I'm the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 187

Chapter 187

Is This Your First Time with Gags?

The Outsider began to peer into the goddess. His gaze, which could observe beyond realms that humans could not perceive, even penetrated into the very ‘concept’ of things.

‘…?’

What met his supreme gaze, capable of seeing through any truth, was… a woman in a tracksuit, curled up inside a warm blanket with the heater on, giggling while munching on snacks. In one hand, she held a flat electronic device.

Crunch, crunch.

The sound of the potato chips breaking echoed in his ears like ASMR, snapping him back to reality.

‘What am I doing right now?’

While it was certainly an unexpected scene, it wasn’t so shocking that he would freeze in place.

He was far too exalted to be fazed by something like this.

Yet, despite his lofty status, he found himself acting and speaking as if he had been forcibly brought down to a level akin to that of a mere human.

It was like a regular person watching a dog chew on a bone and thinking, ‘I’m jealous! If I had a snack like that, I’d bury it in the ground too…’ only to suddenly realize they were running on all fours.

It was an attack so terrifying that it surpassed mere shock, bringing with it a wave of shame and fear.

However, the Outsider’s mental defenses were strong, so instead of shame or fear, a heightened sense of caution surged within him.

‘How can a being of this level descend so easily?’

Recalling the question he had earlier, he began to forcibly tear through the dimensions to draw more of his true power. The dimension’s barrier ripped apart like soft tofu under the sharp jab of chopsticks.

As he tried to push part of his existence through the torn dimension and connect with his true form—

“Alright! Let’s have another energetic and fun day!”

““And a happy one!!””

‘…?!’

The next thing he knew, the Outsider found himself sitting in a guest seat on a brightly lit TV set, so bright it hurt his eyes.

“What is this—huh?”

He looked down at himself in confusion. He was wearing a shirt that was a mix of black and purple, with belts and harnesses dangling from it.

But the outfit wasn’t the issue.

‘What is going on?’

He had obtained a body capable of handling his power without any cost, and the scenery around him had changed at a speed he couldn’t even perceive. These factors alone were enough to raise his guard.

Narrowing his eyes, he tried to assess the situation by scanning his surroundings.

“Now, let’s introduce today’s guest!”

Flash!

The surroundings suddenly darkened, and a spotlight shone down on him.

“No one expected the syndrome to last until the age of 39! A man who never outgrew his middle school syndrome! Known for his famous line, ‘Fate’s Destiny! Darkness of the Dark!’—we welcome the Demon King!”

““Woooooo!””

Amid the incomprehensible words, applause erupted around him.

‘There’s no need for me to play the clown on someone else’s stage.’

The Outsider immediately tried to summon his power to lay waste to his surroundings. As he began to draw out his immense strength, something started sucking it away.

“Kuh…! What is this…!”

The white bandages wrapped around his right arm were greedily devouring his power. Even the power he hadn’t yet drawn out was being consumed, leaving the Outsider flustered as he grabbed his right arm.

The MC, in an admiring tone, exclaimed, “Oh! So this is the famous seal on your right arm! Wow! It’s my first time seeing it in person, and it’s quite impressive!”

The Outsider had unwittingly become someone deeply immersed in a middle school syndrome. His frustration boiled over, and he shouted reflexively.

“How dare a mere human…!”

“Oho! A 24-year veteran really does have a different aura! Now, let’s introduce the next guest!”

Thus began the Outsider’s humiliating battle, one that could only be described as a farce.

***

At that moment, Lian was lying on the floor somewhere underground, groaning.

“Ugh…”

He rubbed his aching back and looked up to see small pieces of stone and dust falling off him. He raised his hand to brush off his head, muttering curses under his breath that he couldn’t say out loud.

‘That damn cat maid… She said she came to help, so why did she collapse the floor?’

With the Outsider’s interference gone, it was the perfect chance to escape the Demon King’s castle. He had been sprinting madly toward the exit when the floor suddenly crumbled beneath him, sending him plummeting into an endless black pit.

As if falling just before freedom wasn’t ridiculous enough, a pink glowing effect filled his vision, emphasizing that it was no accident. Only the god of the gag world could use such flashy effects.

Imagining the goddess off in the distance, shouting “Oops! My bad!” in a cutesy voice made his head throb, but he quickly shook off the thought.

In the gag world, the more you rejected or cursed something, the more entangled you’d become. For his own survival, it was better to stop thinking about the goddess altogether.

“Jess, are you okay!?”

As his anger subsided, his narrowed vision cleared, and he saw Jess slowly getting to her feet. He hurried over to her—

Flash!

Jess shook herself like a wet dog, flinging off the dust and stones stuck to her body.

“Oh… You’re okay? Thank goodness…”

Lian brushed the dust and debris from his hair, smiling in relief. Jess, realizing too late that the debris she had shaken off had landed all over Lian, opened her mouth in shock, her ears drooping as she approached him with a teary-eyed expression.

“I’m fine—ugh!”

Jess, charging at him like a wild buffalo, knocked Lian back to the ground just as he had stood up. Sitting on top of him, she began picking off every last bit of debris stuck to his body, looking thoroughly dejected.

“Hee-ing…”

The cute whimper, reminiscent of a puppy, made Lian’s expression soften. He raised his hand and patted her head, and her downcast face quickly brightened.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. More importantly, let’s figure out where we are.”

At his words, Jess quickly nodded, her ears flapping as she got off him. Lian staggered to his feet and looked around.

“This place… where is it?”

Even Lian, who had wandered the Demon King’s castle in spirit form and discovered every secret passage, had never seen this place before.

The corridor stretched endlessly in both directions, made of featureless light brown bricks. There were sconces fixed to the walls, but they weren’t working, leaving everything but the light above them shrouded in darkness. It was impossible to tell how far the corridor extended.

“We could go back up, but… it’s too deep.”

Even without looking up, Lian could tell they had fallen about 60 meters. Climbing back up wasn’t impossible, but it would take a long time.

“Jess, do you happen to know—”

Just as he was about to ask if she had any information about this place, he sensed a presence in the darkness.

Trailing off, Lian turned his head toward the source of the presence, and Jess, with her ears and tail standing at attention, was already glaring in the same direction.

Thud, thud.

The sound of deliberate footsteps echoed as someone approached. The presence felt strangely familiar.

‘Wait, could it be…?’

Sure enough, emerging from the darkness was the Demon King, with her mesmerizing red eyes and silky black hair.

“Gr-r-r…”

Sensing instinctively that the opponent was a formidable foe, Jess’s pupils dilated as she bared her fangs. Her posture was low, her body tensed as if ready to pounce at any moment.

The Demon King’s gaze briefly swept over Jess before settling on Lian. When their eyes met, Lian reflexively opened his mouth.

“Oh, um… Long time no—no, I mean, it’s nice to meet you.”

Forgetting for a moment that he was in a new body, he almost spoke to her casually, but quickly bit his tongue and corrected himself.

The Demon King’s expression twisted with a mixture of emotions as she looked at Lian. He couldn’t tell what those fleeting emotions were, and just as he was about to awkwardly introduce himself—

Thud!

The Demon King closed the distance between them in an instant, moving so fast that even Lian’s eyes could barely follow. The sudden proximity froze him in place.

Their gazes locked, close enough to feel each other’s breath.

‘Wait, did she figure it out?’

Seeing the desperate affection in her slightly tear-filled eyes, Lian realized that his identity had been discovered.

End of Chapter