Chapter 164
Chapter 164
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: ACT.29 Devil's Trial (2)
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Beyond the courtroom, the building revealed itself to be a colossal structure, grand enough to be called a castle, unlike what I'd seen from the entrance.
A massive, donut-shaped castle.
Even so, it felt less like a place where demons lived and more like an office building they inhabited for work and convenience.
“The master is waiting. Please, go inside.”
After saying so, the demon scurried away.
I cautiously examined the ‘door’.
‘Looks like a triumphal arch.’
What kind of door is this big?
The Seven Deadly Sins are truly in a league of their own.
Do they care so much about external displays that match their power and authority?
“…”
No, something was different.
An alien sense of unease wouldn't leave me, so I immediately used Extreme Eye.
My eyes narrowed instantly.
“…What a pathetic trick.”
I let out a dry laugh.
If I hadn't noticed the strangeness and tried to open that door, I would have been cast into a bottomless abyss on the spot.
The real entrance was next to it.
An invisible, true passage, a fake wall created by an illusion.
‘If I didn't have Extreme Eye…’
It might have all ended right here.
My opponent is one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
I must always remember that and never let my guard down.
Swallowing a curse, I entered the room through the proper passage.
“Welcome.”
Her revealing attire momentarily left me at a loss for where to look.
Dammit. I fell for it.
My mental energy was already being drained.
I tried my best not to look at Asmodeus as I spoke.
“What was the meaning of the trap at the door? Is it the demonic way to invite someone just to kill them?”
“Of course not. I never thought you'd fall for that. I figured if a succubus's charm didn't work on you at all, you'd naturally see through that as well.”
Asmodeus smiled gently.
Her tone suggested she truly hadn't considered for a moment that I would be deceived.
However, the atmosphere changed in an instant.
“And if you had fallen for something so simple… you would have deserved it. Trying to capture my interest with such meager abilities is a sin. A very grave and heavy sin.”
Asmodeus's red eyes glinted menacingly.
She meant it.
A warning that she could do anything to me the moment I failed to meet her expectations.
Shaking off the feeling of my blood running cold, I barely managed to continue the conversation.
“…Why did you call me here?”
This one is dangerous, as expected.
I had no desire to stay here a moment longer than necessary.
“Don't be so stiff. Why don't we chat for a bit?”
Asmodeus pointed to a table where a bottle of expensive-looking wine was placed.
A curse almost escaped my lips the moment I saw it.
The Devil's Drink, Diablo's Invitation.
A poisonous liquor that forcibly drags the soul of any ordinary human who drinks it to hell.
As my face contorted, a smile spread across Asmodeus's lips.
“How fun. Even the most suspicious humans get their souls snatched while carelessly trying to check it by scent.”
“Because it's quite literally the devil's drink, capable of stealing your life with just a whiff.”
“It seems you have some sort of power that lets you figure things out just by looking. Am I right?”
I remained silent.
This wasn't just a test.
She was giving me tests that could kill me with a single misstep, forcing me to reveal what kind of powers and abilities I possessed.
I only knew about the Devil's Invitation because I'd played the game, but as a result, she'd found out about Extreme Eye.
“I'd appreciate it if you stopped with the games.”
“Did I upset you? Hmm?”
…It's hard to hold back my curses.
She must be trying to provoke me.
I know full well that I'll die if I get on her bad side.
And Asmodeus knows that I know that.
That's why she's enjoying this.
Watching me struggle internally to suppress my emotions.
“Alright. You were only called here for the trial today, so you can't stay long anyway. Shall I let you go?”
“…”
“You don't look happy. Or would you rather play with me some more?”
I deliberately showed no reaction.
No reaction is the best way to make someone lose interest.
Of course, I'd have to react when necessary to avoid completely offending her.
“Hmph. So that's how you're going to play it.”
Asmodeus's expression turned peculiar as she crossed her arms.
“Then let's try one more test. If you pass this, we're done. That sounds fair, doesn't it?”
“What test…”
Suddenly, my entire body froze.
It was like sleep paralysis; my mind was clear, but I couldn't move my body no matter how hard I tried.
When I identified the faint scent wafting past my nose, my heart sank.
‘Bewitching Incense…!’
She had disguised her intentions with several layers, as if she had another goal, all while continuously exposing me to a diluted Bewitching Incense that I couldn't detect.
Until my whole body was paralyzed and I couldn't do anything.
This had been Asmodeus's true purpose.
*Thud!*
With just a light push, I was lying on the bed, and Asmodeus approached slowly with an alluring smile.
“No matter what, it's hard for a mere human to perfectly withstand a succubus's charm.”
Asmodeus's eyes gradually turned pink.
This wasn't mere charm.
She was dead set on ‘fascinating’ me.
“I'm so curious to see how long you can last.”
The moment her tongue peeked out to lick her lips, my mind was shaken.
[You are affected by 'Fascination' of an Unmeasurable Rank.]
[Unique Effect, 'Watcher Beyond the Screen,' responds.]
[This is an absolute judgment. It cannot be completely defended against.]
Even with the effect of an EX-rank ability, it couldn't overcome the Fascination used directly by one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Still, I was grateful that it at least reduced the effect.
An auditory hallucination, as if Asmodeus was telling me to look at her, echoed in my ears.
‘I have to endure.’
The moment I fall for Asmodeus's Fascination, everything is over.
A dreamlike moment?
Bullshit.
She only takes a human-like form for convenience; a demon's true form is nothing like that.
While I'd be seeing such hallucinations, my actual body would be swallowed by an endless abyss.
