Chapter 49: The Illusion’s Turn

Song Ze woke up.

The first thing he saw was Idis, sitting beside him reading a magic book. The soft light falling through the window softened even his cold profile.

Noticing Song Ze was awake, Idis turned his head, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth. Then he leaned in and kissed Song Ze on the forehead.

Why were they so casually intimate?!

It was as if the two of them were involved!

This kind of nonchalant bromance was even more lethal than before!

Song Ze was stunned by this mental shock. His body stiffened instantly, and he was completely awake. He quickly asked the system.

“System, what’s going on! What happened during the speedrun?”

As soon as he spoke, the system transmitted the plot from the speedrun into Song Ze’s mind.

It turned out that during this period, because Song Ze hadn’t distanced himself from Idis, their relationship had actually improved. So Song Ze hadn’t been sent off to some Holy Knight Academy or anything like that…

Of course, since the plot developed according to Song Ze’s own personality, and he was, after all… a hesitant person, a hopeless face-con who couldn’t refuse good-looking people, and couldn’t bear to reject Idis and provoke him…

After all, during this time, thanks to Song Ze, Idis had become much more normal, even his personality had softened, which made everyone else very relieved. They felt Idis’s previous coldness was just because he had no friends.

So the two of them had developed into something close to lovers! They were just one step away from confessing. Although Song Ze didn’t mean it that way, he was usually the type to just go with the flow.

Song Ze: “…” Damn, he didn’t know which was worse: this or the imprisonment play.

Song Ze was utterly shocked. Even if it was an illusion, was it really okay to come out of the closet so casually?

“Although he doesn’t agree, he doesn’t seem too angry. It seems our parents once made an engagement agreement for their children…” Idis said.

Song Ze: “…” WTF? An arranged marriage from childhood? Wasn’t Idis just making this up in this world?

Wait, system, this isn’t going to lead to a bad ending route, is it?

“I understand!!”

Song Ze was well aware that if this continued, Idis would definitely prefer to stay in this illusion forever!

But what should he do…

[Because the target has extremely high affection for the host and trusts the host greatly, a crack has appeared in this illusion. The system has taken advantage of this to infiltrate and can add some plot to a certain extent. The host can decide what this plot is.]

“Wow, I’ve never felt so close to you, system.”

Song Ze was almost moved to tears by the system’s divine assistance.

He had to seize this opportunity!

Although failing would allow him to reload, Song Ze felt it wasn’t that simple. If he failed too many times, something might go wrong. Most importantly, he didn’t want to repeat this mysterious daily life with Idis, or he might really be subconsciously turned gay.

—–

Meanwhile, outside the illusion.

Several days had passed since the betrothal ceremony that had shaken the entire demon world. The event was known to everyone in the demon realm, especially since everything had been broadcast live in other places…

Although the people controlling the broadcast had sensed something wrong when an elf appeared to interrupt the ceremony, they thought it was just a cannon fodder adding excitement… Who would have thought it would spiral out of control!

In the end, three people had come to steal the groom, leaving all the onlookers dumbfounded. They realized just how extraordinary a human the newly minted fiancés of the two princes were. In some ways, he was simply unmatched.

The broadcast had only stopped when a group fight caused a surge of magical elements, but the earlier scenes had been deeply etched into everyone’s memory. Afterward, various versions of the event spread, and Song Ze became a legend.

And the outcome of the betrothal ceremony was also strange. The elder prince, the mysterious figure controlling the bone dragon, and Song Ze had all mysteriously disappeared… It was said they had entered the ruins.

But unlike before, even those with entry privileges couldn’t enter, and those who had already entered were mysteriously teleported out, as if the place rejected everyone.

In the palace.

The guards suddenly rushed into the hall, staring fixedly at the person above. “Father, what exactly do you intend to do!”

His expression changed slightly.

Sitting on the throne, the old man looked even older than before, as if he might die at any moment. But in contrast, his aura was stronger, and his eyes were full of ambition.

“Andreya, you have always been different from your brother. From the time you were sensible, you’ve been a lively, innocent younger brother, showing no interest in the throne because you knew that was best for the demon world… For the future of the demon realm, it’s not good at all. Now that the seal is loosening, only another world…”

Andreya’s eyes turned cold. “I’m not interested in any of that. I just want to know what you plan to do with Song Ze.”

“He is the sacrifice needed to resurrect the greatest Demon King.” The Old Demon King’s expression remained calm, but his voice carried an undeniable excitement. This was a plan he had experimented with for hundreds of years, and now it was finally about to be completed.

“Are you kidding?” Andreya’s expression darkened, and he spoke urgently. “He’s just an ordinary human. It has nothing to do with sacrifice. If you need a human with divine inheritance, we can capture some from the Dark Forest after we obtain the divine ruins there. There will be as many as we want. There’s no need for Song Ze to die!”

“It seems you really care about this human,” the Old Demon King said. “You’ve even lied to me, right in front of my face.”

Andreya fell silent.

“You’ve been with him long enough to know clearly. Not everyone can obtain divine inheritance. Even if those humans enter the ruins, they will only die from being unable to withstand the power. Only those chosen by the gods from the beginning can reach that step.” The Old Demon King sneered. “It was all predestined. He has already stepped into the sacrificial ritual himself. No one can stop it anymore. Not even me.”

