Chapter 134

I opened my eyes.

I could see Elsland. Not the present, but the Elsland of the past.

I’m in a dream right now.

Was this the point in time when I had sealed about three Demon Kings and returned to Elsland?

I came in because there was something I wanted to check.

Just how on earth did Ian die?

So I can learn a thing or two for the future.

Ian, who had been quietly looking down at the city, spoke to Azadun.

“Can you feel it?”

“Feel what.”

“Lu has finally abandoned us.”

“What?”

Azadun whipped his head around. So fast that I wondered if he had broken his neck.

“…Are you sure?”

“The Mana concentration has dropped drastically. It’s still dropping even now. What do you think this means? It’s proof that the System is withdrawing its power.”

Ian crossed his arms.

“It’s a judgment that in this dimension, in Elsland, there’s no way to win against Chaos.”

“Lu has… us.”

Azadun looked as if he’d just received a death sentence.

Dragons are lifeforms created by the System to be the guardians of the Middle Realm.

It must be similar to the feeling of being abandoned by one’s parents.

“But it would be a relief if it ended there. It seems our Almighty Lu is a bit too greedy.”

Ian’s tone was laced with sarcasm.

Ian’s head turned. His expression was unusual.

“As Lu leaves, we…”

What?

Ian’s mouth kept moving, but the words weren’t reaching me.

It was hazy, like being submerged in water.

And then.

Fwoosh-!

As if someone forcibly pulled me up, I woke from the dream.

My back was damp.

What is this.

Did the Skill malfunction?

After frowning, I lay back down.

It seemed like it was a very important line. I have to hear it.

[Casting Past Life Lucid Dream!]

I entered the dream again.

I skipped the part I had already heard and rewound time to just before I was kicked out.

Ian’s mouth opened again.

“As Lu leaves, we…”

The words continued, then were cut off abruptly. Just like before.

Fwoosh!

I opened my eyes.

This was reality. I had been forcibly kicked out of the dream again.

At this point, I couldn’t help but be suspicious.

The System was deliberately interfering. To prevent me from hearing, from seeing.

What, exactly?

Was there some powerful friction with the System in the process of Ian’s death?

Even so, is that a reason not to show it to me?

What is it hiding?

I unknowingly raised my head to the sky.

All I could see was the bright, clear moon and the cloudless sky.

“If you just keep hiding things like this, I can’t cooperate either.”

Even after tossing out a threatening comment, there was, as expected, no answer.

Is it saying, There’s no answer for the likes of you, just go and hunt Demon Kings like I told you to?

Damn it.

To the people of the world, I might seem like a peerless superman, but between Chaos and the System, whose Levels are estimated to be in the four digits…

…I’m not even a shrimp caught between fighting whales.

Right. But I can’t stay a shrimp forever.

If it won’t give me an answer, I have no choice but to listen by force.

For example.

By developing my own unique magic beyond Dragon Language Magic, or by planting spies here and there.

Finishing my thoughts, I stepped out of the bedroom.

“Where is Lady Casilla?”

“She is in the oratory.”

Just as the High Priestess said, Casilla was praying with her hands clasped tightly together.

It seemed she wasn’t called the Saintess for nothing.

For a moment, I felt like I was becoming holy myself.

But apart from that feeling, the problem was that the being called ‘Lu’ seemed to be a completely different kind of god than I had imagined.

“It seems you’ve taken an interest in the Almighty Lu.”

Casilla said with her eyes still closed.

“I’ve always been interested. On the contrary, it seems he has no interest in me.”

Casilla smiled faintly.

“Do not worry too much. In the end, everything will be according to his will.”

That’s the thing, I want to know what that will is.

So I asked.

“I heard that the Saintess receives divine oracles.”

“I don’t recall receiving a response for the last hundred years. Me, either.”

Casilla smiled bitterly.

As expected, I wasn’t the only one not getting any answers.

No, in a way, Casilla’s situation was worse.

Because I could at least communicate through the means of a Quest.

It was then.

Casilla tilted her head.

Then her eyes flew open. Within her clear, bright eyes, fear was brimming.

“Uh… uh.”

“What is it?”

“An oracle has descended.”

Now? At this timing?

“What did it say?”

I asked, swallowing hard. I wondered if it was about me.

So I listened intently.

“R-Right now. The entrance to the Demon Realm has opened!”

Ah.

I slumped down onto the chair like a flat soda.

I wondered what it was.

“…Why are you so calm?”

I had no choice but to be calm.

Because I intended for it to happen.

“R-Right now, we must issue a general mobilization order…”

“No. Saintess. Let’s hold off for now.”

I gently pressed down on the shoulder of Casilla, who was about to shoot to her feet.

“This probably isn’t bad news for us.”

Ruiche let out a deep sigh.

She was staring at the Demon Realm Entrance. It looked like the gates of hell.

Behind her, she could see her subordinates.

They were all about to die soon.

She had bet everything on this Demon King Succession Battle. She had no other choice.

Ruiche herself knew better than anyone that this was a chance that would never come again.

If I knew it would be like this, I shouldn’t have turned Peter into a Demon. I should have just kept that power for myself.

As she thought, she glanced to her side. She saw Peter.

“…How are you feeling?”

“Not bad.”

Peter answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

Oblivious to Ruiche’s inner turmoil, Peter confidently took the lead.

Ruiche let out a deep sigh and followed behind him.

“Is this the Demon Realm?”

“Why. Did you think it would be a picture of hell?”

“To be honest, yes. But…”

“It’s more ordinary than you thought, right?”

“It seems the same, except for the red sky.”

Peter, having crossed dimensions, nodded his head nonchalantly.

