episode_0091

“Wh-What?! How did you get in here?”

At the appearance of Killua-nim, who had intervened in someone else’s dream, Ermel, as if unable to believe it, was startled and pulled up her half-removed pants.

“If you’ve confirmed my appearance, isn’t it common courtesy to stop mimicking others?”

Killua-nim stretched out a hand towards Ermel, who was imitating her appearance, and grabbed hold.

And as she pulled back, the form of Killua-nim that Ermel was imitating ripped apart, as if shedding skin.

Ermel, whose true form was instantly revealed, stumbled backward as if flustered by Killua-nim’s ability.

“H-hahaha! You’re surprisingly strong-willed! But this is the dream world! I am the dream demon, a succubus! In this space, no one can defeat me!”

However, perhaps wounded by the fact that she had been flustered even for a moment, Ermel powerfully spread her demon wings left and right, proving her demonkin status, and flaunted her presence.

“I don’t know what trick you used… but entering the dream world directly without fear was your mistake!”

Ermel stretched out a hand towards Killua-nim and lightly snapped her fingers, as if confident she could completely subdue her within the dream world.

Snap!

Then, Ariel’s magic bound Killua-nim, her wrists and ankles sticking together like magnets.

“Since it’s come to this… I’ll devour both of you!”

As Ermel screamed, as if enraged that the stage she had painstakingly created was completely ruined by a third party’s intervention, strange monsters revealed themselves by her side.

“Alright. Since you’ve put in the admirable effort to walk in here yourself, I’ll give you a choice. Tentacles? Beasts? Demonkin? Which kind do you want to be devoured by?”

Ermel proudly introduced the grotesque magical creatures summoned around her and handed Killua-nim the choice.

However, despite her wrists and ankles being restrained, Killua-nim merely gazed steadily at Ermel with an expression of disdain, devoid of any sense of danger.

“Dream demon, my ass… More like a parasite.”

Snap!

Killua-nim, with utter composure and ease, severed Ermel’s magic that was restraining her wrists and ankles.

“H-How…?”

At Killua-nim’s effortless resistance to her power, Ermel’s face turned pale, as if she sensed something was terribly wrong.

“Listen carefully, Jazel. This dream is your dream. That fellow is an uninvited guest who barged into your dream on their own.”

Killua-nim ignored Ermel as if she were a troublesome insect not worth bothering with, and approached me, who was lying on the bed.

“Are you going to just let this uninvited guest barge in, mess up your home, and act like the master?”

“N-No! I am the dream demon and ruler! A succubus! And a very powerful high-ranking succubus at that!!”

At Killua-nim’s explanation, Ermel hastily spread her demon wings even wider, excessively appealing to her presence.

However, such an excessive display of presence only conveyed her desperation and sense of crisis to me.

Killua-nim, who had been looking at Ermel with disdain, sat down on the bed where I was lying.

“How long are you going to lie there? Get up.”

“Understood.”

At her command, I slowly raised my body, which I had thought was fixed in place by Ermel’s magic while I was lying on the bed.

Then, Ermel’s magic, which had felt as tough as leather straps, easily snapped like old, worn cloth, and I effortlessly got up from the bed, making all my previous struggles seem pointless.

“Demons and demonkin thrive on the fear and terror of their victims. If you know the truth about a demon’s power and identity, it’s nothing.”

“Ugh… Aaaargh…”

Was everything Killua-nim said the truth, and Ermel’s fatal weakness?

Ermel, who had overheard our conversation, backed away with a pale face.

And just as she hastily turned her back, perhaps planning to seize the opportunity of Killua-nim and I talking to escape…

“Is this how it’s done?”

“Good. You learn fast.”

Ermel, having turned around, found herself face-to-face with Killua-nim and me, sitting on the bed.

This place was my dream.

No matter where she was or what she thought, I could move and manipulate her as I wished.

“First, let’s put her clothes back on… And it would be a shame to torment someone too young, so let’s make her a bit taller.”

“Ugh… Aaah…”

As I wished, Ermel’s purple robe reappeared on her, and her small, youthful body grew to the height of a normal adult woman.

As her body was molded to my desires, Ermel, seemingly unable to resist, merely let out strange screams with a pale face.

“What are you going to do with this one?”

Killua-nim looked at Ermel, who had been swallowed whole by my dream and rendered powerless—an unbecoming fate for a succubus—and asked about her fate.

“Can I eliminate this one?”

Although Ermel had said she saved and helped me, it was only due to her greed and avarice, intending to exploit me.

Furthermore, I had no intention of forgiving Ermel, who was the culprit behind Ariel being taken from me, and a wicked demonkin.

“If you genuinely desire it with murderous intent, then yes.”

“Murderous intent…”

The will to genuinely want to kill someone.

