A Desperate Dash Through the Demon Realm
The original plan, as I'd mentioned before, was to explain the whole situation to the guards properly.
Or just bullshit my way through it somehow.
I'd gotten friendly with a few guards during my mercenary work, so if any of them I knew were on duty, there was a good chance they'd let me slide without issue.
After access to Tusnis Mountain got blocked, a few tourists had snuck in and gotten caught, but they just paid a small fine, enjoyed their vacation, and went back home.
It wasn't a place with harsh punishments to begin with.
There were no state secrets to protect or special reasons for it being a forbidden zone.
It was just blocked off to prevent headaches by keeping tourists safe in advance.
But when I came down the mountain, it was clear the original plan wouldn't get me out of here without a hassle.
"Seal it tight! Not even a single rat gets through!!!"
"Search teams over there!!! Get ready now!!!! If that intruder slips away, you're taking responsibility?!?!"
The guards were way more intense than usual.
'Oh shit, is it because of that?'
About a month ago, I'd heard they were holding a tournament to select skilled mercenaries for odd jobs with the Hero's Party.
And the event was right here in Rotten, of all places.
With the Hero herself coming to check the qualifiers in person, of course security would be airtight.
Plus, if my guess was right, it was about time for the Lunia Church's saintess to visit Tusnis Mountain to fetch the holy flames.
Timing like this didn't exist.
Well, when had life ever gone according to plan anyway?
I turned around and headed back up the mountain.
'If I'm right, north for sure...'
I checked my bearings, got my sense of direction, and bolted north.
Because I'd thought of the only way to resolve this mess.
Thoughts deliberate, execution swift.
To the north lay the Demon Realm.
A place even Rotten's soldiers avoided.
Tusnis Mountain was mostly within Rotten's borders, but its massive size meant parts extended beyond the Caliseo Wall.
There were no walls on the mountain itself.
Rotten used the mountain like a natural rampart, skipping over it and reconnecting the Caliseo Wall on the far side.
Doesn't that leave a gap for monsters to invade?
The answer: the point where the wall crossed was right around the mid-slope, inaccessible to monsters.
Because holy flames rose from the mid-slope onward.
Monsters couldn't pass through.
If they tried forcing it, they'd burn to ash midway.
Anyway, I sprinted north, betting the encirclement would be thin there—or nonexistent—due to its proximity to the Demon Realm.
My ultimate goal: loop back to Rotten through the Demon Realm.
Everything I'd built was there, and anywhere else would mean heading to another city—which, bypassing Rotten from the Demon Realm, would take months on foot.
No choices left.
I had no idea if they knew I'd climbed Tusnis Mountain or if this was just for some other intruder.
If the former, nothing I could do.
I hadn't done anything wrong up there anyway, and above all, I was innocent.
Just cooperate with the investigation back in Rotten, and that'd be it.
If the latter, back to business as usual.
It was a bit scary crossing into the uninhabited Demon Realm, though.
Still, in my mind, this was the only way.
"Haa... haa..."
The Demon Realm's landscape unfolded before me.
Red skies, barren earth.
A place where no one lived...
Or so it should have been.
'Why does this feel so familiar?'
The Demon Realm scenery, which I was seeing for the first time, felt anything but alien.
As if I'd spent a good long while here.
'No way? I've never been to the Demon Realm...?'
I racked my brain, wondering if I'd visited somewhere similar during mercenary gigs, but nothing came up.
Of course not.
Our mercenary group never strayed beyond the north borders.
Land this desolate, like a wasteland desert, you'd only see down south in the Shamat Empire.
'If I make it back to Rotten safe, I gotta hit the church for a checkup...'
Waking up on Tusnis Mountain with memory gaps was unsettling enough, but these nonexistent memories kept surfacing.
My head was only getting more chaotic.
'First things first: get back to Rotten.'
I shoved down the unease and headed for Rotten.
I'd safely crossed into the Demon Realm and was following the Caliseo Wall toward the gate.
"Hey!!!"
A guard spotted me from afar and waved.
I'd been tense, half-worried I was wanted or something, but his reaction suggested Rotten's mood had nothing to do with me.
"James! How've you been?"
I waved back with a grin and greeted him first.
"Great! You?"
"Same here."
James thumbed toward the gate.
"Come on in. Evan, for you, I'll just check the records and wave you through."
The "records" meant the list of people who'd gone outside the walls.
The Demon Realm was forbidden, sure, but verified individuals could head out for a limited time to build strength.
To avoid issues, anyone leaving had to log their name and expected duration.
'Bet I'm not on there.'
My last clear memory was finishing a job and heading to the castle for pay.
Everything after was blank.
Last memory inside Rotten, woke up on Tusnis Mountain—so unless I'd climbed from inside, which seemed likely...
No way I'd be on the Demon Realm access list.
Unless I'd gone insane and looped out through the Demon Realm from Rotten just to hit Tusnis Mountain from inside. Inefficient madness.
-Gulp.
My throat bobbed dryly.
"Lemme see... Evan... Evan..."
The rustle of turning pages had never sounded so ominous.
As I stared tensely at the list...
"Ah, found it. Week ago, Evan, training purpose. Expected: one week."
"Huh...?"
"Came back a day late. Eh, between us, no biggie. Be careful next time."
"Uh... yeah."
I walked back into Rotten in a daze.
'Did I really climb Tusnis Mountain via the Demon Realm...? Was I actually crazy...?'
Clutching a head full of questions, I headed to the mercenary guild building.
-Creeeak.
"Evan!!!!!"
The mercenary uncles swarmed me with fierce hugs.
"Why're you so late?! You said one week and done!"
I dunno either...
I wanted to say it, but couldn't.
"Felt like I was onto a breakthrough, so..."
I scratched my head and grinned it off.
"Even so! You know how dangerous the Demon Realm is! If you'd been any later, we'd have all gone looking!"
Their anger and nagging showed no signs of stopping, so I pulled the ultimate nagging-pass card.
"Whew... Actually, I hit Sword Expert this time."
"What...?!!"
My bombshell had them crowding around me from all sides.
"You awakened aura?!?!?!?"
Among knights, Experts weren't rare.
You needed that level for the title's honor.
Knighthood was for those nearing or at Expert—prestigious stuff.
But mercenaries? Different story.
Expert-level mercs? You could count 'em on one hand.
Why? With that skill, why be a meat shield when knighthood offered stability and respect?
Unlike despised mercs, knights got admiration.
Hell, Experts would get recruitment offers everywhere.
Still, an Expert in a merc group wasn't useless—it boosted value big time.
From disposable meat shields to durable, worth-preserving ones.
Expendable like knights? Nah, more flexible.
Decent upgrade.
From their view, now worth investing in gear and supplies.
Dragged by the excited uncles' hands, I ended up in the dusty training yard behind our guild.
Dawn's Torch's own sparring ground.
"Show us once. Not doubting you, but better to see the aura with our own eyes."
I drew the famous sword I'd brought along...
"Huh...?"
Its appearance had changed?
It used to be dark-red bladed with flame-like engravings—pure prestige sword vibes.
Now? Just a well-forged dwarven iron sword.
'Fuck... gotta hit the church ASAP...'
Hallucinations piling up, partial memory loss.
Symptoms screamed mental breakdown.
Maybe the summit, the altar—all hallucinations.
But right now, it didn't matter.
The aura was real, coursing through me—no illusion.
I held the sword like a knight taking an oath and slowly drew out the aura.
The world of flickering flames extended outward, dyeing my blade completely.
-Whoosh.
Crimson flames burst into the world.