Chapter 152

Peter let out a deep sigh and sank to the ground.

It had been a desperate moment. If he had been just a little later, the plan would have failed.

The conversation he’d just had with Gor was still vivid in his ears.

-Hmph. That bastard is trying to Teleport. Of all places.

-So Verno is definitely dead.

-Good riddance. Now I can kill two birds with one stone.

-But how are you blocking the Teleport? Still, that guy is,

-There’s a defense system in place.

-Here, this?

-Don’t touch that carelessly…! What are you doing!

Fwoosh!

Flash—

When Peter opened his eyes after closing them, a pure white light squirmed and then vanished.

It was a speed he couldn’t perceive even now that he was a Demon King. In a flash, Choi Gi-woong appeared before his eyes and then disappeared.

Along with Gor, who had been with him.

“…Haha. Damn it. You really did it.”

The conditions had been tricky.

He had to wait for Gor to let his guard down, and Choi Gi-woong’s magic had to surpass Gor’s. And in the midst of it all, he had to bring down Gor’s magical system.

Thinking back, it wasn’t an operation that should have been possible.

Right. And what’s important is that we pulled it off.

Peter clenched his fists. The excitement wouldn’t easily subside.

He had trusted Choi Gi-woong, but still. This. This was a tremendous victory.

He pictured what was to come.

He was the only Demon King left now.

He would have to evade Chaos’s suspicion, of course, and even gain his approval.

“Ah.”

He shook his head and got up. This was no time for that.

He started fiddling with the broken Magical Defense System.

Until Ruiche approached a short while later.

“We did it!”

“Yes. We did it.”

Ruiche, her eyes welling with tears, threw a head at him.

“Do you know who that is?”

“I have a guess. Should I say congratulations? How does it feel, now that your family’s enemy is dead? Do you feel empty, or that revenge is meaningless? Do you have any thoughts like that?”

“How do I feel? In my entire life, I have never been… never been happier than I am right now.”

Peter looked at Verno’s head rolling on the ground.

Then he studied Ruiche’s expression again.

It was just as she said.

Even as tears streamed down her face, Ruiche was smiling. Was this what one’s face looked like when a thousand-year-old burden was lifted?

“It would have been better if you had killed him. That must be a shame.”

“Not at all. Something like that isn’t important at all. By the way, where is he? Where is the one who caught this damn bastard? I must greet him…”

He grabbed the wildly excited Ruiche.

“Calm down, Ruiche. We have a lot to do.”

At his calm voice, Ruiche reined in her excitement.

“Th-Then what do we do now?”

The only Demon King left in the Demon Realm was Peter, whom she served.

They were bound to be suspected of colluding with Choi Gi-woong.

And by none other than the Demon God, Chaos.

“A-Are we going to die just like this?”

“Well, we might die. I’m thinking of making a simple deal.”

“What…”

Peter grinned.

For some reason, he felt like he was getting a little closer to Choi Gi-woong.

My biggest problems are the System and the Demon God.

Escaping from those two transcendental beings.

To do that, I chose two methods.

One was something beyond Dragon Language Magic. Probably a unique magic created by Ian.

The other was to master Chilyanggong.

I couldn’t afford to miss either one.

I had concluded that only by acquiring both could I escape from them.

I realized that when I saw the giant eye in the Demon Realm.

And now, today, I intend to achieve one of them.

I went down to the lowest level of the Association.

The security Rank was five stars, a place no one but me could enter.

Clank— Clank—

Several layers of physical and magical defenses were installed on each thick steel door.

Even this wasn’t enough.

My opponent was, after all, the second-ranked demon.

That’s why my expression couldn’t help but be stiff.

As a result, the expressions of the agents guarding their posts along the way couldn’t help but stiffen as well.

But this was no time to worry about my damn image.

As I said, my opponent was Gor.

Creeak—

It was when I finally opened the last door and entered.

The one whose four limbs were in Restraint was hanging limply.

Then, he slowly lifted his head.

At the same time, I cast a spell.

Fwoooosh—!

The Barrier was complete.

From this moment on, only he and I could exist in this space.

No one could interrupt our conversation.

Not even the System.

The proof was right here.

[The System cannot be operated.]

[Please exit the space quickly.]

It was a spoil of war I’d obtained after killing Verno.

This place, at least, had become a place where even the System could not interfere with me.

The guy smirked.

“…From where did you plan this?”

“……”

I didn’t answer and approached him.

The closer I got, the more the dead look in his eyes came back to life.

The emotion I read there was fear.

“Reincarnator. Do you know? You are a monster. A monster.”

He shivered.

“If you are not a Demon, then who is? Tell me. Where are you from?”

The cackling guy, in a way, looked like he had lost his mind.

But he hadn’t. Even now, he was doing this to catch me off guard.

“Stop with the nonsense and stay still. If you utter one more word, I’ll show you hell again.”

He flinched.

I didn’t know I was capable of this either.

The memories of the past week flashed by like a panorama.

The time I had spent subduing him.

The time I had created a Barrier to minimize damage to the Mainland, tried not to kill him, and in the midst of it all, prevented him from killing himself.

