A dark swamp stretched across the ground. The black, slimy, churning swamp was utterly revolting to anyone who laid eyes on it.
"Is this the path to the demon world?"
Cale asked and...
"Yes."
Cotton answered firmly.
"Let's go."
Choi Jung Soo urged Cale.
"Uhm."
But Cale felt uncomfortable.
Splash.
The black swamp rippled like a wave, and thick, black liquid splashed out. The black, viscous liquid was so dense that it looked like jelly.
Kiiiaaa---
The liquid let out a ghastly scream and vanished.
"Disgusting."
Cale's expression became even more unpleasant.
"Human, let's go quickly! I'm curious about the demon world!" "Me too, I'm curious!"
Raon and Hong also urged Cale from the side.
"I hope you have a good trip."
On, who was standing next to Ron, waved at them. Originally, On had also planned to go, but she first approached Cale and said,
"I'll stay here."
"Why?"
Leaving Hong behind while On stayed? Cale found it hard to believe, but...
"I can't completely trust the teddy bear, and I'll protect Eden and Mir."
Cale found it difficult to refuse those words. As a result,
"Ron will stay in Neo's lair, and I'll look after Eden and Mir in the area."
Ron and Beacrox decided to stay by On's side.
"I'll take care of the follow-up work."
Additionally, the Ancient Dragon Eruhaben said he would take care of the remaining tasks. As a result,
"Oh! So, this is the path to the demon world?"
"Doesn't it look fun, Rasheel?"
"Hahaha! Yes, kid, it looks fun!"
The dragon Rasheel would join Raon.
"Hong, Raon."
Choi Han, Choi Jung Soo.
And—
"I'm excited."
The Necromancer Mary as well.
"It would be great if the team leader came too."
Team leader Sui Khan stayed behind to take a closer look at the temple of the god of chaos and also planned to search for any traces of the god of chaos that remained in Apitoyu. The Dragon Mila and others would help on his side.
"Uhm."
Cale finally realized why he felt uneasy. It wasn't just because of that black, slimy, disgusting swamp.
"Yes, this group."
The ones who had agreed to go together were quite unsettling.
"At least Clopeh Sekka isn't here!"
But wait. Is it more problematic to leave him behind? Clopeh Sekka stayed with the Pope, the bishops, and the dragon hybrids, coordinating various viewpoints.
"What is this discomfort?"
Could that guy really be trusted with the work?
"Ah. I don't know."
Cale decided to stop thinking about it. Out of the corner of his eye, his gaze fell on the black swamp, the passage to the demon world.
And—
There was something else that bothered him.
"How is it that even the entrance feels like the demon world?"
The image of the demon world he had gathered from reading countless genre novels. Looking at the entrance to the black swamp, it seemed like he was in for a rough time in the demon world.
"Well, I'm going to meet the sole descendant of the previous demon king, so it wouldn't be an easy path."
Wasn't Cale the person the current Demon King most wanted to kill?
"It's overwhelming."
Cale felt inexplicably overwhelmed, but—
"Cale-nim."
The moment Choi Han called his name with a soft smile,
"I must go."
He realized he couldn't hesitate any longer. Of course, it wasn't because Choi Han's eyes scared him.
"I'm scared."
He ignored the words of the Glutton Priestess, who had been talking a lot lately. Cale told Cotton,
"You go first."
It definitely wasn't because he didn't trust this sub-priest. It definitely wasn't because he didn't want to fall into that repugnant swamp first.
"All right! I'll go first!"
Cotton perked up at those words. Cale, of course, pretended not to notice the expression of someone who had been harassed quite a bit by Choi Han and Choi Jung Soo.
"You all heard this before, but I'll say it again."
Cotton lifted a necklace she was wearing around her neck as she spoke to Cale's companions.
"The demon world is similar but different from the surface world."
The necklace had a black gem attached to it.
"Beyond the different natural environment, even the air here is different; the mana is different from the mana of the surface world. So don't take off this necklace."
The necklace that Cotton distributed to everyone was an item that protected them from the effects of the mana in the demon world.
"It also automatically translates, so you need to wear it to communicate."
Unlike the surface world, the heavenly world, and the divine world, communication in the demon world required this necklace.
"So, remember what I said earlier, and if you have any questions, ask me!"
With those words, Cotton headed toward the black swamp.
"I'm going first!"
Splash!
Cotton happily jumped into the black swamp and disappeared.
