Chapter 168

The entire background vanished, replaced by a space filled only with darkness.

From far above, the darkness split open, revealing a massive, unsettling eye.

It was a chilling gaze, as if it were looking down upon the entire world.

[Yes… I answer your call…]

“!!”

Chris’s whole body trembled uncontrollably.

It was an involuntary reaction—his soul was overwhelmed by the sheer difference in power.

If it had been anyone else, they would have lost consciousness the moment they met that gaze.

‘Get a grip!’

Chris clenched his fists tightly, fighting the fog creeping into his mind.

‘There has to be a way.’

If this were the real world, no matter who he was, facing such a demon would mean no chance at all. But this place was different.

This was the world of dreams.

‘The reason a demon of such a high rank can even descend here is because this is a dream. There must be some weakness to exploit.’

As he pondered, the eye of the Fourth-Tier demon fixed its gaze on Chris and spoke unexpectedly.

[…You… are a soul.]

“!!”

[Will you… offer your soul to me?]

The demon who had summoned the Fourth-Tier demon gasped in shock.

“G-Great one! But that one…?!”

Yet the demon couldn’t finish its sentence.

The ‘eye’ turned toward it.

[Shut… up.]

“M-Master?”

Then.

A horrifying event unfolded.

With a tearing sound, a massive hand emerged from the darkness and crushed the demon beneath it.

Like squashing a bug.

“Gyaaaah!! P-Please forgive me… Have mercy…!! Kyaaaaaaaaah!!!”

Crack.

The demon’s soul, pressed beneath the hand, was crushed like clay in a press.

The terrifying part was how slowly it happened—almost as if the pain was being deliberately prolonged.

This was no illusion.

This was the true nature of a demon.

Eventually, the demon was completely obliterated.

Even after destroying its own subordinate, the eye showed no emotion as it turned back to Chris.

[…I… like you. Offer me… your soul.]

“……”

Chris frowned.

‘What nonsense.’

He had no intention of submitting.

‘There has to be a way.’

But then, something unexpected happened again.

[How dare a mere Fourth-Tier… set its sights on someone?]

Chris’s eyes widened.

That voice was familiar.

‘Mephina!’

Though she didn’t reveal herself, a tremendous power descended into the dream world, rivaling even the eye’s presence.

However, unlike the eye, Mephina’s power did not press down on Chris’s soul.

It was almost as if she was showing him consideration.

[Surely that human knows I have already claimed him.]

Perhaps unsettled by Mephina’s sudden arrival, the darkness around the eye flickered.

But.

[I do not care about you…]

“!!”

[A mere fallen… mutant…]

Those words carried a heavy meaning.

‘…So Mephina is a being of higher rank than that eye?’

Chris had suspected Mephina’s original rank was high, but to think she looked down even on a Fourth-Tier demon?

‘She must be among the highest of the Fourth Tier, or maybe even Third Tier.’

The phrase ‘fallen mutant’ was the key.

That was likely why Mephina had been cast down to the Seventh Realm.

For now, it wasn’t the main point, so Chris filed it away in his memory.

Mephina and the eye snarled at each other, with Chris caught between them.

[…I warn you… withdraw immediately.]

[How amusing… I warn you in return. If you do not wish to suffer a more miserable fate… return to the depths of the Seventh Realm.]

The clash between these two transcendent beings caused the dream world to tremble as if it might shatter.

At that moment, a voice echoed in Chris’s mind.

It was Mephina speaking directly to him.

[Become my servant.]

‘What? More nonsense…’

[It’s not just talk. In my current state… I cannot defeat that one.]

Mephina continued.

[There is only one way… you must become my servant and gain the power of causality… then you will be able to stop him.]

“……”

[I will not ask you to offer your soul. Just swear to become my servant—that alone will suffice.]

Chris furrowed his brow.

He wasn’t sure if this offer was truly for his benefit.

‘No, it can’t be. That eye monster and Mephina are both demons, after all.’

He couldn’t afford to be naive.

Though she acted like she was helping, Mephina ultimately wanted his soul.

She said he didn’t need to offer it now, but once he became her servant, who knew what tricks she might try?

[I know you don’t trust me. But there is no other way. Swear to become my servant.]

“Shut up.”

[You stubborn fool… even now, you persist in your reckless pride?]

“No, not at all.”

Chris answered sharply.

“I don’t need your help. I’ll deal with that eye myself.”

[What… ridiculous stubbornness!]

Mephina raised her voice.

But Chris was sincere.

A plan had come to him while talking with her.

‘I don’t have to fight that eye directly.’

He reminded himself this was the dream world.

If it weren’t, a being of such rank wouldn’t have descended here in the first place.

So the answer lay within the dream itself.

‘That eye won’t move easily because of Mephina’s check on it. I have time to try something.’

Mephina asked.

[What are you planning to do?]

Chris didn’t answer.

Instead, he acted.

He spoke into the void.

“Hey. Can you hear me?”

He wasn’t addressing Mephina or the eye.

“I don’t know your name, but you’re watching, right? Show yourself for a moment.”

After a brief silence.

Something astonishing happened.

From the darkness, a figure appeared.

A girl with an innocent, pure expression that didn’t fit the grim situation at all.

Though Chris had never seen her before, he recognized who she was.

