Chapter 4
Only three remained in the once-noisy Twilight's Cry: the bartender, Yoon Sang-hyuk, and the handsome middle-aged man with dark skin.
In front of Yoon Sang-hyuk sat a cleanly emptied bottle of liquor. He had finished every last drop of Twilight's Cry.
Until moments ago, every time Yoon Sang-hyuk took a sip of Twilight's Cry, the place had exploded with booming cheers as if a bomb had gone off. He had gone beyond the three drinks he had originally wagered and drained the entire bottle.
At first, the demons in the tavern had watched with curiosity, thinking some madman was making a scene. But once he had finished the third cup, their expressions had turned to stunned disbelief.
- Not bad. The sting going down is nice, too. Especially that faint, bloody scent at the end... a nostalgic fragrance. Yes. The smell of blood.
Saying things like that, Yoon Sang-hyuk had ultimately wiped out the whole bottle of Twilight's Cry. Then he had demanded that the demons honor their promise. The demon who had been under everyone's gaze at that moment was the one now sitting beside him with a sour look on his face.
The demon from the dark elf race, Zephyr.
Among all the demons drinking in Twilight's Cry, he had been unanimously named the best guide.
According to Vassago, the terrain of the Demon Realm changed from moment to moment. The great cities and urban centers where the various Demon Lords held power always kept their shape, but the land around them changed even more wildly than a desert buffeted by constant storms.
The southern region of the Demon Realm, which Yoon Sang-hyuk was headed toward, was especially unstable. Even when Demon Lords came through to patrol the Gray Wasteland, they always had to bring along a highly skilled guide.
“Want a drink?”
At Yoon Sang-hyuk's question, Zephyr flinched. For a moment, he had taken “a drink” to mean another cup of Twilight's Cry.
“Zephyr. Don't worry. The Twilight's Cry that guy just downed was all they had on hand.”
“...Thanks. That's a huge relief, Jerome.”
Zephyr looked at the bartender and let out a breath of relief. The bartender set a glass down in front of both Yoon Sang-hyuk and Zephyr.
“It isn't as vicious as Twilight's Cry, but it has an even deeper richness to it. It's called the Moan of Gainia.”
“Ha, ha ha.”
As expected of the Demon Realm, even the drink names were classy.
Gainia was the earth goddess, one of the three goddesses who had come to Earth. At present, the chief goddess Idea, the goddess of life Everin, and the earth goddess Gainia were all exerting influence over Earth.
And yet this drink was called the Moan of Gainia.
“Hm. It really is a fine drink.”
Contrary to its vulgar name, the taste was as rich as the bartender had promised.
“Thanks to you, I'm getting to drink something I'd never normally get to try.”
Zephyr sipped at the liquor. Watching him take such tiny, careful mouthfuls made Yoon Sang-hyuk want to laugh.
“But I don't think I saw any of the customers here pay after drinking.”
Yoon Sang-hyuk voiced his curiosity.
The demons in the tavern had drained their drinks and then simply stood up and walked out as if nothing had happened.
“They already paid the moment they placed their orders. It's just that the payment isn't gold or jewels like you're used to.”
“What is it then?”
“Darkness.”
“Darkness?”
The bartender, whom he had called Jerome, filled in the explanation.
“The beings of the Demon Realm are always striving to rise higher. To do that, they need the power of darkness. The stronger that power becomes, the stronger we become. The ones who drink here all pay with that dark energy. Thanks to that, I can work in peace and gather darkness at the same time.”
Now that he looked closer, the bartender's presence was substantial. Most of it seemed deliberately hidden, but once Yoon Sang-hyuk focused on him, his power became plain to see.
He was on par with Andromalius, the lowest-ranked among the 72 Demon Lords, no, in some respects he looked even stronger. It seemed possible that a new name might soon be added to the ranks of the Demon Realm's Demon Lords.
As Zephyr sipped his drink, he carefully brought up the subject. “The place we're going is the Gray Wasteland, yes?”
“Right.”
“Do you know what kind of place it is before heading there?”
“If I already knew that, would I need a guide at all?”
Zephyr scratched his head, as though realizing the question had been foolish. Watching the handsome dark elf, who looked like he'd be wildly popular if dragged straight to Earth and turned into a celebrity, make such a clueless expression brought another small smile to Yoon Sang-hyuk's lips.
“To reach the Gray Wasteland, you have to pass three trials. The first is the Quicksand Zone. There are places scattered throughout it that pull living things in like a swamp. If you fall in, you vanish on the spot.”
The beings of the Demon Realm used the word vanish instead of death.
“And even if you just avoid those places and get by, that doesn't make it easy. A dreadful dragon lives in the Quicksand Zone.”
“There's a dragon in the Demon Realm?”
Yoon Sang-hyuk asked in surprise.
“No, a Hell Worm. An absolute monster. The story of how it swallowed hundreds of scouts whole as they crossed the Quicksand Zone is famous. Only Lord Zagan, who was leading the scouts at the time, barely managed to escape.”
