Beginning of the Demon World (13)

A deep cave where not even the red fog could penetrate.

Unlike the small entrance, the interior was spacious beyond imagination.

Although candles were shining brightly in the darkness, lighting up the surroundings.

It was shaking precariously in the occasional blowing wind.

The sound of heavy footsteps echoed in the dark cave.

An urgent expression shining under the light.

Makiela couldn’t hide her anxiety as she looked around her lab.

“Hmm… No… “I don’t want to die… “

Numerous taxidermied monsters hanging on the cave wall.

A laboratory densely decorated with everything from rotting corpses to breathing monsters.

These are all works made by her hands, masterpieces created over a lifetime of work.

Even though she had so many subordinates, her anxiety did not stop.

“Scared… It’s scary… “

Makiella’s whole body is shaking and she is tearing out her head.

The reason for being so afraid was clear.

Seohyun. Erina. Kayla. Serica. Tyria.

A message that five humans are targeting him.

Not only did they already kill Ragnar and Catherine, but they also destroyed the Spirit King.

In addition, he killed numerous Demon King executives and even occupied the central battlefield.

Now he has infiltrated the demon world and is strangling himself.

“This isn’t it either… “No…!”

The structure of the human body is so grotesque that it is said to be hideous.

Even if you attach the limbs of an orc to the body of a beast and sink countless wolf teeth into it.

The confidence that we could never defeat them was growing.

“…”

“What… What’s going on… ?”

A golem approached her without her noticing.

One of many monsters. However, it was clearly different from other Eojungi Tteojung.

His first creation. A creature that was finally completed after countless failures.

Even though his combat ability was low, his intelligence was quite high, so he was entrusted with his assistant.

Even if he was an assistant, he could only carry out her errands and chores.

There was a large scroll in the golem’s hand, and it was immediately clear who had sent it.

Adversary. The master of the Demon World and Makiela’s boss. Also, the only person who can help her.

Makiella’s expression brightened slightly as she quickly took the scroll and read its contents.

“Huh… Okay… I don’t want to die… “

Makiella, who was mumbling in a hoarse voice, quickly became immersed in her research.

With the belief that there is still a way for him to survive.

***

“My lord. I guess it’s strange.”

Kayla said to me as she looked over the horizon.

As she said, the atmosphere in the demon world was clearly uncomfortable.

The scenery of the Demon World seen across the plain.

In the distance, along with the Andrei snow mountain, a small demonic village came into view.

However, the scenery of the village was very quiet.

Even though it was not small, there was no sign of popularity and it was just quiet.

“This is…”

“It looks like everyone has left.”

It looks like they already knew we were coming and prepared for it.

But is there any reason to abandon the village and retreat?

Even if they give up the plains, is the situation for the Demon King’s army so bad that they even give up the village?

“Tyria. Could it be… “

“There is no one around.”

Before asking Tyria, Erina spoke first.

No matter how sensitive Tyria is to her senses, isn’t she worse than Erina?

But Tyria quietly closed her eyes and opened her mouth.

“There is a monster very far away. “I’m not sure about the number, but when I heard the cries, it was at least one animal.”

“…”

“But I think it’ll be okay because the distance is far.”

A faraway place that cannot be seen with the naked eye.

In the quiet plain, Tyria recognized the cries of a monster.

Then Erina lowered her voice and opened her mouth.

“…I knew it too.”

“Okay. Still, it’s very far away, so let’s ignore it for now.”

Since the purpose was reconnaissance, there was no reason to go and fight enemies far away.

However, if you enter the center of the demon world, the story will be different.

Erina glared at Tyria with a stinging gaze, but before that, I cut off the conversation.

“Good. “Let’s just do this and go back.”

The final reconnaissance to conquer the demon world in earnest.

In the end, the main unit of the Demon King’s army did not appear.

‘Could it be that their destination was discovered?’

In fact, it was predictable enough from the Demon King’s point of view.

The only remaining blade of the Four Great Blades, Makiella.

The devil would have prepared well to protect her.

“Seohyun. Is it okay if I tell you honestly?”

“Okay.”

