Chapter 51

Halumenta (1)

A new type of being leaped over the peaks of the mountain range, bounding forward.

With each leap, the ground split and the sound of air tearing echoed. It was a sight that would make anyone doubt their eyes.

The 5th Overlord, Gwangrang, had already crossed the mountain range to the southeast, leaving the Gaitan Lake behind.

She paused momentarily in front of a peak, her breathing not even slightly disordered.

"Hmm."

Gwangrang, who had been quietly gazing at the sky, suddenly let out a laugh.

It was because the thrill she had felt earlier had not yet completely faded.

'If that's the case, I'll have to kill you too.'

A faint but bone-chilling killing intent, so intense that it sent shivers down her spine for a moment.

The 7th Overlord truly intended to kill her at that moment. She was certain of it.

However, a random thug who was about to die intervened, and the matter was left unresolved.

"Should I have thrown everything away and fought it out?"

She felt a great sense of regret and licked her lips with her tongue.

Mutual destruction was the only and most intense thrill she felt in life.

If she had thrown away all the rules and engaged in a proper battle, who would have survived?

She was confident that she could kill all the other Overlords except the Grand Overlord, but for some reason, she didn't have that confidence with the 7th Overlord.

The 7th Overlord was not beneath her. She instinctively knew this from a brief clash.

"Damn, I can't calm down."

Kwaang!

Gwangrang, who had been clenching and unclenching her hand, threw a punch. The massive peak in front of her crumbled completely.

She pushed off the ground and soared into the air, continuing her journey.

The demon hunt was getting boring again, and it was time to go to the eastern border to hunt demons.

***

The secret of spatial teleportation was discovered, and the Harin tribe left for their homeland.

All the tasks at Gaitan Lake were completed.

After paying the promised fee to Haebeul, who had enchanted the breath-holding spell during their stay at the lake, and parting ways, they immediately set off for the next destination.

"The head mage of the Sainthea royal family... Is that right?"

Ashell's expression hardened.

This was her reaction after hearing the story of what had happened.

It was a massive conflict, and she had sensed it from a distance, but due to the order to stay put, she had remained in the carriage, pondering what to do. In the end, it was for the best since she wouldn't have been much help even if she had come.

"The clan leader died in battle, and the rest of the Harin tribe left for their homeland safely."

"......I see."

Ashell, who had heard the entire story, showed a mix of sorrow and anger.

Perhaps her own past had overlapped with the story.

Her clan had been wiped out by the Sainthea army and one of the Five Stars, Changseong.

"......"

I looked at Ashell with a serious expression.

......To be honest, I felt guilty towards her.

Because, as a player, I already knew that no other members of the Baegwol clan had survived except her.

Of course, she wouldn't believe me if I told her that, and there was no way to prove it.

But I was using that knowledge as bait because I needed her.

Her purpose in life was to find survivors of her clan and take revenge on Sainthea.

If she knew there were no survivors, the only meaning left in her life would be revenge.

In the game, she had already formed precious bonds with comrades before learning this fact, which made her less obsessed with revenge......but here, it was uncertain how things would unfold.

The image of Anne screaming in front of the clan leader's body flashed through my mind.

If possible, I wanted to prevent Ashell from going astray even after learning the truth, but this was an emotional issue that couldn't be solved with game knowledge.

I thought we had broken down quite a bit of the barrier between us, but the current level of intimacy she had with me wasn't that deep.

"Are you determined to take revenge on Sainthea?"

At my question, Ashell flinched and looked at me.

She then answered with a complicated expression.

"To be honest, I don't know. Right now, I'm only focused on finding my clan."

......I see.

I nodded and turned my gaze to the window.

Originally, I had planned to delay as much as possible, but I decided to steel myself.

No matter the outcome, I would take Ashell to 'her' as soon as possible when the opportunity arose.

'Anyway, there's only one place left now.'

Finding the secret was now down to the last remaining one.

However, I had a premonition that this journey to find the secret would be the most perilous of all.

Because the hidden place was none other than the Demon Realm, which is why I had chosen it as the last destination.

If I hadn't obtained Blood Magic or the Immovable Barrier, I might have postponed this journey to find the secret.

'Demon Realm Halumenta.'

The Demon Realm, as the name suggests, is a region where ordinary creatures cannot survive.

A land of death filled with bizarre terrain, environments, weather phenomena, and monsters that defy common sense.

There are five Demon Realms on this continent.

And now, the place I need to go to is Halumenta, located to the northwest of here, a considerable distance from Caledeic.

'There are plenty of monsters, but there's nothing particularly dangerous about the environment......'

