Lake Kingdom's 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.
King's 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 King's 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. You're 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! That's why we're 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, I'm 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. Let's clarify the sequence of events."
The Demon King slowly leaned forward in his throne.
"Why did you abduct adventurers?"
Salome's 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 wasn't your only objective, was it?"
"..."
"You experimented, didn't you? To refine dreams of humans."
Salome's shoulders began to tremble like winter shrubs.
Though Raven couldn't sweat, he felt as though his palms had become clammy.
"You abducted adventurers, used Salome's 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 cocoons—an 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.
"..."
Crown silently watched the wall close, gazing at his fellow men piled up inside with an emotionless look hidden behind his mask.
"I've colonized this Lake Kingdom, collecting nightmares from its residents. From those, I've chosen the most horrifying ones and granted them new life with my power," the Demon King turned his gaze to the two generals standing before him.
"Both of you also underwent this purification process and gained new flesh. Thanks to that, you've gotten a second chance at the lives you had already failed."
Monsters that had invaded to annihilate humanity were repelled and killed.
Even though they were repelled, the fear they instilled remained etched in the brains, genes, and souls of the people of Lake Kingdom.
The Demon King forcibly extracted those memories and brought them back to life. Neither Salome nor Raven was an exception.
They were once monsters who had been repelled and killed.
And here, they were given a second chance.
"..."
"..."
Salome and Raven found themselves kneeling, their heads lowered. The Demon King clicked his tongue at the two of them.
"You surely knew, my loyal subordinates. This operation is permitted to me alone."
"Yo-your Majesty!"
Salome scrambled forward on her knees, crying out in desperation.
"I've done nothing wrong! It was Lunared, that wolf bastard! And Raven, this crow bastard! They lured me into this!"
"..."
Raven just silently observed the chattering Salome.
Salome then flopped onto the ground, making the most pitiful face she could muster.
"Really! Believe me! I'm just a simple and frugal succubus who's happy with whatever nightmare scraps your Majesty leaves! You know that!"
"Salome. Salome. My cute and pitiable succubus,"
The Demon King, who had been holding back a smile, nodded his head.
"Indeed. You don't have the capability to concoct such a scheme."
"Exactly, exactly! Salome is a foolish succubus! If I have any fault, it's just that my ears are too thin! Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
The Demon King turned his head away from Salome and looked at Raven.
"Raven. Speak if you have something to say."
"...Your Majesty."
Raven calmly opened his mouth.
"It's undoubtedly true that I have infringed upon your royal prerogative. However, please know that it was all done out of loyalty to you."
"Oh? Care to elaborate on this loyalty?"
"You have ruled the Lake Kingdom for over five hundred years, refining monsters from nightmares."
Raven subtly lifted his eyes to meet the Demon King's gaze.
"But despite gathering countless nightmares, have you not still failed to find the 'someone' you so desperately seek?"
"..."
The Demon King's aura changed.
Up until now, his aura had been playful and soft. But now, in an instant, it became menacing, as if the edge of a blade was glowing.
A startled Salome mouthed to Raven, 'What are you doing? Are you insane? Why provoke him further?'
But Raven continued to stare at the Demon King, unfazed.
In the Demon King's face, shrouded in dark shadows, his eyes narrowed.
"Raven. You are always... too perceptive."
"I don't know what you mean by 'always,' but in any case, I sought alternative methods for your sake."
"Alternative methods? Like digging through the dreams of adventurers?"
"Exactly. If the one you seek is not in the nightmares of the Lake Kingdom's residents, then perhaps they're in someone else's nightmares."
"Ha!"
With a brief laugh, the Demon King leaned back in his throne.
"...You've dug yourself a good escape hole, Raven. It's a valid excuse."
"It was nothing more than sincere loyalty to Your Majesty."
"Whatever your reasons, do not infringe upon my authority again. I don't want to kill my precious legion commander with my own hands."
The Demon King slowly lifted his head and stared at the ceiling.
"...And that person is definitely in the nightmares here. I would know."
His tone became slightly tender.
"If not, there would be no meaning to the hundreds, thousands of times I've repeated this process."
"..."
"..."
Salome and Raven exchanged glances.
Is it over? Is he forgiving us?
"I will overlook it."
The Demon King waved his hand dismissively, as if annoyed.
"It's merely a pardon. Make sure this doesn't happen again."
"Yes! Your Majesty is truly generous~!"
"We are indebted to Your Majesty's 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, I've 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, he's 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, Salome's cheek!"
"You? Punched? Hahaha! That's definitely a rare sight!"
"It's no laughing matter, Your Highness! I've 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, I'd never been hit with a fist! Human men used to swoon over me! It's 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, "It's 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?"
Salome's 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 'Don't 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 couldn't say it out loud.
Because the Demon King was gleefully watching Salome's enthusiastic reaction.
Unholy beings like them couldn't comprehend deep emotions.
That's why they vicariously experience human emotions through other people's 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? It's your karma.'
Bad guys should live their lives paying the price.
This was, after all, an immutable law.