Chapter 180: Nightmare (16)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 180: Nightmare (16)
The party was speechless.
They had entered what they thought was Cloud's nightmare, only to find it was someone else's.
While the others stood silent, unable to say a word, only Frillite scowled in displeasure, glaring at the Succubus Queen.
“What is the meaning of this? Is this a story you concocted just to disgust us?”
There was a distinct pattern to the events the man in the nightmare experienced.
Pain. Hope. Death. Despair.
The methods varied slightly, but the cycle almost always followed that form.
It was as if someone was testing him, waiting to see when he would finally break.
If the Succubus Queen had created this story just for them to see, it was a truly disgusting hobby.
But at Frillite’s glare, the Succubus Queen wore an indignant expression.
“What? Hey! I might be a little lewd, but I'm not perverted enough to enjoy something like this!”
“Then what was that scene we just witnessed?”
“How should I know? Maybe that human, Cloud, is just delusional!”
Even as the Succubus Queen said it, she knew her words sounded strange. The nightmare was far too long and detailed to be dismissed as a simple delusion. But if it wasn't a delusion, it was even stranger.
The Succubus Queen had lived for a fair number of years, but she had never heard of a hero named Han Jisu. Nor had she ever heard of such a fierce war between humans and demons.
And Meria?
What kind of minor god is that?
Ever since the Succubus Queen was born, the continent had followed the one true god, Iries.
But the main god was Meria?
...I don't get it.
She couldn't figure out what was going on. The only thing she knew for sure was that the human named Cloud was dangerous in more ways than one.
Especially mentally.
This is no time for this. I need to report to the Demon King.
Her original plan had been to torture and kill them in her domain, the dream world, but she had no choice. From experience, it was best not to meddle with the inexplicable. The Succubus Queen opened a portal to reality.
“Well then, bye kids. See you next time~.”
She threw herself into the portal. Frillite’s eyes widened.
“Damn it… Everyone, snap out of it. The Succubus Queen seems to have escaped the dream. If we don't follow, we might be murdered in our sleep.”
Frillite’s assumption seemed plausible, but it was wrong. When the master of the dream exits, the dreamer also awakens. Unaware of this fact, the party quickly jumped into the still-open portal.
Their vision went white. When color returned, they were not greeted by a dark forest.
It was a gloomy room, lit only by the moonlight streaming in.
In the center of the room, filled with antique decorations, a woman was hanging by her neck.
Einar.
The woman loved by the man named Han Jisu, whom Frillite and the party had just seen.
CRACK!
A flash of lightning illuminated her face.
Her tongue was lolling out, her pupils rolled back in her head.
“Kyaa?!”
Eri shrieked and fell on her bottom. At her scream, a man sitting in a chair and watching Einar slowly turned his head.
“Ah… so you’re here.”
The man was Cloud. It felt like it had been a long time, and everyone except Isabelle felt a sense of relief at seeing him, but the sight of his lifeless, sunken eyes froze them in place.
“Can you guys see the person in front of me?”
“Huh? Uh… yes, we see her…”
“You do?”
Cloud turned his gaze forward again.
A black, human-shaped something was hanging from a rope.
“Why can’t I see her…”
My heart aches every time I look. She must be someone precious, so why can’t I remember who she is?
Crushed by Cloud’s gloomy aura, the party remained silent. But they couldn't stay like this forever. Deciding as much, Frillite spoke up.
“Cloud, do you know that woman—”
“Sorry. Let’s talk later.”
Cloud flicked his palm and drew a line in the air with his index finger. A rift in space tore open some distance away from him, and a powerful force began to pull Frillite and the others toward it.
“Wai—?!”
“Kyaa!”
It happened so suddenly that the party couldn't react in time and were sucked into the rift. Frillite managed to stab her greatsword into the floor to hold her ground, but…
Screeeech.
The floor scraped as her greatsword was slowly dragged along by the force. Bracing herself as best she could, Frillite shouted at Cloud.
“Cloud! You'll explain everything when you wake up, won't you?!”
Cloud answered with nothing but a bitter smile. Soon, even she could no longer resist and was pulled in. The rift in space sealed itself, returning to normal.
And so, the only ones left in the room were Cloud and the Succubus Queen. For some reason, she hadn't been affected by the rift's pull.
