– Purr♪
The white tiger, having thoroughly sucked the devil’s magic and poison, strolled over, purring.
Was it feeling good after a hearty meal?
It was cute, but there was a slight sense of unease. I was worried it might absorb the unicorn’s nature.
Soon, a purple and navy aura exploded from the white tiger’s mouth, enveloping its body like smoke.
Crackle, crackle.
After a long, rumbling sound of bones and muscles twisting, the smoke cleared.
What kind of form did it take?
– Grr!
The white tiger revealed itself, stretching as it looked at me.
Still, it retained its adorable behavior and appearance.
At a glance, it seemed unchanged.
“White tiger, come here.”
– Purr.
The white tiger scooted closer and rubbed against my ankle.
But unlike before, it conveyed the sensation of fur that was no longer soft but hardened like steel.
“Oh, Sun…!”
What a relief.
The goddess had granted my wish.
The white tiger had acquired the unicorn demon’s characteristic of tough skin.
Moreover, it exuded a slightly gallant aura compared to before.
Still, it was more cute than impressive, but I felt it would grow into a dignified and mature holy tiger in time.
“Now I can rest easy.”
“Boring.”
Looking down at the white tiger, Lilith seemed to expect a different development and pouted slightly.
“Hey, if it’s a healthy male, it should be jumping around excitedly when it sees a pure female. Got it?”
She was teaching it a nice lesson.
Just as I was about to cover her mouth, the white tiger suddenly jumped up.
Thud.
“Ouch!”
With Lilith biting her hand, she waved her arms around, but the baby tiger didn’t let go.
Was it gripping its jaw? Lilith’s cry of pain only grew louder.
Our good white tiger biting someone. This was the first time since bringing it from the void.
Was it because it was a devil?
I didn’t know why it attacked Lilith, but I decided to separate them for now.
“White tiger, stop it.”
Calmly instructing it, the white tiger released its jaws from Lilith’s delicate hand and landed on the ground.
Then it trotted over to me, sitting quietly as if it hadn’t just acted violently.
“Ugh…”
Lilith, seated with her bitten hand wrapped up, looked like she was about to cry and asked,
“Hey, it’s a dark elf. Why is that child acting like this?”
“Well, I’m not sure.”
Wip cautiously took a step toward the white tiger.
– Grrr….
In response, the white tiger growled lowly at the dark elf it had previously gotten along with, crouching as if ready to pounce.
It was clearly abnormal.
Something about it was different from before its transformation.
‘…Could it be?’
A sinister thought crossed my mind.
Wip must have had a similar suspicion as she gently nudged Reeve and walked her toward the white tiger.
– Grr!
The baby tiger, bristling with fur in vigilance, let out a delighted cry as Reeve got closer.
With its bright eyes and retractable claws, it clearly displayed a different attitude than when it faced Lilith.
Soon, Wip approached the white tiger slowly, examining it, her brows furrowing.
“Archbishop, look here.”
The void monster specialist dark elf pointed to just above the white tiger’s forehead.
As I lowered my stance to look closely, I could finally spot the changed aspect.
“…A horn.”
A tiny, blunt horn.
It was a physical attribute that an ordinary tiger didn’t possess, concealed in its fur.
It matched exactly in shape and color to the horn sprouted from a centaur demon.
Though it was still small, just a dot…
It felt like it would soon grow taller.
Later on, it would surely develop into a long horn like a unicorn.
“Wip, what on earth happened here?”
It was said that the devoured void monster absorbed only one characteristic of its prey.
So when I realized the white tiger’s body had turned as tough as steel, I felt a sense of relief.
But what in the world was this?
“I think…”
Wip paused to ponder before answering.
“The tough body itself is likely a characteristic associated with the unicorn demon’s nature. It’s reminiscent of martial arts where the mindset affects the physical body.”
“…Is that so?”
“But given how well it follows you, Archbishop, it seems to firmly remember who its master is.”
That was fortunate in the midst of misfortune.
I bitterly smiled at Yao.
“Yao.”
“…Why?”
“Congratulations. You can finally have the affection of the white tiger now.”
“……”
Yao didn’t seem pleased and looked rather sullen.
It appeared she didn’t want to get too close to the white tiger, which had gained the characteristics of a unicorn.
*
“I’ve handled everything.”
As I gazed at the baby tiger nestled in Reeve’s arms with mixed feelings, Psycheless returned.
Despite having slain numerous demon armies all by himself, he didn’t look fatigued at all.
He showed the effortless demeanor characteristic of a returnee who strengthened solely by revenge.
In dreams, just having Psycheless would likely make everything feel easy.
“The Lady Taeguk is indeed powerful. The president will be pleased.”
“…Please don’t call me that.”
Psycheless blushed as they removed their mask and promptly dashed to Lilith, jumping into her arms.
It was like a daughter being held by her mother.
The succubus and her follower exchanged gentle smiles.
The heartwarming scene was enough to widen Reeve’s eyes, who used to be skeptical of Lilith.
