Chapter 89
Chapter 89
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: The Unicorn, Its Contractor, and Two Demons
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Al'Miraz was breaking out in cold sweat in the chilled air, alternating glances between Violet-Mephisto and Arthin with a look that screamed he had no idea what to do.
'That's why I said this prank was going too far...!'
*
He didn't know just how close the two were, but no matter how tight the bond, every relationship had lines that shouldn't be crossed.
So when Mephisto first clued him in on the plan, Al'Miraz had freaked out and earnestly advised against it, staking his life on the plea of a loyal retainer.
-"This is way too dangerous a prank, Mephisto! Pretending to be a dream demon from the den who kidnapped your lover as a hostage and ambushed her? One slip-up, and she'll blow up big time!"
"Heh heh, my little rabbit worries too much. Don't fret—we've pulled pranks way worse than this. In modern terms, we're 'besties'."
Seeing Mephisto's utterly confident, brimming with mischief and vitality expression, Al'Miraz couldn't muster another word of caution.
'Mephisto, who always lounged on the throne with those bored, dead eyes... to wear such an emotion-packed face!'
Between the lovestruck look from before and how Mephisto lit up at the mere mention of Arthin, Al'Miraz shoved aside his unease and steeled himself.
'As a loyal subject, helping prep a surprise event(?) for friends is only natural! If my lord speaks with such conviction, it has to be fine!'
*
'You idiot! Moron! Rabbit not even worthy of a carrot! Why didn't you stop her more firmly back then!'
Facing Arthin's eyes as he drew his aura blade, fully intent on killing, Al'Miraz nearly pissed himself but held it in, sensing something was off with the situation. Even extra provocations not in the plan.
And as a result, this human named Arthin pulled off something utterly unthinkable in Hell.
No matter how pissed he was, to straight-up pretend not to know Mephisto to her face. Something no supreme being in Hell could even dream of—this guy did it cool as ice.
Al'Miraz inwardly let out a gasp of admiration. Only someone with that kind of guts could be Mephisto's friend.
"..."
And watching Arthin's reaction, Violet-Mephisto's face was hardening in real time.
At first, she figured Arthin was just firing back with his own cheeky joke. But no matter how she locked eyes, his gaze held only rage and confusion—no joy or delight at reuniting with an old friend.
"...You really don't know me? This is a joke, right?"
Tremors began creeping into Mephisto's voice. Their reunion should have been more novel-like, dramatic and beautiful. But she couldn't wait and rushed here—surely not.
"No clue what you're talking about. Explain properly. Are you a dream demon?"
But Arthin's firm words stabbed into Mephisto like a dagger to the heart.
**
'Why the hell is this guy possessing Violet's body?'
I clicked my tongue inwardly at Mephisto wearing Violet's skin like a coat.
Truth be told, I hadn't clocked it right away. Floating helplessly in the air, unable to do shit, I pieced it together while figuring out the mess.
'Al'Miraz is with her, so not Violet's enemy—means it's someone pranking me while watching that rabbit demon sweat...'
And the only asshole I'd ever met who'd pull this kind of bullshit—among mortals and transcendents alike—was Mephisto. Out of nowhere, acting like a demon hostage-taker and smirking. Pisses me right off.
She was always like this. After our first meeting, she stuck around 'cause she liked me, starting with light pranks, then ramping up to full-on shitty ones to grab my attention, calling me "friend" and shit.
So I played dumb on purpose. Best way to deal with a clingy simp: ignore and starve 'em. Look at that face—trembling with rage, fuming. Priceless.
"...Ugh."
That's when I doubted my ears.
"H-Hey, you asshole?"
"Sniff... sob... I-I'm not crying...! You idiot!"
No, she was bawling. Hell's grand overlord, blubbering like a baby.
I turned to see Al'Miraz gaping like the sky had fallen and Bitcoin was mooning again, mouth agape and unable to close.
"Arthin... why's Violet acting like that? She pulled that weird prank, and now she's bawling her eyes out?"
Unicore, who'd been fidgeting anxiously beside me, chimed in just as my floating body flopped onto the bed.
"Fine! I was so excited to see you, and you didn't recognize me! I don't care what happens to this half-assed witch now—I'm going home! Waaah!!"
Violet-Mephisto wailed that as she started sobbing full-force. But she wasn't going anywhere, just crying, leaving me flustered.
'Guess I gotta soothe her. Unicore's never met Mephisto, and that rabbit demon's checked out...'
I sighed deeply and pulled Violet's body into a tight hug.
"Quit blubbering already. You always cry at the drop of a hat when it's just us, Mephisto."
"...Sniff, you knew it was me? You were pretending?"
"Yeah. You pissed me off with your shitty prank, so I ignored you."
As I grumbled gruffly to calm her, Mephisto pouted and stopped crying.
"You're such a jerk. I almost got really hurt thinking you meant it."
'Toughest transcendent I know, but her mentality's pure elementary kid...'
That's why I skipped calling her in the 4th round. This long, grueling night was catching up—fatigue creeping in. Stress is bad for hair loss...
*
"So, why are you controlling Violet's body? Or is it possession?"
"Possession? That's for low-tier spirits. Insulting to suggest it of me."
A bit later, I pushed some distance between me and Mephisto—who'd stopped crying but kept leaning into my arms—and sat her down. Instead, I plopped Unicore next to me and squished her soft cheeks. Felt good, eased my stress a bit.
"Ugh, my cheeks aren't toys..."