It was a will far removed from me, who had lived as a peaceful merchant and Killua-nim’s secretary.

Although Ermel was hateful, there was still some gratitude for her having saved and helped me, so the harsh will to completely kill her did not arise.

“Hehehe…”

As I was contemplating Ermel’s fate.

A smile appeared on Ermel’s lips, who was tightly bound by my will.

“You’ve taken too long, you fool!!”

Instantly, thick purple magic unfurled from her body.

Faced with the thick magic erupting right in front of us, Killua-nim and I hastily raised our hands to block the purple magic that was pouring out as if to sweep us away.

“It’s the Soul Prison!!”

The thick purple magic, erupting from Ermel’s center, blew away the stage she had created as if swept by a storm, inviting us into a strange space.

It was a prison-like space in the void of darkness, with tall, dark purple glass walls reaching into the sky.

“So she’s resorted to this method after all.”

Killua-nim clicked her tongue, as if she had expected this, and calmly observed the space called the Soul Prison.

“What kind of space is this?”

Relieved that Killua-nim wasn’t flustered, I stood by her side and calmly observed the space with her, preparing for any unforeseen situation.

A space enveloped by thick purple glass walls that seemed unbreakable, and beyond them, an endless darkness stretched out.

That was all there was to this strange space.

“This is the Soul Prison! A space where one person is absolutely bound to be trapped!”

Not only Killua-nim and I were trapped in this space, but Ermel was included as well.

However, Ermel gazed at us with a confident smile, as if she was certain she could escape.

“It’s a succubus’s ultimate technique and her final stage of temptation. It’s an ultimate technique where if successful, someone else is imprisoned, and if it fails, she herself is trapped, ensuring one of the two dies.”

“Ah… That’s completely useless.”

At our conversation, Ermel’s face twisted in displeasure, and she glared at me as if her pride had been wounded.

“The choice is up to Jazel, the master of this dream! The person Jazel chooses will leave this prison with Jazel, and the one not chosen will be trapped in the prison!”

“Yep. Right. Killua-nim. Let’s go.”

At Ermel’s words, I extended my hand to Killua-nim, who was by my side, without a moment’s hesitation.

Then, Killua-nim, letting out a small laugh at my composed demeanor, nodded and reached for my hand.

“Wait…!”

Bang!

But at that moment, with a scream mixed into Ermel’s shout, a transparent glass wall rose up, cutting between Killua-nim and me.

“You each get one chance to tempt! That’s the rule of this space!”

At Ermel’s assertion, I looked at Killua-nim as if asking for an explanation.

“That’s right. It has to be that way to be fair.”

At Killua’s explanation, which was laced with a sigh as if displeased with the rules of this space, I looked at Ermel with disapproval.

It was obvious how she, a succubus, would attempt to tempt.

However, I wasn’t pleased with the fact that I had to endure such temptation right before Killua-nim’s eyes.

“Hmph! My temptation is simple! It’s a soul contract!!”

Contrary to my concerns, Ermel abruptly brought out a soul contract.

As she raised her hand high into the sky for all to see, a contract made of magic appeared in the air.

“You know this too, right? A contract that one cannot fulfill cannot be written into a soul contract!”

No falsehoods could be recorded in a soul contract, which involved pledging one’s very soul.

Because it was a contract made by pledging a pure soul, it meant that anything one doubted they could truly do could not be contracted through a soul contract.

“Contract Clause 1: I, Ermel the succubus, shall transfer all powers and benefits once possessed by the Hero to Jazel the human!”

And from the very first clause, an astonishing condition was etched.

Not only I, but Killua-nim too, seemed surprised by the unexpectedly shocking clause, and we gazed at the clause being etched onto the soul contract with wide eyes.

Seeing it clearly etched on the soul contract, it was clear that Ermel could truly fulfill it.

“Contract Clause 2: I, Ermel the succubus, shall never lay a hand on Jazel the human, should Jazel not wish it!”

The second clause was a safety provision, stating that Ermel would no longer interfere with or attack me.

With Clause 1, the contract Ermel proposed was sufficiently tempting.

However, it was not a contract I could accept if it meant trapping Killua-nim in the Soul Prison.

“Final Contract Clause 3! I, Ermel the succubus, shall immediately release Killua the human from the Soul Prison, if Killua the human, guaranteed by Jazel the human, promises not to attack Ermel the succubus!”

However, the final clause prevented Killua-nim from being trapped in the Soul Prison.

Reading the contract alone, it seemed like a clause where only Ermel would suffer an absolute loss, as if I had personally drafted it.

Ermel, who had created a contract with all these unfavorable clauses herself, let out a deep sigh, vigorously bowed her head, and said.

“Please save me.”

“…”

The reason she even resorted to using the Soul Prison was not to attack or capture Killua-nim or me, but simply for her own survival.