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“Lily…?”

“Yeah?”

“Aren’t we supposed to head out soon?”

Time had indeed passed quite a bit in this dream from the past.

I was busy dealing with the ancient monsters that posed a threat, and Yena was following closely behind me.

It seemed there were more monsters to handle than I had initially thought due to the chaotic state of the place.

So, time was a bit delayed, but…

“I’ll be done soon. Besides, not much time has passed.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Probably only about three days or so?”

Here, time changes continuously, making it hard to read the accurate flow of time.

At some point, when I opened my eyes, it was like day and night were constantly switching.

I can’t tell for sure, but it’s probably been around 3 to 5 days at most.

But Yena and I felt like we had been wandering here for almost a few months.

“Yeah. And if we solve this, we can also take care of the angel-related matters.”

“But didn’t Lily say we need to get out quickly?”

“That is true…”

It’s certainly a fact that I shouldn’t run into ‘that’ person.

But I couldn’t just run away like this.

“I need to see this to the end.”

I had to clear the quest that the angel enforced, where I needed to achieve something, to resolve the stalled issues.

If I just walked out like this, nothing would change.

“…I still haven’t figured out exactly what I’m supposed to achieve.”

“The angel’s death?”

“That would be good, but no.”

But no matter how I thought about it, that’s not it.

It’s a quest given by the angel; there’s no way they’d allow such a condition.

Even if they did agree, at this time in the past, the heavenly realm was still intact.

Given my current state, it’s completely impossible.

I might not even have a proper implementation, right?

Kira-rararack!!

Bang!!

The ancient monster in the form of a fly lost its wings and rolled on the floor.

I caught this fly monster along with Yena, and she has been following me closely while her skills have been steadily improving.

Compared to how she struggled with Acrane’s spawn, this is quite a remarkable growth.

Yena waved her hand holding the dagger around.

“Finished!”

“Good job.”

“Huh… Is this okay?”

“Much better. It’s actually more Yena-like now.”

When I first met her in the dream, she seemed much weaker to the point it was odd.

Compared to that…

“Isn’t it time to go again? It feels like the sun’s about to set.”

“Nope, not anymore.”

“Huh?”

“It’s all done. For any problems to arise here, five great monsters would have to run amok.”

I’ve taken care of all the monsters that would normally run amok at this time.

There were a few that sometimes appeared out of sync, but I thoroughly handled all of them.

Unless they suddenly overturn common sense and resurrect, there shouldn’t be much of an issue.

“The five great monsters will be active much later than this, so we don’t need to worry as long as we don’t provoke them first.”

“It’s a dream, so they can run wild too, right?”

“Technically, yes… but I mentioned before, what is meant to happen will inevitably happen.”

“Nyan nyan.”

“For the five great monsters to rampage, several prerequisites need to be met. For example, for the Pharaoh’s corruption, both the ‘Empire’ and ‘Serrek’ must be simultaneously annihilated.”

The Pharaoh’s kingdom and its human counterparts would be destroyed by a higher existence.

The ‘someone’ who annihilates here can change, but if any of the last two conditions remain intact, the Pharaoh won’t attack humans.

“Rashti also needs a specific kingdom to fall apart… and the Kraken won’t rampage in the first place, so it’s out of the equation. Myeosin and Griffin also won’t corrupt if the conditions aren’t satisfied.”

The five great monsters are strong and at the same time not particularly hostile from the start.

‘Rashti is a slightly different case, though.’

“To put it simply, before the five great monsters appear, the prerequisites will definitely be established, so I should be able to know beforehand if the monsters are going to show up.”

“Ah, I see…”

“The important part is from here on.”

I looked up at the sky.

I captured every monster I could see and eliminated as many of ‘them’ conditions as possible before the arrival of ‘that’ one.

While I had been diligently taking down monsters, it was also for safety since the invasion of monsters into the village would escalate when ‘they’ descended.

But this isn’t necessarily a foolproof way to prevent ‘that’ from happening.

While it’s true the number of monster invasions increases before ‘they’ come down…

“It doesn’t mean that ‘they’ won’t descend just because there aren’t any invasions.”

Once time naturally flows, it will reach this place eventually.

“…Yena.”

“Yeah?”

I can only trust.