I couldn't hide my suspicion at Violet-Mephisto's jealous stare as Unicore flailed her arms.
'She remembers stuff from my memories too... Transcendent thing? But why do Unicore and Mephisto both speedrun dumb shit the second memories kick in?'
Vowing to round up the memory-restored crew sometime and grill them on why, I pressed on with Mephisto.
"Then what? You're not seriously trying to steal her body in front of me."
"Ah... Arthin! Mephisto only borrowed Violet's body briefly to help after she collapsed from a powerful dream demon's mental attack—the owner of this space! She got a bit playful, but without her, you'd have been in real trouble!"
As I grilled Mephisto, Al'Miraz—politely standing bedside—suddenly blurted it all out. Tense 'cause his boss was here? A bit playful? That? Wait, more than that...
"Mental attack? Is she knocked out?"
"If it were just that, I wouldn't have stepped in. This half-witch got her past-life memories and it made her mentally frailer somehow."
"...Frailer than before? She's been weirdly high- or low-energy lately..."
I frowned puzzled, and Mephisto shook her head at my face. What was that reaction?
"You've finally got a girl this life, but you're a total idiot about women."
"Yeah, that's spot on, Arthin."
Suddenly Violet-Mephisto pitied me for not getting "women's hearts," and Unicore—who I'd been cheek-squishing—agreed out of nowhere. Me, clueless about girls??
"I'm pretty sharp and clued-in, aren't I?"
"Look here. Violet's trapped in a dream by dream demon powers, forced to face past memories she never wanted to see."
Ignoring my bold claim, Mephisto conjured a holographic mana projection in the air.
"That's... me? 3rd round? No, scars say 4th...?"
The image showed me from a past regression. Hard to pin to one—features blurred between rounds.
"Balding a bit screams 2nd round, but well-groomed hotness is 3rd, scars from brutal 4th training..."
"Dreams mash up the most memorable bits, fuzzy in the subconscious. That's how it recalls you."
Made sense. To Violet, my deepest impression was me, scarred from effort, smiling coolly at her... with some hair loss on top.
'...Gotta manage it properly this round.'
I vowed quietly, shook off the distraction, and watched Violet's past visions. Figured dream demon power meant erotic or happy dreams, but nope—Mephisto was right; it looked like a nightmare.
"This is straight-up a nightmare... Even I cringe at those memories. Can't we just wake her?"
"I could snap her out easy, but her fragile mind might shatter from the backlash. Could end up with psychosis."
"...What? You're joking."
I eyed Mephisto, suspecting another prank, but her eyes—unlike her flip-flopping speech—were dead serious. She wouldn't joke right after bawling.
"Th-then, is there really no way to save Violet? She's so kind—I wanna help!"
"...Quiet down. Your speech is too similar; it's annoying."
"What?! I'm Arthin's mate! You latecomer, change yours!"
"Quit the dumb pissing contest and tell me—is there seriously no way, Mephisto?"
Before those two devolved into nonsense, I cut in seriously, and Violet-Mephisto casually pointed at tormented nightmare-Violet like it was no big deal.
"That bitch dream demon dug her power in deep. Half-witch's talent must've scared her shitless. If you're scared of backlash yanking her out, one option left."
"...Which is?"
Grinning at my question, Violet-Mephisto pointed right at me.
"Someone goes in and pulls her out personally. Time's short, and you're the only candidate, Arthin."
"...Knew it. I know how to enter dreams, but..."
Problem: smack in enemy territory. Dream Demon Lord Lilit, Sirca, or some unseen high priest could crash anytime.
"What're you agonizing for? Me and that unicorn-bacon-confusing critter'll guard. You go in."
"...You can hold out till I come back?"
Even in Violet's body, she'd have limits, so I asked skeptically. Mephisto snapped her fingers, revealing Violet's hair—not pink, but dyed purple.
"Can't use my full power, but borrowing the half-witch's talent buys time. Al'Miraz, you go in the dream too. Might need backup if shit hits the fan."
"...Me??"
Al'Miraz, who'd been watching silently, shot me a panicked look.
Why me? Your boss ordered it.
"Yes, my rabbit. To keep Arthin safe and rescue your contractor the half-witch, the contracted demon rabbit should go, right?"
"Uh... wouldn't that unicorn-bacon lady help more...?"
"I'm Unicorn Unicore! Why keep calling me bacon?!"
"That unicorn-bacon thing's better guarding the body with me. Clumsy types risk hurting the dream barging in."
"Arthin! These demons annoy me! Scold 'em sternly as my husband!"
"Arthin won't 'cause he's my friend. Jealous? That's friendship."
No time for quest chit-chat, and here they were bantering. I sighed, clutching my throbbing head.
'Miss Agnes. Or Shaomei at least.'
I set a new iron rule: never let Unicore and Mephisto near each other. Speech patterns overlap, and their concepts clash.
"Fine, I'll go rescue her. No time like the present—let's dive in."
Hating their noisy bickering, I cut off the two demons and one... unicorn-bacon-confusing Unicorn, eyes on Violet enduring another painful past in the vision.
'Hang on, Violet. Pulling you out now.'
So please, once you're sane, stop their fights. Al'Miraz was already icing over at his lord's kid-level antics.
"You're not a friend—you're just a lonely loser Arthin pities!"
"...Done talking? Wielding demon energy while shamelessly pretending pure. Still into virgins? Heard bacon likes 'em used."
Fuck, fighting again...