Alley Phone Call

If you don’t do what you want to do in the game, that’s the real loss.

I sat on the bed.

There’s just one problem.

‘The fact that I’ve never handled people before.’

Cappuccino and Caramel.

In their case, since I turned them from enemies to allies, it doesn’t really matter if I give them instructions and orders.

They’re counterparts I can communicate with, but they’re still clearly my possessions.

‘What’s the problem with using my own things as I please?’

But the Hero.

Especially handling Players, I’ve never done it, including in reality.

With Skilla and Tang So-hye, I didn’t take the lead and let those two guide me, so that was fine.

But this time is different.

I’m directly leading the group as the party leader.

It felt awkward since I’ve never experienced it before, and it felt even more unfamiliar because I never thought I’d be in this position.

Leading a party.

And a raid party at that.

Will it be okay?

‘The Dream World, huh.’

I’m taking the Players there.

Since they’re all Hunter Heroes, they’re people I could meet in reality too.

It’s awkward and tense, but I had no intention of changing my words or going back on what I said at this point.

‘Once I’ve decided to do it, I’ll do it.’

Conquering the Dream World.

Defeating the Great Devil.

My [Main Quest] is to subjugate the Great Devil.

I can’t leave the Dream World alone where the Great Devil is presumed to be.

I pushed forward with the meaning of experiencing the Great Devil’s strength in easy mode, not the means to destroy the Dream World.

Conveniently, I could call the First Home Clan using [Geass] as an excuse.

I planned the destruction of the Dream World accordingly.

“But.”

Cappuccino asked.

“Is there really a Great Devil in the Dream World?”

She raised a question about the plan.

“The Dream World itself is a unique world. But theoretically, it could be maintained even without a Great Devil.”

“So you’re going to oppose it?”

“No.”

Cappuccino shook her head.

“Rather, it would be good if there is one. A Great Devil ruling the Dream World? If I could make that power mine, it would be perfect. But.”

“But?”

“Hmm…”

“Don’t beat around the bush, just say it.”

“Do we really have to catch the Great Devil?”

“Is it good or bad if there is one?”

“…Anyway, answer.”

My answer remains the same.

I answered firmly.

“Yes.”

I nodded.

“No matter what level the Great Devil is, it’s the only Great Devil whose location can be guessed. And it’s probably the easiest one to catch.”

“On what grounds?”

“It’s a dream world, right? You know, don’t you? In dreams, I’m manifested as the me I know best.”

“It might be different in the Dream World.”

“We’ll think about that when we get there. But you’ve been to the Dream World, you should know, right?”

“…”

Cappuccino knows.

Cappuccino’s true identity is [Dream Frog].

A monster that handles dreams.

Cappuccino’s estimated level, having obtained the witch Win, far surpassed when she first met Americano.

Her experience in the Dream World taught Cappuccino a lot.

But a Great Devil.

It’s said to have the power to destroy an era, if not the world.

With [Divulging Secrets of Heaven] confirming the existence of the King of Death, the possibility of the King of Death being a Great Devil was suggested.

The Dream World where such a being might be hiding.

She’s worried that they might be meddling with something that shouldn’t be touched.

Whether Americano knows this or not, or rather, knowing it, she answered:

“I received the Main Quest to catch a Great Devil in the first place. Does it make sense not to challenge a Great Devil when it’s right in front of me?”

“You might not have any worries. But this is reality, can we make such a light decision?”

“…”

Well, that part was true.

Even Americano herself understood.

Although Cappuccino had copied her self-consciousness and their thought processes were almost the same, the standards were ultimately very different from her own.

She tried to imagine.

Imagining a monster in reality that has the power to destroy the world and is sealed.

It doesn’t seem like S-rank Hunters could handle it, but a monster that even they can’t defeat.

…No, is that comparison different?

That’s too different in scale.

If it’s a monster that even S-rank Hunters can’t handle, it means don’t try to catch it in the first place.

Even the scene of the city melting that [Hongyeom] showed in the [Duel Arena] would have been much weaker from her perspective.

In terms of level and stats, it could never be the same as reality.

A monster that the real [Hongyeom] couldn’t catch even with all her might.

If such a thing existed in a game, the game would become a mess.

The Great Devil must be designed to be catchable in the end.

The reason?

Because it’s a game.

She shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, whatever.”

“You really…”

“Even after sharing the memories of the Duel Arena, you think the odds are low?”

The power of real S-rank that melted or shattered cities.

Although weakened by the game’s limitations, their power was still formidable.

“They’re trying to lend me their power for once. Let’s experience the Great Devil in easy mode, that’s what I’m saying.”

Plus, they even taught [Geass].

I’m not sure how effective it will be when falling into the dream world, but it won’t be a minus.

“Besides, you’ve experienced it when I used my Awakened Ability in dreams, right?”

“That part is still ambiguous.”

During training in dreams.

I tried using my Awakened Ability.

The dream broke.

With a crash.

Cappuccino tried to endure after that but failed. That incident became the catalyst for deciding to conquer the Dream World.

The strategy was simple.

“Aren’t you curious though?”

“…”

“We bring a bunch of Awakened to the Dream World and use Awakened Abilities all at once. What do you think will happen?”

“If its endured?”

“Then it’s war.”

Using Awakened Abilities.

