Chapter 137 : Chrysalis – 1
Chapter 137: Chrysalis – 1
The night our Companions first decided to dig the trap.
I explained the plan in detail.
And I received the Companions’ understanding and consent.
Next, I called Magireta and made one request.
“Call Kaid?”
“Yes.”
“And what will you give me in return?”
“I’m not giving anything.”
Magireta’s lips twitched.
I quickly explained.
“I’m not asking you to use your omnipotence to summon him here. I’m only asking you to pass along a message.”
“A message?”
“Tell him to come visit my dream.”
Magireta tilted her head.
“Can he just appear in his little brother’s dream like that, even from so far away?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know.”
“…….”
“A Dream Demon can appear in the dreams of anyone it has contacted at least once, anytime it wants.”
That was correct.
This was information that had appeared when the Diary Book’s Encyclopedia function had been upgraded to lv.2.
<■ Dream Demon
Race: Monster
Size: Average 3 meters
……
……
Characteristics
: A very rare species even in Hell.
A Dream Demon can make a target fall asleep anytime, anywhere.
It can also interfere with dreams.
However, this is limited only to targets the Dream Demon has contacted once in reality.
Once contact has been made, it can appear in that target’s dreams whenever it wishes and manipulate the dream as it pleases.>
The information at the bottom had not been there last time.
I mulled over that content before speaking.
“I shook hands with him last time.”
“…….”
“So Kaid should be able to appear in my dreams whenever he wants now. Isn’t that right?”
“Let’s say that’s true… Still, I have no reason to help my little brother. He hid himself with the Invisibility Cloak. And you’re asking me to deliver a message for free to someone who’s completely vanished from the world.”
“The cloak is something you created with your omnipotence anyway. It shouldn’t be difficult for you.”
I shamelessly leaned back in my chair and continued.
“And by that logic, when Edgar kidnapped Ms. Cecil last time, you shouldn’t have delivered his letter to me in real time either. You moved across that long distance with your omnipotence and played mail carrier.”
“…….”
“I’m not asking you to kill Kaid or steal his cloak. I think this much is reasonable.”
Magireta thought for a moment, then snorted in amusement.
“Well, I do have a record of that, so I can’t really argue. Fine. I’ll pass it along.”
“Thank you.”
“What are you planning to talk about when you meet him in the dream?”
“You can watch from inside the dream too. I won’t stop you.”
“Alright.”
Magireta disappeared.
After that, the only thing I did was pour my entire strength into falling asleep.
Kaid did not appear immediately.
He was probably debating whether he should accept my invitation at all.
I didn’t give up and repeated the cycle of waking and falling asleep several times.
How much time had passed like that?
I found myself walking along a narrow path shrouded in faint mist.
From behind me, I heard Kaid’s voice.
“Mason.”
“Oh, you’re here.”
First, out of reflex, I called the Diary Book.
‘Diary Book.’
There was no response.
So this was inside a dream.
Swoosh.
Kaid parted the mist and approached me.
His upper body was not in human form.
He looked exactly as he had when he protected Armelia from the thief before—his Monster form.
Large horns and thick iron-like scales.
I let out a small laugh and said,
“Why are you dressed like that?”
“In case you tried to attack me, I prepared thoroughly.”
“With what ability would I fight a Dream Demon inside a dream?”
“You never know. You are a rather mysterious human.”
“Don’t misunderstand. I called you simply to talk.”
He crossed his arms, taking on an attitude that told me to go ahead and speak.
I wet my lips and began explaining.
“Soon, Edgar will steal the function of your cloak.”
He would have his supporter, Louis Danahan, pull in the future first-place reward—the Shoes.
Using that, he would strip the cloak of its function and then come to seize the cloak itself.
As I explained this, Kaid’s face hardened.
“Why me? I’ve never even met him.”
“He’s the one who tried to massacre the residents of Deut Territory, people he’d never met either.”
“…….”
“So… I’ll help you.”
“Help me?”
“When the cloak’s function disappears, your Master will try to drag you into Hell, right? I’ll hold you back so you don’t get pulled in.”
And Edgar would appear there as well.
He wouldn’t want to lose the cloak either, so he would certainly cooperate at least until Kaid was rescued.
“And after that?”
“After that, you put Edgar and Louis to sleep.”
“What?”
“Watch your tone.”
“Ah, yes. Sorry. But unfortunately, that won’t work.”
He continued firmly.
“I can only put to sleep those I’ve contacted once. And regrettably, I’ve never met Edgar.”
“You will. I just told you.”
“…….”
“He’ll help you so you don’t get dragged into Hell. He’ll probably grab your arm or leg to stop you from being sucked into the Black hole. That should count as contact, shouldn’t it?”
If Kaid could put Edgar to sleep anytime, anywhere, there would be no need for such a complicated trap.
I could just have him put Edgar to sleep from afar and go cut off his head.
But since one instance of contact was required, I had to take this roundabout path.
Kaid frowned deeply before replying.
“That would probably count, yes… but….”
“Right? The moment you make contact with Edgar, put him to sleep immediately.”
“So in the end, you’re asking me to take your side.”
“Helping me is also for your own sake. Once he falls asleep, I’ll kill him. Then the cloak’s function will return.”
“Well.”
Kaid awkwardly rubbed his head and spoke.
“I understand what you’re saying. But to be honest, I can’t trust you one hundred percent either.”
“Why?”
“You have the problematic Shoes as well. If you wished, you could block the function of my cloak anytime.”
