Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Vs. Dream Demon Lord Liliet
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"It's really a promise, Master!"
"I got it, so hurry up and follow me down!"
Arthin led the whining Almiraz right up to the last moment and slowly descended toward the thick pink mist enveloping the cocoon. As he drew closer, the intensifying demonic energy made him furrow his brow. This won't be easy.
"I hope this works...!"
He pulled the sealing rune from his inventory. Just like when he'd first arrived, Arthin was banking on a bit of luck.
"Whoa? Look at that! It seems to be working!"
"...No, it's not quite enough. As expected, this won't be straightforward."
The pink mist, sensing the authority of Liliet sealed within the rune, thinned out somewhat but didn't part completely like before. Arthin clicked his tongue and slowly advanced toward the mist.
"Right now, I could probably smash through it if I wanted..."
"If you can smash it, then just smash it! Break the mist and grab Violet inside the cocoon!"
Arthin shook his head at Almiraz's bold, unthinking words. Forcing his way through with brute strength would be tough even in reality, and things were different when it came to someone else's unconscious mind.
"Like I said before, tampering recklessly with anything inside the unconscious could put Violet in danger. Not just the mist—the cocoon itself can't be destroyed carelessly either."
"Then what's the plan...?"
"In the end, we'll have to take our time dismantling the weakened authority using mana."
Of course, dismantling a dream demon lord's authority in a dream was normally absurd. A single misstep could cause it to run rampant, and in the worst case, it could kill both the intruders and the unconscious host.
That's why, among the Demon King's forces, the named killer with the highest count wasn't the notoriously ill-tempered strongest familiar, the Black Dragon Kargione; nor the deep-sea admiral Ammosus, who endlessly plundered and fought on human lands; nor even the lich Harmon, called the Demon King's second-in-command. It was Liliet.
No matter how powerful a being was, their unconscious held vulnerabilities. That's why countless heroes of this world had their minds shattered into insanity the moment they let their guard down against Liliet's authority—or even just her subordinates' interference.
...That's exactly why I have to save Violet now.
But Arthin was different. He'd clashed with the Demon King's army time and again, directly suffering the dream demon lord's authority in the process. He'd crossed lands beyond barriers, overcoming endless interference from dream demons that refused to stay dead no matter how many times he killed them.
And through those countless experiences, Arthin had endlessly analyzed the dream demons' authority. As a result, even though he wasn't one himself, he'd come to partially understand it.
Now, as he slowly extended his hand toward the pink mist, he analyzed the authority based on the flow trying to erode him. And he was certain: it would just take some time, but he could dismantle this weakened authority.
"...Master!? Your hand's getting eaten by the mist! It's dangerous!"
"Wait. It's not eating me—I'm making it mine."
Almiraz felt uneasy at Arthin's calm words as he closed his eyes and focused on the sensations in his fingertips, but she didn't show it further.
In the two months inside this dream, Arthin—who had started as just the lord's scary friend, someone she needed to impress—had become more than a stranger. He was the greatest master who'd fixed her lifelong flaws and filled her with self-esteem.
Since it was Arthin saying it, Almiraz blindly trusted him, holding her breath as she intently watched the mist dismantling. And as if rewarding her faith, the pink mist began to slowly dissipate.
"The mist is disappearing, Master! You did it!"
Almiraz let out a sigh of relief and relaxed her tension, but in that instant, she sensed something was wrong.
"Master? Something's off. Demonic energy is gathering from all around."
"...I feel it too. She won't let us off easy."
Arthin clicked his tongue upon realizing an enormous horde of demonic energy was surging from the outer edges of the unconscious they'd come from. Normally, Almiraz—with senses sharper than even a unicorn's—should have noticed first, but she'd let her guard down.
I got complacent too. As if that sly bitch Liliet would let us rescue Violet quietly.
"Thirty...fifty...seventy...a hundred?! What the hell, how many are coming?!"
As Almiraz panicked, the peak they'd crossed began to crumble, revealing Liliet's army swarming from behind.
