Ch.134The Demon Realm. (1)

“……What?”

“I’m going to die in two days.”

The Great Witch blinked for a long time. Then she asked like a fool.

“……Why?”

“Because I promised to die.”

The Great Witch groaned and pointed at the Serial Murderer.

“Don’t tell me it’s for that bastard?”

“That’s right.”

“No, your mental state seems fine, so why……”

“It only seems fine. You should know since you’ve made contracts with demons too. How painful those whispers can be.”

The Great Witch closed her mouth.

“Why do you think I die every year around this time?”

Her pupils sank with realization.

“This time I just held on a little longer to talk with you. So don’t try to stop me. Just keep watching and remembering—that’s enough.”

The Great Witch sighed and turned her head. For a long time, she said nothing, only exhaling smoke.

Of course, Olivia heard neither mental defects nor the Demon God’s whispers. The reason she drew a line with the Great Witch, even resorting to lies, was because this timeline wasn’t hers.

She needed to return as soon as possible.

She needed to clear the demon realm to get one more key, go to the Moon’s demon realm to ask the shaman about the prophecy.

She also needed to gather clues from the regressors to find out what the [Main Quest] was.

“……I’ll get you a room on the 59th floor, sleep before you go.”

The cigarette smoke lingered for a long time.

*****

Two days was longer than expected.

In her original timeline, two days felt incredibly short, but here it felt longer because there was nothing to gain and no clear purpose.

As the time approached, concern filled the Great Witch’s face.

Unable to blame Olivia, she directed her resentment toward the Serial Murderer.

“……Do you have any thoughts at all? Do you think the Emperor will just sit back if you kill the Grand Sage?”

“There are no witnesses, right?”

“I’m here, you damn fool.”

“Ah.”

The Serial Murderer smiled brightly and said.

“Then I just need to kill you too, right?”

“What I mean is… never mind.”

The Great Witch turned her head with a disgusted expression.

“Even God is heartless. Giving such abilities to a psychopath like this.”

“What? You’re a theist?”

“……Good luck, Grand Sage. You’ll have to keep dealing with this goldfish-brained bastard from now on.”

“No, why? Have you seen God?”

“What do you think the Demon God is? You fucking rock-headed bastard.”

“Ah……”

The Great Witch sighed and turned her head. She seemed to have no intention of exchanging any more words with the Serial Murderer.

After chain-smoking several cigarettes, the Great Witch spoke gruffly.

“Well… hang in there. Don’t give up.”

“On what?”

“……You know.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Olivia smiled slyly. Seeing this, the Great Witch made an incredulous face.

“You sly bitch. Do I really have to say it out loud?”

“Just hearing the words might give me strength.”

“A hundred times, a thousand times… Ah, shit. It’s too cringy. I’m just going to leave, so die or don’t die, do whatever you want.”

The Great Witch scratched her head vigorously and turned around. It seemed she couldn’t bear to watch the death scene directly.

“Thank you.”

At Olivia’s words, the Great Witch’s body froze.

The hand holding her pipe trembled slightly.

“For remembering me, at least.”

The Great Witch didn’t turn around. She only glared fiercely at the Serial Murderer who was handling his scythe.

“……I’m asking you, don’t play with human life.”

She meant to end it quickly, without pain.

As soon as the Serial Murderer nodded, the Great Witch went into the brothel without hesitation.

“Olivia.”

The Serial Murderer said. His face was so solemn it was hard to believe he was the same person as before.

“It would be better if you closed your eyes.”

It was evening.

The sky was ripening yellow, spreading beautiful colors throughout the world.

“……”

Instead of closing her eyes, Olivia turned her head to gaze at the horizon. She waited until the sun sank below the sea, then slowly opened her mouth.

“End it now.”

Behind her, a red aura rippled. The aura spread like paint, holding the darkening sky in a slightly brighter color.

[‘Serial Murderer’ uses ‘Fatal Strike’.]

“I’m glad.”

The Serial Murderer said.

“That you and I aren’t that close.”

She considered turning her head.

But decided not to.

There was no need for that yet.

“Goodbye, Olivia.”

Swoosh…

The Serial Murderer swung his scythe.

There was no feeling of being cut. No pain either. Her vision didn’t flip upside down.

