I'm the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 173

Chapter 173
How to Assassinate a Gag Resident

***

She stared with trembling eyes, her gaze fixed on her father’s face as blood poured from him. Slowly, her eyes moved downward toward his chest. For some reason, the sword she was holding was now embedded in his chest.

He began to wither rapidly, as if the sword was draining his life. The Demon King, who had finally come to her senses, tried to pull out the sword, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Oh, no! Is there no one outside?!”

Even her hand, which was gripping the sword, wouldn’t let go. The Demon King could only shout in a desperate voice.

“This… This doesn’t make any sense… Kuh, the shackles were definitely—”

The previous Demon King, as if there were matters more important than death itself, muttered incomprehensible words, ignoring the fact that death was looming over him. Then, he suddenly grabbed the Demon King’s shoulder.

“Failure, I failed! I’ve failed! Guh… Cough, cough! Ah… No, not like this…!”

His voice, as if it was about to be cut off at any moment, began to utter incoherent words.

“The battle between the Demon King and the Hero, the war between the Demon Realm and the Human Realm, it’s all just a terrible cycle! I… I thought I had escaped that cycle, cough, cough… but I was wrong. Not at all—”

His words began to distort like the sound of a broken radio. He seemed to be saying something, but it was no longer audible.

“Father…?”

The Demon King called out to her father in the empty space, but there was no response.

“I can’t hear anything… I can’t hear anything. Please, just once more—”

“My beloved daughter.”

At that moment, miraculously, the voice of the previous Demon King rang clearly.

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t keep my promise to give you freedom… and peace. There wasn’t a single day that I didn’t love you. No matter what happens, don’t ever forget that.”

“Dad…?”

The moment the affectionate name, which she hadn’t used since she was a child, slipped from her lips, the body of the previous Demon King crumbled.

Thud.

His body, now reduced to a pile of dust as if all his strength had been drained, scattered across the floor.

“Da… Dad…?”

She desperately searched through the pile of dust, calling out for her father, but there was no way the dead could return.

Boom!

Before she could even gather her thoughts, a chilling pressure filled the hall. The Demon King froze, unable to even let out a groan, like a stuffed animal.

Rumble!

Something massive revealed itself above her head.

‘This presence…?’

Lian’s eyes widened as he realized something, and at that moment, his vision went black. He felt a repelling force, as if his body was being flung somewhere.

[That just now…]

When he regained his senses, he found himself floating aimlessly in front of the Demon King, who was holding a blackened orb with a blank expression. It wasn’t until he saw the Demon King tilting her head with a puzzled look as she gazed at the black orb that Lian snapped back to reality.

[If my guess is correct… That guy must be the final boss.]

The being that even the Demon Sword, which had easily cut down all previous trials, couldn’t touch. The overwhelming presence that had prevented even the gag powers from functioning properly.

Lian was now certain that the entity others referred to as ‘that person’ was the final boss.

[If that’s the case, the objective has changed. It’s no longer about defeating the Demon King, but the Outsider.]

In the past, an Outsider had told Lian that the Demon King and ‘that person’—the Outsider—had joined forces.

Just as humans made contracts with demons to gain immense power, Lian had assumed that the Demon King had also gained tremendous power by making a contract with the Outsider, and thus had concluded that the Demon King was the final boss.

However, upon closer inspection, it turned out that the Demon King was merely a victim. Of course, since he hadn’t seen all of the Demon King’s memories, it could be considered premature to be certain, but his confidence wasn’t baseless.

[Even if it’s not from the memories, you can tell just by looking at the surrounding circumstances.]

The group in black robes, who repeatedly acted like sycophants, calling it an honor to serve ‘that person,’ and the Demon King, who shed tears and inflicted terrible wounds upon herself.

If the Outsider, referred to as ‘that person,’ had truly cared for the Demon King, the black-robed followers wouldn’t have treated her so poorly.

Conversely, if the Demon King had truly followed or considered ‘that person’ an ally, there would have been no reason for her to blindly follow the unseen Lian.

As the layers of information in his mind unraveled and led him to the answer to one question, a new question took its place.

[But what the previous Demon King said bothers me… He mentioned that the conflict between the Hero and the Demon King wasn’t intentional, right?]

Lian tilted his head in confusion, as he hadn’t heard any information regarding that.