With Blood Magic and the Immovable Barrier, I didn't think I would be in great danger even if I encountered powerful monsters.

And with the ability to teleport, I didn't need to worry about terrain with many obstacles, even without Ashell. Still, I would take her.

Even in the Demon Realm, Ashell could handle most monsters that weren't named bosses.

I suddenly became curious and asked.

"Have you ever been to the Demon Realm?"

Ashell answered with a puzzled look.

"No."

"Then this will be your first experience."

"......What?"

"Our next destination is the Demon Realm Halumenta."

Ashell blinked her eyes at my words.

***

The carriage moved for a long time and arrived at a city located on the western border of the 1st Overlord's territory.

From there, Baros was to stay in the city.

Although he wasn't a low-level character, he would be a burden if he accompanied us in the Demon Realm.

It also seemed a bit unfair to leave him alone to guard the carriage and wait indefinitely.

The Demon Realm was vast, and it was unknown how long it would take to find this secret.

Of course, Baros, being Baros, insisted on following us as far as possible, but I easily overruled him with authority.

"Then, I'll be back."

Baros saw us off at the city gate.

I rode a horse with Ashell and left the city.

I had practiced riding during the few days we stayed in the city.

It was the first time I had ridden a horse in my life, but thanks to my heightened senses, I quickly mastered it.

With enhanced senses, my basic motor skills seemed to have improved as well.

After a few days of travel, I could ride without holding the reins.

I unfolded a map while riding to check the route.

It was an expensive map that showed the northwest of Caledeic and the terrain of the Demon Realm in rough detail.

Since there were no guides to lead the way in the Demon Realm, this journey to find the secret would have to be done entirely on our own.

'Hmm......'

To be honest, I couldn't tell much from just the map.

The Demon Realms were places I had frequented as easily as eating a meal while playing the game.

However, as I had already experienced, the game and the real world were fundamentally different, so the geographical knowledge from the game was not very useful.

It was better to abandon any hopes of a smooth journey and prepare for a rough one.

Time passed as we rode.

As we got closer to the Demon Realm, the environment and terrain began to change.

Black clouds in the sky blocked the sunlight even during the day, and the undergrowth gradually disappeared, making it difficult to find any green.

Instead, desolate plains and rocks with a dark red hue occasionally came into view.

The horses, sensing the ominous aura in the air, began to balk and stop more frequently as we moved.

"Let's take a break."

"Yes."

We set up a spot and had lunch.

It wasn't a particularly appetizing landscape, but we needed to eat.

Baros used to prepare the meals, but now Ashell was doing it.

Surprisingly, she was quite skilled at cooking, though not as much as Baros.

She had lived in the mountains and wandered for a long time before entering the Grand Overlord's castle, so it made sense.

Kukuku.

While we were eating, a group of monsters approached from the plain.

They were bipedal avian monsters that resembled giant ostriches, known as Mad Birds, which inhabit the plains.

As Ashell was about to get up to deal with them, I noticed something large behind them.

【Lv. 61】

A giant lizard with two heads.

I enhanced my senses to get a closer look.

'......A Twin-Headed Lizard?'

If you were to name a bizarre monster from the Demon Realm, one of the most representative would be a multi-headed monster.

The Twin-Headed Lizard was one of them.

Now that I looked, it seemed they were being chased by the lizard rather than attacking us.

As we got closer to the Demon Realm, it seemed that some of the monsters were crossing the boundary and appearing outside.

Of course, Ashell showed no mercy.

A massive sword aura shot out from Ashell, sweeping through the approaching monsters.

The sword aura decapitated the Mad Birds and sliced through the one at the back. However......

Kieek!

The monster surprisingly withstood Ashell's attack.

Despite bleeding profusely, it shook its two heads wildly and charged forward with a roar.

Ashell raised an eyebrow and released another sword aura, which was much more powerful than the previous one.

The monster, hit by the sword aura again, finally split in half and fell.

Ashell sheathed her sword with a slightly uneasy expression.

I understood why she felt that way.

'The monsters in the Demon Realm are like that.'

Not only were they strong, but their aggressiveness and ferocity were incomparable to regular monsters.

Just now, a regular monster would have fled after the first hit, but this one didn't.

Of course, there were also extremely cunning monsters, making them troublesome in various ways.

In the game, hunting monsters in the Demon Realm was almost suicidal unless you were a high-level veteran.

"Ah."

Ashell, who was about to sit down and eat again, sighed when she saw her soup bowl overturned.

It had been overturned by the aftereffects of the strong aura she had just released.

I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight, and our eyes met. She cleared her throat, looking embarrassed, and ladled more soup into her bowl.

"Eat more."

"......Yes."