episode_0136

Western Front, Day 5. With only two days left until our return to the academy, we stepped into the entrance of the Demon Realm. In this endless, pitch-black forest, monsters mutated by demonic energy reside.

“600 years ago, the Dark Cult opened a rift here and summoned the destructive demonic beast, Behemoth. The Church of Light dispatched seven Paladins to subjugate it. Three Paladins lost their lives as a result. The Demon Realm is a place that arose in the aftermath.” As Cedric said, a great battle took place here. And what Abel must obtain is the legacy of those Paladins who lost their lives. Today, a monster wave will occur here.

“Our goal is to explore the entrance. The monsters that appear aren’t very high-level, so there’s no need to be too nervous. Of course, you shouldn’t let your guard down either. Now, let’s proceed carefully.” Cedric, offering light advice, navigated through the Demon Realm with the familiarity of a veteran.

Time flew quickly. In the Demon Realm, covered entirely by black trees, the sun wasn’t properly visible, making it impossible to maintain a normal sense of time. They could only tell the time using the watches they had brought, taking occasional breaks. They had just finished lunch.

ROAR! A roar that sent shivers through their entire bodies echoed throughout the Demon Realm. It was akin to Dragon Fear. As everyone looked around in panic, Cedric, quickly grasping the situation, commanded.

“We’re leaving the Demon Realm immediately!” “Now?” “Yes. This isn’t a normal situation. Hurry!” Just as he said, immediately after the roar spread, the presence in the Demon Realm became extremely agitated. The entire forest swayed as if it were a living creature. Everyone seemed to feel an unprecedented unease, and without further argument, they swiftly followed Cedric’s command.

About five minutes later. SCREECH! Goblins with striking black skin blocked their path. These creatures, corrupted by demonic energy, boasted five or six times the strength of regular goblins. Of course, they still couldn’t overcome the limits of their species.

“Goblin horde ahead! Change formation to a wedge! We’re breaking through quickly!” At Cedric’s shout, with him at the lead, Isis took the left flank, Veronica the right, and the rest followed behind. A moment later, they clashed with the goblins.

CRUNCH! “SCREEE!” “GEH-GEH!” A spray of blood erupted. The goblins, impaled by the swirling blades, had their lives snuffed out in an instant. Even those who narrowly escaped dared not throw themselves back into the fray after witnessing the sight. They easily pierced through the goblins. But it was still too early to feel relieved. No matter how much they were mutated by demonic energy, they were still just goblins. It would be a long time until they escaped the Demon Realm, and the fighting would continue until then.

As expected, the monsters rushing towards them became more numerous, eventually becoming difficult to handle. It wasn’t simply because the creatures were powerful. It was because as soon as one group was dealt with, another immediately filled their place. It was as if the monsters were being controlled by someone; they never fought among themselves and relentlessly targeted only them.

It was then. ROAR! A powerful roar from behind, accompanied by a chilling killing intent, tickled the back of their necks. Simultaneously, Isis leapt forward. CRASH! The ogre that burst from the forest and Isis’s spear clashed. Both bounced back, entering a standoff.

Isis, without taking her eyes off the ogre, spoke to them. “Everyone, go on ahead! I’ll take care of the ogre and catch up quickly.” “What? No! It’s better if we fight together—” “That’s exactly what we can’t do! Please go! You’re the squad leader-nim!”

Sacrificing the few to save the many. In a way, it was a terrible thing to say, but with the person concerned speaking like this, Cedric had no grounds to refuse. He bit his lip hard and nodded. “…Understood. As soon as you defeat the ogre, follow right away. I’ll leave a trail.” “Yes. Hurry.” “I’m sorry. And thank you.” Cedric, leaving both an apology and gratitude, shouted to them as if spitting blood.

“Everyone, move out! We must get out of here as quickly as possible!” “Squad leader-nim. But!” “Hurry! Do you intend to make Isis squad member’s sacrifice in vain?!”

The extras swallowed their tears. I watched them indifferently, then turned my head, and my eyes met Isis’s. *Ruan. Don’t be stubborn and go on ahead. Understood?* Her eyes were overflowing with regret. At that unspoken expression of wanting to be with me a little longer, I grinned.

“I’ll stay too.” “I’ll stay as well.” As soon as I took a step forward and spoke, Regina did the same. Simultaneously, their gazes turned to each other, and their eyes naturally met. “……” “……”

As silence flowed, Isis and Cedric protested their decision. “Ruan! Regina-nim! You can’t do that! I can’t allow it! Please go!” “That’s right! This is an order! Follow immediately!” We, who had been glaring fiercely at each other, turned our heads, realizing this was not the time to fight.

“I’ll disobey the order. After all, I’m a scoundrel, so I don’t care what my evaluation turns out to be.” “Ah, no, what are you even—” “Squad leader-nim? I’m not staying behind to die with her. The three of us will be able to defeat the ogre and escape the Demon Realm. So please, go ahead.” Cedric, seemingly realizing that persuasion wouldn’t work with their stubborn attitude, let out a sigh.

