Shlen Canyon (2)

* * *

, “Tch. That’s not even funny.”

Prukaise scoffed at the group of only four people. Even so, his face remained blank, as he had not only directly experienced the attack but had been so miserably defeated that only his head remained.

, “…I’ve finished analyzing the method they used, so we should be fine. …Probably.”

Prukaise seemed uneasy despite Pawin’s words, his eyes darting around. Then, his gaze flicked towards me. I projected an air of composure with a look that pierced through the mask.

, “Well, with that magician-nim alone, there’s nothing to fear.”

Nothing to fear, he says.

, “If there’s a problem, it might be the food. I can create drinking water, but…”

, “If you bring food from above here, it’ll all rot.”

, “Then?”

, “We’ll have to procure it locally.”

Procure it locally, huh. But I heard there are only weeds that look poisonous, monsters, and Demons here.

, “You’re saying we’re going to eat the meat of unidentifiable creatures?”

, “Yeah. It’s rotten meat swarming with bugs, but you can eat it if you purify it.”

At that, he made a rare displeased expression.

‘Magi… Come to think of it, magic is also a problem.’

I am a semi-spiritual body. I live by solving everything through Mana. But this place… only has rotten Magi and contaminated Mana.

‘If I want to operate here long-term, I need to change my Mana usage.’

All unconscious formulas related to physiological activities are sealed. It’s safer to directly absorb purified energy from the outside. In other words, I have to eat. Prukaise will purify the Magi for me.

Also, magic should be used minimally. Randomly sucking up Mana is also forbidden. I can only absorb it through my own purification formula.

It was like… being conscious of breathing. I could clearly feel my saliva being swallowed, and the sound of my breath was annoying. That was my state.

, “…If you boil it, it’s edible in its own way.”

Pawin, who had visited Shuren Gorge several times, nodded. And Shuriel’s face contorted. He frowned at Prukaise.

, “I’d rather cut out my tongue than eat that.”

, “Complaining like that won’t change anything. Starve if you want.”

According to Prukaise, Shuriel had starved for ten days in the backwoods before. Because it didn’t taste good. That was the only reason.

‘If human meat was okay, I’d cut off my limbs.’

It seemed like a pretty good idea, but I kept it to myself. Human meat for those who serve God and protect humans? It was truly depraved and exciting….

, “Is your eye okay?”

Prukaise said abruptly. I squinted at him, narrowing my right eye. My gaze was filled with annoyance, but he replied nonchalantly.

, “We all know. That the Demon King is dwelling in your eye. Did you think Pawin and Shuriel wouldn’t notice?”

, “…It’s just a thought. Don’t say ominous things.”

, “What. So you know you’ve been caught. Anyway.”

I fiddled with my left eye and replied.

, “I can handle it. Rather than painful… it’s comfortable. It feels like I’ve come home. My body is languid, and my mood is… um. Good. Yes.”

, “Good? That’s?”

, “Ah.”

I made a slip of the tongue. Damn it. Honestly, I did feel good. My body was tingling, like I was constantly in heat.

‘…Can I endure it?’

Given the nature of Pandelmonium, where you can’t see an inch ahead, we’ll probably be sticking together… there was no way to secretly release my desires. I can’t just put the eye in and take it out, and I don’t know what will happen if I release the seal on the eye now.

‘Going to Pandelmonium while afflicted by inner demons is crazy.’

It’s the perfect environment to be eroded.

That’s why Prukaise was showing reluctance, and Shuriel was becoming anxious.

More than I imagined. I was doing something crazy. A dangerous gamble where I could be completely eroded. I bet everything on a flowery plan that I believed wouldn’t lose to love and friendship.

‘It’s all my greed.’

Literally, this entire journey was driven by greed. The moment I sensed the Magi, I should have returned to receive continuous purification, but instead, I’m going to the land of Demons?

Separately, the biggest problem is the cause of the inner demons. The fear of separation. The more I’m separated from Shuriel, the stronger my obsession becomes, and the deeper the inner demons grow. I need to separate before the obsession gets worse, or…

Even so-even though my reason has organized all the situations and derived the best outcome. A clear fear remains deep in my heart.

* * *

, “The humans are moving. Pack your things!”

, “Suddenly? Why?”

, “-Because Rakner is dead, you idiot!!”

The Demon of Wrath, Deraize, roared, spewing fire from her mouth. She glared at the stupid subordinate in front of her, but soon her gaze wandered, only to stare at the lava-boiling floor.

Pandelmonium was in chaos. It wasn’t just because Amon, the Demon of Disease and Decay, was moving.

The Demons were running away.

From the war.

The Demon legion led by Deraize was a rebel force that had fled from the war. At least, they wanted to believe that. They didn’t want to believe they were cowards who had fled in fear.

It was extremely rare for ‘Demons’ to choose to ‘gather,’ but it was different when oppression and threats occurred simultaneously. As a race that prioritizes desire above all else, it was to fight for the freedom that was the basis of that desire.

But the great misfortune was that the strongest among the Demon legions was Deraize.

, “Shibal! Shibaal! Those bastards I’ll tear apart and grind to dust! What are we supposed to do if they’re coming from both sides!”

The law of the jungle. According to the law of survival of the fittest, the highest-ranking Demon here was the Demon of Wrath, Deraize, which meant that she also had the right to command.

-Stupid bitch.

Rakner’s whisper, destined to be beheaded in the northern plaza, lingered. Deraize raised her head, spewing fire from her eyes.

