Dark demonic energy.

It was akin to the mana that wizards exude when casting magic.

For the demons of the Karab Continent, it was the impure energy that emanated from their bodies when they used their power.

And that energy—

It was now flowing from the small girl standing in front of me.

Soon, the entire body of the young Lize was enveloped in dark demonic energy, and her figure vanished without a trace.

What was revealed instead was a girl with pink twin tails that reached her shoulders, dressed in a black gown.

The lace of the skirt was short, coming only down to above her knees.

With a faint lift, Lize's appearance changed mid-air, and with the sound of her heels clicking, she looked at me with seductive eyes.

She no longer looked like a mere child.

In appearance, she seemed to be of high school age.

Yet, despite that youthful look, her lips curved into a seductive smile, and she licked her lips enticingly.

"Lize, no, you..."

I quickly stood up, taking a defensive stance at her transformation.

The reason I didn't attack right away was that she didn't seem particularly dangerous.

At least, she didn't look strong enough to face all four of us simultaneously.

"I'm Zeri... Zeri van Perlion."

She answered with a confident smile.

"Commander of Illusions, Zeri, a member of the Royal Guard of the Great Arleus."

She even generously provided her affiliation, and with a graceful motion of her hand, a small staff materialized in her grasp.

It was a sleek wand, tipped with a pink jewel.

Propping her chin up with the end of the staff, she looked at me with an alluring gaze.

"…Z-Zeri."

"Fufu, surprised? That cute village girl turned into an alluring lady."

Zeri chuckled gleefully, as if waiting for my reaction, asking me to share my thoughts on her transformation.

I cautiously opened my mouth, glaring at her.

"...So, Lize is just 'Zeri' spelled backward?" (Korean spelling joke)

"..."

"Isn't that a bit lazy for a name?"

"Honestly, I thought it was rather half-hearted the moment I heard it."

"Wouldn't 'Perl' have been better? 'Perl' is kind of cute too, isn't it?"

The three standing around Zeri each chimed in, seeming to agree with me.

Certainly, a nickname derived from her family name would have been better than simply reversing her first name.

"Aaaargh━!! Who cares what my name is?! It's a pseudonym anyway!"

Unhappy with our conversation, Zeri stomped her foot, clenched her fists, and pouted.

She then pointed the end of her staff at me and shouted.

"I'm with the Demon King's Army! I disguised myself as a village girl to sneak up on you! At least pretend to be scared or shocked or something!"

It seemed she had expected us to be startled by her identity.

And when things didn’t go as she imagined, she grew irritated—just like a cousin whose prank doesn’t go as planned.

‘Well, I guess there’s no need to ask further; I think I understand her purpose.’

I wasn’t clueless.

When she was introducing herself, she mentioned the name Arleus.

Arleus.

That was the original rightful heir who should have become the current Demon King.

He was the former Demon King who had regained his memories from before history was altered and was now seeking to reclaim the throne.

‘He must be wary of his sibling, Reinesis’s actions.’

In that case, it's possible that the former Demon King Arleus had obtained some information.

Information that Reinesis was looking for the cursed sword that could kill him.

"It's a little late for me to react the way you want..."

I puffed out my cheeks at Zeri’s pout and pulled my main sword out from my pocket again.

The rest of my party also readied their weapons, assuming a hostile stance toward her.

"I'll make this quick. …You came here to interfere with us, didn't you?"

"Hmph, acting all smart, aren’t you?"

Zeri scowled, seemingly displeased at not getting the reaction she wanted, and gently waved her staff.

Then—

‘…She’s gone!’

Zeri, who had been right in front of me, suddenly disappeared.

"Ken! Over there!"

Raphne's shout rang out, and when I followed the direction of her pointing finger, I saw Zeri standing casually.

Just a moment ago, she had been near the wall of the wide hall.

Now, she was in the center of the hall.

"I am one of the high-ranking demons born of noble blood—a succubus who commands space magic. The Commander of Illusions, Zeri von Perlion."

"So... are you saying you think you can defeat us?"

"Fufu, you’re acting smart, but you're not very bright, are you?"

Seeing me tightening my grip on my sword, she covered her mouth and laughed mockingly.

"No matter how you look at it, there's no way I can defeat all of you by myself after you easily dispatched the temple guardian."

Then Zeri pointed her staff at me.

"My goal isn’t to eliminate you, anyway. What my master wants is only one thing."

"...The cursed sword?"

"Do you really think Arleus is the only one that can be killed by that?"

With her polite response, I realized why Zeri had approached us.

If her goal had been to eliminate us, she could’ve attacked while disguised as the village girl.

But she wasn’t interested in our deaths. What she wanted was the sword we had crafted.

The special cursed sword capable of killing the descendants of the Demon God.

"I’m not going to say anything bad here. Just give me that sword. In return, I’ll offer you the same compensation as the Demon King would. …After all, demon politics shouldn’t be too important to you humans, right?"

The fact that she had kept her distance was not to prepare for combat but rather to negotiate, which was why she wasn’t attacking.

‘…It’s true that it doesn’t really concern humans.’

The idea that we might simply hand over the sword wasn't entirely wrong.

In the current timeline, where history had changed, humans and demons were not strictly enemies anymore.

Demons had only been a threat to humans because of Raphne's prophecy in the past.

Now, without that prophecy, the demons might even consider negotiating with humans.

But that’s not the case for me.

And it’s not the case for her master, Arleus, either.

Both he and I remember the timeline before history changed.

We both remember what he tried to do when he became the Demon King.

If he were to become the Demon King, he would surely start a war.

Even without a prophecy, there’s a chance he would target Raphne.

