“I speak formally?”


    “Yes.”


    “Me? Really? I can’t believe it.”


    When I told her that her way of speaking waspletely different from what it was now, the Dark Spiritualistughed incredulously.


    After hearing many stories from her, we were now engaging in trivial small talk.


    “Why is that, huh? How did it happen?”


    “I, too, am curious about that.”


    Although both Dark Spiritualists had a simr lighthearted tone, the future one did not feel as frivolous as now.


    Talking to the current 18-year-old Dark Spiritualist felt like dealing with a student who had problems concentrating in ss.


    “I really wonder why. This is fascinating.”She shrugged and didn’t seem to dwell on the topic much.


    “The cause is probably nothing important.”


    “Is that so?”


    “Probably, I think that change is probably because I’ve been holed up in theb alone.”


    When I wondered if such a thing could change one’s manner of speaking, the Dark Spiritualist nced around for no reason, mumbling.


    “You know, when you’re alone, you sometimes start talking to objects.”


    “…”


    It was quite absurd, but it must have been simr to how a man who was stranded on a deserted ind named a volleyball that drifted with him, Wilson¹.


    “Wouldn’t it have been solved if you started conversing with the spirits of the deceased? Those that you controlled?”


    Though I understood why, I was still genuinely curious.


    It was a natural question for me since, in my case, the dead often sought me to talk, saying the things they wanted to say even if I didn’t want to hear it. However…


    “Huh?”


    The Dark Spiritualist lifted her head, seemingly surprised that she hadn’t thought of it.


    “Is that so?”


    It was also a clear sign that she viewed souls merely as tools for using magic.


    But I didn’t hide my bitter feelings, and even advised her.


    “They were once living people too.”


    “…They’re dead now anyways.”


    She wasn’t wrong.


    The boundary between the dead and the living must be clear and distinct. One shouldn’t cross that line recklessly.


    “But that does not mean all their rights have been stripped away. It is good to show the minimum respect to those who have reached the end of their journey.”


    “I don’t understand why you have to do that.”


    The Dark Spiritualist candidly shared her thoughts.


    “They’re just souls. Regardless, most of the ones I deal with are those with strong energy; those that wander around because they can’t resolve their grudges.”


    She also added that, unlike me, those were the only souls she could see.


    “Well, honestly, I don’t really care if they harm the living or not. It’s kind of ridiculous for me to say this, but evil spirits were originally bad people, weren’t they?


    “Yes, those who have crossed the boundary of life and still haven’t gone to rest, but remained to torment the living, are indeed evil spirits.”


    However…


    “Anyone can be an evil spirit.”


    “…”


    “Those with intense resentment and hatred can be evil spirits. And usually, such people have unjust stories.”


    “What do you mean? Are you saying that we should let them go?”


    “No, souls that have already caused harm to the living must pay the price. However, that doesn’t mean we should see them as mere tools.”


    “…”


    “Anyone can be an evil spirit; everyone eventually dies. They simply reached the end of their lives a bit earlier than us.”


    I had a clear line within myself.


    The living came before the dead.


    After having seen countless souls, I could understand this concept even better.


    Having seen many deaths, I knew the weight of life.


    “Unfortunately, the hierarchy is clear. But although the livinge before the dead…”


    I knew it was a cruel statement, and some might call it unfair.


    But this was the conclusion I reached.


    “That does not mean we should handle the dead carelessly as we wish. Because, after all, we will eventually cross that boundary someday.”


    Someday, we would all die.


    So I had judged and decided, even while it might feel unfair to the dead, that the living will alwayse first.


    “As someone bearing the title of Soul Whisperer, it feels wrong to say this.”


    The Dark Spiritualist responded with a subtle expression.


    “In a way, you’re saying something even more cruel than I am to the evil spirits. It’s like your words are firmly sealing their fate.”


    “Yes, that is not wrong.”


    The act offorting the dead, in the end, was about giving them eternal rest.


