Fitting Punishment
“Enough! Stop it already!”
Bang! Bang!
The sludge kept surging toward me relentlessly.
I darted through the air, blocking or dodging every attack.
But the more it unleashed its assaults, the more my divine power dwindled inside me.
A way out... there has to be a way...
The more I countered it, the faster my remaining strength vanished. But if I didn't block or evade, I'd take a hit.
I couldn't even reach out to my constellation for a recharge.
I was trapped in a no-win crisis.
The piercing wound from earlier had been healed somehow with my power, but if I took another one, there was no guarantee I could recover this time.
Just as I kept dodging desperately, unable to find any solution to escape this mess—
Suddenly, it appeared right in front of me.
!!!
It was behind me a second ago!
I got hit.
It had woven an illusionary net to fake its position and lure me in.
Hundreds of sharp sludge spikes erupted from it, charging straight at me.
I couldn't dodge this.
I had to block...
I slammed on the brakes and threw my arms up in defense.
With no time to spare, the colorless power barrier I conjured wasn't all that strong.
Crack! Crack!
It was woefully inadequate against the spikes.
They're gonna pierce me...!
Helpless, I could only stare at the spikes hurtling madly toward me.
KABOOM!
A sudden storm of black demonic energy swept through, engulfing every last bit of sludge.
“Ngh!”
“Are you alright, Apostle of Dreams?”
As the smoke cleared, a woman radiating black light hovered between me and the sludge.
She glanced at my condition, then fixed the sludge with a terrifying glare.
“The sin of leading my master to death by my own hand—I shall judge it myself.”
It was the Demon God Huphnis.
...So she figured out who I am?
The Demon God charged at it.
A tyrannical storm of demonic energy and divinity raged around her.
The sludge thrashed wildly, spewing more sludge in desperation.
Sizzle. Sizzle. Sizzle.
Its filthy, repulsive attempts to buy even a little more time.
The Demon God crushed every pathetic struggle with overwhelming force and pressed on.
Among all sins, the sin of [Pride] is called the greatest.
The first original sin stemmed from [Pride], and all other sins derived from it.
As such, the sin of [Pride] is not something just anyone can bear.
Only the capable strong—those who can afford arrogance toward themselves—can possess it.
That is [Pride].
The first Demon King to defeat the worst mass murderer, rightfully inherit the throne, and open an era of peace and harmony between humans and demons.
Transcending even the Demon King's seat to ascend as a Demon God—the King of Ten Thousand Demons.
She was no being to be confined by a mere title like one of the 5 Lords.
Bang! Bang!
KABOOM!
The Demon God shattered head-on every defensive formation the sludge hastily conjured.
It had been so terrifying as an enemy, but as an ally, it felt incredibly reassuring.
Its bizarre power—the one that had nullified my and my constellation's abilities—kept activating.
Unpleasant light washed over the Demon God multiple times.
Bang! Bang!
But her advance didn't slow.
Was its ability ineffective against her?
I watched her intently.
No.
Every time its light hit, the demonic energy pouring from her visibly diminished.
Its power was definitely nullifying and weakening her abilities.
Yet her strength didn't wane because she possessed such vast reserves—and because her emotional state meant she wasn't holding back.
[Dream Storyteller asks: Can you hear me? If you can, please respond! Pleeeease! *screeches*]
“...Lady Constellation?”
[Dream Storyteller: Y-you're connected! Wh-what do I do! Is our apostle safe? *flusters about*]
“Yes. I'm safe.”
My connection to the constellation was restored.
The sludge must have focused its power on blocking the Demon God, pulling everything—including the force nullifying our constellation's power.
Fresh divine power flowed into me from her.
Unlike before, when I'd been clinging on with barely 1% battery, this full recharge filled me with omnipotence.
Pushed to the brink, the sludge kept pouring out more, but the Demon God smashed it all.
Its seemingly endless sludge mass was gradually shrinking.
And finally—
Crack.
“Why not try a little harder?”
The Demon God's hand seized its neck region.
The Demon God lifted it slightly by the neck.
Then—
SLAM!
She smashed it hard into the ground.
Her divine power unfurled, and the dream world vanished.
A massive crack split the void below as the sludge hit the floor.
“As the King of Ten Thousand Demons, I pronounce judgment: execution by death.”
Her power began flowing into it.
I drew on the maximum of the power from my constellation and raced toward her.
“Wait a second, Demon God!”
The Demon God, about to fill it with demonic energy and make it burst, turned at my shout.
“...Apostle of Dreams. You're not about to make the absurd request to spare this sinner, are you?”
Her blazing eyes locked onto me.
Then her thoughts flowed into me as well.
So she really did figure me out.
...She's not planning to beat me down for deceiving her too, right?
“I understand what you did for me and the sacrifice you made. You are my benefactor. But that's that, and this is this. If you've come preaching forgiveness and mercy, you've got the wrong address.”
A fierce will radiated from her: no matter what, she would tear this monster apart.
In contrast, the way she addressed me—benefactor.
She mistook my machinations as a plan to remove her [Pride].
...Not entirely wrong, if you think about it.
I had given her a second chance, after all.
“Just hear me out first, Demon God. Annihilation is too easy and convenient a punishment.”
Of course, I had no desire to let this thing live.
Who in their right mind would defend the monster that had been gleefully trying to kill me moments ago?
But oblivion was too merciful an escape.
I didn't want to give it such a painless, beautiful end.
The Demon God would approve of this alternative.
“...Understood. So you're saying if we slot it into that 'weekly boss' framework, all the continent's players will beat it down?”
“Exactly.”
The Akashic Archive's weekly boss battle, clearable once per week.
Due to content development pace, the only one so far was the Monster Queen from the tutorial—put in for our investor goddess Ren.
To honor her 10 heroes and ensure the Monster Queen suffered eternally.
Weekly bosses provided essential growth resources while offering hardcore players unlimited challenges until cleared.
Thanks to that, the Monster Queen got slaughtered endlessly by newbies to jaded veterans alike.
Doomed to eternal, repeating deaths—unable to truly die, suffering forever.
“...No ending could suit this sinner better.”
The Demon God beat the sludge into submission so it couldn't resist anymore and handed it to me.
I sealed it completely with dream power.
Infused with power while unconscious, it wouldn't wield nullification anymore.
With everything over, the Demon God gazed up at the sky.
The dream world had vanished, leaving only empty darkness, but her expression grew wistful, as if reminiscing about someone.
Uncomfortable with the sorrow emanating from her, I quickly dug through the Akashic Archive server logs.
A pre-entered command for just in case the sealing went wrong: backup.
“Found it.”
The task had completed safely, even amid the nullification field.
...A backup couldn't recreate the revived Demon King she longed for.
But it could summon a Demon King from that false world.
I hoped it would be enough to comfort her grieving heart.