VIP Chapter 462: Demon’s Spirit Vessel (3k)
“Because I realized… the one who truly ruined the beautiful dream, the one who shouldn’t have been there, the one who truly should disappear from this world, the one who truly deserves to die…”
“…is me.”
*Bang.*
With a sound by his ear, Will watched as the dream shattered into pieces of glass.
And in the gaps between these broken glass fragments, he could see a strangely eerie “black” statue.
It resembled the strange Demon’s Spirit Vessel he had seen in the hall, shaped like a teapot with some yellowing around it.
But…
It looked even more sinister, densely covered with eyeballs of various colors, “sucking” purplish-black smoke from its spout.
And on it was printed a strikingly clear number…
333.
The number of demons, half of 666.
“?!”
Blinking again, the scene in the dream instantly shattered, and all that remained before Will was the crystal ball.
Even the crystal ball could no longer withstand this power. Dense blackish-purple mist filled it from the core outwards until the entire sphere turned murky.
Finally, before him was the extinguished crystal ball, the extinguished dreamscape.
“Ha… ha…”
He gasped, feeling his heart pound in his chest like he had woken from a nightmare.
“Is this… the recording of her dream from last night?”
Will closed his eyes and rubbed them.
Treya created this dream? To meet him in the dream? No, it wasn’t that simple, she wanted to…
He forcefully blinked his deep blue “human” eyes, still open. People do this when they’re groggy trying to wake up from a dream.
…A mission?
Come to think of it, in that book, “Quest System,” he had indeed written down a final mission for Treya, to watch the sunrise together.
So that’s how it is?
Treya, in the dreamscape, is fulfilling the mission he gave her?
“Looks like you’re awake. Dear, are you alright? Don’t scare me, why did you look at that ball and it turned into this. Empress, you better explain yourself!”
With a blink, Iaar appeared in his blurry vision, her face so anxious she looked like she was sweating.
“Hey, hey, if you keep this up, I’ll have to use my witch bloodline to forcibly pull you out of this state.”
With another blink, Liya appeared in his blurry vision. Though her words were still defiant, Will could feel the worried heartbeat from the magic circuit connected to her.
“W-what do we do? Should we just smash this broken ball—”
“Miss Lucifer, I must remind you, doing so may affect yourself…”
“It’s fine, Three… Two… One!”
Lucifer, clenching her fist, which had turned into a small hammer, was about to smash it when Will’s hand, still slick with cold sweat, stopped her.
“It’s alright. I was just pulled into a dream. Though I might have seen the residual afterimage from last night.”
He finished speaking and glanced at his watch.
Although his vision was still blurry, he could make out the time on it.
He realized that this process of peeking into the dream memories hadn’t lasted long; to the outside world, it might have seemed like he was lost in thought for about five minutes.
This was probably a characteristic of dreams; a dream spanning half a day might only take five minutes in the real world.
“So, what did you see in the dream? And what do you plan to do?”
“Let me think about how to explain it…”
Will appeared groggy, as if he had just woken up from a nap.
“In short, the current situation might be more troublesome than before. I’ll need Iaar’s and Lucifer’s help, can you?”
“Of course, no problem!”
“Since you specifically asked, Lady Iaar… could it be… related to the Witch’s Corridor?”
“…Simply put, the next three days will be for Liya and Iaar to train those two, and then…”
Will looked at the crystal ball on the table, which had completely turned purple. The crystal ball that once held a beautiful dream now only contained the sorrow of nightmares.
“I need to give Treya a dream she can’t refuse, a dream she’ll fall deeper and deeper into…”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One hour.
Two hours.
Three hours.
Four hours.
…
Perhaps even Will hadn’t expected this meeting to last so long. It reminded him of his past as a planner, holding meetings for the entire afternoon due to subsequent planning issues, people coming and going in the conference room, new people arriving, old ones leaving…
However…
Meeting with these four particularly interesting and cute girls made it much less unbearable for him.
As the sky outside gradually brightened and the demons’ nightlife began, Will knew that today’s meeting should also conclude.
“Phew. In that case, we’ll end here for today.”
“Perfect timing. Dinner should be ready! Since you’re all here, please give me some face and enjoy a good meal!”
Lucifer was never outdone by anyone when it came to hospitality.
“Indeed, everyone should have a good meal today. The next two days will be for training, and I… will also try the method I mentioned before, which can… contact Treya.”
“Hooray! I get a free meal again!”
