episode_0111

The day was dawning.

A purplish-blue hue rose in the sky.

As she gazed at it, Erme was overcome by a strange sense of emotion.

‘I’ve prepared thoroughly.’

Just how much had she prepared for the day soon to come?

She had saved many people.

In turn, she had also made many enemies.

But above all, she had secured even more talented individuals.

‘It’s about to begin.’

The day those bastards arrive.

The Demon King’s army and the Abyss King will begin to stir.

The chaos that will engulf the world will make Azazel’s movements—something the Guild Master and Vulcan had so fiercely guarded against—seem trivial in comparison.

And then—

Erme quietly prayed.

Though she did not believe in gods.

It was a fervent wish—to protect those dear to her.

I stared blankly at Lucia.

Lucia’s face was flushed red, her pupils trembling.

“We’re in this kind of relationship.”

Though she had declared it boldly,

her voice wavered endlessly.

“Wow… To think she’d show such a girly side.”

“It feels like just yesterday she was bathing in the blood of hundreds of monsters.”

“……”

From the side, where they had been watching with keen interest, came an intense reaction.

Even if they had kissed, it was more of a peck—hardly something to get worked up over.

‘…Am I getting old?’

The thought crossed my mind in all seriousness.

It felt nice, sure, but that was all.

It wasn’t like the old days, where my heart would’ve been ready to leap out of my chest.

Maybe I was the calmest one in this space right now.

‘Still.’

I glanced at Chloe.

Her expression was filled with resentment as she glared at Lucia.

With eyes that looked as if she had just met the murderer of her parents.

Chloe stared at her.

“Got a problem?”

Lucia’s voice was now composed as she spoke.

-She looks like she’s got a whole lot of problems, though.

‘Well, whatever.’

It was a bit sudden.

And it could cause unnecessary misunderstandings. Not that I cared, but it might mess with Lucia’s reputation.

Still.

‘Right now, the real issue is dealing with that Racter guy or whatever his name is.’

I turned my gaze to Racter.

His expression looked oddly… liberated.

“So, you two are dating?”

“Yeah.”

“But you’ve got a fiancé, don’t you?”

“I never really cared for that arrangement… The other party was the one who kept pushing for the annulment while getting cozy with someone else.”

“‘Getting cozy’? Racter just helped me because I was being treated unfairly.”

“Hmm… Seems like Racter here had other intentions.”

“And could you watch your wording? ‘Getting cozy’? You’re making it sound like something scandalous.”

A sidelong glance.

Chloe looked at me and spoke.

At that, Lucia’s smile deepened.

“Why? Got your eye on someone?”

“It’s not like that.”

“Does your relationship with Racter bother you?”

“We’re not like that.”

“……”

At Chloe’s words, the man called Racter glared at me like he wanted to kill me.

Why the hell is he mad at me?

I stared back in disbelief.

Then, my senses picked up on something.

But it felt different from anything else.

Creeping.

Something viscous, slithering closer.

Unlike the presence of the labyrinth.

Unlike any power I had ever felt before.

Like mold—

A bizarre, corrupting force that clung to everything, threatening to rot it all away.

-…The Entity of Decay?

The Holy Sword muttered in a dazed voice.

It seemed to know something.

What that thing was.

‘The Entity of Decay, huh.’

Not exactly a pleasant name.

More than that—

‘It’s ominous.’

Just sensing it was enough to feel an overwhelming dread.

Frowning, I stood up.

Fortunately, Vulcan and the Black Netherblade were here.

As I rose, I sharpened my senses.

Crackling purple lightning began to flicker around me.

“W-what?! You picking a fight?!”

Ignoring Racter’s nonsense, I headed outside.

‘It’s well-hidden.’

But since I could sense it,

others must have felt it too.

I looked at Chloe.

So this is what a protagonist brings.

The moment she appeared, this happens.

‘Can’t help but sigh.’

This is why you stay away from protagonists.

The second they show up, trouble follows.

“Something’s happening, isn’t it?”

“…I feel an unusual presence.”

Vulcan wore an uncharacteristically serious expression.

Beside him, the Black Netherblade nodded grimly, sword drawn, scanning the surroundings.

“I’ll stick with Yuseong.”

“Fine. I should probably check in with the others.”

“I’ll patrol the guild area.”

Everyone moved to their assigned positions.

I glanced around briefly before looking back at Chloe.

‘I don’t know what’s coming yet.’

I don’t particularly want to protect her.

She insulted Lucia, after all.

But.

If she dies, I’ll probably end up burdened with unnecessary guilt.

‘More than anything, the System hid it, and that guy took notice.’

Every little thing about this is irritating.

So.

‘For now, keep her close.’

That’s the right call.

So—

“Huh?!”

I grabbed Chloe by the scruff of her neck.

Then I looked at Racter.

I didn’t feel like protecting him.

“We’ll handle her. You’re on your own.”

With that, I tightened my grip on Chloe’s neck and kicked off the ground.

“Why did you bring her?”

Keeping pace with me, Lucia asked in a guarded tone.

‘Because she’s a problem.’

But even someone as dense as me knew saying that would only cause trouble.

After a brief struggle, I settled on something plausible.

“…Bad feeling.”

“A… bad feeling?”

Lucia gave me a strange look before nodding and moving ahead.

“Bad feeling?”

Soyeonhwa, who had appeared beside me at some point, asked.

I nodded.

It wasn’t so much a bad feeling as it was irritation, but—

At my response, Soyeonhwa nodded expressionlessly.

“But why move so suddenly?”