The black doll-like monsters filling the ground were a demon race called dream fiends, which devoured human minds in dreams. Leading them were about ten dream demons—all mid-level or higher.
"M-Master...what do we do?! There are too many! Shouldn't we run?!"
Terrified by the sight, Almiraz urgently looked to Arthin. Like ripened rice bending its head, after two months learning magic and combat from him, Almiraz was gaining confidence backed by evidence. And that horde of demons looked impossible for them to beat.
Smooth. Smooth. Arthin didn't scold the fretting Almiraz. Instead, he chuckled softly and patted her head.
"I told you last time, didn't I? You're pretty strong now. The worst thing isn't baseless confidence—it's giving up on what you can actually do yourself."
And to Arthin, low-level dream fiends and mid-level dream demons were manageable. He knew how hard Almiraz had trained after learning magic from him.
"If you can't trust yourself, then trust me, Almiraz. We can fight together, right?"
Almiraz was amazed. Her heart, pounding with fear just moments ago, calmed the instant her master patted her head. When he kindly asked if they'd fight together, courage she'd never felt began to well up.
"...Yeah! Master!"
"Good, that's my number one disciple!"
Arthin smiled at Almiraz's spirited reply, withdrew his hand from the mist, and drew his Orcan High longsword from his inventory. The sensation of gripping the blade after two months was as sharply thrilling as ever.
"We don't need to hold back against those guys. Let's quickly mop up the small fry and hurry to save Violet!"
"Got it! I'll show you right here how well I've learned from you, Master!"
As Arthin and Almiraz steeled themselves, dozens of magic circles floated up in the surrounding air. The dream demons looked down on the pair with utter contempt.
Just mid-level demons—a unicorn contractor without full awakening or even a unicorn. Exactly as Liliet had said, they saw no reason they could lose.
"Insolent humans! I'll rip you limb from limb and feed you to the dream fiends right here!"
The dream demons sneered and unleashed the dream fiends in a charge. They were certain the two would be swept away by the wave of low-level monsters without even needing to step in themselves.
Rumor has it they couldn't even subdue a single dalmaqui—essentially useless demons. Dying here...
"Hell Fire---!!!"
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Hell Fire Infernal flames erupted from dozens of magic circles simultaneously, cascading like a waterfall toward the dream fiends.
...Liliet?
The dream demons realized something had gone terribly wrong.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The same moment, in the basement second floor of the Rose Pavilion.
"Wh-what are you doing?! Get your hands off Arthin right now!"
"Even as a former unicorn, you're so stiff. When Arthin's asleep, shouldn't we be doing things like this?"
Unicorn shrieked in shock at Mephisto's shameless act of slipping her hand inside the clothes of the sleeping Arthin on the bed and stroking his chest muscles.
"That's only allowed for me and Arthin's women! Hands off, you pervert demon!"
"Then that makes it even more fine, doesn't it? My body is Violet's, one of Arthin's women, and I'm Arthin's woman too."
Unicorn momentarily thought, Well, yeah? but quickly realized it was all this cunning demon's silver tongue and tried to pull Mephisto's hand away from Arthin's chest.
"Don't try to fool me! You kissed him the moment he fell asleep—what excuse is that?!"
"Come on, you try touching the muscles too. Arthin's been working out quite a bit this regression—his pecs feel perfect."
Before Unicorn could pull her hand away, Mephisto grabbed it and pressed it to Arthin's chest. Just a month ago, it had been soft flesh untouched by exercise; now firm muscles were mixing in, creating that addictive texture.
"O...oh... This... it's definitely an addictive feel...?"
"Heh, see? Sex isn't the only way to enjoy a man's body."
"True... Ah, no! How would you know that?! You can fool others' eyes, but not mine, you virgin bitch demon!"
As Unicorn hurriedly snapped back to her senses and pointed accusingly, Mephisto smirked.
"Arthin taught me directly, of course."
"...Wh-what?! Arthin?!"
