novelraw Chapter 196
Chapter 196
Ch.196 I’ll Take You Back to My World for Sure
At my words, Selena’s eyes widened in shock.
“Hell… you mean the world ruled by the Demon King I know?”
“Yes. That’s probably where we are right now.”
She looked utterly panicked, bewildered and unsure what to do.
“Why are we in Hell? Why are we even here?”
“Because the God of Death is sealed here.”
“Really?”
She clearly had no idea what was happening outside.
I was surprised it was possible—but given she didn’t even know about the Hero Party’s relationship with me, I was oddly relieved.
In the human world, rumors painted me and the Hero Party as a scandalous couple—so much so that people tried to kill me just for looking at them.
I wanted to tell those fools who stared at my face and fell for them: ‘What the hell are you thinking?’
“Of course.”
“Hmm… but if the Hero Party is here, couldn’t they stop the Demon King? They’ve beaten him before.”
At Selena’s innocent question, I shook my head.
“It’s impossible. Even if we fought the Demon King alone at full strength, defeating the entire army of Hell? Nonsense. And he’s far stronger than when we last faced him.”
“What?”
Seeing her confusion, I elaborated:
“Demons lose power when crossing dimensions. But since they can freely pass through the Hell Gate, they’re using this window to invade the human world. And while they’re at it, they’ll probably reclaim our bodies.”
If I were the Demon King, I’d do exactly that. He likely thinks the same.
“So… if we’re unlucky, our bodies could be imprisoned?”
Her face turned pale. I nodded brightly.
“Maybe.”
“Kyaaaah!”
Selena’s scream echoed loudly.
She wildly tugged at her hair, shaking her head—then turned to me, voice suddenly calm.
“But why are you so calm? Aren’t you in danger too?”
“I’m wearing the Arbiter’s Armor. Unless I take it off myself, no one—not even demons—can remove it.”
That’s right. No matter what damage the demons inflict, my body is invulnerable.
Even if I were buried in lava, I wouldn’t feel pain.
But something was wrong—she grabbed my collar and shook me fiercely.
“What are you going to do? I’m a woman! If demons capture me, I could be… violated!”
“Waaah!”
“Take responsibility! You have to take responsibility!”
Her face flushed as she demanded accountability.
I saw my chance.
I wrapped my arms around her waist.
“I’ll take responsibility. Selena.”
Her eyes widened.
“Really? You’ll really take responsibility? You don’t even know what happened to me!”
Since she was still alive, nothing terrible seemed to have occurred.
Or maybe—because of her regression—she wasn’t afraid of death?
I didn’t know the conditions or limits of her power.
Assuming nothing happened, I nodded confidently.
“Of course.”
Skeptical, she pressed again:
“Really? You don’t even know what happened?”
Obviously, nothing happened.
The Hero Party wasn’t stupid. Leah was here.
If the Demon King brought an army, we’d just teleport away.
Why fight? Escape was easier.
“Yeah. And probably nothing happened. The Hero Party will protect you.”
“Hey!”
She shouted at me.
“Why are you yelling?”
She smirked, cheeks flushed, and snapped back:
“Didn’t you say earlier the Hero Party can’t stop the Demon King?”
“Oh. I meant they can’t defeat him. But escaping? Easy. Don’t you know about the Altarion’s Staff?”
Her mouth dropped open in realization.
“Ahh… right?”
She exhaled a sigh of relief. I grinned mischievously.
“So… what were you thinking earlier?”
“I… I… I don’t know! You’re the one who messed up—not telling me something this important!”
She glared at me with furious eyes.
“Hey, I told you now, didn’t I?”
“Hmph.”
I spent a long time soothing her pout from that day.
***
As the battle between demons and the human alliance began, the Succubus Queen broke through the frontline and escaped.
Her kind, being spirits who could travel anywhere like dreams to sleeping humans, instantly flew to the Imperial Capital.
Landing on the rooftop of a towering building, the Queen immediately scanned the surroundings.
Though immune to human-world restrictions, she was inherently weak in combat.
But as a high-ranking demon queen, she was confident—if she knew the exact location of the Ark of the Covenant hidden within the Papacy, she could destroy it.
But…
‘I can’t afford to waste time.’
The Imperial Capital’s soldiers were highly trained. Taking on every Holy Knight stationed at the nearby Mage Tower and Papal Palace would be too risky.
She needed to find and shatter the Ark quickly.
‘Where could it be hidden? The Ark of the Covenant?’
The Ark—the symbol of divine love given by gods to humanity.
Destroy it, and divine power would vanish.
Such a sacred object wouldn’t be left out in the open.
The Queen stared at the Papacy’s grand cathedral—a majestic structure crowned by a colossal dome and towering obelisks, built alongside the Empire’s long history.
