Chapter 208
Chapter 208
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 208
Chapter Title: Hell - 8
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‘Why…… is that thing here?’
I wondered if I was seeing things wrong, so I approached the statue with trembling steps. Even though it only depicted the head above the neck, it was ridiculously massive.
Of course, that was all relative. Assuming it really was the World Devourer, this was far smaller than the original, whose single eyeball was bigger than my height.
A gem that I guessed was a ruby—symbolizing its red pupils—was embedded where the eyes should be. At a glance, it was at least twice the size of my head.
I stood before it. Calming my churning stomach, I carefully recalled my memories. The time I faced that thing head-on in the imperial palace, and the modeling from the game. I didn’t miss a single detail.
‘…….’
And I was certain. This was a statue depicting the World Devourer’s head. As the final boss, it had been crafted with far more care than other dragons, so there was no mistaking its appearance.
Now that its identity was clear, only one question remained.
Why had the demon placed a statue of the World Devourer here, in the spot where the statue of the original DLC final boss, ‘Lucifer, the Guide to Evil,’ should have been?
Moreover, this was an altar where demons offered tributes to high demons, according to the lore. Placing this here was no ordinary matter.
“Why are you just standing there?”
While I stood frozen in shock, Margarita had entered the room unnoticed and approached, only to stop just like me. Her eyes were fixed on the dragon statue, same as mine.
“……What is this? A dragon?”
“Yes. It’s a dragon.”
“Why is it here? This is hell. Why would demons put a dragon statue on their altar?”
Since Margarita was reacting the same way, it wasn’t the mod’s doing, at least. If it were, she would have taken it as nonchalantly as Caikilia had when she saw the pope bless me.
‘……No, even if it’s not the mod, that’s a problem in its own right.’
If this wasn’t due to the mod, it meant something outside my knowledge had happened without common sense being altered, for whatever reason. For me, that was the worst-case scenario—the one I wanted to avoid most.
My head was spinning. Even when the World Devourer had shown up at the imperial palace in person, I’d been on edge, thinking this was it. Every time I got tangled up with that thing, nothing ever ended well.
Margarita and I stood there blankly staring at the statue, not even thinking about activating the altar. Our points of shock differed slightly, but we were both stunned regardless.
How long had we been frozen like that when the sound of someone landing on the ground came from a short distance away? Soon after, heavy footsteps followed.
It was obvious who it was. We hadn’t emerged even after she’d defeated the boss, so she’d come looking herself.
I turned my head. Caikilia was walking into the room, her right hand gripping a brightly glowing holy sword and her left holding the head of a gladiator demon, cleanly severed from the neck down.
Drops of dark crimson blood fell from the cut neck, forming a splattered circle on the floor.
As soon as Caikilia entered, she first looked at me, then at the statue in front of us, and finally at Margarita beside me.
Thud. The severed head rolled across the floor.
“Do your duty.”
“……Pardon?”
“I told you to do what must be done.”
“Ah, yes! Understood!”
Catching on to the mood, Margarita groaned as she picked up the gladiator demon’s head that had just been tossed aside and left the room. The sound of her sandals dragging on the ground faded away.
Whether due to the holy sword’s effect or not, Caikilia’s hand was spotless, without a speck of dirt, despite having held a dripping head moments ago. She locked the door and walked over to my side.
“What were you doing in a place like this? To make your liege come searching personally—truly the height of disloyalty.”
“……Rather than hearing my explanation, it would be faster for you to see for yourself.”
Her golden pupils scanned the statue. Having confirmed its form, her eyebrows arched like a crescent moon, betraying her master’s displeasure.
“I shall ask you, Delta. Is that the form of that damned thing I know?”
“You see correctly, Your Majesty.”
“It makes no sense. Why does a statue modeled after that damned thing exist in a place like this?”
Perhaps recalling how she’d passed out from the aftermath of its mere words during its appearance at the imperial palace—without even mounting a proper response—Caikilia’s face grew fierce in real time.
If I gave her permission to destroy it, she looked ready to shatter the statue right then and there.
“We’ll have to find out starting now.”
“Starting now?”
The ferocity faded from her face, replaced by surprise and disbelief, as if wondering if there was something I didn’t know.
She accepted it quickly. Knowing I wouldn’t lie about something like this, Caikilia clicked her tongue with a face full of extreme discomfort.
The World Devourer was a boss whose lore was mostly unknown.
Its origins were a mystery, its beginnings unknown, and even why it sought to destroy the world was unclear. It was simply that powerful—powerful enough to devour the world—and desired only that.