In that moment, I urged the hesitant Abel. *You come here too.* *Huh? Uh, what?* *Are you going to abandon your friend? Hurry and come this way.* Originally, the plan was for him to leave with everyone else and only turn back at the very end, but now too much had changed from the game. Since the two of them had decided to help, there was a chance that he might leave feeling relieved. To minimize variables, I had to directly pull him in.

Abel carefully raised his hand. “I’ll stay too.” “No, even you, Abel squad member?” “Yes. I can’t abandon my friend.” Abel stood beside me. Cedric clutched his forehead, then realizing there was no time for such a luxury, he turned his back.

“Please, come back. I beg you.” They left, their faces filled with guilt. Was it waiting for that very moment? ROAR! The ogre, which had been wary of Isis, threw a punch with a mighty roar.

“Not so fast!” Abel blocked its path. CRASH! The fist struck the shield. Abel’s body swayed once from the violent impact but quickly regained its firm balance. It was far more stable than in Berndia Forest. Despite only a week having passed, his experience on the Western Front had made him grow. It was truly an incredible growth rate.

I admired him subtly, while also seizing the opportunity to close in from both sides with Isis. I leapt from its blind spot and struck the back of its knee. THWACK! The ogre’s knee naturally buckled, making it lose balance and increasing its opening. In my current state, without using Declaration of Rape or Avatarization, I couldn’t deal damage to the ogre, so assisting in this manner was the wise choice.

As I intended, Isis deftly kicked off its body, leaping up, then plunged her spear into its shoulder. THWUCK! The reinforced energy pierced even its tough skin. “KRAAAAH!” The ogre shrieked in pain. But it should have remained calm. If it had, an arrow wouldn’t have embedded itself in its open mouth. BOOM! The flaming arrow exploded inside its mouth, burning its oral cavity. Smoke billowed from its mouth. “Kuh… uh…” The ogre groaned and staggered, then finally collapsed.

Just as they were about to deliver the finishing blow. CRACK! CRACKLE! CRUNCH! Trees around them broke and fell, revealing three Cyclopes. Individually, their strength couldn’t match an ogre, but unlike ogres, Cyclopes lived in groups, making them incredibly troublesome. Isis immediately shouted. “Run!”

Then, with her pushing me and Abel, we turned our backs without further argument. We fled, following the trail Cedric had left. ROAR! The Cyclopes glanced at the fallen ogre, then began chasing us.

“What the hell are those bastards? Why aren’t they fighting each other?!” Regina erupted in frustration, continuously firing arrows to hinder the Cyclopes. Matching my and Abel’s speed, she actually had energy to spare. Of course, that wasn’t a positive thing.

Although the Cyclopes were slowly losing ground, the commotion kept attracting more monsters. Eventually, they found themselves in a situation where they were unilaterally being chased. Because of them, the trail Cedric had left grew faint, and they often had to detour around monsters waiting along the path, making their sense of direction go awry.

While fleeing, not knowing where they were headed, I discovered a familiar terrain. ‘There it is.’ A strangely sunken ground, lower than its surroundings. It looked fine on the surface, but it was hollow inside, making it very unstable. Too unstable to ever support the weight of the monsters chasing them.

“This way!” I led the group there. Finally, as they stepped onto the ground, and the monsters’ weight converged simultaneously. CRUMBLE! The ground collapsed.

“Isis. Look out!” “Ah! Ruan! Grab my hand!” “Aaaah!” Each member of the group displayed their unique personalities. Regina single-mindedly showed concern for Isis, while Isis didn’t even glance at Regina, extending her hand to me instead. And Abel simply screamed as he was swallowed by the hole. Looking at the abyss-like hole, I felt both the fear of death and a sense of relief.

After that, they fell for a long time. During the descent, they tried to find ways to stop their fall, such as embedding their weapons into the walls, but unfortunately, the ground here wasn’t firm enough to support them. However, fortunately, what greeted them at the bottom wasn’t solid ground.

“Everyone, watch out! It’s water!” Immediately after Isis’s warning, cold water enveloped their entire bodies. I, who had foresightedly activated my protective gear, expertly thrashed my limbs and surfaced as soon as the initial shock subsided.

“Puh-ha!” Gasping for air, I searched for my companions. “Is everyone alright?” As soon as I asked, bubbles bubbled up nearby, and my companions appeared. Isis, seeing me, let out a sigh of relief and pointed to one side. “That looks like solid ground. Let’s head up first.”

We followed Isis and climbed out onto dry land. As we stepped onto the ground, we finally had the leisure to properly look around.

“Where are we?” “Hmm. I don’t know either. Regina-nim, do you have any ideas?” “No, not at all. But it doesn’t look like a naturally formed cave. How about we just go forward for now? If there’s a path, maybe there’s an exit? Above… it looks too high to logically get out.”

At her words, I looked up and saw the sky existing far, far above. It was definitely impossible to climb that high. Isis seemed to think the same, nodding her head and pulling an extra spear from her spatial pouch, gripping it.

“There’s no other choice. Then let’s explore this cave first.” “Be careful. I can feel powerful demonic energy from within.” Having agreed, we formed a formation and proceeded along the path. It was the start of a dungeon crawl.