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Chapter 191

His heart raced at the sight of the monstrous being before him. She was the Queen of Nightmares, the Lord of Dreams, and the Master of the Pleasure District. However, these titles to describe the beautiful monster were all relics of the past, and only one title eventually remained: the Dream Demon.

And as humanity was forced to know her infamy and power, that title became her true name.

She’s still as creepily beautiful as ever...

Sharp yet hazy, her beautiful and alien form seemed to embody everyone\'s ideal type from their dreams. And that form fit those ideals so well that it felt unsettling to look at her.

Calming himself, Se-Hoon took a deep breath before speaking.

“How did you get inside Babel?”

Perplexed by the direct question, the Dream Demon asked, “This is a rather uncommon encounter, yet you jump straight to that? Shouldn\'t we get to know each other first...?”

“Well, I don’t exactly have a hobby of indulging in nonsense.”

Se-Hoon glared at her with hostility.

“Either tell me what you’re here for or fight me. Choose one.”

His aggressive tone left no room for negotiation.

Yet the Dream Demon just covered her mouth and chuckled softly. Se-Hoon’s unperturbed demeanor and grasp over his emotions despite the situation had surprised her, but only for a moment.

“Haha. Alright then. Shall we sit down and talk for a second?”

Following the Dream Demon’s gaze, Se-Hoon watched the sticky purple ground rise and form a long table, about ten meters in length, and chairs. The furniture looked luxurious at a glance.

Taking a seat facing Se-Hoon, the Dream Demon smiled gently at him.

“I haven\'t played any tricks here, so sit comfortably.”

Wary, Se-Hoon briefly scanned the table and chairs before sitting down without further comment.

Hmm...

Although she had reassured him, his movements were far too unhesitant. It intrigued her.

Feeling the Dream Demon’s gaze, Se-Hoon calmly asked, “So? Are you going to answer my question?”

“How impatient.”

Making a bitter smile, the Dream Demon shifted her gaze sideways.

Woong-

The yellow pupil in her right eye began faintly glowing, and the surrounding purple mist began forming holes big enough for an adult to pass through. Each hole then began to display a scene, each resembling reality but strangely distorted and bizarre.

Observing the scenes, Se-Hoon soon figured out what the holes were showing.

“Are those all... dreams?”

“Correct. To be precise, it\'s the dreams of the people in Babel.”

The Dream Demon\'s right pupil glowed again, and duplicates of herself appeared from beyond the hole, smoothly taking the places of those in the dreams.

Turning back to Se-Hoon, who was still watching the dreams, the Dream Demon softly said, “You can say also it’s my dream. Does that answer your question?”

The Dream Demon\'s domain was the world of dreams. With her ability, she could freely manipulate the power of dreams to freely traverse others\' dreams. And while her ability seemed insignificant at first glance, she could put hundreds of heroes, including former A-rank heroes, into a coma at once.

Noticing the subtle threat in the Dream Demon’s explanation, Se-Hoon tensed.

She’s a pretty good liar, alright.

From the pressure she was subtly exerting, it really did appear as if the Dream Demon had come to meet him in person, at least on the surface.

She wants me to believe she’s here in her real body.

And if he had known nothing, he wouldn’t have suspected anything. However, since he had verified everything through Amir, he was able to quickly grasp the situation.

When Ludwig sent me back, she probably followed the mark Amir placed on me.

Through the purple gem, it was not her own self that emerged but rather a manifestation of her power, akin to an avatar.

She’s probably just here to probe rather than attempt something serious...

Still, considering how powerful she was, he couldn\'t afford to let his guard down. With his thoughts sorted, Se-Hoon took another breath and focused on the Dream Demon.

“Why did you come here?”

“To meet you.”

“Is that all?”

“Do I need another reason?”

Answering the Dream Demon’s confusion, Se-Hoon calmly responded, “I’m aware of how famous I am right now, but I don\'t think I\'m valuable enough to warrant sneaking into such a dangerous place.”

If Ludwig had been absent as before, it would likely have been a different story, but the entire Babel was currently under heavy surveillance because of the ongoing exams. The moment Ludwig detected even a shimmer of the Dream Demon\'s presence, she would struggle to escape even if she had actually come with her true body. So why take such a risk to see him?

Intrigued by his response, the Dream Demon asked a question instead, “Value... How valuable do you think you are?”

“Why do I have to tell you that?”

“Just... try to enjoy this conversation. You haven\'t found a way out yet, have you?”

Having seen through Se-Hoon\'s hidden attempts to escape, the Dream Demon continued in a gentle tone, “Talking with me might give you time to prepare or allow you to find clues to escape. I think it\'ll be for the best if we have a pleasant conversation for now.”

Se-Hoon frowned; the Dream Demon sounded like she was calmly hosting a tea party.

