I'm the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 170

Chapter 170
Complete Conquest of the Dark Fantasy World!

***

A faint sound of a woman crying echoed quietly in a room where not a single ray of light could penetrate due to the drawn curtains.

Lian, his body stiffening at the eerily sorrowful voice, couldn’t resist his rising curiosity and stepped into the room.

It wasn’t unusual to hear cries or screams echoing through the Demon King’s Castle. However, that was typically limited to the outskirts of the castle. The deeper layers, where the officers resided, were eerily quiet, making such sounds rather unfamiliar.

At first, Lian thought it might be a hidden prison or laboratory, but as time passed and the room’s interior slowly became visible, it appeared to be a bedroom. This indicated that the cries were likely not coming from a test subject or a slave.

[ ‘Could it be a princess captured by the Demon King’s army?’ ]

The original story never mentioned such a thing, but given how far the plot had deviated, it was hard to make any definitive conclusions.

[ ‘If it is a princess, I’d want to help her, but… hm, it’s too dark to see anything.’ ]

Though he had a faint ability to influence objects, he could have slightly moved the curtain to let some light in. However, since he had plenty of time, he decided to wait until the room’s owner lit it up.

[ ‘If it turns out to be a ghost instead—well, that’d be fun!’ ]

It could be an evil spirit, but he wasn’t particularly worried. Ever since his soul had separated from his body, his mind had been unusually sharp. Thanks to that, he had come to the conclusion—based on his accumulated experiences—that even if a dark fantasy creature tried to consume a gag resident like him, it would eventually have no choice but to spit him out.

Considering how often Lian had caused misunderstandings and conflicts due to his inability to differentiate between the dark fantasy world and the gag world, this was quite a significant change.

Lian was aware of this change to some extent, but his reaction was rather lighthearted.

[ ‘I’ve been here long enough; it’s about time I got used to it!’ ]

He passed the time by imagining slogans like ‘Complete Conquest of the Dark Fantasy World! Lian, the Ultimate Instructor!’ and played around in his mind. Before he knew it, the sobbing had started to subside.

Feeling like a jerk for having played around while someone was crying, Lian rolled his eyes and quietly floated toward the direction of the sound.

[ ‘If I could at least see something, I’d bring her some tissues to wipe her tears.’ ]

The shape of the figure was only barely visible, like a smudged painting, making it impossible to do anything. This was only possible after staring into the dark space for quite some time. At first, he couldn’t see anything at all.

Lian sighed softly and sat down in what he assumed was next to the crying woman. It was all he could do for now.

The figure, who had been sobbing, now only breathed in ragged, shallow gasps, as if trying to hold back more tears.

Knock, knock.

At the sound of a knock, the figure flinched and trembled violently. Lian wasn’t the only one startled.

[ ‘Huh?! Who, who is it?’ ]

Lian, who had been sitting beside her, was so shocked he shot up into the air, floating in a panic. Before he could calm his startled heart, a husky voice echoed through the room.

“…I’ll be out soon.”

[ …?! ]

The woman’s voice, deep for a female, was incredibly seductive, leaving Lian momentarily speechless.

[ ‘Wait, was this ever made into an anime…?’ ]

Her voice was so chillingly beautiful that Lian wondered if the work had ever been adapted into an anime. For a moment, the thought of hearing her cry again, unrestrained, crossed his mind, but he quickly shook his head to dispel such a sinister thought.

[ ‘Ahem… What am I thinking about someone I haven’t even seen yet—no, more importantly, she’s not a hostage?’ ]

As if someone was listening in on his thoughts, Lian quickly changed the subject and watched as the woman moved toward the window.

[ ‘Judging by how she answered without checking who it was, she must be one of the officers. But who could she be? Ugh… there’s no way to guess since the original work never described anyone with a voice that good.’ ]

Just as he was about to dig through his memory, wondering if he had forgotten something important—

Shwip.

[ …! ]

The curtains suddenly opened wide, and the room flooded with pale moonlight.

[ Wow… ]

Her long, black hair, as dark as the night sky, cascaded down her shoulders, shimmering softly. Her pale face, bathed in moonlight, was adorned with red eyes that seemed to enchant anyone who gazed upon them.

Her delicate and finely sculpted features were so perfectly harmonious that it seemed as if a god had meticulously crafted her, leaving Lian momentarily breathless.