“Good job.”
As the kind succubus stroked her sole follower’s head, she turned her gaze toward me.
“Archbishop? Our Psycheless can’t fight for a while. After using too much strength, she falls asleep.”
“Then will Cubica come to the surface?”
“Right. The Great Demon must have been aiming for this. If the henchmen he sent into dreams kill us, it would be great, or at the very least, reduce our forces by one.”
“……”
So this meant we had fallen into the Great Demon’s scheme.
I didn’t eagerly welcome Cubica’s appearance.
However, I didn’t want to reject her either. You couldn’t mistreat someone who was brainwashed.
“Lady Lilith, please take care of her.”
“Okay.”
A while later.
While Psycheless was nestled in Lilith’s arms, she suddenly flinched.
It was the moment of personality change.
“Lilith, is it?”
Soon, a short, stammering voice followed.
It was the same voice as Psycheless, but it had a cute and sticky quality added to it.
One could immediately tell the difference in tone between the two personalities.
The team members who had only heard the details through stories were filled with various emotions as they watched.
“Where am I?”
Cubica blinked her large eyes repeatedly, looking around in confusion.
It must be disorienting to wake up in such a completely different environment from before.
Having no knowledge of what Psycheless had experienced, she must have often awoken in strange places before.
Each time, the succubus had cared for her, and now she gently patted Cubica’s back.
“Hehe, Cubica. This is the Demon World.”
“The Demon World?”
“Yeah.”
“Why am I here?”
“I’ll give you a hug after a long time, so just forget all your questions.”
“Wow…”
It was a soothing technique typical of a succubus.
However, Lilith’s expression wasn’t very bright.
With a troubled look and a bitter smile, I could almost feel the same sentiment and let out a dry laugh.
I glanced at the now stable Cubica for a moment and spoke.
“Lady Lilith, let’s slowly take her to the Domain of the Great Demon.”
“Got it. I’ll clear the path.”
Holding Cubica in her arms, Lilith closed her eyes.
In that state, she stretched one hand into the air, and a dense pink aura began to flow from her palm, gathering together.
It was the same energy that had emanated from Psycheless’s body earlier.
What in the world was that?
As I observed, my body trembled and my heart felt warm.
It was definitely sacred power, but it lacked the divine quality.
It was a newly seen power with a unique quality.
I found myself watching Lilith as she gathered her strength in a daze.
Reeve, the sanctified priest, was silently gazing at the scene alongside me.
“Oh, what is that energy?”
Yao, a holy knight who seemed indifferent, asked, and Lilith giggled with her eyes still closed.
“I don’t know exactly. It started accumulating in my body gradually after I began looking after Cubica and Psycheless. What do you think, Archbishop?”
“It’s sacred power.”
She immediately flinched at my prompt answer.
“Sacred power? But I’m a demon!”
“To be precise, it’s another power that is very similar to sacred power. Since it hasn’t been discovered until now, I think we’ll have to give it a new name.”
“Hehe, I feel like a very impressive demon!”
As Lilith chuckled, she soon opened her eyes.
Right after that, she lightly poked the gathered dense pink sphere.
Buzz.
The sphere vibrated and emitted a deep, rumbling sound.
At the same time, the surrounding landscape began to shift slowly.
Then, eventually.
The Great Forest disappeared, revealing an entirely blank white world.
“Malignant Power.”
In the midst of the changed world, Lilith spat out.
“Since it’s the sacred power of demons, it will be called malignant power. Is that okay?”
“Sounds terrible.”
Yao immediately delivered a blunt criticism, but the kind succubus didn’t back down.
“Alright, everyone. Follow me, the first demon to possess ‘malignant power,’ Lady Lilith, closely. If you don’t focus, you might get lost in dreams forever, so be careful!”
With a relaxed grin, Lilith began to walk somewhere, cradling Cubica.
I took a moment to observe the mother-daughter-like figures along with the other companions before speaking.
“Let’s go too.”
We were almost there, nearing the Domain of the Great Demon.
*
At that same moment, the Demon World Corps was traversing the Dream’s Path.
Jun-seok, nicknamed “I Want to Get a Job,” was sweating profusely as he was summoned to the Sun Cathedral.
“Everyone’s here.”
Kelaout, who had gathered a few members in the auditorium where a class had been conducted previously, smiled warmly.
“Now, let’s begin the second lesson aimed at cultivating your knowledge and character. Please engrave my teachings deep within your hearts. This time, I will go through all the prepared content without interruptions.”
Jun-seok already felt the world spinning before his eyes.
‘…This is bad.’
He had barely lasted during the last viewing from home.
Now he had to endure a lesson that would last longer than before?
It was practically akin to sleep torture.
“Hmm… This is problematic.”
At that moment, the small angel, who had been by his side since receiving blessings, frowned.
Then, gently tapping Jun-seok’s cheek, she said,
“She says she’ll weaken the blessings just for today.”
“……”
It seemed even the goddess didn’t want to hear the archbishop’s lecture.
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