Chapter 207

Chapter 205 – Hell – 8

‘What the… why is that here?’

I cautiously approached the statue, my trembling steps unsure. It was only a bust, but it was absurdly large.

Of course, this was in relative terms. Assuming that was indeed the Creature that Devours the World, it was still much smaller than the original, whose single eye was larger than my entire height.

In the spot where the eye should have been, there was a gem presumed to be ruby. It looked like a huge gemstone that was at least twice the size of my head.

I stood before it, trying to calm my churning stomach as I retraced my memories. The time I faced that thing head-on in the Imperial Palace, and the model I had seen in the game. I was meticulous to make sure I missed nothing.

‘…….’

And I was certain. This was indeed a statue representing the head of the Creature that Devours the World. Being the final boss, it was crafted with much more care than other dragons, so there was no way I could mistake its appearance.

Now that its identity was revealed, there was only one question left.

Why did the Demon bring a statue of the Creature that Devours the World here, to where the statue of ‘Lucifer who Leads Evil,’ originally the final boss of the DLC, should have been?

Moreover, this was set as a place where demons offer sacrifices to high-ranking demons. Putting this here had significant implications.

“What are you doing?”

While I was frozen in shock, Margarita entered the room and stopped in her tracks as well, looking at the statue of the dragon, just like me.

“……What is this? A dragon?”

“Yes. It is a dragon.”

“Why is it here? This is Hell. Do the demons have any reason to place a dragon statue on the altar?”

Since Margarita was reacting this way, it seemed that the Mod was not the cause. If it were, she would have thought nothing of it, just like Kaiquilia did when she saw the Pope blessing me.

‘……No, even if it wasn’t due to the Mod, that still poses a problem.’

If this was not due to the Mod, it meant that something occurred outside my knowledge without any change in common sense, which was my worst-case scenario, something I wanted to avoid the most.

My head was spinning. I had been tense when the Creature that Devours the World visited the Imperial Palace, fearing I might die then. Somehow, nothing good came from being entangled with that thing.

Margarita and I gazed dumbfoundedly at the statue, unable to even think about activating the altar. While our points of surprise seemed slightly different, we were both shocked nonetheless.

How long had we been frozen? Suddenly, I heard a sound of someone landing not far away, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps.

It was obvious who it would be. Since the boss didn’t come out after we defeated it, it had come to find us directly.

I turned my head. Kaiquilia walked into the room, holding the bright holy sword in her right hand and the decapitated head of a gladiator demon in her left.

Blood dripped from the severed neck to form a distorted red circle on the floor.

As soon as Kaiquilia entered the room, she first looked at me, then at the statue before us, and finally at Margarita beside me.

Thud, the severed head rolled on the floor.

“Do your task.”

“… Huh?”

“I told you to do your task.”

“Ah, yes! Understood!”

Margarita, reading the atmosphere, picked up the recently thrown gladiator demon head with a grunt and exited the room. The sound of her sandals dragging on the ground gradually faded away.

Thanks to the effect of the holy sword, even though Kaiquilia was holding a dripping bloody head, she approached me with clean hands and locked the door.

“What were you doing in a place like this? To make a servant come personally, you must truly be an unfaithful subject.”

“… It would be faster for you to check directly than to hear my explanation.”

Her golden pupils scanned the statue. The eyebrows that confirmed the shape of the statue slightly curved into a crescent moon, revealing her discomfort.

“I shall ask you, Delta. Is that the shape of that damned thing you know?”

“You see it correctly, Your Majesty.”

“I do not understand. How could a statue of that damned thing be in such a place?”

Recalling how I had fainted from the shock back then without any proper response when the Creature that Devours the World appeared in the Imperial Palace, Kaiquilia’s expression darkened in real-time.

If I had permission to destroy it, I felt as though I could smash that statue to pieces right now.

“We must find out from now on.”

“Find out from now?”

Instead of the darkness fading from her face, surprise and disbelief emerged instead, as if I were saying there were things she didn’t know.

She seemed to understand quickly. Apparently, she thought I wouldn’t lie about such things; after all, Kaiquilia clicked her tongue in annoyance, clearly displeased.

The Creature that Devours the World was a boss whose settings were mostly undisclosed.

Its origin was unknown, its purpose unclear, and it held no reason for wanting to destroy the world. It was merely powerful enough to eat the world and wanted nothing else.

It didn’t even try to pull any emotional guilt trips, like claiming it had noble intentions or had turned evil due to some incident in the past. It could be classified as an absolute evil boss.

Thus, it was practically impossible for the Creature that Devours the World to be worshiped in Hell instead of the Demon King. For that thing, Hell was just another world it had to destroy and nothing more.