What was that?
He has all sorts of strange tricks. I knew I shouldn't get deeply involved with him.
The Succubus Queen warily watched Cloud.
“...”
He was still staring at the body of the woman named Einar. The Succubus Queen tried to secretly open a portal and flee.
But strangely, the portal wouldn't open.
Huh? Why isn't this working?
Could her power be broken?
As a test, she tried to create a whip. With a mere thought, a thin whip formed and appeared in her hand.
It's working just fine.
The Succubus Queen tried to open a portal again.
It didn't open.
Everything else worked, but not the portal.
Just as she was starting to get annoyed that her powers weren't working as she willed, he spoke.
“Impressive. I've never seen a succubus who could manipulate dreams to this extent. Most can't handle them with such finesse.”
He had met countless succubi in his life in an attempt to solve his chronic nightmares. But not a single one had been able to resolve the tormenting dreams he had every night.
To begin with, very few succubi could even penetrate his mental barrier, and among them, it was safe to say that almost none could control his dreams.
Even when he went to great lengths to find one or two, their abilities were lacking.
All the figures in their dreams acted like puppets following a script.
But this succubus was different.
He had only seen a glimpse, but the dream she created was so vivid it felt real.
At Cloud's sincere compliment, the Succubus Queen puffed out her chest in pride, causing her large breasts to jiggle.
“Of course. You think I'm called the Queen of Succubi for nothing?”
“Come work for me.”
“Do you know how much I went through to become queen after being born a common succubus… Huh?”
She stopped boasting and narrowed her eyes.
“Me?”
She pointed at herself with her index finger.
“Under you?”
This time, she pointed at Cloud.
“Why?”
She tilted her head as if she didn't understand.
“Because I need you.”
The Succubus Queen let out a scoff at Cloud's matter-of-fact tone.
“Hey, I'm the Succubus Queen. The Demon King's right hand. Most of the demon race grovels at my feet. What could I possibly lack that would make me serve under you?”
“Because if you don't, you'll die. Or suffer a pain worse than death.”
The Succubus Queen's eyebrow twitched. His words reminded her of her own difficult past, and her expression crumpled.
“I was going to let you be because something felt off, but… do you really think I'm such a pushover?”
“...”
“Fine, so you won't even answer?”
She swung her arm. Black demonic energy flowed from her, filling the room. Crack. Shatter. The stone room cracked before exploding into pieces.
The space that revealed itself after the room vanished was a red sea.
The Succubus Queen frowned at the sight of Cloud, sitting in his chair on the surface of the water as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Let's see how long that composure of yours lasts.”
She snapped her fingers.
Fwoosh—
Whirlpools began to appear in the sea. One. Two… The whirlpools multiplied endlessly. The head of a giant octopus emerged from one, followed by an uncountable number of tentacles.
Kratos, the Ruler of the Red Sea and one of the Demon King's Four Heavenly Kings.
One of the monsters appeared from each whirlpool. In an instant, Cloud was surrounded by them.
A single human, surrounded by giant monsters.
Seeing the pathetic sight, the succubus clutched her stomach and laughed.
“How does it feel? To be surrounded by the very creatures that turned your country upside down? Are you happy to see them? Or are you scared?”
“...”
“This is my power. Even that monster you struggled to defeat is nothing but a toy to me in this dream. Do you get it now? How a mere succubus like me became one of the Four Heavenly Kings?”
The Succubus Queen spread her arms wide.
“Out there, I might not be a match for that ugly seaweed bastard, that annoying old skeleton, or that disgusting slime, but in a dream, not even the Demon King can stand against me. In this dream, I am a god!”
Cloud let out a small laugh.
“...Why are you laughing?”
“I was just thinking how arrogant you are.”
“...What?”
“Your power is impressive, I'll give you that, but not enough to call yourself a god. A witch, maybe.”
Cloud's voice was like that of an adult gently chiding a child.
The Succubus Queen's expression turned icy.
“Die.”
Thousands of tentacles shot toward him. Each one was a lethal attack. But the moment they touched Cloud, the tentacles turned into flower petals. Starting from the point of contact, the transformation spread to the main body and then to the other tentacles, all of which scattered in the wind as petals.