Rakner was also a stupid Demon who couldn’t overcome her maternal love and leaned on humans, but, ridiculously, many Demons were expecting it.

That she would help.

The humans.

The Demons.

Deraize also admitted that an inappropriate emotion was welling up inside her.

‘Leaning on humans because you have nothing else to lean on?’

But wrath.

More than that, wrath filled her inside.

, “Aaaaaaaaak–!!!!!!”

The wrath of the Great Demon shakes Pandelmonium. It was wrath to the point where her gray skin turned red.

, “Haa… Heu… Keueuk…”

If there’s a commonality between wrath and sorrow, it’s the silence after it subsides. And the reason that comes.

‘Amon is moving.’

That makes her grasp the reality as terribly as possible.

Deraize made her already pale skin even whiter and thought.

‘There’s no reason the humans would kill Rakner right away.’

Rakner is dead. Demons residing in Pandelmonium could feel the wave that was not felt.

It was true that Deraize had coaxed Rakner to go to the humans, but it was unexpected that she died right away. Humans don’t kill Demons right away. She, a Demon, knows that well.

The spoils of the victor. They show off, they enjoy. They insult, they destroy. It was her own interpretation, not understanding the ideology, but the fact that a brief grace period was given was the same.

‘She wouldn’t have charged in headfirst, leaving the chicks behind.’

If she had stupidly attacked first, she might have died in battle. However, Rakner was a Demon who valued her chicks more than her own life.

‘Either way, there’s no hope….’

-Kwaduk.

Her teeth break. Deraize felt the rough sensation of the new teeth growing and shouted.

“Everyone, prepare! We’re going to the gorge!”

The thirty-two Demons led by Deraize move busily.

* * *

Three hours had passed since entering the inner part of Pandelmonium, passing through Purgatory. Even though we were going at a speed faster than a train, we still had a long way to go.

The view was clear. Unlike the foggy Purgatory, the ridgeline could be seen clearly in the distance.

I tilted my head, looking at the desolate scenery of Pandelmonium. The poisonous weeds shining under the faint blue light. The land, bumpy with grass and rocks without a single tree, looked more lively than I thought.

The sky was the same. Dozens of winged creatures were flying around, and torn blood clots and blood-red liquid fell from time to time.

The struggles of Demons trying to reach the surface. The blood and flesh spewed out by Demons torn by the barrier.

, “It’s dirty and damp.”

, “It’ll get worse from now on. Damn it. My clothes are already starting to rot.”

Just as human Mana is incompatible with Demons, things from the surface world clash with those from the underground world. This, which is regarded as a law, was not easy to resist.

, “I guess a dress was too much for this kind of path.”

I muttered, looking at the tattered dress that had become so in just a few hours of walking.

, “Since you don’t have divine power in your body, you’ll corrode even faster. Drink quickly if you don’t want to be naked.”

, “But, this is already the 12th bottle.”

, “You want to walk around naked?”

‘Shibal.’

I frowned, looking at the holy water bottle Prukaise handed me. Each bottle he handed me was excessively large, leaving me feeling full.

‘I didn’t know digestion would be this hard.’

Now that I’ve stopped all formulas related to physiological activities, I function like a normal human body. Unlike when I used to annihilate what I ate along with my stomach, I have to store it and digest it.

, “Haa….”

I received the holy water bottle, putting strength into my bulging stomach. I could force digestion, but… if I eliminate the divine power, the road ahead will be difficult.

-덜컥. Deolkeok.

I take off the mask. Hair soaked in sweat clings to my neck and shoulders, swaying. Combined with the dress that was torn and falling apart here and there, it created a rather dangerous appearance.

, “I’m sorry. I’ll drink it quickly.”

It was burdensome to death to have him put up a divine barrier and keep watch every time I drank the holy water.

If I could, I’d like to walk around naked and rebuild my muscles every time they melted…

‘…This experience isn’t so bad either.’

The real intention.

Was filthy.

-Gulp, gulp……

, “Hua, hueu…”

I trembled, shaking my legs, and drank the holy water. Each bottle seemed to be at least 700ml.

, “Ugh….”

I sat down with a pale face and covered my mouth. I felt like I was going to throw up.

, “…It’s okay, you can rest for a bit.”

Pawin approaches. I nodded, calming my dizzy head.

, “Ueu, eu… It’s like I’m having morning sickness, so I’m a little excited…”

, “…?”

, “…Please pretend you didn’t hear that.”

Damn it. I spoke as if I was talking to Shuriel.

, “It’s okay, ayo. Let’s go quickly.”

Holy water sloshed in my stomach. I took a breath, feeling a strange pressure rising from between my legs, and stretched out my foot.

‘Well, I drank at least 8 liters, so it’s about time I had a reaction.’

The road was so arduous that it was quickly discharged, but if you act like a human, there’s bound to be something that comes.

‘…I need to separate for a while.’

The minor problem was that the pleasure of physiological activity was filthy but the most primal, so it was a situation where I could go with just a little pleasure.

, “Hey.”

They stop walking side by side at my small question. They both looked at me at the same time.

, “It’s nothing much…”

I put strength into my legs and said shyly. Twisting my lower body seemed quite precarious.

Shuriel clicked his mask, implying, “Surely, you’re not in heat again?” Unfortunately, that’s not it, but, no. It is, but. The main purpose was different.

, “I think I drank too much holy water….”