“Something felt off.”

“Felt off…?”

As she questioned me, Soyeonhwa suddenly whipped around.

“…What is that?”

Her voice was dazed as she stared blankly.

Lucia, now curious, turned to look as well.

And then—

Splurch.

From empty air, something dark red speared out.

Like a long, jagged awl—

It pierced through the void.

Drip.

Black blood oozed out in thick rivulets.

And within the tear—only an abyssal darkness could be seen.

“…This doesn’t look good.”

Lucia narrowed her eyes at the sight.

“Eek!”

Chloe let out a small scream.

I frowned, watching it all unfold.

-The Entity of Decay. The Corruptor. Or the Prince of Decay. It has many names… That thing is its subordinate. It consumes all around it, rotting everything until no life can survive.

‘This is way too sudden.’

-Understandable. It rarely shows itself.

The Holy Sword spoke quietly, its voice tinged with faint fear.

Ding.

As the Holy Sword finished, a blue window appeared before me.

[Main Quest—Chapter 3.]

You have encountered the Demon King’s underlings.

He has yet to regain his strength after his battle with the First Hero.

His minions have invaded to restore his authority. Stop them!

Reward: ???

Failure: No penalty.

I let out a sigh.

“The Demon King’s underlings, huh.”

Of course. Being near the protagonist was always dangerous.

The Demon King.

Tales of his existence had persisted for ages.

The Hero.

The First Hero had seen something before the Demon King and made a contract with the goddess.

After that, the Demon King began to appear.

Humanity and the so-called “other races” were slowly pushed back.

The four divine relics bestowed by the goddess.

And the heroes chosen by them.

They drove back the Demon King’s forces.

And thus, peace began to return to humanity.

Periodically, the Demon King would reappear.

And during that time, the labyrinth emerged, drastically accelerating humanity’s growth.

Now, a thousand years had passed since the labyrinth’s appearance.

And roughly the same amount of time since the Demon King vanished.

“That’s why scholars and theorists started saying the labyrinth might be the Demon King’s doing.”

Chloe quickly explained to me.

So that’s how it was.

As an outsider who fell into this world, my knowledge was naturally limited.

But based on what I did know—

‘The Holy Sword mentioned it.’

Those things were beasts meant to bring humanity’s ruin.

The First Hero saw them and realized they couldn’t be defeated.

So he struck a deal with the goddess to prevent their invasion.

And the Demon King was like an apostle they sent.

“If they’re the Demon King’s underlings… this unsettling feeling makes sense.”

“The Demon King wasn’t a lie?”

Lucia and Soyeonhwa responded differently.

Lucia spoke cautiously.

Soyeonhwa sounded like a child who’d just learned Santa wasn’t real.

“A lie… Well, I can see why you’d think that. The Demon King always felt like a myth.”

“He was said to exist, but he never actually invaded.”

As I answered Lucia, I drew the Thunder Dragon Sword.

The things emerging from the void were the Demon King’s minions.

And they looked like grotesque insects.

‘…What the hell is that?’

My archer-enhanced vision clearly showed their forms.

Already disgusting, but with parts of their bodies melted or covered in mold—it was downright horrifying.

‘Do they always look like that?’

-Most of the Prince of Decay’s underlings look like that. Either partially melted or swarming with insects.

‘……’

I really don’t want to deal with this.

The problem was, they’d already noticed us.

And countless swarms were heading this way.

“Disgusting.”

“You just stay back and watch.”

I said to Chloe.

Meanwhile, Lucia’s hair and eyes began turning crimson.

Drip.

A sphere of blood formed from thin air,

encasing Chloe in a protective barrier.

“I didn’t want to use this in front of Yuseong because it’s gross.”

“It is gross.”

“I know, so could you shut up?”

Lucia grumbled at Soyeonhwa’s remark before turning away.

“I’ll go first.”

Soyeonhwa extended her sword.

The black blade hummed before unleashing a wave of dark energy, forming a sphere.

“Cloud-Severing Black Sword.”

A storm of blades shredded through the insect swarm.

I quietly raised the Thunder Dragon Sword.

They were here to restore the Demon King’s authority.

Meaning there had to be someone controlling them.

‘With Vulcan and the Black Netherblade nearby…’

Maybe we can draw that thing’s attention and figure something out.

“Kuhahahaha! At last, the Demon King’s era dawns!”

A powerful presence manifested before us.

“Ugh.”

“……”

The moment it appeared, Soyeonhwa and Lucia recoiled.

Their faces twisted in disgust.

And for good reason.

Cloaked in robes, its form was barely visible.

But what little could be seen was horrifying.

“Do you find me repulsive as well?”

A gloomy voice.

I studied the creature.

Charcoal-black skin—not dark, but burned, ashen and withered.

Its body was emaciated.

Where its eyes should have been were only hollow pits.

If it were just normally disgusting, those two wouldn’t have reacted like this.

‘This is next-level repulsive.’

Honestly, I’m impressed they only flinched. I calmly prepared myself.

“No matter. Today is a joyous day. So I shall feed your flesh to the maggots—”

I stepped forward.

Crack—

Purple lightning erupted from my sword. Fighting spirit and demonic energy surged, unleashing thunder.

Heat and the scent of plum blossoms filled the air.

‘Flash Step.’

A movement that closed the distance in an instant.

“Here’s your—”

The enemy’s eyes widened.

The black maggots in its sockets pulsed with an eerie light.

But I was faster.

Slice.

The creature’s head flew into the air, its expression frozen in shock.