The possibility that reality becomes fiction, and fiction becomes reality in this dream.

‘Hoping that if there are no prerequisites, there won’t be anything following.’

I pulled out a piece of paper and a small Rosaria I had from my pocket and handed it to Yena.

It was something I modified myself that Gabriel had given me.

“If I start acting strangely and lose my mind, please act accordingly. Discard that piece of Rosaria you had.”

“What, what are you talking about?”

“I don’t think this will happen, but… I really don’t know what might happen if a shock hits a person’s mind, so, um—”

“What are you saying?!”

As Yena’s bewildered voice lingered, I wondered how long it’d been since I prepared.

Chirrup…!

“…Lily?!”

“Please. You’re the only one I can count on.”

The heavens opened.

■

“Got it! It’s done!”

‘…I’m not sure if this is right.’

“Ho ho ho… what are you worried about? Although there were losses, it’s a great outcome!”

Abid shook his head while looking at the shining light of joy.

He was holding something in his long hand and smiling, but that skeleton’s thoughts were hard to follow.

Inside, he was filled with lies, yet he acted as if he had rich emotions.

The clown opened his arms wide with a broad grin.

Before him was a night sky filled with bizarre darkness.

“Bow down! Soon, that person will descend!”

‘…Is that good?’

“Isn’t it good? Soon, this world will be placed under that person’s death.”

‘Six hundred thousand are dead.’

Creak.

The bones of the clown’s neck twisted around.

Amidst those dark, hollow eyes, violet poison danced.

“Excuse me?”

‘The six hundred thousand dead from the mountain of the dead are now gone. The mountain is empty, and the remaining hundred thousand are on the verge of dying.’

“That’s quite regrettable?”

‘Do you think the evil god will grant you recognition? Rather, he’ll probably obliterate you for making such significant losses.’

“Hey, Abid. You’ve done this too, haven’t you?!”

‘I simply followed your lead.’

“That’s so unfair! I thought we were a team!”

‘Don’t play the victim; you don’t look the least bit pitiful.’

Abid glared at the clown.

To someone completely unfamiliar, the tone and body language might seem outrageously pitiful, but having watched him for a long time, Abid knew.

‘You’re just pretending to be delighted.’

The clown was happy.

Even being punished by that vile evil god was something the clown yearned for.

He lowered his hat deeply and chuckled.

“There’s a misunderstanding, you see.”

‘…What’s that?’

“Do you think that a few million worthless dead could even compare to a speck of dust to that person? Not at all! On the contrary, he will be pleased! To use ‘only’ six hundred thousand dead to summon him to this land!”

‘……’

“And same goes for you and me. While we’re being treated with special care… you know, right? The difference between low-tier dead and us…”

‘I know. They’re just a bit more valuable rocks.’

From the perspective of the evil god, whether low-tier or high-tier, they are merely dead.

Treated as something easily disposed of.

Abid knew that well and didn’t feel the need to refute it.

Ever since he was resurrected by the evil god a long time ago, such questions had been buried in the coffin.

Abid looked up at the ominous sky and suddenly glanced at the clown.

This guy had been shaking something in his hand for a while now.

‘What is he shaking all that for?’

“Ah! Finally, you’re showing interest! My arm nearly fell off!”

‘…What’s so significant about it?’

The clown joyfully unveiled someone who had been hidden in the darkness.

With arms broken and drenched in blood…

‘An angel?’

“Technically, a human who has received the power of light. They call her Raphael, I believe. Hehe. I caught her swiftly, sensing she might catch on to our plans.”

‘……’

A human with white hair and white eyes.

It seems she had been influenced by the light quite significantly, struggling to purify the clown and her surroundings, but it was all in vain.

“Strong will, huh? Using power even in a fainting state.”

She couldn’t do anything against the clown with broken arms and such a dire state.

Even if she were in perfect condition, she wouldn’t have been able to win.

As Abid looked down at Raphael, he suddenly thought of the one who had been wronged by the light and turned his head away.

Though the appearance was different…

‘…What are you going to do by capturing her? The door has already opened, rendering her useless. Are you going to humiliate her?’

“Eh? I won’t do something so unproductive!”

I’m just going to show her.

“To the beings of light watching this human. To show them that person’s greatness.”

Soon, true disaster will begin.

 

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