World Of Illusion

I stepped out of the office with Stella.

The corridors, the walls, the ceilings, and the view from the windows—the entire world was painted in two colors: black and white.

“What’s happening…!?”

“—A massive monster is approaching the castle’s main gate.”

Stella sensed it with her Clairvoyance.

“Is it related to this phenomenon…?”

Unsure, I led Stella to the front of the main gate. By the time we arrived, the scenery had regained its original colors before I even noticed. However, it wasn’t a perfect restoration. A thin, reddish mist drifted here and there.

“Could it be…” Stella whispered, her face turning pale.

“Do you have an idea of what this is?”

“Even in the vastness of the Demon Realm, only a few could pull off a stunt like this. Most likely, it’s her—”

Thump… boom!

Just as Stella was about to finish, the ground shook. A giant nearly twenty meters tall appeared—a Golem made of ochre rock. This must be what Stella had sensed.

“Enemy… detected…”

Red eyes glowed from a face that looked like it was wearing a helmet. It approached, shaking the earth with every heavy step, radiating clear hostility.

“This thing is…!”

I turned the back of my right hand toward it, showing the Demon Lord’s Crest. But the Golem didn’t stop. It was coming for me even knowing I was the Demon Lord.

“My Lord!”

Rilim and the soldiers came running.

“Everyone, protect the Demon Lord!”

“You bet!”

“Let’s show him that move we practiced!”

Zamato the Garuda took flight along with Ariyu the Harpy. Zamato, in the lead, performed a feint to distract the Golem and pulled away. From behind him, Ariyu unleashed a volley of feather arrows. It was their ultimate combination technique, “Formation Zamato.”

However, the Golem’s stone armor effortlessly deflected every single one.

“It’s not working… wah!?”

“Kyaa!”

As if in retaliation, the Golem launched stone pebbles like bullets. The two demons were shot down without mercy, slamming into the ground.

“My Lord, that is an illusion,” Stella declared, opening her third eye.

“An illusion?”

“However—it seems to be an illusion with substance. A monster that can only exist within this ‘Nightmare World.’”

Nightmare World…? I didn’t fully understand the term, but…

“If it’s an illusion, I don’t have to hold back, right?”

“Please, go ahead.”

“Dark Edge!”

I thrust out my right hand along with the incantation. I unleashed a crescent-shaped blade of mana, bisecting the Golem.

“Whoa, in one hit!” Rilim and the others cheered.

“Gunu… we must polish Formation Zamato further.”

“Nothing for it but special training, huh…” Zamato and Ariyu muttered regretfully.

“Stella, do you know about this space?” I asked.

“Most likely, this was created by one of the Demon Commanders, Feria the Dream Demon Princess.” Stella nodded. “However—I believe she is in a state of rampage.”

“Rampage?”

“Normally, this space only acts upon specific targets. But now, it’s acting indiscriminately—likely upon every demon in the Royal Capital.”

“In the whole Capital…?”

“Feria’s ability puts targets to sleep and pulls them into a dream—the ‘Nightmare World.’ As long as they are dreaming, they cannot leave,” Stella explained. “And within the dream, Feria becomes an omnipotent queen. She rules everything and possesses absolute power.”

“Basically, it’s like a different dimension. Can’t we just break it and escape?”

“That is impossible. The Nightmare World is something that can never be destroyed by physical force or magic—”

“It doesn’t hurt to try.” I raised my right hand. “Ragna Bomb.”

I launched a black energy ball into the sky.

VROOOOOOOOM!

With a massive explosion, a giant hole opened in a corner of the sky.

“Looks like it broke.”

“Wh-what kind of person are you…?” Stella stared at me, dumbfounded.

For the record, that was only a mid-to-high tier destructive spell for a Demon Lord. If I had used a top-tier spell like Mega Fire or Mega Thunder, the entire sky probably would have been blown away.

“Now we just have to escape. Maybe I’ll make a hole closer to the ground instead of the sky.”

However, attack magic with too much power causes collateral damage. It would be better to use a type that concentrates destructive power into a narrow range. I summoned my spell list to find the optimal magic—

Just then.

“Ugh… I feel sick…” Rilim suddenly collapsed.

“Ugh, ah…”

It wasn’t just her; the other soldiers were also collapsing one after another, looking pained. Furthermore—

“Tch… uugh…”

Even Stella fell, a look of agony on her face.

“Hey! What’s wrong, everyone!?”

“Most likely… because… part of the world… was broken…” Stella pointed to the sky with a trembling finger.

There was the hole I had just made with my magic.

“When you… wound the world… the damage… reflects back… to us… too… uugh.”

Was I the only one unaffected because I was the Demon Lord? Or was it due to my magical capacity? Or some other reason…? I didn’t know, but regardless:

“So, breaking this world by force is a bad idea…”

I chanted a spell toward the hole in the sky. “Rune Repair.”

It was the same magic I had used to repair the Demon Realm’s barrier before. The hole in the sky was completely sealed by my mana.

“Pant, pant… y-you saved us.”

Looking around, Stella and the others were standing back up. They seemed to be okay now.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you suffer.”

“No, it was unexpected for me as well…” Stella replied.

Regardless, the option of breaking the world to escape was off the table.

“Now, what to do…”

We couldn’t stay here forever. Enemies like the one before might attack again. Or, in other places, other demons might be under assault.

“Stella, what’s the best way for everyone to escape this world?”

“The simplest way is to find Feria, the Dream Demon Princess,” Stella answered.

“Find Feria?”

“She is sleeping somewhere in this world. She is using her mana to construct this Nightmare World. If we can wake her up, this world will vanish, and we will be able to return to our original world.”

According to Stella’s Clairvoyance, Feria was in the outer rim of the Western Region. However, even with her power, she couldn’t pinpoint the exact location. Within the dream, even Stella’s Clairvoyance had its limits. Still, knowing the general area was enough; we just had to go there and look.

We set out for the Western rim. The group consisted of me, Stella, Rilim, and the soldiers. If Bel (the Emperor Dragon) had been here, we could have reached Feria quickly, but she was nowhere to be found. Perhaps she hadn’t been pulled into this world, or perhaps she was just somewhere far away.

Regardless, we pressed on. After walking for several hours, the road suddenly vanished. In the next moment, a beautiful meadow and a gentle hill appeared before us. Atop the hill stood a magnificent castle.

“This is… but why…!?” Stella looked bewildered.

“Is something wrong, Stella?”

“It shouldn’t be in a place like this… but…”

“Stella…?” Did she know this place?

“There is no mistake. This is the Duchy of Arselvain—”

Stella looked at me and said, “It is my home.”