[Ugh…! The previous Demon King disappeared before he could say anything more… I doubt the current Demon King knows much either… And the previous Hero is dead, too…]

Frustrated by the lack of answers, Lian grabbed his head in agony, then turned his gaze sharply toward the pile of gifts from the Demon King.

[Maybe if I find something as useful as before, I can gather more information!]

His eyes sparkled as he began rummaging through the pile of items… and soon, he found another transparent orb, which he grabbed tightly before losing consciousness again.

When he opened his eyes again, he had turned into a soft, black slime.

Back in the present, the slime Lian, floating lazily in a warm bath, thought to himself.

‘Having a body is better than not having one, but—’

Just as Lian was about to confront the serious issue that had popped into his head.

“Is the water temperature alright?”

“…!”

The voice, which Lian had always thought was pleasant to hear, now spoke with an added layer of kindness. Lian flailed in surprise and immediately sank into the water with a plop.

Although he didn’t need to breathe as a slime, he instinctively flailed his tiny, insignificant arms, trying to pull himself out of the water. The more he struggled, the further he sank.

It might be faster to just sink to the bottom and then push off from the tub floor—just as he was thinking that, a graceful hand grabbed him firmly.

Splash.

As he was pulled out of the water, Lian instantly froze. His entire view was filled with a pure white body, without even a towel to cover it.

Thanks to the gag filter working hard, the flowing hair and steam obscured the important parts, but the smooth skin and slender waist were still very much visible.

“Are you alright?”

“I-I’m fine!”

A voice, much higher and cuter than Lian’s usual tone, burst out. It was similar to the voice of a child, too young to determine its gender. His eyes, which looked like they had little chocolate buttons embedded in them, darted around, not knowing where to look. But since his body was black, it wasn’t noticeable.

Lian tapped her fingers with his tiny, 5-centimeter-wide, squishy hand and spoke.

“I’m fine now, so could you put me down…?”

“You might fall again.”

“It’s just…! It’s cold! I want to get back into the bath because it’s cold! Hahaha!”

Wet liquid continuously dripped down Lian’s slime body. It looked like sweat, but it was just the water that made up his slime form.

“Then let’s get in together.”

“Eh?”

Without hesitation, the Demon King embraced the soft slime and submerged herself into the bath.

Splash.

The sound of water overflowing from the tub filled the room as Lian remained in her arms, completely frozen.

“Hoo…”

The Demon King let out a hot breath above his head, seemingly enjoying the warmth of the water. The sensation of her breath, as if it were being blown directly into his ear, made Lian’s body tremble.

“Are you still cold?”

“…Huh!”

Without saying a word, the Demon King hugged Lian even tighter… and that was Lian’s last memory.

***

Several hours later, Lian finally came to his senses, only to realize that he was trapped in the Demon King’s embrace, wrapped in soft silk pajamas.

Something soft pressed against his back, and fragrant breaths fell on his head. Having just bathed, the Demon King’s body emitted a pleasant scent. He could even feel her lips hovering just above his head, close enough to touch. His mind went completely blank.

‘At this rate…! At this rate, I’ll really die… I’ll die for sure…!’

Since he no longer had a human body, he wouldn’t get a nosebleed, but instead, the liquid making up his slime body would all pour out, leaving behind nothing but a shriveled skin sack, and he’d die.

That’s how lethal the Demon King’s skinship was.

The Demon King, oblivious to Lian’s condition, continued to hold him like a cherished doll, refusing to let go.

“Um, excuse me…”

“Stay still.”

“Y-Yes…”

Her voice, cold and firm like an order to a subordinate, left Lian no choice but to remain quietly in her embrace. And then, as if it were a reward… or perhaps a terrifying attack, something pressed down on his head.

Squish.

The Demon King buried her beautiful face into the top of Lian’s head. He could feel her soft lips, prominent nose, and long eyelashes.

‘Ah, so this is how I die.’

As the sensation of his spirit slipping out of his slime body overwhelmed him, Lian was certain of his impending death. But then, the Demon King’s voice reached his ears.

“If you weren’t feeling well, you should’ve told me. What would I do if you collapsed like that?”

Her scolding voice was filled with worry and fear that she couldn’t hide. The soul that had nearly floated away returned to its place, and Lian’s mind snapped back to attention.

Just as an apology was about to escape his lips.

Rub.

“Hyaa!”

The Demon King, like a child rubbing her face into a pillow, hugged Lian tighter and rubbed her face against him. In the end, all Lian could manage was a pitiful cry from his slime body.

End of Chapter