The Road Back is Always Easier
Going back the way they came was easy. Except, of course, for the wild monsters that lunged at them at every turn!
“Aaaagh! Seriously, why does this only happen to me?!” Cain was getting the short end of the stick here too. The monsters roaming the Demon Realm fields practically threw a party whenever they spotted him, charging forward as if his body were slathered in honey.
After a long trek, they finally arrived back at the spot where they had first dropped into the Demon Realm. The sight of massive, heavily damaged and shattered airships greeted them.
“Huh? Were they always like that?”
“Looks like they took a beating while we were gone.”
“Something is strange, Count Kim Tae-hyun. The priests and paladins over there are highly skilled, yet the ships are in such a state of ruin...”
“Even the best can't stand against overwhelming numbers.”
No matter how powerful an NPC was, it was impossible to protect an entire fleet when enemies swarmed relentlessly from all directions.
Boom! Crash! Whoosh!
“Repel the demons!”
“Begone! You shall not set foot on this ship, you wicked fiends!”
Shouts echoed from afar. A fierce battle was raging around the airships. Demons rising from the lava spewed crimson flames, while the NPCs of the various churches erected defensive barriers and retaliated with flashes of holy white light.
“Let's go help them!”
“Ah, wait a second.”
“...?”
“My shoelace came undone.”
“...”
Priest Haron's jaw dropped. What on earth was he hearing?
“Count Kim Tae-hyun! What do you mean, your shoelace came undone?! We must move right this instant!”
“Hey, my shoelace is untied. What do you want me to do about it? If I trip and fall in the middle of a fight, are you going to take responsibility?”
Tae-hyun dawdled, idly fiddling with his shoe—even though his boots didn't have a single lace on them! As he did, he shot a glance at Lee Da-bi. Catching his drift immediately, Lee Da-bi cried out,
“Oh! My shoelace came undone too!”
“...”
“Ahem, cough. My shoelace is also...”
Unable to withstand the pressure of Tae-hyun's gaze, Cain swallowed his embarrassment and chimed in.
The entire party was stalling for time! Priest Haron stomped his feet in sheer anxiety, but there was nothing he could do. Charging in alone with just his own people was far too dangerous.
Tae-hyun had only one reason for doing this.
They're the ones desperate here, not us!
Tae-hyun never forgot a grudge. He was the type to meticulously log even the most trivial slight and return it tenfold. To someone like him, the church NPCs struggling on the airships were nothing but juicy prey ripe for exploitation.
“Now that you've tied your laces, let's go! We must help them!”
“Oh, my aching legs. Let's take a quick break here.”
“Excuse me?!”
“My legs are just so sore...”
Tae-hyun signaled Gu Sung-wook.
Let's hold out here until they beg us for help.
...
Gu Sung-wook, face burning with embarrassment, plopped down onto the ground. Taking that as their cue, the members of the Black Rock Guild began sitting down one by one.
“Why is everyone acting like this?!”
The effect was outstanding.
The church NPCs fighting tooth and nail on the airships brightened up when they spotted Tae-hyun's party in the distance.
“Look! That's surely the Archisus Church and the Demer Church!”
“Send a request for backup!”
Unlike Tae-hyun's party, who had avoided conflict by slipping into the demon village, the church expedition had remained stranded in the vast wasteland, forced to fend off endless waves of attacking demons. Naturally, as humans, they were exhausted and pushed to their limits. A paladin acting as a messenger quickly broke through the demon ranks and ran toward them.
“What are they talking about? Why aren't they coming back immediately? Why are they just standing there?”
“Did something happen to them?”
“What could possibly have happened?!”
“He's coming back! Wait, why is he alone?”
The paladin sent as a messenger returned alone, without the reinforcements. He spoke with a thoroughly bewildered expression.
“Uh... they said they can't come because their legs hurt...”
“...”
“What kind of nonsense is that?! Go back and tell them to help us this instant!”
Locked in a desperate struggle with the demons, they sent another message to Tae-hyun.
