But they said Solomon failed to bring the Nymph back to life. So in the end, he divided his own soul and transferred it into a new vessel?
So Isaiah wasn’t the Demon King’s son after all. They had always said Solomon had no wife, nor even a woman close enough to bear him a child.
The mystery surrounding the sudden appearance of his “son”—it finally made sense.
“Because he split his soul, his power was greatly diminished. And in the end, the Demon King, who had beco a hollow shell, was defeated by the heroes.”
Even a Demon King of the fabled 10th rank—likened to a god—being defeated by heroes now made sense. No matter how powerful the heroes were, bringing down Solomon should’ve been impossible.
But if his power had been reduced to less than half, then it added up.
As if reading his thoughts, Bael shook her head.
“But he didn’t die. And that’s the real problem. Because sothing else has begun pooling inside that empty shell. Right now, Solomon is like an open door—anyone can enter, and anything can be done.”
“Solomon isn’t dead?”
At his question, Bael furrowed her brow.
“You saw it too, didn’t you? That massive rift up north. He’s sealed away there. You can’t really call it ‘Solomon’ anymore. Nor can you call it the ‘Demon King.’”
She trailed off, as if trying to find a na.
But then Bael shook her head again.
“No, that’s not my concern anymore. You na it. That was your mother’s wish, after all. With that, my story ends. I’m out of ti.”
Rrrrrumble—
Everything around them began to shake violently. Theo could tell that this “place”—this space—was collapsing fast.
And yet, sothing inside him said he needed to stay here just a little longer.
“What do you an, my mother’s wish!? What are you talking about!?”
“Just what I said. Or what—did you think you still hadn’t woken up from the dream? It’s ti to rise from your long sleep. Stand up and feel for yourself where your world truly lies beneath your feet.”
“Stand and feel...? The things you’re saying are too convoluted. I can’t make sense of them.”
“Well, that’s how dreams are. You forget them as soon as you wake, and even the parts you rember make no sense. Anyway, this really is the end. The exit’s that way.”
Swish.
Where Bael pointed, a small door had appeared. It sat alone in the darkness.
Sssssssss...
The darkness soon swallowed everything in the tea party scene, leaving only the table untouched—floating as if suspended in the void.
Theo began walking through the black emptiness toward the door. But just before pushing it open, sothing tugged at his mind. Bael—still sitting behind him.
He glanced back.
She was gone. Only pitch-black darkness remained.
And from that darkness, her voice echoed.
“Aira once made a promise with . That I would eat all her pain, all her sorrow. Thanks to that, I beca a nasty spider. And Aira, who held inside her... beca a wicked girl, too.”
“......”
“But now I’ll disappear. Even without , she’s surrounded by people now. She’ll be okay. She’ll ss up a lot, but... don’t hate her, please. I’ve grown fond of her.”
“Bael... if I open this door and leave, will you die?”
“Yes. There’s less and less space left for in Aira’s heart. It was only a matter of ti. It would’ve ended like this eventually. I’m glad I got to see you at the end, Theo Gospel.”
“?”
“In Aira’s heart, you were the tastiest part. Even in the black, wet, dark sewer waterfall—I always waited for you.”
There was sothing lonely in her voice.
At first, all Theo had felt toward her was hatred and resentnt. But after this conversation, those feelings had faded away. Maybe soone would call him soft.
But that’s just how he was.
He liked bad things. Loved the wicked.
If they had even one shred of sothing worth pitying, he fell hard for it.
It had been that ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) way with Aira. With Elga. With Mirna and Narmi too. Falling for villainesses and villains—was that even okay for a person?
“Goodbye, little prince. I enjoyed our final talk.”
At that farewell, a mory surfaced.
Once, beyond the wall, he’d t a fairy who had lived for a long, long ti.
Back then, she had told him to find the big spider.
That spider would have the answers he sought. And now he saw—it had been Bael.
Had their eting been fated?
He didn’t know.
“Bael. Co with . I already have a flying squirrel I’m raising. One little spider shouldn’t be too much.”
Theo gathered the surrounding darkness. What ca to mind was the moir of Solomon he’d just read.
The thod for creating a body and embedding a soul into it.
It might be difficult for a complex life form—but for a tiny creature, he could imitate it well enough.
Swish, swish.
He shaped the darkness into a palm-sized spider—a paper spider—and held it out toward where Bael still lingered, unseen.
“Here. Co inside. It’s shabby, sure, but better than vanishing alone in the dark. This paper spider’s at least warm.”
In response to his clumsy offer, sothing trembled in the dark.
“You idiot. I hurt you.”
“I tried to kill you, too. So we’re even. And besides—my heart has a lot of holes in it. Plenty of room for you to curl up. You can snack on my emotions once in a while. They’re pretty interesting, I think.”
“You really are a fool.”
“First ti I’ve been called that.”
“...But I guess I’m a fool too. I think I understand now, a little, why Aira trusts you. Then—”
—Then let’s see if you can ta .
Whoooosh.
A force surged from the darkness toward the paper spider Theo held.
Monts later, the paper spider moved its limbs—alternating its paper legs left and right, like it was testing out a new body.
Hiiiiing...!
Was that a sign it liked it?
He could understand most animal speech, but not this.
Theo tucked the paper spider carefully into his inner pocket. It wriggled there slightly, making him squirm from the ticklish sensation—just as glowing words appeared before his eyes.
「Bael: High-level chanting spell. In exchange for a price, it grants enhanced comprehension and knowledge across all magical disciplines. Its effect scales with the caster’s tier.」
「Gazing into the Abyss!
Class: Soma King has leveled up.
Soma King Lv. 3 → Lv. 4
The Abyss has begun to gaze back at you.」
Good.
He had suspected as much—but now he had clearly reached the seventh rank through this.
All that remained now was to open the door and wake from the dream.
Clack. Creeeaaak—
At last, Theo stepped out from the long darkness and into the light.
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