‘Too vast… I can’t search the whole place in such a short time.’
Capturing the Pope or a Cardinal for interrogation would take too long too.
“Hmm… I’ll need a little more time.”
And so, she slipped into the capital to investigate the Ark’s location.
***
Our ship sailed toward Portland.
Not back to Nook—but Portland.
Apparently, the captain had items to deliver there.
The voyage was dull, but I passed the time playing cards and chatting with Selena.
Sometimes she complained about missing her world.
“Oh, this ship ride is boring…”
“Are you that bored?”
She nodded slightly.
“Can’t we just get there faster?”
“But then we’d miss the romance.”
She gave me a half-lidded, scornful look.
“Romance? It’s all dead.”
“Come on, sailing’s not so bad.”
Actually, feeling the sea breeze was quite pleasant.
But Selena didn’t agree. She shook her head vigorously.
“I hate it because of the salt spray.”
“But it’s refreshing!”
“I’d rather have air conditioning.”
She’s become a total modern person.
As I thought that, she turned to me.
“Could you make me a smartphone?”
I answered firmly:
“No. If I gave you one, you’d stare at it all day.”
“Pfft… you’re cruel.”
She flopped onto the bed.
“Do you think I’d have been happier if I’d been born in your world?”
Her serious tone made me pause.
Would she have avoided becoming a fanatic?
Even if not the Church of Death, modern society had countless cults.
Given her fanaticism toward the God of Death, I suspected she’d easily fall for any modern cult.
But saying that outright felt wrong.
“Maybe you wouldn’t have been.”
Silence followed.
She rolled over and looked at me.
“If I’d been born in your world… and we’d met… would we have been truly happy?”
“In my world…”
I missed it.
When I first arrived here, I was thrilled.
I’d been transported into my favorite game.
But the world’s shallow content quickly bored me.
Even the ‘Dragon War’ DLC was fun—because it introduced a new continent.
After that?
It was dull. Stressful, even.
Living here so long, I realized: I missed home.
The chicken and cola I’d eaten after so long tasted amazing.
Modern tech made this world feel primitive.
“If everything ends… should I try to find a way back to my world?”
She glanced at me.
“Is that possible?”
I hesitated, then replied:
“Maybe. Hell connects to Heaven. If we ask the gods or archangels there, maybe they’ll know.”
She gasped.
“H-Heaven… is connected to Hell?”
“Yes. In the game, it definitely is.”
There was a path to Heaven on the 50th floor of Hell.
Of course, you had to defeat Epic Auros to get there…
But since I’m alive, Epic Auros doesn’t exist.
Ah… could this…?
Thinking of Heaven suddenly gave me an idea: a way to seal the Hell Gate.
I didn’t know why the Hell Gate existed—but it was sealed.
According to lore, the gods sealed the God of Death behind the Seal Stones.
Here, where gods truly exist, it must’ve been the gods who sealed the gate.
“Selena… I’ll get you to my world. I’m sure of it.”
Her eyes sparkled with hope.
“Really? How?”
She was clearly moved.
“Go to Heaven. Ask the gods. After all, they’re why I ended up here. If we explain it well, maybe they’ll help.”
“Hmm…”
Watching her think, I added:
“And if we succeed here, they’ll be more likely to listen. They might even feel guilty toward me.”
“Will they? But…”
She hesitated, carefully voicing her doubt.
“Won’t they refuse to send me? Heaven’s gods are enemies of the God of Death.”
“That’s true…”
The gods wouldn’t like her.
She’d worshiped the God of Death.
“Fine. I’ll stay here. In my inner world, I can do anything.”
She turned back to the bed.
But her voice sounded hollow.
“But if we keep dawdling, demons will take over the human world? The Hell Gate is open, and demons resurrect here. Humans die permanently. If this drags on, humanity will be destroyed.”
“Let them be destroyed. Evil like that deserves to vanish.”
It only seemed to hurt her feelings.
“Pfft… maybe not. The gods might feel guilty toward me. Maybe they’d let you take just one person back.”
I didn’t know.
Gods never appeared in the game.
The only thing that did? The King of the Dead appeared at Heaven’s peak.
I hunted him often—he dropped amazing loot—but the gods never showed.
Not even in dummy data.
Destiny had plenty of dummy data—abandoned mechanics and monsters—but the gods were never among them.
It felt intentional.
Players assumed it was for immersion—but now that I knew this was a real world, I suspected there was a reason.
Either way, one thing was certain: we had to go to Heaven.
“Selena? Do you trust me?”
She didn’t answer.
I asked again.
“Do you trust me?”
This time, she muttered:
“…I do.”
“Then I’ll take you back to my world—for sure.”
She didn’t respond.
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