episode_0044

December 23, 497 Imperial Calendar.

The laws of weather do not apply to the Magical Realm. The white snow falling from the sky visits the ground without discrimination. The sleet that piles up so gently turns the dark Magical Realm white.

“Christmas? Is there such a day in Yeon-i’s world? What kind of holiday is it?”

Selena asked. Baekryeon added an explanation, recalling a vague memory of Christmas.

“Um… It was a day to celebrate the birth of the Son of God. And everyone had a custom of giving and receiving gifts.”

“Somehow it’s romantic…”

“Right?”

In fact, regardless of its essence, I had a strong feeling that Christmas was a holiday for lovers. So Selena’s intuition that it was romantic was quite surprising.

“Now that the exploration of the Demon Realm is coming to an end… I want to give everyone a present, but I don’t have any. It’s a little late, but I definitely want to give them a Christmas present on New Year’s Day.”

They are really nice people.

Even though there was one man in the group of women who was stuck like an awl in their pocket, they always took care of him. Instead of criticizing him as a coward who was afraid of killing, they put their heads together and thought of another way.

Also, for the first time since stepping into this world, I felt a sense of belonging and stability. Ironically, the barren and poisonous realm of the devil was more comfortable than the splendid castle.

If possible, I would like to stay in the process of change.

I feel like I could become friends with Jenna and Eirin’s husbands soon. I have that feeling.

“… Thank you. While wandering around the Demon Realm, I never forgot to be grateful to Selena, Jenna, and Ayrin. ”

“Yeon-i too, don’t say anything…”

I don’t want to forget the memories of this journey.

How wonderful it would be if I could wrap up the memories of the past two years in a bundle that would protect them from oblivion and hide them in a corner of my subconscious. And whenever I feel depressed while staying in the splendid capital, I want to unwrap the bundle and reminisce about this moment.

“Yeon-iya, can I ask what the capital is like?”

“Um… There are quite a lot of people. The building is big… And, also…”

There Baekryeon was speechless.

During the two years I spent in Seongjak, I never went out even once. I just lived in the mansion, where I was clothed and fed.

I thought I shouldn’t go outside yet.

I felt that I had no freedom to enjoy freedom outside. I was supposed to save the world, but I was telling myself that laughing, making noise, and playing was pathetic.

The surroundings led Baekryeon to voluntarily wear the restraints. In this other world where he had no connections, Baekryeon, who was just an innocent boy, had no immunity to gaslighting.

I didn’t know that it was eating away at me, and it was an ongoing process.

“… I’m sorry. I don’t remember.”

“Sorry? If I were to apologize for every single thing like this, I would have to apologize every day too.”

“Selena? Why?”

“Look at the day before yesterday. I almost started a big fire while trying to catch a monster because I was too clumsy. And…”

Selena brought her lips close to Baekryeon’s ear and whispered very quietly.

“Actually, I dozed off a little bit while I was on guard duty yesterday? Seriously, really really, just for a little bit…”

“Foot, haha…”

It was Baekryeon who laughed for the first time in a long time. Selena was happy to see his laughter after such a long time.

“Are you laughing?”

“Uh… That, um…”

Baekryeon sensed the awkward atmosphere and immediately became serious. However, Selena was so surprised that she just let out a genuine laugh.

It seemed like she was starting to read Baekryeon’s mind. Selena, who had guessed his mistakes, burst into laughter.

“Ahaha, ahahaha…!”

“Selena…?”

“No, Yeon-i really… can’t read the mood in strange places?”

“Mi, sorry…”

“No need to say sorry.”

Selena brought her index finger to Baekryun’s lips.

“Yeon-i just laughed off the mistake I just mentioned, right? We’re the same. There’s no need to feel sorry for mistakes that aren’t even that kind of mistake.”

“Ah…”

“Let’s laugh together, Yeon-i. After all, tomorrow is the original world’s anniversary, right?”

Tomorrow is December 24th.

It was originally a holiday called Christmas Eve in the world. And it was also about 8 days left until the withdrawal of the Demonic Realm.

