The Land of Stars
"The Land of Stars...."
As the title of a book recording the Gray Wasteland, it did not feel particularly fitting.
Leaning back against the bed in a room inside the Demon King's Castle, Yoon Sang-hyuk turned the first page of the book Vassago had given him. There was no ordinary author’s introduction, no table of contents. After turning past two blank pages, he found the text packed tightly across the page. It was clearly written in the language used in the Demon Realm, and yet for some reason Yoon Sang-hyuk could understand its meaning perfectly.
Vassago had clearly done something to it.
"The Shinma War."
No exact date had been recorded, but the event itself had undoubtedly happened. It was the worst war in Roselia Continent history, mentioned in numerous books.
The clash between the divine realm and the Demon Realm on the midworld of Roselia Continent was what human historians recorded as the Shinma War.
The first part of the book called The Land of Stars dealt with that war.
The divine realm and the Demon Realm were both already saturated with power.
That the two powers would eventually collide might have been inevitable. Their goals were fundamentally opposed, after all. On top of that, the beings of the Demon Realm loved nothing more than battle and kept provoking the divine realm at every opportunity.
The Shinma War began when some of the demon lords who ruled the Demon Realm made contracts with humans on the midworld of Roselia Continent and carried out massacres on a colossal scale.
The humans could not bear it and cried out to the gods for help, and Idea could not turn a deaf ear to their voices.
The one who ruled the Demon Realm at the time of the Shinma War was Satan, now imprisoned in the Abyss of the Void.
The power of the divine realm and the Demon Realm was projected into the midworld, and the full-scale conflict began. As the two sides fought by proxy, the world of humankind suffered atrocities that were not nearly severe enough a word to describe them. The beings of the Demon Realm were, by nature, a race that revered darkness and evil, so that much was expected, but the beings of the divine realm were no better than those of the Demon Realm.
The author of The Land of Stars seemed to hold no fond feelings for either the divine realm or the Demon Realm. If the record he had written was true, that was only natural.
What else could it be when they could not control their own power and, in the end, poured it out onto the world where humans lived?
It was no different from the time when Korea had been Joseon, and Japan, having ended its own Warring States era, turned its internal military power outward and launched the Imjin War.
The Land of Stars mainly dealt with the horrific devastation of the Shinma War.
And then, after the middle of the book, the subject changed.
The prisoners of the divine realm and the Demon Realm could not return to their own lands after the Shinma War ended. The divine realm confined the captives of the Demon Realm in the Dark Hole, while the Demon Realm sent the prisoners of the divine realm to the Gray Wasteland. But the author called those two places the Land of Stars. Because before they were prisoners, they had been the ones who represented their respective sides, had they not?
That explained why the book was called The Land of Stars.
"A place where the prisoners of the divine realm are held?"
So there really was a place in the Demon Realm where prisoners from the divine realm were confined. It was unexpected, but then again, there was the Abyss of the Void, where Satan, the former ruler of the Demon Realm, was imprisoned. There was no rule saying such places could not exist.
The book continued with records of what life had been like for those taken prisoner on each side. Then a question suddenly arose in his mind. Who had written The Land of Stars? Judging from its hostile tone toward both the divine realm and the Demon Realm, the author was clearly human. But if the author had been human, how could he have known so much about how the prisoners of the divine realm and the Demon Realm had lived?
For now, that was not the important thing, so he set the question aside.
"So you're telling me to go here."
Yoon Sang-hyuk shut the book and tossed it carelessly aside. Its historical value meant nothing to him. Right now, there was only one thing in his head: how to kill Satan and return to Earth.
"Good. I'll go."
* * *
The Demon Realm was divided into four regions to the east, west, south, and north, all centered around the Demon King's Castle in the middle.
The one who ruled the northern region was Agares, ranked second among the demon lords. Because the Abyss of the Void was located in the north, Agares, the strongest after Baal, held that territory.
The east was ruled by Vassago, the south by Gamigin, who ranked fourth, and the south was ruled by Marbas, who ranked fifth.
The Gray Wasteland, the place Yoon Sang-hyuk had to go, existed beyond the territory ruled by Marbas in the southern Demon Realm.
Thanks to the consideration of Baal and Vassago, he was able to reach Marbas’s southern territory in two days by riding a flying carriage pulled by a gargoyle.
"What the hell was I imagining?"
He had thought the Demon Realm would be a barren place overrun by monsters. But the capital of the southern territory he arrived in was not all that different from a human city.
In fact, most of the people walking through the streets looked human.
Demonkind.
Yes, they must be demonkind rather than humans. They might not be high-ranking, but they were still the lowest class of demonkind, which put them above beastmen and monsters.
Throughout the streets, there were also creatures with forms far removed from humans, and those were the beasts and monsters. But demonkind were overwhelmingly more numerous than either.
Most likely, the beastmen and demonkind lived outside the city. They would enter the city only when they had business to attend to.
When the carriage stopped, the door opened on its own.
Someone was waiting for him when he stepped down.
Sabnock, the forty-third-ranked demon lord of the Demon Realm.
