Chapter 31: Hellheim – 2

A woman approached with a gentle voice and soft demeanour, appealing as if she had no enemies.

Revealing herself, she went by the name of Hela.

Calming down three beasts that were growling at me with just a word, she approached me and began stroking the creatures, saying:

“Rift Laesir.”

It was a word I had never heard before.

It might be natural, given that this place was a world I had never seen or heard of, but the title she used to address me seemed oddly familiar.

Like an instinctual intuition.

But precisely because of that, I couldn’t ignore the sense of unease I felt now.

“Hmm, don’t want to reveal your name?”

Hela, who had just asked for my name, narrowed her eyes with a hint of annoyance.

Although I still didn’t feel any enmity from her, I could clearly sense a hint of irritation mixed in her demeanour.

Revealing my identity to a mysterious hostess and the possibility of her attacking me if her mood soured.

After quickly calculating in my mind, I chose the path with fewer risks.

“My name is Seong Yujin.”

“Oh, I see.”

As I honestly revealed my name, Hela, who had been slightly annoyed, burst into a smile, erasing all signs of irritation from her expression.

What I said was my real name.

Instinct was shouting at me not to lie in front of her.

And I realized the correctness of my judgment in the very next moment.

“However, you seem to be quite guarded. Even though you are safer by my side than anywhere else, you wear round clothes without letting your guard down.”

“…!”

Her narrowed gaze turned towards me.

Round clothes.

I wasn’t a fool to not know what that word implied.

However she managed it, Hela saw through my barrier that I had laid out.

‘Certainly not an ordinary person.’

Cold sweat ran down my back.

Swallowing hard out of tension, I chuckled as Hela, with a smile, waved her hand in the air.

Thud-.

A shock so intense that my eyes widened for a moment shook the barrier.

The detection barrier screamed to inform me of the recent situation, but even without such information, I could understand what had happened.

‘A forced destruction by magic.’

The most brutish and classical method of breaking a barrier spell.

It involved colliding a heavy and powerful lump of magic against the barrier or causing it to explode internally, damaging the structure of the barrier.

“Um…? This is quite surprising.”

However, my barrier did not yield to such a classical method easily.

Even the S-rank high barrier magic, would have given the top hunters a hard time breaking through.

And the EX-rank barrier magic, which was even higher than that, boasted an ironclad durability.

“It’s not something I did intentionally.”

Hela’s expression, tinged with surprise, changed to astonishment, and with lips that were trembling a moment ago, she offered an apology to me.

But the next moment, she warned me like a caution.

“However, I don’t particularly like people putting up barriers in my palace. Will you take down the barrier?”

“…Understood.”

Nodding obediently, I dismantled all my barriers.

It was a very risky move, but there was no other choice.

Hela’s magic, which she had unleashed to break my barrier, far surpassed my imagination.

If she had used that magic not to break the barrier, but to break my body…

‘I don’t even want to imagine.’

Because of the brute strength of the defense barrier, although it wouldn’t result in instant death, it would become increasingly difficult to offer any meaningful resistance.

If she decided to use her magic deliberately, the barrier would gradually weaken and eventually shatter.

When the barrier was broken or my magic ran out, I would never be able to escape death.

So I took down the barrier.

“Thank you.”

With a faint smile, Hela nodded her head and gestured for the guard dogs to retreat.

Returning to where they were originally and starting to guard the stairs again, I followed Hela, who was walking ahead, sharpening my senses more than usual, guarding the surroundings and following her closely.

“Although it’s a desolate world, I think you won’t be bored here as long as you spend time in my palace. My chefs have prepared a grand feast for you.”

Suddenly asking me to follow after attempting to break the barrier.

Although she had approached me in a friendly manner from the beginning, her intentions were hard to discern, so I couldn’t easily relax my guard.

As I followed behind Hela, sharpening my senses more than usual, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease, realizing that I was more cautious than ever before.

I nodded in agreement to Hela’s words, describing the lavishly decorated hallway and the various artworks as she led the way.

Indeed, the interior of the palace we entered was as magnificent as she described.