    In other words, it was making them ept their own death.


    “If someone tells me that it is karma.”


    In that case.


    “Then I will take responsibility for it after death.”


    Even as I said this, someday, I, too, would die and be a soul.


    And since I knew that future so well, I was able to draw such a clear distinction.


    This was the reason why I could so clearly define the hierarchy between the living and the dead.


    “Well, I think I understand a bit. You are walking in theplete opposite direction from me.”


    “…”


    “And unfortunately, between us, it seems like you are the right one.”


    She let out a bitter smile. But surprisingly, there was a sense of relief in her expression.


    “Are you pitying me? I dedicated my whole life to Necromancy, but in the end, I was actually on the wrong path and even died miserably?”


    “…It would be an insult to pity you.”


    Who could dare to feel sorry for someone who had devoted herself to her path?


    Even Demon Lord Magan called the Dark Spiritualist, who gave up her humanity to be a Necromancer, a great woman.


    “Yes, that’s right.”


    Her violet eyes, reflecting the dining hall’s lights, held both sorrow and joy.


    Sorrow for realizing her path was wrong.


    “So use me as a lesson and continue walking your own path.”


    And joy for being able to show her apprentice the right path.


    To the 18-year-old Dark Spiritualist who held both of these emotions right now, I slowly reached out and patted her head.


    “W-what are you doing?”


    She tried to push my hand away in embarrassment, but there was no real strength in her effort to do so.


    “Although I would never say this to you outside…”


    Because saying something like this would only put her head in the clouds, I felt I should express my true feelings to her.


    “Thank you for your teachings.”


    The corners of my mouth gently lifted.


    Realizing I was smiling at her, I slowly withdrew my hand from her head.


    With tears welling in her eyes, she looked as if she wanted to say something.


    “Five minutes left.”


    Even though Han So was waiting for us outside, his voice echoed into the dining hall.


    It was ourst day in the Dream Demon Manor.


    The time for us to part hade.


    ***“<em>Fufu</em>.”


    The Demon Lord of Deception.


    With a snort, Lehric sped his hands on the desk.


    Having just finished dealing with another customer in the darkened general store, he wore a cheerful smile on his lips.


    Watching humans give up something precious for their immediate desires always brought Lehric unbearable joy.


    The same was true for the prince of the Jerman Kingdom, who had just left.


    Unable to see what he held in his hands, he only focused on what hecked, which led to making a foolish transaction.


    “If only humans had eyes on their hands, they would be so much less foolish than they are now.”


    Those who didn’t know the value of what they had were so greedy that they recklessly always desired something new.


    They were indeed such a silly species.


    How could he not love humans when they always acted like this?


    If any Demon Lord tried to exterminate humanity, Lehric would be the first to stand in their way.


    “<em>Heheheh.</em>“


    Lehric slowly stood up and looked around the general store. When the door first appeared in his abode and a general store appeared behind it, he was initially bewildered, but he now saw it as a kind of divine revtion.


    The general store he acquired after killing the dwarf-like human inside had brought him more joy than he had expected.


    Was his name ir?


    This was not a ce that someone like ir should have possessed.


    It was a deformed establishment that distorted dimensions, even capable of hiding itself from the gaze of the gods.


    How could such a ce exist?


    Lehric was very fond of the general store, and what delighted him the most was that it allowed him to learn the continent’s secrets.


    “The second round.”


    Knowing that the continent had already been once destroyed and restarted, Lehric felt an overwhelming sense of ecstasy.


    Didn’t this mean that even the gods were now deceiving everyone on the continent?


    As the Demon Lord of Deception, he wanted to uncover the irresistible pleasure known as truth.


    And, for the sake of that, he sent Deus Verdi—specifically, Kim Shinwoo, to the Dream Demon Manor.


    “It must be over by now.”


    Staying five days in the Dream Demon Manor equated to a month in the outside world.


    Starting at the academy, an uproar ensued as they searched for Deus Verdi, but he wouldn’t know what was happening in the outside world.


