Chapter 196
Chapter 196
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 195
Chapter Title: Dream Demon Manor
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A wish.
Or, in other words, desire.
Listening to Learic's words, I found myself growing curious as well.
I'd spent my entire life living in tension.
Just the fact that I possessed Spirit Eyes, allowing me to see ghosts, meant I couldn't live the same life as others.
My abnormality blended into their everyday normalcy.
Ghosts were visible everywhere, and the moment they realized I could see them, they'd follow me relentlessly until I was sick of it.
Because of that, maintaining a blank expression wherever I went was crucial. I couldn't afford to be startled or frightened by their grotesque forms.
My warped way of life gradually dulled my emotions.
Wanting something often led to hurt and disappointment, so I simply existed.
Yes, drifting along like flowing water.
'And then I ended up here.'
It might sound ridiculous, but life on this continent was far more comfortable than in my previous world.
For one thing, I'd gained the power to exorcise evil spirits.
That alone could be seen as fulfilling my life.
But then.
"Well, what is your wish?"
I suddenly grew curious.
My convictions about dealing with the dead, my sense of duty to save the continent.
When I cast all that aside, what did I truly desire?
So, in silence, I focused on the white light Learic offered.
And there...
A vast blue meadow stretched out.
A cool breeze blew, making the swaying grasses nod gently in the wind.
Amid this picturesque landscape that seemed to go on forever, a man walked steadily onward.
"Hm?"
Learic flinched in surprise and confusion at the unfamiliar man who appeared.
But my eyes were fixed solely on him.
Enraptured, staring intently.
The scene shifted.
Torrential rain poured down, the clear blue sky darkening with storm clouds. Lightning crashed to the earth.
Still, the man kept walking.
And it continued behind him.
Seashore, snowfields, deserts, rocky mountains.
Through countless terrains, the man traversed solely on his own two feet.
Did he have a destination?
Probably not.
That's why he could walk on endlessly like that.
"A path of asceticism, it seems."
This time, watching the man trek through a dense jungle, Learic murmured.
But my impression was the complete opposite.
This was...
"A journey."
The walking man.
Kim Shin-woo was traveling right now.
Feeling everything with his own skin.
Not heading somewhere specific, but enjoying every path he tread.
A heavy emotion welled up in me, and I realized I truly yearned for that with intense longing.
It might look like mere travel, but the Archdemon of Deception before me could never grasp the meaning encapsulated in that scenery.
Learic clenched his fist.
The landscape vanished, replaced once more by pitch-black darkness.
"A bit disconcerting."
Scratching his chin, Learic offered an awkward smile.
"Usually, when true desire is revealed, the person themselves appears. But in your case, a completely different person showed up."
He seemed puzzled that Kim Shin-woo, not Deus Verdi, had emerged.
"That's me."
"......Pardon?"
"The Kim Shin-woo you mentioned. That's the name of the man who just appeared—and who I originally was."
Learic's mouth clamped shut for a moment. His expression suggested he might have let out an involuntary gasp otherwise.
In the brief silence, his mind raced and arrived at the answer.
"I see. So the name Kim Shin-woo carried that meaning. You seized Deus Verdi's body!"
If anything, it was given to me, but no need to correct him.
Clap, clap, clap, clap.
The thick sound of applause echoed from his gloved hands.
Learic had shown interest moments before, but now he gazed at me with outright excitement.
"Deception! Your very existence is deception toward others! No, how could such a human exist? How could there be a man this lovable!"
Belica, the Archdemon of Mutation.
Learic, the Archdemon of Deception.
Even Magan, the Archdemon of Greed.
They'd all shown their own forms of fondness toward me. What a fateful life.
"I want you. I invite you to my manor."
"You seem to be misunderstanding something."
Whoosh.
Blue flames erupted from my left hand.
Black iron chains hidden in the darkness shot toward his neck with a fervent rattle.
Clang!
As the chains wrapped around his throat, I thrust my left hand forward, slamming into his chest.
Blue flames spread across his body, crackling like dry firewood as they ignited.
"I came only to liberate the souls you stole."
To grant repose to Ophelia's daughter and all the victims sacrificed to her.
That was the only thing I sought from an Archdemon.
Yet even as he burned, Learic nodded frantically and shouted.
"Ahaha! Perfect! This is perfect!"
What about this was perfect?
But I didn't listen further and reduced him to ashes.
Roar!
As Belica had said, anyway.
No matter how many times I killed him, he'd undoubtedly reappear with mocking ease.
