[...What the hell are you doing?]

Caliban asked from inside the Soul Linker.

The perplexity in his voice was clear.

Then again, I would react the same way if I were to see someone literally biting a Devil’s Vessel right in front of me.

“...”

Sadly, I couldn’t afford to answer him right now.

Because Faenol’s cold gaze was fixed at me.

She looked similar to the time when Eleanor was taken over by the Gray Devil. As the Vessel, she lost her consciousness, meanwhile, the Fragments’ ‘evil side’ took control.

“...!”

As soon as our eyes met, I immediately distanced myself from her. The eerie feeling she exuded creeped up my spine.

At the same time as I landed on the ground, several swords, made of flame, passed through the place where I was.

[...Getting hit by one of those would be an instant death for you.]

Caliban muttered after seeing the aura contained in those swords.

“Yeah, no shit.”

The Vessel herself was an excellent mage that possessed great strength in using Magic Power, adding Karmic Fire, the Red Devil’s authority to the equation…

Even if my Desperation was active to its fullest, I’d still be fatally injured no matter what.

Like just now, if I didn’t let myself fall, I’d definitely die.

[Then, why the fuck did you get close to her and do that…?]

“To get her interested in me due to how ridiculous it was.”

[...]

“That's why.”

No, I wasn’t joking, I was being serious.

Ignoring the silence that came from inside the Soul Linker, I looked at Faenol, who was looking down at me with an indifferent gaze.

Well, actually…

She wasn’t looking at me, but the lion-shaped breastplate I was holding.

“...Guardian.”

The Red Devil muttered. At the same time, the Karmic Fire that was swaying around began to focus on where I was.

And this was exactly what I was aiming for.

To get her attention, whether it was biting her or any other means. To get her to see this thing, because I knew that she’d react like that once she saw it.

[Why did you do that…?]

“...Because I need her to attack me to open up a gap.”

If I just kept blankly starting at the column of fire getting bigger…

There would be no way to do this, to be honest.

Since the Holy Sword, the only means to inflict any kind of damage on the Devil, couldn’t be used, it was hard to effectively hit her even if I used all available means.

So, what I need to do here is…

Like I had told Iliya before, what I needed to do was to create a ‘gap’ so that she could deal the final blow to the Red Devil.

And in order to do that…

“I have to cling to her once more.”

Just like earlier, I needed another way to approach her.

[So, how will you do that?!]

“Well…”

If there was one fortunate thing in this situation…

I’d say that it was the fact that it was possible to deal with Faenol to some extent.

Because she didn't come at me by using her ‘brain’ and rationality, but rather she moved according to a ‘set pattern’.

At the same time, she poured the swaying Karmic Fire over my head.

“I just need to not get hit by that.”

[...]

Ignoring the silence, that was clearly Caliban’s way of saying ‘There this fucker goes again’, I immediately took a step forward.

From this time onwards…

It was a battle of memorization..

There were at least more than ten waves of flame moving horizontally.

Such terrifying heat. I guess there was a reason why she was a Devil, huh?

Four seconds.

I muttered while continuously stepping to the side.

One, two, three, four.

Spears of fire flew towards me, I dodged everything narrowly.

This pattern ended at the fourth second.

After those spears were thrown, the next pattern was the rain of flame pouring from above.

Three seconds.

One, two, three.

During those three seconds, my feet didn’t stop moving forward.

The pattern ended at the third second.

Alright, the next one was impossible to dodge, so I had to tank it here.

“Valkasus.”

[Mm!]

The Circle of Forbidden Sorcery, which had removed the Karmic Fire the other day, unfolded nearby.

It encompassed my entire body, shaping a 120 degrees circle around me.

-!

The storm of flame that came in a gust from the front was immediately blocked by the circle.

Even inside the walls of fire that unfolded around me, the terribly hot aura collided with the circle and was split in two.

[...You crazy fuck, are you out of your mind?!]

That shout, almost like a scream, came out of the Soul Linker.

[You dumb fuck, you know that you’ll die the moment you make a slight mistake, right?!]

Well, he was right.

But…

“Well, I mean, it always has been that way, no?”

I replied casually while continuing what I had been doing.

Calculating the opponent’s pattern in seconds and the appropriate move the opponent did, then matching my move to the result of that calculation.

With that, I managed to get closer and closer to Faenol.

As Caliban had said, the slightest mistake would end my life immediately, but I made no such mistakes. Everything went smoothly, so I advanced forward without stopping.

…I’ve memorized everything, after all.

I knew this punk’s attack pattern like the back of my hand. Hell, I could do this with my eyes closed.

That was…

How well I knew about this punk.

And that knowledge wasn’t limited to her in-game elements and such. To me, the Red Devil was special among all the Devils.

“...”

Most of the ‘strategy’ I had in mind was born from that thought.

[...You’re up to something again, aren’t you?]

“Yes.”

[Can’t you at least give me a hint so I can guess what the hell is it?]

“Caliban.”

[Mm.]

“About the Red Devil…”

[...Go on.]

From his tone, he probably could tell that I was going to spout some nonsense, but I ignored it and continued with a smirk.

“She’s the hottest among them all, don’t you think?”

[...]

Okay, hear me out.

All the Vessels around me were pretty, obviously.

But, if I were to pick one who was completely my type, it would be the Red Devil.

That was why I looked up everything about her, memorized every single detail about her.

[...Okay, she’s your type, I get it, so what are you going to do with that?]

“Do you need another hint?”

With a smirk on my face, I prepared the breastplate.

Tatiana’s soul was sleeping inside it, and that woman was capable enough to fulfill my goal; To ‘connect’ Faenol and me.

