Ch.288Chapter 288: Wh…What is That?

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Ugh… my head.

As my momentarily blacked-out vision recovered, I opened my eyes while wincing at the splitting headache.

It seemed that not only my vision had gone dark, but my consciousness had also briefly submerged, as I could tell that a fair amount of time had passed.

Is there anything wrong with my body? With this thought, I checked for any abnormalities by placing my right hand on various parts of my body. Fortunately, I couldn’t feel any notable external injuries.

Even the dragon sword, which I had always kept at my waist since reclaiming it from Adorator, was still safely with me, not taken away.

However, even though there was nothing particularly wrong with my body, the fact remained that the situation where I had almost escaped had turned to nothing.

Having quickly finished checking my body for abnormalities, my gaze naturally turned toward the presence of the one who had dragged me here.

And that presence didn’t lie.

“So, how did it feel to look around my dwelling again, even if it was brief?”

Before I could even fully turn my head, I was faced with Desire, sitting cross-legged on the throne, smiling broadly and speaking to me in a friendly manner.

Despite that smile, I had no desire to face that unwanted visage, so I looked around to assess the situation and figure out where I was.

In truth, there wasn’t much to examine. The throne alone, meticulously crafted from obsidian—so common in this area—was enough to tell me where I was.

This was the great hall where Desire always stayed after awakening from sleep and beginning activities.

Before losing consciousness, I had just exited the obsidian palace and was about to enter the foothills of the Dragon Claw Mountains at the border of this demon realm.

The thought that such an opportunity had vanished so futilely made me feel like everything was going dark again.

But now was not the time to indulge in such sentiments and remain helplessly inactive.

I examined the two beings standing beside Desire on the throne.

“…!!”

The first to catch my eye was Adorator’s fierce expression. Though she wasn’t speaking freely in front of her lord, she was growling as if ready to devour me at any moment.

For someone who had been brutally beaten by Imperfectio, she seemed quite robust.

However, traces of Imperfectio’s strikes were still visible on various parts of her body, including her temples, not yet fully healed.

While it couldn’t compare to my super-regenerative abilities…

The fact that blows received in the obsidian palace—which grants infinite power and regenerative abilities to those tainted by demonic energy—had not yet fully healed demonstrated Imperfectio’s terrifying power.

I was almost dumbfounded seeing Adorator moving around normally in that condition.

But her ridiculous durability wasn’t something I’d only witnessed now; I’d seen it before my regression too, so I just accepted it as typical of her.

Turning my gaze, I looked at Imperfectio standing on the opposite side of the frowning Adorator.

With her helmet still on, it was quite difficult to discern what she was thinking from her expression.

At first glance, it might seem like she had quickly changed her attitude to appear cold and detached after her attempt to help me escape had failed.

But something was strangely clear to me.

“…”

Despite not saying anything, her downturned lips and…

*Tremble-tremble*

Her body, slightly shaking from some emotion I couldn’t identify…

It was clearly evident that Imperfectio was not pleased with the current situation, so I didn’t feel particularly disappointed.

At least I confirmed that the usually calm voice that had called out to me in panic before I lost consciousness wasn’t something I had misheard.

Thinking back, it was unexpected. I had thought she would maintain her usual detached tone regardless of whether I collapsed or not.

Did she call out to me in that anxious voice because I was about to be dragged back to Desire?

It would have been identical to the voice Shizu, who looks exactly like her, would have used without fail if I were in a similar situation.

If circumstances allowed, I would have liked to ask her what she was thinking when she called my name like that, but…

“You seem a bit dazed after just waking up. Here I am, having summoned you personally, and you’re just looking around without even speaking to me.”

With Desire still addressing me in that friendly tone, it seemed that would have to wait.

So, putting aside what I had intended to do for now…

“If you had the ability to summon me like this, why didn’t you do it from the beginning? Oh, I forgot—it’s your hobby to watch humans experience hope only to realize it’s despair, isn’t it?”

I deliberately provoked Desire with a sarcastic tone, but…

“You know me well. That’s one of my favorites. And it’s especially special when it’s you.”

“…”

Far from getting angry, Desire happily acknowledged my pointed remark without denying it, causing me to lose the intensity in my glare before I could even respond.

If I frowned now, it would only reveal that my attempt to provoke her had backfired and irritated me instead, so I had to restrain myself.

“Hehe. Seems you’re at a loss for words. Well, since we know each other so well, shouldn’t we just let this level of teasing slide?”

So I pondered deeply about what to say to Desire, who was irritating me with her friendly tone instead of showing her usual temperament that I remembered.

But it seemed Desire had no intention of giving me much time to think.

“Adorator. Withdraw for now.”

She commanded Adorator, who was standing beside her throne, to step back with both words and a gesture.

For a moment, I saw confusion flash across Adorator’s face upon hearing the command.

