Chapter 369: The Rift (1)

Something that had been gripping my consciousness finally loosened its giant hand. Slowly, my awareness rose out of dark oblivion. It was narrow, cold, and hard.

A prison? Is this what the gnome meant?

There were no shackles binding my limbs. I tried extending my hands past the dented iron bars, but nothing moved. My arms and legs slipped through the space around me like loose threads unravelling. They had no weight or substance. I couldn't put strength into them at all, and I couldn't even turn my skull.

This feeling...

I had experienced something similar before.

[You are under the effects of a barrier.]

[All abilities are negated.]

[Movement is restricted.]

[Willpower is reduced.]

[Authority has been revoked.]

[Skills are locked.]

.

.

.

[You are in the caster's domain.]

[All stats manifest at 97.5% reduction.]

[All skills are sealed at the source.]

[Vision... suppressed.]

It was almost identical to the time I had been trapped inside Gith-Za-Rai's barrier, when her corpse was inside my inventory. I couldn't use anything. I couldn't even twitch a finger.

Inventory.

Vwoooong...

The moment I opened it, I simply checked whether my belongings were intact.

[Interference nullified.]

[Nullification occurring from a higher-level source.]

[Inventory (Lv. ?) utilized.]

[Mastery has increased.]

[Recovering from suppression rapidly.]

[Stat Reduction 95% → 93%]

Clatter.

Strength returned to my limbs, and I slowly pushed myself upright. The glowing numbers once engraved on my wrist were all gone.

The kruna is gone, too?

I couldn't see it, nor could I see the gnome who had brought me here. I had to assess the situation first. Then I could panic later.

Status window.

[Health: 50]

[Strength: 60]

[Agility: 62]

[Wisdom: 40]

[Remaining Points: 48]

.

.

.

[Bone Tendril Control Lv. 3] (Sealed)

[Time Acceleration Lv. 1] (Sealed)

[Shadow Blade Lv. 1] (Sealed)

[Shadow Armor Lv. 1] (Sealed)

[Adhesive Capture Lv. 1] (Sealed)

[Sword Energy Lv. 2] (Sealed)

.

.

.

[Inventory Lv. ?]

At least my inventory is intact.

Everything inside it was perfectly fine.

So this thing... can nullify even a barrier?

I recalled Isaac's words: Your own private dimension.

Just by checking the inventory, Stat Reduction dropped to 80%. I focused on the floating extradimensional space and let it drape over me like a cloak.

[Stat Reduction 77% → 72%...]

Nullification accelerated. The inventory soon rippled, frayed, and disintegrated like dust.

Not enough mastery...

When Isaac guided me, the inventory moved freely, exerting enough physical force to restrain even the Ashen Knight. Now, I could only spin it like a half-broken loop in the air. Still, it helped.

Vwoooong...

[Stat Reduction 62% → 57%...]

[Some skill seals have been lifted.]

I looked around.

Clang.

I gripped the iron bars and shook them.

Then suddenly, a low chuckle echoed in the prison. "Kukukuku... Oooh-hoo-hoo. Up already? Your adaptability is remarkable. You've recovered your form and are shaking the bars already."

I turned my skull toward the slow voice. A faint light pushed aside the darkness on the opposite side of the room. There was another cell, and inside it, a creature.

The creature resembled a long scorpion tail, with its limbs sprouting awkwardly from it. Its purple carapaced face constantly emitted an eerie laugh, with long jagged fangs poking out from its mouth.

"Where... is this place?" I asked.

"Heeheeheehee... dragged here without even knowing where this is? How pitiful can one be?"

"..."

"A strong guy like you, waking up and sitting up right away... only to ask that dumb question? Pathetic imbalance, truly pathetic."

It's definitely insane. Better not to engage with it. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

Clang! Clang!

My stats had been cut by half. Even if my strength returned, breaking out seemed unlikely.

Shrk!

I pulled the bars hard enough to nearly bend them and shoved them sideways, but the little prison moved like a living creature, shifting to plug every gap. I tried drawing a sword and manifesting Sword Energy, but my skills weren't restored enough yet.

Clatter! Clatter!

Krrk!

After wrestling with the bars for quite a while, I slumped to the ground.

"Don't tell me... I'm really stuck here?" I whined.

Panic tugged at me. I had come to gather clues about Bassago's curse, to find something that might save Gith-Za-Rai. I had arrived in the Demon Realm without ever having been here, thinking it'd be simple.

