Chapter 361: The Lost World (16)

"What kind of ground is this...?" Gilaut muttered, unsettled. "Ugh. Look at those veins... is that mucous membrane or what?"

However, I knew this land. This was how demonic erosion occurred. Just like Gilaut, most monsters including Dullahan reacted with confusion. Yet humans who encountered this soil felt something far worse: a deeper, instinctive revulsion.

It even has its own functional traits.

I recalled old memories. The terrain granted a slight strength increase to monsters treading upon it, and alerted the creator of nearby humans. On rare occasions, the more aggressive membranes wrapped around and dissolved living humans or even buildings, to consume them. Such lands were usually only found when a high-ranking Demon King deliberately cultivated and controlled them.

This one didn’t seem to be that type, though.

I set my foot on the breathing meat, blood, and pulsing membrane that formed the Demon Realm’s flesh-soil. "Step on it."

Gilaut recoiled. "Ugh, aren’t you even a little creeped out?!"

Splurch.

Nothing happened. Marching was the foundation of war. As a front-line soldier, I had walked across this terrain more than once.

"W-wow... you really don’t hesitate, huh..." said Gilaut.

"It’s nothing," I answered.

Even so, it took a long time before the soldiers could make themselves step naturally onto the quivering ground. I waited for them, going over the same thought that had occupied my mind since we left the boat.

"Do not go back."

What did that even mean? He had never mentioned regression. Even if the white hooded man was powerful, how could he possibly know? I decided to set regression aside.

Taken literally, he must have meant not to turn back along this path.

Still, what path? Was he talking about Gith-Za-Rai, who had come with me? Did something happen to her? The questions kept multiplying.

I had considered telling Gilaut, but if I suggested something could’ve happened to Gith-Za-Rai, he would get far too agitated.

I had to think. During the Celestial Palace battle, Bassago’s mark had burned brighter than anything else, overwhelmingly so. That pure white flame had shown no sign of fading even when I left.

The Third Seat of the Demon Kings.

Even if other Demon Kings joined forces, the top four were special. No matter how the lower ranks combined their strength, they could never surpass that wall. Bassago, Lord of the Dead, would have helped his contractor, Gith-Za-Rai, in some way.

There’s no way to check now... I just have to go forward.

The soldiers followed slowly behind me. Even Gilaut stopped complaining and walked over the pulsing terrain.

The Demon Realm’s soil. At a glance, it resembled the grotesque meat-wall constructed by the High Priest of Botis using living humans, but its nature was entirely different. Unlike the flesh-wall, which existed solely to amplify human suffering, this flesh-soil offered monsters a fundamental sense of relief.

[1042 feels comfort with every step.]

[1004 is shrouded in black vapor and recalls home.]

[1002’s Affection increased by 2!]

[Your troops believe you are guiding them along the correct path.]

[As long as your Proper March continues, experience will accumulate steadily.]

[Experience increased!]

Clatter. Clatter.

Humans would have felt disgust and dread with every step. However, these were monsters who’d once preyed on humans, died, and risen again into something even more hostile. For them, it was the opposite.

[Experience increased!]

We had marched far enough that leveling seemed plausible. Eventually, a moisture-damp signboard hung ahead on the wall.

AUCTION HOUSE.

My gaze fixed on the sign. "This is the place?"

Then, the ends of the letters began spreading open.

Kuduk.

The sign stretched sideways, then split downward, opening into a wide maw akin to trumpet vine. Inside were rows of jagged, furious teeth. The sign writhed free of the wall and slowly emerged forward.

Kuduk... Kudududuk...

Eyes formed on both ends of the sign, followed by a nose. A clown, fused with the wall, shook its two-lobed red hat. Like grotesque ribbons, two enormous tongues flicked above the massive slab of red flesh it called a head. Its face alone was half the size of its body. With a mysteriously clean white cloth, it wiped its mouth and blinked its black eyes twice. Even though it said nothing, somehow it seemed as though it were mocking us.

A gatekeeper?

I stepped forward. "I have a question."

The clown grimaced. "What’s that? A question? A question? Boy, do I look like a teacher who answers questions just because you ask?"

His tone dripped with condescension, though not maliciously. It felt more like the natural contempt of someone who inherently found others insignificant.

"..."

"You sad little creatures who think questions must be answered... This is the entrance to the auction house. If you don’t have a kruna, you’re not getting in. Your affiliation doesn’t matter."

I showed the glowing green number on my wrist. "This should work, right?"

The clown gave a low chuckle. "Good... at least you have a little something. Put that part in here."

He pointed at a twitching hole lined with especially dense veins. The opening seemed as if it had been scorched by fire. It rippled faintly and exuded a metallic, bloody odor. The quivering black hole brushed my chin with its gaze, as if it were stroking my skin.

