne suggested. “I’m sure Lord Erebus could find the site of Lilian and Ivy’s duel by using his eye.”

The three began to argue back and forth, each of them arguing each other’s point. Soon it was just a cacophony of noises, and the original topic had been lost quite some time ago.

Erebus clapped his hands together loudly, too annoyed to ignore their arguing like he normally would. “Simple teleportation magic would do. There’s certainly enough mana between us all to transport us outside of the dungeon and to my castle. We got here through that manner, correct?”

His subordinates shut their mouths, the most obvious answer had flown over their heads.

“Ehm,” Vyne cleared his throat uncomfortably, “that certainly is a great idea, Lord Erebus. I am not very skilled at that type of magic, sadly. I’m not sure if I prepped the magic that we would make it back in one piece...” he trailed off in nervous laughter.

Lilian didn’t say anything, but from her silence, it was easy to tell that she too wasn’t proficient enough in transportation magic.

Tear’s hand slowly crept up. “Lord Erebus, I have some skill in transportation magic. If given sufficient time, I am sure I could draw up a circle that would be able to deliver us properly. I am sorry that I never told you about this skill,” she bowed her head, “if you wish to punish me... I would not complain in the slightest. I have some suggesti--”

“Then, get started.”

“About my punishment...”

“Get started,” Erebus said once again, his voice clearly stating that he wanted no more input from her about “punishment”.

She frowned. “As you wish, I’ll begin right away.” Tear stood up and exited the cave. It was too small inside for her to work, and she probably wouldn’t be able to focus properly.

So, she sat out in the cold, only wearing the cloak Lilian had given her out of something close to pity, but not quite it. Tear sneezed loudly, rubbed her gloved hands together, and got to work.

“Anyway, Lord Erebus, why do you want to go back so suddenly?” Lilian questioned him, curiosity coloring her voice. “I thought that we had come here so you could find some entertainment.”

Erebus responded curtly, “I feel like it.”

“Ah... all right,” Lilian said, still slightly confused. But, if that was her master’s wishes, she would do as told.

Everyone worked on something quietly, Vyne worked on his research, Erebus read his book, and Lilian was sewing something that closely resembled a certain somebody.

Once again, an irritatingly peaceful atmosphere settled for them to be sitting inside of a dungeon.

The day faded into night, then the night turned to day. Bright and early in the morning, an extremely tired Tear shuffled into the cave. Bags of exhaustion under her shining eyes, her light face now had an unhealthy dullness to it.

“I have finished the task, Lord Erebus. I was sure to be extra careful while creating it, I checked it over multiple times. There should be no errors, but if there are any, I’m sure that you could think of a suitable way to--”

Vyne intervened at this point, “Although I feel incredibly uncomfortable of the thought of using a transportation circle made by the pig, I’m sure that she wouldn’t let any error to harm our master.”

“Indeed.” Lilian nodded her head in agreement.

Erebus stood up and stretched (as much as the small cave would allow) and exited the cave.

Tear’s head shot up as she remembered something. “Lilian’s creature helped me in some parts, too. As much as I’d like to take credit for it all, it was a magnificent assistant.”

A chorus of words devoid of sincerity came from the other three since none of them actually cared. The undead responded with a humble bow of its head.

“Everyone, in the center of the circle, please.”

They all obeyed, entering the magic circle drawn on a cleared space of frozen earth.

Tear stood with her back ramrod straight then she began to hum and sway her body in smooth movements. Soon, she was dancing and singing.

“Is this normal?” Vyne muttered under his breath to Lilian.

“I am unsure,” she answered.

Erebus simply yawned, what a tedious task she was doing.

“It is a type of magic specific to Tear’s clan,” Untitled spoke suddenly. “She told me about it as she worked, apparently the dance is a ritual to their God and Goddess.”

“Is it necessary?” Vyne questioned brusquely.

“No, not from what I could infer. It is more out of respect than anything, but I think it is very important for her to do it.”

The demon didn’t say anything more, instead, he watched her dance with impatience.

The dance was beautiful, he would admit that much. But other than that, it was a nuisance and he wished that she would hurry it up.

Erebus and Lilian had both sat down and continued on with what they had been doing in the cave. The only member watching her dance with appreciation was Untitled, the dead one.

When she finished, her chest was heaving and she looked even more exhausted than before.

“Apologies,” she said in between pants, “I had to bless the circle with our God and Goddess’ love.”

“Is that what that was?” Vyne muttered.

“Just get it on with already,” Erebus said as he stood up. He held out his hand for Lilian, and she accepted it graciously.

Tear’s eyebrows twitched upon seeing it, but she made a mental note to make sure that Lilian came back in piece. If she didn’t she might forget an arm or leg, maybe even the entire body.

That would be an absolute tragedy.

Everyone turned to her, waiting for her to begin. Tear cleared her throat nervously, and then activated the circle.

The amount of mana required would have been enough to drain her dry and then some, but her companions donated enough of their own to prevent something like that from happening.

Still, she could feel the energy being sucked out of her body at an alarming rate, and it still wasn’t completely filled.

Maybe she had overshot the normal capacity needed, since she had added some extra safety measures. Her head spun woozily and she felt a little bit nauseous.

“Ugh...” Tear let out an involuntary groan.

Erebus strolled over to her, placing his hand on her shoulder. Instantly, mana began to flow back into her body, revitalizing her.

“If you needed more help, you should have said so,” he told her with a stern look. “It wouldn’t weigh well on my conscious if one of you were to die and the most dangerous part was finished.”

Her cheeks colored a little, normally she would relish in the joy of Erebus actually showing some care for her (everyone’s) well-being, but she had to focus.

The reassuring weight of Erebus’ hand on her shoulder drove a new confidence into her, and the spell was completed flawlessly.

Green surrounded them, they were in a field of grass swaying slightly in the softly blowing wind.

Not too far off, the drawbridge leading to Erebus’ castle sat in waiting.

“That went well!” Tear boasted.

“Lord Erebus had to help, you incompetent swine,” Vyne fired back.

Tear bit her tongue, she couldn’t allow the joy-sucking leech to rain on her parade. Not today, Vyne, not today.

“Lord Erebus,” Lilian started, “if I may inquire... Why did you wish to return here?”

“I told you, I felt like it.”

Lilian hesitated before saying, “That isn’t exactly an answer.”

“Mana stones.”

“Huh?”

“I wanted to eat mana stones, we didn’t take any with us.”

No one answered, no one had any words to respond with.