Her body just felt a little warmer, and her vision grew a little darker.

[You have died.]

Only when such a window appeared before her eyes did she realize she was dead.

And then the notification window she had been waiting for so long appeared.

[You have found and destroyed the remnants of the Demon God.]

[Quest cleared.]

.

.

.

[Your consciousness is returning to the original timeline.]

*****

Tsk, tsk, tsk…!

It felt like her soul was being sucked somewhere.

The world gradually became blurry, then suddenly turned black.

Olivia closed her eyes and surrendered herself to the flow of space and time. At the same time, she thought.

‘I wonder if about a month has passed over there?’

She didn’t think the time ratio would be exactly the same, but it would be troublesome if there was too much difference.

This was also why she tried to return as quickly as possible.

If the time difference was measured in years, it would be very problematic.

‘……’

Olivia opened her eyes. But the scenery hadn’t changed at all from before she opened them.

Even though quite some time had passed since she fell into this black space where time couldn’t be measured.

Had something gone wrong?

Just as she was starting to feel anxious.

⌜■■■……■■■⌟

⌜………!⌟

⌜Come come come come…….⌟

Eerie cries came from all directions. Olivia frantically looked around, but couldn’t see anything because of the darkness.

Slither slither.

Something was there.

In the pitch-black darkness, something was moving.

Perhaps because only her consciousness existed, she couldn’t use magic.

The eerie cries gradually came closer. She tried to summon magical power somehow, but it was useless.

And then she felt it.

‘……That is?!’

She couldn’t see anything, but she could still tell.

It was demonic energy.

So powerful and thrilling that it couldn’t even be compared to the great demons.

It was as if the source of all magic was there.

It circled around Olivia like a predator hunting its prey.

⌜■■■……■■■⌟

The moment its incantation reached her ears, she felt extreme dizziness. Her consciousness instantly became distant, and she felt as if the boundary between reality and unreality was distorting.

It felt like the vast universe was staring at her. A will that no mortal could dare to look at was there.

Tsk tsk tsk tsk…!

Olivia’s consciousness was trembling like a seizure.

Olivia held onto her sanity with all her might. If she let go of her mind even for a moment, she felt she would be left as a lost soul in this terrible void forever.

There was nowhere to run. Up, down, left, right… everywhere was pitch black.

⌜Ooooooooooo…….⌟

Though only her consciousness should exist, it gradually became harder to breathe.

Crack!

The darkness opened its jaws with all its might. As the huge jaws approached right in front of her, Olivia unconsciously held her breath. At this rate…

‘……Wait, opened its jaws?’

She could see its form. This meant only one thing.

Somewhere, there was light.

Olivia frantically turned her gaze.

Flicker.

At the edge of her vision, a small light was flickering.

The light, wavering like a mirage, repeatedly gathered and dispersed. It trembled precariously as if it might go out at any moment, but it never did.

Tsk, tsk tsk…!

Sparks flew where the light and darkness met. The pitch-black darkness let out eerie cries as if in anger.

⌜It is a futile resistance⌟

⌜You cannot change anything⌟

Just hearing it made her existence feel precarious.

At that moment.

From somewhere, she heard something like a gentle laugh.

An infinitely familiar laugh.

The flickering light approached Olivia. And then, it gently wrapped around Olivia’s consciousness.

Whoosh…

The next moment, Olivia’s consciousness flickered. As if swept away by a rapid current, her consciousness once again traversed space and time.

[You have returned to your original timeline.]

Olivia lifted her eyelids with the notification. She was lying on the ground.

Not an ordinary ground. The way it wriggled made it feel like she was inside the intestines of a living creature.

‘……Where am I now?’

Naturally, she thought she would open her eyes in an underground prison or a sealing formation.

Or perhaps in a torture chamber.

They wouldn’t try to kill her before she regained consciousness, having barely subdued her.

She naturally thought so, but…

Olivia slowly got up. Her body, which had been reduced to rags from the fierce battle, was somehow completely recovered.

This meant one thing:

Either someone had healed her, or enough time had passed for natural healing.

‘……Damn it.’

Olivia bit her lip as she looked around at her surroundings.

The blood-red sky, the ground that wriggled like a living creature…

This was the demon realm.