This is difficult.

I should laugh out loud like Selena said, but I feel bitter as I realize that the new year is approaching.

“Yes, I have something to ask…”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“If… This is just a case, but if I go up to the capital, will I be able to adapt?”

“Adapt and stop.”

Baekryeon rarely answered with confidence.

“Now I’m walking around the Demon Realm without any problems, so there’s no way the capital would be worse than the Demon Realm, right?”

“Ahaha… That’s right. That’s right. I guess I was stupid.”

It was a paradoxical answer. On the subject of the capital being more dangerous than the demon kingdom, he expressed the exact opposite opinion to Selena.

When Baekryeon smiled bitterly, Selena leaned forward with her upper body on her back.

“Then… Shall we go up to the capital together?”

“What?”

To Baekryeon, who couldn’t bring herself to say, “Are you serious?”, Selena spoke while twisting her snow-white hair.

“Hmm. I’ve heard rumors that the capital treats assistant wizards better, and I also want to try on a pretty dress and stuff, and, um, and, um, that’s it. That kind of stuff…”

Selena’s rambling became increasingly amusing towards the end. Perhaps that was why she was being given such empty promises.

“If you come to the capital, I’ll buy you a dress.”

“Really? You’re going to go buy it with me?”

“Of course.”

“Is it a promise?”

“Okay, I promise.”

Baekryeon held out her little finger to Selena, who kept checking.

Selena just stared blankly at the meaningless gesture. Then Baekryeon herself linked her little fingers and stamped a seal with her thumb.

“In our world, it’s like this when you make a promise.”

“Wow… This is so romantic! Yeon-i’s hometown seems to be filled with romantic things…”

Romance. It may not be an easy task to find romance in a landscape where bleak high-rise buildings obscure the mountains and rivers.

Baekryeon felt more romantic about the present, having a companion she could open her heart to, than about making a promise with her pinky.

Meanwhile, the married couple who had been following Baekryeon and Selena’s footsteps were looking at the two with pleased eyes.

“What do you think? Does it seem possible?”

“It’s ambiguous… I can bet my husband that he’ll accept my confession if I confess to him now. But I don’t think the reason he accepted my confession is because he loves Selena.”

“Well, that’s the problem…”

If it were Baekryeon, she would accept it not because of affection, but because she was happy about the favor. It would be because of her self-esteem that had been trampled on for a long time. If I were to find one major flaw in Baekryeon, it would definitely be her self-esteem that fell to the ground.

“If you can’t get over that wall, you’ll be unhappy someday…”

“I don’t know. Once you start dating, who knows if love will follow?”

“Ugh… Did I instigate you for nothing?”

“I think it’s better than regretting it for the rest of your life. That’s why my husband confessed to me.”

“I’m not curious about the love lives of married women…”

“Does that girl think I’m single?”

The front row is chatting peacefully, while the back row is busy bickering.

Either way, it was a peaceful scene.

The snowy night at eleven o’clock in the afternoon was so peaceful that it didn’t seem like a magic realm. The poisonous black earth and the forest of withered old trees were decorated with thick white snow, imitating life.

It felt like a normal walk through a winter forest.

Baekryeon raised her palm and melted the snowflakes with her body temperature. She occasionally glanced at the white fog that formed whenever she breathed.

Maybe it’s because there’s only about an hour left until Christmas Eve. Suddenly, I had the feeling that Seoul’s winter was colder than this.

The longing for home was still there.

An optical illusion occurred as if the past, which could no longer be returned to, was reflected in each and every falling snowflake like a mirror.

There are many things to see here, leaving footprints in the snow. The past that I had given up on remembering remained here and there in this forest.

“… Huh?”

At that moment, Baekryeon instinctively pushed Selena back.

“Stop, all three of you.”

The stiff voice was filled with seriousness. The two people who had been bickering fiercely immediately got into a state of war and looked around cautiously.

Selena also changed positions to the rear and stood next to Jenna, while Eirin moved to the seat next to Baekryeon.

Thud, thud.

