Chapter 310: Return to Ground (6)

Chapter 310: Return to
Ground (6)

[Balkan.
Do you desire this body?]

“What
are you suddenly talking about?”

I
looked at Bunny, who was whispering in a subtly seductive voice, with
bewildered eyes.

[…Hmm
hmm. It doesn’t have to be someone specifically. Objects, people,
food, or even unclear things like power are fine. Haven’t you felt an
intense desire for such things?]

“Of
course.”

Every
time I starved for days in the labyrinth, I thought of a warm bowl of
soup.

Every
time that beautiful woman ignited fire in my chest, I wanted to have
her.

When
I experienced absurd things and when people around me and my comrades
fell into crisis, I craved power.

Humans
always long for and yearn for something.

Living
life, one inevitably feels certain desires.

[Yes.
Even mortals have such desires. But your desires have at least a
minimum line of good.]

However,
even those living in the rough and violent labyrinth city recognize
the minimum line that shouldn’t be crossed as human beings.

Everyone
does their best to achieve their goals and desires but that doesn’t
mean there are many who commit such vile acts as to abandon human
ethics.

[We
demons are those whose such desires have gathered and gathered to
become the reason for living. To fulfill desires, we can do any deed
whatsoever.]

Beings
whose specific desires have gathered to the extreme, whose life’s
signpost has been corrupted into desire itself.

Those
who don’t hesitate even at countless sacrifices to fulfill their own
desires.

Bunny
defined such beings as demons.

[The
one possessing your slave’s body, now called the Puppeteer, is also a
demon soaked in greed.]

She
said the Puppeteer was a demon of greed.

—Infiltrate
the human world like that greedy bastard.

What
came to mind simultaneously was the message that Lilith had heard
from the demon of lust.

The
Puppeteer had been resurrected and escaped outside the labyrinth at
least ten years ago.

“…I
thought all demons were in a sealed state.”

[Hundreds
of years have already passed. No matter how detestable that Earth
Mother Goddess is, she can’t keep us sealed for such a long time.
Seals inevitably deteriorate as time passes.]

Well,
Diana’s party had also made such sacrifices to prevent the seal of
the demon of lust from breaking.

‘The
demon of sloth also said its seal was precarious and asked me to kill
the sloth worshippers…’

A
similar incident might happen again within the next decade or so.

[Except
for sloth, we’re not the type to stay still either.]

Upon
hearing Bunny’s words, I recalled the strange hallucination I saw
when I fell into the fountain on the multiple-of-5 floor.

The
fragment of the Earth Mother Goddess trapped in a cage of light.

The
being that struggled to suppress the darkness pervading the
labyrinth.

—This
place has a peace treaty with the demon of sloth. It’s a bit safer
than other floors.

I
heard such words when conversing with the fragment of the Earth
Mother Goddess at the fountain on the 15th floor.

If
the 15th floor was a place with a peace treaty with the demon of
sloth who had no intention of escaping the seal.

‘Does
that mean on floors where other demons are sealed, they’re still
continuing a tense tug-of-war?’

If
so, just how long has the being called the Earth Mother Goddess…
been fighting an invisible battle?

I
stood frozen in an indescribable sensation before finally coming to
my senses.

“What
is the Puppeteer’s purpose… wish?”

The
intense wish that a demon who greedily devours everything might
harbor.

That
bastard was trying to use Denshi and me to achieve some wish, but I
couldn’t guess what it might be.

‘If
I could know even a hint, I could stick a big middle finger in that
shameless face.’

When
I looked at Bunny asking if she had any guesses, she spoke in a
shameless voice.

[This
body was busy fulfilling this body’s desires, so I don’t know well
what other demons wanted or how much.]

Typical
Bunny.

I
didn’t say the words “I didn’t expect anything anyway…”

[But
I did hear that greed’s mind went crazy a few years before being
sealed.]

Useful
information always comes later.

“Its
mind went crazy?”

[I
heard it was completely bewitched by some woman. Later it turned out
that was the hero.]

“The
Puppeteer was bewitched by the Earth Mother Goddess?”

What
kind of absurd story is this?

A
demon bewitched by a hero?

[At
least according to this body’s memory, that’s how it was. The bastard
who had been plundering everything around and greedily expanding its
domain suddenly stopped raiding and started jumping into every
battlefield the hero participated in, making us wonder if it had
finally gone mad.]

Bunny
continued telling me the stories she remembered.

Stories
of trolling whenever there was a chance to kill the hero, ruining
operations.

Stories
of infiltrating field camps where the hero had stayed alone to
collect dead skin cells or hair.

“…Really,
it did such stalker-like things?”

[Yes.
At least until this body was sealed first and lost consciousness, the
greed bastard’s obsession was abnormal. It was as if all desires had
turned toward the Earth Mother Goddess.]

The
desires that composed the demon of greed were directed toward the
Earth Mother Goddess? Why?

‘Surely
it couldn’t have fallen in love.’

The
possibility of being bisexual couldn’t be ignored, but recalling
recent events, the Puppeteer seemed closer to heterosexual.

“If
the wish is related to the Earth Mother Goddess who was called a
hero, what does that have to do with us?”

[This
body is curious too. You… no, you aside, your slave girl doesn’t
seem to have any relationship with the Earth Mother Goddess.]

Denshi
wasn’t from the religious order, and was a bastard who grew up
working as a slave in the lawless zone.

Actually,
until she first met me, she had been used by a lawless clan and was
tainted by them.

—Indeed.
To make a lowly lawless-born reach the level of resolve to approach a
‘wish’, one needs this degree of coercion…

I
mulled over the Puppeteer’s words.

What
kind of resolve did Denshi, born of lowly lawless origins, harbor to
warrant the expression that she had “approached” a ‘wish’?

