Escaping the Demon Realm

He had finished persuading the church NPCs, and now all that was left was to make a merry escape... But I'm still uneasy. There was one major problem: Cain and Yong-yong! Up until now, monsters in fields and dungeons had charged like madmen the moment they laid eyes on Cain and Yong-yong. In other words, even if Kim Tae-hyun could hide his own identity, it would be incredibly difficult to conceal those two. When entering the demon village, there had been plenty of hiding spots to smuggle them in separately, but the dimension gate inside the castle was a completely different story. The probability of running into someone was practically a hundred percent!

I'll just have to pray we don't get caught. And even if we do, we should exit last together so the others won't take any damage. Tae-hyun smacked his lips and made his decision.

The group crossed the bridge in front of the castle slowly, warily scanning their surroundings. Boiling lava churned below, and demons soared through the air around the fortress. It was a situation tense enough to make anyone break a sweat. Fortunately, Adad hadn't broken his promise to launch a surprise attack. The party crossed the bridge, entered the castle, and stood before the dimension gate. The gate pulsed, casting a brilliant blue light across the chamber. Around it, high-ranking demon mages stood waiting, yawning lazily.

"Enter, humans."

"You had better not forget your promise. Our master detests liars."

One by one, the party members walked toward the dimension gate. Tae-hyun, bringing up the rear, smacked his lips again.

It'd be great if they're slow-witted... but if they notice, we just run for it. Not every demon attacked on sight upon sensing the energy of Archisus. Those with the ability to perceive it would notice, while those without would simply let it slide. What about these high-ranking demon mages?

"Hmm? Wait. I sense a strange energy..."

-Damn it. Everyone, run!

At Tae-hyun's whispered command, the remaining party members bolted. Yong-yong, who had shrunk his body as much as possible and clung to Tae-hyun's back, whispered:

-Master! Should I attack?

-Attack my foot! Just run!

"W-what is this?! Why are you running?! I told you to stop, humans!"

"We suddenly remembered an urgent matter, so we must leave quickly!"

"Well, if it's urgent, then I suppose it can't be hel—as if that makes any sense!"

No matter how high his Speech skill was, some things were simply impossible! The demons drew their staffs and began to swing them.

"Crimson Blood Wall!"

With their chant, brass-colored walls erupted in front of them! Fortunately, they didn't attack Tae-hyun, Cain, or Yong-yong directly. It seemed they wanted to bind their feet first to figure out what was going on.

-Run, run!

Thanks to that, the party members in front bought themselves precious time. The church NPCs all made it through, and the members of the Black Rock Sect guild scrambled through the dimension gate in a mad rush.

-Divine Foresight, Shadow Dive, Shadow Leap, Absolute Escape!

Tae-hyun activated all of his escape skills at once. Now was not the time to hesitate. It was a situation where he had to play every card in his hand just to survive!

"How dare you!"

The demon mage swung his staff in a rage. Spears of deep red flame materialized in the air and hurtled toward Tae-hyun.

"Hellfire Spear!"

"Hellfire Spear!"

Tae-hyun grit his teeth. Instead of using unavoidable curses, the demons were casting high-damage spells that could be dodged. He felt he could evade them. The problem was...

"T-that guy..."

"That guy is Archisus! He's Archisus!!"

"What?! Archisus?!"

"Summon the castle's demons! You, go inform the master!"

The chamber containing the dimension gate, quiet just moments ago, erupted into absolute chaos. The demons roared in pure fury.

"I will chew Archisus up and swallow him myself!"

"Archisus! That wretched Archisus! Do not let him escape!"

The hatred was so thick it was almost tangible. Running alongside Tae-hyun, Cain muttered in utter disbelief.

"What on earth did you do to make them react like that? Did you... by any chance..."

"I didn't do it, you idiot!"

When Cain shot Tae-hyun a look that clearly asked, Did you seriously scam the demons too?, Tae-hyun replied with a look of sheer injustice. Of course, he had scammed them, but the reason these demons were this angry wasn't actually because of him!

Boom! Crash! Whoosh!

"Block them from entering the dimension gate!"

In an instant, blazing spheres of fire materialized in the air and began to rain down relentlessly. It was a devastating barrage powerful enough to blow the entire castle to smithereens!

-Archisus's Blessing!

An absurd amount of Luck was shared among Tae-hyun, Cain, and Yong-yong.

"Aaaaargh!"

Cain screamed as he sprinted. With spells that looked capable of dealing fatal damage raining down behind them, it was impossible to keep his composure.

"Jump!"

Cain threw himself into the dimension gate. Now, only Tae-hyun and Yong-yong remained. Tae-hyun grabbed the shrunken Yong-yong and hurled him forward.

-Master?!

-Just be glad you're small!

Flames exploded around the dimension gate, causing the portal to ripple violently.

In a single strike, his HP plummeted below 20%. The damage was terrifying.

Damn it, their accuracy is insane too!

Just one step to the dimension gate. Tae-hyun actually considered himself lucky. It was a relief that the demons had lost their minds to rage and resorted to spells that could at least be dodged. If they had attacked with unavoidable curses, he would have been in serious trouble. Since they were high-level and numerous, even weak curses would have stacked up to kill him! He likely would have been rooted and killed before even reaching the portal.

"You wretched scoundreeeeel!"

Just as he was about to step into the dimension gate, Adad's roar echoed from far behind.

