Chapter: 169
The presence of ‘That One’ was simply too massive for the already crumbling Dark Fantasy world to handle. As a result, the entity’s form had diminished to less than half of its original size. In simpler terms, this meant it couldn’t even use half of its power.
The entity acknowledged that with its current strength, occupying Lian’s body was impossible. This signified that Lian’s physical form was more special than the entity had anticipated.
Although Lian’s body was currently off-limits to the entity, it was akin to a hidden item that sparkled with rainbow edges—a treasure not to be wasted.
Reluctant to squander such a valuable item, the entity called upon Causality to forcibly put Lian’s body into a “usable state.” Unsure of what side effects might occur, it decided to inject one of its followers into Lian’s physical form.
Thanks to the use of Causality, the entity’s follower, a fairly capable Outsider, slipped into Lian’s body with ease. The unknown force that had been gnawing at the entity’s essence seemed to have been muzzled, and did not attack the Outsider.
Though the Outsider would now need to take a brief nap as a consequence of hastily consuming Causality, if it could use the Special Item for such a small price, it felt like a good deal.
As the entity sank happily into a short slumber, Lian entered the room, and the Outsider—now occupying Lian’s body—began to curse.
[ How dare you say ‘That One’ spent Causality only to end up with a body I can’t fully dominate! What kind of body is this?! ]
The Outsider yelled in frustration as the body failed to move as it wished. It felt as if it were chained down by immense bonds. After some time of fuming, the Outsider muttered in resignation.
[ At this rate, it’s no better than being undead! If I’d known, I would have just stuck with my original body… ]
The Outsider glanced at its original body sprawled on the floor. Moving its eyes felt like trying to shift a gigantic boulder—heavy and incredibly difficult.
[ Hah… I’m not completely immobilized, so let’s take it slow and learn to navigate this body. If I had to use that much Causality, it must have some special feature. ]
Having wrapped its mind around the positive side, the Outsider began to spread its energy throughout Lian’s body.
[ Gack…! ]
At the same time, a wave of unbearable pain surged through it. The attack felt as if it were striking at its very soul, and Lian’s body remained motionless, a vacant expression on its face.
[ Ugh.. why does it hurt so much…! ]
The Outsider began investigating the source of its agony. What unfolded before its eyes was bizarre. Human-shaped cells in the broad corridor were beating up energies that had turned into slime at the corners.
“If you’re going to enter for the first time, you should say hi to the seniors! This body is mine now! Am I out of my mind?”
“Hey hey, calm down. The newbie probably doesn’t know any better.”
[ What the…? ]
Aside from the pain, the Outsider could only stare blankly at the unbelievable scene unfolding before it. The problems it was facing didn’t end there.
“What’s going on? Where’s the original owner?”
A strange voice spoke directly to the Outsider.
“Well, whoever the owner is doesn’t matter much. Here’s a message: the stomach’s empty and a howl is about to sound. How loud can it go? Set a volume limit quickly because there’s a scuffle going on between the heart and lungs. Also, some bizarre creatures that I’ve never seen before have started moving around in here, causing issues—”
[ What…? ]
With its head spinning from the overwhelming information, the Outsider found itself frozen in place as a tongue-clicking voice echoed.
“Did you seriously think ‘being alive’ would be easy? You’re responsible for overseeing this body, so get to work without delay!”
Even while possessing the body, Lian’s form had already become a comedy character, functioning differently than that of an ordinary human.
In a normal human body, signals that entered from all over were subconsciously sent to the brain to issue relevant commands, but Lian’s body required direct commands for bodily maintenance.
Due to the countless Mini Lians that had previously existed within Lian’s brain, it could move outwardly like an ordinary human.
The Outsider found itself in a situation where it had to operate a vast corporation with millions of employees all on its own.
[ ‘Uh… if this keeps up, I’m going to die!’ ]
Recognizing the situation, Lian looked at his body with a sympathetic expression.
“I won’t endure having this useless thing as my master!”
[ Gah! W-What the hell is going on! ]
Just as Lian predicted, the Outsider in charge of the body failed to manage it properly, causing the nerves conveying issues from all parts of the body to rebel. Before long, the Outsider’s screams began to taper off.
