Chapter 278

Chapter 278

Lake Kingdoms innermost depths.

At the very center of those depths stood a towering spire, a palace shrouded in a black mist that poured down like a waterfall.

Kings Castle.

Step by step, Crown had walked to this place, staggering as he moved.

His body, ravaged by plague, had already met death once, and he had opened his eyes anew somewhere deep in this place.

Guiding his recently revived body, he headed into the Kings Castle.

To meet the king.

Having passed the guards, and with great difficulty made it to the throne room, the Demon King seated on the throne warmly called out his name.

"Crown. Youre a bit late."

The Demon King had already been receiving other guests.

Raven and Salome.

The lord of the plague and a temptress. The moment they saw Crown, they ground their teeth.

"You scum! You damn court jester!"

"Your Majesty! It was him! He colluded with the humans and attacked us! Thats why were in this predicament!"

When the two Nightmare Legion commanders lashed out in fury, the Demon King raised a hand to calm them down.

"Easy now, calm down. I have no intention of blaming Crown."

It was for good reason.

"I was the one who commanded Crown to attack you."

"...?!"

"What...?"

Raven and Salome were taken aback by the unexpected revelation.

Crown walked past the two monsters and stood next to the king. From behind his mask, his eyes, filled with a cold sneer, looked down on the creatures.

"Let me say it once more. Crown attacked you on my orders. This man represents all humans in Lake Kingdom and also serves as your overseer."

The Demon King chuckled. Raven took a step forward, not understanding.

"Mighty King of Kings, Im not quite following your grand intentions."

"Hmm?"

"Why did you order this jester to attack us, your loyal subordinates?"

"I rather want to ask you, Raven. Lets clarify the sequence of events."

The Demon King slowly leaned forward in his throne.

"Why did you abduct adventurers?"

Salomes shoulders slightly shivered. But Raven replied calmly, unfazed.

"To find and kill a player on the human side named Ash."

"Aha, so you abducted random adventurers to kill Ash?"

The Demon King swayed his index finger from side to side, chuckling.

"No, no... that wasnt your only objective, was it?"

"..."

"You experimented, didnt you? To refine dreams of humans."

Salomes shoulders began to tremble like winter shrubs.

Though Raven couldnt sweat, he felt as though his palms had become clammy.

"You abducted adventurers, used Salomes ability to trap them in dreams, and then chose the most horrifying thing from those dreams to manifest it in reality?"

They were exposed.

The clandestine plot they had been carrying out.

Snap!

The Demon King flicked his fingers. The wall behind the throne began to separate, revealing a vast space behind it.

"Only I have the right to refine nightmares into monsters."

The wall finally parted completely.

Inside, countless human-shaped figures were piled up.

Wrapped in shadows from head to toe, they were as motionless as larvae swaddled in cocoonsan infinite number of people.

From the heads of these humans, black droplets were extracted one by one, floating into the air. These droplets gathered in a massive glass sphere hanging from the ceiling.

The collected black droplets rippled as they fell into a magical device positioned below the glass sphere.

The geometrically shaped magical device emitted a blue light as it purified the black droplets.

Just like brewing high-quality coffee beans over an extended period.

Finally, a purified black droplet rolled out from the end of the mechanical device. By now, it was no longer a droplet but had transformed into a grotesque monster.

Heh heh heh...!

The Demon King flicked his hand again, savoring the horrifying cry of the newly born monster as if it were the aroma of well-brewed coffee. Snap!

Grumble...

The wall behind the throne closed.

"..."

"We are indebted to Your Majestys forbearance."

Salome and Raven happily nodded their heads.

From the side, Crown, who had been watching, quietly clicked his tongue. What a waste...

"So, have you met my new adversary, this player named Ash?"

The Demon King once again spoke with a grin. At that, Salome gritted her teeth in irritation.

"Yes! We met, and oh my, Ive never seen such an insufferable brat!"

"Insufferable? How so?"

"Not only did he ignore my mind control, which is annoying enough! But if it were only that... well, I could just think, Oh, hes good, and move on!"

Salome then lifted her previously punched face to show the Demon King.

"He punched me! Can you believe it? Right on this beautiful cheek of mine, Salomes cheek!"

"You? Punched? Hahaha! Thats definitely a rare sight!"

"Its no laughing matter, Your Highness! Ive never been hit like that in my life!"

Salome winced, clutching the cheek that still felt warm from the punch.

"Even when I was banished in my previous life, Id never been hit with a fist! Human men used to swoon over me! Its the first time someone has treated me like this."

Salome tightly clenched her fists in front of her chest.

"The mere thought of that bastard Ash makes my chest churn, my body shivers, and I feel like I could cry..."

Salome suddenly looked up at the Demon King.

"What is this emotion, Your Highness?! Tell me!"

"Your chest churns, your body shivers, and you feel like crying..."

After a brief pause, the Demon King succinctly replied, "Its love."

...What?

Excuse me?

Both Raven and Crown stared in shock at the Demon King, but he calmly repeated himself.

"That is love, Salome. My femme fatale."

"...Love?"

Salomes eyes widened, and she slowly lowered her head.

In the empty hands she had clenched in front of her chest, something seemed to be welling up.

"Is this... love?"

Raven was about to urgently mutter Dont be ridiculous, but the Demon King beat him to it, hushing everyone by placing a finger over his own lips.

Raven thought to himself, disgruntled, That sadistic Demon King is at it again!

"Ah, I see..."

Salome muttered with a radiant face.

"So, this emotion was love...!"

No.

Probably not. Definitely not.

Raven and Crown thought as much but couldnt say it out loud.

Because the Demon King was gleefully watching Salomes enthusiastic reaction.

Unholy beings like them couldnt comprehend deep emotions.

Thats why they vicariously experience human emotions through other peoples dreams and extrapolate forms of joy and sorrow.

They crave emotions and absorb the dreams and life force of others to satisfy it, yet they only lick the surface, never touching the essence.

Such was the nature of them.

And Salome, being a succubus, was no exception.

She had lived for hundreds of years, seemingly understanding and mimicking human emotions, but deep inside, she was empty.

Therefore, this single, joking comment from the Demon King was causing a significant ripple in her life.

"Ash..."

Salome murmured with a flushed face, shyly.

"Wait for me... I will make you completely mine...!"

"..."

"..."

Raven and Crown made eye contact and simultaneously nodded.

They had thought they could never empathize with each other, but this time a deep understanding passed between them.

A monumental disaster lay ahead for Salome.

I can see a dreadful future.

Crown thought inwardly, a sly smile sweeping over his lips.

Whatever mischief Salome got up to next, the thought of Ash suffering because of it was slightly amusing.

Well, what can you do, Ash? Its your karma.

Bad guys should live their lives paying the price.

This was, after all, an immutable law.