“I was certain upon seeing you. There should have been something other than that damned thing’s head in this place. Tell me, in your knowledge, what was supposed to exist here?”

In an instant, Kaiquilia pinpointed the crux of the issue, as if she had read some other emotion from my expression.

“It was the statue of the king who rules this place, Hell.”

“The king of demons…”

Kaiquilia’s expression crumpled.

“Then, the possibility that that damned thing took the throne instead of the one you speak of cannot be completely ruled out. How very unpleasant.”

“… ”

The thought of the Creature that Devours the World being the ruler of Hell was hard to fathom. I never imagined I would even consider such a possibility.

If the main story had been twisted or skipped, I could have understood it, no matter how confusing it got. I’ve caused chaos enough times as it is.

But the fact that the Creature that Devours the World was being worshiped in Hell instead of Lucifer made it impossible to simply brush aside.

I organized my complicated thoughts and stepped onto the pedestal. The sides of the altar curved inward, and blood began to flow from within.

I stared blankly at the blood, and suddenly opened my mouth.

“Your Majesty.”

“I am listening.”

“It seems we need to ask directly about this matter.”

“Who are you referring to?”

“Who do you think?”

By now, the altar was nearly full of blood. The bright red liquid undulated from within.

“I mean to speak to the one who was supposed to be in that spot.”

“… Are you sure you don’t want to go together?”

Margarita, wearing the completed teleportation device, asked anxiously. I nodded, while Kaiquilia said nothing.

“It’s fine. I have a separate way to go anyway. If you’re really worried, there’s also the method of bringing the Pope over with that device.”

If there’s a stronghold of demons, it would be ample justification for the Pope to act personally. They’d do anything to purify this place.

Floretta and Luna would definitely come directly here for my sake, but I decided not to mention that.

“That’s true, but…”

As I spoke, Margarita still seemed to be struggling to comprehend, when Kaiquilia sharply interjected.

“If we are that worried, we should just leave quickly. Do you truly not realize that lingering near someone like you, who doesn’t even know how to fight demons, is the real burden?”

It wasn’t that she couldn’t express her concern for Margarita; she meant exactly what she said about leaving quickly.

If it wasn’t for a select few who caught her fancy, I doubted she would care about anyone else.

Margarita nodded, clenching up, and activated the teleportation device. A massive teleportation circle opened up around the bracelet on her wrist, and her body was sucked into it.

Gradually, the teleportation circle shrank and vanished.

“Is it over?”

“Yes.”

After confirming that Margarita had disappeared, Kaiquilia naturally moved closer to me and kissed me. As our lips touched, a warm, moist tongue entwined between them.

Ever since I mentioned punishment, Kaiquilia had made such demands at least once a day. Sometimes it occurred twice or three times. Every time, she would tremble all on her own.

Maybe chasing Margarita away so quickly was to satisfy that urge.

I too had grown accustomed to caressing her body as our tongues intertwined. I let my left hand casually wander to her rear, while my other hand extended to her side.

Hah… Ah…

The moans escaping from Kaiquilia each time I stroked her back or squeezed her rear grew gradually sultrier. At first, it felt like she was holding back her moans, but now there was no sign of that.

As a result, my touches grew bolder. Instead of just stroking over her dress shirt, I lifted it up to touch her bare skin directly.

Of course, even in the midst of this, Kaiquilia was in ecstasy.

As I entwined our tongues and massaged her rear, the first time, my right hand lifted her shirt, and while I directly kneaded her side the second time, I didn’t stop there; I went up her spine, caressing her ribs the third time.

After reaching the third point, Kaiquilia finally released her grip on my neck. Her eyes lost focus, her tongue partially protruded, and her breathing grew erratic. She was a complete mess.

Even in this situation, trying to maintain her dignity, she struggled to stand, pushing my hands away, but with such a relaxed expression, there was no way she could hold her dignity.

After stabilizing herself, her legs trembling, she tucked her shirt into her pants. Her breathing gradually returned to normal.

“May I move now, Your Majesty?”

—Nod.

Kaiquilia, seemingly lacking the strength to speak, simply nodded in response.

I stepped onto the magic circle. As I concentrated while recalling the place like before, a red light flared up, and before long, we arrived in front of a massive castle.

True to its setting, it was of gargantuan size, with no end in sight. Already free from her earlier panting, Kaiquilia clicked her tongue, discontent.

I confirmed the position where the statue once stood in the game. Indeed, nothing was visible.

“The way to enter—”

Before Kaiquilia could ask how to enter, the city gate began to open with a thud.

It seemed to be inviting us inside.