How many years had it been since she last saw something like this? Familiar yet strange, she checked her state and found herself still imprisoned here, which meant this was not a dream. Compared to something actually appearing, she would rather believe it was an illusion meant to deceive her.
She ignored the window and closed her eyes again. Then something tapped her forehead. When she opened her eyes, the window was plastered directly onto her face and merged into her vision.
The light cut through layers of darkness like a blade and plunged straight into the core of her soul. That soul, existing outside the world and sealed behind countless black gates under endless gazes, was quietly connected to an extremely thin thread without any being noticing. Chloe finally could not hold on and closed her eyes completely.
When she forced herself to open them again, she snapped awake in alarm. She did not believe that anywhere she reached after falling asleep could be real. Yet she soon froze, dazed, and looked down at herself, still in the image of a black-haired girl in robes, just as her subconscious remembered.
She stood within a pure white space filled with long-unseen light flowing all around. She instinctively reached out to grasp a strand, but it slipped through her fingers. Then it felt as if countless gazes swept over her body, and brighter light appeared.
Fragments of space fell like rain, shattering like broken Shard. From beyond them, a golden Gold Rank dragon head bearing the Solar Crown extended inward, red eyes looking down at Chloe from above. The brilliance was like the sun at its peak, a cold and almost merciless white unlike Dawn or the dim glow of Gold Rank dusk.
"Daylight… no, it feels a bit different," she murmured. There was more mixed into it than just Daylight, and Chloe slowly realized where she was. This was a god's Divine Kingdom.
She had only felt this presence once before, in that city, from Belial when the power of the Holy Sword had awakened another form. That meant the being before her was Belial, the Black Dragon. She glanced up on instinct, was dazzled by the light, and closed her eyes again.
Chloe had a strong capacity to accept things, and after so many years, her heart was mostly numb. A change in appearance was nothing worth making a fuss over. What mattered more was the divine aura and the abnormal state of this space, which confirmed it was indeed Divine Kingdom.
Judging from the aspect and power, it seemed aligned with the God of Light and Holy Light. It was neither Dawn nor Gold Rank dusk, so there was only one possibility left. She spoke calmly, "So you really are a god. That is not too surprising, no wonder Dawn was willing to act."
Since the other party was a god with the aspect of Daylight, such a form and power made sense. Chloe was not surprised that Belial was divine, and in fact found it stranger that he had shown so few godly traits before. The real question was why he had pulled her into Divine Kingdom and what he wanted from her.
"Your… crown… why does it exist?" The Great Dragon opened his mouth slightly, his voice vast and heavy. The tone was indescribable, yet its meaning was understood, and Chloe had heard the voices of other gods before.
Those from Abyss were usually just meaningless madness or crude temptation. Dawn was different, but even then there was little pressure. This presence, however, felt like indifference, as if a giant were observing an unusual ant without care.
Chloe began to analyze the meaning. The crown likely referred to the pentagonal Demon King of the Black Crown. Was he asking what the Demon King was, or why she was one?
After some thought, she replied, "The so-called Demon King is nothing more than a gatekeeping prisoner. With only one's own soul and will, it resists dozens of Evil God from Abyss. It relies on a black coffin creation and an otherworldly gate left behind by a former god to block them."
The golden Gold Rank dragon head lowered slightly, listening in silence as Chloe continued. Behind the head of King Ghidorah, the one inside, Belial, crossed his arms and frowned in confusion at the girl before him. "What is she even talking about? Why is she saying so much?"
He had only asked about the thing on her head, yet somehow received a long explanation instead. Maybe for other races, this really was a complicated topic, and there was no guidebook for this kind of thing. He decided to wait for the translation results, though his remaining credit was low, and he was not confident in the quality of the translation space.
"...sitting… harassment, under the seat…" "Very uncomfortable noises, cannot sleep, and the door frame spins…" "...?"
He stared wide-eyed. Fine, it was machine translation, so expectations had to stay low. Belial looked at the garbled results and felt a headache coming on, cursing his earlier mistake that had drained most of his credit just by saying a name.
Still, he decided to rely on his own judgment. His mind sped up, and Energy Field scanned the surroundings. He immediately sensed an extremely dense dark power spreading from beneath her seat, the same familiar presence he had chased all this way.
He had come prepared for a fight, yet instead met a rare former ally he had encountered once before. She had even supported him back then, so he figured he would check on her. Putting the pieces together, Belial felt he finally understood.
Beneath her was a hidden place similar to a Spatial Rift, from which vast darkness surged. It reminded him of the Extra-Dimensional Space he had once been in. If he was right, she was acting as a plug, blocking a massive opening.
A figure wearing a Crown sat on an immovable Throne, suppressing a Rift that endlessly leaked dark power. "So your sewer exploded too?" he muttered. In his mind, it was like someone stuck on a toilet for years, harassed nonstop by troublemakers below, never able to sleep properly.
Now it made sense why those beings had reacted so strongly before. If their power leaked freely, nothing good would come of it. "It's fine if you can't handle it," he said. "I have a strong stomach. Let me take on this suffering."
A tear of misplaced sympathy slid down Belial's face, since he had been worrying about how to level up anyway. Then he realized something was off. "Wait, they are not sending power directly. It's just that dark stuff I still don't know how to use."
Disappointed, he lowered his head but still planned to help, at least by getting her out. He carefully extended his power beneath her seat, only to freeze. The Spatial Rift was not just emitting darkness, but also a strange force that actively resisted any repair.
Light and dark worked together with massive amounts of Magic, forming something like a grand structure at a higher level. It felt like a massive gate, and this place was just a narrow crack. Worse, her soul seemed to be anchored nearby.
At that point, he did not dare act recklessly. He could not fully understand the structure, but he was certain that dragging her out by force would end badly. That meant unless he found a better solution, this young woman would have to remain here, continuing her imprisonment.
If it were only a matter of moving this person away, he could probably find a way, but the real problem was that door. Since there was a door, it meant it could be opened, and he did not even need to think to know what would happen after it opened. "Do those dozens of good Samaritans all rush in, or do dozens of monsters pop out, or something like King Ghidorah?"
Belial felt a bit dazed. This kind of situation was truly hard to deal with. That familiar group had already managed to stack together one King Ghidorah, and now there were dozens more. He did not dare imagine what kind of thing they could pile up this time. Just a few more at the level of King Ghidorah would already be enough trouble, and if they all poured out and started a full fight, even if heRuthless activated Burning Mode and blew them up, it still would not be something simple.
After thinking about it, Belial suddenly realized he had ignored a massive hidden landmine. It was those dozens of "kind-hearted people" who could cause trouble. A few could stack into one King Ghidorah, and there were dozens more below.
"No, I have to think of a way to kill this thing." "I am already sick of putting out fires. This time I am going to let the Lord swing the heavy fist."
For now, though, he still had to deal with the immediate problem. Belial thought for a moment, then summoned something from a distance. It was the Clone that had just finished killing, and it looked very well fed. After swallowing that pile of resentment, it had grown nearly twice as tall as him. "Mountain Unit! I order you to possess her!"
"…?" The Black Mist Dragon in front of him shook its head. After syncing up with the main body's self-indulgence, it turned into strands of smoke and surged into the body of Chloe sitting on the Throne.