Chapter 227 [Bonus ] CH 221: WAKING UP
Chapter 227 [Bonus ] CH 221: WAKING UP
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While Adam was searching through Hae-Won's memories for what he sought, Yui was sitting on the sofa while putting one of her legs above the other as her body leaned forward slightly with her chin resting on her hand. She was keenly observing everything with her eyes.
Even though Adam had not given her many details about the plan, she could see that he was most likely observing Hae-Won's mind right now with one of his skills. Be it through telepathy or dream walking…
'Is his father a Baku [1]? Or perhaps an Incubus?'
The Bakus were more of a dream eater than a dream walker of a creature so she doubted Adam was one…
But when it came to the infamous Incubi, it became much more plausible for Adam to be one than any other of her guesses to date. The Incubi had abilities that were overall weaker than the Succubi but they had the same type of skillset going on for them.
Dreams, illusions, and finally… seduction.
Those skills were precisely the ones Adam had been showing signs of using lately and his skills with controlling illusions were far too high for it to be considered to be anything but innate. There was no way he had acquired those skills from somewhere.
In the same way, this would more or less explain why Bridget Bishop had been so interested in Adam on the day that he had awakened.
This theory was extremely plausible and checked out most of the boxes to reveal Adam's identity. But the only problem here was…
'He doesn't have a lick of infernal energy.'
The lack of infernal energy did not distract Yui much. It wasn't like it was impossible to hide such energy from the others. After all, she was also wearing an artifact that would hide her divine energy from the other beings and seal her identity as the offspring of a literal god.
A young god like her with no authority was like one of the most delicious snacks for some sick bastards. With Adam being from the Kaminari family, it wasn't impossible for them to bring out something that could completely shield his aura.
Thanks to the work that Bridget Bishop had done throughout the centuries, the relationship between the church and the witches had reached a stable point where they could coexist with each other in a stable way. This also extended to Cambions as they were determined to be unwilling and unable to have a decision in the bloodline they originated from.
The church, accepting to not hunt every Cambion in sight had been one of the greatest concessions they had ever made in their entire history and caused widespread waves throughout the Supernatural world at one point.
'Then again if he is really a cambion, I understand why Cecilia didn't let him go back home.'
Even though she should not be happy about this, in a way, knowing that Adam had a situation similar to her own made her feel even closer to him and lifted up her mode by a great deal.
In the past, she had somewhat been attracted to him in ways that she was not willing to admit. After all, he was basically the only one around her age who had helped her build up her gang from the ground up. In a way, he had been more like a white knight with a dazzling greatsword coming to the rescue when she needed help the most. When she was in the weakest state of her life.
Sadly not only was he too young back then, but he was also the ex-boyfriend of her sister.
Now though…Things were very different. She couldn't be said to be a man snatcher anymore and she wouldn't have the moral anguish of hurting her baby sister. Though she would have to sleep with one eye open as that girl could really become batshit crazy.
Thinking about how Tsubasa had been sent not long ago to the nun to purify her mind, she couldn't help but chuckle. She was sure that nothing short of mind manipulation could make that girl sane.
Yui stood up and approached Adam with measured steps. The fact that his body did not react even as she got closer and closer to him was proof that he believed in her deeply and saw no need to protect himself from her. This gave her immense joy and made her heart flutter with emotions she was not willing to name.
'I wonder… Just what should I do now?'
She could see his face clearly from this distance and she was startled to really realize just how much he had changed physically and mentally over the course of the past month. He had greatly matured but at the same time, he had also become much darker than he was in the past.
But no matter what… He was still Adam.
The somewhat clumsy boy, the charming young man, and one of the few people she could believe in no matter what. He was still her white knight and was still acting that way even now, giving her a chance to completely establish her authority and realize her dreams.
'Hahaha… Why did I hesitate so much all this time?'
Adam's situation had greatly changed and he was not a normal man anymore. Surely, in this situation, even her Tiger mom would have no opinion about him, right?
She couldn't help but wonder what kind of face Adam would make if he came face to face with a literal god.
