NOVEL NEXT Ch. 19
Deltain cleared the interface and looked down at the city.
There, the hounds that had eliminated the remaining four players were joined by the demons swarming outside the city walls.
So many demons appeared just because one barrier fell?
The answer to that question was simple.
‘There must have been a lot built up.’
Deltain was the primary enemy of the demons.
As a result of him, the Demon King was destroyed and the dimensional gate to the demon world was closed, making Deltain akin to a mortal enemy to the demons.
Deltain smiled crookedly and averted his gaze from the city walls.
There was something more important before Deltain’s eyes than the city walls defended by the imperial knights.
With that alarm, something appeared in the sky above the city.
It was an unimaginably gigantic heart.
Numerous blood vessels extended from it, connecting to the streetlights of the city.
With each booming heartbeat, the heart twisted grotesquely.
The demonic energy dispersed with each beat was of an extraordinarily high concentration, even among those Deltain was familiar with.
Deltain quietly looked at Gaias.
Then, he clapped his hands.
“Damn bastard. You play this game like shit.”
It was the highest praise he could offer.
As Kaltara predicted, he lifted up the demon to keep his word.
That was the end of the praise.
In Deltain’s language, a boss whose mechanics had been revealed was no longer an obstacle.
“If you were going to hide, you should have stayed hidden till the end. You might have lived a day longer that way. How could you rush out just because all your underlings died?”
Deltain scattered his mana and summoned a black pit.
What he took out from inside was a long staff.
The staff was adorned with various precious gems, reflecting a cold light.
Compass.
True to its name, this weapon’s role was singular.
It was to establish a new spatiotemporal axis.
Swish!
The mana Deltain unleashed permeated the staff.
At the same time, a loud rumble resonated from the sky above the city.
Deltain cast a 4th tier spell.
4th tier spells interfered with time and space.
In other words, they utilized the concept of the fourth dimension.
Back when Deltain was not yet familiar with 4th tier magic, he had pondered a certain issue.
What was needed to perceive a higher dimension while living in a three-dimensional space?
Was it not so?
Overlaying the concept of the next dimension onto a three-dimensional space, which only had length, width, and volume, was a matter that pushed the limits of perception, even for him.
To break through such limits, he created Armament No. 1.
A calculator to substitute for concepts beyond cognition, for creating a hypercube.
A controller to manage the phase of space that changes over time.
Holding the Compass, Deltain could free himself from such concerns.
Deltain swung the staff.
The spell he used was a wide-area annihilation spell.
The blue mana began to burn red and emit heat.
It began to burn only around Gaias, guided by the compass.
This was the result of Deltain interpreting the phenomenon of magic from a highly modern perspective.
The blazing flames summoned the phenomena from a time when this planet still directly absorbed the sun’s heat, before life forms could survive.
There was no romance in it.
This was why he could reach the rank of Arch Mage.
Unlike the natives here, he wielded magic based on theoretical knowledge of dimensions and natural phenomena.
The flames were burning brightly.
At the same time, the heart began to burn.
Despite being a supreme demon, it was a sovereign-type demon.
It ruled more through its power than its physical body.
Moreover, in the end, it was a created being.
There was no way a mere pulsating organ could withstand the heat that soared to the sky.
Whoosh.
The heart shriveled.
Its light was so bright that the capital was illuminated like midday.
Fortunately, there was no other damage.
The range of the light and heat was perfectly limited to the area around Gaias.
Boom.
Boom.
Gaias’s heartbeat grew fiercer.
It was a last struggle.
Only then did Deltain shove the compass back into the cartridge, preparing for the next battle.
He knew well that it was impossible to physically destroy a supreme demon, a formless entity existing only within the concept of a name.
Deltain’s body was sucked into Gaias’s heart.
*
Deltain opened his eyes.
Before him was a vast hall, the mental world of Gaias, where he couldn’t see an inch ahead.
Deltain, familiar with this anomaly, waved his hand.
A dazzlingly brilliant sword appeared in his hand.
‘The will is functioning well.’
The mental world was literally the world inside the demon’s mind.
In other words, in contrast to the outside, everything was possible just by thinking about it.
Of course, to make it happen required unwavering conviction and will, but that was not difficult for Deltain.
Confidence and pride in oneself were always overflowing in Deltain.
Deltain took a step forward.
Then, the grand hall gradually brightened.
In the center was a throne.
On both sides, countless vassals bowed their heads.
This was the identity Gaias had defined for itself.
Deltain sneered at it.
“A king who can’t even be a proper one, just putting on airs.”
A derisive sneer filled with mockery.
At that moment, a figure appeared on the throne.
This demon was unlike any Deltain had seen before.