Just as [Hongyeom] melted the city in the [Duel Arena], the same thing will happen in the Dream World.

Moreover, in dreams, you can bring your real-world strength.

Because it’s a dream.

The strongest version of yourself that you’re confident in is recreated in the dream.

At that moment.

Ping.

My left pinky finger twitched.

Someone broke a promise.

Who?

Nanos.

I chuckled looking at my pinky finger.

‘See?’

Dream World.

Nanos fell into the world of dreams.

What awaited her was,

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

A maid wearing glasses.

The bespectacled maid seated Nanos in a prepared spot.

It was a room with a slightly large desk, and the bespectacled maid sat on the opposite side.

A Dream Demon in maid’s clothing wearing glasses.

When she blinked,

It changed.

The bespectacled maid was gone,

A noble-looking woman with an annoying smile touched her lips with her index finger, which was larger than her own face, and smiled deeply.

The woman had black wings on her back.

A black ring, partially fragmented, rested on her head.

Long eyelashes,

Eyes of deep red.

A sharp nose bridge.

Distinct, colorful lips.

The skin adorning these features was smooth like a work of art.

Large jewels hung from her earrings and necklace, adding brilliant colors and decorations as dazzling as her beautiful face.

Still a pretty face.

Before, there was nothing to compare it to,

But now it was compared to someone.

“…”

“…”

The woman gives a slight eye smile.

“What did you come hoping for?”

A voice that resonates in the heart,

Stirring emotions,

A beautiful voice.

It seems to be seducing,

‘I feel like I might be enchanted.’

But she held back firmly.

“…”

Nanos glances at her left pinky finger.

Even in the dream, she feels the power that was created when she hooked her pinky finger.

When she decided to enter the dream, her pinky finger stung, and she became certain that it was transmitted to the promise partner.

She broke the promise.

That’s being transmitted.

Even now.

Continuously.

If Nanos truly intended to keep the promise, this reaction would disappear, but the moment she utters the words that have risen to her throat to the woman in front of her, it would be irreversible.

She had already steeled her resolve.

No matter what threats the woman makes, the Succubus side cannot break this relationship first. In terms of the contract relationship, this side was the subordinate.

“There is someone trying to separate us. They claim to have the means to destroy you and want me to side with them.”

“My, my.”

The woman made an amused expression.

“If that’s true, we can’t just let it slide, can we?”

“I don’t want this relationship to change either.”

“Neither do I. But the opponent was too strong to stubbornly maintain the relationship, right? Strong enough to make us seek you out urgently.”

“They were quite skilled. My guards, who were on par with top-class knights, were all taken down simultaneously. In an instant.”

“That is worrying.”

Nanos raised her left hand.

“It is worrying. Even at this moment as we’re talking, it’s being transmitted to them that I’m breaking my promise. Can you sense the existence of this power?”

“…”

She curled all fingers except the pinky.

She showed her pinky finger,

The woman looked at it intently.

She reached out,

“Interesting.”

Saying just those words, she pulled something from Nanos’s left pinky as if removing a ring.

When it was fully pulled from the pinky finger, the previously invisible power turned bronze.

The bronze lump was stretching a thin thread high into the sky.

She clenched her fist around that power lump, and the thread broke and disappeared.

“…”

Now it’s irreversible.

That woman will come.

The power of the promise has disappeared, and it must have reached that woman.

“I’m interested in the claim that they can destroy us, but for now, your situation seems more urgent. Alright. What do you want?”

“We don’t have the power to defeat them on our own. Lend us your strength.”

“…”

The woman silently tapped her index finger, which was against her lips, twice.

“We’re not in an ordinary relationship.”

“…”

“You provide us with nourishment to maintain dreams, right? So-called benefactors of life. We don’t turn our backs on benefactors. However.”

The woman opened the hand she had clenched, and light seeped through her fingers.

A dreamy power floated in her palm.

It was part of the power extracted from dreams.

“This is part of the power we’ve been gathering for our world to be reborn as a real world.”

“Through this power, you’ll be able to make dreams come true even in reality.”

“You and those related to you will be able to share this power.”

“But as a side effect of obtaining this power, the boundary between reality and dreams will become ambiguous for you, and you yourself will become nourishment for us.”

The Succubus Queen is used to maintain the Dream World.

If that’s possible, giving up a part of the power wasn’t a loss.

“Even so, will you accept this power?”

“I don’t have the option of not accepting it.”

“Oh my.”

She received the power.

And woke from the dream.

“…”

Nanos, back in reality, leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes again, grasping the power that had settled in her body.

In the dream, she sensed the presence of Succubi in reality.

As Nanos’s awareness spread to the Succubi,

The Succubus Warrior gained the strength she was confident in,

The Succubus Magician cast a strong hypnosis on her client.

The alley they were looking at changed from a right-angled shape to round and winding, becoming more flexible.

All objects affected by Nanos became anthropomorphized, growing faces, and even the sun looking down on the alley developed a face.

The alley was turning into a dungeon.

Nanos, dreaming.

She mutters.

“Come.”

The alley crafted by Nanos’s dream.

The alley was her dream.

In the dream, she had the confidence that she would never lose to that woman.

Succubi are masters of dream magic.

Nanos was filled with certainty.

The certainty that she could kill that woman.