"Yes, my Arthin taught me everything about himself. That's how I know."
Unicorn was speechless at Mephisto's bold declaration. A demon's lie? But if she'd tasted sex, her virgin radar should've pinged.
Yet this demon before her was clearly made of virgin spirit flesh. Unicorn—who'd lived her life for the virgin spirit body theory until weeks ago—knew it for a fact.
"L-lies! That's another of the demon's wicked deceptions!"
"Heh, believe what you want. But it's undeniable that I'm the closest being to Arthin."
The closest being? Unicorn couldn't accept that. She was the one Arthin had risked his life to save—her life's benefactor—and the true love they'd reunite with in the next life.
Some demon from who-knows-where claiming to be the closest? Unacceptable.
"If you're so close, why's he not recognizing you and you're whining?"
"...!"
Mephisto inhaled sharply at Unicorn's sharp jab. She'd been too caught up in emotion earlier to notice, but a great demon lord of hell crying in front of others? It was bewildering even for her.
"...Th-that's natural!"
"Natural how?! A great demon crying in front of others—is that natural?!"
"If someone that precious and important doesn't recognize you, isn't it natural to feel sad enough to cry for the first time in your life? Could you hold back tears?"
Gasp. Unicorn faltered. True, if she regained her memories but Arthin didn't recognize her? She doubted she could bear it. No, she might weep till death.
"Well..."
"See? Proof of how much I love and cherish Arthin. So..."
"..."
The two women, who'd resumed groping Arthin's body mid-conversation, suddenly sharpened their gazes.
Mephisto waved her hand to open the door, revealing a horde of monsters—sent by Liliet's command—so numerous they were an eyesore.
Mephisto wanted to wave them into mincemeat, but she couldn't.
"Hehe♡ Did we startle you? It was fun watching you two chat. You worm-like pests."
Unicorn couldn't hide her shock as a dream demon spread her wings and stepped forward from the monsters.
"Y-you! Aren't you the spinster succubus Sirka?! Recovered already? Finally ditched your virginity for human men's essence?!"
The sharp verbal assault flew the moment their eyes met. Normally, the real Sirka would've lost her reason and charged.
"Taunts won't work. Unicorn-slash-Baycorn, that dream demon's already under her lord's control."
But controlling the body wasn't Sirka—it was Liliet. Unlike Sirka, whom she'd forced into virginity, Liliet had amassed power devouring countless men. Taunts like "spinster" fell flat.
"Hehe, that demon might be half-baked compared to me♡ I'm Dream Demon Lord Liliet, borrowing Sirka's body to make sure you die♡"
"N-no way... A veteran slut dream demon lord possessing that cobweb-covered spinster body over a century old! As the queen of shameless demon whores, of course my taunts won't faze you!"
Twitch. Liliet barely suppressed her facial muscles from twisting.
What is this? This inexplicable rage...? It's like the body itself is furious...
Many called her a whore. It never fazed her. But Sirka's body—bereft of reason and ego—was clearly reacting to "spinster" and "cobwebs."
It wounded Liliet's pride immensely. Her authority-dominated body defying her will and showing emotion? As infuriating as unicorn contractors challenging dream powers.
"Good thing I can rip that cheeky mouth off myself! Bring that unicorn bitch to me, all of you!"
"Ooh, mad about being called a spinster slut, huh?! But you can't hide the truth forever!"
"I didn't call you a slut, you rag-in-mouth half-baked Baycorn!!"
As the body's rage synced with hers, Liliet-Sirka charged the monsters and began casting her magic, intent on tearing Unicorn apart.
Violet-Mephisto sighed at the sight, flicking her hand to dismantle Liliet's spells one by one.
"I'll handle the dream demon. You take out the monsters!"
"Got it! Not a single scratch on Arthin or Violet's body!"
Unicorn's hair shone like stars in the Milky Way, holy power and demonic energy pouring from her hands. Her eyes burned with fierce resolve to keep that spinster slut from touching Arthin.