Sabnock did not even spare a glance for Yoon Sang-hyuk as he got off the carriage, only turning away. Yoon Sang-hyuk gave a snort and followed after him. Sabnock would remember being killed by his hand not long ago, so he was hardly expecting a warm welcome.
"We’ll head straight to the city ruled by Balak. We can use a carriage as far as there, but after that, we’ll have to go on foot."
Where Sabnock led him, a massive carriage was already prepared. Unlike the one that had brought him here, this one was drawn by horses. But calling the creatures he saw now horses felt like a stretch.
For one thing, they stood more than three meters at the shoulder, and their bared mouths showed rows of sharp teeth. If one of those hooves struck him, it felt like his bones would be crushed on the spot.
"Is Marbas in his castle?"
Yoon Sang-hyuk asked as he looked toward the grand castle visible in the distance. Sabnock turned away as if the question did not even merit an answer. Watching his back, Yoon Sang-hyuk chuckled again.
Even though Marbas had invited him, he had no intention of accepting. He needed to get to the Gray Wasteland as quickly as possible. The sooner he hurried, the sooner he could return to Earth.
Maybe by now, Yoon Sang-min and everyone else he knew were already holding a grand funeral for him.
"You don't need to guide me any farther. You can go back."
Sabnock, who had been walking ahead, paused slightly.
"I’ll be staying here a little longer. I have things to do."
"Hmph."
Sabnock let out a cold snort and said icily, "Do not think of doing anything foolish. Do not forget that all eyes here are on you."
"Wouldn't dream of it. You don't need to see me off."
Sabnock glared as though he wanted to kill him, then started walking again. After Sabnock disappeared, Yoon Sang-hyuk stood for a moment, gauged his direction, and moved out.
* * *
"Twilight's Cry.... That’s a pretty nice name."
As if on cue, the sky over the Demon Realm was staining red. When he stepped into Twilight's Cry, countless gazes gathered on him. He had already felt more than enough eyes on him during the walk after parting from Sabnock, so he sat down at the bar in front of the bartender as if nothing bothered him.
The bartender, wiping a glass, asked without even looking at Yoon Sang-hyuk, "What will it be?"
"One glass of the strongest thing you’ve got."
The bartender set down the glass he had been wiping and looked at Yoon Sang-hyuk in silence.
Then it happened.
"Heh heh heh."
"Kwa-ha-ha-ha!"
"You heard that? He asked for the strongest thing they've got? Puhahaha!"
Yoon Sang-hyuk, still seated, turned his upper body and looked at the people bursting into laughter. It seemed as though everyone in Twilight's Cry was laughing.
He looked back at the bartender. The bartender asked, "Did you just ask for a glass of the strongest liquor in this place?"
"That's what I said."
"Then I heard you correctly. For reference, the strongest liquor here at Twilight's Cry is also called 'Twilight's Cry.' It's so famous the tavern changed its name to match. Do you know why Twilight's Cry is so well known?"
"Because it's strong?"
"Correct."
The bartender turned and took a reddish bottle from the display shelf, then set it down in front of Yoon Sang-hyuk.
"Lord Halpas, one of the demon lords, drank two glasses and lost consciousness."
The bartender’s eyes seemed to ask whether he still wanted to drink it.
"I don't know how impressive it is, but there’s no reason I can't drink it."
"You don't seem to be from around here."
"You already knew I was human, didn't you?"
"I did. That's why I'm even more curious. A human customer is saying he'll drink Twilight's Cry, which even the lords of the Demon Realm don't dare touch lightly."
"You sure talk a lot. Just give me the drink. What, is it expensive? If I say I drank it, Baal will cover the bill."
At the mention of Baal, the atmosphere in the tavern abruptly went silent, as if frozen.
"Why are you looking at me like that? What, do you think I'm going to use Baal's name to drink on credit?"
"Not at all. How could anyone in the Demon Realm possibly have the nerve to use his name like that? In fact, an official notice was even issued stating that anything used by the human visitor to the city would be paid for from the castle of His Highness Archdemon Marbas."
"Really? That's good service. Then there's no problem at all. Fill the glass in front of me with as much of that so-called famous liquor as it can hold."
With a light sigh, the bartender poured Twilight's Cry into the glass. The liquid, even redder than the bottle itself, rippled and filled the cup.
Yoon Sang-hyuk snatched up the glass as though taking it from the bartender's hand, then stood and turned around. Every eye in the tavern fixed on him. Raising the glass high, Yoon Sang-hyuk spoke.
"You all seem curious. Can this insane human really drink this notorious liquor that even demon lords pass out from after one sip? Wondering, are you?"
The people drinking in Twilight's Cry were mostly demonkind. There were a few higher beastmen and monsters here and there, but they were a very small minority.
Yoon Sang-hyuk looked at them and said, "Shall we make a bet? I'll drink three glasses of this strong stuff that even Halpas passed out after two. If I’m still fine after three, what will you do?"
One of the demonkind shouted, "Then say what you want!"
Yoon Sang-hyuk shrugged and nodded.
"The place you call the Gray Wasteland."
Silence fell again.
Yoon Sang-hyuk brought the glass in his hand to his lips, emptied it in one go, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and said, "Send me a guide who can lead me there."