Episode 167
“Ah, of course, you must be a Sixth Circle demon. There’s no way a Fifth Circle duke-level demon could manifest in such a small vessel. Do you hold a title? You’re not some lowly common demon without rank, are you?”
A common demon.
Among the Sixth Circle demons, that’s the lowest tier.
Their power barely surpasses that of the demon-servants, the demon race.
At Chris’s words, the demon let out a voice thick with rage.
[How dare you. Do you want to die? I am Baron Sandi, servant of the ferocious Greed of the Fourth Circle, ‘Mistralot.’]
Baron rank.
Demons of the Fifth and Sixth Circles are classified by noble titles.
Baron is thankfully not among the highest ranks in the Sixth Circle.
(Of course, that’s still low among demons.)
But judging by the power Chris had just unleashed through Patera, even a baron was no match for a mere mortal human.
Despite the life-or-death situation, Chris’s face showed no trace of fear.
The demon frowned, clearly displeased by that.
[You don’t even realize what fate awaits you, do you?]
The demon twisted its mouth into a grotesque smile, its lips stretching unnaturally wide.
[This is not the real world, but the dream realm. Anything is possible here. I will trap your mind, leaving you neither dead nor alive, to suffer eternal torment through endless time.]
The dream realm is a space born of imagination, where anything can happen.
So, as the demon said, imprisoning Chris’s mind in infinite time to inflict eternal agony was entirely feasible.
[I have already sought permission from Lady Mephina, who has taken an interest in you. She said as long as you’re not killed, it’s fine. So now, you will wail in unspeakable pain for all eternity.]
Chris caught on to Mephina’s scheme.
She intended to use this demon to trap Chris in eternal suffering, then force him into a contract.
A truly fiendish plan, fitting for a demon.
“You sure talk a lot.”
[…What?]
“Don’t you have any friends? Why do you have to babble on like this?”
Chris flipped the demon the middle finger.
“Shut your filthy mouth and come at me.”
The demon’s expression blanked for a moment.
To be insulted like that by a mere mortal?
[You’re insane. Fine, I’ll enjoy hearing the screams that come from that arrogant mouth of yours.]
Whoosh!
The instrument of destruction stirred.
It was the same power Chris had manifested earlier through Patera.
A devastating force that even the Marquis Shupen, a rank 8, struggled to face.
It surged toward Christian.
But then, something unbelievable happened.
A brilliant light burst forth from Chris.
Radiant beyond words, the light expanded, engulfing the entire area.
The demon’s destructive power was swallowed by the light’s domain, flickering out like a flame touched by water.
[W-What is this?!]
The demon cried out in shock, staring at the glowing domain surrounding them.
“See? You said this was the dream realm.”
Chris gestured toward the light.
“The dream realm is an infinite world where anything is possible.”
The shimmering light began to take shape.
Countless gleaming swords appeared.
It was the ‘Blade’s Veil,’ the domain once wielded by the hero Evan.
“So of course, it’s only natural that I can do this.”
Chris grinned and declared,
“Die.”
A flood of light rained down on the demon.
The reason the Dark Gossip shared this method was because the demon was parasitizing Patera’s unconscious dream realm.
Since anything is possible in the dream realm, Chris could unleash power beyond limits to overwhelm the demon.
(Of course, not everything is truly infinite.)
Chris lowered his gaze.
The demon was shattered to pieces by the storm of light blades.
Its form fragmented into countless shards, barely recognizable.
But this was far from over.
Sure enough.
[You foolish mortal.]
The demon’s scattered soul reassembled.
Unharmed.
In fact, its instrument of destruction now surged with even greater power.
[How dare a mortal challenge a demon within the dream realm.]
The demon glared at Chris with chilling eyes.
[You don’t really believe the dream realm allows infinite possibility, do you?]
The dream realm does allow infinite possibility, but with one caveat.
Only within the limits of one’s mental strength.
For example, magic never learned can be used in the dream realm.
You can skip all the usual steps and simply cause the effect.
That’s how the dream realm works.
However, for a dream to actually affect an opponent, the dreamer must have the mental strength to back it up.
‘Dreaming and influencing others through dreams are entirely different. You need the mental fortitude to wield that power.’
In other words, battles in the dream realm are contests of mental strength.
You must overwhelm the demon’s mind to win.
That’s why even the hero’s party gave up on this method.
No matter how strong, mortals can’t surpass a demon’s mental power.
[It’s too late to regret now. Wail in eternal torment and rue your arrogance.]
The instrument of destruction surged again.
This time with a force incomparable to before.
A power that could annihilate all existence.
No mortal could withstand such a terrible force.
At the critical moment, a voice whispered in Chris’s ear.
—Give me your soul, and I will save you.
It was Mephina.
Chris chuckled softly.
She was so predictable.
