Chapter 120
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 120
Chapter Title: Conversation with the Dream Demon
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“……”
The moment he heard the Dream Demon's voice, countless thoughts flashed through Lee Se-hun's mind.
Judging by the censer's form and the voice spreading from the smoke, it was clearly a communication device—possibly even a 'gate' that could let someone cross over to this side.
This was a situation that could overturn every board he had carefully set up so far, but Lee Se-hun stayed calm and observed.
'Still manageable for now.'
Chances to face off peacefully against one of the Ten Evils—no, the Dream Demon who ruled the pleasure district and toyed with secrets—weren't exactly common.
With that in mind, Lee Se-hun accepted the slight risk and moved quickly.
Grip.
“?!”
He seized Amir's neck, using blood arts to control the flow of blood and silence any stray noises.
At the same time, having swiftly mapped out Amir's physiology, Lee Se-hun draped the face over his own to form an artificial mask, reshaping the nose and mouth.
'No need to replicate the face perfectly.'
The key was the vibe and the voice. As he fine-tuned even the vocal cords with spirit link magic...
Hmm. Has something gone wrong...
The dispassionate voice echoed from the other side. Just then, as the purple smoke swelled a little larger...
“Sorry for being late.”
Amir's voice flowed naturally from Lee Se-hun's throat.
The purple smoke receded at the response, and the Dream Demon's voice emanated from within once more.
No reply made me think something had happened. So, why did you contact me?
At the Dream Demon's gentle question, Lee Se-hun let out a silent sigh of relief inside and replied politely.
“Unknown assailants targeting the item in the token attacked our cabin.”
Silence fell after his answer, then the voice resounded from beyond the smoke again.
I figured they'd hit the island if they struck at all, but they're more hot-headed than I thought. Did you kill all the intruders?
The Dream Demon's tone betrayed clear curiosity about the intriguing situation. Lee Se-hun selected his words carefully in his mind before responding.
“Couldn't kill them. They all escaped using spatial magic.”
Spatial magic... Did they use it for anything besides escape?
“They seized the central control room of the passenger ship and hijacked control. Seems like an S-rank or higher spatial ability user was involved.”
If they weren't killing everyone on board, exposure was inevitable anyway. So Lee Se-hun relayed the facts without hiding anything. Silence followed, broken by a soft chuckle.
Heh heh. I see. They said Kaden's changed since the old days... Looks like it's true after all.
It was more mutter to herself than something addressed to Amir.
She must have assumed no one listening could make sense of it, but the name that slipped out so casually felt familiar to Lee Se-hun.
'Kaden... Kaden Miller?'
The first disciple of 'Flame Emperor' Lee Ken-se, a master blacksmith who forged multiple legend-grade artifacts.
Lee Se-hun knew him well—not just as a fellow industry figure, but because of the massive scandal at the end.
'He vanished with the Flame Emperor's legacy.'
Whether it was a demon raid or personal greed, neither Kaden nor the legacy ever turned up, even until the world's final days.
For that name to come from the Dream Demon's mouth...
If it wasn't a coincidence, it pointed to one thing.
'One of the Ten Evils... Or given her nature, maybe 『Patronage』.'
A Summit Climber's disciple siding with the Myriad Demons' Mire? Shocking, but not earth-shattering.
After all, one of the current Ten Evils was proudly known as a Pilgrim's successor.
'Being great yourself and raising great disciples are two different things.'
What was mere suspicion before regression was now certainty. As Lee Se-hun pondered his response...
Is that everything to report?
The Dream Demon asked flatly if there was anything else she was curious about. As Lee Se-hun prepared to say yes, he suddenly turned at the gaze from behind.
“……”
Amir, staring right at him.
That inscrutable look, like he wanted to say something. Lee Se-hun hesitated briefly before answering.
“Actually... Someone using Dream Demon mana stole the item from the token. I'm sorry.”
“……!”
Amir's eyes widened slightly in surprise, and silence hung beyond the purple smoke.