So, I responded to her outstretched hand with my sword.

"I’ll make a proposal instead. Step away quietly, and you won’t get hurt."

Hearing my response, Raphne readied her spear, and Mary began channeling her mana.

"Haha, that’s a shame. I wanted to take the easy way out."

Zeri placed her hand on her cheek and smiled regretfully at our rejection.

"You’re not really thinking of trying it, are you?"

"Of course not. I already saw how powerful you are when you took down the guardian earlier."

"Then..."

"But… that doesn't mean I can’t incapacitate you, does it?"

"…What?"

"I am a high-ranking succubus."

She licked her lips seductively, raising her staff.

"Ken! Be careful! Something's coming!"

Mary, who had been readying her spell, warned me, her mana surging as she swung her staff.

━CRRRRUNCH!!

The mana rippled out from her, forming a massive ice spike that flew straight toward Zeri.

But—

By the time the ice spike reached Zeri, she was no longer there.

"I'll show you why I'm called the Commander of Illusions."

And then, her voice echoed—

Directly above me.

A dangerous feeling crawled up my spine as I instinctively jerked my head back, spotting Zeri, who had reached out to touch my forehead.

But by the time I noticed, it was already too late.

━BZZZT.

"Beatus Fiction."

It happened in an instant, so quickly that I didn’t have time to react.

The ominous, mana-infused voice rang in my ears, and in no time, her mana wrapped around me with an intoxicating sensation.

“Damn it… Everyone━”

I turned my head, trying to warn the others.

But it wasn't just me who was touched by Zeri's magic.

Their eyes were also vacant, filled with Zeri's influence.

And with that final image in my sight—

Everything went dark.

"Ken..."

I heard someone calling my name, and I slowly opened my closed eyes.

What I saw when I opened them was a familiar sight.

A dark space made of bricks.

Bright moonlight streamed in through a single large window, illuminating the room.

Books and dolls were scattered around, barely visible in the moonlight.

In the center of the room—

There stood Raphne, dressed in her usual translucent nightwear.

"…Raphne?"

"Did you fall asleep?"

"...Uh, yeah. I think I dozed off for a bit."

I was in the tower.

The old tower where I always spent my time with Raphne.

I had apparently dozed off in a chair in that room.

But...

"…What?"

It wasn’t just that I was sitting.

"R-Raphne... w-why am I…"

I was sitting in a chair, my arms and legs bound tightly by ropes.

I remembered this sight.

It was the same scene as when Raphne had imprisoned me in the tower in the past.

Now that I think of it, even her nightwear was the same as back then.

"...Ken, isn’t that uncomfortable?"

As I looked around in confusion, Raphne spoke to me in an oddly sweet voice.

I stopped examining myself and lifted my head to look at her.

And when I did—

Raphne had come up to me without me noticing, standing directly in front of me, looking down.

As I raised my head to look at her, her large chest partially blocked her face from my view.

Seeing those curves, I instinctively swallowed.

“Do you want me to make you comfortable?”

“C-comfortable? I’m not particularly uncomfortable.”

“Hmm, from the looks of it, you seem quite uncomfortable, Ken.”

Raphne tilted her head and gave me a sultry look, her gaze drifting somewhere on my body.

Following her line of sight, I looked down and realized why she thought I was uncomfortable.

‘Ah, that… yeah, that would be uncomfortable.’

My pants were uncomfortable.

If something suddenly swelled up, even tailored pants would stretch uncomfortably.

“I’ll make you comfortable.”

Once I realized the source of discomfort, Raphne let out a sweet, tinkling laugh.

She let her hand glide up my shoulder.

“…R-Raphne.”

With my arms and legs tied, I couldn’t resist as her hand touched me.

Her hand moved smoothly from my shoulder to my chest, then down to my abdomen—

Until it reached the belt of my pants that was causing me discomfort.

Click.

And with her slender fingers, she carefully undid the belt.

“Fufu, may you have a pleasant dream.”

Zeri looked down at the unconscious Ken, chuckling as if mocking him, before picking up the blade that lay beside him.

‘It's just the blade… but our craftsman can make a handle.’

At any rate, the goal was accomplished.

She considered whether she should kill the sleeping man, just in case.

But Zeri quickly decided against it.

If he were to wake up, the mission could be compromised.

Right now, the most important thing to her wasn’t their lives but securing the cursed sword.

“I’ve specially crafted an extremely lewd dream with the woman you desire most, so you can’t be too upset.”

Zeri wrapped the cursed sword in cloth, tied it to her waist, then crouched in front of Ken, gently stroking his hair.

“His appearance is my type... Maybe I should’ve made the dream about him and me instead.”

Since using dreams to seduce men was her hobby, she felt a hint of regret over hastily crafting this one.

But that was just within the realm of personal indulgence.

Zeri, having achieved her goal, stood up with a light step and turned to leave.

Then—

“...the woman he desires most?”

A voice came from behind her.

“Huh? T-that's impossible! How...”

A voice that shouldn’t have been audible.

No ordinary human should have been able to resist her dream magic.

No matter how strong they were, Zeri’s sudden dream spell should’ve been inescapable.

But—

There, before her very eyes—

Was a woman who had managed to do the impossible.

Eyes filled with murderous intent.

Flaming red hair fluttering as if it were ablaze.

“And you made it a lewd dream? Ken’s?”

Raphne glared at Zeri, her eyes threatening death if she didn’t answer.

“Who’s the woman?”

“Hiiiiiik!”

Terrified by the bloodlust she had never experienced before, Zeri shivered, her shoulders trembling in fear.

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