Chapter 368: The Lost World (23)

Thousands of corpses looked pitch-black. A mountain of severed and burned remains rose in uneven layers, and buried somewhere in that mound were the twenty soldiers who had followed me.

Not a single one of them was left intact. They were broken, shattered, collapsed, scattered like sand, and impossible to recognize. I searched through the remains, trying to recover the fragments of emotions and connections we once shared. It felt like trying to restore a world.

Clatter.

Piece by piece, I matched bones together. There was no helping the Dullahans as they had completely vanished along with their lingering regrets. In this world, the Dullahans were gone. Even if they started new lives somewhere and I met them again, even if I explained our bond once more, the Gilaut who had shared a timeline with me was gone forever. That was why I wanted to at least raise the soldiers who had marched with me.

I found one shard, then another. I started slowly assembling a single soldier. When I finally restored a soldier and placed my hand on the rune carved into its skull to activate a skill...

[Skill: Lord of Bones Lv. 3 activated.]

[A pre-existing rune has activated.]

[Signature: Gith-Za-Rai]

[Signer: Deceased.]

[Rune of Preservation is void.]

[Rune: Block]

[Insufficient authority.]

[Unable to raise target.]

So it's impossible...

The army I had left in the rear would be the same. The realization that every comrade I had traveled with was severed from me left my chest hollow. After abandoning the idea of reviving my soldiers, I checked the other corpses.

None of them was worth raising. If they were strong, they lacked control; if they were weak, they were of no use. Some might even hinder me if I needed to move quietly alone.

I combed through the corpses in search of any faint green glow, just in case. Bassago's priest, whom Gith-Za-Rai had killed, had already been reduced to little more than bloodstains, and those too had burned away. Even where he had died, there was no glow.

A small wave of regret flickered, but I forced myself to look away. Once I had mostly sorted out the situation, a slow worry crept up on me.

Now... what should I do?

Gith-Za-Rai was dead. Without her, going to Embermere felt meaningless. After her first death, when Esau had met me, it had been different.

I remembered what she had told me.

You’re still here, aren’t you? Gith-Za-Rai’s last soldier. You have proof of the emperor’s assassination. Why hesitate? Of course, you should inherit her claim.

She had sensed the remnant of Gith-Za-Rai’s mana within me and wanted to escort me to Embermere, insisting I deserved compensation.

"Maybe... I could meet her again," I murmured to myself.

If I left the cave, she might even be waiting. After all, the beetle had flown away, but I hadn’t killed the emperor this time. There was no way I’d receive any reward. I had exaggerated things when I explained it to Gith-Za-Rai, but the possibility that the "reward" was a complete lie was... very high. And if going forward wasn’t the right move...

Should I go back?

However, that choice didn’t appeal to me either. Erast had become the Chandler family’s territory; I had no real clue where Rubia might be now. With the T&T Guild vanished along with Naneow, I had no way of knowing about Rena’s situation. Not to mention, the person who said she’d track their traces, Gith-Za-Rai, was dead.

Everything was foggy.

What could I do now?

Wandering aimlessly would be pointless.

At this rate...Should I just kill myself?

I had just absorbed a mountain of skills. Dying here wouldn’t be the worst outcome, but the thought passed quickly.

No. That would be too irresponsible.

I had survived a brutal battle by miracle. I needed to gather every scrap of information that could help Gith-Za-Rai and reunite with her somehow. If I were going to die, then I should struggle until the very end.

The first priority was the curse Bassago of the Third Seat had placed. If I triggered it, half of Gith-Za-Rai would be blown off again. I needed a clue to undo that curse, and there was only one possible source.

"Malphas?"

No answer.

"Great collector of rare jewels!"

Silence.

"Prey of Demon King Leraje!"

[Malphas is excited.]

Crackle! Crackle!

Black electricity flickered around me. It didn’t feel murderous, but it was a rather rough form of protest. As expected, he was listening.

Demon King Malphas was watching me. More precisely, if he was observing the human world, I was the only being left to watch.

Isaac was gone. The cult’s followers were gone. The Chandler family’s contract had been erased at its foundation. I was the only contractor left. Everything I muttered would flow straight into his ears.

"I have a request. Take me... to the Demon Realm."

[Malphas waves his beak gracefully, saying it’s too dangerous.]

"I really want to go."

[Malphas closes his eyes and turns away, saying it’s impossible.]

Indeed, going to the Demon Realm at my current level was something to worry about. However, even without telling Malphas about the regression...

Clatter!

I opened my inventory and scattered armfuls of jewels. Stars blossomed across the dark cave floor filled with corpses. There was a way.

Somehow...

The multicolored gems Isaac had chosen himself arranged themselves into a pattern that perfectly suited Malphas’ tastes.

[Malphas widens his eyes in excitement at the craftsmanship and arrangement.]

[You offer beauty.]

[Malphas trembles at the perfectly tailored arrangement.]

[Malphas’ Happiness has exceeded 10.]

[Recovering Occult Knowledge Lv. 3!]

[Emotion-type skills gain a large amount of Experience!]

[Level Up!]

As expected, trying something was always worth it. I had even gained a level.

Crackle... Crackle...

Then, a message sounded directly in my mind. It wasn't a system window. The system window was merely the interpretation of a Demon King’s intent through a special authority. However, this sensation was the demon king himself transmitting emotion directly.

"So it doesn’t matter how?"