[ ‘Ah… I’ve lost control of this body.’ ]
Tied up completely, the Outsider found itself blindfolded and hearing nothing, reduced to an energy clump that could only move the body like a marionette.
Watching someone who was experiencing the same suffering it had endured, Lian found himself subconsciously drawn into the moment.
[ ‘Uh oh! This isn’t the time for that!’ ]
Snapping back to reality, Lian hurriedly approached his body and attempted to enter.
Whoosh…
His translucent soul passed through the body but failed to occupy it. Despite multiple attempts to enter, he kept failing.
“Fortunately, it seems to listen to commands well enough to test its usefulness in preparation for proper usage.”
While Lian flailed around trying to get back into his body, decisions were being made among the cloaked figures.
It wasn’t an uncontrollable situation, and since the body responded to commands, it would probably be useful. Above all, since ‘That One’ had used Causality to acquire this body, there must be at least one special trait hidden within it.
They promptly began issuing various commands to Lian’s body.
“Is it possible this isn’t entirely useless? It seems pretty useful.”
“Better than a golem at least.”
“What? Are you trying to pick a fight?”
Numerous satisfied comments were heard as they observed Lian’s body adapting and solving problems according to specific commands given. Floating invisibly above, Lian gasped in shock and muttered.
[ Looks like Gargon’s Divine Power can’t be used either? ]
The seals on the back of his hand had faded into a misty gray, indicating that they were completely non-functional. Lian let out a small sigh of relief at this revelation.
[ Thank goodness. If I could use those two powers… ugh… just thinking about it is terrifying. ]
Trying to sound upbeat, he found that nothing was changing. Before long, the cloaked figures escorted Lian’s body out of the room. After transporting it to a chamber lined with numerous coffins, they laid it within one.
“We’ll store it here until we prepare its equipment and role.”
“Before ‘That One’ returns, we need to finish this work.”
“Of course, it must be done.”
Their conversation concluded, they left the room. A loud bang echoed as the door closed, leaving only Lian and the many coffins behind.
[ ‘Ugh… first things first, let’s figure out where I am.’ ]
With no knowledge of how to return to his body, Lian decided to at least ascertain his location.
[ ‘If only I were close to Noah…’ ]
He thought if he could see Noah, he might also catch a glimpse of Julianna in his spirit form. Perhaps he could find a way to resolve the situation more easily? Lost in hope, he flew upward and passed through the ceiling.
Whoosh.
With a strange sound effect accompanying him, Lian flew up for some time until he emerged outside the building. Just as he landed on the sharp black tower roof, grim reality hit him.
[ No way… ]
With his mouth agape in blank astonishment, Lian took in the view of the immeasurable expanse of the Demon King’s Castle.
[ The Demon King’s Castle…? ]
Lian was at a loss for words for quite some time.
*
A week had passed since then.
…If you ask why time has flown by so quickly, I can sum it up in one phrase.
[ ‘I can’t do anything! Not a single thing!’ ]
After realizing that he was positioned dead center in the Demon King’s Castle, Lian had busied himself exploring the place.
Through his wanderings, he came to two realizations: first, as previously mentioned, there was nothing he could do.
Whether it was due to his weak spiritual power, he found lifting objects to be a grueling task. He was invisible to others, and everything he encountered passed right through him.
The second realization was… he couldn’t stray too far from his own body. Thinking about flying straight to the Empire where Noah was, he found himself back near his body before he even knew what happened.
Because of that, Lian had spent the entire week floating around, sightseeing the Demon King’s Castle. Initially, it was quite fun and fascinating, but at some point, he grew bored and just dangled in the air.
[ Hah… should I check out the far side today? ]
Since remaining idle wouldn’t solve anything, Lian gathered his sagging spirit and headed towards a room he hadn’t visited yet.
If you’re wondering why he was already bored despite not having explored all the rooms, the answer was simple.
[ As expected, it’s empty… ]
Most rooms deep within the Demon King’s Castle were entirely vacant, making it difficult to find a space worth exploring.
[ Huh? ]
However, not all the rooms were unoccupied, so with a bit of luck, he might stumble upon one currently in use, just like the room right in front of Lian.
Yet that wasn’t the reason Lian was shocked.
[ Ugh… ]
A pitiful, melancholic wail reverberated through the air—one he had never heard in the Demon King’s Castle before.
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