"Ugh…"
A groan leaked out from both Adam and Hae-Won's mouths. She could feel the Prana in Adam's body becoming slightly wilder and perspiration forming on Hae-Won's face.
'Is he finally facing rejection?'
While she was no Dream Walker herself, her biological mother sometimes talked to her through Dreams and as such she knew that the higher the resistance was the greater the chance of a Dream Walker being ejected out of the dream.
The subconscious mind of a rational being was truly marvelous as even a powerful being could be overpowered by the psyche of a normal man once inside.
Furthermore, while dying in the dream realm wouldn't necessarily mean death, it could leave very heavy damage to the psyche of the Dream Walker.
'He is waking up.'
She took a few steps back as she watched his eyes flutter slightly before finally opening completely.
"How are you?"
Adam shook his head and pushed a hand as if asking her to wait a bit for him to recover. She could see that his face had now become entirely covered in sweat and his chest was moving heavily up and down as though he had run a marathon for days on end.
"I am good. Yeah. I am."
She saw that Adam was looking all around with a somewhat lost expression. She understood what was going through his mind and took his hand in hers.
"Look at me, Adam. You are in reality now. This is not a dream."
This was something quite common with all the Dream Walkers. Sometimes, Dreams were so vivid that it became hard to make the distinction between them and reality.
—And this was just the early phase. The true problem began when they realized just how much better a dream was than reality.
Her words seemed to have an effect as Adam gripped back and released a long sigh.
"Sorry, and thanks. I was a little confused there."
"Don't mention it. Now tell me. What did you find?"
Adam's expression became solemn as those words left Yui's lips, "I obtained a great deal of information. I think we can start striking at the man."
A grin formed on Yui's face after hearing that statement, "Truly wonderful."
Adam was not just her white knight. He was also her lucky charm.
"We will start chipping away at his power but will attack soon. What do you say? Will you take the lead?"
Remembering the Ordeals he had put aside to decide on later, Adam nodded his head readily. He would soon have to make a choice. There was also the fact that he wanted to directly face the man who put hit on Shuri's head.
"I will do it."
"Very well, I will leave the headquarters for you."
She smiled. She could still feel her hands in Adam's. A weird silence seemed to fall between them as neither of them tried to take the hand away from the other.
"Adam… I… Tututu~"
She closed her mouth as the sound of her phone broke the atmosphere that had been slowly built up between them.
"Give me a moment."
'I swear to my mom. If this isn't an important call I am going to kill someone.'
"What is it?"
? Excuse me, boss. A woman called Shuri seems to want to have a meeting with you. ?
"Oh?"
Yui gave a look toward Adam, who seemed to be just as bewildered as her. In the end, though, she was too intrigued to refuse.
"Escort her to my office and be careful. She is a valued VIP."
? Understood. ?
Once the call ended, Yui looked at Adam.
"Any idea why she is here?"
"I am as lost as you."
Yui sighed as they released the clasped hands.
"Now what will you do? Your client seems to still be asleep."
"Well… Thankfully, your entire bar is still in my territory."
A second Adam appeared next to him and smiled at her.
"Shall we go, big boss?"
Shuri alternated between the two Adam and shook her head, "I won't lie. This technique is extremely creepy and extremely useful at the same time. You are basically the perfect criminal."
"Hehe. Well, let's go."
Adam laughed. This small trick was indeed one of the skills he was most proud of. Once his 'Parallel Thinking' skill evolved further, he would be able to divide into even more avatars and control all of them at the same time as long as it was inside of his domain.
He was already filled with anticipation at the thought of his next evolution.
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[1]: A Baku is a mythical creature in Japanese folklore that's capable of devouring nightmares. As the story is told, those who wake from a nightmare can summon the Baku by calling to it three times and asking it to eat their dream. Another legend holds that all you need to do upon awakening from a bad dream is say aloud that you give it to Baku.
In both instances, it's said that in eating the nightmare, the Baku removes your torment so you are no longer afraid. But however you call the Baku, it could be risky — and especially hungry Baku may not be satisfied after a single nightmare and could eat your dreams, hopes, and ambitions