Entering first and escaping later had sounded reasonable at the time. Now I was paying for treating the Demon Realm lightly.

If not for the inventory, how long would I have lain helpless on the cold prison floor?

I called out inwardly, Malphas!

No response.

"Malphas!" I shouted.

I didn't care who might hear. I bore his sigil. Now that I was in the Demon Realm, calling for help from a Demon King was only natural.

"..."

Yet, my desperate shout dissolved like foam in the darkness. No echo came back. Just silence.

"Malphas!" I yelled again, louder this time.

A slightly bigger bubble of sound rose and popped, and that was it. Still no response. The sense of being connected to him wasn't just faint; it was completely gone.

What happened?Is this even really the Demon Realm?

I felt the strength drain out of me.

"Kh... kuhuhu... oohoohoo..."

The light flickered in the cell across from mine. The crustacean-like prisoner inside shook with mad laughter, as if this was hilarious beyond belief.

"Uhu... uhu-huhuhu. You shake the bars the moment you wake up and then start calling out to a Demon King? After being locked up for just a little while, you're already screaming his name like your life depends on it? Just how much do you trust him, hmm?"

I didn't want to deal with him. I really, really didn't want to, but unfortunately, he was the only one I could ask.

"What are you?"

He brightened the light in his tail.

"Fi-na-lly. You ask. As you see... I'm a prisoner in a situation very similar to yours."

I examined him carefully through the bars. Under the brighter glow, I noticed something.

Double... no, triple cells.

The bars around him were far denser than mine, layered and intertwined like woven wires. Strangely, that made me feel a little relieved. I even felt a bit of sympathy for him. While drowning in misfortune, seeing someone stuck even deeper than me... created a kind of kinship, and a faint desire to help.

I softened my tone. "You look like you've had it rough. Do you know anything about this place? It feels like a prison, but..."

The darkness here was so thick and heavy that I couldn't see anything beyond a very short distance.

"This is a very scary prison where they gather anyone who poses a threat to the entire Demon Realm. Oohoohoo... So what did you do to end up here?"

"I..."

I didn't answer right away. I'd lowered my guard a little, but he was still a stranger.

Could I really tell him everything about Gith-Za-Rai and the Demon Kings?

I deflected and steered the topic in a different direction. "I came with a gnome, and he dumped me in a place like this... You didn't see him? Where did he disappear to?"

"The one who put you in there? A mere inmate like me wouldn't know that. The wardens just tossed you in and left."

"..."

No easy information there. I had been locked up because I'd been part of Gith-Za-Rai's group and because I'd gone against the Demon Kings. If he really was in a similar position and if this place really was, as he said, where they kept beings who threatened the entire Demon Realm, then there had to be something I could learn.

Actually, I was the one who needed to ask questions. "How long have you been here? And what were you imprisoned for?"

"Oh?"

The demon raised his scorpion-like tail and scratched his head with it. Then his tone shifted completely.

Like a whisper sliding along the floor, he said in a low voice, "I've been here far longer than you can imagine. I was a scribe. I knew too many of the Demon Kings' secrets. The more I learned, the more I wanted to know. So I... pulled a few tricks. A lot of them got fed up and worked together to throw me in here."

Is that true?

Maybe it was just the bored boasting of someone who'd been locked up for too long, but right now, I was in no position to be picky about stories. I'd come to the Demon Realm for information anyway.

"In that case, you must know quite a bit."

"Hehe. Ask me anything. For a newcomer, I can be very... educational."

"Then do you know about the relationship between Lindbrum and the Demon Realm? Why are the Demon Kings so wary of Lindbrum, and what about the curse they cast by reversing a sigil contract?"

He interrupted me with a laugh. "Oohoohoo..."

Most of his face was covered by a purple shell, excluding his mouth, but I could feel his gaze on me.

"I know."

"...!"

"But I'd like to hear your story first. Tell me about your life so far, in detail. It doesn't have to be in order... Payment for stories should be paid in stories. Especially stories about people. I like those the most..."

Clack.

I clenched and unclenched my fist.

Even if these memories would be erased the moment I started a new life, is it really okay to lay out everything about the people connected to me, here of all places?

When I stayed silent for a while, the demon's tail swayed a little.

"Oohoo... still hesitating, are you? Then let me give you a little teaser. Lindbrum has a dimensional movement ability that allows access to the Demon Realm. That's one reason the Demon Kings are wary of it. And the other reason is..."

