Chapter 262

Chapter 262: 262

Neo walked beside Sana as they finally reached the castle exit. The massive gates stood open under the afternoon light, guards shifting aside without a word once they recognized the princess. Sana’s hand closed around Neo’s arm, her grip firm and warm.

"I know a dungeon nearby," she said, voice low but steady. "We can hunt monsters there, finish what we need inside, and come back fast."

Neo nodded. "Sounds good."

They took two steps past the threshold when two knights in red armor rushed up, boots striking the stone hard. Both men stopped short, spears held at rest.

"Princess," the taller one said. "We were sent by your sister. We are responsible for protecting you."

Sana’s brow tightened. "You aren’t needed. We can handle this."

Neo rested a hand on her shoulder, the weight of it calm and solid. "Any extra help is allowed. They can come."

The knights exchanged a quick look, then nodded. Sana let out a short breath, turned, and whistled once. A maid in plain gray hurried over from the courtyard.

"Prepare a carriage," Sana ordered. "We’re heading out."

Minutes later the four of them climbed inside. The carriage rocked as the wheels turned, pulling them away from the castle walls. Neo sat across from the two red knights, studying the polished armor and the quiet way they watched the windows.

"Tell me about this kingdom," he said. "And the demons. Is there a war?"

One knight’s eyes widened. "Wait—you didn’t know?"

His companion reached over and knocked him lightly on the back of the helmet. "Of course he doesn’t know. He was just summoned. He didn’t come with knowledge prepared beforehand."

The first knight rubbed the spot and nodded. He faced Neo again. "The kingdom we are in is Kilfind Kingdom. The royal family rules it. The capital is called Find, same as the kingdom’s name. As for the demons—they’re a problem for the whole human continent. There are many kingdoms out there, different ecosystems, different rulers. Some even run themselves with democratic systems."

Sana leaned in and took Neo’s arm again. "Right. We can’t enter that place to hunt monsters without a quest launched by the guild. They’re the ones who give us justification if we end up getting stopped by bandits or something."

Neo nodded. "Then let’s make our way to the adventurer guild first."

He turned back to the knights. "You can continue explaining the rest."

The knight straightened. "Right. Where we were. The demon realm. Yes—we on the human continent are kind of in a war with the demons, but at the same time we aren’t. The reason they can’t enter our world fully is because of the seal we put on them. Only their influence slips through. There have been many instances where a demon possesses someone’s body and the person becomes demonified. Like Hans, the one you saw."

Neo took that in without interrupting. "Is there an adventurer guild? I need to sign in."

The red knight shook his head. "Since you are Princess Nara’s summon, you don’t need to sign yourself as an adventurer. Nara already signed herself previously. You two just need to go to the adventurers’ board and take a quest from it."

Neo nodded, following their words.

The carriage slowed and stopped. All four stepped down onto the busy street. The first red knight led the way through the crowd. They reached a wide stone building with a wooden sign swinging above the door—crossed swords and a parchment. Inside, the air hit Neo with noise and heat and the smell of sweat and leather.

His eyes widened. The hall buzzed with life. People laughed at long tables. Adventurers of every shape moved between counters and quest boards. He saw pointed ears, scaled arms, furred tails, horned brows, skin in shades he had never seen back home. The variety of races was so large he realized there were probably more kinds here than in the world he had left behind.

He reached out and took Sana’s hand. Together they walked toward the large board covered in paper notices. Neo scanned the lower rows until he found one that fit: goblin extermination. He pulled the paper free and held it up.

"How about it?"

Sana looked it over and nodded. "It’s great. Easy and good for our first quest."

"All right." Neo kept hold of her hand and started toward the door. The red knights moved at once, blocking the path.

"The road is long," the taller one said. "You can’t reach it by walking. You need to take a carriage."

Neo nodded. They stepped back outside, found another carriage waiting near the guild steps, and climbed in. The wheels rolled again, carrying them out of the capital and toward the trees.

After a stretch of quiet road the forest came into view—thick trunks, undergrowth, and a faint smell of damp earth. The carriage stopped at the edge. Neo and Sana climbed down. The two knights stayed close but spread out a little, ready.

They walked until the trees opened into a clearing full of movement. Goblins. Neo counted at least a dozen. They were bigger and taller than the ones he remembered from home. One farther back had pale blue skin stretched over heavy muscle, standing half a head above the rest. It looked strong.

Neo’s eyes narrowed. Something felt off. In his old world monsters didn’t simply evolve like this. They could unlock racial skills or new abilities after mutations, but that rule was never fixed. He rubbed his chin, the thought settling heavy. Did this have something to do with how his original world would end—and with people trying to run to another one?

He shook his head. Heavy thoughts. Not now.

He looked at Sana instead. She stood a step ahead, palm open, fingers steady. A beam of seven colors burst from her hand—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet—racing across the clearing. It struck the nearest goblin dead center. Flesh and bone parted. A gaping hole opened straight through the creature’s chest. The body dropped.

Neo’s eyes stayed on the fading trail of light. He had never seen an attribute like that.

"What was that attack called?"

Sana lowered her hand, breathing a little faster, a small smile on her face. "That attack is called Rainbow Falling. It’s my special skill as a royal one. Many of them—the royal family—had special skills. Like Uncle Hans. His skill was swordsmanship, and he was called unrivaled in the whole kingdom."