"How dare you deceive me! May everything you believe in and everything you possess be cursed! Do not think you are safe just because you escaped, mortal! I shall descend upon your Kadalta Castle and tear it to pieces!"

"Bring it on!"

Tae-hyun provoked him with absolute confidence. Come to think of it, whether Adad went to Kadalta Castle or not was none of his business!

"Pant, gasp..."

Without even checking the dizzying flurry of system messages, Tae-hyun scanned his surroundings. Where they had landed was the most important thing. Although he had stated he wanted to go to the Espa Kingdom on the continent, a massive barrage of magic had struck the portal as they entered. It wouldn't be surprising if they had been blown off course. For now, Cain, Yong-yong, and Lee Da-bi were sprawled out on the ground beside him. Did the others land somewhere else?

"This place is..."

It seemed they had landed near a city. The silhouette of a massive city entered his view. However, the city looked heavily damaged.

"Doesn't that look familiar?"

"Yeah. I think I've seen it before too."

Tae-hyun and Cain nodded as they stared at the city. That city was definitely one they had seen somewhere...

Clop, clop, clop—

"?"

Players riding in a carriage passed by them. They didn't pay the slightest ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠attention to Tae-hyun's group lying on the side of the road. In Pandemonium Online 2, something like this wasn't even considered strange.

"Is it true that there are tons of quests in Abalab City?"

"I'm telling you, it's true. Since it's currently undergoing major repairs, there are plenty of crafting class quests. And because of the quests to subjugate the demons occupying the surrounding area, combat classes are flocking there too. Besides, if you take a ship from the port in the southern part of the Espa Kingdom, you'll reach the port of the Prica Continent in no time."

"Are you going to watch?"

"What could be more fun than watching ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the arena? Sure, it'll be broadcasted, but honestly, it's better to go see it in person. They're even offering free ferry rides from the port to promote it."

The players in the carriage faded into the distance. Tae-hyun sprang to his feet. He was curious about the arena and the broadcast, but right now, there was something far more alarming...

"Did they say this is Abalab City?"

"...Aren't we in deep trouble?"

Indeed. Instead of hunting the demons in the Espa Kingdom as he was supposed to, Tae-hyun had gone around causing absolute mayhem with them! Even if he held the title of Count in the Atali Kingdom and was the Pope of the Archisus Church, this had long surpassed the point of being sweepable under the rug. He was guaranteed to be a wanted man!

"..."

Tae-hyun, Cain, and Lee Da-bi exchanged glances.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Jeong Su-hyeok yawned as he swung his staff. He had grown so accustomed to the Uruk Region that he could now wander around yawning.

"How should I go about befriending the other tribes..."

Adapting to the Uruk Region and clearing the related quests was an achievement in itself, but Jeong Su-hyeok had another goal: persuading the remaining tribes!

I wonder if the Demer Church NPCs will return?

The two players who had visited last time, Choi Ha-jun and Choi Ha-yeong, had returned with the Demer Church when they withdrew. If they ever came back to the Uruk Region, he planned to apologize for his sudden disappearance last time and offer his help...

Wrooooom—

"??"

Hearing a strange sound overhead, Jeong Su-hyeok looked up. Since there were monsters that used all sorts of bizarre skills in the Uruk Region, he had to remain vigilant.

But none of the monsters around here make a sound like that.

"Whoaaaa!"

"?!?!"

Suddenly, dozens of people tumbled out of thin air. It was the guild members and the NPCs of the various churches.

"I was a bit startled at first, but thinking about it, I'll be fine. I have disguise items and my Speech skill."

"...Is it fine just because you're fine?"

"My, aren't we prickly today? Don't worry, I'll disguise you too. We fooled literal demons; city guards will be a piece of cake."

Tae-hyun quickly modified some of his items on the spot to conceal Cain's appearance. Just covering up his heavy armor completely changed his silhouette.

"Wait, now that I think about it, my face has changed so much that no one recognizes me anyway, right?"

"..."

-I believe so, Master.

"Well, look at that. We worried for nothing. Isn't that great, Cain?"

"Great my foot, you jerk!"

Cain shouted, feeling a sudden surge of indignation. It was certainly a relief, but his pride simply refused to accept it!

Regardless of Cain throwing a fit beside him, Tae-hyun organized his thoughts.

First, what I need to do now... Go to the Grand Temple of the Demer Church to receive their Authority, then visit the other nearby churches to see what I can exchange my Contribution Points for. Oh, and before that, I need to use my skill. Now that we're back on the continent, the death penalty shouldn't be an issue. It's not like I'll suddenly face a life-threatening danger here.

"Hey. What were those guys talking about earlier?"

"About what?"

"They said they were going to watch the arena, and that it would be broadcasted. Could it be that? There was an article recently about a massive tournament being held."

Tae-hyun tilted his head at Cain's words.

"An arena tournament? We had those in Pandemonium Online 1 too, but they weren't very popular, were they?"

"No, they supposedly designed the rules properly this time. All stats are locked at Level 100, and participants have to use basic, standardized equipment."

"Sounds fun."

"...If you're not interested, just say so!"

"No, really... I like the arena, but there's just no reason for me to go and participate right now."

Besides, a format ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like that is even more dangerous for me.

If he participated in a global tournament with perfectly balanced stats and gear? Tae-hyun would inevitably stand out. And if that happened?

The rumors about me being the Kim Tae-hyun from Pandemonium Online 1 will flare up again!

It would be nothing short of digging his own grave!