However, not disagreeing, he carefully replied, “I think I would be valued as at least S rank.”

Though he successfully solved the difficult task of mass-producing sword aura equipment, that alone didn\'t equate him with the Perfect Ones. So he chose to answer one step below, an S-rank hero.

The Dream Demon smiled.

“You seem quite confident in yourself.”

“I don’t see a need for modesty.”

“Haha. You’re right. Well, regarding your value... you\'re underestimating yourself.”

The Dream Demon\'s right yellow pupil sparkled.

“If I had to pick the most valuable person in this world, I would choose you, Lee Se-Hoon, without hesitation.”

A beautiful woman saying such a thing would likely make anyone\'s heart race, but with knowledge of the fact that the being before him was one of the Ten Evils, it only disturbed him to the core.

“Do you happen to know why?”

At Se-Hoon’s silence, the Dream Demon smiled again.

“Because I think you\'re quite similar to me.”

“...What?”

“In fact, very much so.”

Unable to understand her incomprehensible remark, Se-Hoon was about to question her when he instinctively turned his head and placed his hand on his solar plexus.

Fwoosh!

Pulling out the Phantasmal Spyblade from the Dream Storage, purple flames erupted from his chest and he immediately stabbed his right eye.

Thunk!

Feeling his dagger piercing something, a purple butterfly appeared on its tip. Figuring out immediately that the Dream Demon was trying to take his right eye, he moved swiftly.

Crash!

He first kicked the table up to block the Dream Demon\'s view before stepping back and activating the Ascension Ring\'s spatial magic to alert Ludwig about the situation. If he could create even a small gap using spatial distortion, just as he had done before, he was certain it would work.

“Shhh...”

However, the Dream Demon\'s quiet hushing then began echoing around him.

Flash-

As if everything had been a dream, the mana in the Ascension Ring disappeared without a trace and even the ring itself started to melt away.

Taken aback, Se-Hoon stared at the Dream Demon with wide eyes.

“You’re actually trying to call for help while we’re in the middle of a conversation? I should teach you some manners.”

Making a playful smile, the Dream Demon placed a finger on her lips. Recovering at that moment, Se-Hoon realized something was wrong.

It’s as if...

Her power was far greater than he had expected. Guessing his thoughts, the Dream Demon removed her finger and stood up.

“Did you think I snuck into this place with a weak clone that even the Emperor of Ascension wouldn\'t notice? And that I was pretending to be my actual self?”

“That’s a smart guess. I guess no one would dare infiltrate Babel otherwise.”

Walking toward him, a purple mist began flowing from the Dream Demon\'s body, and her yellow right eye began shining even more ominously, exuding immense power. It felt as though her true form had shown itself.

And because of that, Se-Hoon could finally understand what was happening.

“I did play a little trick, though.”

The purple gem inside the jewel box that Amir brought... was actually the actual eye of the Dream Demon.

Flutter!

Thousands of purple butterflies surged up from the ground, rushing toward Se-Hoon like a wave. Defending, he instantly generated White Light in his left hand and swung it along with the Phantasmal Spyblade in his right hand.

Slash!

However, there were too many butterflies. With each one that managed to brush past him, his body blurred as if it were being consumed.

If that continued, dream particles would replace him bit by bit until he disintegrated into nothing.

If that\'s the case...

Taking the best option he had, Se-Hoon unhesitantly lowered White Light instead of swinging it.

Flutter!

In a second, he was completely engulfed by the swarm of butterflies, leaving no trace of him behind.

Utterly indifferent, the Dream Demon just watched.

Fwoosh-

A purple flame ignited amidst the butterflies. Starting from a single butterfly, the flames quickly spread to burn thousands, creating a massive purple blaze that consumed the area. And from it, Se-Hoon walked out, his eyes flashing purple.

Stunned, the Dream Demon stared in shock at the sight of Se-Hoon, who had effortlessly nullified her dream substitution.

“...Ha.”

And then she burst into laughter, ecstatic.

“AHAHAHA!”

Her laugh was one of pure delight, like when one hit the jackpot—an expression of uncontainable pleasure and joy. In contrast, Se-Hoon\'s eyes narrowed at the exuberant reaction, which shook even the surroundings.

That reaction must mean...

When Se-Hoon confirmed that it was all the Dream Demon’s doing, he pondered her motives. What did he have that would make her target him and take such a risk to sneak back into Babel? He hadn’t been able to figure it out, until now.

“Are you after my eyes?”

To be more precise, she wanted Ethereal Vision.

At his word, the Dream Demon finally regained her senses and calmed down.

“I guess you could say that. And judging by what you just did, it really was you who defeated Makif and broke my seal on the ship.”

Her assumption about the source of his spatial abilities and that he was the one who broke the seal on Amir with his Ethereal Vision, had been confirmed.