No noble purpose hidden beneath, no tale of once being good but corrupted by some event to tug at the heartstrings. It was what you’d call an absolute evil boss.
So, it was practically impossible for the World Devourer to be worshipped in hell in place of the demon king. To it, hell was just another world to annihilate—nothing more, nothing less.
“Seeing your reaction has convinced me. Surely, something else besides that damned thing’s head was originally meant to be here. Speak. What was in this spot according to your knowledge?”
Caikilia zeroed in on the crux instantly and posed her question. She must have read some other emotion in my expression.
“The statue…… of the king who rules hell.”
“The king of demons…….”
Caikilia’s face twisted.
“Then, we cannot entirely rule out the possibility that that damned thing has taken the throne in place of the one you speak of. A most unpleasant notion.”
“…….”
The World Devourer as the ruler of hell—it was hard to picture. I’d never even imagined I’d be pondering something like this.
If the main story had been twisted or skipped, it would be confusing but understandable enough to move past. After all, I’d meddled in plenty already.
But the fact that the World Devourer was being worshipped in hell instead of Lucifer? I couldn’t just gloss over that.
I sorted my tangled thoughts and stepped onto the platform. The altar’s sides hollowed out, and red blood began flowing between them.
I stared blankly at the blood, then suddenly spoke.
“Your Majesty.”
“I am listening.”
“It seems we’ll have to ask directly about this incident.”
“Ask whom?”
“Who else?”
By now, the altar was filled with blood. Crimson liquid sloshed within.
“The one that should have originally been in that spot.”
……
……
……
……
……
……
……
……
“……Are you sure you don’t need me to come along?”
Margarita, who had equipped the completed teleportation device on her arm, asked in a worried voice. I nodded, and Caikilia said nothing.
“It’s fine. I’ve already prepared a separate way to go. If you’re that worried, you could always use that device to bring Their Holinesses the popes here.”
If this was the demons’ stronghold, it would be justification enough for the pope to move personally. They’d purify this place by any means necessary.
Floretta and Luna would come here for my sake alone, but I decided not to mention that.
“I suppose…….”
Even after my words, Margarita hesitated without fully accepting, so Caikilia sharply snapped at her from the side.
“If you’re so worried about us, then get out of here already. Do you truly not grasp that a fool who can’t even fight demons lingering near is the real hindrance?”
This wasn’t her poorly expressing inner concern with harsh words—it meant exactly what it said: get out now.
Caikilia wasn’t the type to worry about anyone except a select few she favored.
Margarita nodded, hunching her shoulders, and activated the teleportation device. A massive portal opened centered on the bracelet on her wrist, sucking her body inside.
Soon, even the portal shrank and vanished.
“Is it done?”
“Yes.”
Confirming Margarita’s departure once more, Caikilia naturally slipped into my arms and pressed her lips to mine. The moment our lips met, her warm tongue slipped between them.
Since declaring she’d punish me, Caikilia had made this demand at least once a day. Sometimes twice or three times. Even as she trembled uncontrollably each time.
Maybe she’d rushed Margarita out just now because she wanted this.
I, too, had grown accustomed enough to silently caress her body and entwine our tongues. My left hand casually moved to her buttocks and kneaded, while my right reached her side.
“Ngh…… Ah…….”
Each stroke down her back or knead of her buttocks drew increasingly lewd moans from Caikilia. At first, it felt like she was holding back, but now, not even that.
Thanks to that, my touches grew bolder. No longer just over her dress shirt—I lifted it to touch her bare skin directly.
Of course, she climaxed thoroughly in the process.
First when our tongues entwined and I kneaded her buttocks, second when my right hand lifted her shirt and directly massaged her side, third when I didn’t stop there but traced up her spine to her ribs.
Only after three times did Caikilia release her arms from around my neck. Her eyes were unfocused, tongue half out, breaths ragged—an utter mess.
Trying to maintain dignity even now, she pushed my hands away to stand on her own, but with her face that slack, there was no dignity left.
Supporting her quivering legs, she tucked her dress shirt back into her pants and straightened up. Her breathing gradually steadied.
“May I move now, Your Majesty?”
—Nod.
Lacking even the strength to speak, Caikilia nodded in reply.
We stepped onto the magic circle. Concentrating on the destination as always, a red light bloomed—and suddenly, we were before a massive castle.
True to its lore of rivaling the imperial palace in scale, its end was nowhere in sight. Caikilia, now recovered from her panting, clicked her tongue softly in displeasure.
I checked the spot from the game where the statue had been. As expected, nothing was there.
“The way inside—”
Before Caikilia could ask how we’d enter, the castle gates began opening with a heavy rumble.
It was an invitation inside.