Her lips, reminiscent of soft petals, were alluring. Her indifferent expression gave off an air of arrogance, as if she were a ruler looking down on everything, yet it suited her perfectly.

It was impossible to imagine that this was the same person who had been crying so sorrowfully just moments ago.

Without making a sound, she walked over to the table beside the bed and picked up a mask, which she skillfully placed over her face.

“Haa…”

A low sigh, completely at odds with her predatory elegance, escaped her lips, snapping Lian back to his senses.

[ Ugh… If I didn’t have some resistance, I would’ve been out of it for days… ]

Lian rubbed his face with both hands, silently thanking Jess and Iris for sticking by him all this time. Then, he reflexively recalled Noah’s half-naked form pressing against him, and his face flushed as he quickly shook his head like a drill. Even as a spirit, he could feel his face grow warm.

Click.

[ Huh!? ]

While Lian was busy panicking internally, the masked beauty left the room. He hurriedly flew after her.

[ Huff…! ]

As soon as he stepped out, Lian found himself gasping again. Standing by the door was none other than Erboan, the right hand of the Demon King.

[ When I was looking for him, I couldn’t even find a single strand of his hair… Where did he come from?! ]

In the original story, Erboan was responsible for every shady deed imaginable. Lian had frantically searched the Demon King’s castle for him, hoping to gather information, but hadn’t found a single trace.

What was even more shocking was that Erboan, in a respectful voice, bowed his head to the masked woman.

“Your Majesty, I am here to escort you.”

“…”

Lian’s mind went blank, as if someone had drawn a crude sketch of his thoughts, and he muttered to himself, [ Huh? Wait, what? ]

[ So this… this woman is… the Demon King? ]

For the record, the Demon King in the original story was an adult male. A middle-aged man, to be precise.

The unexpected shock left Lian’s mind wandering as if it were lost in space. Meanwhile, the Demon King and Erboan began walking briskly, busy with their daily schedule.

Lian, still dazed, followed them.

It wasn’t until several days later, after trailing the Demon King closely, that Lian began to regain his senses and realize something was off.

[ ‘Something’s not right.’ ]

Feeling a nagging sense of unease, like a hangnail, Lian floated in the darkness, deep in thought. After pondering for a while, the answer came easily.

[ ‘No matter how I look at it, the Demon King doesn’t seem like the final boss. But at the same time, Erboan doesn’t feel like a hidden mastermind either.’ ]

Lian’s extraordinary intuition, honed by surviving in the gag world, had always guided him to the right answers. His gut feeling, which told him ‘this might work’ or ‘this feels right,’ had always been spot on. So, Lian never dismissed even the smallest doubts, always taking the time to think things through.

[ ‘Considering the original work has essentially ceased to exist due to the presence of the Outsiders, it makes sense that the final boss could have changed too.’ ]

As if a veil had been lifted from his mind, Lian’s thoughts flowed freely.

[ ‘In that case, the final boss must be… an Outsider, a being that wasn’t mentioned in the original story.’ ]

The answer came so easily that Lian furrowed his brow in confusion.

[ ‘Ugh… Why didn’t I think of this sooner? When the Dark Fantasy World God gave me the divine seal, they mentioned the Outsiders…’ ]

It felt like he had been searching for something while holding it in his hand the whole time.

[ ‘Now that I think about it, I remember hearing something like that before.’ ]

Lian recalled the time he had encountered an Outsider and extracted all the information he could from it.

[ ‘If the information I got back then is true, then the real final boss would be an Outsider—’ ]

Just as Lian was about to reach a conclusion—

“Ugh…”

[ …? ]

The Demon King, who had been breathing shallowly, suddenly let out a groan. Concerned, Lian turned toward the sound, but he couldn’t see anything clearly.

[ Gasp! Did she stub her toe…? ]

Recalling the most excruciating pain one could experience in the gag world, Lian’s face paled—well, it would have if he weren’t a spirit.

[ Maybe she got seriously hurt because I was nearby… huh? ]

As Lian approached the Demon King, he noticed a faintly glowing blade in the darkness. The sharp blade was mercilessly cutting into the Demon King’s delicate thigh.

Confronted with the reality of self-harm in the dark fantasy world, where life was finite, Lian could only freeze in shock. In that moment, he became certain that his suspicions were correct.

End of Chapter