Chapter 97
Chapter 97
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: Vs. Dream Demon Lord Liliet #02
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Shrrrip──!!
I slashed open the crumbling cocoon with my sword and dragged Violet out with me. Outside was still just the unconscious realm, though.
As I emerged from the cocoon, Al'Miraz—who had been blocking the dream shades' escape routes and handling the cleanup—rushed over, kicking through the corpses of dream demons and shades.
"Master! How's Violet?"
"She's fine, totally unharmed. Good thing we weren't too late."
I cleaned the dream demon blood off my hands with a spell, then gently stroked Violet's cheek. She lay in my arms, passed out cold. Her skin felt warm.
"She's still sleeping...? She looks unconscious."
"No, I definitely severed the dream demon's influence. She's just exhausted from the mental strain and fell asleep."
The moment I slit the throat of Liliet's fragment and cracked open the cocoon, Violet had looked up at me with tears streaming down her face, beaming with joy. Sure, she'd collapsed right after, but enduring a dream demon's mental assaults for months—or even longer—would wear anyone out.
"...You held on so well. Must've been hell."
Imagining what Violet had gone through made my chest tighten. Even I had suffered like death itself before building any resistance to those mental attacks.
I gently brushed Violet's hair back with my hand and laid her down on the clean floor, untainted by demon or monster blood.
"...Um, Master?"
"Yeah? What?"
"I worked really hard in that fight too, you know... I endured..."
Ah, that explained why she was suddenly using formal speech again—something she rarely bothered with since we'd dropped the formalities.
Hearing that, I slowly reached out toward Al'Miraz's head. She closed her eyes, face full of eager anticipation, and leaned in gently.
Flick!
"Ow! Why'd you hit me?!"
"I sliced up all the dream demons and shattered their powers myself. You're full of energy while your master's half-dead from mana drain—it's infuriating to hear you whining."
Al'Miraz pouted, mumbling "That's not fair..." as she rubbed her forehead.
But my body really was on the brink, mana tank bone-dry. The fight with the dream shades and demons had been fiercer than expected. Even I would've struggled one-on-one against Liliet's powers without ogre blood prep. I'd squeezed out every last drop—not just mana, but the strength I'd had as a suckling babe.
Since contracting with Unicorn, I hadn't felt this mana exhaustion once. It was honestly torture. I'd just hidden it to look cool in front of Violet.
I let out a sigh, stretched my back, and glanced at the mana tether still linking our wrists.
"Anyway, let's head back. Violet should wake up on her own soon if we leave her."
"Huh? You're not carrying her yourself, Master?"
"Bringing her out forcibly now would widen the gap between unconscious and reality. She needs time to adjust on her own. Plus, sounds like they're still fighting outside—we should help."
I could've droned on with technical terms for an hour, but my simple explanation seemed to get through to Al'Miraz, who nodded.
"You sure she'll be okay? Leaving her alone like this feels risky..."
"She'll be fine. She endured Liliet's powers, didn't she? She can wake up by herself."
That fierce dream demon's torment hadn't broken her. She was cool, strong, resilient. I trusted Violet. One day, she'd spread those wings wide and return brimming with confidence.
"Let's go. Take my hand, Al'Miraz."
"Kyaa! O-Okay, Master!"
Seeing her blush and grab my hand made the future feel a bit daunting. What if Unicorn chewed me out for seducing demons now?
'...It'll work out somehow?'
No affection level 100 status window had popped up yet. No point overthinking harems. Just go with the flow.
...With half-resigned thoughts, I chanted the spell to return to reality.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "What the fuck is this?"
When I opened my eyes back in reality, lying on the bed, the scene was a total warzone disaster.
"Kyaaahhh!!!"
"How dare you!! Think you can touch this lady?!"
Unicorn stood guard at the door, maniacally decapitating mid-tier monsters or ripping off their limbs as they swarmed.
"You cheeky demon, using cheats again!? Let's see if you can dispel this one!!"
And for some reason, Sirka—her vibe totally different from before—was unleashing demon magic from dozens of magic circles.
"Heh, sleep well, Arthin? Did the noise wake you?"
"...Violet? No, Mephisto?"
"Still me for now. That staff you made for Violet is awfully handy, though. Two dragon hearts, no less."
Violet-Mephisto swung the dual-core dragon heart staff I'd crafted for Violet, effortlessly nullifying every spell Sirka threw while pulverizing the monsters eyeing Unicorn's openings in an instant.
"Why's Sirka over there? And way stronger than before...?"
"Just as I possessed Violet, that demon seems to have possessed one of her kin. Though she lost her temper at that half-baked wyvern's trash talk."