How would the Dream Demon react to mission failure? As Lee Se-hun gripped the Dream Illusion Ring tighter...
They took the item, yet you're still alive... So they broke the token.
Not rebuke, but intrigue laced her reply.
“Yes. The censer activated because of the Dream Demon mana leaking from the token. Sorry for not mentioning it sooner.”
This was probably what Amir meant to report. The Dream Demon chuckled softly in response.
It's fine. The Black Arms deal was bait anyway. In a way, getting attacked means it succeeded.
'Bait?'
Lee Se-hun narrowed his eyes at her words. The condensed purple smoke began to expand slowly.
More importantly, I'm curious who broke the token. Hope they left a trace...
'Damn...'
The Dream Demon was coming through. Lee Se-hun scowled and raised the Dream Illusion Ring again.
[Any survivors out there!!]
A booming voice erupted from outside.
[This is Alvaro Diaz of the Hero Association! Rescue ships have arrived, so please stay calm and wait...]
The man's shout pierced through the cabin wall. The purple smoke shrank back to its original size.
They called the Hero Association and ran? Up to useless tricks till the end...
The Dream Demon muttered regretfully at not crossing over, then continued.
We'll hear the details when you return.
Shaaaa...
The purple smoke over the censer dissolved into the air, severing the connection completely. Lee Se-hun sighed in relief.
'That was close...'
If the Hero Association had been even a minute later, the Dream Demon would've crossed, forcing him to cut the link with the ring.
She might've noticed the info leak then— a minor loss.
'In a way, best possible outcome...'
He hadn't expected full success himself. With that, Lee Se-hun released Amir's neck.
“What're you suddenly thinking?”
“……”
Amir stared silently before slowly replying to the question.
“In the fight, you tried to subdue me instead of kill. At first I thought it was to safely extract the item... but impersonating me to fish for info raised questions.”
“Questions?”
“Kill me or not, Madame—no, the Dream Demon would've learned of the leak anyway. So why bother with something so pointless...”
Amir muttered calmly, then spoke with conviction.
“You came to recruit me from the start, didn't you?”
Cold analysis, or desperately clinging to an uncertain future chance—it could be either.
An immature yet passionate side absent from the pre-regression Ice Dog. Lee Se-hun looked down at him a moment before asking.
“Right. You're sharp. So, what now?”
“I don't know who you are, so fully joining you is out, but aligning interests to help each other? That works.”
Not full alliance, but teaming up when needed.
Ambiguous tightrope, but given Amir's leash under the Dream Demon, it was a huge gamble.
“Must really hate the Dream Demon.”
“Who'd like a monster like that? Another monster, maybe.”
“Hm. Like that answer.”
Different from the Ice Dog he knew, but the hatred for the Dream Demon who enslaved his clan burned unchanged.
Perhaps fiercer than the half-compromised pre-regression version.
'Hard to meet often, but leaving this opening isn't bad.'
Decision made, Lee Se-hun prodded the wound he'd stabbed with his dagger.
“Kuh...?!”
“Quit whining. Get up already.”
Amir grimaced at the casual foot nudge but tried rising.
“My body...”
The limbs that wouldn't budge even with qi now moved naturally. As Amir marveled, Lee Se-hun spoke flatly.
“Learn your body better. Especially useful for that ice creation technique.”
“……”
“And... hard to explain in words. Make me any ice dagger.”
Amir eyed him suspiciously but formed one with frost alchemy and handed it over.
“Hmm...”
Lee Se-hun examined it, infused fire and dark mana into index and middle fingers, then lightly induced core resonance.
Thung—
A tap on the dagger etched cracks inside. Inspecting them, he tossed it back.
“See those cracks? Improve around there, and it'll be way better finished. I'll check next time, so train hard—no slacking.”
The pre-regression Ice Dog's frost alchemy skyrocketed sparring with Mad Dog, so this should help.