The demon seated on the throne had a beauty that even human aesthetic senses would recognize.
Skin shining white like starlight and jet-black hair flowing down.
Eyes filled with melancholy and firmly closed lips gave a neutral impression.
No, Deltain was sure that the demon was indeed androgynous.
This was because Gaias, who was not wearing a single piece of clothing, had both male and female organs.
“What kind of idiot has both tits and a dick?”
Gaias had voluptuous breasts that looked ready to burst on its chest.
Between his legs was an unsettlingly large phallus.
When Gaias crossed his legs, Deltain’s expression twisted.
“What are you getting hard for, you bastard?”
Thwack!
Deltain threw his sword, and it pierced Gaias’s phallus.
The grotesquely large organ fell to the ground, twitching.
Gaias looked down at the black blood flowing from between his legs, then raised his head to meet Deltain’s gaze.
A smile appeared on his lips.
[Contractor.]
“I never made a contract with you.”
[Foolish mortal.]
“I’ll live longer than you.”
Deltain politely responded to Gaias’s words while creating a new sword.
Then, he walked toward the throne.
Gaias was still chattering.
[Pathetic life, you cannot see an inch ahead of you.]
“You’re the blind one. That’s your problem. Even when your head is about to get cut off, you keep spouting nonsense.”
Deltain didn’t listen to the demon’s words.
He knew that they always tried to shake human minds and find a gap to exploit, so he gave them not even the slightest opportunity.
[You don’t even know what you’re doing right now.]
Gaias said with a cold smile.
Deltain snorted.
He had already reached the throne and was looking down at Gaias.
“At least you’re more composed than your predecessor. Your friend, Chambler, he begged for his life, shitting and pissing himself when he was about to die.”
[Oh dear, he must not have wanted to dream anymore.]
Gaias lowered its gaze.
[Go ahead. I will gladly become part of the contract.]
When Gaias spread its arms, its voluptuous breasts swayed.
Deltain grabbed its left breast and shoved the sword below it.
The sensation of soft flesh and the feeling of the blade piercing under the skin spread through Deltain’s body.
He frowned and spoke.
“I’m taking your heart.”
Gaias smiled.
[As much as you want.]
With a ripping sound, Gaias’s chest was gouged out.
Deltain reached in and tore out the heart.
Still pulsating and oozing black blood, the heart was clutched in Deltain’s hand.
An interface flashed across his retina and then disappeared.
Deltain briefly skimmed through it and then opened a subspace.
Inside the black pit was a display case divided into nine compartments.
Deltain placed the heart in the compartment labeled
The heart inside the display case was still beating.
‘It’s over.’
The grand hall began to crumble.
Cracks appeared in the space above, revealing the capital through the gaps.
Deltain watched for a moment, then walked outside.
“Boss!”
Waiting for him after escaping the mental realm were the hounds.
Kaltara was laughing while bleeding all over.
Galan, as always, was hiding his body under a baggy robe, and Pobler was burping.
Javis was pulling out his prosthetic leg, covered in flesh, blood, and an opaque white liquid, and shaking it off.
“Good job.”
Deltain’s words made the hounds laugh.
But Deltain had no intention of letting them rest.
“Now go outside the capital and help clean up the demons. Until I reactivate the barrier.”
Deltain pointed to the city gate, and Javis frowned, but he had no choice.
The master’s orders were absolute to them.
“Understood! Come on, everyone, let’s go!”
Only Kaltara seemed excited about the task ahead.
Deltain, leaving the departing hounds behind, began to reactivate the
‘I need to reinforce this.’
It was necessary to strengthen the Saint Hall.
Since the DLC wasn’t over yet, another demon like Gaias could appear at any time, making it essential.
As the capital’s lights returned one by one, the people hiding in their homes began to peek out.
Only after confirming this did Deltain head towards the mansion.
Then he stopped walking.
‘… wait.’
He remembered something.
-Throw her into my mansion. It’ll be safe there.
While searching for Gaias, he recalled what he had told Kaltara.
Next, Deltain remembered what Agnes had said, drenched in temptation.
-Do you like kneeling? Hmm, you have a strong desire for control. I’ll keep that in mind. I’ll beg to you with folded hands, pleading for mercy. But I won’t confess.
Deltain’s face blushed slightly.
His body was trembling.
‘… am I still not over the temptation?’
Deltain rubbed his face with his hands and started walking again.
He felt a surge of heat and tried to calm himself.
‘I’m going there to mock her. She must be embarrassed after acting like a child under temptation.’
Today was the day for payback.
As much as he had been stressed, he would mock her with all his might.
Deltain had no idea what was happening in his bedroom.