Chapter: 170
In a dimly lit room with curtains drawn tight, the soft cries of a delicate woman echoed eerily. Lian, momentarily frozen by the haunting sadness of her voice, found his curiosity soaring and stepped inside.
It wasn’t uncommon for the Demon King’s Castle to be filled with sorrowful cries or screams. But those were mostly from the outskirts. The deeper sections, where the officials resided, were oppressively quiet, making such wails feel strangely out of place.
At first, Lian wondered if he had stumbled upon a hidden Slave Prison or Laboratory, but as his eyes adjusted to the shadows, he began to recognize the shape of a bedroom, leading him to conclude that it wasn’t the cry of a test subject or slave.
[ Could it be a Princess captured by the Demon King’s army? ]
While this scenario had never been mentioned in the original story, in a situation this twisted, it was hard to make definitive conclusions.
[ If it really is a Princess, I’d want to help… but ugh, it’s too dark to see anything! ]
Though his spiritual form could affect objects slightly, he could push the curtains and let in some light, he chose to wait for the room’s owner to brighten the place instead; after all, time was on his side.
[ If it turns out to be a ghost instead of a living being, well… that would work in my favor! ]
Though he considered the possibility that it could be an evil spirit, he wasn’t too worried. Ever since his soul had separated from his body, his mind had been surprisingly sharp. It was easy to conclude that any Dark Fantasy creature attempting to devour him would likely just end up regurgitating him instead—it was logical for someone with his accumulated experiences.
Reflecting on how he had always failed to recognize the differences between the Dark Fantasy world and his comedic realm, he realized how significant this transformation was.
Lian acknowledged the change but reacted with nonchalance.
[ I’ve been here for quite some time now, so I guess it’s about time I adapt! ]
He let thoughts of “Total Conquest of the Dark Fantasy World! Top Instructor Lian!” linger in his mind while time passed. Amidst his self-entertainment, the weeping gradually lessened.
Feeling like a real jerk for playing around while someone else was crying, he rolled his eyes and slid towards the sound.
[ I’d better see something so that I can at least fetch some tissues to dry those tears. ]
Yet, as he tried to glimpse the source, all he saw was a watery blur. He could barely discern any shapes. This was only possible because he had intently stared at the darkness for quite a while; at first, even that had been impossible.
With a small sigh, Lian positioned himself near where he suspected the woman was crying. That was the most he could do for now.
The being, choking back her sobs, finally sucked in her thin breath and released it slowly, attempting to regain her composure.
Knock. Knock.
The sound of someone knocking startled her, causing her to flinch. But it wasn’t just her.
[ Gah..! W-Who’s that? ]
Startled, Lian shot straight up into the air. Before he could steady his racing heart, a husky voice broke the silence.
“…I’ll be out shortly.”
[ …?! ]
The woman’s voice, surprisingly low and quite sexy, left him momentarily speechless.
[ Was this work ever animated…? ]
The sultry tone from the woman who had just been crying sent chills down his spine in a good way. A moment of wild desire to hear those unsuppressed sobs again flashed through his mind, but he quickly shook off the eerie thought.
[ C-Cough… What am I thinking? I don’t even know her face—wait, she’s not a hostage either!? ]
Pooling his thoughts, the realization that someone might overhear him made him glance toward the window.
[ I can tell this person is an official from the way she responds casually, but who could she be? Hmm… it’s strange that no one ever describes characters with good-sounding voices. ]
Just as he began to sift through his memories, trying to recall someone fitting that description…
Swish.
[ …! ]
The curtain was violently pulled open, spilling bright moonlight into the room.
[ Whoa… ]
Dark hair, reminiscent of the night sky, cascaded softly over her shoulders. Her pale face glimmered in the moonlight, complemented by striking red eyes that felt mesmerizing.
Her delicate features were so harmoniously beautiful they seemed crafted by divine hands, leaving Lian breathless.
Her lips, soft and tempting like the petals of a flower, held an indifferent expression that radiated an aristocratic boredom, appearing arrogant yet somehow fitting.
It was unimaginable that this was the same person who had been weeping just moments ago.