“Huh?”
The Succubus Queen's expression turned dumbfounded.
Cloud snapped his fingers, just as she had done.
The scenery changed.
From the dreary Red Sea to a vibrant field of flowers.
“W-What is this…”
The Succubus Queen frantically snapped her fingers again. The flower field did not change into the place she desired. It was the same with everything else. She couldn't summon anything, nor could she change anything.
Something was wrong.
Lost in her own power, she only now realized it.
“Y-You, what did you do?”
“The foundation of this place is certainly your power. I can't do something like this.”
Cloud plucked a red flower from his feet and sniffed it. A sweet scent. It was the same flower Ash had liked.
“But I can overwhelm your power with my own. It's only possible because this is a dream, though.”
In other words, he had seized control with overwhelming power.
The Succubus Queen couldn't understand.
“D-Don't be ridiculous. This dream is my domain. To seize it with brute force… that's not possible by any common sense, is it…?”
“A god shouldn't be concerned with common sense. That's why you're only at the level of a witch, at best.”
Cloud snapped his fingers once more.
A giant magic circle formed above his head. Slowly emerging from it was a coffin in the shape of a maiden. It was an object familiar to the Succubus Queen.
The Iron Maiden.
The worst of all powers, one that delivered a gruesome death to its victim.
Remembering Elipheed's end, the Succubus Queen's body began to tremble violently.
I-I have to run.
The portal wouldn't open.
Just as she flapped her wings to fly away…
Clunk.
The coffin opened.
Chains shot out from the dark interior, wrapping around her arms and legs. Unlike with Elipheed, they began to drag her slowly toward it.
“L-Let go of me..!”
The Succubus Queen gritted her teeth and resisted, putting all her strength into her arms and legs to keep from being dragged. But her efforts were futile as she was pulled, little by little, closer to the Iron Maiden.
“Let go! Let me go! I-I'm the Queen of Succubi! One of the Demon King's Four Heavenly Kings! These pathetic chains—!”
For pathetic chains, they were far too strong. Before long, she was forced inside the coffin. Her furious screaming died down as the thick iron spikes came into view.
She swallowed hard and spoke.
“Um… is that offer you made earlier still valid…?”
“What offer?”
“The one about becoming your subordinate…”
“Oh, that? Right. It's still valid. Why? You want in?”
“Yes, yes! I'll do it! I'll absolutely do it!”
The Succubus Queen nodded her head frantically.
“Alright. Let's do that, then.”
The Succubus Queen sighed in relief at Cloud's permission. Just then, creak. The lid of the coffin began to slowly close. She freaked out as she saw the iron spikes approaching.
“U-Um… I surrendered, so why is the door…”
“You're acting all submissive now, but who knows what you'll be like on the outside. Just in case, I'm going to carve the consequences of betrayal into your very being.”
“What? Hey! What kind of rule is that!?”
“It's fine. It's a dream. You won't die.”
“That's not the point—”
Clunk.
The coffin slammed shut.
—KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!
Along with a piercing scream, tears of blood streamed from the maiden-shaped coffin's eyes.
Clank. Clank.
The layers of spikes inside began to rotate at different intervals.
—KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!
Cloud created a timer.
He set it for 10 minutes and started it.
—KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK—!!!
Tick-tock-tick-tock-
—Ugh! Gwaaack… uweeeeeeegh!!
Tick-tock-tick-tock-
After 10 minutes, the Iron Maiden vanished. The Succubus Queen, unable to even fly, crashed to the ground. She somehow managed to lift her head and glare at Cloud as if to kill him.
“You… you son of a bitch…!”
Cloud didn't respond to her insubordination. He simply summoned the Iron Maiden again. The chains of the Iron Maiden wrapped around her limbs.
“Huh? Uh, uh? W-Wait! I was wrong—”
Clunk.
Clank. Clank.
—KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!!!
Listening to the ear-splitting screams, Cloud set the timer for 20 minutes.
About an hour later, the Succubus Queen was meticulously licking Cloud's toes.
“...You like this kind of thing? I know you're a succubus, but you're a real pervert.”
“N-No… this is purely a sign of submission…”
“Watch your tone.”
“...a sign of submission, Master…” she said, on the verge of tears.