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The Demon Realm, reached beyond the Dimension Gate.

Users who set foot in the Demon Realm shuddered at the overwhelming sensation of the chilling magic that filled the world.

Magic was everywhere, and simply exhaling and breathing allowed significant amounts of it to seep into their bodies.

Fortunately for them, a white badge, the Angel’s artifact, provided some resistance.

Paaah…!

“Ugh…”

“I feel kind of creepy.”

“Everyone, stay focused! First, let’s assess the situation!”

“Where’s everybody?”

There were clearly more than a thousand of us before entering the Demon Realm, yet now there were barely fifty.

“Alliance Leader, what should we do?”

“…Hmm. There are a few teams nearby.”

The leader of the Challenger Alliance was not just a titular position.

He could wield various system powers, and those powers were not blocked even by the Silence’s magical control.

The Knight nodded while looking at the darkened map floating beside him.

There were several clusters of red dots visible on the map.

“It seems we’re scattered in all directions. To activate the ‘Alliance Mapping’ properly, we’ll definitely need to explore the area first.”

“Got it.”

“Yeah!”

“By the way, it is as eerie as the rumors suggested.”

The users nodded at the Knight’s remark.

The sky, a blend of purple, red, and black, was extraordinarily dreary.

A red moon moved as if it were alive, and not a single blade of grass could be seen on the ground.

Wherever they looked, barren, dull-colored rocky mountains surrounded them.

Occasionally, there was something that resembled a lake, but its surface evoked an instinctive aversion in the users.

The purple water was bubbling ominously…

“Ugh. This place is totally unpleasant…”

“Let’s wake up and get out of here.”

“Right. Haven’t we become somewhat strong? Even without Lily, we can handle it.”

“Exactly, exactly!”

The users clenched their fists, preparing to fight.

It had been a month of peace, but that didn’t mean they’d just been slacking off.

Most of them steadily grew their powers using the badges and quests received from the angels, and now they were sufficiently capable of resisting a decent demon.

They could manage against foes that were not at the level of ‘Top-tier Undead’.

“By the way, where’s the Angel Guild? It’s not even showing up on the ‘map’ we shared.”

“Maybe they’re a bit farther…”

!

A sudden flow of magic.

About fifty users quickly drew their weapons, aiming at the point where the flow twisted.

This was their first encounter with an enemy since entering the Demon Realm.

There was a high chance zombies would appear again, but the Angel Guild had previously warned that the Demon Realm was the land of devils.

It was warned that not just the regular undead, but ‘demons’ could show up too.

‘Demons.’

A calamity-like existence that exuded tremendous power, capable of wielding all magic with their mere appearance.

Everyone braced themselves, having witnessed the dangers of demons through past encounters with demon bosses and the Black Lily, as they awaited the appearance of their foe.

And then, what revealed itself was…

Caw! Caw!

“…Eh?”

“Is that it?”

“A wild dog?”

It was a dog.

A pack of wild dogs with dark purple fur appeared before the users.

They were living creatures, not undead.

The users, who had been tense, looked down in disbelief at the dogs that stood before them.

“Ha! We were all worked up for nothing. They’re just dogs.”

“They’re kind of cute, though?”

“Are those things demons too?”

“Come on, no way. They’re just harmless mobs.”

“Come here. Good doggy.”

One by one, the users lowered their weapons and approached the pack of wild dogs.

The wild dogs tilted their heads, looking curiously at the users, while the Knight warned them with a hint of caution.

“Wait, be careful! They do possess magic, you know. First, let’s assess…”

“Come on. They’re just about the size of our pet dogs. Right, Charlie?”

Caw! Caw!

One user bent down to pet the biggest dog in the pack.

The dog submissively accepted the affection.

It looked like a well-trained purple retriever.

“See? They’re nice.”

“……”

“Do you have an owner? Wanna come along with your big sister?”

“Be cautious.”

“I told you, it’s fine. What’s wrong, Bentu?”

“Can I just catch one? I wonder what I’d get for it.”

“Go ahead. Just don’t touch Charlie. I named him.”

“Okay.”

The user named Bentura drew a gigantic double-headed axe.

As the power of the Holy enveloped the axe, the wild dogs’ red eyes turned towards Bentura.

Bentura chuckled at the sudden shift in attention and poured more energy into the axe.

“What are you looking at? Just around level 80─”

Thud…

The dog named Charlie swelled up.

What used to be the size of a retriever quickly grew to the size of a house, swallowing the surprised Bentura in a single gulp.

