Chapter 345: Ch 344: You are me and I am you - Part 1

"What is wrong with these creatures? Where are they even coming from? Ugh, they just keep coming. I don’t even think there are this many demons, let alone chimeras."

Demons were not a species that reproduced by sexual means. For them, once they became a family and developed feelings, their bodies entered a maturity period where both partners could use their energy to create a child.

These children were generally grown outside the parent’s body, and they matured faster than any other race.

As such, it did not matter whether a parent was a human or another species; a demon’s child was always born a demon due to their genetic makeup and the way they were born.

So the existence of chimeras like these was highly insulting as well as unnatural.

The more Lyra fought them, the more agitated she felt. In fact, she was starting to feel like it was getting harder for her to control her emotions.

"Lyra, calm down and think rationally here."

Kael reminded her, and she gritted her teeth as she tried to get herself under control.

"I am trying. But something is interfering."

She dodged the attack and took a short but calming breath. But the more she tried, the more she felt compelled to get angry. It was as if these emotions were not her own.

"Do you think it is this dungeon that is affecting you?"

Kael asked her, and Lyra tried her best to calm down and think about it. But it was just too hard with this fog covering her senses.

"I cannot say for sure what it is. But I know that it is annoying. I—"

The fog suddenly thickened to the point where Lyra could not see or hear Kael. In fact, she could not feel anything around her. Her senses were getting numb as well.

"Where am I?"

She asked as she started to walk toward an exit in this fog. But she only made it a few steps forward when she felt something hurting.

It made her look down at the injured spot, only to see a spot of red appearing along with a sense of pain. But there was no wound on her body.

But that first spot was not the end of it. Rather, it was the beginning. She could feel more similar spots appearing all over her body without knowing why.

"Am I still in that fight from before? But where are the other demons... fucking darn it! How did I miss something this crucial?"

It suddenly struck Lyra where she was, and she cursed herself. She was currently in an illusion created with demonic power. The fight was still going on around her, but she had not known.

It was no wonder she was still getting hurt like this and had no idea why.

"But even if I know this, now what? Should I try to use my power to collapse this space?"

Lyra felt around the space and instantly abandoned that idea. This space was far too big to try and collapse from the inside. She would need outside help to make it possible.

<How humiliating. To think that the demon queen would be caught in the demonic arts of others. You don’t deserve to have the title of the demon queen.>

The voice whispered suddenly, and Lyra turned around to see where that voice was coming from. But there was no one in this space with her at the moment.

"Who are you?"

She asked, not paying attention to what the others wanted from her. She was not mentally fragile, so she held her ground against that voice.

<Oh? You sound so confident right now, but I wonder if you are truly capable of keeping this confidence up, Demon Queen Lyra. Isn’t it time for you to ask yourself if you deserve the title or not?>

The voice was getting louder, and it almost felt like that presence was heading toward her as well. It made Lyra tense, and she looked around herself, trying to find who the speaker was.

But all she could see around her was empty space.

<Poor dear demon queen. You have been getting by because of others your whole life. When will you actually get a chance to do something on your own?>

The voice taunted her once more, and this time, it sounded like it was coming from right beside her. It made her turn to her right, and she cupped her ear as she jumped backwards to get away from the speaker.

She finally got a glimpse of the speaker, and it was a shadow creature that looked just like her.

No, that thing was not just like her, but rather, it was her.

It was hard to explain it in a way that made sense, but the essence of that thing in front of Lyra was the same as her own. And it was not hard for her to resonate with that thing either.

<What are you trying to think here? Are you not certain about the truth you see? You already know in your heart what I am.>

The thing asked, and Lyra let out a sigh.

"Fucking hell! Is this possible because this place is made with a real god’s fragments? It sure is a hassle to handle. To think that something can replicate my soul—"

<Replicate? What a useless kind of thought. There is no replication. I am merely a split of you. The part that you have been suppressing all this time. And I have gotten tired of seeing you hold back. Now, I will take it all.>

The thing spoke in the same voice as Lyra before it attacked her. It was a hard hit that left Lyra with no time to counter.

She tried her best to use her power, but she was not able to command it when she tried.

"What the—"

<I already told you that I am your power. How can you possibly think of rebelling against me? It’s time for you to give up and go to sleep.>