With silent grace, she stepped over to the bedside and picked up a mask from the table, covering her face like it was second nature.
“Haah…”
Upon hearing the low sigh, which was entirely at odds with her seductive appearance, Lian snapped back to his senses.
[ Ahhh..! If I hadn’t built up a tolerance by now, I might have been stunned for days… ]
He repeatedly splashed his face with his hands, thanking Jess and Iris, who had allowed him to maintain his composure until now. Reflexively, he also thought of Noah, clinging half-naked to him, and blushed, realizing his face was heating up, even in his spectral form.
Click.
[ Huh!? ]
As Lian panicked internally, the masked beauty exited the room, prompting him to hurriedly chase after her.
[ Ohh…! ]
As soon as he followed her out, he was forced to swallow another startled breath. Standing at the door was the demon king’s right-hand man—Erboan.
[ I couldn’t find a single hair of him when I was searching! Where did he pop out from? ]
He had been behind all the shady dealings in the original work, and Lian had scoured the Demon King’s Castle like a madman trying to gather information but hadn’t spotted a trace of him.
What shocked him even more was seeing Erboan bow respectfully to the masked beauty.
“I serve you, my Demon King.”
“…”
Lian’s mind splintered like a poorly drawn sketch as he stammered out a nervous, “Huh? W-What?”
[ So this… beautiful lady is the Demon King!? ]
To clarify, in the original version, the Demon King was portrayed as an adult male; a middle-aged man, at that.
The unexpected revelation sent Lian’s consciousness spiraling into the cosmos, while Erboan and the Demon King continued on their busy schedule for the day.
Lian floated behind the two, lost in his dazed state.
It didn’t take long for Lian to regain some sense of reason and start to notice the oddness of the situation after trailing the Demon King for a few days.
[ Something feels… off. ]
Floating aimlessly in the pitch-black room, the sensation nagged at him like a splinter beneath a nail. As he pondered the cause of this feeling, the answer quickly surfaced.
[ No matter how I look at it, the Demon King doesn’t feel like the final boss. And Erboan doesn’t seem like the hidden true villain either. ]
Lian’s transcendent intuition, which had allowed him to survive in the comedic realm, had always kept him near the truth. Thoughts like, “This seems likely,” or “That likely is true,” were more often than not spot on, leading Lian to dive deeper into contemplation, not letting even the slightest doubt slip by.
[ Even if I hadn’t meddled, thanks to the presence of outsiders, the original version is practically nonexistent, so it only makes sense to think the final boss changed as well. ]
As if a veil had lifted from his mind, Lian pursued the train of thought without reserve.
[ In that case, the final boss must logically be… the Outsiders, who were never mentioned in the original at all. ]
Finding the answer so easily scrunched his brow even tighter as he nodded.
[ Ugh… why did it take me this long to piece that together? The Dark Fantasy deity mentioned the Outsiders when passing on the divine seal to me… ]
He felt like a person rummaging in a messy room, only just kicking up the thing he’d been searching for all along.
[ Now that I think about it, I had heard something like this before. ]
Digging through his memories, Lian recalled the bits he’d learned about the Outsiders and the information he’d extracted from them.
[ If what I heard back then is correct, the Outsider that could potentially be called a final boss is— ]
Just as Lian was about to reach a conclusion…
“Ugh…”
[ …? ]
The barely audible sounds from the Demon King interrupted his focus, and he shifted his attention towards where the noise originated, only to find nothing in sight.
[ Gah! Could it be… stubbed a toe or something?! ]
As he envisioned the absurd torture one could experience in the comedic world, Lian’s face turned pallid—not from fright, but because his spectral form didn’t quite show it.
[ It’s possible that because I’m here, they’ve suffered serious injuries… Huh? ]
As he neared the Demon King, a faint gleam of a blade caught his eye slicing mercilessly into the soft thigh of the Demon King from the dark.
Lian froze in shock, unable to move as he witnessed a true act of self-harm from a being so finite in life. In that instant, Lian realized his assumption turned out to be terrifyingly accurate.
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