That’s right. It took me a week to successfully subdue him.

They say subduing without killing is harder.

It was true. There were countless crises before I got him to this state.

Just yesterday, the entire Mainland had almost been blown away.

“What are you doing, not killing me already? Kill me. Kill me now! Kill meee!”

Wham!

My fist slammed into his face.

Several of his front teeth flying out was the least of it. His face was crushed beyond recognition.

But there was no need to worry.

Fwoosh!

As soon as the light poured out, his face was restored.

Perfectly fine, without a single wound.

But as if that was more painful, he contorted his face into a mangled mess.

I had repeated this for a week.

He was suffering continuously, neither dead nor alive.

“I can repeat this as many times as I want. Keep trying.”

His resistance dropped sharply. Right. It’s been a week of this.

I’m starting to reach my limit, too.

The System is also looking at this moment with great displeasure.

I had to settle this. Either kill him or make him submit.

Neither option was bad.

If I killed him, I would be able to reach the Level 900 I so desired.

Though if I had to choose, I strongly preferred the second option.

So this was the last chance.

Hoping he would submit, I asked.

“Are you going to keep talking?”

“…What is it you want?”

This was the first time he had spoken like this.

I swallowed hard. I couldn’t be sure. This too could be a ploy.

“Open it.”

“What.”

“The inside of your head.”

“……?”

“There’s a memory I need to see.”

“What memory!”

The basement boomed. Even then, I remained calm. I must not get swept up in his strategy and become agitated.

“Ian. The memory of when you met Ian.”

“……”

He glared at me, as if trying to gauge my intentions.

Then he even asked directly.

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said. Show me the memory of Ian that you met.”

“I don’t understand. What is it? What is this for?”

“Do I have to tell you that?”

“……”

Lost in thought, Gor looked at me. Then he started to grin.

“I see. You and Lu aren’t on the same side.”

This bastard. He’s quick on the uptake.

“Right?”

“There’s nothing to hide.”

“Heh heh. So that’s what it was. You’re looking for a way to escape from it.”

I shrugged and walked toward him.

The cackling guy flinched.

I confirmed one more thing.

Even a superhuman like him is not immune to pain.

If so, wouldn’t it be the same for the System and the Demon God?

“Ah. Ian. That guy was truly amazing.”

He closed his eyes as if remembering something.

I wanted to enter his mental world right away, but I held back.

Not yet.

I hadn’t completely subdued him yet. If I entered his Mental World in this state, there was no telling what would happen to me.

The guy opened his eyes again and asked.

“If I show you the memory, what will you give me?”

“A complete death.”

“Bullshit.”

“Looks like you still haven’t realized what a great mercy I’m bestowing.”

Once again, my fist slammed into his face.

Fwoosh!

“How about it. Feel like making a deal?”

“……”

“I can keep you locked up here forever. No, that’s too easy.”

I paused for a moment, then continued.

“There’s a Dungeon in Elsland that Ian made. It would be better to wander there for the rest of your life, neither dead nor alive.”

“……!”

“I’ll just give up on those damn Experience Points.”

I shrugged.

Of course, I couldn’t give up his Experience Points.

But considering the image I had shown him over the past week.

It was a bluff that was convincing enough.

“……”

The Silence stretched on.

The guy’s viper-like eyes scanned me.

It was like a bet between him and me.

Soon, the time came for the winner to be decided.

“…Promise me for certain.”

“I will. After I see all of Ian’s memories, I will kill you cleanly.”

It was after I had said that much.

[The System cannot be operated normally.]

[Please exit the space.]

[Warning.]

[If warnings accumulate, you will lose the System’s trust.]

The System cried out in frustration.

Don’t worry.

In real-world time, this will all be over in a flash.

Thump.

I grabbed the top of his head.

Entering a Mental World was, as always, similar.

“Open.”

When he removes his Mental Barrier, I enter through the gap.

Fwoosh!

My body felt languid, as if I had dived into deep water.

If I’ve succeeded this far, the rest is easy.

His mind was now completely mine.

Since he had willingly opened the way, he couldn’t even resist.

I continued the work.

Within the star-filled space, I selected a specific memory.

A memory related to Ian.

Specifically, one related to Ian’s end.

The memories gathered.

Among them, I connected to the one closest to Ian’s final moments.

I have to confirm how Ian died.

And more importantly, whether Ian had realized something beyond Dragon Language Magic.

Fwoosh!*

It was with the feeling of diving again.

When I blinked, the space had changed.

I couldn’t be sure of the time period.

For now, let’s just focus on what I can see.

The first thing I saw was Ian.

I could tell just by his back.

A short stature and a large staff.

I could feel an immense aura.

Ian was standing in the middle of the Demon Realm.

Next to him, I could see the Dragon, Saint Ajadun.

He looked relatively unharmed.

My feet moved without my intending them to.

Only then did I realize.

I was currently inside Gor’s body.

This was the first time I was seeing Ian as another Sentient Being.

My mouth opened automatically.

“Ian.”

Ian turned his face.

Ian’s heartless gaze met mine.

As fear washed over me, I became certain.

Ian had perfected his unique magic.