“That is quite a look.”
I was unable to hold back my laughter as I watched Lehric twist his mouth.
I shrugged off the robe draped over my shoulders simultaneously.
“Aegis Robe.”
Lehric muttered the na of the robe as he observed .
Although it had a limit of ten-minutes, it was an item that could block any type of damage during that period.
It was one of the fake treasures created by the Dream Demon Manor.
“So, I see that you’ve been to the fourth floor.”
It seed like he was struggling to suppress his rising emotions from his manner of speaking, so I responded calmly.
“Yes.”
What I employed was a very simple trick, more like a play on words.
4. Guests are only permitted up to the third floor.
“It was puzzling at first. Since we were only allowed to go up to the third floor, I naturally assud there would be so sort of penalty for going to the fourth floor.”
However, there was no penalty whatsoever.
And while it was not prohibited explicitly…
2. Please refrain from going outside at night. If you happen to go out, the responsibility lies with you.
Just like Rule No. 2, it was basically just a warning to not go beyond the third floor.
“I found it peculiar. But when I discovered the rule on the fourth floor, I realized.”
29. There is no fourth floor in the Dream Demon Manor.
“The fact that there is no fourth floor in the Dream Demon Manor ans that the fourth floor we went to was not part of the Dream Demon Manor.”
“…”
“Since the fourth floor is beyond the Dream Demon Manor’s domain, the persistent rules of this place do not apply to it.”
The fourth floor was not part of the Dream Demon Manor, hence the rules did not apply there.
Lehric took a deep breath and cald his emotions before smiling.
“So, you went up to the fourth floor and escaped from the Dream Demon Manor at the stroke of midnight on the fifth day, before being expelled. Then, using the Aegis Robe, you survived the dangerous fourth floor.”
“Yes.”
“You are pretty clever.”
Even though he said that, Lehric’s smile remained stiff.
I guessed that the most crucial condition needed to copy soone was for them to lose their mory when expelled.
However, since I wasn’t expelled nor did I lose my mory, it ant that he had failed to copy .
“Ha… haha.”
Perhaps because he had been excited about uncovering the continent’s secrets I held, Lehric was barely able to maintain his composure.
Just like a child who had just received a gift only to have it taken away, it seed that he had realized his failure and was imdiately filled with raging anger.
His hand twitched, as if he wanted to break my neck right then and there for humiliating him like this.
He licked his lips, perhaps driven by the impulse to drench himself in my blood.
However, he wouldn’t be able to do so.
The mont he killed , he would be even further from the secrets of the continent he was desperately looking forward to.
“Fine. I’ll admit that you outsmarted . You exploited sothing I overlooked.”
Having reached that conclusion, Lehric was on the verge of losing his mind, but he acknowledged it rather calmly.
“So, what do you want?“
He gave a twisted sneer.
“Your stay in the Dream Demon Manor has co to an end, but I never said that you could escape from here.”
“…”
“Yes, it is a pity. It’s really unfortunate that I was unable to get your mories. But there are plenty of other ways, and opportunities abound.”
“…”
“I see no reason for to allow you to leave this place.”
Lehric smiled widely, having regained his own pace.
The Dark Spiritualist and Han So on either side of frowned but they did not intervene because we had expected this reaction.
“There is still one thing that bothers .”
Seeing Lehric’s twisted smile with faint satisfaction, I pointed out the puzzling aspect.
“What is it?”
Perhaps having blurted out the question out of sheer anxiety; Lehric imdiately covered his mouth with his hand after saying that.
“Why did you create the fourth floor?”
The mont he heard my question, Lehric’s stood stiff, and our eyes t.
I wondered what he felt right then.
Did he feel like his very essence as the Demon Lord of Deception was laid bare?
Or did he feel like his existence seed insignificant?
Lehric hesitated to speak, perhaps afraid that he would reveal the truth if he said anything further.
Unfortunately, I pierced through the shield of silence and walked towards the truth.
“No matter how much I think about it, the existence of the fourth floor itself is strange. It ignores all the rules of the Dream Demon Manor.”
It was a place where the rules weren’t applicable.
It also contradicted various rules of the Dream Demon Manor.
17. Cleaning is perford daily.
Despite the upcoming cleaning, it still insisted on devouring Jortu’s corpse.
28. There are no servants in the Dream Demon Manor.
It even went as far as to pretend to be the non-existent servants of the Dream Demon Manor.
29. There is no fourth floor in the Dream Demon Manor.
The Dream Demon Manor itself denied its existence outright.
“Because of the existence of the fourth floor, there are too many loopholes in the Dream Demon Manor.”
That was why it was pretty simple to use the fourth floor to bypass the last five days rule.
“I just added it as an elent of fun for my amusent.”
Lehric answered with a grin. However…
“If you are truly the Demon Lord of Deception.”
I scoffed and rebuked him.
“You should have learned to lie better.”
“…”
Why was that?
Certainly, the Demon Lord in front of could kill at any mont.
He could brutally sever my neck, drink my blood, and hang my skinned corpse to decorate his general store.
Yet strangely, I felt as though he was in the palm of my hand, and perhaps I wasn’t the only one who felt this way.
“You did well by putting rules on the fourth floor. Thanks to that, it did seem like it was part of the Dream Demon Manor.”
The rules No. 27 and No. 29 were deliberately inscribed on the fourth floor.
“But your excuse is that it was just for fun? That is so absurd, that it’s not even laughable.”
Lehric’s la excuse to ridiculously continue the conversation only made more certain.
