Yuri, who appeared, was wearing a leather corset that she would never normally wear. The outfit squeezed her abdomen, emphasizing her chest and thighs even more.
Her already large breasts were further accentuated by the corset, and except for her sensitive lower abdomen, her thighs were barely covered at all, making them incredibly alluring.
If it weren’t for the tail on her behind and the horns atop her head, Kail might have desperately courted her.
“What are you?”
—What? What do you mean? You don’t recognize me even after seeing this form?
Yuri, in the form of a demon, gazed down at Kail with an enchanting expression and posture.
—It’s me, your most precious person. Yuri Grace.
The demon called herself Yuri Grace. Watching her, Kail burst into laughter.
Yuri Grace, huh? So, if that’s the case…
“My most precious person, you say?”
The Aura Blade in Kail’s hand began to emit a fierce glow. He pointed the wildly vibrating Aura Blade toward the demon and charged forward.
Perhaps not expecting him to charge recklessly, the demon hesitated before swiftly leaping away from Kail as he lunged.
Swoosh-!
—Kyaaah!?
“Could I really do such a thing to my most precious person?”
—You, you crazy bastard!
The demon hadn’t expected him to actually swing his sword at her and started dripping blood from her severed wing stubs.
The pain ran deep into her bones. People often say that when they take a big hit. But this attack was something more. It felt like her very soul had been cut apart.
—Th-this body is your lover! If you kill me, your lover dies too!
“Who would believe what a demon says?”
—It’s true, you crazy bastard!
“Is that so? Sorry, Yuri. See you in hell in about 100 years.”
Kail shouted this as he charged again. This time, having been wary of him, the demon managed to escape by flying into the sky, but she trembled in fear at Kail, who seemed not to understand reason.
‘Why won’t he listen! Is he really insane!’
Of course, the demon didn’t truly possess such a power. A power to kill someone in reality just because they die in their dreams? With such an overpowered ability, the demon could’ve simply transformed into Kail and committed suicide.
If the real body died, there’d be no way to survive in the dream world.
But even if the demon didn’t have such a power, wouldn’t it make sense to hesitate or at least think about it?
A reckless fool charging forward without hesitation, swinging his sword, was a first even for a demon who had lived through eons.
‘Is he really that dense?’
Watching Kail continue to swing his sword, she decided to change her plan. Her original plan was to slowly seduce him and trap him forever in the dream world.
She intended to imprison his mind in this world and take over his body in return. If Kail had been satisfied with the dream world she created and believed it to be real, then that would’ve happened.
Since that failed, it was time to move on to the next plan.
‘I guess there’s no helping it. There’s a high chance he’ll end up brain-dead…’
Having failed to soothe his mind, she decided to go for the opposite—destroy his mind. Apophis, the dream demon, glared at Kail as she thought this.
—So, this is your choice?
Snap!
At the flick of her finger, a hellhound emerged behind her. One of the countless demonic beasts rampant in the demon realm.
In a world where only the strong survive, the fact that these creatures were common meant they were powerful.
“Gwaang-!”
The hound bared its teeth and charged. Kail watched calmly and swung his sword.
In a fleeting moment that made it impossible to tell how or where he swung, the hound charging at Kail split into two halves.
—Eh?
Seeing this, Apophis let out a faint groan. Though she was a demon, she didn’t know the terror of an Aura Master.
Even though an Aura Master was merely human-sized, in the demon realm filled with monstrous beings larger than mountains, such small creatures didn’t seem capable of much.
That’s why she thought he’d be insignificant. In reality, she was wrong.
“What is this?”
—H-how did you…?
“Hey, demon.”
Kail, holding a sword that sparkled like a star, looked at Apophis.
“Come at me with your strongest.”
And in the next moment, starlight flooded the area.
***
The steel-chewing hellhound of hell.
The lava giant said to move mountains.
The wailing banshee spirit that drives opponents mad just by looking at them.
Apophis summoned her strongest and most effective demonic beasts. Their corpses now littered the ground.
—Crazy, crazy!
Though this was a dream world, she couldn’t summon such demonic beasts without any cost. Only mental strength mattered in this world.
In other words, Kail, moving and swinging his Aura Blade, was pouring out an immense amount of mental energy.
But if that’s the case—
—Why is he still so lively!?
What kind of monster was this guy who could defeat dozens or hundreds of demonic beasts without breaking a sweat?
