Absolute Dweller-Chapter 106

Before the contract was finalized, Lilith had to exert all her willpower to suppress the mocking laughter that threatened to escape from within.

"Is this guy a complete idiot?"

Despite his considerable power, his knowledge was severely lacking.

It was evident that he was a rookie, having only recently attained divinity. To Lilith, he was the perfect, plump prey.

A contract, after all, was a binding agreement.

Contracts between those who possessed divinity indeed carried a degree of binding force.

However, the binding force always favored the party with a higher status among the contracting parties.

In essence, the stronger side had the ability to manipulate the contract as they pleased.

"A novice who just acquired divinity? What a godsend!"

Lilith—though her own divine status had been parasitically cultivated by feeding off the World Tree’s power—was by no means weak.

This very dimension, her personal realm, was born from her parasitic feeding off the roots of the World Tree that extended into various planes.

Although this dimension was inferior, incapable of birthing life, she ruled as its sovereign.

"I’ll enjoy devouring you."

If she could properly digest the power of the novice standing before her, her status would ascend to an entirely new level.

"In exchange, you’ll experience the happiest dream of your life."

Before formally sealing the contract, Lilith intended to prepare a little prelude.

To establish a contract, their powers needed to intertwine, inevitably revealing parts of their true selves to each other.

"I’ll exploit that opening."

Having clawed her way up from being a mere nightmare spirit, showing dreams and illusions was her specialty.

"You’ll live happily ever after in a dream, that’s all."

While she could simply manipulate the contract to her advantage using their disparity in power, the gains wouldn’t outweigh the losses.

To fully absorb the novice’s power, she first needed to make him submissive.

“Let’s begin.”

“Yes.”

As their powers intertwined under Lilith’s guidance,

"Now!"

Her power seeped into the gaps.

Then—

Crackle!

A stinging sensation accompanied the realization that her power was evaporating.

"Huh…?"

Lilith immediately sensed that something was going terribly wrong.

Moments later—

Boom!

A torrent of explosive energy erupted from the novice, enveloping Lilith.

"Aaaaah!"

It felt as though her entire body was being roasted alive.

"What… what is this?"

Paralyzed by incomprehensible pain, she couldn’t gather her thoughts.

Suddenly—

Chill

Fear incarnate manifested before her eyes.

Forgetting even the agony consuming her body, she trembled in sheer terror.

It wasn’t until nearly half her existence had been consumed that she realized—

Slowly, bit by bit,

It was devouring her very being.

"No, no—!"

Her soundless cries of despair dissolved alongside her unfulfilled ambitions, sinking into the void.

In her final moments, Lilith cursed her foolishness.

She failed to recognize the obvious truth: anyone who could freely infiltrate her dream-infused forest was of higher status than herself.

As this simple fact escaped her notice, she vanished into silence.

[Calm Like Still Water (明鏡止水) has activated.]

As Lilith’s divinity was absorbed, a massive surge of energy flowed into me.

Coupled with the effects of my recent level-up, the inevitable pain began.

However—

"Is this the effect of Calm Like Still Water?"

The pain was excruciating.

Yet, it felt oddly detached, as if it wasn’t mine to bear.

Though my body screamed in agony, my mind observed it from a distance, detached from the suffering.

Being able to maintain clarity amidst such pain proved more useful than I anticipated.

"Absolute Dweller’s Eye."

Even as I endured the torment, I utilized the Absolute Dweller’s Eye to monitor other areas.

"Open shop. Purchase water."

I also provided necessary supplies to my retainers.

"This way, there’s no downtime from the level-up."

It wasn’t as though I could completely ignore the pain.

The growing pains from leveling up were undoubtedly severe, and they didn’t seem to diminish.

But maintaining rationality and using skills during the ordeal was a tremendous advantage.

Moreover—

[Mr. Davin, can you hear me?]

[Yes, Mr. Jae-hyun. Loud and clear.]

The communication ring functioned without issue.

[How’s the task I entrusted you with?]

[As per your instructions, we’ve blocked all access to Nampo-dong and are prepared to deploy forces if necessary.]

[Good. Maintain that status for now.]

[Understood.]

Despite absorbing Lilith’s power, I hadn’t dispatched rescue teams yet—nothing had been confirmed.

"Sending in a rescue team prematurely could endanger them too."

Caution was the best course of action for now.

"My domain is expanding."

This wasn’t about the real world.

In this world, my domain was growing in real-time.

More accurately, Lilith’s domain was being integrated into mine.

As I used the Absolute Dweller’s Eye to survey the expanded territory, I spotted Kim Gun unconscious inside a cave.

[Mr. Kim Gun. Wake up.]

"Ugh…"

[Mr. Kim Gun.]