[Church Expedition]: Come and help us quickly! What are you doing?!
[Kim Tae-hyun]: My legs hurt too much to walk.
[Church Expedition]: What kind of absolute nonsense is this?!
[Kim Tae-hyun]: Now they hurt even more. Definitely can't walk.
[Church Expedition]: ...We apologize for our rudeness. Please, just come and help us...
[Kim Tae-hyun]: A proper apology might make my legs feel a bit better.
[Church Expedition]: We were wrong. Please come help us...
[Kim Tae-hyun]: I think some compensation would really cure my legs.
[Church Expedition]: ...
“Wow, my legs feel completely cured!”
Liar!
“Ahem, cough. Count Kim Tae-hyun. Let us quickly join forces and defeat these demons...”
“I have no intention of fighting, though?”
“?!”
“The only reason the demons keep swarming is because you idiots are stubbornly staying in one place. Besides, if there are too many demons for you to handle on your own, do you really think our small group joining in will change anything?”
“Th-then what do you propose we do?!”
“Run away, obviously.”
“What foolish nonsense!” a paladin of the Yata Church barked in anger.
“Showing our backs and fleeing when surrounded by so many enemies is practically suicide! Those demons will gleefully tear us to shreds from behind! Does Count Kim Tae-hyun not even know such basic tactics?!”
“Hmm, I think my legs are starting to hurt again. Maybe we should just go our separate ways?”
“...”
It was the pettiest threat in the world! The Yata Church paladin promptly shut his mouth.
The very first thing Tae-hyun had said upon boarding the airship was that he had found a way to return to the continent from the Demon Realm. Hearing that, no matter how dirty and underhanded Tae-hyun's behavior was, the church NPCs couldn't say a word against him. After all, Tae-hyun was absolutely the type of person who would leave them behind without a second thought!
Once everyone fell silent, Tae-hyun spoke up again.
“Don't worry. I have a way to distract those demons. We just need to bolt while they're busy.”
“???”
Not only the church NPCs, but the other players were also deeply curious. Just what kind of method could distract all those demon monsters? Cain asked Tae-hyun,
“How are we going to distract them?”
“Haha. We have bait.”
“Bait? Did you buy something from the village?”
“No. We have you.”
“...”
“Aaaaaaargh! Aaaaaaaagh!”
-Keep your voice down!
“Put yourself in my shoes and see if you can stay quiet!”
-I might just drop you, human!
“Why you little...! Just try dropping me! I'll tell Kim Tae-hyun everything!”
Sailing through the dark, blood-red sky of the Demon Realm was a bizarre duo: Yong-yong and Cain.
-Grrr?
-Screeech!
The demons swarming around the airships spotted Cain dangling beneath Yong-yong. Instantly, their eyes turned bloodshot, and they charged. The Divine Beast of Archisus and the Slave of Archisus—anything with 'Archisus' in its name was a prime target guaranteed to drive demons absolutely wild.
Whoosh!
“Aaargh! Why am I the only one dangling down here?! You could've let me ride on your back!”
-Master ordered it! He said you're sturdier!
“...Kim Tae-hyun, you absolute bastard!”
Fiery needles shot up from below like a volley of arrows. Dangling from Yong-yong's talons, Cain swung his shield frantically to block them.
A searing needle of hellfire has struck your shield directly. Durability has decreased.
A searing needle of hellfire has struck your armor directly. Durability has decreased.
No matter how much he blocked and dodged, it was impossible to completely evade area-of-effect attacks.
-Hey! Block properly, human!
“I am blocking!”
While the duo flew in the opposite direction, drawing the horde away, the rest of the party made a swift escape.
“Is... is it really okay to leave him like that?” Gu Sung-wook asked, genuinely worried about Cain.
Though it had only been a short while, he had developed a sense of friendship with Cain. It was a comradeship born of shared suffering! Originally, Gu Sung-wook hadn't liked people like Cain, who used to lead outlaw guilds like the Red Zone and harass others. But during their brief time in the Demon Realm, Gu Sung-wook had realized one thing with absolute certainty: Cain was in the exact same boat as him!