True to my expectations, Learic's voice echoed from somewhere.
"What you desire cannot be sold. It's already entered as a prize."
'A prize?'
Unsure what that meant, I walked deeper into the杂货店 where the voice came from.
He was already gone.
The empty store's walls rippled only with alien mana, evoking a sense of dissonance.
'He already fled?'
Or could it even be called fleeing?
In the end, there was nothing more to gain here.
Not even items—just the pitch-black darkness and the now-sealed entrance.
'Sealed?'
A chilling sensation hit me, and I rushed to the entrance, flinging the door open.
But it wasn't my lab.
A heavy gust like sword qi greeted me immediately. The fierce wind battered my body, making it hard to keep my eyes open.
Yet I could clearly see where I stood.
The entrance to a manor bathed in a subtle purple hue.
Its scale dwarfed the Verdi manor in Northsweden.
The front gate stood wide open in welcome, and every window in the manor blazed with light.
"Fuu."
So this was what he meant by inviting me to his manor. My temple throbbed at the absurd method, but I checked my body first, unsure what lay ahead.
Rolling my right shoulder to confirm my prosthetic arm functioned, I proceeded forward.
Standing still here would yield no answers anyway.
Moreover, the hundreds of ravenous gazes I sensed around me demanded I move.
Passing the gate, I opened the manor's door and entered.
Warm, cozy air enveloped me. The interior was lavishly decorated, rivaling the Griffin royal palace.
And right there before me.
A woman sat slumped at the entrance, sewing something.
Her wretched appearance and emaciated frame aside, she seemed to enjoy moving the needle.
"......"
But she wasn't sewing on a fallen button or mending torn clothes.
With thread in her mouth, she diligently stitched her own left wrist with her right hand. Then she beamed and raised her left hand.
"Done!"
Her left hand writhed grotesquely, like crawling insects, repulsive and eerie.
Tilting her head back, her gaze naturally met mine.
The woman, who flinched and shrank back in surprise, soon smiled brightly and welcomed me.
"Ah, a new guest?"
"......"
I eyed her warily without a word, but she nodded understandingly and pointed to a wall with her freshly sewn left hand.
"The manor rules are written over there, so read and memorize them."
Her speech felt somewhat unhinged. Passing her by, I headed to where her left hand indicated.
There, the manor's rules were written large.
- Dream Demon Manor Rules -
1. A private room will be provided. Yours is room 110.
'Room 110?'
The numbers shimmered, suggesting a spell that showed different numbers to each person.
2. Refrain from going out at night. If you do, responsibility lies with you.
This second rule seemed tied to the ravenous gazes I'd felt outside.
3. This manor's master is Archdemon Learic. Always remember that.
4. Guests are permitted up to the third floor.
5. The maximum stay in Dream Demon Manor is five days. Exceeding this results in forced eviction.
6. Combat within Dream Demon Manor is discouraged.
7. The clock is in the center of the first floor. Don't steal other guests' time by asking them.
8. If evicted from Dream Demon Manor after five days, you will lose all memories of what happened here.
9. Rules for Dream Demon Manor are posted throughout. Finding them yields prizes.
10. Among the guests—
The tenth rule cut off midway. Wondering what this situation was, I slowly turned.
The woman who'd been sitting on the floor until moments ago now stared at me with wide eyes.
Her dazed pupils sent a shiver down my spine.
"Your body looks so easy to work with. Skinny, so the bones would snap easily. Thin skin too—perfect for a summer cloak."
Licking her lips greedily as she eyed me, drool trickling down. Not as prey, but as a research subject she coveted.
I tried to show my disgust.
Clack, clack.
Footsteps descended from the stairs to the first floor.
At the sound, the sewing woman hastily gathered her thread and needle, then fled down the left corridor.
As if terrified of whoever was coming. Without looking back.
"Learic brought another one."
The one descending the stairs was a woman.
But this time, I couldn't tear my eyes away from her.
Wondering what this situation was, I now understood why rule seven existed.
Don't waste time asking other guests.
Asking itself was pointless.
Because each lived in their own timeframe.
"Another necromancer?"
Recognizing me as a necromancer, she twitched her eyebrows with interest.
Voluptuous figure.
Black robe cloaking her body.
Semitransparent black veil draped below her eyes.
Violet pupils, coldly lifeless unlike what I knew.
Her name, brimming with vitality, slipped from my lips unbidden.
"Black Necromancer......"
Back when she was still alive.
Not as a soul, but in the flesh, she stood before me.