He stopped. This was my first time hearing of it, but if Gith-Za-Rai had that kind of power to force her way freely into the Demon Realm, then of course she'd be seen as a threat.

"What's the other reason?" I questioned.

"What else? Tell your side, so I can continue mine... Speak. I especially enjoy beautiful memories... It's fine if they're fragmented, just tell me about times when you were happy..."

"..."

It didn't feel like he was lying. And if it was only fragments of happy memories, there was no real reason I couldn't share those.

"If that's what you want..."

***

I told him, piece by piece, about the times I'd spent with Rubia and Rena. I told him only about the bright parts and the happy scenes. I included the pleasant moments with Lady Succubus too and mixed the timeline on purpose so nothing could be pinned down. Finally, I described my feelings as I remembered them.

Just conjuring them up in my mind made something swell in my chest, feeling like it might burst. The memories tumbled out in a jumbled stream, but he seemed genuinely absorbed. The glow at the tip of his tail flickered as he listened.

"Good... you're speaking well... heh... It's been so long since I've heard such warm stories that I could almost cry. So vivid... all of it so vivid. I'll give you a reward. I have one more gift for you..."

His eyes—if he even had eyes under that thick carapace—were completely covered.

"A... gift?"

Instead, the tail-light shone brighter and brighter, as if that was his way of expressing emotion.

He continued, "Escape. The escape I've been planning for a very long time is about to begin... All of us have prepared for it. We'll open your cell too, along with mine... Consider it a special favor in return for your honest stories."

"...!"

I had no plans to live comfortably in the Demon Realm, but on top of gaining information, if they were offering to help me break out, I had no reason to refuse. If anything, it felt like absurdly good luck.

"Thanks."

Even the small guilt I'd felt about talking about Rubia and Rena faded away. Then, it happened.

Boom.

From the cell to his left, another presence stepped forward. In the crustacean demon's tail-light, its outline was faintly visible, huge and bear-like. I hadn't even sensed it before. It must've been strong for it to hide like that inside this barrier.

The bear mumbled in a deep voice, "It's time for the level to shift. You won't see us for quite a while. By then, the escape preparations will be complete. Just sit tight and do nothing."

Nothing about that sounded bad. I knew absolutely nothing about this place. The best-case scenario was for me to just let them handle it. If they failed, it wouldn't be my problem.

"Then, before that, could you tell me a bit more about Lindbrum and..."

At that moment, with a deep rumble from far below, my cell slowly rose upward.

KU-GOOOOOOM...

Great...

Thud.

Rumble...

Thoom.

The ascending prison halted. Under the dim torchlight along the stone wall, dust drifted slowly back to the floor.

"..."

I was alone again.

I still haven't heard the rest...

There seemed to be some sort of mechanism shifting the cells periodically up and down. Soon, the noise and dust faded, and I was once again completely isolated.

"Anybody there?"

I spoke aloud on purpose, but no answer came. I stretched a hand past the bars...

Zrrrk!

They shot forward to block me again.

Fine, I'll just wait.

If the other prisoners were planning something, I could let them handle it. Trusting them to move things along made it easier to relax. I could ask about Lindbrum and the Demon Kings' curse the next time the level changed. If the breakout worked, I'd have more chances afterward as well. Sitting there with my guard slightly lowered, something else occurred to me.

I should read.

I'd been too busy rushing around to think about it, but Ashton's books filled my inventory to the brim. It was only natural to read them all. I'd only managed to read eight volumes on the ship.

Inventory.

I took out a single book. This was a prison in the Demon Realm, and someone could very well be watching. I had no idea what might happen next, so I decided to take out only one at a time and read carefully. The book I pulled from my inventory was titled The Owl and the Priest.

Rustle.

I flipped to the first page.

An owl that sleeps by day must have a cave of its own. It urgently requires a place where it can avoid its predators and slowly digest the prey it has swallowed whole. Priests are exactly the same...

Priests must find a clay jar, deep enough to hide from their predator, a demon, or at least a hollow tree will do. There they must curl up, and in that dark, narrow hole, they must lick the walls and convince themselves that life has always tasted like damp earth and rotting wood...

The hole must be so deep and so narrow that no one else can ever approach. For if even a single sugar cube should roll in one day...

Thunk.

I closed the book after reading the last page.