After a few minutes, we finally reached a massive door at the end of the long corridor.

“This is the banquet hall. Let’s discuss in detail while we dine, as you must be tired from walking.”

Hela said with a smile.

As she extended her arm towards the door, the gigantic door, easily towering five meters high, opened automatically.

The sight inside the banquet hall, revealed through the wide-open door, was truly overwhelming in its grandeur.

“Come in. We have prepared a feast fit for a guest like you.”

She gestured.

Entranced, I followed her into the banquet hall, where the aroma of delicious food and fragrant wine tickled my nostrils.

As I looked around, I saw a sumptuous spread of Western delicacies, including herb-infused buttered steak, tomato salad with cheese, bread with sweet fruit jam, honeyed milk, and rich wine.

It was a feast that anyone would enjoy without hesitation.

“Please, have a seat. This feast is prepared solely for you.”

Hela said.

“Thank you.”

We sat facing each other at the round table adorned with a snowy-white tablecloth.

The servants, with their impeccable faces, placed each dish on the table, one by one.

The maid expertly cut the bread and meat into bite-sized pieces, while the butler poured wine into glasses, filling them just over half.

“Enjoy your meal, Gangelrot, Gangelati. Well done.”

Hela smiled, and only then did the two servers leave, seemingly satisfied.

“It looks like a delicious feast.”

I remarked.

“Didn’t I tell you? We’ve prepared it to welcome our esteemed guest.”

She replied.

Our esteemed guest.

What exactly was my role in her eyes?

The title she used when we first met, Rift Laesir.

Perhaps there was a deeper meaning behind it, explaining why she lavished such treatment upon me.

“Go ahead. Food loses its flavor as it cools, and wine begins to spoil the moment it’s uncorked.”

She added, reassuringly.

Then, she took a sip of wine and a bite of meat.

Her demeanor was strange, almost alluring, and the food that disappeared into her mouth seemed tantalizingly appetizing.

I wanted to eat this food.

I wanted to quench my thirst with this wine.

Such desires suddenly welled up within me.

“After all, it’s prepared for me, right…? Would it be okay to eat it?”

I reached for the fork neatly placed beside the plate.

As if urging me to eat quickly, Hela’s gaze, curved like a crescent moon, bore into me.

Thunk…

I picked up the steak.

The savoury aroma of butter and the flavour of the meat teased my senses.

I raised the fork with the meat.

My arm and shoulder rotated effortlessly as I brought the meat to my mouth.

‘Ah…’

I was sure it would taste delicious once I put it in my mouth.

My mind urged me to eat it quickly.

But.

“Why do you stop with the fork against your lips?”

Hela’s voice interrupted.

Instinct told me not to.

My arm stiffened, and my lips, touching the meat, refused to open.

“Why hesitate with the fork against your lips?”

My instincts screamed at me not to eat.

With a sudden jolt, strength surged into my left hand, which wasn’t holding the fork.

Crack!

“What…!”

As if clutching a fist, the space warped and tore away.

The walls of the banquet hall bent like clay, and the ground, like shaken jelly, swayed.

Caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, even I was frozen in shock.

Before I could grasp what I had done, the notifications from the status screen continued to stack up in front of my trembling eyes.

[Sovereignty of Otherworld (EX)]

[Stats significantly increase in the otherworld!]

[Sovereignty of Otherworld (EX) manipulates the illusionary space!”

Judging by the contents of the notifications, this place was not reality but another world.

Even amid the surprise, my mind cleared, and my body felt relieved.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Repetitive notification sounds filled the air, overshadowing my vision, as the status screen continued to unfold before me.

[Willpower stat has increased!]

[Willpower resists the illusion of Hellheim!]

[Willpower stat has increased!]

[Willpower resists the illusion of Hellheim!]

[Willpower stat has increased!]

[Willpower resists the illusion of Hellheim!]

For how long had my willpower stats been increasing, and my heightened mental state been resisting repeated psychic attacks?

“Why didn’t I notice such a drastic change until now…?”

That answer was delivered coldly through Hela’s frozen expression.