The End of Delusion (2)
Succubus.
And Incubus.
Also called lust demons or dream demons, they were a type of demon said to appear in the dreams of the opposite sex, seduce them, and steal their vital energy.
As beings specialized in seducing the opposite sex, they were naturally possessed of extremely attractive appearances, and their race also had a remarkable aptitude for arts such as illusion and enchantment.
‘This is probably the first time I’ve used this ability so seriously.’
And although it was rather obvious by now—
Hella was also a half-breed who had inherited the blood of a succubus.
Not just any ordinary succubus, either. She had inherited every superior gene there was from both a queen and a Demon King.
‘Come to think of it, I haven’t really had any reason to use an ability like this until now. It’s only troublesome for no good reason.’
If she had the strength to resolve things through sheer force, was there any need to use pointless little tricks?
Hella looked around at the scenery wavering this way and that like a heat haze, then licked the corner of her mouth.
[Now then, let’s work hard again today.]
The innate ability of every succubus, as well as an additional effect of Hella’s 「Lord of Bewitchment」—
Dream Dive.
That was the reason she could exist in the dream world as she did now.
‘There are bound to be limitations on what I can do in reality. I never expected that I’d end up having to get firsthand experience in keeping my head down like this.’
Though she had gone along with things for the sake of various interests, the leadership of the Yoon family was hardly stupid. There was no way they would simply leave a calamity that seriously affected its surroundings alone.
Under such circumstances, the succubus ability to freely pass between nearby dreams was no different from giving wings to her movements.
‘There were more people trapped in delusion than I expected. Still, it looks like the end is finally coming into sight.’
Ever since she and Hally had revealed themselves in Seongcheon Yoon family territory—
The two countries of Hongsan and Cheonghae had responded more swiftly than expected.
Not only had numerous elite troops moved to the border with the Yoon family, they had even officially requested that the suspects be handed over.
But naturally… there was no way the Yoon family could comply with such a request.
It had simply happened by chance, and they had not been holding those people captive through their own abilities in the first place.
In truth, they also wanted someone to take those troublemakers off their hands.
‘Still, the goal of buying time by drawing that much attention was achieved.’
Entangled in all those various circumstances, time continued to pass endlessly.
It was not as though they could recklessly launch a first strike. They had already suffered a harsh lesson once, and the reputation of the Seongcheon Yoon family among the public was by no means insignificant.
In the end, everything had gone exactly as Hella wished.
[Oh? You found another one.]
During the time she had bought, Hella diligently roamed the dream world, devoting herself to saving the lambs submerged in delusion.
[Now, let’s see… What delusion are you harboring?]
An unavoidable side effect of the process was that she had to glimpse other people’s private lives against her will…
But well, couldn’t that much be helped?
She could only hope they would understand that this had been beyond her control as well.
[Oh dear, your boyfriend—the man you even promised to marry—was cheating on you? But the person he was cheating with was… Good heavens! Your younger sister? Yes, so you hid nearby and caught them in the act, but then…?]
The complaints came pouring out the instant Hella gave the delusion a little prod, as though the person had been unbearably frustrated.
Cradling a large tub of popcorn that had appeared in midair, Hella nodded with interest as she stuffed handfuls of popcorn into her mouth.
[…My goodness! There’s a limit to shamelessly turning the blame on someone else. And you just let them get away with that? Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. And then?]
In truth, infiltrating the dreams of cultivators with strong mental fortitude within the Yoon family’s territory, which was covered in all kinds of barriers, was no easy task.
But when the one wielding that ability was someone like Hella, things were different.
For five days now, she had continued visiting the dreams of the Seongcheon Yoon family members without leaving behind even the slightest trace.
[You were being eaten away inside all alone because of those beasts who are worse than animals. Even though the anger that had piled up reached its limit, you still never crossed that final line. How admirable.]
—I-I sob… I don’t know what to do anymore. Dozens of times a day, I think about killing them and then killing myself, too…
[I understand how you feel, but that isn’t a good thought. You need to keep your head clear at times like this. I have a good idea. Would you like to hear it?]
In the dreams she visited, Hella bewitched them in various ways and turned them into her own limbs.
Enchanting people who were neither fully rational nor even aware, in their half-asleep state, of whether this world was reality or a dream was as easy as pie.
[I shall take away all the anguish in your heart. When you wake up, you’ll rise feeling clearer and more refreshed than ever before. With that cleansed heart of yours, try doing what I told you.]
—Ah, ahhh—! Th-thank you, thank you! *Sniff.* But you’re so beautiful.
[Hm? All of a sudden? Well, um. Yes, thank you?]
—It seems men really aren’t necessary in my life after all. May I call you Big Sister?