Andreya gritted his teeth. Worry for someone else, something he had never felt before, made him anxious. “Father, you mean there’s something wrong with the ruins?”

“No, the ruins were prepared for him. Or rather, for that great one.”

“Damn it—”

Andreya didn’t ask further. He knew that even his father was powerless against the ruins, and even if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t change his methods for him.

To save Song Ze, he alone was utterly incapable.

His eyes darkened with resentment. He didn’t want to do this, but for Song Ze, he had to compromise with reality.

“It looks like I have to go find those disgusting guys.”

—–

Inside the illusion.

A banquet was held at the Duke’s mansion today.

“I never thought Father would change his mind,” Idis said, somewhat surprised. He looked at Song Ze beside him. “He actually agreed to our relationship and is going to announce it to everyone…”

Song Ze: “…” What relationship?! They didn’t have an official relationship yet!

And how could the Duke so casually let his son come out publicly? Song Ze had investigated. The Duke had actually found a fiancée for Idis and was going to announce her… After all, in the Duke’s mind, his son was still quite good and wouldn’t openly defy him.

Then, under the pressure of the crowd, he could directly make Idis engaged, and the matter of the bromance would fade away.

If only things could be like that. But Song Ze knew well that if Idis was provoked like that, who knew what crazy thing he might do, turning the banquet into a bloodbath!

Anyway, he didn’t want to bother with it anymore. For now, he just hoped to achieve his goal.

As the guests arrived one after another, everyone’s attention focused on the protagonist of the day—Idis. And the Song Ze standing beside him naturally drew everyone’s attention.

In fact, this was the first time Song Ze had appeared formally in front of outsiders.

After all, Song Ze’s looks were not inferior to Idis’s, and he was a cute beautiful young man. Compared to the cold and aloof Idis, Song Ze’s type was much more endearing. Many noble ladies felt their hearts flutter. They hadn’t expected the rumored freeloader at the Duke’s mansion to be so good-looking. They would be willing to keep such a beautiful young man too!

Song Ze didn’t notice the suggestive glances from those noble ladies. Even if he did, it wouldn’t matter. This was just an illusion. They were only illusions created by the power of this illusion, close to real people.

Idis, however, clearly sensed their gazes. He immediately swept a cold look over the crowd and grabbed Song Ze’s hand to show that their relationship could not be interfered with by such riffraff.

“What’s wrong?” Song Ze looked at Idis curiously.

“Nothing, just some insignificant bugs,” Idis said. “It has nothing to do with you.”

“Oh.” Song Ze nodded, thinking the time was almost right.

Then, suddenly, a scream rang out. Amid the crowd, a middle-aged man with a cold expression appeared—Count William.

Although the guards and some strong people wanted to stop him, they were completely helpless against Count William. The demonic aura around him was like an invincible shield, and anyone infected by the black energy instantly lost focus and fainted.

This was the minor boss in the game, Count William, who tried to control everyone to achieve his goal of dominating the empire’s upper class. After Song Ze transmigrated, he had been largely useless, only serving as a minion to a dark Idis.

But to stimulate the current plot, Song Ze had the system insert Count William’s plot. This was quite faithful to the original.

Unfortunately, the system could only control a part; it couldn’t fully manipulate the plot. So what Count William would do was decided by the illusion’s own logic.

And Song Ze himself still had some ability to influence the illusion, but he hadn’t found the right time to use it yet.

Without hesitation, Idis stepped in front of Song Ze, glaring coldly at Count William.

Count William looked at the two young men disdainfully. In his eyes, they were just immature children. His real wariness was reserved for the Duke.

Count William simply reached out his hand, and immediately, several demonic creatures behind him attacked Idis and Song Ze.

“Now!”

Song Ze looked at those demonic creatures and directly used his ability to slightly influence the illusion.

In an instant, the demonic creatures that should have been easily slain by Idis became much stronger. If they were just level 30 before, they skyrocketed to level 70.

This was undoubtedly illogical. Even Count William himself might not be that high-level; he only intended to use the black fog to affect Idis’s mind, not to kill him outright.

But anyway, under Song Ze’s influence, that’s how it happened.

Facing such powerful demonic creatures, Idis’s eyes turned cold. A magic circle appeared in his hand, and countless magical energies gathered from the surroundings, forming a huge golden cage that trapped the two creatures.

Just as Idis breathed a sigh of relief, he suddenly felt a cold wind from behind.

“Brother Idis, watch out—”

Song Ze’s voice rang out at the same time.

The moment Idis turned around, the attack from the demonic creature that had appeared behind him unknown to him landed on Song Ze, who had rushed over to shield Idis.

Instantly, a large amount of blood splattered.

Song Ze’s slender body, which seemed easy to break, fell weakly into Idis’s arms. His face was deathly pale, and the light in his eyes dimmed. Blood kept gushing from the wound, and his body rapidly grew cold.

At this moment, Song Ze still forced himself to hold on, grasping Idis’s hand with his bloodstained hand. His blue eyes held a comforting smile as he looked at Idis.

“Brother Idis… I… I’ll be fine…”

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Reborn as the Villain’s Loyal Dog, Trapped in a Never-Ending Shura Field

Book TransmigrationModernsystem

Read Now →
Not interested