Cannot... protect... you... worry...

It wasn’t language so much as the suffocating presence of a vast being behind a thin veil.

"I don’t care what happens. Just send me to the Demon Realm," I declared again. "Inventory."

Shhhk!

I extended the inventory outward, anchoring it to the air. I drew five blades and spun them around me.

[Malphas finds your inventory intriguing.]

[He is reading fragments of your potential.]

[Malphas’ Happiness has increased!]

A quiet sigh, the kind that felt like reluctant approval, brushed against my thoughts.

Whoosh!

The black ripples surrounding me abruptly vanished far into the distance.

"..."

I waited, watching the direction they had disappeared. Yet, from the opposite side, a gnome suddenly wandered into view. His four spears, once protruding from his elbows and palms, were gone. The gnome had no subordinates or an army. It was just the gnome alone.

His two pairs of eyes glimmered in the darkness as he approached, scanning the area with tense alertness. He seemed less focused on me than on searching for something.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Ha. Haha. Did you know?"

"Lord Malphas has declared he will no longer protect you!"

"What?"

"Kukuku... surprised, aren’t you?"

"You’re going to be imprisoned in the Demon Realm!"

[Deceptive Lies Trait activated.]

[Title: Storyteller activated.]

[Wisdom stat applied!]

[Greatly increases the chance of a successful lie.]

[Not only your words, but your attitude will be perceived as sincere as well.]

[Reduces the target’s chance of feeling anything off.]

Of course, I knew. After I repeatedly insisted on descending to the Demon Realm, Malphas had done something. The gnome appearing again was the natural consequence. There was nothing surprising about it.

So a prison, huh. Was that what he meant earlier, that "it doesn’t matter how?"

It was unexpected, but...

"Mal... phas... abandoned me?"

It seemed to have worked quite well. Despire the words I said casually, he accepted it with tragic sincerity.

The gnome even made a sympathetic face. "Oh dear. Try not to take it too harshly. Still, it’s prison, not execution! Lord Malphas was even considerate enough to save face for the other Demon Kings. You’ll be locked up for a while, but if I recommend you, there’s a chance you could join Lord Gaap’s forces later!"

Since the trait was active, I leaned into the role a little. "You’d still scout me? You were thinking about me... that deeply? Truly, thank you."

"Oh, don’t thank me! You’ll make me feel guilty!"

He kept agreeing with everything I said. The skill itself wasn’t impressive, but with my Wisdom stat enhancing it, the effect was absurd.

"Hold on."

Vwooom.

Pretending to stash something under a corpse, I slipped a blade into my inventory. It seemed obvious now that he would be the one to lead me into the Demon Realm.

I had no intention of going to any prison. Once I arrived, he wouldn’t know when I’d strike. The fewer hints he had, the better.

Can I win?

If it were our first meeting, it’d be difficult. However, after absorbing four Dullahans and two high-ranking demons, it was doable.

As if I were repenting for the sin Gith-Za-Rai had committed against Lindbrum, I said resignedly, "All right... let’s go. To the prison."

"How cooperative! You even disarmed yourself!"

The gnome was pleased. Yet a strange, crawling sensation brushed against my mind—a faint sense of wrongness. However, I didn’t have time to dwell on it.

"This way, please!"

Following the gnome, we walked through a damp, dark cave. Luminous minerals glowed faintly along the walls. Some large open chambers seemed like they had been massive work sites until recently, but there was no trace of movement now.

Had they really deployed everything to kill Gith-Za-Rai? Was it necessary to go that far?

Lindbrum...

I wondered about Lindbrum and why dragons were such a threat to the Demon Kings. Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter. Whether the Demon Realm burned or not, and no matter what Lindbrum did, I would save Gith-Za-Rai. Even if I had to redo this timeline dozens of times or break this scenario again and again, Gith-Za-Rai would survive.

A stubborn determination surged within me.

What was the point of killing your contractor just to guarantee one’s own safety? The Heroes will hunt the Demon Kings anyway.

Woooong...

The gnome and I soon arrived at a vast sulfur-smelling hot spring swamp, belching black steam. There was no loud bubbling, but deep within its thick waters, something seemed to be stirring. The swamp’s perimeter easily exceeded a kilometer.

"Detection."

The outer ring was between three and ten meters deep. Further in, it was immeasurable. A cold tension crept through me as we stood at the charred edge.

"This way! Over here!" the gnome exclaimed.

The gnome hooked his arm through mine and tore open a scroll.

Shrrip!

A black bubble-like shield enveloped us in all directions, even beneath our feet. I had never seen such magic before. Inside the sphere, the gnome, still holding onto my arm, stepped into the pitch-black swamp.

Brrrrrrrr...

As we moved in, heat and vibration seeped through. The three-meter sphere flexed like a living thing, shifting shape as it resisted the pressure.

"How far are we going?" I questioned.

"All the way! Just keep going!" the gnome replied.

The outside grew hotter the deeper we descended.

You definitely couldn’t enter without this...

Shsssshk!

Hot sand scraped across the surface of the bubble as it sank lower. The sphere shuddered. Strange sensations pressed in from every direction, sticking together like layers of dread. Every moment felt like slipping into another world. I felt as if we were drifting between dimensions, as if crossing this boundary would drop me into a far, alien realm. Even my white skeleton felt unfamiliar.

The darkness rapidly sucked in my consciousness.

[Entering...]

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