[…Hmm, I think I’ll be going now? No matter what hardships you face from here on, live bravely.]
—Thank you, Big Sister! Come to think of it, did you know? A bakery opened beside Terio Orphanage in the outer district, and…
After sucking away the anguish and removing every sprout of delusion, Hella shrugged and moved on to the next dream.
Dreams were originally supposed to flow that incoherently, following the stream of consciousness.
Rather, being so consumed by one particular thought that it continued even in one’s dreams should be considered a mental illness.
‘Even a problem that seemed serious can feel like nothing much when you look back on it calmly. More anguish will pile up again with time, but she’ll be fine for the time being.’
Pleased by the thought that she had helped another lamb, Hella rubbed beneath her nose.
Of course, the owner of that dream would forget most of what had just happened the moment they woke up, remembering only fragments hazily.
That was simply what dreams were like.
But even amid all that, one thing was certain.
Even if they forgot everything, they would come to fervently worship Hella without even realizing it themselves.
Just as they had while entranced by delusion.
‘Well, I deserve at least that much payment for my trouble. It’s not as though making house calls for counseling is easy.’
One way or another, she was the Demon King who stood at the pinnacle of all demons.
Doing charity work did not satisfy her in the slightest.
Still, unless something serious happened, she had no intention of ordering them to do anything particularly unreasonable…
—Who are you?
At that moment, a voice full of wariness suddenly rang out.
Startled!
Hella instinctively looked around the new dream, her eyes twitching.
Since she had grown accustomed to Dream Dive to a certain extent, this was the first time someone had noticed her intrusion into their dream before she did.
She wondered if she had simply been imagining things, but—
—This is my dream… How did you get in here?
The words that followed confirmed it.
Those words were directed at Hella herself.
‘Her consciousness is as clear as it is when she’s awake. This is beyond a simple lucid dream.’
Who on earth was she?
Just as her curiosity began to rise, the scenery wavering around her like a heat haze gradually started to sharpen.
The ruins of collapsed buildings and miscellaneous junk piled up like a landfill.
A gray sky, thoroughly cracked and shattered, with pieces missing here and there.
‘Where is this?’
Hella, her expression hardening, locked eyes with a girl standing in the middle of the ruins.
A small girl clutching an old storybook in her arms as she looked up at Hella.
—…But you feel strangely familiar. Who are you, really?
The reason Hoon had crossed over to Sabacheon—
Ramyu frowned as she looked at Hella.
***
「Temporal-Spatial Control」.
That was the name of the unique skill Ramyu had awakened.
‘I knew from the name alone that it was an ability that interfered with time and space…’
But who could have imagined that it would even apply to the “time spent sleeping” and the space known as “dreams”?
This was not an ordinary dream.
It would be more accurate to say that this was Ramyu’s own unique world, created by Ramyu as a god and governed entirely by 「Temporal-Spatial Control」.
Above all, the strongest proof was that time here passed more than a hundred times faster than outside.
—So, to sum it up in one sentence… You’re traveling around like this to catch the bad guys who are secretly trying to start a war, right?
[Yes, yes. That’s right. You’re a smart one, aren’t you?]
—I’m not particularly happy about that kind of empty praise…
Ramyu answered Hella with a sullen expression.
Even so, her wariness had lessened considerably compared to when they first met.
—You said you’re working with Hoon oppa? The Masquerade?
[That’s right. We’re sort of a troubleshooter team that travels between dimensions solving problems. In fact, I came here because we received a request for help. Ask him about it after you wake up.]
—Hmm, somehow, you do feel a little similar. That dragon named Horus was like that, too.
Perhaps because Hoon had once told her about the Masquerade, she seemed inclined to accept the explanation easily.
As she said, Hella probably did give off a somewhat similar feeling.
But regardless of Ramyu’s attitude, Hella had been struggling desperately since earlier to keep the astonishment welling up inside her from showing.
‘How long has it even been since she awakened her unique skill, and she’s already reached this level?’
And it had not even been long since she had awoken from her long sleep.
Considering that unique skills had incredible performance but were difficult to build proficiency in, this growth rate was truly absurd.
‘If I hadn’t received Karma Points through achievements at the very beginning, I wouldn’t have even dreamed of operating 「Avatar」 at its current level.’
It was probably influenced to some extent by the “power to transcend dimensions” she had possessed from the beginning.
Otherwise, this level of growth was impossible to understand.
But from what she heard, that was not all.
[You’ve been learning chakras all this time? And you’ve already unlocked one?]
