Midnight Prince: Empire of Sin

While a distance of more than two kilometers might take a long time to cover in usual circumstances, for him there was nothing easier than to cover long distances by using his powers.

This was why… it only took him a few seconds to reach his destination— the bar he works at as a gigolo under his sworn sister.

'Okay. Let's go in.'

The moment Adam took a step into the interior of the bar, he immediately observed everything there was on the inside.

Yui was looking at him with a helpless expression on her face while Inari was sitting with a smile etched on her lips. Her veil was unable to stop Adam from looking at her clearly.

"Hi! I am happy to finally meet you."

"It would be a lie to say the feeling is mutual."

Adam had no interest in meeting Inari or whatever her name was and he wondered if she was trying to meet him because of Tsubasa, his ex-girlfriend.

Either way, this was not his problem and he would have not come to this meeting at all if not for the fact that he was interested in her power over illusions and what she would be able to teach him.

"Fufufu~ What a feisty young man… I like it. I like it when someone is direct and to the point with me. But I believe since a challenge was thrown my way, it's essential to give you a taste of what a true illusion is like. Shall we?"

"Wai—"

Yui tried to stand up, but it was already too late for her to do anything.

She lifted her veil completely and her golden eyes crossed with Adam's cerulean blue eyes, radiating a deep light.

Immediately, the minor clash of gazes was followed by a sense of vertigo that overtook him in an instant.

.

.

.

When Adam woke up from his state of unconsciousness, he found himself in what looked to be a deep and dreary forest.

"Oh?"

His body was tied to a rock and someone wearing what looked to be samurai armor with a katana in their hands was slowly approaching him with measured steps, as though ready to decapitate him at any moment.

"For the crime of disrespecting the Empress, I sentence you to death!"

Looking at his surroundings, he could hear the cries of people screaming out that they were innocent and that they should be released from this unjust imprisonment. Then, when they realized that there was no hope left for them, they would show eyes filled with hatred and they would curse again and again at the perpetrators of their demise, spewing all the vilest of things that they could think of, insulting the stupid emperor and the cunning vixen who had charmed them.

Sadly, all their cries had the same ending— death by decapitation…

Every time one man was killed, the soldier approached him further. Finally, the samurai warrior stood right in front of him with the blade in his hand.

"Do you have any last words?"

All cries seemed to stop at those words, and all the prisoners turned to gaze at him, their eyes glazed and wide open. Even the head of the dead turned to look at him, eyes filled with animosity and hatred.

The atmosphere became creepier, and from the earth came skeletal hands of various proportions, grabbing at every part of his body, as if they were all trying to grab him and bring him down to hell with them.

Watching all of this, Adam whistled with his lips before chuckling to himself,

"Can I say, all of this is very interesting?"

'How quaint.'

Adam tilted his head as he gazed at the incoming blade, more with curiosity than anything else.

This was the first time he was witnessing an illusion from someone other than himself, after all. Well, this was technically the second time, if he counted his encounter with Asmodeus but that wasn't really the base of this topic.

'This is more a dream than an illusion. How did she put me in this kind of dream without even making me fall asleep? At the same time, I feel like it isn't really a dream. Just what is this really?'

Adam muttered to himself in awe at the intricacy of the technique that had been used on him. Not only that, the feeling of the sun on his skin, the breeze blowing all around, the sound of the samurai's steps, and the feeling of having his hand tied up behind his back. Even the mournful cries of the crawling dead. Everything seemed all too real to just call it a dream.

It was as if everything that was happening was reality in itself. Everything seemed as if it had been perfectly real and that he would soon meet his demise by the blade of the samurai before him.

Had it been anyone else but him, Adam had no doubt they would be toyed to death by this eccentric but fatally dangerous woman. No… If he had met her two weeks ago, even with using [The Magician] at full force, there was not much he could have done against her without going through a highly difficult battle of control to get back his conscience and get out of this technique that she put him in.

Sadly for her…

『 Trait: Eternal Damnation

Rank: EX

Description: Even in [Death] you will no longer find peace nor will you find rest. Death will no longer be an escape for you, even if temporary…

Effect 1: Your mind is damned to wander the world of the living. The eternal rest of [Death] will not come even partially any longer.