I walk slowly. There is something ahead. Unlike the monsters I have seen so far, it is an absurdly large figure.

The body is covered in sharp, stiff hairs like thorns, enough to fill a smokescreen. The claws are as long as several layers of a greatsword, and their thickness and hardness are as thick and hard as reinforced steel bars.

Basically, creatures in the Demon Realm are created when common animals mutate or when mutants reproduce. However, the giant creature that Baekryeon witnessed was so large that it was difficult to even guess what the original creature was. It seemed that it was only possible to see it if you looked at it from a high place.

“… He’s dead.”

Eirin was shocked by Baekryun’s diagnosis.

“This is… ‘The King of Demons’.”

“Huh? Ms. Eirin, is that true?”

“That’s right. It was smaller than this the last time it was seen… But there can’t be two of these giants. It must have gotten bigger in the meantime.”

Baekryeon was immediately convinced by the title of King of Demons. He was a demon who had no choice but to reign as a king. With a body size of this size, it wouldn’t be strange if he could trample and kill all the demons in the Demon Realm.

Pot!

Eirin climbed onto the monster’s corpse and examined the situation. The first thing she noticed was the torso that was deeply dug out like a crater.

“Oh my goodness, look at this. The torso is so sunken in? How on earth…”

“Are you serious, Eirin? It’s not like I saw things because it’s dark, is it?”

“Come and see for yourself. Even if you get hit by a catapult, it’s hard to die like this.”

Ss …

A cold, piercing wind blew between them. The cold air licked every nook and cranny of their skin, alerting them.

I got goosebumps.

Perhaps, we cannot rule out the possibility that the one who usurped the crown from the King of Demons is staying nearby.

“… Let’s retreat. No, let’s go back to the change right now. A monster that’s big enough to kill the king of monsters has appeared. The mission and everything else are the top priority…! ”

Aerin urgently expresses her opinion.

There was a time, ten years ago, when the King of Demons came to the border and caused chaos. At that time, he was smaller than this, but he caused devastating damage to the border.

In the end, they were defeated, but they were not able to save his life. If you call this an achievement, it is only a moral victory. That day, Byeong-gye suffered a complete defeat from the King of Demons.

‘This is a huge emergency…’

This time, the change may completely collapse.

We need the stars of the empire. We need to send the superhuman holy works directly to the demon realm from the center.

It was while they were retreating while maintaining their formation.

Crackle, crackle.

From twenty paces away, the sound of crunching snow pierced the silent darkness.

It’s not a monster.

It was clearly the sound of human footsteps. But that doesn’t mean we can let our guard down.

Officially, the only people who have infiltrated the Demon Realm are Baekryeon’s group. And the only people who enter the Demon Realm privately are authors who have no place in the empire.

Pitter-patter… Pitter-patter.

The sound of snow and tree branches being trampled mercilessly is getting closer.

Eirin, feeling a sense of crisis, spoke first.

“Stop right there! If you don’t respond…!”

Aerin’s warning could not be continued.

Phew!

In an instant, something warm and sticky splashed onto Baekryeon’s left cheek.

Knock, knock.

The falling, thin liquid melts the snow.

When he saw the liquid dyeing the white snow like a sheet of paper red, a terrible scent of blood rushed into Baekryeon’s respiratory system.

Creak.

Very slowly, I looked at the spot where Eirin had been standing.

She was tall enough to be at eye level with Baekryeon. However, she could no longer meet Baekryeon’s eyes.

“Eirin… Miss…?”

A gap appeared on Eirin’s shoulder, who had been guarding Baekryeon’s side. When she realized this, Baekryeon wiped the pieces of meat and bone that had splattered on her cheek with her palm.

Then, a strong, harsh wind blew and swept over Eirin.

The lifeless body falls stiffly like a mannequin.

Thud!

Eirin died without even knowing English. Even as my eyes followed her body, it felt unrealistic.

00:00, December 24th, Year 497 of the Imperial Calendar.

Christmas Eve.

It was the first turbulent turning point in Baekryeon’s life.