Above Your Head

"Holy… fuck." I groaned as I looked above my head. Up there, at the top of the prison, there was a title that I saw for the first time in my life.

Corps of Gluttony

First-Tier Demon Tribe, Hell's Hand

'All sorts of things are popping out now huh.'

I had heard of the Demon Tribe before. They were monsters that lived on the Demon Realm, a different dimension than the Physical Realm we live in.

'I heard it is an extremely powerful and dangerous tribe.' 

It might seem ludicrous, but there were angels and demons in this world, and they belonged to the Celestial tribe and Demon tribe respectively. But what was different was that not all angels were good-natured, and not all demons were ill-natured.

'The only difference is that some are dangerous, and some are extremely dangerous.'

The Demon tribe weren't all born evil. But the Demon tribe consumed dark mana… Therefore, they take pleasure in negative emotions such as anger, sadness, pain, and despair.

Therefore, even if the Demon tribe wasn't inherently evil, it was best to avoid them. The Demon tribe derived pleasure from the sufferings of other life forms, so to them, it was a natural flow to plunge the other party in pain and despair. The saying 'A demon who meets with a majority of people would start a massacre, and a demon who meets with a minority of people would start a torture fest' wasn't recorded for nothing.

Of course, I also heard that the Celestial tribe, the opposite side of the spectrum, weren't all kind-natured beings. I didn't know if these beings could treat others with respect and affection, as well as joy and pleasure for 24 hours a day, but the Celestial tribe couldn't stand being with someone they didn't like or love very much. They would be able to put up with them for a while, but in the end, they would try to rule out or eliminate them.

I wouldn't have to worry about being tortured if I met the Demon tribe, but I would just die swiftly in the hands of the Celestial tribe.

'What's worse, even though they take joy in the emotions of love, they also crave for sensations of pain and humiliation.'

Anyway, the important thing was that there would be nothing good in store if a lifeform were to get close to any of the two.

I was thinking that my life wouldn't be guaranteed if I stayed with such extreme beings. On the other hand, Celestia tried hitting the wall a few more times and soon gave up and frowned.

"What the crap, this wall is strange. It's getting stronger and sturdier as time passes by. I might be able to pierce through it if I had a weapon on me, but I think it would be difficult to with my bare firsts."

Her words reminded me again of the meaning of the First-Tier Demon Tribe title above us.

'In other words... This prison in itself is the stomach of that guy. Everything in here is part of his body.'

Come to think of it, it was definitely strange from the beginning. Although the demi-humans were primitive in nature to the point of putting cannibals to shame, they were undoubtedly a superior civilization that walked the universe. Yet, their prison was that of a primitive shape, and it was made of steel bars. Why would they make such a thing on a Space Carrier like this? If they wanted to create a detention facility, there must have been a better method to do so, and not this poorly formed prison.

'First-Tier Demon Tribe... First-Tier Demon Tribe... Don't tell me, those demi-human bastards also joined hands with the Demon tribe?'

That was the first thought that came to mind. They employed the help of Legion, one of the public enemies of the Union, so would there be anything stopping them from joining hands with the Demon tribe?

"Ughh…"

"Ahhh, does it hurt again?"

"No, I'm okay. It just aches whenever I move."

Celestia had a worried look on her face, but I shook my head and lied down at once. I did it to get a good look at the title of the demon called Hell's Hand.

'By the way, the name's already savage from the get to. What's up with the name Hell's Hand?'

I activated Classification. This was because it didn't amount to much information just from the title First-Tier Demon Tribe. For starters, I delved into his status.

'Turned into an idiot, Hell's Hand?'

I found the unexpected info dubious. In other words, does that mean that he's not in a normal condition? I used Classification for more details.

'Turned into an idiot, Hell's Hand... Taken captive after he turned into an idiot, Hell's Hand…'

As the Classification became more detailed, I gradually grasped an understanding of the situation. It seems that this Hell's Hand dude was most probably captured after fighting with the demi-humans. But who could catch a First-Tier Demon Tribe demon, a monster on equal footing with a Star-rank Gigas?

"Well, who else could it be but him.'

However, I laughed at the name that popped up naturally. The results that showed up were as expected.

Corps of Gluttony

Subdued by the Arch-Sorcerer Morne, Hell's Hand

I clicked my tongue when I saw the title of Hell's Hand.

'Even a First-Tier Demon Tribe amounted to nothing in front of a transcendent..'

I didn't know the exact circumstances that led to this, but the dude most probably met Morne when he invaded the Physical Realm. And that was most likely how he was captured and installed(?) in the Space Carrier, Great Sky.

"Hey Dae-ha, this may sound a little strange, but… This wall, no, this room itself seems to be a living creature. Moreover, he's a demon. And at least at the level of an upper-tier demon." Celestia pointed to the wall with a grave expression. As expected, Celestia likely went through a different thinking process from mine and arrived at a similar answer

Although he was caught by Morne, but… the power of a First-Tier Demon Tribe shall by no means be underestimated.

"A demon?"

"That's right. And it's a demon that possesses a unique power at that. Even with my Lion's Eye that could pierce through most interference, I wasn't able to see the situation outside, so it's probably fine to assume that we're in some kind of Alternate Realm," said Celestia as she frowned with her elegant eyebrows.

I exerted some strength to lift my body up. It was a little uncomfortable to keep lying down while having a discussion. I had seen all the titles anyway.

"What do you mean it's no different from an Alternate Realm?"