‘No thanks.’
[What? If you keep this up…]
‘You’re after my soul, but you don’t even know what I really am.’
At the same time, light burst forth from Chris’s body again.
This time, it was different from the ‘Blade’s Veil’ that mimicked hero Evan.
Countless lights flickered brilliantly like stars embroidered across the night sky.
It was ‘Blessing of the Stars,’ the unique domain of Clessis, the saint of the Holy Empire and another member of the hero’s party.
A miracle that turned evil energy to nothingness spread around.
Yet, astonishingly, the demon’s power endured the Blessing of the Stars.
The demon sneered.
[Is that all you’ve got…!!]
“Who said this is the end?”
Chris said casually, and an unbelievable miracle happened again.
This time, darkness.
Plop. Plop.
Drops of blood floated in the air, staining the shining stars with crimson.
The blood-soaked stars blackened, exuding a sinister, chilling aura like a corrupted constellation.
It was ‘Scream of Madness,’ one of the unique domains once wielded by the Bloodthirsty Demon King.
A terrifying power that drives anything mad and corrupt, staining the radiant stars with sin.
The frenzied energy of the corrupted stars completely overwhelmed and extinguished the demon’s power.
[W-What… impossible?!]
The demon cried out in shock.
Chris had strengthened the light with darkness.
An impossible feat in reality.
“Normally, that would be impossible. But this is the dream realm, where anything can happen.”
[Don’t spout nonsense! No one’s mental strength could withstand what you just did!]
The more impossible and law-defying the act, the greater the mental strength required.
So what Chris did must have consumed an unimaginable amount of mental power.
“Did you not hear me? I said I can do anything here.”
At that moment—
Crack!
The demon’s knee bent unnaturally, forcing it to bow forward.
[!!!]
The demon’s eyes widened.
It was as if someone had forcibly twisted its spiritual form.
The ‘Absolute Dominion,’ a rank 9 transcendent ability.
The power to control all things at will.
Chris smiled and explained casually.
“My mental strength is infinite.”
That was why the Dark Gossip said only Chris could pull this off.
In the mental world, Chris was invincible.
What followed was a fierce battle.
As expected, a demon is a demon.
It didn’t fall easily.
[You insolent…!!]
A force capable of overturning heaven and earth surged.
If this were reality, a catastrophic disaster would have occurred.
But Chris didn’t budge.
“I told you.”
With a flick of his hand, the demon’s spiritual form was torn into tens of thousands of pieces, scattering everywhere.
Then the shredded fragments of its soul ignited in brilliant flames.
The Purgatorial Flames of the ‘Guardian of the Holy Prison,’ one of the Seven Pillars of the Alliance.
Chris’s attacks continued without end.
As if trying to reduce the demon’s soul to nothingness.
Of course, the demon didn’t go down without a fight.
No matter how many times it was torn apart, it revived and launched terrifying counterattacks.
But after countless repetitions, it began to show signs of exhaustion.
Its mental strength was running out.
‘Impossible. How can a mere mortal’s mental strength surpass mine, a demon’s?’
The demon looked at Chris with disbelief.
Chris remained perfectly fine.
Even in the dream realm, unleashing so many miracles should have drained immense mental energy, yet he showed no sign of fatigue.
[…Who, who exactly are you?]
“Me? I’m human.”
[Don’t lie! There’s no way a mere human could have this kind of mental strength!]
The demon snapped angrily, but Chris just shrugged and added casually,
“I may be human, but I’m no ordinary one—I’m a genius.”
[W-what?]
“It’s only natural that a genius like me has stronger mental fortitude than a lowly bug like you, a pathetic demon.”
Crack!
Once again, the demon’s soul was torn apart.
“And besides, this dream world is on my side.”
That was the truth.
Chris’s overwhelming power wasn’t just due to sheer willpower.
The dream world itself was lending him strength.
‘More precisely, it’s thanks to Patera.’
From Patera’s perspective, the demon was the enemy who had stolen everything from him.
Chris, on the other hand, was the savior who had come to help.
So the entire dream world was aligned with Chris.
[Kraaaaaaah!]
The demon screamed, clearly reaching its limit.
“Time to finish this.”
Just as Chris was about to end it, something unexpected happened.
The demon looked up at the sky and shouted,
[Oh, great master of mine! Have mercy on your lowly servant and please aid me!]
“!!”
Chris’s expression hardened.
The demon was trying to summon its master—the Fourth Tier demon!
‘If the Fourth Tier demon is summoned, it’s over.’
No matter how infinite Chris’s mental strength was, he couldn’t face a Fourth Tier demon.
The Third and Fourth Tier demons were truly transcendent beings.
‘I have to stop this!’
But it was too late.
Darkness flickered.
The dream world, which had once been a snowy mountain landscape, was completely transformed.