Chapter 138
"...So in the end, the only way for me to use your power is to hand over control of my body?"
Suhyeok sat on a chair that had appeared from who knew where.
In front of him, the Demon God knelt with both hands raised.
The majestic, arrogant figure from earlier was nowhere to be seen.
He answered in a trembling voice.
"Y-Yes.... That's right."
"But more importantly, how long do I have to stay like this?!"
"I am the Demon God!"
"This is not a position someone like me should be in!!"
The ground was littered with countless shattered skulls.
And in Suhyeok's hand...
Was yet another skull.
"H-Hiek...! D-Don't hit me!"
"Even if there's nothing else around, beating me with something like tha-"
CRACK!
"Keugh...! M-My head... ugh."
Apparently, one strike wasn't enough.
Suhyeok kept going.
Again.
And again.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
No one knew how many times the Demon God had been beaten with skulls by now.
His face was swollen beyond recognition.
"It feels strange beating someone who looks exactly like me."
Suhyeok looked at him.
"But once I remind myself that you're not actually me, the discomfort disappears."
"Y-You lunatic...."
Now that the Absolute Contract had been established, Suhyeok possessed authority over the Demon God.
The Demon God had lost not only his power, but even his Rank.
At this point, he was no different from an ordinary person.
And although he existed here as a soul...
This was still Suhyeok's inner world.
In other words, nearly all restrictions on Suhyeok's actions had disappeared.
Suhyeok moved a finger.
"H-Hiek...!"
The Demon God immediately flinched and shrank back.
"T-Talk!"
"Just talk!"
"I'll tell you everything, so stop hitting me!!"
Now, even the slightest movement from Suhyeok made him panic.
It was a ridiculous sight.
In contrast...
Seong-a calmly stood beside Suhyeok as though none of this concerned her.
Suhyeok gave her a questioning look.
Why are you here?
She answered in a composed voice.
"I am a creation made by the Demon God."
"I exist to fulfill his desire."
"Therefore, it is only natural that I follow Lee Suhyeok, the master of my master."
Then she naturally placed another skull into Suhyeok's hand.
The Demon God stared at her with utter betrayal.
She ignored him completely.
Just as the Demon God had taken Suhyeok's appearance...
This Seong-a was probably doing the same.
The being inside was clearly someone else.
That made seeing such a cold expression on Seong-a's face strangely unsettling.
"You'll be too confusing if I keep calling you Seong-a."
"I'll call you Seon-a."
"Call me whatever you wish."
Suhyeok continued questioning the Demon God.
"Next question."
"If I hand over control of my body..."
"How much of your strength can you actually use?"
"B-Because I haven't fully recovered..."
"If I use my power now, it wouldn't even be ten percent of my original strength...."
Less than ten percent.
And yet the aura he'd released earlier had been overwhelming.
He would undoubtedly become extremely useful.
Even if Suhyeok handed over control of his body...
The Demon God couldn't do anything unnecessary.
As long as he remained bound by the Absolute Contract, he was forced to obey Suhyeok.
"Are there any side effects when I use your power?"
"Any risks I need to bear?"
"None."
"Is that so?"
The Demon God answered calmly.
Inside...
He laughed sinisterly.
Of course there was.
Fool.
You actually think borrowing my power comes without restriction?
The Demon God had already formed a plan.
Every time he borrowed Suhyeok's body, demonic energy would gradually corrode it in proportion to the power used.
Very slowly.
Slowly enough that Suhyeok wouldn't notice.
The more demonic energy accumulated...
The more Suhyeok's mind would deteriorate.
And the restrictions imposed whenever control of the body was transferred would gradually weaken.
It irritates me to resort to such a petty trick against someone like you...
But for now, I have no choice.
Use my power as much as you like.
Kuhuhuhu.
There was just one thing the Demon God had forgotten.
[All of the target's statements are lies.]
Lying didn't work on Suhyeok.
CRACK!!!
After another round of violence...
No.
After two more...
The Demon God finally confessed the truth.
"That doesn't sound like much of a problem."
Suhyeok spoke indifferently.
"I'm immune to mental corruption anyway."
"So the erosion shouldn't affect me."
"W-What do you mean...?"
The Demon God's hastily formed plan collapsed before it had even begun.
His expression fell into despair.
Suhyeok ignored him.
"Come to think of it..."
"It looked like you could see my memories from inside here."
"How?"
"T-That's one of my Authorities as a Constellation."
"Even though my position was stripped away, I was once a Constellation too."
A screen appeared in the air.
Just like when Suhyeok had met the System before...
Countless scenes from his life appeared.
Among them was even his conversation with the System.
"Demon God."
"Do you know what the System is planning?"
"Too much time has passed."
"How would I know what plan it's formed now?"
The Demon God frowned.
"But one thing is certain."
"The one you call the System now is different from the one I knew."
That sounded significant.
"Different how?"
"In the beginning..."
"It wanted to create a world without suffering."
"So it brought beings from other worlds here."
The problem came afterward.
Even after creating a world filled with peace...
Conflict never stopped.
People continued killing each other.
A world full of pain.
"So it tried to rebuild the Tower."
"It kept creating new worlds."
"But it failed to understand one thing."
The Demon God sighed.
"The Tower had already grown far beyond our control."
Even the System that had created the Tower could no longer stop it.
It had become a system of its own.
"The ideal world it wanted does not exist."
"Without pain..."
"Without destruction..."
"Peace itself loses meaning."
The Demon God let out another heavy sigh, remembering the distant past.
"At some point, it completely lost its mind."
"It stopped listening to anything I said."
"So..."
"Whatever it's planning with you now, I'm sure it's something bizarre."
In the end...
The System was trying to completely reshape the Tower to realize its ideal.
And it intended to do so through Suhyeok...
A Player summoned by the Tower itself.
If I'm right...
It isn't trying to simply change the Tower.
It intends to build a new one.
A Tower it can completely control.
Ding!
[Your inner world will close shortly.]
Time was up.
It was time to deal with what was happening outside.
Less than a second had probably passed in reality.
Suhyeok prepared to leave.
Then spoke to the Demon God as though it were obvious.
"We'll continue the questions later."