I
had taken Denshi as a slave, and she had also been loyal to me for a
long time.

Setting
everything else aside, she had rushed into the Elder Lich explosion
just to save only me.

At
that time, Denshi was prepared to die for me.

The
fragment of the Earth Mother Goddess also maintains the demons’ seals
by sacrificing for a long time.

The
scale is different, but the essence is similar.

‘The
resolve to die for others.’

The
resolve to sacrifice one’s remaining life solely for others.

It
was also after the Elder Lich subjugation that the color of Denshi’s
‘Free Activity’ jewel began to change clearly.

“Perhaps…”

[Hmm?
Do you have a guess?]

“Isn’t
it trying to create a second hero? One with a noble heart like the
Earth Mother Goddess.”

[……]

At
my words, Bunny remained quietly silent.

Could
it have sounded somewhat plausible?

[Puhaha!]

What
came back while I was thinking this was laughter clearly mixed with
mockery.

[That’s
quite an amusing idea! But if it’s the greed I know, that’s
impossible. It’s probably just trying to create a species that suits
its taste.]

“You
said the Puppeteer you knew went crazy in its final years.”

[…Hmm…]

Bunny,
who had been chuckling and dismissing it as impossible, fell quietly
silent at my words.

As
I continued thinking, one person came to mind.

Intert,
who claimed to be Denshi’s teacher and was the Puppeteer’s minion.

‘If
I catch that bastard, couldn’t I get at least some rough
information?’

“Ugh…”

While
I was lost in such thoughts, I heard a low groan and a voice
complaining of stuffiness.

When
I quickly raised my head, Denshi was looking at me blankly with a
deeply furrowed brow.

“Master…?”

“That
damn Puppeteer bitch.”

“…Huh?”

When
I suddenly cursed about the Puppeteer, bewilderment appeared on
Denshi’s face.

It
seemed like this time it was really Denshi.

“Sorry
for cursing as soon as you woke up. Are you feeling clear-headed?
How’s your body?”

“…Ah,
I’m fine. I feel a bit sluggish like I slept too long… Master.”

“Yeah?”

“I
was just… preparing breakfast.”

In
Denshi’s eyes as she looked at her own body lying on the bed wearing
neat clothes, there was fear about a phenomenon she couldn’t
understand.

“I
wasn’t wearing such luxurious and neat clothes either… and I wasn’t
lying on the bed…”

“Denshi.”

“…Did
that bastard steal my body again? Like that time?”

“……”

When
I nodded silently, she hugged me tightly.

With
her face buried in my chest, she asked while trembling.

“…I
didn’t hurt you, did I, Master?”

“There
was no physical fight. So don’t be too scared.”

I
carefully embraced Denshi.

The
faithful servant trembled with fear that she might have hurt her
master while her consciousness was stolen, rather than worrying about
her body being taken.

-Pat.
Pat.

I
gently patted her trembling back.

With
the reassuring weight, gentle rhythm, and warm body temperature,
Denshi’s breathing gradually regained stability.

“…I’m
sorry. My will is weak—”

“Don’t
apologize. It’s not a problem with your will.”

How
could this be called Denshi’s fault?

[◆2nd
Puppet’s Curse]

“The
bad one is the bastard who carved such a curse on you.”

“……”

Was
she shocked by the fact that she had no memory of several days and
had almost hurt me?

Denshi’s
expression, which had always been positive, hardened stiffly and
wouldn’t soften.

It
was hard to see Denshi so depressed.

“You
said you’d get revenge, right?”

“…What?”

“Back
then. You said you’d get revenge on the Puppeteer who stole our first
experience.”

The
eyes that had been soaked in fear, guilt, and anxiety about such
things possibly happening again looked at me blankly.

Had
she recalled the hatred and desire for revenge she felt toward the
Puppeteer then?

Denshi’s
gloomy eyes began to burn brightly and regain their vitality.

“I
still haven’t forgotten about that time, but you—”

“Me
too!!!”

Denshi,
who raised her voice loudly, looked at me while scattering murderous
intent toward the being that had stolen her most precious experience.

“I
haven’t forgotten either…! How could I forget?! I will definitely
kill the bastard who defiled my first experience with Master!!!”

“Then,
is it okay to keep being depressed like this?”

“No!!!”

-Thump!

Denshi
jumped up from the bed, ran to the corner, took a small dagger, and
came to me.

“Master!
I’m insufficient as I am now…! I need to become stronger than now
to even have a match with that bastard!”

“That
would be so.”

“Yes!
So! You must be tired, but! Please give me a training session!”

Seeing
Denshi bowing passionately after shaking off her gloomy emotions made
me chuckle.

“Follow
me to the backyard.”

“Yes
sir!!”

I
vigorously petted Denshi’s head as she was being so admirable,
thinking about the things I needed to do.

‘The
Puppet’s Curse…’

How
dare. That detestable curse that so shamelessly tries to put a spoon
in what’s mine… I need to erase it as soon as possible.

***

The
next morning.

“Haaak,
hek, heeeeek… va, vagina hurts… Balkan-nim, please save me,
wuup—”

I
put a gag and collar on Lilith, who had climaxed hundreds of times
during several days of neglect play.

“Ugh,
ughhh… Master… I have no strength in my body…”

“Don’t
worry. I’ll drag you without it hurting.”

“Ughhh…
ah, it wouldn’t particularly matter if it hurt… if anything, I’d be
happy if you dragged me so my butt gets scraped…”

After
putting a collar on Denshi, who was exhausted from all-night
training, I nodded with satisfaction seeing the sight of the two
women being dragged like pets.

And
I waited for party members in front of Eden’s portal with the
mother-daughter pair Ellie and Diana.

Now
it’s time to head to the surface again.