    Lehric hummed a tune, thinking of this as another amusement and gift he had prepared for him.


    The Dream Demon Manor was a ce Lehric created entirely from his greed.


    That ce was made to deceive, trick, and fool countless humans.


    Many rules were ultimately written to toy with humans, inciting them to suspect and fight each other.


    However, the Dream Demon Manor was a ce where only one person was real.


    If it were a hotel, it had just one single room.


    After every human staying in Room 110 was manipted for his own amusement, their memories and experiences would eventually be part of the Dream Demon Manor.


    Hence, all guests staying in Room 110 would face the same fate.


    They either died along the way or were expelled after five days, losing all memory of their time within the Dream Demon Manor.


    “It didn’t really matter, as long as Deus’ memories and experiences remain in the Dream Demon Manor.”


    That way, he wouldn’t need the real Deus anymore because an identical fake, along with memories of the second round, the truths he knew about the continent, and even more, would fall into his hands.


    Lehric’s tongue couldn’t stay still at the thought of devouring Deus’ memories and experiences.


    Unable to stay still at the thought of that, Lehric sprang up from his seat.


    “It’s time.”


    Exactly five days had passed, and it was now time for the end.


    Those who survived would have been expelled from the Dream Demon Manor by now.


    To confirm this, he opened the general store’s door and headed to the Dream Demon Manor.


    The surrounding darkness was still poised to devour any entities trying to escape the Dream Demon Manor.


    “The Cadavermancer.”


    Finding the Cadavermancer’s cold corpse among the darkness, he chuckled.


    Although she would typically be eliminated early on, the Cadavermancer became one of the more interesting characters during the middle stage of the Dream Demon Manor—She would be explosively aggressive once she got lucky and acquired a corpse.


    “Hmm?”


    But seeing that the Cadavermancer was the only one expelled, was she the final victor this time?


    Lehric surveyed the inside of the Dream Demon Manor from the outside.


    <em>Room 101, 102, 103, 104 deceased. Room 105 is… Hmm?</em>


    Room 105.


    Han So was nowhere to be seen.


    Lehric couldn’t find his corpse either.


    <em>Rooms 106, 107, 108, 109 deceased. Room 110.</em>


    Lehric’s eyes widened as he checked the subsequent numbers.


    “Room 110, Deus Verdi.”


    Upon sensing something amiss, he gritted his teeth. And unsure of the situation, he knew he needed to confirm it.


    <em>BANG!</em>


    He flung open the door to the Dream Demon Manor and stepped inside, scanning his surroundings.


    The corpses controlled by the Cadavermancer immediately caught his eye, but the number didn’t match.


    “Han So, the Dark Spiritualist, and Deus Verdi.”


    Three bodies were missing.


    If they were alive, they should have been expelled from the mansion.


    That was the rule of the Dream Demon Manor.


    “Did they… escape?”


    From here, the Dream Demon Manor?


    No, that was impossible.


    It was <em>absolutely</em> impossible.


    Because, aside from Deus Verdi, everyone else was nothing more than illusions created by this ce.


    The moment they left the entrance, the darkness waiting outside would have devoured them.


    “What the hell is going on?”


    Normally, he would have known where they were if they were hiding inside the Dream Demon Manor.


    However, at that moment…


    <em>Step, step.</em>


    Footsteps echoed from the stairs; it was more than a single pair.


    Feeling the mana resonating from the third floor, Lehric’s face turned dumbfounded.


    As they descended to the second floor, he quickly realized how the three managed to surpass the absolute five-day rule of the Dream Demon Manor.


    “How dare they…?”


    Then, as they reached thest flight of stairs, Lehric gritted his teeth and red at the three figures descending to the first floor.


    At the expression of the Demon Lord…


    “That is quite a look.”


    Deus held back hisughter.<ol>1. This is a reference to Cast Away, a Tom Hanks movie from 2000</ol>


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