Gilaut grabbed my shoulder, clearly alarmed. "Hold on. Are we really supposed to stick our hand into... that?"

Truthfully, even I felt a momentary jolt of discomfort. "What is this thing?"

"Tsk... It’s the entry-fee collector and affiliation verifier, connected to the Sixteen Seats. Feed it and go in. You’re not worth the time for a long explanation. If you don’t like it, turn around..."

I wasn’t alone. "We don’t each have to feed it, right?"

"You have kruna... so yes, I’ll explain, but it’s annoying... Handle it yourselves. You might slip in when the door opens, or get crushed if it closes wrong. Everyone dies their own way..."

He meant it was dangerous.

"No alternate path?"

"Put it in or don’t. Up to you. Another way... ha! Not a chance... Hmph." He blew air from his nose, clearly done talking. Unlike the boatman, he didn’t even seem interested in squeezing money out of us.

Gilaut clenched his fist. "What is with that thing...?!"

I stopped him. "Don’t."

It wasn’t a random hole. Faint Demon King insignias were carved into the veins around its rim. Blurred and overlapping, but unmistakably real. I hadn’t expected hospitality at an auction house. Given that creature, he had actually explained plenty.

Let’s do it.

There was clearly no other path. If this were a trick, I’d have plenty of chances to punish him later. I stepped closer to the wall and examined the hole again.

All sixteen insignias... they’re all here.

Every one of them was present. I lifted my wrist, the kruna mark glowing, and thrust my hand straight into the hole.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The inside pulsed strongly, like a beating human heart.

Kuduk! Kuduk!

The membrane clamped down around my wrist, gripping tight so I couldn’t move. Dark power surged from the pulsing walls in liquid and vapor form, seeping over my skin.

Shwaaa! Ssssss...!

Strange, yet not exactly unpleasant. At that moment...

The condescending clown suddenly cried out in alarm, "Huh? Huh?"

[Malphas’s Affection is being converted into kruna.]

[You have obtained 7,777 kruna.]

That was only the beginning.

[The reclusive Demon King Malphas is baffled by a contract that was never made.]

[Malphas is confused by the Affection never granted.]

[Malphas is shocked by a flawless circuit engraving he has never taught anyone.]

[Malphas recalls that you are his sole representative in the mortal realm.]

[Malphas decides that, in any case, this is a good outcome.]

[Malphas grants you a subsidy and wishes for your success.]

[You have obtained 777,777 kruna.]

"...!"

Bzzzzzz...!

The green number carved into my wrist multiplied several dozen times over.

The clown’s jaw dropped. "What... is this...?"

His mouth split wide to the sides and sagged all the way down to the floor, as if it could swallow anything. The interior was lined with teeth all the way up to the palate. It dangled half-dislocated, unable to close. While the hat, two red tongues stuck together, trembled violently.

I am his sole representative?

Isaac’s absence probably had something to do with it. Still, I found it surprising that Malphas had no contractors left in the human realm. Isaac had drawn Malphas’s presence closer to this world for his own purpose. Then, he went around weeding out other Demon Kings’ followers. Without him, Malphas had probably been rather passive.

Or maybe...

It was entirely possible that, because Isaac vanished, the Demon King's descent had been moved up drastically. The history books I had read on the ship clearly stated it: Isaac had crushed countless demon worshippers.

The number of human sacrifices dropped that much, too.

Isaac had intended to enslave them for life, wringing out all their labor and emotions. Ultimately, he failed and was sealed away by the goddesses.

His disappearance only pushed the descent forward by ten years... Even that might be too little.

I was lost in thought when Gilaut and the clown’s voices reached me.

"F-Friend, what did you just do?"

"Damn it... I apologize for not recognizing you, but... I don’t really think I need to apologize, since I had no way of knowing... Damn it! How was I supposed to tell you were his direct contractor when he barely does anything...?"

I shrugged at Gilaut. "I’ll explain later."

"Later again?! I’ll trust you for now, but still!"

Then I turned to the clown protruding from the wall. "It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it. Just show us the way."

"Ugh... If you’d just bullied me a little, my conscience would be lighter... Very well, esteemed customer. I will guide you!"

Lastly, I glanced back at my soldiers. "They can all come in, right?"

"Of course. Since I’m opening it, it’ll be safe."

Kudududuk...!

Starting at the clown, the surrounding flesh slowly split open on both sides, revealing a passage bit by bit. His eyes glowed faint pink as though he had made some great decision. The change in color transformed his entire expression.

"Allow me to introduce myself properly, esteemed customer. I am Mitshi Kunzza, temporary auction manager. It is a great honor to meet a promising client sponsored by a high Demon King in such a low-quality establishment..."

"Forget the honor. Once we pass through the auction house, does this cave end?" I asked what mattered most to me.