What verbal jab had Unicorn landed this time? As I grimaced, head spinning, Mephisto handed me the staff.
"...This?"
"Violet's about to wake up, so I must go. I'd love to stick around with you... but the contract leaves no choice. I've already pushed my power to the limit."
Mephisto looked wistful as she gently stroked Al'Miraz's head—the girl still groggy from just waking up.
Sure enough, Mephisto's presence felt much fainter; she'd maxed out her contract-bound powers and magic.
"...Thanks. I'll repay you next time we meet."
"Naturally. Even with our closest friendship, deals with demons always demand payment."
Knowing no ordinary demon would go this far out of obligation, I expressed my gratitude. Mephisto gazed at me with a dignified look, as if it were obvious.
"Then... next time, I expect a more romantic encounter, Arthin."
"Romantic my ass... Pull any pranks again, and I'll really flick your forehead."
I issued the warning, but even that amused Mephisto. She smiled, then closed her eyes and slipped away. At the same moment, Violet's purple-tinted hair began reverting to pink.
"My companion! I know it's an important moment, but this lady's exhausted! Help already?!"
"...Fine. Duty calls. Al'Miraz!"
"Yes! Master!"
I grabbed the staff and stepped forward from the bed. Sirka-Liliet saw me and burst into mad laughter.
"Kyahaha! Finally, that damned demon's crawled back to hell's pit! Think that staff changes anything against a pathetic bunny demon and half-baked wyvern?"
She had a point. To Liliet, the unawakened scrubs and sleeping demon left Unicorn as the only real fighter.
"Liliet, you're stupider than you look."
"...What? Stupid? Me? A brainless beauty?!"
"What do you call a bitch who didn't notice her own power got nullified while she was rampaging?"
"...What? My power...?"
I'd tossed it out as a test, but Liliet really had been too tunnel-visioned on the fight to notice I'd shattered her nightmare authority. It meant even Mephisto at 1% power had been that threatening.
"And who designs powers so one break shatters them all?"
"Well, obviously no one would... Wait, my activated powers are really gone?!"
"We call that not 'airhead'—we call it 'thick-skulled.'"
"...So what! Does that change anything?!"
Shrrrk!
Five massive magic circles materialized behind Sirka. To my eye, each one packed magic equivalent to 7th circle or higher grand spells.
"Without that archdemon, you four are dead right here!"
"Wrong again, you idiot."
"What?!"
"Not four. Five."
Liliet stared at my confident grin like I was spouting nonsense, but she still didn't get it.
"Why do you think I've been stalling with all this trash talk?"
...The instant I'd shattered the dream demon's power to rescue Violet, the quest window I'd kept in the corner of my vision to track real time updated.
📜 NEW QUEST 📜 Emergency! Rescue the Heroines!
📍 Description: Your heroine candidates have been captured by the villain!
⏰ A true harem lord never sits idly by while his women are in danger!
🎁 Rescue those damsels in style!
Rewards: Affection from each rescued heroine candidate, shop points.
Women Conquered so far: 1/3
Time remaining: 00:39:22
While we were fighting Sirka, Violet hadn't fallen to Liliet yet. That meant the third and final captured heroine was someone who'd come to rescue me.
"Unicorn, fall back."
My hunch was spot on. I could clearly sense an immense presence charging this way at breakneck speed.
"Our party's frontliner just arrived."
"What the fu—"
As Unicorn retreated on my word and confusion spread across Sirka-Liliet's face...
From the far end of the demon-packed corridor, a ticklish wind blew in.
Four Swords ─ Tempest Gale
──KABOOM!!!
The man's sword, traversing the entire corridor in a flash while detonating condensed mana, cleaved through hordes of monsters, Liliet-Sirka's body, and even her chanted spells in one stroke.
"Kyaaahhh?!"
The ferocious blade-wind that turned monsters to mincemeat halted gently before us like a breeze. As always, the guy was leagues beyond me, stacked with cheats and item buffs I couldn't match.
"Knew it, partner. You sensed I'd come."
"...Ka, Kaiyen?! You came to help?!"
Unicorn—who'd been soloing the front—lit up with joy. Kaiyen flashed me a soft smile, showing his delight too.
──But my expression hardened in real time.
'Why Kaiyen instead of Shaomei?'
The third heroine I'd expected was my lover and the top fighter of the first-years, Lin Shaomei—not Hero Kaiyen.
'...Wait, heroine?'
I double-checked the status window. Third? Heroine? That bastard?
"...Staring like that makes me blush, partner."
Kaiyen flushed as he looked at me.
"Fuck."
The curse slipped out unbidden.
Was this shitty status window trying to turn me into the incarnation of BL drift?