“Mmm! Teacher Liya, aren’t you no longer in your penniless state from before? Why are you still so happy to get a free meal like before?”
“You, you don’t understand, this… this is a side effect.”
“Speaking of which, I can also rest tonight and not cook. So rare, thank you, Miss Lucifer.”
“Wuwu… wuwu… Iaar, you’re an angel!”
Lucifer seemed to be thanked so sincerely for the first time, and she burrowed into Iaar’s arms like a child.
“Well, well, well… you don’t have to be like this.”
“If you have time, I actually think Iaar, you could teach her how to cook.”
“Eh?! Why?”
“That… the food in the Tenth Demon City is quite… quite special. Perhaps you’ll understand after one meal.”
…
…
“G-goodness, what strange food. It tastes right, but the texture is like… err… bread?”
“As long as the taste is acceptable, don’t ask for too much.”
Liya had a high acceptance rate for such food.
Perhaps it was because, under the guidance of her witch mother, she had eaten too many foods made by witches that were like experimental products.
“Wuwu… that’s why this great me thanks Miss Iaar so much, and requires Miss Iaar’s continued guidance.”
Will initially found it difficult to accept the “food that looks like lamb is lamb” made by demons, but now, it held a sense of nostalgia for him.
It had been more than half a year since… he first came here.
Time really flew by so quickly.
So quickly that he felt in just half a year, he had experienced so much… it was as if from feeling that he wouldn’t survive in this world, to wanting to hold onto the love he had gained in this world to live on.
“…Perhaps it’s for moments like this, to be able to see them again and again in the future, that I… want to move forward.”
Saying this, Will smiled with relief.
However…
For him, the things hidden in that dream, which could only be seen by a “bystander,” appeared even more terrifying.
“Will.”
Suddenly, he heard a voice from his side, but saw no one. His initially relaxed mood made him jump.
But…
He lowered his head and saw two dragon horns tilted backward as she looked up. His mood immediately lightened.
Iaar, unable to reach the bar stool, could only stand on the ground, tiptoeing to get food. For this reason, she was like a randomly refreshed dwarf at the dining table, her voice heard but not seen.
As for why she wasn’t lifted up like Liya…
Or why she didn’t use flying or levitation magic…
—”When I was a Fire Dragon, I could climb up even a large body like that with my bare hands, what is this!”
After falling for the third time, she gave up and stomped hard on the bar stool.
“The dream just now, you must have seen something that’s never appeared before, otherwise… you wouldn’t have me finding… its portrait within two days.”
In the end, Iaar’s tiptoeing effort was a bit too much, and she spoke haltingly.
“If it’s Senior, then there’s nothing I can’t tell you.” Will took the small cake she wanted from the table and handed it to her. “Shuna once described the appearance of ‘Reviers’ she saw in the Death Hall, a giant statue made by stitching together the bodies of various ‘Dungeons’…”
“I see, although their personality is preserved, different rulers are still different people, it’s understandable… chew, chew.”
“I saw the Demon’s Spirit Vessel, with the number 333 on it. Actually, I’ve seen the Demon’s Spirit Vessel since I was a child. That vessel appeared very strange, and now that I think about it, it might be the entrance to the Zero Demon City…”
“…Chew, chew, chew.”
Iaar looked up, her mouth not stopping, but it was evident that her dragon-like eyes were constantly turning, as if she were in deep thought.
“Could that thing also be a kind of ‘statue’? Concentrating all… the personalities of the Entak monarchs who were once rulers of the Zero Demon City? If so, wouldn’t Treya be with them…”
Will realized that the Zero Demon City had inadvertently become the “blind spot” of the entire story.
And this “blind spot” was inextricably linked to him.
If it weren’t for him, His Majesty Edward wouldn’t have died so early, Treya wouldn’t have ascended to the throne so soon, and the Entak Empire would have been overthrown by adventurers, rather than being in this stalemate.
In that case, the Zero Demon City would have naturally disappeared, not lingered on like this… nor would it have become a blind spot for information that even he didn’t know.
“A rather bold conjecture.”
“Uh… I know it’s very bold. But it’s not impossible, right?”
“How many kings has Entak had?”
Suddenly, Iaar asked.
“Eh? Why ask this all of a sudden… including Treya, that’s eleven?”
“Gulp.” Iaar swallowed the rest of the bread. “An exact number, very interesting. I will help you find out, before you ‘depart’…”