Amir stared at the dagger with a strange expression.
“Who the hell are you?”
Half-interrogation before, now genuine curiosity.
Lee Se-hun paused at the question, about to brush it off.
'Next contact needs a sign we both get.'
Pondering, his eyes fell on the ice dagger in Amir's hand.
“Cinderella.”
“……Pardon?”
“What pardon? Cinderella.”
Lee Se-hun smirked and knocked the wall blocking the window passage.
Kugung.
The path opened right on cue. Entering, he glanced back at Amir before it sealed.
“Next time, recognize on sight. Don't freeze up.”
Kwang!
The wall shut. Alone in the wrecked cabin, Amir looked at his ice dagger.
Glass slipper as Cinderella? At that bizarre taste, Amir muttered dryly after a pause.
“At least mid-50s...”
Absolutely horrific sense of humor.
Splash!
A sleek luxury boat sliced through the sea.
Gazing at the now-vanished passenger ship, Lee Se-hun narrowed his eyes when...
A bond has been established with target 'Amir Singh'.
Lee Se-hun eyed the alert with relief—and a hint of grumbling.
'Could've triggered right there... Had to wait till he slipped away.'
Awkward-looking, but true to the Ice Dog—coolly assessing till the end.
'Too bad no Bondless Stone... but next chance will come.'
With his current material stockpile, he didn't need it urgently anyway.
Decision made, Lee Se-hun headed inside the boat and spotted the two resting.
“The boat?”
“Set it for the nearest dock.”
“Huh. Didn't know it had auto-pilot...”
Caw—
A cry from the cockpit. Lee Se-hun whipped his head, then looked at Erika.
“Don't worry. She's good.”
Her confident reply made him feel silly for doubting. Shrugging it off as of course she'll handle it, he turned to Ryu Eun-ha.
“Department Head, any injuries?”
“None. All good.”
She'd restrained the Dragon Soul Furnace to hide her identity—no S-ranks among foes, so clean getaway.
'Yeah, S-ranks aren't street punks.'
Babel having multiples was the real anomaly.
As Lee Se-hun relaxed over the smooth op...
“Cadet Lee Se-hun.”
Ryu Eun-ha fixed him with a stern gaze.
“It wrapped up well this time, but never plan or act like this solo again if something similar happens.”
He'd hijacked controls and prepped Hero Association backup—thorough, but meant diving into danger headfirst.
Real combat: one slip meant death. She worried this win might make him bolder, more reckless.
“Don't worry. I'm not that reckless.”
“Still...”
“And I only pull plans like this with reliable allies I can stake my life on. So rest easy.”
Mad Dog charged blindly; he shaped situations with his assets.
Ryu Eun-ha stared silently, then nodded slowly.
“Understood. With trusty comrades at your side... should be fine.”
“Of course. Oh, if something like this pops up again...”
“I'll judge by the situation.”
No outright promise to help, but considering it? Not bad.
'Build trust step by step.'
Now like this, but once bonds solidified, she'd back even risky ops.
As he thought that...
“So, what's the thing we nabbed?”
Erika, who'd been listening, asked curiously.
“Oh yeah, forgot about that.”
Too focused on the bond, he'd blanked. Lee Se-hun pulled the box from Dream Storage.
Fwoosh.
Flames bloomed on his chest. The two stared in shock.
“That's...”
“Ah, skill. No biggie, don't worry.”
“...I see.”
Ryu Eun-ha sat back down; Erika, right beside him, stared at the chest flames.
“That's Dream Demon mana, right?”
At her intent gaze, Lee Se-hun paused before answering.
“Yeah. Happened to pick up handling it.”
Tricky, but users existed—no need to hide.
Erika silently eyed his flaming chest again.
Bond level with target 'Inoue Erika' has risen to Lv.2.
As bond level rises, a relationship is established. Your relationship with target 'Inoue Erika' is 'Evaluation'.
“……?”
An unexpected alert popped up before his eyes.