"It literally means what I just said, this room is in a different realm and it's cut off from the rest of the world. We have to either be masters of the properties of space or have enough power to pierce through this interference. Else, it's impossible to connect to the outside world from inside here."

"..."

Upon hearing her words, I was lost in thought for a moment because I had succeeded in communicating with Ares by breaking through that wall.

'Then, what is this? Does this mean that I mastered the properties of space, or I have the power to break through the interference of a First-Tier Demon?'

I knew I was not an ordinary being - the ability to see titles, the extraordinary dreams I had, and above all… the commanding authority to order artificial intelligences made that all the more apparent.

'My father said that... my biological father is a high-ranking transcendent.' [1]

But I totally had no clue about my biological father. If I really had to point a clue out, it would be the memory I had, but was this memory really even related to my biological father? It was already strange for a father to transfer his memory to his son, and most of all, if this was really my biological father's memory, then…

He was…

He was...

"Ha, this is ridiculous."

"Huh? What is?"

"No no, it's nothing. This is just on an overly mythical level. There's a limit to how grandiose things can be. Hahaha."

"...??"

Celestia tilted her head as if she couldn't understand my sudden words. Despite the dire situation, the sight of her doing that was cuteness overload, and my heart was pounding even in such a situation. It was enough to catch me off guard as my heart suddenly throbbed.

'Shit, damnit. Did she receive lessons on how to do that?'

I shook my head and put aside this distracting thought. Fortunately, the poker face that I had been honing all my life didn't crumble, so I was able to speak calmly to her without her being able to read my mind, "I can connect with the outside world."

"What are you even saying? I just said it's impossible, okay?"

"It's possible. I've already done it once." I said as I turned to look at the Legion girl.

As if she had been waiting for this moment, she asked, "Should I connect you?"

"Yes, please."

"Okay!" The Legion girl answered joyfully as a stream of inexplicable glint surged in her pupils. At the same time, my senses broadened through her.

Dae-ha! Are you okay?

"…Oh my God."

I stared at Ares while listening to Celestia's freaked out voice. Ares looked surprised when he saw Celestia next to me.

What's this, the two of you are together? And moreover, there are no guards around, and you're not tied up… No, that isn't important. Can you fight right now? How's your condition?

"I feel much better. Why?"

We judged that it was now or never, and our side has begun attacking! We're planning to form a rescue team to enter too, but they told me to pass the message that we need your help to create a rift!

Although our army drove the enemies away to the best of our abilities, they couldn't deal a fatal blow, and just like that, they went into a retired state, [2] so I wasn't expecting much. But, contrary to my expectations, the situation seemed to have advanced in its own way.

I was genuinely surprised inwardly, and asked, "Weren't our battle forces at a disadvantage?"

That bear guy and the guys from Albatross aren't that incompetent. They could still escape even without having you and your power around. However, I couldn't figure out what it was, but somehow the enemy's dangerous trump cards were blown away in vain, so our battle force is good enough. 

"Hmm." I racked my head after hearing Ares' words.

They formed a rescue team… If so, then first they would need to know where we were. And they need to be able to reach this far.

'Though it's not convincing, it's not a bad idea to believe in them.'

There wasn't much I could advise on the rescue operation anyways. I didn't know anything about military operations, and since it was a hand-to-hand fight without the use of Gigas, it was hard to predict how the situation will develop. It would be better to leave such a plan to the experts and move on towards creating a rift.

"Did you figure out our location?"

We have a Search ability holder amongst our ranks. We have to get in first.

"Never mind, forget it. Wait a bit." I stopped talking to Ares and looked at the Legion girl, "You. Do you happen to know where we are?"

"Mmmhmm!"

"Can you show us so that we can pinpoint this location?"

"Mmmhmm!"

I was confused for a moment at her clear-cut answer. Does this brat understand what I am saying that she is answering with mmmhmm? 

Wiiiiingggg-!

But those doubts of mine soon faded. The Legion girl's eyes flickered for a moment and a hologram was formed in the air.

It's a three dimensional view of Great Sky. And it's also quite detailed… Is that red dot where you guys are?

"..."

Ares asked, but the Legion girl smiled at me as though she couldn't hear Ares at all. It was obvious she could understand Ares' words, so she was basically just ignoring him.

I sighed lightly and asked, "Is that spot where we are?"

"Mmmhmm! And that's also where I've always been! I've been here ever since this room was created!"

After hearing her words, I stared at Ares. Needless to say, for an artificial intelligence like him, it was a piece of cake to save this amount of information.

"You can deliver this info as it is, right? Tell them to form a plan again based on this. I can just adjust to it."

You can fight too?

"Though I'm not fully recovered, my condition is a lot better as compared to when I was fighting earlier. Cel healed me."

Okay, got it. I'll be right back.

Just like that, Ares disappeared. I laid down on the floor again.

"Phew..."

I was breaking out in a cold sweat. Though I felt much better, I wasn't at peak condition. Most importantly, in order to fight, I need to keep my body condition stable. If possible, it would be good to take a short nap, but I didn't know if I had the leeway to do that.

"Hmm. Ermm, Dae-ha." But then, Celestia spoke to me. She asked in an extremely casual tone, "As I expected, you're not human, are you?"

"..."

1. This father mentioned refers to his OP father on Earth, and not his biological father.

2. It's metaphor, which is just explaining that the Leonhardt Imperial Army had to retreat away