He spoke to her.

“What’s your name?”

“…Patera.”

That’s right.

Chris had called forth the spirit of Patera—the true owner of this dream!

The girl’s appearance was how Patera looked when she was still an ordinary human.

‘To think they turned a child like that into such a horrific creature.’

Chris’s anger flared anew at the cruel acts of the Shiny Maga.

He bit his lip hard.

“No, I’m asking for your real name.”

“…Why do you want to know?”

The girl’s eyes filled with fear.

“I want to save you.”

“Me…?”

“Don’t you want to escape this terrible hell?”

Her eyes widened in surprise.

“Escape…?”

“Yes.”

“L-Lies.”

“It’s true. I can do it. Give me everything you have.”

“Everything I have…?”

“Yes. Your soul, everything. Give it all to me, and I’ll save you from this hell.”

The girl looked wary.

She had been subjected to horrific human experiments by the Shiny Maga.

She knew all too well how dangerous it was to give up everything, soul included.

But.

Chris’s gaze locked onto hers.

“Trust me.”

“!!”

“I swear, I promise I will get you out of this terrible hell.”

Perhaps sensing the sincerity in his heart, tears began to fall from the girl’s eyes.

She reached out her hand toward Chris.

“…I’ll give you everything… please… save me.”

Chris grasped her hand firmly.

“What’s your name?”

“E-Emily.”

“Alright, Emily.”

Chris nodded.

His eyes darkened, and without him realizing it, a black crescent moon-shaped mark appeared on his temple.

The mark that had been etched when his soul ascended to the rank of half-demon.

A soul-stirring voice escaped his lips.

“I am Chris. I accept all that you are and will grant your wish.”

At that moment, a miracle occurred.

The darkness that had filled the area since the eye’s descent began to crack apart.

A beam of light shone down.

From there, the light spread, pushing back the darkness, revealing the original scene—a snow-covered mountain valley.

[W-What?]

[H-How?]

The eye and Mephina both gasped in shock.

It wasn’t just the background that had changed.

Chris had wrested control of the dream world from the demon!

‘Since the dream’s owner has pledged everything to me, it’s only natural this dream is now mine.’

Chris lifted the corner of his mouth and spoke to the eye, Mephina, and the two demons.

No matter if they were great Fourth-Tier beings or not, it didn’t matter anymore.

“Get out of my dream, you disgusting pests.”

[!!]

With that declaration, something incredible happened.

The world warped as the eye, Mephina, and the two demons were forcibly expelled.

“You…!!”

The eye roared in fury, but it was useless.

This dream was now completely Chris’s.

A force manifested, erasing the eye’s existence like an eraser wiping away a drawing—leaving no trace behind.

It was an unbelievable sight.

“Next, it’s your turn.”

Chris said to Mephina.

[You…]

But Mephina’s reaction was different from the eye’s.

[…You… truly… always surpass my expectations.]

Without a hint of anger, she instead let out a voice filled with admiration.

But Chris’s face remained indifferent.

He didn’t want to hear any praise from a demon.

‘In the end, it’s my soul they’re after.’

Mephina was about to say more, but Chris cut her off coldly.

“I don’t want to hear it. Shut up and get lost.”

At that moment, Mephina’s presence vanished as if it had been wiped away.

Silence settled over the room.

‘Hah.’

Chris exhaled deeply.

He had barely escaped the crisis.

Now, it was truly over.

‘No, it’s not over yet.’

Chris shifted his gaze.

There were Patera and Emily.

“…Can you really save me?” Emily’s voice trembled.

“Yes. I can. With my power, I can break every chain binding your soul.”

“Ah…!!”

The spell imprisoning Emily’s mind was a mysterious mage’s magic—something even Chris would normally struggle to undo.

But now, with Emily having entrusted everything to him, it was entirely possible.

There was just one problem.

“Do you know what will happen to you?”

Emily hesitated.

Then she nodded solemnly.

“…Yes. I’ll die, won’t I?”

Her body was already broken beyond repair.

It was hard to even call her alive.

Once the mysterious mage’s spell was lifted, death would come swiftly.

But the girl spoke calmly.

“…Even if I stay alive, I’ll only suffer at the hands of those demons again. I just want… to be free now.”

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

Chris let out a low sigh.

“Alright. Is there anything you want, as a last wish?”

“…A wish?”

“Yes. If there’s something you want, I’ll give it to you.”

The girl hesitated, then stammered out her request.

“…I want to see my parents one last time.”

It was an impossible request.

Chris had already seen her memories and knew her parents had been killed by the mysterious mage.

Still, without a word, he nodded.

“I’ll grant your wish.”

A sudden glow enveloped Chris’s hand, dark as night.

“Even if just for a moment, may this bring comfort to your soul.”

A vision began to shimmer in the girl’s eyes.

Chris poured all his skill and effort into crafting an illusion so vivid it was indistinguishable from reality.

Snow fluttered gently down.

Smoke curled lazily from a chimney.

Tears spilled freely from the girl’s eyes.

She saw her family—long separated—before her.

They embraced her tightly.

Warmly.

Watching the girl reunite with her family, even if only in a dreamlike illusion, Chris’s expression grew bitter.

‘Damn those mysterious mages.’