Crunch.

In an instant, a level 120 ranker vanished.

“…?!”

“Uh…?”

“Le-level up…”

“Kill, kill, kill!!”

As nearby users were slowly devoured one by one, they each raised their weapons and charged in.

And then—

Aoooohhh!!

Ding!

[LV.179]

A bloodbath ensued.

■

Aoooohhh…

“?”

“What’s up?”

“Hmm, is that a wolf howl?”

“Looks like someone poked the ‘wild dogs’ to the east. Don’t worry. It’s not the first time wild dogs have caused a ruckus. They’ll just gobble up the nearby intruders and settle down.”

“……”

“Ah. Eat up comfortably. Oh, by the way, is that food you can’t eat?”

“…Not exactly.”

“Then eat it.”

In a grotesquely twisted mansion deep within the forest.

The party from the Magic Tower, standing at the entrance of the mansion which exuded a refined air, was forcefully drawn before the demon.

Of course, the demon didn’t appear to have any intent to harm them, but…

Master of the Magic Tower Neris remained tense, not even reaching for the soup set before her.

‘A demon. A strong demon at that.’

While she didn’t have detailed stats, the demon was undoubtedly at least an ‘Intermediate’ level as Lily often described.

Similar in level to the Top-tier Undead they had encountered so far.

No, considering these beings were demons by nature, they might even be stronger.

The demon, towering over 3 meters tall with dark brown skin and a strong physique, sported a head resembling that of a ‘cow’.

An imposing figure with a cow’s head and towering horns.

He introduced himself as Urov.

“Urov? May I ask a question?”

“Ask away.”

“Why are you being so kind to us? We came to slay demons.”

“Uh, sister!”

At Neris’s words, the mages (incompetents) beside the table jumped in surprise.

Isn’t it a bit inappropriate to speak like that in front of a demon?

The Magic Tower members exchanged glances with the demon, but Urov just chuckled.

Hahaha!!!

The mansion shook tremendously.

“Interesting lot you are!”

“You already know the answer, right? It’s not like a demon would kindly guide us.”

Neris thought something, and Urov seemed to understand the users’ purpose for coming here.

Yet, instead of attacking or torturing them, he offered them a lavish meal and requested a conversation.

It was definitely not because demons felt the need to be courteous or respectful.

‘If that were the case, Lily wouldn’t have rated them as such.’

Demons are the very embodiment of ‘evil.’

Demons have their own objectives.

There was a reason they didn’t kill them outright and summoned them here!

Urov grinned.

“You’re sharp. Indeed, I have a request for you who have been chosen by the ‘Great Being.’”

“…Great?”

“But first, there is one part we must address.”

“What is it?”

Urov’s eyes bore down on Neris with ferocity.

It felt as if he was dissecting her entirely.

“You also have something you desire, do you not? Right?”

“……”

“If you had been imbued with that hideous power of light, I would’ve buried you underground without so much as a chat. But you’ve reached this place without bearing the power of light.”

He chuckled.

“You want to receive that person’s power, don’t you?”

“……”

“Since our desires align, it’s quite a fortunate matter…!”

“I never claimed that I wanted it.”

“Oh, little one. That’s not how one tells lies.”

“…Tch.”

Neris turned her head away.

It wasn’t because she needed magic.

It was simply that as a mage, battling against a demon was beyond imagination.

Therefore, mages were forced into the Heavenly Realm to contend with the angels.

‘But that’s not acceptable.’

The angel as a user was just a public opinion, but there was no way she could face an angel with her current capabilities.

Especially since, besides Lily, there were hardly any personnel aiming for the Heavenly Realm available—standing against them without any abilities was nonsensical.

Neris glared up at Urov coldly.

“I have no intention of siding with demons.”

“Ckck… how amusing. Your entirety is utterly useless.”

“……”

“There is but one thing you can do. That’s why I personally called upon you, pests.”

“…What do you want?”

“All I desire is but one thing.”

Urov’s hand waved in the air.

Magic quivered as the image of someone appeared in the blackened void.

That figure was…

‘Lady Lily?’

No.

It was just a momentary mistake due to the surrounding darkness; she was different from Lily.

“Black Lily.”

“Will you collect the pieces? Be my guest.”

“…? Pieces?”

“Half the land to the west has been cast away into another dimension, and from the southern lord ‘Piaquia,’ extract his soul. Search for the fragments of the fallen star and receive your ‘mission.’ Then I shall share that person’s power with you.”

 

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