In other words, it was a place dangerous even for Demon Lords.
“Even if you somehow get lucky and cross the Quicksand Zone without running into the dragon, almost everyone turns back at the second trial.”
“What place is it?”
“The Valley of Despair. Think of it as the domain of the Banshee Queen, Isophia.”
“A banshee that just appears and starts screaming is that threatening?”
“Ha, ha ha....”
Zephyr laughed as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. The bartender also smiled awkwardly and looked at Yoon Sang-hyuk.
“You really don't know anything about the Banshee Queen.”
“How would I?”
“Ha, right. Then you know that a banshee's cry carries a powerful curse, yes?”
Hearing a banshee's cry supposedly caused someone nearby to die. But when banshees appeared as monsters, their cries only carried a weak curse and a mental attack.
“If you hear the Banshee Queen's cry, someone will definitely vanish.”
The fact that he said “definitely” made it clear this was no trivial matter.
“You said Demon Lords patrol the Gray Wasteland regularly. So how do they get through?”
“They bring gifts for the Banshee Queen.”
“Gifts?”
Gifts, in other words, bribes. If proud Demon Lords were willing to use such a method, then as Zephyr said, she had to be terribly dangerous.
“What kind of gifts does the Banshee Queen like?”
“I don't know the details either. But I heard she likes pure souls. The darker the soul's color, the more she likes it.”
“Then there's no problem.”
“Pardon?”
Zephyr looked at Yoon Sang-hyuk in confusion.
“I mean I have a gift she'll like.”
Yoon Sang-hyuk clicked his tongue with apparent regret. He had no desire to bribe a monster just to get through, but the situation left him little choice.
Yoon Sang-hyuk himself possessed powerful magic resistance, so he could endure the Banshee Queen's curse without trouble. Add the performance of the holy armor wrapped around him, and he could not only withstand it but probably beat it with ease.
But Zephyr, the guide assigned to lead the way, was a different story. He had said someone would “definitely” vanish. If it wasn't Yoon Sang-hyuk, then naturally Zephyr would be the one to vanish.
If Zephyr vanished, the guide for the rest of the journey would be gone. So, whether he liked it or not, it seemed he'd have to bribe the Banshee Queen and pass through.
“We've made it through the second trial. Only the last one remains, then? What is it?”
“The Scorched Earth.”
“The Scorched Earth? Just the name sounds terrifying.”
“Of course it does. That's the holy land of the Balrogs.”
The gigantic Balrogs, those fiery warriors who wielded flaming whips and swords in both hands. The mightiest champions of the Demon Realm, the ones even Demon Lords struggled to recruit into their armies, were Balrogs.
“The Scorched Earth is home to the first Balrog. His name is Ibrahmut. As the first of his kind, he is stronger than any other Balrog. Even the Demon Lords can't treat him lightly.”
“How do they get through the Scorched Earth?”
“They just pass through.”
“Huh?”
Yoon Sang-hyuk stared at Zephyr as if asking what he was talking about. The second trial required bribing the Banshee Queen just to get by, yet the third trial, which sounded even harsher, could simply be passed through? That was bewildering.
“Ibrahmut respects only one being, and that's the ruler of the Demon Realm. So, by the order of the ruler of the Demon Realm, he allows the Demon Lords heading to the Gray Wasteland to pass. But you aren't going there under the ruler of the Demon Realm's order, and you're not a Demon Lord either, are you?”
Yoon Sang-hyuk let out a sigh.
“Pour me another drink.”
“You should at least say the name of the drink, shouldn't you?”
The bartender wore a mischievous expression. He seemed to want to hear the human Yoon Sang-hyuk say something that would insult the goddess's name. Come to think of it, maybe the drink wasn't called the Moan of Gainia after all.
“The Moan of Gainia, then.”
“The Moan of Gainia. Understood. Hahaha.”
“And give my friend another one as well. The Moan of Gainia, of course.”
“Certainly.”
At Yoon Sang-hyuk's words, Zephyr, who had been carefully nursing his drink, emptied the rest in one go and held out his glass to the bartender. Watching the liquor fill it again, Zephyr's face lit up with happiness.
“I'm always trying to save up dark energy, so I can't even drink to my heart's content. I'm only a little short of becoming a high-level demon, but it isn't easy.”
“If you successfully carry out my request, can you ask Marbas for dark energy as payment?”
“Probably. That's what the official notice says. If that happens, I could become a high-level demon in one shot.”
“Good. Then let's think about it this way. It's not for my sake, it's for yours. For you to become a high-level demon, you have to get through the third trial safely and take me to the Gray Wasteland. So hurry up and tell me another way.”
Zephyr drained the liquor in his glass in one gulp, unlike before, then looked at Yoon Sang-hyuk and smiled faintly.
“Ibrahmut...”
He let the end of the sentence trail off.
“Really loves wagers.”
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