“It’s similar to humans. There’s a society, nobles, and houses.”

“And the Demon King is above them?”

“That’s right. The Demon King’s word is law.”

“Then I will become the king today.”

“…What’s with the confidence?”

A guy who couldn’t even properly control his Demonic Energy until a while ago, a Demon King? What a joke.

He’ll die as soon as he steps into the dueling grounds.

And Ruiche along with him.

“You don’t need to force yourself to overdo it. The result is already as good as decided.”

“Why did you make me a Demon?”

“To come back here.”

“I mean, why.”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Because I will become the Demon King. If you don’t become my ally, I’ll have to kill you.”

“What have you been on about since…”

“Tell me. Why did you want to come here.”

Ruiche mumbled.

It was a foregone conclusion that she would die anyway. Telling him this one thing wouldn’t change anything.

“It’s a common story in your world too. I was a noble, the members of my house were all killed by a rival noble house, and I was the only one who survived.”

“What is the name of that house.”

“Verno.”

“You made me a Demon to get revenge on House Verno.”

“Have you found out everything you wanted to know?”

“Not yet. Ruiche. If you could just return to the Mainland, would you do anything?”

“…Why do you ask that?”

“Answer me.”

“What’s with that all of a sudden…”

“The Reincarnator, I mean.”

Peter brought up a meaningful word.

“Didn’t you say so last time? That if our intentions align, it could be a good deal?”

Ruiche felt a strange sensation. The confidence he had been showing since a while ago was bizarre.

“That’s a meaningless thing to say. We’re going to die anyway.”

The conversation ended there.

The grand arena was just ahead.

Many Demons were already swarming there.

Each one of them held a powerful aura.

They were from noble houses.

At the very top of the grand arena, a single Demon with a long beard stood there.

The second-in-command of the Demon Realm. It was Gor.

“The Demon God is Great. The Demon God’s servant, Ruiche von Karyan, greets Lord Gor.”

“The Demon God is Great. The Demon God’s servant, Peter Gruno, greets Lord Gor.”

Gor’s gaze shifted.

After glancing at Peter, Gor spoke to Ruiche.

“Ruiche von Karyan. I have not given the order for you to return to the Mainland. What is the meaning of this.”

“I, too, wish to participate in the 7th Demon King Succession Battle.”

Silence fell over the grand arena.

Snickers erupted from here and there.

There were also those who frowned.

“Denied. House von Karyan has already been stripped of its qualifications.”

It meant that since her house had fallen, she could not step forward.

That was why Ruiche had prepared something.

“I will nominate a proxy.”

At the same time, Peter stepped forward.

“Peter Gruno, as the proxy of House von Karyan, wishes to participate in the 7th Demon King Succession Battle.”

A more unpleasant silence than before descended.

A Demon standing next to Gor stroked his chin.

The very reason Ruiche had wanted to return to the Mainland so badly.

The one who had annihilated her house.

He was the eldest son of House Verno.

“I heard you turned a human into a Demon. But to drag in a disgusting Priest? I cannot permit this.”

“The same goes for me.”

“Me too.”

Ruiche bit her lip hard.

She had intended to die on the battlefield, but this was not even getting a chance to fight.

It was then.

Peter, who had been cautiously observing, stepped forward.

“That’s how well I know the Reincarnator.”

Peter said as he stepped forward.

At the word ‘Reincarnator,’ the Demons flinched.

It was the hottest topic in the Demon Realm recently.

The appearance of the Reincarnator.

Even the Demon King, Gor, who had been watching the situation indifferently, tilted his head.

“Have you… seen the Reincarnator?”

“Seen him? I’ve even traveled with him.”

“……”

“When it comes to that bastard, there is no Demon among those present here who knows as much as I do.”

Ruiche looked at Peter as if he were crazy.

Peter continued to speak without even pretending to look at Ruiche.

“If I become the Demon King, I will, above all else, pour my efforts into eradicating the Reincarnator. Have not two Demon Kings already been eliminated at the hands of the Reincarnator?”

Peter knelt on one knee.

“I do not ask for much. Please give me a chance to fight.”

“The Reincarnator. He is the one our great Demon God is most wary of.”

Gor, seated in the seat of honor, said as he stroked his beard.

“Valuing that point, I permit Peter Gruno to participate in the 7th Demon King Succession Battle. However. If he is defeated in the Succession Battle, Ruiche von Karyan, including her proxy, will also share the responsibility.”

“The Demon God is Great.”

“The Demon God is Great.”

Ruiche let out a sigh of relief.

Just this much was a relief for now.

In the place where everyone had left.

Peter was still smiling leisurely.

He was stroking a ring he had been wearing since who-knows-when.

“That was good improvisation. In any case, just being able to participate in the Succession Battle means you’ve done your part. Good work.”

“It wasn’t improvisation.”

Fwoosh-*

Peter snapped his fingers. In an instant, a barrier formed between the two of them.

It was a control of Demonic Energy that was impossible to see before.

“I’ll ask again. Ruiche. Is it really enough to just get rid of that house called Verno or whatever? If so, can you pledge your loyalty to the Reincarnator as well?”

Peter’s expression changed.

“Depending on your answer, I may have to kill you.”

Ruiche was confused. What the hell is this guy talking about?

In any case, it seemed she had to give some kind of answer now.

That was why.

She, whose house had been annihilated, spoke honestly.

“Yes, that’s right. To hell with Chaos or whatever, if I can just get revenge on House Verno, I can even kneel to the Reincarnator. Happy now?”

“I am.”

Peter smiled with satisfaction. It was a smile that strongly resembled Choi Gi-woong’s.