“All settled.”
Standing at the edge of the high clouds and looking at the pitch-black door ahead, Rhode let out a long sigh of relief. In the beginning, he thought that Celia’s mental world would be relatively easy to deal with. But now, he finally understood that none of the so-called mental worlds were pleasant, where even Celia, who was the most docile and obedient, actually had so many problems deep inside her. It seemed he wasn’t going to have any fewer trouble with the rest of the holy sword card spirits. If he didn’t take a risk at the final juncture, perhaps he would have failed.
Judging from that, it went to show that the adventures in the mental world could be even more terrifying than in the real world. In the real world, if one encountered a problem, one could rely on powerful strength to suppress and break through the obstacles. But in the mental world, no matter how powerful one was—even if they had the strength to destroy the world—there was no way to fight against one’s innermost consciousness. But now, Celia’s problem was finally solved and of course, Rhode knew that it was happening in Celia’s mental world, and she had no knowledge of this at all.
This situation was just like Lize’s. Back then, she was manipulated by the Mind Devil. Rhode and Anne entered her mental world and the experience was as unreal and unrealistic as a dream to her. She only had a vague memory of it and had a hard time recalling the details. This was the nature of the mental world.
The same went for Celia. Even though she said a lot of things to Rhode, she wouldn’t treat him too differently after his return. She also wouldn’t have any memory of her confession because that happened in the deepest part of her mental world. On the other hand, changes would surface on an even more subtle form, which was why Rhode didn’t take further actions in a rash decision. For him and Celia, the distance between them now was within the range of ‘just right’. If it were too far out of bounds, it wouldn’t do either party any good.
As for the next…
Gazing at the pitch-black door in front of him, Rhode felt rather conflicted. Celestina was unlike Celia. In a way, the former was a lot trickier to handle. The reason why he finally dared to venture inside Celia’s mental world was solely because her nature was that of an angel’s. And no matter what, this fact wouldn’t change, which was why he dared to take the risk. As for Celestina, she was a demon through and through, and her mental world would definitely display behaviors that a true demon possessed. As for how he should go about dealing with this demon, it would be his problem to handle.
No matter what, when the s.h.i.+p reached the end of the bridge, it would go straight. It wasn’t a good idea to stay here any longer. Fortunately, Rhode had a good rest in Celia’s mental world after the series of events and was full of energy now. He had to admit that adventuring in the mental world was even more exhausting than in the real world. Physical exhaustion wasn’t the issue, but mental exhaustion was really problematic. It was especially so as soon as he recalled the huge chunk of cakes he swallowed earlier. In an instant, he felt sick again…
Argh… I’ve to stop thinking about it.
At this thought, Rhode barely managed to hold down the unpleasant feeling in his stomach. He stretched out his right hand and held the pitch-black door in front of him. At the next moment, the door slowly opened and soon after, he felt a little giddy. Then, his entire body was sucked into the gap of the pitch-black door. In the blink of an eye, he was completely gone.
Just like after entering Celia’s mental world, Rhode found himself standing on flat ground after a dizzying teleportation. But before he opened his eyes to check out the situation around him, burning heat struck his face, declaring its presence.
“It’s so hot…”
Rhode groaned and opened his eyes. The first thing he felt was strong waves of hot air that seemed to be pounding on his face and body, bringing a burning sensation that almost scorched him from the inside-out. This suddenly reminded him of the scene in h.e.l.l, where there was also eternal burning heat and flames. Everything blazed in never-ending flames and there was no end in sight. That was h.e.l.l and here… Was exactly the same.
In the midst of adjusting to the high heat, Rhode sized up the mysterious place around him. But unlike what he imagined, what was around him wasn’t an endless red wilderness and sky like the scenes in h.e.l.l. On the contrary, it was a pitch-black and s.p.a.cious stone corridor paved by stone slabs made of obsidian, while both sides of the walls had beautifully-carved murals. Not only that, but he also witnessed something similar to exhaust vents at the edges of the walls, from which streams of white, sparkling steam emitted. That was the source of the burning heat. Coupled with the flaming torches hanging on both sides of the walls, the entire corridor was enveloped in a dark and oppressive atmosphere, albeit filled with a certain majesty.