Buying things was secondary. My real goal was to get through the cave as quickly as possible.

"No, esteemed customer. Even with the fastest shortcuts, you must still pass through other Demon Kings’ territories. However, if you reveal that you are the direct contractor of the Reclusive One, no fool will dare stand in your way. You can simply walk past, esteemed customer. If you wish, I can accompany you as well."

That was unexpected support. With help from a demon of this caliber, things could go far more smoothly. In that case, it was time to test him.

"You’re the auction trader here, right?"

"This auction house is far beneath my abilities, esteemed customer."

"Your... abilities?"

"I am heir to the lineage of Gluttony, one of the Seven Eternal Roots. I am no rootless devil, esteemed customer."

The way he glanced at us while speaking made it sound as though we were the ones without pedigree. Nevertheless, if he truly inherited one of the Seven Roots, he had every right. Standing before me was a demon capable of devouring an entire fortress.

His true body must be terrifying...

His sudden change in attitude was almost comical. However, the Demon Realm was more than a survival of the fittest—it embodied that rule with perfect harmony.

When one was strong or acknowledged by the strong, they did not envy or resent them. No one understood and submitted to the law of strength and the truth of ability as consistently as they did.

The clown then said, "However, you are the first person I have ever seen chosen by the Reclusive Demon King. You deserve my reverence."

He bowed his head.

[Mitshi Kunzza’s Affection has increased by 5!]

I had no idea what use I had for such a noble demon’s Affection. For now, the priority was to pass through the auction house and get out of this cave.

"Let’s go in."

"Yes, I will guide you."

We stepped into the parted flesh-wall. Inside, demons had laid out their goods on makeshift stalls. Unlike the auction manager, most of them didn’t look particularly powerful. Mitshi no longer seemed interested in guarding the entrance. He waddled alongside us instead.

With the auction manager being so accommodating, and with a sudden fortune in demonic currency, there was no reason not to shop.

Thus, I asked my fellow comrade, "Mind if I buy a few things first?" I asked my fellow comrades.

Gilaut nodded from within the shadows. "Oh, of course. The command our lord entrusted is yours for now, Friend... Take all the time you like."

The clown’s lips curled in a pleased grin. "Heh... Since you’ve come all the way to an auction house, after all... I will grant you a temporary appraisal field."

"Appraisal field?"

"Yes."

Shrrrk.

He tore a small piece off the cloth he had used to wipe his mouth.

Fwoosh!

Red smoke burst from the torn edge, seeping into my head like mist.

"And for your companion as well..."

"Ugh!"

More red smoke flowed from the cloth, seeping into the cut stump of Gilaut’s neck.

"I-I can see it!"

"Heh heh heh..."

[You have temporarily acquired Appraisal Lv. 3.]

[Remaining time: 01:30:00]

"Try it out."

In the span of a glance, I could now sense the rough quality of each item. The vibration, the color, the outline—things I couldn’t have put into words before now slotted directly into my mind, as if someone were gently pressing them into place.

Is this a scroll effect? To grant someone else a sense like this...

After seeing the imperial archives, none of the items here truly impressed me. Instead, my interest shifted toward the auction manager himself.

"As you can see, there isn’t much of real value here..." said the auction manager.

"The size is good enough, though," I said.

They weren’t useless. If I had focused solely on finding armor, helmets, and boots in the right sizes for Skeleton Trolls and Skeleton Ogres, the stock would have been more than adequate. After a sweep with Appraisal, I began equipping my soldiers one by one.

[1080’s Affection has increased by 2!]

[1057’s Affection has increased by 3!]

After several repetitions...

[You repeatedly use the Appraisal skill.]

[You have acquired Appraisal Lv. 0!]

[Appraisal skill proficiency has increased.]

I got this much from a temporary skill...?

It was a pleasant surprise. If I kept using it, I could likely secure Appraisal as a permanent skill. With the auction manager tailing us, none of the vendors dared inflate the prices. We armed the troops without incident.

"Is there anything better?" I asked.

Even if it couldn’t match the imperial archives, I wanted to find something worthy of Gilaut, at least.

We still have money left, anyway.

"Ah, I was just about to mention it, once the time was right..." The clown rolled his eyes. "There will soon be a supply of top-tier items. Even I covet them. This is information I share only with you, esteemed customer. We’ve never had a shipment like this."

"Lucky, then. Those just happen to be arriving now?"

He smiled and nodded. "Indeed, esteemed customer. You’re very fortunate. A special hunt is being prepared for those who possess the finest equipment. They’re extremely powerful individuals, who passed through the Erosion Zone on a different route than yours. It’s fortunate you didn’t encounter them, esteemed customer."

"What?"

Gilaut drew his sword. "What did you just say?"

A sharp warning blared through my mind.