Nothing Left to See in the Demon Realm
There was nothing left to see in the Demon Realm.
It was a shame they had never found the shadow merchant, but with Jonas risen to Demon King, the bounty on Manuela's head was gone.
Duke Jonas had carried out the few requests Yujun made of him with scrupulous care.
Good. He knows how to listen. Self-preservation, no doubt, and nothing more.
All that remained was the return to the Continent.
"How are we getting back?"
At Do Jiyun's question, Yujun smiled.
"The same way we came, I imagine."
"The same way… you mean through that ominous hole?"
"Yeah. Though it's a little different this time. I asked Duke Jonas — well, the Demon King — to arrange a road home for us."
"So we can go straight through?"
"Yeah."
Yujun's party made for a place that had already been prepared. Jonas, now the Demon King, had come out to meet them.
"What is it?"
"There is something I would say before you depart."
"Say it."
"Be wary of the man called Ji Gyutae."
"…Ji Gyutae?"
"You know of him?"
"I know who he is. Why?"
"The human player Ji Gyutae has been poking into every corner of the Demon Realm. Were that all, I would not trouble myself. But Ji Gyutae is exceedingly strong — so strong that even the power of a demon duke could do nothing against him. I believe even the Demon King entered into some manner of arrangement with the man."
"An arrangement?"
"To speak more precisely, it seemed closer to a threat. You are aware of this yourself, are you not?"
Yujun nodded.
"And how do you know about Ji Gyutae?"
"I have sources. I invested heavily in watching the Demon Realm's affairs, and the network grew vast. As a result I hear of events here in considerable detail… and so I came to learn that this Ji Gyutae's movements were anything but ordinary."
"What exactly has he been doing, to earn that kind of talk?"
"Poisoning a village of the Demon Realm. Attempting to craft chimeras from magical beasts and demons. Eccentricities of that sort — too many to count, and all of them different."
"Yeah? What's he after?"
"That, I cannot say. That he went so far as to lay hands on the Demon King suggests the scale is hardly ordinary."
"Now I'm curious."
"I, too, wonder to what end a man called Ji Gyutae busies himself so. But pry carelessly, and my own life may be forfeit."
"It's that bad?"
"He is a man who can move even a Demon King to his will. What answer could I possibly have for him?"
"Hmm."
"In any case, be careful. Should word of your exploits reach him, he may well approach you. I am quite certain he will not come bearing a pleasant offer."
"We were never on good terms anyway."
"You have met him already?"
"Not in person. We have spoken."
"Then I have wasted my breath."
"No. It's enough that I know he's in the Demon Realm."
"He is human as well. The odds are high he will soon make for the Continent."
"I'll head out, then."
After a cursory farewell to the Demon King, Yujun and the others returned to the Continent through a dimensional rift.
The sunlight was blinding. It was the first clean air they had tasted in a long while. The Demon Realm's air had been so thick and foul that every breath left a bad taste behind.
"So what's the plan from here?"
Yujun asked Manuela. She had not stayed behind in the Demon Realm; she had crossed to the Continent with them. By her own account she had business there, though what that business was, he still didn't know.
"I'm going to set up a few more dungeons on the Continent."
"And here I went to the trouble of getting that bounty lifted."
"It's not as if I'm never going back to the Demon Realm. What's the problem?"
Manuela said it with a bright little grin.
"How long are you staying?"
"I haven't set a deadline, but I expect I'll be here for a while."
"Didn't you manage dungeons in the Demon Realm to thin out the demons? Why build new ones on the Continent?"
"The opposite reason. To help the players of the Continent grow."
"Huh? Why would you care about that?"
"Because it's something I have to do."
"A pureblood witch doing the Continent's players a favor, while cutting down the demon population? Why, exactly?"
Manuela said nothing.
"I'm not picking a fight. I genuinely want to know."
"I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to."
"Fine. Different question, then. Last time, you hated it when I cleared your dungeons. But if a human like me clears them, isn't that good for you too?"
"Those dungeons weren't meant to be fully cleared. The point was only to give people a trial."
"Since when does that work? You go into a dungeon, you see it through to the end."
"…Tch. You know I don't have bad intentions, right? Not toward you, at least."
"Then I'll come with you."
He had been feeling the need for a rest anyway. Following her around and taking it easy for a while didn't sound half bad.
"Really?"
Manuela bounced on her feet, delighted.
"What about you, Jiyun?"
"I think I should head back. I've been away from my post for far too long…"
"Right. Understood. You've worked hard."
"You're the one who did all the hard work."
"See you later."
"Yes. I really hope we do!"
And with that, they parted from Do Jiyun.
That left Manuela and Yujun — though Paranet was still with them.
"Master."
"What."
"Might I be permitted to withdraw and rest?"
"You wanted to rest?"
"I have been kept summoned without pause, have I not?"
"I thought the undead didn't get tired."
"A fatigue of the spirit, Master. I am hardly some common undead."
"Is that so?"
If an undead was intelligent enough, did one have to account for fatigue as well? Yujun knew little about such things. He had never kept an undead summon before.
"All right. Rest, then."
"My thanks!"
Yujun dismissed Paranet and turned back to Manuela.
"Something from earlier is still bothering me."
"Bothering you?"
"Just because it's the Continent doesn't mean the dungeons are easy."
"Right. If anything, I put more work into the Continent's dungeons."
"And you said your goal was to help the Continent's players grow."