In a way, this place was pretty much in line with Celestina.
After taking a good look at the pitch-black corridor in front of him, Rhode reached out his hand to straighten his clothes before sauntering forward.
The silent corridor was empty. Unlike Celia’s lively and fairytale-filled world before, the only thing Rhode felt as he strolled down the corridor was the stillness. He could hear his own footsteps echoing down the corridor before vanis.h.i.+ng into the darkness. Other than that, there were no other sounds in the entire corridor. There seemed to be nothing here. This corridor was also as though extending to the end of the world…
“Whew… This is quite a problem.”
After walking for an unknown amount of time, Rhode finally came to a stop. At that moment, even he felt rather dejected as he looked at the pitch-black and seemingly endless corridor ahead. At first, he was able to kill time by admiring the murals around him. But with the pa.s.sing of time, he began to feel increasingly glum. What made him even more so was that it would be fine if the corridor was an ever-looping maze. But ever since he started ambling along, the murals never repeated themselves. From that, it could be seen that this corridor wasn’t a torturous, infinite loop, but rather one that kept extending ahead instead… From a certain aspect, this was also considered a true h.e.l.l.
“If this goes on, perhaps I can’t get out without spending a few years.”
Rhode mumbled to himself and lifted his head to gaze ahead. Under the illumination of the torches, the vaguely-seen shadows that were constantly swaying in the dark corridor blended in with the obsidian slabs and gave him a strange sense of beauty. And at that moment, he noticed a pet.i.te figure peeking out from the corner, seemingly looking over at him.
That is…
Upon seeing the pet.i.te figure, Rhode was taken aback. At that moment, she also seemed to notice that he had discovered her. She turned around and in a series of quick, light steps, she vanished in front of his eyes. Upon looking at this scene, Rhode no longer hesitated. He dashed ahead, following in the direction of the pet.i.te figure’s escape.
Thud, thud, thud…
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed clearly in the dark and quiet corridor, so Rhode was able to follow the pet.i.te figure closely. However, there was no way for him to go further. The corridor, which was originally a straight path, began to split up with various corners, turns, and crossroads appearing in front of him one after another. The pitch-black corridor was more like a maze than a corridor now. But even so, he didn’t stop, but continued to dart forward instead, trying to capture the fella who was playing hide-and-seek with him.
“Is this it?”
Arriving at an intersection yet again, Rhode stopped and looked at both paths ahead of him. Then, out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of a shadow flitting across on his left. Upon noticing the shadow, he turned to the left corner without hesitation and ran toward the pet.i.te figure.
However, the moment he moved, the vent holes on the black stone walls slid open in a sudden whoosh. Also, in a loud bang, flames erupted from both sides and enfolded his entire body. Roaring flames sprayed out unceasingly, blazing the entire corridor in scorching heat. Not only that, but the obsidian path, which was originally dark and cold, also turned bright red under the licking of flames. The blaze lasted for dozens of minutes before coming to an abrupt stop and the entire corridor reverted to darkness and silence once again.
“… Hah… Hah… Hah…”
At that moment, Rhode leaned against the stone wall on the other side, looking on with lingering fear at the corridor that burned red. He was no longer as calm as he was a moment ago. Stains of smoke and flame could be seen all over his body. Although he reacted the instant the flames erupted and rushed through the corridor as fast as he could, he still wasn’t able to escape the heat. Fortunately for him, his mental self inherited the characteristics of the Void Dragon, so the flames did almost negligible damage to him. However, his clothes were entirely out of luck… They looked tattered and torn like the clothes of a refugee.
“Hehehe… Hahaha…”
And at that moment, laughter as clear and crisp as bells rang in his ears. As soon as he heard the laughter, his face sank. It was apparent that the other party was making a fool out of him! That was a true demon for him, behaving exactly the same even in such a cunning and annoying place.
“Hmph!”
With a soft grunt, Rhode dashed toward the area where the laughter sounded from. And upon seeing him coming after her, that pet.i.te figure turned away hurriedly, disappeared down the corridor, and turned a corner again. But this time, after seeing the pet.i.te figure in action, Rhode’s lips curled up slightly and a smiley glint flashed in his eyes.
