After wandering around the pure white world with Lilith for a while.
We arrived at another dreamlike world.
A dimly lit space surrounded by marble on all sides.
Thick columns were erected here and there, and the floor was neatly organized.
And.
In the center of the vast space stood a monster that looked like an elephant.
– Kkiiee!
The monster soon shrieked loudly, looking directly at us.
It seemed to be on guard.
“Aha. So it was you.”
At that moment, Lilith nodded with a sly smile. Cubica next to her eagerly nodded her head without knowing what was happening.
Finally, the kind succubus spoke to me.
“That monster can bridge the reality and dream. The Great Demon’s subordinates probably entered the dreams using its abilities.”
“Is that so?”
It was a welcome piece of information.
“Let’s use that monster’s abilities to get back to reality. Lady Lilith, please conserve your strength.”
“I’m afraid I won’t be much help unless we’re in a dream.”
“Still, you have enough power to protect Cubica, don’t you?”
“That is true.”
“Then it’s settled.”
Having made my decision, I promptly tapped Yao on the shoulder.
“Go and ‘negotiate’ with it.”
“Understood.”
Yao summoned a spear into her hand and charged at the monster.
– Kkiieek!
In response, the monster launched a preemptive strike with its long trunk. It swung with quite a fierce and heavy momentum.
If that hit, even Yao would be in for a huge shock.
Of course, that didn’t happen.
There was no way an attack from a barely intelligent monster could reach someone enhanced with blessings, magic, spirit arts, and so forth.
“Stay still!”
Yao gracefully dodged the lunging trunk and stabbed the monster’s front leg with her spear.
Immediately afterward, she delivered a punch to its face.
A transcendent blow packed with incredible power.
The elephant-like monster couldn’t withstand it and collapsed to the side.
“Hey.”
Stepping on the trembling monster’s face, Yao quietly said.
“Do you want to take us back to reality, or do you want to get hit some more?”
It couldn’t understand the words, but in a life-threatening situation, it’s amazing how communication could happen purely through atmosphere.
– Kkiiing….
The now cowering monster glanced around before it emitted a colorful, mysterious powder from its trunk.
As the powder spread into the air, the entire dim space began to shake.
I hope this isn’t dangerous.
As I carefully observed my surroundings, Lilith calmly reassured me.
“It’s sending us back to reality. Just wait a moment.”
“Is that so? Understood.”
“But don’t let your guard down. Who knows what might happen the moment we leave the dream?”
“Good point.”
I immediately turned to my expedition team and issued orders.
“Prepare for combat.”
The returnees, well accustomed to battles, obediently readied themselves under my commands, except for Kim Ji-yeon, who stood there dumbfounded.
“… Ji-yeon.”
“Pope, Pope. I’m currently. Power charging. Focusing power. Okey-dokey?”
It was a somewhat plausible excuse.
Without the ability to materialize cards, Kim Ji-yeon was just a humanoid with slightly enhanced strength for handling sexual desires.
When would she finally perform her role properly?
If I had known it would turn out this way, I should have just left her behind.
“How much power have you recovered?”
I asked, without much expectation, and Kim Ji-yeon confidently placed her hands on her hips.
“Up to now. Quite a lot. Has been filled.”
Numbers appeared on her talisman.
I couldn’t help but widen my eyes at the number.
[761]
“How is it? How is it?”
“… That’s quite a lot of power.”
I thought she would drain my energy again, but she actually had a considerable amount of power charged.
“Why didn’t you charge it like this in the forest?”
“No-no, can’t do. This is an exception. Dream world. Power charging. Optimal.”
It seemed that power filled up much faster in the dream world than usual.
What could be the principle behind that?
I knew nothing about energy arts, so I could only scratch my head in confusion.
The person in question seemed clueless as well.
“Ji-yeon, please refrain from using your powers until I ask.”
“Okey-dokey.”
After getting Kim Ji-yeon ready, I suddenly felt dizzy, and my vision started to blur.
I didn’t need an explanation to know that we were on the brink of exiting the dream.
“Sun, please protect us.”
The moment I quietly offered a prayer.
We found ourselves back in reality without us even realizing it.
Feeling my previously dazed senses return to clarity, I immediately looked around.
‘… Insane.’
Before us lay a hellscape.
Blood, dark red and thin, dripped from the sky like rain.
Human bones grew like weeds from the flesh-strewn ground.
The eerie sounds of shrieks echoed sporadically through the air.
The space was packed with horrifying elements that would only bring comfort and ease to demons.
Is this the true landscape of the Demon World?
It would be a place where anyone with a weak stomach couldn’t last even a moment.
Anyway.
Fortunately, there were no enemy forces waiting for us.
Well, not really.
“Hi, hiik….”
A goblin-like little demon nearby saw us and freaked out, quickly turning to flee.
That was cunning, quick thinking for a demon.
Although it was the enemy, impressive nonetheless.
However, its reaction time was a bit slow, so soon enough, its decision became irrelevant.
– Grrooar!
The White Tiger, jumping out from Reeve’s arms, clamped down on the fleeing demon’s leg.
“Ugh, aaah!”
The helplessly fallen demon flailed about, trying to shake off the tiger.
Yet the more it struggled, the more it only provoked the small Void Monster’s wrath.
Crunch, crunch.