“In my opinion…”
I slowly reveal the truth that the creator of the Dream Demon Manor wanted to hide desperately.
The reason why the Dream Demon Manor, which had been in operation for so long, could no longer function.
“You did not create the fourth floor.”
To be more precise, it wasn’t a fourth floor but a living entity.
While it looked like sothing grand and enormous, waiting for its prey with its mouth wide open, from a slightly different perspective, it seed to be devouring the Dream Demon Manor.
“Romuleus.”
Ruumbbble!
As if reacting to its na or perhaps realizing the owner of the manor had returned, the Dream Demon Manor began trembling.
Simultaneously, Lehric’s face twisted grotesquely.
“The fanatic Mul from Room 109 said this about the fourth floor.”
- How dare he try to embody a god. He is truly blasphemous. I will surely kill Demon Lord Lehric.
At first, I also thought he was just talking about a sculpture.
However, in the first place, there was no way sothing like that would exist on the fourth floor.
The answer was clear.
“That must be the god he was referring to.”
BOOOM!
As if it had been waiting for this mont, Romuleus began to devour the Dream Demon Manor violently.
Its human-shaped tentacles began descending the stairs as the third floor gradually disappeared.
“They look so disgusting while coming down!”
“We’ll hold them off.”
Bang! Bang!
Han So and the Dark Spiritualist blocked the stairs to buy so ti.
However, Lehric didn’t even glance at them and kept his eyes fixed on .
“Did Mul call that monster a fake after seeing it?”
“Yes.”
“So ridiculous. How can soone call himself a prophet when he can’t even recognize if the god they serve has co?”
Unlike his usual self, Lehric was now sneering with contempt. He sighed deeply and nodded.
“The one who occupied Room 110 before you, so I an, after I allowed that fanatic Mul to stay in the Dream Demon Manor, that monster bared its teeth here.”
“…”
“It was like a conqueror. If it weren’t for that damned fanatic, the Dream Demon Manor could have lasted forever.”
Human-shaped tentacles began to destroy the Dream Demon Manor.
The second floor was already half devoured.
The grotesque maw of a god now occupied the place where the ceiling previously was.
“I wondered why it had stopped its activities. It turns out that damned god was waiting for .”
The Dream Demon Manor was now disappearing in the sa ridiculous and futile manner its na suggested.
Lehric, the owner of this place, clicked his tongue in amusent.
Then he pondered over the current situation.
“In the end, I was unable to uncover your secret, and I also lost the Dream Demon Manor I created with so much effort.”
“I guess you could call it karma.”
“Do demons even have karma?”
Initially, it would have been more than enough to trap in the Dream Demon Manor, but if I stayed for any longer, I would be devoured by the god.
“If you had been a little less intriguing or perhaps a little less mysterious, I would have given up imdiately.”
Despite his disappointnt, the demon locked his eyes on as if I were a tempting fruit.
Having experienced it from Magan once before, I had beco familiar with this gaze.
And in the end…
Creak.
Behind his back…
“Congratulations, Deus Verdi.”
A purple door opened.
“You are the only human to successfully escape the Dream Demon Manor on your own.”
Lehric admitted his defeat honestly, as if it was aningless to keep here for any longer.
Crushing and trampling one with brute force was not in Lehric’s nature.
“I will pay you back for today’s humiliating defeat the next ti we et.”
With those words, Lehric quietly stepped aside, making way for .
Ruuummmmbllleeee!
As if realizing that we were about to escape from this, Romuleus increased its pace and began to devour the Dream Demon Manor even more intensely.
Despite the increasing urgency of the situation, I turned around and looked at the two people fighting on the stairs.
And as if they were right on cue, Han So and the Dark Spiritualist were also looking at .
“I am proud to entrust the future to you, who recognized as a person, as Han So.”
Han So spoke as he swung his Heavenly Oath Martial Staff. His lips still bore a radiant smile despite his looming death.
“It seems I can only either greatly like or dislike you as a person.”
From the other side, the Dark Spiritualist expressed her honest feelings while wielding her magic.
Although the ti spent was brief, we had shared a lot of conversations.
I would be lying if I said I didn’t have any regrets.
“I had long abandoned having relationships with people, but you made feel regretful at our parting, and I hate you for that.”
“…”
“I envy my future self who will be able to stay by your side.”
Boom!
The Dark Spiritualist’s mana surged.
The purple mana protected as it tore apart all the tentacles flying toward .
“I feel so upset with my other self who you’ll get to et now, that I want to hit her just once, you know?”
It was an abrupt yet light-hearted remark.
However, her following words were anything but that.
“Jenny.”
Even though she was feeling shy, her eyes didn’t waver as she tried her best to rember as much of as she could.
“That’s my na.”
“Jenny?”
“Yeah, it’s strange for a Necromancer to have the na Jenny, isn’t it? It sounds weak and doesn’t seem fitting, right?”
“That is a ridiculous reason.”
I wasn’t expecting to learn of her real na like this, nor did I expect that to be her reason for hiding it.
However, Jenny responded with a smile.
“Go and give her a good smack in my stead.”
“Well, if that is what you want.”
I nodded and turned around once again.
The Dream Demon Manor collapsed.
The impending farewell was much heavier than I had anticipated, making it harder for to move my feet.
However, grateful that I would rember them, their backs urged to leave.
Hence, I gained a bit of strength and stepped out the door.
“Well done, Soul Whisperer of Norseweden.”
“Goodbye, my good apprentice.”
Thud.
Just like that, the door behind closed.
And suddenly, I was once again standing in my laboratory at Loberne Academy.
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