“Hmm? What is?”
“He looks like he's in serious danger...”
“It's fine. With my skills, dodging that much is a piece of cake.”
“Ah, no. I didn't mean you, Tae-hyun...”
“Aw, thanks for worrying about me since I'm leading the vanguard. But really, I'll be fine!”
“That's not what I meant...!”
Tae-hyun didn't even listen, dashing ahead at full speed. Gu Sung-wook chased after him with a dumbfounded expression.
You have survived for an extended period with your HP below 10%.
Your Constitution has increased.
Your physical defense has increased due to your passive skill.
Cain collapsed onto the ground, looking utterly drained. Flying through the air while blocking and dodging a barrage of attacks was exhausting beyond belief. He was so spent that he didn't even have the energy to argue with Tae-hyun.
“Cain! Are you alright?!”
“??”
Cain, who was about to lie down and rest, stared at Gu Sung-wook in confusion as the man rushed over.
What's with this guy?
It was rather baffling to receive such intense concern from someone he wasn't even close with.
“I'm... fine. Why?”
“What do you mean, why?! You just pulled off a stunt like that, of course I'd be worried!”
Gu Sung-wook's attitude only bewildered Cain further. While the two of them bickered, Tae-hyun scanned the castle looming on the distant horizon.
It had dark, soot-stained stone walls. The moat below was filled with bubbling, boiling lava. The only path leading to the castle gates was a single copper bridge stretching across the molten rock.
“Hmm, it'll probably be dangerous if we all go in there together, right?”
Nod, nod!
Everyone nodded in agreement. A village was one thing, but if the church's paladins and priests marched into that castle, they would undoubtedly be attacked on sight.
“I'd prefer to use the portal without fighting if possible, so I'll head in alone first.”
“Count Kim Tae-hyun, evil must be vanquished. Avoiding conflict in such a manner is not a proper attitude for a—mgh, mgh!”
“This guy... I practically carried him here on my back, and now he's trying to boss me around. Should I throw you into the lava? Huh?”
“L-let go of the priest!”
“Huh? Let go of him over the lava? Wow, do you guys secretly hate your priest or something?”
“N-no! We just meant let him go!”
Completely tangled up in Tae-hyun's Speech, the paladins' faces flushed red. Tae-hyun dusted off his hands and prepared to head toward the castle. The paladins glared at his back.
Geez. And here I was, trying so hard to be friendly...
Thinking thoughts that would make anyone else grab the back of their neck in sheer frustration, Tae-hyun set off.
“If you want to enter our master's castle? Even we demons find it hard to get in, so how could humans possibly manage? You can try talking to the gatekeeper, but you'll probably be rejected. You might have to run for your life immediately!”
Tae-hyun recalled the words of the demon from the village. There had to be a clue to gaining entry hidden within that warning.
Did he say they hate Edaor?
If he couldn't scam his way in by claiming friendship with Edaor, he could just do the exact opposite. Tae-hyun confidently stepped onto the copper bridge—
Rumble! Crash!
The moment his foot touched the bridge, a colossal demon standing guard at the castle gates roared and charged. Wielding a massive axe in each hand, the demon projected an incredibly oppressive aura. His bare upper torso bulged with crimson muscles that looked ready to burst.
-Intruder! Eliminate!
“Wait! I'm not an intruder!”
Attempting to persuade the target.
Applying bonus from Advanced Rhetoric.
[PERSUASION FAILED]
“?!?!”
-Me Galgral! No trust intruder words! Intruder die!
Tae-hyun hesitated for a split second. Should I fight?
Even if he could defeat the demon with the backup behind him, the aftermath would be a headache. He couldn't exactly slay the gatekeeper and then expect to sit down and persuade the castle's master!
“Galgral! If you act on your own without listening to me, your master will punish you! Stop!”
Tae-hyun was betting everything on Soul-shaking Threat, the skill he had received as a reward for earning the title Supreme Intimidator. If this failed, he would have no choice but to fight!