The sound of flesh and bone being chewed filled the air.
Unlike when it devoured the unicorn centaur, the White Tiger didn’t absorb any nutrients or poison, just tore at its body.
“It seems it deemed it not worth absorbing its power.”
Based on the opinion of Wip the expert, I nodded in agreement.
“I suppose weaklings don’t contribute to becoming stronger.”
“Exactly. The Void Monster typically just nibbles on weak enemies before moving on.”
Just as Wip said, the White Tiger lost interest in the little demon and scampered back.
I picked up the White Tiger and approached the demon that had lost a leg, smiling benevolently like a pope.
“Excuse me…”
“Spare me! I will tell you all the secrets and weaknesses of the Great Demon Army!”
“…….”
A remarkable ability to decide betrayal in just one second.
It was entirely a demonic action, yet I found it appealing.
This seemed worth sparing it.
“Alright, tell me.”
“B-but first, my leg…”
“Would it be alright if I infused divine power into you?”
“Ah, that’s absolutely not going to work.”
The demon firmly rejected while struggling to raise its upper body. In that state, it cautiously began to speak.
“First, let me introduce myself. I am Rodwell, a first-class soldier belonging to the Great Demon Reuenna’s legion.”
“Is a first-class soldier a high rank?”
“It’s the lowest rank.”
“…….”
That means it wouldn’t possess much information.
Should I just eliminate it?
While I was briefly contemplating, Rodwell hurriedly prostrated himself on the ground.
“Okay, fair enough! The truth is, the things I know wouldn’t be of much help to you!”
“Then you have to die…”
“But! I know some special information. Although I’m low-ranked, I got to know it through my association with the legion. I’ll relinquish this information to you. What do you say?”
I looked down at the pitifully pleading demon while petting the White Tiger.
Then I frowned.
“If that’s the case, there’s no need to ask you. We can just capture a higher-ranking demon for information.”
“Umm, good point.”
“Then now…”
“But how about this!”
Interrupting me again, Rodwell hurriedly pulled something out of its pocket and presented it to me.
A tiny black bead, no bigger than a thumbnail.
Upon brief inspection, I noticed that there were intricate runes etched on the surface, and inside it was packed with dense mana.
It didn’t emanate any ominous aura, so I accepted it for now.
“That’s called the ‘Demon Bead.’ It’s a magical tool crafted by a demon who got a cultural shock in a world where technology was tremendously advanced.”
The little demon explained, bowing down.
“If you just hold it to your forehead, it’ll be absorbed into your body. No need for optimal power integration.”
“So, what can I do with this?”
“It allows you to access the mana communications network known as Demon Net.”
“……….”
It was intriguing; a tool that possessed such a function.
“So, does this mean we can use the internet?”
“Oh, I see you’re from a world that knows about that. So, you know what a smartphone is?”
“I do.”
“The Demon Bead is a product that was created based on an even more advanced item of the smartphone. You can imagine how impressive that is.”
“…….”
A top-tier superior version of a smartphone.
So this magical tool could be described that way.
I was astonished and looked at Kim Ji-yeon, and the symbols on her talisman changed.
[┌ㅣㅁㅣ┘]
It seemed the technology contained within the Demon Bead was impressive enough to even astonish humanoids created with future technology.
“Is there any side effect with this?”
Instead of asking the somewhat doubtful Rodwell, I turned to Lilith.
The kind succubus shook her head vigorously.
“Not at all. No problem whatsoever. However…”
Squinting, Lilith leaned down and gave the little demon a suspicious glare.
“This is exceedingly expensive. Where did you acquire it? For a low-ranked demon, I must ask.”
“Lord Reuenna provided it to all soldiers of the legion.”
So, Rema seems to take good care of her subordinates. Or maybe it was a lie.
Either way, I didn’t particularly care. I had acquired quite a nice income.
“Alright then.”
I showed a warm smile befitting a pope.
“I will spare you for now.”
“Yay!”
Rodwell raised both hands in delight.
I chuckled at the sight of the demon dancing joyfully before placing the Demon Bead to my forehead.
Woong.
The tiny bead was absorbed as soon as it touched my forehead.
There was no feeling of discomfort.
However, my head spun dizzyingly fast.
The intense dizziness felt as if my mind was being shaken all around.
Through that, my vision kept blurring and then clearing up repeatedly.
Am I going to pass out like this?
Just as that thought crossed my mind, an emotionless voice resounded in my head.
【User, Clitia Eluke. Confirmed.】
Is it over?
I cautiously blinked and shook my head, but nothing happened.
“What do we do now?”
It was just when I was about to ask Rodwell how to use it.
【A device owned by the user is nearby. Proceeding with linkage.】
Once again, the emotionless voice reverberated, followed by a sharp pain striking my head.
It felt like being hit by a hammer.
The pain made me grimace involuntarily.
Couldn’t they have warned me beforehand?
It was all too unfriendly for an invention made by a demon.
As I silently grumbled, a translucent character suddenly appeared before my eyes.
– Your Holiness?
It resembled a shrunken version of Kim Ji-yeon, a humanoid.
It was Wip, the AI that had been in my smartphone which Yao carries around.
– What is this? Why am I in Your Holiness’s head?
“……”
I blankly stared at Wip, then slowly smiled.
“This is nice.”
The birth of the Cyberpunk Pope.
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