Chapter 377: The Rift (9)

The white-robed man twisted the space as if it were a rope and pulled. Two strands of multicolored knots stretched vividly through the air and snapped taut in an instant. Knots that should have been powerless and dissolved in my domain suddenly surged with strength.

No way!

They seized my Inventory so hard that the air itself distorted. Forget stealing a few items, my whole Inventory would be ripped out at this rate!

I had no idea what to do. "What is—?!"

Out of nowhere, the white-robed man stopped pulling. His arms fell slack.

I didn’t do anything...

I didn’t even think of resisting. I simply felt that it was a presence that would never move, refusing to be shifted. It felt like the Inventory itself decided where it belonged.

"Impressive..." The previously expressionless hood released the knots and folded his arms again. "Incredible. Even with two knots, it didn’t budge."

"You, what were you trying to do?!"

"You know the answer."

If his attempt had succeeded, the result would have been horrifying.

The man smiled as if it were nothing at all. "My many messengers are telling me in real time that you’re attracting far too much attention. So much that staying beside you is becoming troublesome. You might even die soon."

"And what does that have to do with this?"

"If you died, I intended for your domain to be transferred to me. Knots can do that. Since I’ve given you power and taught you secrets, the knot would reclaim your domain for me when you died."

So that was his goal from the beginning. Was that why he had been so generous to me from the very beginning? The betrayal hit so deep that my sword hand trembled.

Grabbing my shaking wrist, I glowered at him. Anger surged in a heavy wave.

The white-robed man shrugged. "No need to be upset. You came empty-handed, and you’d return empty-handed. After death, all your wealth and that incredible personal domain would scatter to dust. Isn’t it better to donate it rather than discard it into nothingness?"

I wanted to shout at him to shut his mouth. If I died, I would regress, and the Inventory would always follow me. Had he managed to take it, I would have suffered permanent losses across regressions.

At least now I know the white-robed man can’t steal the Inventory itself.

However, he could still infiltrate it. Perhaps he could’ve succeeded in extracting it had he used more knots.

If two knots could tug that strongly...

My instincts blared in warning. Any more would be dangerous. I had to be careful about accepting knots from now on.

"Damn it. First you talk about goodwill, then this! Everyone I meet seems eager to stab me in the back!"

At my outburst, the white-robed man said in a strange tone, "It was also a test. The power I give doesn’t come solely from myself. But rest assured. I tugged just to test it, assuming you were dead. Besides, it wasn’t even close. That means your goodwill is worth that much. Consider it proven. A good deal, validated."

Then, he went on explaining, "I wanted to hide you from the incoming threats, but that would draw too much attention, and I’d also be in danger. Unfortunately, I can only tell you this much. You have choices available to you."

Crackle!

The warped air cracked further under his touch. "I’ve opened a fissure close to those choices. I hope we meet again."

Swiff!

He vanished completely, without giving me time to ask anything else.

Choices...? Anyway, good.

Whatever he intended, everything I gained was beneficial. My Inventory’s capabilities had expanded dramatically, and he had even provided an escape path. The fissure he created hung open in the air, stable and calm, as if beckoning to me. Beyond it, I could see another world, unconnected to the surrounding landscape.

As I stepped carefully into the fissure, I could feel it immediately. Light, scent, temperature—everything changed the moment my foot crossed that thin boundary.

Is this the true Demon Realm beyond this point?

I tensed up. As I slowly absorbed the sensation of an entirely new world, I raised my other foot...

Flutter!

Suddenly, as if waiting for me, dozens of letters flew at me from beyond.

I didn’t even need to reach for them. They flew into my hands on their own, like living things. "Huh?"

Only one envelope was black, while the dozens of others were bone-white.

Boom!

I collected about a dozen of them, and I was just about to open one when an explosive roar resounded. As the noise subsided, an entirely unexpected figure descended toward me, riding a swirling column of wind.

That thing?

I recognized it from the prison.

So they were all part of the same group after all...

“GRRR!”

A four-meter-tall bear summoned wind spirits in midair, riding them down like stepping stones.

Isn’t that pushing it...?

It could easily have dive-bombed straight at me, yet the yellow-furred bear landed at a distant ruin and shouted with all its might, "Don’t go! I won’t attack! Please!"

What?

I highly suspected the commanding, thunderous voice it had used in the prison had been an act. "The lord told us to keep you trapped! Please, don’t go!"

A moment later, a scorpion arrived in a frantic rush behind him. "Wait! Wait, please hold on!"

I hadn’t crossed fully through the rift yet.

The scorpion said from a safe distance, as if terrified I would lash out, "For someone to open a path like this! For such a thing to be possible, this is beyond anything I ever imagined! I’ll do anything! Just don’t leave! You fought brilliantly! No, no, that’s not the point! How did you tear open a path like this?! I’ll satisfy any condition! Anything!"

I had never heard the scorpion sound so desperate. I didn’t even think it’d be capable of such a thing.

I did well?

They were definitely watching from above since the beginning, yet they hadn’t noticed the white-robed man helping me.