“…….”
“And you’re saying all you need to do is steal Edgar’s Shoes? Do you take me for a fool?”
This guy really needed to fix his habit of switching his tone back and forth.
I answered with a refreshing smile.
“How can I make you trust me?”
“Give me your Shoes as well. I’ll keep both Edgar’s Shoes and yours.”
“But I still have six Companions left. Didn’t you consider that they could also pull in the Shoes using a Credit Right?”
“Ghk.”
“Same goes for Edgar. He handles human souls and uses them as his limbs. If he grabs any Participant and orders, ‘Pull in the Shoes reward,’ then? The number of Shoes could increase without limit.”
Kaid clutched his head.
I continued in a low voice.
“There’s only one way to solve this.”
“Yes?”
“I’ll block the function of the Shoes with the Shoes.”
For a while, he wore a face that clearly did not understand.
I explained in detail.
“The Shoes are an item that blocks the functions of rewards of the same type all at once. If I use the Shoes to take away the function of the Shoes, then both my Shoes and Edgar’s Shoes will become unusable.”
“Wait. That’s possible?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? The Shoes’ function is to block the function of a first-place reward. And the Shoes themselves are also a first-place reward.”
“…….”
“Of course it’s possible for the Shoes to block the function of the Shoes. If you don’t believe me, shall we test it?”
At my last words, Magireta appeared without even being called.
“As expected, my little brother is clever.”
“Noona.”
“If you do as he says, then the category of items called Shoes will indeed become unusable altogether. But isn’t that a waste? Your Shoes will become useless too.”
“Mine is disposable anyway. If it can only be used once, I thought about what the most efficient way to use it would be.”
“…….”
“The answer came quickly. Make all Shoes unusable at the same time.”
“Hmm.”
“If we do this, even if someone in the future pulls in the Shoes with a Credit Right, it’ll be of no use.”
What I was doing was no different from making the first-place reward of the Twelfth Quest cease to exist.
But that was fine.
After all, I possessed most of the first-place rewards, so there was no reason for us to use the Shoes first.
The only real use for them was to eliminate the Shoes themselves.
Kaid looked at me with slightly startled eyes.
“Why would you go that far?”
“Because this seems like the best way to ease your concerns. And the best way to earn your trust.”
“…….”
“As long as the item called Shoes exists, you’ll always have to live worrying that you might lose the function of your Invisibility Cloak.”
“Mason.”
“Don’t tell me you still won’t join hands with me after I’ve gone this far.”
He scratched his cheek awkwardly and smiled.
Silence flowed for a moment.
After a while, Kaid held out his hand to me.
“This time, I’ll be the one to request the handshake first.”
“Good. We’ll follow the basic plan as I instructed. If there’s a variable, handle it with improvisation.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve been adjusting to my Master’s whims for hundreds of thousands of years. I’m strong in improvisation.”
“Ah, right….”
“Then wake up now.”
The world collapsed.
I awoke from my sleep.
At that moment, I heard Aina’s sharp cry.
“Everyone wake up! A red dot just appeared.”
Gasp.
I jumped to my feet.
Armelia asked urgently,
“Mason. Could it be…?”
“It’s fine. I just finished preparing.”
“That’s a relief. That was close.”
“Yes. There were many hurdles, but it’s done now. Let’s move immediately.”
I gripped the Teleportation bead in my hand.
“Let’s go.”
And so, Edgar fell completely into the trap.
The moment Kaid moved using the Teleportation bead, he put Edgar and Louis to sleep.
And he manipulated their dreams.
A dream in which they safely received the Invisibility Cloak and came to Deut Territory.
A dream in which Louis and Kaid remained outside while Edgar entered the house alone.
And a dream in which he killed Armelia first.
‘In truth, there was no real need to interfere with the contents of the dream.’
Simply putting him to sleep would have been enough.
But well… even I hadn’t expected myself to get so worked up over something so inefficient. Still, I wanted to wake him at the very moment he believed, ‘I succeeded.’
Edgar had done quite a number of things to me, after all. Consider it a small revenge.
In any case, just as I had planned, Edgar realized at the final moment that this was a dream.
But it was already too late.
After devising this operation, I had made one request to my Companions.
To create an enormous, truly enormous bathtub.
Of course, we didn’t literally make a bathtub as we know it.
The Companions found a cave of suitable size in the back mountain of Deut Territory.
Using that cave as a base, we sealed every gap connected to the outside with Berseum’s magic and Karin Oblang’s spirits.
Finally, from the Replication Sack I had handed over, they drew out a massive amount of blood and filled the cave with it.
Kaid finished by teleporting the sleeping Edgar and Louis into the depths of the cave.
Thud.
Armelia stood beside me and said,
“Are they completely dead now? Edgar and Louis.”
“Most likely. Even if they wanted to revive, it would be impossible because of the blood filling the cave.”
“How long do we need to maintain this cave?”
“At least until the next Quest begins.”
“Alright.”
At that moment, Aina stretched.
“It ended more easily than I expected. I kind of wanted to hear some last words.”
“What would you even use his last words for? It would’ve just ruined your mood.”
“Well, that’s true.”
“More importantly, we should wrap things up.”
I looked at Kaid.
Not only had he thrown Edgar and Louis into the blood-filled cave, he had also taken spoils from them in advance.
In other words, he had seized Edgar’s Shoes and the Teleportation bead.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him the greatest contributor to this operation.
Kaid grinned and handed over the bead and the Shoes.
“Here they are.”