As I nodded, Kayla explained in a calm voice.

“There is a possibility that the Demon King’s army has noticed our operation. There is a strong possibility that there is an ambush at Makiela’s residence.”

“I know. So what do you think should be done?”

“How about we step back first and then take a closer look at the movements of the Demon King’s army?”

Kayla carefully gave advice based on her thoughts.

What she said made sense. There was no reason to take the risk and face the devil’s army.

But I didn’t have many options.

Since I came to the Demon World in the first place, I was prepared to fight head-on with the Demon King’s army.

As long as I had knowledge of the demon world in my head, I could predict where my enemies would ambush me.

There was no problem as long as we stayed alert, moved forward, and cleared only the main ambushes.

‘The best way is to assassinate without being detected.’

The Demon King’s army must have sensed this and was concentrating on defense.

“I have no intention of recklessly jumping into enemy territory, but I also have no intention of just standing still.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Even if we encounter the main force of the Demon King’s army, I think it’s worth it for us.”

It was definitely possible if Catalina, including us, joined in.

Didn’t we kill most of the enemies while facing the Spirit King in the central battlefield?

I didn’t think it was a reckless operation.

“I understand. I will do my best.”

Kayla also followed my words without saying any more.

I was grateful for the advice, but in the end, my decision was more important.

“Everyone, let’s end this and go back.”

On the way back after completing reconnaissance.

Erina was quietly glaring at Tyria.

Some people may think they didn’t catch me.

He lightly hit her on the head and stopped her.

“…I didn’t do anything.”

He protested in a low voice, but he seemed to have noticed and looked away.

Then, Tyria’s uncomfortable expression eased a little.

Since coming to the Demon World, Erina’s behavior has decreased significantly.

In fact, Catalina, not Erina, is causing more accidents.

But it’s not that he looks discouraged or depressed.

It seemed like he was just quietly refraining from acting and watching others.

‘I’m sure they’re not planning something.’

Erina looks at her colleagues hostilely, but she just stays calm because I am there.

If she gets out of my hands, she might cause harm to her colleagues.

“Erina.”

“Yes…?”

“Maybe we can defeat the demon lord soon.”

Erina is quietly listening to the story.

Likewise, my colleagues also listened to me.

“What do you want to do after killing the Demon King?”

Erina couldn’t open her mouth to my question.

While I was thinking for a while about how to answer.

Kayla was watching with anxious eyes.

“I want to be with Seohyun. Other than that, I don’t know.”

The answer is a bit far from the question.

But Erina didn’t answer any more.

Do you really think you don’t know? Or am I being reticent?

The reason why the protagonist wanted to subdue the devil was simple.

Revenge on family. However, as the latter part progressed, the purpose became vague.

This may be due to the lack of completion in the second half, but the main story was not highlighted to allow for a high degree of freedom.

Therefore, I had no idea what Erina was thinking.

“Then.”

“Huh?”

“If you were to subdue the demon lord, would you want to do it?”

The question came back in reverse. Unlike her, my answer was firm.

“I want to be with you too.”

“…Really?”

“Okay. It doesn’t matter whether you stay in the capital or settle down somewhere else. “I just need to be with you.”

Of course, this applies not only to Erina but also to Kayla.

And I also wanted to have Celica and Tyria together if possible.

Tyria may want to return to her hometown, and Serica may also want independence with her children.

Still, the two could be together as much as they wanted.

But to Erina, those words are nothing short of disgusting.

I couldn’t even say the last part and kept my mouth shut.

“Is that so…”

But Erina didn’t look very bright.

I just silently listened and showed no reaction.

If it had been before, I would have smiled with joy.

Maybe Erina noticed too.

‘It’s strange that I don’t know anything anymore.’

From the beginning, I said several times that I wanted to be with Kayla.

As silence settled in for a moment, Tyria quietly came next to me.

He must have been listening to our conversation.

I felt burdened when their eyes turned to me with a subtle look.

“…Fall.”

When Erina gave him a cold look, he seemed to be discouraged and withdrew his gaze, but the distance remained the same.

‘Looking at it, it doesn’t look like I’ll be going back to my hometown.’