The Dragon Maid's Arrival (3)

The male Ga-eul looked at me with a worried expression.

"You got smacked by Monica Grace earlier and went flying into the wall, right? Is your body okay?"

Now that he mentioned it, I really had been hit hard by Monica Grace and sent flying. I'd completely forgotten to bring that up.

"Ah. That. I was actually forgetting to mention it, but strangely enough, I don't have a single wound or any pain in my body."

"Huh?"

It was a devastating attack that would have killed an ordinary human instantly. Yet when I took the hit, and even now, I felt neither injury nor pain.

"When my body was sent flying earlier, I only registered the sensation of being launched and slamming into the wall. I didn't feel like I'd been struck at all, or any pain. It was exactly like a game character taking an attack but receiving zero damage."

That's right. It felt as if my character had complete immunity to the attack—no damage, no proper knockback, nothing.

"Do you think the superpower we used to delusion about has actually manifested?"

"I think so too. Do you remember that passive ability from our delusions? The one from Deus Ex Machina?"

There was no way my body could be this durable on its own, so it made sense that our delusion—no, the male Ga-eul's delusion—had become reality. The most likely candidate was the fantasy I'd built around the game Deus Ex Machina.

"No way... 'Physical Nullification'?"

"Yeah. I think that's the ability that ended up manifesting in me."

If my prediction was correct, my body now possessed the passive skill Physical Nullification from Deus Ex Machina. That would perfectly explain why I'd emerged completely unscathed from that attack.

Even so, parts of this still didn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠add up. If I was an existence born from the male Ga-eul's delusions, then only his delusions should have become real. In his version of events, the female me had never gained any superpowers. So the very idea of me acquiring Physical Nullification, let alone any ability at all, shouldn't have been possible. What on earth was going on?

"So you really got the 'Physical Nullification' passive skill?"

He looked genuinely envious. How adorable. Why was 'me' so cute?

"I think that's what happened. There's no status window or anything to check, so... Huh?"

I'd answered without thinking, but the moment I said the words status window, a translucent holographic window floated up before my eyes.

What the hell? There really was a status window?

No, seriously—a status window?

Wow, I actually had one.

"Holy crap. It really exists."

"Huh? What exists?"

"The status window. I just said 'status window' and it popped up right in front of me. But it's kind of weird."

Well, I'd lived as an ordinary human until now, so having zero MP made sense. But what was up with my durability stat? If this window was based on my delusion (ah, right, the male Ga-eul's delusion), then the magic stat was probably separate from MP and represented mana efficiency. That tracked, because if my guess was correct, this interface was pulled from the game Ring of the Gods that I'd enjoyed playing.

In that case, looking at the abilities listed at the bottom...

That Delusion must refer to the supernatural power I possessed, and the (Unmeasurable) next to it was probably the rank. My ability was called Delusion? But wasn't the power to turn delusions into reality supposed to be the male Ga-eul's ability?

At that moment, a woman's voice rang out from behind us.

"Human. Put down that wolf bitch and step back. I'll spare your life if you do."

Huh?

What was it this time?

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

When I turned around, a woman with short black hair stood there. More than ten people followed behind her.

The woman looked at the male Ga-eul's face, blushed, and continued.

"Huh? A mere human with this level of beauty? Never mind. I'll grant you the honor of becoming this Karen's husband, male human."

Karen?

Karen Erzsebet, the intelligence chief of the Grace family?

"No way. Karen... Erzsebet?"

Wait a second. In my delusion, Karen had been a woman. So in the male Ga-eul's version, she should have been a man? I'd originally imagined the vampire running the Grace family's intelligence division as a serious, composed woman. That concept had later been changed to a gap-moe fool, so the male Ga-eul's delusion should have been the complete opposite. Yet here she was, a woman?

This didn't make sense. If the male Ga-eul's delusions had become reality and I was nothing more than a created being, then Karen Erzsebet should have manifested as a man. But she had appeared as a woman?

In that instant, a scene flashed through my mind.

Ah. So I possessed the power to turn delusions into reality as well. Karen must have been brought into existence by my own delusion. Did that mean I might not be a created being after all?

But hold on—was this Karen bitch seriously trying to claim our Ga-eul? What? She dared offer him the chance to become her husband?

At that exact moment, something plummeted from the sky, landing between us and Karen Erzsebet's group.

The monstrous impact sent up a massive cloud of dust that swallowed the entire area.

Cough, cough.

What was it this time?

As the dust cloud that had blocked our vision slowly cleared, a silhouette appeared in the center of a large crater.

It was a woman with red hair tied back, wearing a maid uniform. Two horns protruded from her head.

"Maid?"

Crazy. If what I was thinking was correct, then that was...

"I finally found you. My Master♥."

Yep. Damn it.

It was Rebecca Ignis.

And she was quite possibly the most dangerous existence in this universe right now.

_______________________________

Rebecca Ignis was a dragon.

But not an ordinary dragon—she was a transcendent being who possessed divinity, a Dragon God.

I was seriously going to lose my mind.

What the hell was I supposed to do?

Rebecca Ignis.

She too was an existence created from my delusions. I'd been inspired by a character named Scarlet from a game I used to play.

She had received a great favor from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me for some reason and, in order to repay that debt, had devoted her entire life to serving me.

She had transcended the limits of the dragon race and attained true divinity. If Bathory Hosa had been a half-baked god created from Autumn Grace's sacrifice after battling an ancient evil god, then Rebecca was a genuine deity. What was more, because she had become a god as a dragon, she ranked among the highest tiers—an Upper God.

"Master. Your loyal servant has come to attend you."

Having become a god, she possessed infinite lifespan and true immortality. But because I, her master, was merely mortal, I would always live out my lifespan, die, and return to the cycle of reincarnation. Rebecca would then seek out my reincarnated soul each time. She would come to me—even though I no longer remembered her—and serve me without ever fully revealing her true identity. All while leaving behind only her horns, the link that connected us, in the hope that I might one day remember her.

"What the hell are you?"

Karen growled at Rebecca. Rebecca turned her head to look at her.

Hey. Don't. Why would you provoke her? Do you want to die?

This was bad. I wasn't sure if she'd listen to me, but she seemed to be mistaking me for her master right now. Maybe she'd follow my orders?

"Rebecca Ignis."

!!!!!!!!

"M-Master? You remember me?"

Ah. Right. I'd forgotten. In the delusion involving Rebecca Ignis, I lost all memories of her every time I reincarnated, which was why she always ended up clinging to me. If I wasn't careful, she'd realize I wasn't her real master!

At this point, there was no turning back. Time to put on a thick face.

"Rebecca. This is an urgent situation, so I'll explain later. Those people over there are hostile toward us. Can you take care of this for me?"

"Yes, Master♥. Shall I reduce all those bitches to ashes?"

Crazy. If she did that, I'd be hunted by vampires for the rest of my life!

"No! You can't do that. There's a bit of a situation. Can you just put them to sleep?"

"But Master~ It looks like those bitches are lusting after you. I cannot allow them to live."

You can't kill them!

"Rebecca. What did I just say?"

"...Yes, Master. I will obey your command."

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠moment Rebecca finished speaking, Karen and every vampire with her collapsed on the spot. Whew. Thank goodness she listened. They were just asleep, right?

"Master. What should I do with this woman?"

Rebecca pointed at the other 'me' and asked.

Eek. What was with that terrifying expression?

"Ah. This one is... How should I explain this... She's 'me'."

"...Yes?"