After repeated calls, he slowly opened his eyes.

And—

"Mr. Jae-hyun!"

He immediately shouted my name upon regaining consciousness.

[What’s the matter?]

"Monsters were pouring out from inside the cave earlier! Are you alright?"

Reassuring him, I replied,

[Don’t worry. I’m fine.]

"Are you sure?"

[Yes. Instead of worrying about me, could you head outside and assist the others?]

“…Understood.”

Judging by his determined expression, he was ready to face shadow beasts. However, with Lilith subdued, their production had ceased entirely.

Currently, my retainers were focused on rescuing people.

After verifying that Kim Gun had joined the others in the rescue efforts, hours passed.

"It’s over."

At long last, the torment came to an end.

“Phew.”

As the effect of Calm Like Still Water dissipated, the sensations in my body returned to normal.

While clenching and unclenching my fists to assess my condition, I noticed a small creature wriggling in front of me.

“Ugh…”

Though it wore clothing clearly designed to appear seductive, its stubby limbs made it look more adorable than anything else.

There was no need to think deeply about it.

The Absolute Dweller’s Eye provided the information immediately:

「Nightmare Lilith (Lv. 1)」

A demon of dreams.

At the same time:

[A new familiar has been registered.]

A cheerful notification informed me that Lilith had been added to the list of familiars.

And then, a sudden realization struck me like lightning.

"This is…"

It was the structure of this dimension.

This forest was an imperfect world, born entirely from parasitically leeching off the World Tree’s power.

It manipulated intelligent beings in dimensions near the World Tree’s roots to gain access to the tree itself.

To do this, it dominated their minds and summoned their consciousness into this realm through dreams.

This was the true nature of the "invitation" Lilith had mentioned.

The invited beings were rendered immobile and turned into catalysts, drawing on the World Tree’s power.

"Disgusting."

This entire forest was nothing more than a massive grave, built on the sacrifice of countless lives.

And it wasn’t just happening on Earth.

Across countless dimensions where the World Tree existed, innocent lives were dragged into this place, buried alive, and their agony served as the foundation for this world.

Even now, thousands—no, tens of thousands—were being exploited.

"This abomination must be destroyed."

There was no hesitation.

I began forcefully returning all those who had been summoned to this world back to their original dimensions.

I knew this process would cost me a significant portion of my newfound power, but I didn’t care in the slightest.

It was then—

“What… what are you doing?!”

A small, pitiful voice shrieked beside me.

“If you do that, this world will collapse!”

The source of the pathetic cries was, predictably, Lilith.

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As the ruler of this world, she must have felt the effects of my actions.

“That’s exactly the point.”

“W-what…! Why…?!”

Ignoring her frantic protests, I continued my work.

My grandfather and father, who were rescuing others alongside my retainers, and even my grandmother and mother, who were still trapped, were all sent back to their original world.

And then—

RUMBLE!

Massive cracks spread across the world, and it began collapsing in real-time.

This malformed structure, maintained solely by the lifeforce of its victims, crumbled the moment that lifeforce was removed, like a sandcastle swept away by waves.

There was no need to worry about my retainers.

"Summon retainers."

I could simply reverse-summon everyone back to the real world.

CRASH!

The forest was falling apart.

Distant areas disintegrated as the ground, trees, and even the sky crumbled together.

Through the Absolute Dweller’s Eye, I watched this apocalyptic scene unfold, as if witnessing the end of the world.

CRACK!

The destruction soon reached the massive central tree.

Through the gaping cracks, the sight of the entire forest collapsing was laid bare.

“Noooo!”

Lilith screamed in despair.

Watching her wail over the destruction of her entire world, I spoke:

“Remember this feeling well. It’s the same despair felt by all the people who were sacrificed for your petty greed.”

The despair of those dragged into this world, frozen in pods, unable to move—what they endured must have been far worse.

Not only was their world destroyed, but their lives were ultimately sacrificed for it.

RUMBLE…

The waves of destruction, which seemed as though they would annihilate every last fragment of the world, suddenly stopped.

The grand forest no longer existed.

The blue sky was gone, and the massive central tree had been reduced to nothing but remnants.

What remained was a small space, spanning only a few hundred meters.

Lilith stood there, staring blankly at the diminished world, tears streaming down her face.

"May you wither away in agony, just like this world."

I prayed for her to meet a fate even more miserable than anyone else dragged into this place.

"Open East Gate."

Leaving Lilith behind in the shrunken remains of her world, I crossed the East Gate back to reality.

And there—

“Mom! Oh, thank goodness you’re awake. I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“You’re too old for this.”

“Ahem.”

Grandfather, grandmother, mother, father…

And me.

For the first time in what felt like forever, the entire family was together again.