All of a sudden, the sound of footsteps disappeared entirely. The entire corridor once again returned to its original peace and silence. Aside from the shadows caused by the burning flames, there was no other presence here. After some time, along with a nearly imperceptible rush of footsteps, the pet.i.te figure returned to the earlier corner again. She looked around suspiciously as if she were searching for Rhode. But what astonished her was that there was not the slightest sign of his presence as far as the eye could see. It was as if he had completely vanished from this world. The puzzled pet.i.te figure walked to the corner cautiously and poked her head out to look at the other side. However, she didn’t find anything.
Then, she raised both her hands to her mouth.
“Ah———!
Along with this scream, the pet.i.te figure hid once more, while her scream echoed deep in the corridor. But even so, Rhode didn’t appear. This left her even more confused. She stepped out from around the corner and took a few steps forward as if she were investigating the situation. But all of a sudden, as though recalling something, she retreated instinctively. But unfortunately, it was too late.
“Caught you!”
In the sound of a gust, Rhode leaped down from the ceiling, seizing the pet.i.te figure with gripping hands like that of an eagle’s talons. And upon sensing his touch, the pet.i.te figure panicked and struggled. But unfortunately, she wasn’t as strong as him. Rhode’s hands were like iron pincers imprisoning her, where she couldn’t even move one bit.
“Alright, little rascal. You’ve caused me so much trouble. Now, it’s time for me to see your true colors!”
Rhode said and revealed a proud smile. Since the entire corridor was only lit up by the faint light of the torches, he was only able to faintly see her silhouette. Although he was certain that this pet.i.te figure was, in fact, Celestina’s mental self, judging simply from her silhouette, she was much smaller than the Celestina he remembered. Could it be that this was also Celestina’younger self?
However, while Rhode was about to get a glimpse of her face, the pet.i.te figure that seemed to figure out what he was trying to do screamed out loud.
“Let go of me, you pervert!”
With that, the pet.i.te figure stomped her foot onto him violently. At the next moment, the solid ground beneath his feet suddenly disappeared and he fell into the abyss of darkness along with that pet.i.te figure.
The sound of the whistling wind blew past his ears. There was only darkness around him. But even so, he still had a firm grip on that pet.i.te body and didn’t let go despite how hard she scrambled. It was clear that this little fella was the key to Celestina’s mental world. Rhode had no doubt for a second that if he were to let her escape, he would fall into this darkness for eternity.
Bam!
Finally, after some time, Rhode found himself cras.h.i.+ng onto a soft object. And surprisingly, the impact of the fall from that height didn’t hurt him at all. Instead, he felt like he had jumped onto a comfortable bed. And almost at the same time, a bright glow once again emanated before his eyes.
“This place is…”
Rhode looked up and saw that he was now in a lavishly-decorated bedroom, surrounded by all sorts of luxurious decorations and furniture. He was in the center of this bedroom, on a bed that was a full two to three meters wide. Crimson drapery hung down from the ceiling, exhibiting a graceful and luxurious atmosphere. And at that moment, a young voice sounded from below him.
“Let go of me, you pervert! Lecher! Rogue!”
“Hmm?”
Upon hearing the voice, Rhode looked down.
And a pet.i.te little girl came into view.
She was undoubtedly Celestina. But compared to the Celestina in his memory, this Celestina was much smaller in size and about the same age as Mini Bubble Gum. Not only that, but her gorgeous black dress was also disheveled from the struggles she put up. The little girl’s slender legs wrapped in black garter belt stockings stuck out of her messy skirt, kicking him hard. Even though her arms were grabbed tightly by Rhode, she didn’t seem to have the intention of giving up yet. On the contrary, she glared at him, her adorable face revealing unmistakable wrath.
“Get out of my way, you pig! How dare you hold me down! Do you know what crime this is!”
The little fella grumbled and wrestled as she twisted her body. However, there was no way for her to break free from Rhode’s restraint. One had to admit that looking from a distance, this scene was as if Rhode were about to violate the girl. It was filled with a certain unspeakable criminality.
But…
This feels exciting.
Looking at the girl struggling desperately in front of him, Rhode’s mind, however, came up with a rather dangerous thought.