Did he have infinite mental strength? Could such a being really exist?
Apophis began to feel doubt about her own life, which spanned eons. Anyone would feel that way watching a mere human, who had lived only a few decades, perform feats unimaginable even for a demon like her.
“Is that all?”
—All of it! Why don’t you just die!
“You’re pretty weak for a demon.”
—W-weak?
Provoked by Kail’s taunts, Apophis glared at him with wide eyes. How could she, a demon, tolerate such provocation?
As she rummaged through her memories to bring out her strongest weapon, she instead began rifling through Kail’s memories.
‘Let’s see you get wrecked.’
Summoning the thing Kail feared the most. That’s what Apophis did.
What appeared was a massive lump of iron with a long muzzle.
—What is this…
“…Huh?”
As Kail hesitated upon seeing the sudden appearance of the iron mass, Apophis realized he was afraid, even if she didn’t know exactly what it was.
Who cared what it was? What mattered was that Kail was scared.
—Die, you brat!
The moment she ordered the unknown iron mass to attack, an incomprehensible shout rang out from somewhere.
[Three, two, one! Fire!]
With a thunderous roar, the iron mass fired a shell. A 155mm artillery shell was launched, shaking the earth with a deafening explosion.
Soon after, a high-explosive shell landed above Kail’s head, completely obliterating an area tens of meters wide. Startled by the immense firepower, Apophis stood dumbfounded, mouth agape, before clenching her fists and shouting.
—H-how’s that! Serves you right for letting your guard down!
“This stings a bit.”
—…Huh?
“By the way, using modern weapons. Is this because it’s a mental world?”
Apophis felt her mind go hazy as she watched Kail walk out unscathed despite the overwhelming firepower.
Well, upon closer inspection, he wasn’t entirely unharmed. His skin was slightly charred, and there were some scratches.
But it was unbelievable that an artillery strike capable of wiping out hundreds of people at once left just a scratch.
“These are more interesting than the others. Bring out more.”
—You crazy bastard… You find this fun…?
Watching Kail spout nonsense that even a demon couldn’t comprehend, Apophis decided to test just how far he could go.
She pulled out the strongest weapon imaginable, something that existed only as knowledge in his mind.
—Die.
The microscopic world invisible to the eye.
A weapon that splits indivisible atoms and releases their energy as explosive force.
Nuclear Weapon.
—Atomic Bomb.
Nuclear fission and the resulting thermal radiation erupted forth. Intense radiation and heat reaching 150 million degrees struck Kail’s entire body.
Even in this mental world made of mental energy, the artificial sun created by human hands couldn’t be endured. Kail realized that surviving this required something other than mental strength.
It was Aura.
‘Using life force in a mental world sounds ridiculous…!’
Using real-life vitality in a mentally constructed dream world was contradictory and nonsensical—but Kail had already done it.
He had successfully drawn out and used a single Aura Blade grown within his heart.
Then, using Aura in the mental world should also be possible. And so he did. The Aura enveloped his burnt skin like crispy pigskin and repelled the heat and radiation assaulting his body.
Perfect isolation inside and out. The Aura Blade, which cuts through everything, became Aura Armor, blocking everything.
‘This is…’
Kail knew what to call this ability.
Protective Celestial Energy.
It was an imitation, albeit clumsy, of the abilities of martial arts masters seen only in novels.
If he could do that, perhaps he could do more.
—…You withstood that?
Apophis gasped as she watched Kail emerge unscathed. Even her main body wouldn’t survive inside that miniature sun.
Kail had accomplished the impossible. No matter how much of a demon she was, she couldn’t help but admire a hero. To her, Kail was that hero.
—Haah, fine. It seems I can’t kill you. I give up…
“Give up? What are you talking about?”
—Huh?
“Never give up.”
He sent the Aura outside his body.
Its structure was similar to what he had always used.
But this time, it went further.
All the way to the enemy’s heart.
Thrust!
—Uh…?
“Mind Sword successful.”
Kail placed his foot casually on Apophis as she plummeted to the ground, smirking as he let the Aura spike out sharply.
“I’ve got a bit more experimenting to do, so don’t you dare give up. Understand?”
—A, aaah…
Soon after, Aura Blades began bursting out of her body. Apophis screamed in agony as the Aura Blades tore through her from the inside, and she began to slowly die.