“…As you command.”

Quickly composing her expression, Adorator bowed politely and then walked out of the great hall without hesitation.

From a common-sense perspective, it didn’t seem rational to dismiss Adorator, who was essentially a bodyguard, while two escapees remained in the room.

But there was no wasted movement in Adorator’s actions after receiving the command, as if she had already been briefed about this situation by Desire.

Even though it was clear she was concerned about the situation, evident from the murderous glare she shot at Imperfectio and me as she was leaving…

Since there was nothing she could do from outside the hall where she was definitely headed, I sent her a mischievous hand wave to irritate her.

It was a cheap and flimsy provocation, but…

My expectation that even such a minor taunt would be effective against Adorator, who still couldn’t control her hot-blooded temperament despite her status, seemed to be correct this time.

“…!!”

I could see murderous intent flashing in Adorator’s eyes when she saw my deliberately provocative hand wave.

Hmm, she’s still so easy to manipulate.

Now, I just needed to wait for her to lose control and charge at me, then use the ensuing chaos to attack Desire.

That was clearly my plan as I prepared for what was about to unfold.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go as I intended beyond that point.

Adorator, who had almost shown a crack in her expression, quickly contained herself and ignored my cheap provocation, completely exiting the great hall.

She must have received quite the instruction from Desire, as her retreating figure showed a determination to ignore whatever happened to me from now on.

Still, I held onto a sliver of hope that Adorator would charge at me in rage, but…

*Creeeeak-!!*

The sound of the large door closing broke the silence of the great hall.

My struggle to somehow escape from here had gone awry from the very beginning.

“Every time I see it, I notice how bad your relationship with Adorator is. It seems better now than before, which is saying something.”

Desire’s voice, offering a brief commentary on the provocation that had occurred in that short moment, was just an added annoyance.

“Well, even without my strict instructions, Adorator is gradually embracing the responsibility that comes with her status, so she wouldn’t fall for such low-grade provocations anyway.”

*Chuckle-chuckle*

Judging by the subtle, mocking laughter that accompanied the end of her statement…

Seeing Desire immediately grasp the intention behind my provocation of Adorator while sitting on her throne properly irritated me this time.

*Grind*

Gritting my teeth, I endured her mockery and simply glared quietly at Desire seated on the throne.

“Oh my! Being stared at so intensely is quite frightening. Is it because you’ve just awakened and your body isn’t fully recovered yet?”

Desire’s attitude as she commented on my glare with exaggerated concern was the epitome of composure.

If she were merely composed, it wouldn’t be a problem. But how should I put this?

The twisted divine energy rising like a heat haze around Desire as she sat on the throne, letting out a faint smile and making a fuss, made the atmosphere of the great hall incredibly heavy.

This was happening because the precursor symptoms that always appeared when she was planning something unpleasant by my standards were now manifesting.

*Tap-tap*

Unable to let go of my tension, I fingered the hilt of my dragon sword with my right hand, preparing for any contingency.

“Why don’t you pause on drawing that sword and look at this instead?”

Desire, who had gently raised her right hand from the armrest of the throne, didn’t seem particularly concerned about my attitude and was focused on preparing to continue what she wanted to say.

It was fortunate that her raised hand didn’t show any intention to fight me, but…

The problem was…

*Snap!!*

The sound of Desire lightly snapping her raised right thumb and middle finger together filled the great hall.

Just like when she had forcibly brought me here earlier…

This was the action of a transcendent being who could do anything as they pleased in this place, typically done when summoning something here.

I involuntarily flinched, preparing for whatever she was about to summon.

“Don’t be so startled. I’m not summoning anything so grand…”

Looking at me while showing a bland reaction and chuckling, Desire’s words proved true.

Despite the finger-snapping sound still echoing clearly, nothing with a distinct presence appeared in this great hall.

…I glared at Desire sitting on the throne with a cold gaze, wondering if she was trying to bluff me.

“Ah!”

A thin cry that escaped from Imperfectio, still standing beside the throne, made me turn my gaze.

Damn, even her scream is in the same tone as Shizu’s.

I was about to be dumbfounded by the thought that I had unconsciously compared Imperfectio, who was identical to Shizu in every way, with Shizu herself.

“What do you think of this? Looks familiar, doesn’t it?”

As soon as I confirmed what existed where my gaze was directed, I realized that what Desire had summoned with her finger snap was not a living being but an object.

The moment I saw it…

“That… that’s.”

I was so shocked that I could barely speak.

The identity of the object that was sufficient to surprise me was a pair of rings.

Two rings floating in the air—identical to the ring I still kept preciously in my possession, and identical to the ring I firmly believed was being preciously kept by the person most dear to me.

I had thought there couldn’t be anything more surprising than facing Imperfectio’s bare face when her helmet broke, but…

That expectation had been shattered in a most unpleasant way.