“Honestly, I had my doubts until just now.... And even then, I can’t believe it was really you.”

She had never expected such a young boy to excel in so many fields or even just have the talent to acquire a technique as advanced as Ethereal Vision.

Se-Hoon frowned.

“What on earth do you plan to do with it?”

“There are many things I want to do. But first, I need to teach you... Ah, let me make a formal offer first, just in case.”

Jubilant, she extended her right hand toward Se-Hoon.

“Would you consider becoming my successor?”

“What?”

“You didn’t mishear. I will give you my skills, power, authority... and basically everything else that I have.”

Her words tickled his ears, causing Se-Hoon’s heart to oddly flutter.

“If you become the successor of the Pleasure District, I’ll give you anything you can imagine.”

“...Anything?”

“Yes. Do you have anything that you particularly want? Though it would be somewhat incomplete, I can give a simple demonstration here.”

Smiling enchantingly, the Dream Demon drew on her dream mana.

“...There is one thing that I really want right now,” Se-Hoon said after staring at her for a moment.

“Alright, name it, and—”

“Your head.”

Curling his lips, Se-Hoon stared straight at the Dream Demon.

“If you hand over your dead head, then maybe I\'ll consider your offer.”

At the balant mockery, the Dream Demon smiled bitterly and shook her head.

“Seems like I need to teach you some manners first.”

Flutter!

Countless butterflies immediately surged from the Dream Demon, filling the space between them. Going beyond merely devouring Se-Hoon’s body, the entire area quickly fell under the Dream Demon’s control. However, despite the threatening scene, Se-Hoon remained calm.

“Why aren\'t you summoning the Dream Castle?” he slowly asked.

“...?”

“If you\'re close to your true form right now, you should be able to summon at least part of it. So why wouldn’t you simply just ensnare me inside if your objective is to abduct me?”

“That\'s because—”

“And earlier, you said that I hadn’t found a way out of here, right?”

Not allowing the Dream Demon to speak, Se-Hoon smirked at her high and mighty act.

“Isn’t the truth... that you also haven’t found a way out here?”

When the Dream Demon explained that she had infiltrated through dreams, he recalled what Ludwig had said to him.

“This space, which’s connected to the Tower of Heroes, has been adjusted to make the students only focus on completing the trials. But with you, your synesthetic mindscape was so tough that the adjustment couldn’t influence you at all.”

His synesthetic mindscape was so sturdy that even a Perfect One like Ludwig couldn’t easily intervene. And while sneaking in by exploiting some kind of gap might be possible, escaping with similar ease seemed doubtful.

From that point on, Se-Hoon scrutinized the dream-like space that the Dream Demon had created, pretending to find a way out, and quickly uncovered its secrets.

“This isn’t a dream where you’re completely in control. You don’t have the power to do so, and even if you had succeeded, Ludwig would have immediately noticed and intervened.”

“So instead you just made it look like you had total control, wanting to confirm that I had Ethereal Vision while also deteriorating my synesthetic mindscape. Then, once you could escape, you would connect with your main body and transmit the gathered information.”

As she listened, the avatar of the Dream Demon, which she created with her single eye, turned icy cold.

“So what?”

The surrounding air became freezing cold, and the dream mana emanating from her avatar surged explosively.

“What can you do, even if you know? Do you plan to kill me here? With just your puny amount of strength?”

Her killing intent permeated the entire space, resonating and pressing down on Se-Hoon. Even if it was an avatar, it was still created from a part of her true body. Furthermore, the specially crafted dream-like space made her almost as strong as her main body.

Like she said, the sheer power of the Dream Demon, who could control the boundary between dream and reality, was far beyond what Se-Hoon could handle alone.

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

But that was if all he had was his strength.

Stab!

Piercing his finger that had previously worn the Ascension Ring with his Phantasmal Spyblade, the golden ring reappeared. He then promptly infused his mana into it, activating its spatial ability.

“Whatever you’re doing, you should stop right now.”

Whirr-

Stopping him from tearing space, the Dream Demon transformed the surroundings into the grand hall of the Dream Castle. In this state, the Dream Demon believed that even the Emperor of Ascension couldn’t interfere with them.

I guess I have no choice but to completely subdue his mind.

Although she wanted to avoid doing any potential damage to Se-Hoon, staying trapped until the Emperor of Ascension intervened would ruin everything she had planned. However, before she could act, a small void space opened in the air.

Swish-

From it, a repulsive-looking finger bone inscribed with dense runes fell out. But upon recognizing it a split-second later, the Dream Demon’s eyebrows shot up in shock.

Bond Imprint

[Bond Imprint ‘Iron Desire’ has been activated.]

Crunch!

The Eternal Nocturne’s Phalanx was crushed in Se-Hoon’s hand.