Effect 2: You will not find peace even in lies. Illusions can not affect your mind any longer.

Effect 3: Insanity will not be an escape for you any longer. You will be damned to feel the weight of the years on you for all eternity. Your mind may bend under the weight, but it will never break, only endure and suffer throughout your miserable existence. 』

His traits came in handy in situations such as this. It was more of a curse than anything else but for the current him, this was also a boon. A useful skill that could help him stay sober even in the face of such a perfect illusion orchestrated by the foxy woman who was the mother of his once beloved girlfriend.

The blade fell, and his head left his body but Adam simply smiled at the sensations he was feeling through this wonderful illusion that blended reality, illusions, and dreams together to create a whole new world…

"Seems like your blade is quite sharp."

The decapitated body stood up after breaking the chains holding it down as if they had been nonexistent all along and took the head in its arms before placing it back again on his shoulder, atop the part from where it had been severed.

Since he was awake, Adam was able to start to slowly hijack the dream the same way he did when he faced Asmodeus.

But his goal was beyond simply taking over the dream and beating Inari at this moment.

"So… Anything else?"

Adam's eyes were eager for more. He was curious. He wished to see more of this perfect world of illusions that had been made before him. He wanted to understand the intricacies of this wonderful world. And he desired to incorporate and assimilate the skills he would learn from this place with his own skill set.

Like an eager student wishing to learn everything from his teacher. It had been a long time since he had felt so excited about something or anything. He was sure that his skills could reach the next level if he analyzed the world that Inari had built for him.

Thanks to the second effect of [Eternal Damnation], he could enter an illusion or a dream without being affected by it. His mind was clear and his spirit was high.

"My… How unexpected."

Shadows covered Adam and the light of the sun seemed to vanish entirely at once.

'Hum?'

Adam felt a huge presence trying to smother him from all sides. Turning around, his eyes opened wide when he realized that what was standing behind him was a beautiful fox of gigantic proportions.

"So this is a Kitsune."

The fox was crouching, but it seemed to stand as tall as a mountain. Its white fur shone brightly despite the darkness of the void surrounding them, and its cruel red eyes were gazing at him as though they were smiling as they looked at his image. The strong limbs of the fox were covered in what looked to be clouds and behind it, swishing strongly were nine majestic tails.

"The nine-tailed fox of legend."

"You have good eyes."

A low chuckle leaked out of the fox but it seemed like a tornado was sweeping through him due to that…

"I am honestly surprised, someone of your level should not be able to stand up right now. The pain of death should have incapacitated you long ago."

The maw of the beasts drew a large smile, even though it should not have been possible to enact, "Truly interesting."

"Did anyone tell you that your smile is really ugly?"

"Hahaha!"

The monster laughed out loud, uncaring of the insult thrown at it by the boy, "Trust me… Over the years, I have heard much worse."

Adam ignored the laugh of the majestic beast and simply focused on its fur. Squinting his eyes slightly, he was slowly able to find chains covering the body of the fox, as though stopping it from moving any longer.

"So you are a prisoner."

For the first time, the laugh of the beast stopped and its eyes gazed quietly at him, before closing as if it had lost all interest…

"Be happy that I lack my freedom."

Adam grinned, "I have no doubt."

"Fufufu~ You should stop threatening my young friend."

Adam gazed higher and he could see someone sitting in Seiza on the head of the fox.

"Adam Gospel. I apologize for the rough greeting. My friend is quite mischievous. Shall we continue our discussion?"

Adam could only laugh speechlessly. In what kind of world did someone start a greeting after decapitating someone?

"Well, I could leave now, but I am interested in what you have to say. But first things first…"

Adam started to float, progressively climbing higher and higher until he stood a few steps above Inari herself. A throne appeared below him for him to sit and the two shadows in his soul came out and stood on either side of him.

"I don't like speaking to someone who is looking down on me."

He needed to make one thing clear. Outside, he had no doubt that Inari was stronger than him.

But in this place? In the world of dreams?

He would never let anyone underestimate him.