Chapter 119
Translator: uly
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: Became the Gallery's Only Reptile
"Cough! Urk."
Again.
I had no idea how many times this made it, but the constellation I believed to be Artemis began spewing black fragments onto the floor once more.
And each time, its complexion turned deathly pale as its face contorted in agony dozens of times over.
I was starting to doubt whether the constellation before my eyes was truly Artemis.
'The power I sense feels authentic enough.'
I'd first assumed it was Artemis because of the power harbored within.
Constellations bestow their strength upon climbers who earn their favor.
And Shingung was confidently her top contractor, basking in her affection and high expectations.
Each of the mana arrows she fired carried at least a faint trace of Artemis's aura.
Having detected that same Artemis aura from the constellation in front of me, my assumption wasn't so far-fetched.
Of course, that power was gradually fading with time.
And that was the primary reason for my growing suspicions.
So, I secretly sent off a letter and resolved to keep this one pinned down until a reply arrived.
"Uh, ugh!"
Recalling its earlier state, this seemed the perfect way to keep it tethered.
Splurt, splurt, splurt.
Paradise Mk. 2 replica elixir—infinite refill service now open.
Go on, stuff yourself until your gut bursts.
Munch. Munch.
Baalzebub rapidly devoured the feast laid out before him while repeatedly stealing glances at the entity across from him.
'What the hell kind of monster is this thing?'
From its dramatic entrance to this casual food service, every moment had hit him like a sucker punch to the back of the head.
'Even after getting tagged by that insane arrow, it took me down in one hit?'
Did this guy even grasp how ridiculous that was?
And then, immediately after being subdued, when he'd tried to flee using his signature technique—splitting his body into worms via Fission Worms?
'I can accept it forcibly gathering my worms with raw power, but recombining them into my body? How?'
This wasn't something he could just gloss over.
Frankly speaking, his Fission Worms—his ace technique accounting for nearly half his power—were now completely nullified.
'But that's not the truly terrifying part.'
Munch. Crunch. Gulp.
No matter how much he ate, the elixirs kept pouring in without end—a gluttony demon's wildest fantasy.
Yet Baalzebub's face, experiencing this dream buffet in reality, was drenched in cold sweat.
'How... does it have infinite power?!'
The massive imoogi wasn't pulling hidden elixirs from storage—it was conjuring them right there on the spot.
Watching this spectacle over and over, Baalzebub realized these weren't scavenged or purchased from somewhere to decorate the domain.
No, they were being infinitely mass-produced in real time.
Outfitting a domain with furniture was one thing; creating power-enhancing elixirs was an entirely different league.
No constellation could churn out elixirs like some factory machine.
'I absolutely cannot let it find out.'
You only fight opponents you can handle.
What was the point against a monster that made even attempting impossible?
For now, he'd barely dodged its wrath by masquerading as Artemis, but he could sense it.
The foe was growing suspicious, bit by bit.
This meal was surely some scheme to keep him pinned in place.
'I have to break free!!'
The problem? Knowing that didn't make escape possible.
With the feast right there, his primal instincts and bottomless gluttony roared in protest.
Gluttony itself demanding he wouldn't dare flee and abandon this bounty.
Even if it meant dying midway, wasn't dying mid-feast the proper dignity for gluttony?
If the food had been subpar, maybe.
But faced with elixirs each pursuing peak perfection in flavor, Baalzebub couldn't defy his appetite—and thus remained glued to his seat.
Flutter.
And in a stroke of utter misfortune for Baalzebub...
The letter that would seal his fate had just arrived, shimmering with light.
He unfurled it with a pulse of divine power, and inside was a single line that perfectly summed up the situation.
The message he'd sent had instructed them to bring the Artemis here.
And the reply...
-Artemis is off repairing the domain with me?
Aphrodite's puzzled response.
What did that mean?
Crackle.
The thing before his eyes was a fake masquerading as Artemis.
Thud.
"...!!"
A sudden flame ignited, perfectly timed to incinerate the manifested letter in a burst of light. Baalzebub swiftly clocked the shift.
He'd been eating nonstop, mouth and hands busy, but his eyes had stayed vigilant—sensing the ominous change immediately.
And sure enough...
His lie was busted!
But one sliver of hopeful news emerged for Baalzebub.
The full moon's power lingering in his body had completely dissipated.
He should have endured agony for much longer, but the Paradise elixirs he'd devoured had drastically shortened that timeline.
Gulp.
"Can't you just let me go?"
He was practically at full strength.
Yet Baalzebub shied away from combat.
He'd never been keen on petty scuffles to begin with, and he was convinced that even in this state, he couldn't beat the monster before him.
'Especially those ominous, chilling red eyes... hold on.'
Ominous and chilling red eyes?
Baalzebub recalled a past conversation with Satan.
It had happened after the meeting where his successor was named and all the executives gathered.
Baalzebub had asked Satan why he'd chosen an outsider over them.
Who was this successor that had him so thrilled?
Unlike the others, Satan replied that those who bore their sins would surely understand his choice.
Because they'd embraced sin, they could see what others couldn't.
For the first time, locking eyes with him properly, Baalzebub fully comprehended—and empathized—with why Satan said that.
"So it was you."
The new wrath that Satan had so desperately craved.
Determined to share this intel with the others as soon as possible, he meekly closed his eyes and accepted the end of his clone.
Crunch.
I nodded as I gazed at the final product, born from countless failures.
How many times had I iterated just to create this?
But that was finally over.
Behold this radiant brilliance.
It perfectly embodied every function I'd envisioned, and I'd ironed out the biggest issue—overload—ensuring no further problems.
I thought back to the impersonating constellation, now reduced to nothing.
Without it, I'd probably still be looping through failures.
'Who would've thought my hypothesis was spot on—that the overload stemmed from not belonging to the Tower...'
I'd assumed the power was simply too overwhelming for the body to handle.
But no—that outsider status from beyond the Tower made my power incompatible with Tower natives.
In Isoha's case, even after regressing, her body hadn't acclimated to the Tower's mana.
That's why she could safely consume my elixirs and even build up tolerance.
'Nothing to say but we got lucky.'
Still, I couldn't just ship off the finished product recklessly.
Even with tolerance, this held power on a whole other level from the elixirs I'd sponsored before.
As I pondered my options, the impersonator had appeared right on cue.
I'd even force-fed the impersonator elixirs brimming with my power to condition it, just in case of repulsion with constellation energy.
With the final clinical trial a perfect success, I could finally prepare the ultimate gift for Isoha.
Finishing the gift meant...
the moment to leave the Tower had arrived.