—Yes, well… Hoon oppa seemed busy, and I couldn’t just sit around spacing out all by myself, could I? Then I met someone named Yoon Soso…
She had met Yoon Soso while trying to win over Hoon’s surroundings first in order to seduce him, despite his constant walls, and had learned the basics of chakras from her.
After that, she had used the more-than-one-hundredfold time ratio inside the dream to fulfill the conditions for unlocking a chakra in an instant.
At those words, Hella slowly closed her eyes and reflected deeply.
She had realized anew that she had not paid enough attention to Ramyu all this time.
The very reason she had come here in the first place was to help Ramyu grow, but it seemed that while she was lost in her long sleep, Ramyu had slipped a little down her list of priorities.
‘Even so, this is beyond what I expected. I can look forward to even more from her.’
Hella gazed at the child, who was growing steadily all on her own without needing to be attended to, as though proud of her, then spoke in a gentle voice.
[Yes, so what chakra is our Ramyu learning—]
—I’d rather not talk about that.
Hella’s spirits fell at Ramyu’s immediate response, which put distance between them once more.
Ramyu accepted her only as far as being Hoon’s companion. She still seemed wary of letting Hella enter any further into her private sphere.
‘Wait. Could this perhaps…’
Hella, suddenly struck by an idea, stroked her chin as she sank into thought.
She was currently hard at work traveling through dreams, eliminating delusion and tracing the threads connected to it.
The chakra of delusion was so carefully concealed that finding even one inevitably took a considerable amount of time.
She had been at it for five days and still had not managed to leave the area around Seongcheon Yoon family territory, which said it all.
‘But what if that girl helped me?’
If Ramyu’s “Spacetime Control” were added to that···.
‘We might be able to find the dreams hiding the delusion more quickly. No, even if she could at least adjust the time ratio inside the dreams, it would be a great help.’
On top of that, there was one more benefit.
‘If we can find the mastermind and crush him···. Ramyu would receive a considerable number of karma points as well. She could use them to pursue even faster growth.’
A groundbreaking method that would not only get the job done quickly but also promote Ramyu’s growth.
Was that not truly killing two birds with one stone?
Having organized her thoughts, Hella wore a sly smile.
Then she looked at Ramyu and opened her mouth meaningfully.
[Hey, would you like to work with me on a little—]
—No.
···Apparently, persuading this child was going to be the first obstacle in her grand plan.
***
When the seeds of delusion planted throughout the Seongcheon Yun Family began to be eliminated one by one.
‘Who is it? Could it be that demon? To possess even this kind of ability···. This is troublesome.’
The first emotion he felt was a sense of danger compounded by irritation.
His chakra was a kind of power that was nearly impossible to detect before activation.
Everyone, regardless of whether they were great or small, harbored afflictions within them. The seeds of delusion he had planted burrowed into those afflictions, took root, and quietly entered hibernation.
The only moment the chakra became active was when the seeds, awakened from hibernation in response to his signal, sprouted and bloomed.
The delusion thus activated caused subtle distortions in the afflictions where it had taken root, covertly guiding the host’s actions.
Even after activation, its secrecy—to the point that not even the host could notice anything strange—had been his pride···.
‘Tsk. I suppose I’ll have to give up on the seeds I planted among the Yun Family.’
Until then, he had felt more stress over the failure of his plan than anything else.
The effort he had invested in the Yun Family was regrettable, but it was only a fraction of the whole.
But then.
‘···What is this?’
Not long afterward.
He was forced to confront a sense of danger that could not compare to what he had felt before.
‘Why···?’
At some point, the seeds spread throughout the Yun Family were erased all at once.
That much he could understand well enough, but the real problem came afterward.
‘What is this absurd speed? And this range, which keeps expanding···.’
It was not limited merely to the area around the Yun Family.
Whatever method had been used, the unknown “territory” that had begun expanding at an astounding rate swallowed up the central region of the continent in an instant, and soon reached as far as the vicinity of the capitals of the Hongshan Kingdom and the Cheonghae Kingdom.
‘···Damn it. What in the world is going on?’
In the end, he was left with only one choice.
To activate all at once the things he had saved for use at the proper time and place.
Would it not be better to do that than to lose the ability to use them entirely?
—To give the conclusion first.
It was the worst choice he could have made.
No matter how covertly chakra activation was, there were limits.
It was only natural that the greater the number of seeds activated, the greater the resulting disturbance would be.
And the connection produced by that···.
[Ah! I’ve finally found you.]
It was inevitably caught by the gaze of someone who had been waiting for this very moment.
[Could you wait just a moment?]
A voice that rang out inside his head—
—a bewitching voice he could never forget once he had heard it.
[I’m coming to meet you now. Hehe—]
A cold shiver ran down the spine of the shadow mastermind who had been certain he would never be discovered.