"I did."
"Then isn't what you're doing the same either way? Both could end up thinning the number of players."
"Ah. That decision comes down to racial temperament."
"Temperament?"
"Demons have a habit of challenging things even when they know they can't win. Players on the Continent, by comparison, are exceedingly cautious. Most of them seem to believe nothing is more precious than their own lives."
"True enough."
Human or otherwise, people cherished their own lives all the same. The demons were simply a little peculiar. A little wrong.
"So the Continent's players just look out for themselves on their own?"
"Exactly."
"Is the difference actually that big?"
"In death rates, there is no comparison with the Demon Realm. Demons are superior in individual strength, and yet the number of them who die in dungeons must be tens — hundreds — of times greater."
"Huh…"
It wasn't an especially important fact.
"What are you doing first?"
Yujun asked. Manuela, small as she was, tipped her head back to look up at him, and simply held his gaze.
"What?"
"The truth is, I need your help."
"…Out of nowhere?"
"I need a great deal of power."
"You're plenty strong yourself."
"Not nearly strong enough. Not for this."
Yujun was quiet. Something even a pureblood witch couldn't handle. He honestly couldn't get a feel for it.
"What kind of thing are we talking about?"
"I have to go somewhere classified as a danger zone."
"A danger zone?"
"Sourtul Forest. That's the destination."
"What's that?"
"You don't know?"
"Nope. Never heard of it."
"Ah, I suppose you might not have. Very few people know of Sourtul Forest. Until a few years ago it was completely hidden."
"It is on the Continent, right?"
"Yes."
"We don't have to climb the Tower for it?"
Manuela nodded.
"Find the right road, and we can simply go."
"Then why am I only hearing about it now?"
"I told you. Until recently, the place didn't exist."
"So the Continent got bigger?"
"No. A space that had been hidden simply came to light."
"Why?"
"It must be connected to the humans being summoned to this Continent. The timing was too perfect."
"And why are we going there?"
"Because of a single material I absolutely need."
He had to go to a place like that for one material? It didn't really matter to him — but was there anything in it for him?
No. She said it was a space that had only just appeared.
There had been no such place as Sourtul Forest when he was playing War of the Gods. Which meant Sourtul Forest was one of the content regions that would have come later, had the game never shut down.
I might even be able to aim for a Mythic-grade item. A Transcendent Stone, even.
Perfect. He had been looking for a better hunting ground anyway. He had agreed to go with her for a rest, and instead this was an opportunity.
Manuela's expression darkened.
"But you could be in danger too. Are you sure?"
"Me?"
"Yes. I know you're incredibly strong, but…"
"It's that bad?"
"Not a single player who went there has come back alive."
"You said it wasn't a famous place. Didn't that many people even go?"
"The number isn't what matters. Everyone who had made a name on the Continent challenged it, and none of them returned. A few of the highest-ranked humans were among them."
"So they're all dead."
"Missing, strictly speaking."
"Then maybe it has nothing to do with strength. If there's something like a black hole in there…"
"A black hole? What's that?"
"Ah. Right. You wouldn't know."
Yujun scratched his head.
"Anyway, I said I'd go with you, so I'll go."
Dangerous or not, there had to be a limit. He had killed a Demon King, and he was far stronger now. He didn't think there was any need to be afraid.
I have to get stronger.
His true enemies were not the other races, nor the demons. They were the ones who meant to destroy Earth. So he had to drive himself further into deadly ground. Growing stronger by slowly raising his level didn't suit his temperament. He was already overwhelmingly strong for his level, and still he considered it insufficient.
Ji Gyutae, for a start…
That one alone was a player whose strength couldn't be measured. Hard to believe he was someone summoned only five years ago.
Then again, I've only been here a few months myself. I'm in no position to talk.
He had come to the continent of an unfamiliar world, gained abilities he had only ever seen in a game, and brought down a Demon King. Honestly, it sounded like a dream.
"Can we leave right away?"
At Manuela's words, Yujun nodded. Reaching Sourtul Forest would mean a long journey.
"You actually know the way?"
"Of course I do! What do you take me for!"
Small as she was, Manuela pouted.
"A kid."
"…A pureblood witch doesn't age. I can't help it."
"Oh. For real?"
"Yes. By human standards, think of me as stopped somewhere between nineteen and twenty-two."
"…So you're just short."
"…Are you making fun of me?"
"Looking young is a good thing, isn't it?"
Yujun looked elsewhere and started walking. Then a thought struck him out of the empty air, and his eyes went wide.
"Ah. I forgot to loot the Demon King's Castle warehouse."
Manuela, catching the mutter, grinned.
"I figured. So I brought it along."
"…What? Seriously?"
"Mm-hmm. A dozen or so pieces of Legendary gear, and a pile of miscellaneous armor. The disappointing part? It's all equipment."
"You're uncanny. When did you even go back there?"
"I must just be compatible with the Demon King's Castle storeroom. Sometimes my hands move before I even notice."
"Well, good work. Hand it over."
"Hm? Hand what over?"
"What do you think. The items."
"…But I'm the one who brought them."
"And? So what?"
Yujun was firm.
"…Isn't that a bit much?"
"I'm not asking for all of it. I'll take half."
"I shouldn't have said anything."
Wearing a tearful face, Manuela opened her inventory.
It was no accident that Yujun's inventory had been stuffed full of items back in the days of War of the Gods.