“When I said that I’m going to eat her earlier, I meant it.”

The meaning was a little different, though.

I didn’t mean that I was going to consume her.

By eating, I meant it in a very metaphorical way.

[What the…]

Before Caliban could even finish his words…

System Message

[ You are entering the Image World of target ‘Red Devil’! ]

My whole world turned black.

●

This was something that I felt every time I entered an Image World, but, jeez, this place was something else.

Still, compared to Riru’s or Valkasus’ Image World that I had entered before, this place was more…

[...It’s horrible.]

Yeah, agreed.

Seeing the surroundings that were painted in blazing red, I let out a bitter smile.

Everywhere I saw, pain, remorse, and heart-wrenching grief followed.

It was as if the Image World was trying to say that…

‘Life is pain.’

[...So.]

Caliban, who was looking at the sight quietly, suddenly called out.

[You tried so hard to come here, but there’s nothing special here. What are you going to do here exactly?]

“For that, I need you to help find something for me, Caliban.”

Since it would be easier for someone who was in a Spirit Form to probe around instead of me.

“There should be a path where we could go to the deepest part—”

“You don’t need to do that.”

Before I could even finish my sentence…

Someone’s voice echoed in my head as my consciousness was taken away.

Into somewhere deeper…

Deeper than we were before…

The innermost part of the Image World.

And there was…

“...Are you out of your mind? I can’t believe you’d come into the Image World yourself.”

…Nothing. Inside that black space, there was nothing. Except for a red woman, looking at me.

This was the first time I’ve seen her ‘materialized’ form.

“...I see. So you’re the Red Devil, huh?”

Unlike the other Devils, back in the game, this punk’s role was to get pummeled by Iliya without making any more fuss.

So, this was also the first time I’ve seen her ‘speak’ on her own accord, not based on how her character was set.

“I’ve never given permission for a human to refer to me in that way.”

And…

Unlike other Devils, it seemed like she didn’t like me at all.

With the other Devils, they’d rush at me, calling me husband, master, partner, whatever.

While this punk was treating me like a bug.

“...I don’t know if I should treat you admirably for your courage or treat you like an idiot.”

As I was thinking as such…

The Red Devil continued with a sigh.

“Aren’t you aware that I can do anything to you now since you just barged in here?”

Then, she added,

“Unlike in the Material Realm where you can gain your freedom through death, here, I can slowly give you terrible pain while completely crushing your mind. That torment will last for an eternity.”

So she said, but…

“Nuh-uh.”

I let out a smirk.

“You see, I have no intention to be subjected to that. Besides, you probably wouldn’t be able to do it either.”

“...What?”

The Red Devil asked dumbfoundedly. At that moment, I stretched my hand out to her.

Because she was right in front of me, it wasn’t hard for me to touch her.

She probably didn’t expect me to do this.

“...”

But this punk didn’t seem to be flustered by my action at all. Instead, she frowned at me.

This wasn’t her having a delayed reaction, she just seemed to find it bothersome to react to me in the first place.

Then again, it was just as she had said.

This Image World was free from any law and she was practically the God of this world.

She must’ve thought that since whatever it was that I’d do to her, I’d never be able to harm her, so she figured that she’d just let me try and return the favor several folds afterwards.

But that was where she got it wrong.

You see, I had never thought of harming her from the very beginning.

I grabbed her arm and pulled her body toward me.

With that, her balance was broken and her body leaned towards me.

“...!”

Come to think of it…

Back when I collapsed from overwork and was taken care of by Faenol, that punk did something to me, right?

Guess I could count this as a payback.

And so, just like what Faenol did to me.

I kissed the Red Devil on the lips.

No hesitation went through my mind. I kissed her while hugging her waist tightly with one arm.

“...?”

Seemingly unable to register what happened, she only looked at me blankly.

And so, our kiss continued, with some licking, sucking, while both of us let out hot sighs in between, mixing our saliva…

“...! ...!!!!”

She freaked out and tried to push me away, probably out of instinct because she was so taken aback that she couldn’t think of anything else to do.

[...You’re a pro now, huh?]

Caliban said blankly.

I’ve been getting my lips stolen by a bunch of people—sad story—so by now, I could pull off something like this skillfully.

However, it was a different story for her.

“...! ...?! ......?!?!?”

As if it was only then did she realize that she had total control over this space, she flicked her finger and distanced herself from me, gasping for breath desperately.

A thread of saliva, which served as the proof that we had just shared a passionate kiss, slightly stretched down from her palm.

“W-W-What…!”

She covered her mouth with both hands, her body stiffened, and her face showed a clear confusion. I grinned at her before saying,

“...Man, you suck at kissing. Was that your first time?”

“...!!!!”

The funny part here was…

Her whole body was red because she was the Red Devil…

But I could still tell that she was blushing from embarrassment as soon as she heard what I had just said.

“I don’t know if you remember, but I’ve promised something to Faenol in the past.”

While she was unable to keep up with the situation, I continued on.

“I will make her happy.”

So, don't die.

I'll save you.

I definitely said those words back then.

And…

“That promise includes you as well.”

And so, a very simple strategy was derived from it.

The Red Devil. My Gift couldn’t work on her, so unlike the other Devils, she didn’t fall over heels for me. Due to her blunt personality, she was indifferent towards me.

But…

You see…

She was a woman.

At the same time, she was the Devil with the most evil disposition among them.

Since that was the case…

…I just need to seduce her.

No need to rely on the Gift, I could just do it on my own.

I just had to make her fall for me.

[...That strategy is so typical of you.]

Mhm.

I agree with those words in a lot of ways.