*Vmmm.*
“Kuh…!”
My head ached like it was about to split open.
It was incomparable to the pain I felt when I first tried to use two abilities with a Playable Character.
Why people who directly confront a demon are bound to go mad.
I understood it all too well in just a few seconds.
I need some kind of shock therapy to overcome this Fascination.
Remember. What was there?
‘Han Hyeok-jun in a bunny suit.’
A scene flashed in my mind like lightning.
A gag event from the original game.
It was a scene where Han Hyeok-jun lost a bet and had to wear a bunny suit; the highlight was his face, flushed red with embarrassment.
Right, if I fill my mind with this…
“…”
…It wasn't very effective.
Was it because I'd seen the scene so many times in the game that I'd gotten used to it?
Or did it fail because I felt a sense of resistance to the idea of filling my head with such an image?
Get a grip, Kim Se-hyeon.
In a situation that will decide whether my soul is erased or not, something like that shouldn't matter.
‘If Han Hyeok-jun doesn't work.’
There was one other method.
‘Hwang Chan-jin in a bunny suit, Hwang Chan-jin in a bunny suit, Hwang Chan-jin in a bunny suit…’
I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to picture the scene, but at some point, a wave of pathetic realization washed over me.
Why am I so enthusiastically imagining a grown man in a bunny suit?
[Due to mental shock, you have broken free from the effects of 'Fascination'.]
“…”
Judging by the result, it was a success.
A success, but…
I couldn't shake the feeling of defeat.
When I came to my senses, Asmodeus was looking at me with a sour expression.
Since she could easily invade a human's mind, she must have seen what I was imagining.
“Going that far is a bit much, don't you think?”
“…Whose fault do you think this is?”
At my hollow reply, Asmodeus seemed to lose interest and backed away.
Whether she had withdrawn the Bewitching Incense or not, freedom of movement had returned to my body.
I really managed to get through that somehow.
It was an experience I never want to repeat.
“That was fun. I wasn't being serious, but I never imagined a human could actually withstand my Fascination.”
Asmodeus smiled faintly and snapped her fingers.
She was right.
If Asmodeus had been 100% serious, there's no way I could have endured just by imagining something like that.
‘As expected of the demon who governs lust.’
As I caught my breath, mentally exhausted, a small, crystal-like fragment slowly approached me.
…What is this?
It was something I'd truly never seen before.
When I narrowed my eyes, my gaze demanding an explanation, Asmodeus gave a simple reply: “A gift.”
A gift from Asmodeus?
No matter how small, a gift from one of the Seven Deadly Sins couldn't possibly be ordinary.
“It doesn't seem like there's anything strange about it.”
“I told you. It's a gift. It won't bring you any harm. I swear this on my name, so just take it.”
I nodded and took the crystal fragment.
The moment I did, the fragment flashed, turned into particles of light, and seeped into the back of my hand.
In an instant, a strange pattern appeared on my hand.
A contract… No, it's not.
I don't feel any power from it either.
It just feels like a simple mark.
‘One of the Seven Deadly Sins, of all beings, swore on her name. She can't be lying.’
Demons are a race that adheres to ‘promises’ and ‘pacts’ more than anyone.
Furthermore, to swear on one's name is to stake one's entire existence.
For now, it was safe to assume that this mark would cause me no harm.
“Well then, let's meet again, interesting human.”
Asmodeus smiled and waved.
In that instant, I was transported to another space.
“In front of Belial's office…?”
It seems she figured out I was going to see Belial when she invaded my mind earlier.
I broke free from her Fascination relatively quickly, so she probably couldn't see too deep, but it was still unnerving to wonder how much she'd learned.
“You're really here.”
“…Besial?”
“Come in. My fath—… The Lord is waiting for you.”
Besial gestured with a complicated expression.
Belial's office.
This place was also just as I remembered, but I had arrived at a much earlier time than expected.
My eyes were drawn to the high-quality wooden desk in the middle of the room.
There sat Belial, one of the most prominent of the 72 demons.
“It seems you passed Asmodeus's test. As you should. It would be no fun if you couldn't even overcome that.”
The corners of Belial's mouth lifted.
How could his smile be so identical to Besial's?
They were father and son, after all.
“Have you had a look around Hell? I'd like to hear your impressions.”
“It's quite different from what I imagined.”
“I imagine so.”
Belial rose from his seat and moved slowly.
Besial was silently screaming at me from the side to use honorifics, but this way was actually correct.
Demons take a liking to humans who don't fear them.
Awkwardly using honorifics is actually poison.
“Demons and angels have a relationship akin to civil servants. Demons handle the sinners, and angels handle their opposites, the virtuous. That's why demons are depicted as trying to corrupt people. We don't just throw anyone into Hell and make them suffer. Only the guilty are given eternal torment.”
“…”
“Among those, the gravest sin is that of the 'tongue'.”
Belial tilted his head, pointing to a place beyond the window.
The donut-shaped building.
The area inside it was none other than ‘Hell’ itself.
“Gyaaaaaah!!”
A familiar figure.
Choi Nam-hoon.
The man who had incited people with his silver tongue, manipulating them as he pleased, both at the stadium and the residence.
He was screaming endlessly in agony amidst the unquenchable flames of Hell.
“Do you have any idea why I called you here separately?”
As I silently watched the scene, Belial suddenly posed a question.
The hair on my body stood on end.
I'd gotten past Asmodeus, but Belial still remained.
In fact, he was the one I'd been worried about all along.
As I stared at Belial without answering, my eyes met his, which were shining eerily.
“I see you've formed a subordinate relationship with Besial.”