The white-robed man’s ability really is monstrous.

Presence erasure? No, this was dimensional severance. How could I ever learn to do something like that? No wonder he told me to abandon Stealth. He said to "decorate" my domain correctly. More than just physical reinforcement, some kind of realization was probably required.

"Please, throw those letters away! Just listen to me!" the scorpion shouted from afar.

It was neither in Rubia’s form nor Rena’s form, hence it wasn’t attempting deception through illusion. The intent to talk seemed genuine at least.

Even so...

Tap.

I ignored them. Standing half within the boundary, I tore open the envelope.

Malphas’s seal...

Those letters Rubia tried to hide had likely been meant for me. The instant I ripped the seal, something fluttered out. It wasn’t a letter, but a crow’s wing, bursting upward as if alive.

[Malphas’s Engraving has been activated.]

Engraving activation?

The crow wing circled me, releasing faint pulses of sensation.

I’m sorry... This is all I can do... Grab this and flee to the surface... Coordinates are...

Three consecutive sets of movement coordinates poured into my mind.

A message?

There were neither words nor spoken sound anywhere, yet the wing’s mere orbit conveyed Malphas’s emotions and information with vivid clarity. It felt just like the information generated by the engraving carved into my bones.

So this is the Demon King’s power...

The difference from the surface world was like heaven and earth. Back there, Malphas could only send restricted fragments. Here, the quality and quantity overwhelmed everything.

It’s so clear.

Even the faint knowledge required to navigate certain parts of the Demon Realm seeped into me. I could even sense Malphas’s current position, faintly, yet unmistakably.

He’s extremely far.

Helping directly wasn’t possible. I let the wing keep circling me, delivering its emotions and circumstances with painful delicacy. Before I carried the engraving, I would’ve never been able to perceive such a thing. He had likely limited the message strictly to emotional intent.

Even so, it forced a kind of empathy. What would happen if I touched the crow’s wing? The idea frightened me. If I grabbed it, the bond between Malphas and me would deepen in ways I couldn’t undo.

I am grateful, but my freedom of movement might shrink.

Then there were the other letters, dozens of them, all sealed with Bassago’s crest.

"Don’t open those! If you open them—"

One shouldn’t hurt...

Swiff.

The moment I tore open the envelope, pale dust scattered into the air. Same as before, the Demon King’s thought seeped into me.

Become my priest.

Without a crest linking us, the information was pitifully thin, nothing like Malphas. The message was bizarre and incomplete.

What’s he trying to pull?

Suspicion tightened inside me. Bassago, who murdered Gith-Za-Rai and had every intention of killing me too, suddenly wanted me as his priest? And that was it; There was no further explanation.

Swiff!

I ripped open the next envelope that had arrived simultaneously. This time, the white dust carried far more of Bassago’s thought, explaining in meticulous detail why I should submit to him. Maybe the first one had been sloppy.

Bastard. Even without a crest, the lack of emotion didn’t affect the amount of information. It projected vivid scenes: how explosively I would grow the moment I accepted his brand as Gith-Za-Rai’s successor.

Why does he want me?

Nothing about it felt right. Was he trying to learn something about Gith-Za-Rai? Or the dragon? Could it be a trap? Did he see some value in me? There was no reason for that. Was talent that rare here? There had to be plenty like me in the Demon Realm. Countless conflicting thoughts churned together.

Bassago is...

The scorpion shouted, shattering the illusion, "Bassago betrayed his contractor! You’re not thinking of going to a Demon King like that, are you?! Do not form any bond with him!"

Damn him. He didn’t even bother to hide that he opened all the letters meant for me.

In any case, I had three choices: Grab Malphas’s wing and fly straight back to the surface, return to the scorpion’s territory, or meet Bassago. Realistically, there was no world in which I would become a priest to the Demon King who killed Gith-Za-Rai. Still, why was the scorpion desperately begging me not to choose the option that already looked terrible? Either way, I had to obtain more information.

I stepped halfway into the rift, looking at the scorpion. "You said you’d do anything?"

He nodded vigorously. "Of course! Anything at all! Just say the word!"

Fine. Straightforward it is.

"Then tell me. You didn’t forget what I asked from you at the start, did you?"

"Heh... heheheh..." The scorpion let out a low, pleased laugh. "You mean the way to undo Bassago’s curse, yes? I know it well. I’ll tell you everything right here. I’ll even give you something that may help."

Finding myself nearly tipping toward him, I steadied myself with effort.

Was what the white-robed man did really such a big deal?

I hadn’t expected breaking open a path to change the scorpion’s attitude this drastically. Regardless, his misunderstanding wasn’t my responsibility. I only cared about the information.

Beside him, the bear asked nervously, "L-Lord, the boundary is breached. The Demon Kings might be watching now. Are we safe?"

"Of course we are! This is neutral ground! The rule of the Demon Kings does not apply he—"

Crackle, crackle, crackle, crackle...

From the new dimension, a fist-sized sphere appeared in midair, exuding a horrifying aura as it began gnawing through space itself.