"Then I'll go too."
Choi Jung Soo followed.
"The demon world, how exciting!"
The dragon Rasheel too.
"Sis, I'll come back safe, don't worry!" "We're great, so we'll return safely!"
Hong and Raon also disappeared one after another into the black swamp.
"Cale-nim, let's go. Mary and I will follow."
"…Yeah."
Though feeling a bit uneasy, Cale stepped into the black swamp.
Shwoop.
His body was sucked down. Everything around him turned dark.
"Umm."
But there was no need to close his eyes. The black swamp, as he sank further, transformed into a lake. A lake filled with black liquid. Cale kept sinking deeper and deeper. As if he were going to reach the bottom of the lake. But the bottom never appeared.
"It's beautiful."
As the Glutton Priestess said, a beautiful sight greeted him.
"It's shining."
There wasn't a lake bottom here. Bright lights began to appear one by one in the black liquid.
"Like the night sky."
Yes. Like the night sky, stars shone in the black silk waves. Cale observed the beautiful scene as he continued to descend.
"It's getting brighter."
And the black silk began to lighten gradually. The end was in sight.
A bright light came into Cale's view.
"There it is."
Cale was enveloped by that light. Unconsciously, he closed his eyes.
"D*$)%"
Sounds began to reach his ears, which had previously seemed submerged underwater. Cale opened his eyes. And the first thing he saw was...
"Gray."
A gray sky. It was said that the sky in the demon world was gray.
Ssshhh---
The wind was blowing. He slowly looked down from the sky. A chill ran down his spine.
"I'm falling."
At that moment, Cale was falling.
Plop!
But soon, he stopped safely without hitting the ground.
"..."
Smirk. A large man with horns bared his teeth in a radiant smile.
"Welcome."
By the way, Cale was being held in the man's arms.
Zap! Zap!
Mary and Choi Han appeared in the air with a flash of light. Choi Han, holding Mary in his arms, gently landed on the ground. Mary then lowered herself from Choi Han's arms and stood on the ground. Cale looked around. Hong and Raon were watching him. Cale spoke for the first time since arriving in the demon world.
"...Please put me down."
Hahaha!
A man larger than a giant laughed and carefully placed Cale on the ground. Then he spoke cautiously:
"I heard you're very fragile. The demon world is a very tough place to survive, so be careful."
"..."
Just as Cale was at a loss for words, Raon flew over and said:
"It's true! Our human is very, very, extremely weak." "Really weak. Worse than wet paper!"
No. Am I not a bit stronger now? I've consumed the spirit of life and devoured the plate too! But Cale didn't have time to respond. The surrounding landscape finally caught his attention.
"Welcome."
There was a woman standing in front of him, extending her hand. A middle-aged woman who appeared to be an ordinary human like Cale, but the aura she emitted was quite refined, and just by looking at her golden eyes, one could tell her life had not been easy.
"Nice to meet you."
The woman's smile held a welcoming warmth, but it was strangely stiff and carried a heavy weight. Before shaking her hand, Cale muttered while observing the landscape that met his eyes.
"I'm sure Cotton said she would move to the headquarters." "Yes. This is the headquarters."
The woman before him. Clearly, the 'Lady of the Night.' Though illegitimate, she was the only descendant of the previous demon king. Additionally, she was the leader of the 'Mediators,' an organization that fought against the Hunters and Wanderers
.
Cotton and Cale's fake uncle, Hillsman, along with others, were all formidable figures. This woman was the primary leader.
"No—"
Cale hadn't fully processed the sight.
The headquarters was the first thing that caught his attention. And the people welcoming them also entered his view.
"No—"
Cale couldn't bring himself to take the woman's hand easily. The Cheapskate shouted.
Hey, is this supposed to be the headquarters or a slum?The Cheapskate's words spilled out as if he couldn't believe it.
No, and the people... just look at them!He yelled as if he were crying out to the heavens.
They all look like a mess! They're filthy! No, this headquarters is frozen over! What, did you bring people to a beggars' den?Yes. Everything Cale saw was dirty and worn, and there was an unfamiliar air of poverty everywhere.
Like abandoned houses at the edge of a mountain. Everything was in decay. There were homes with fallen doors and shattered windows.
Moreover, it was empty. There wasn't much of anything.
A village in the middle of a forest. No, more like a dilapidated ruin.
"..."
Cale hesitated for a moment before finally taking the Lady of the Night's hand, the leader.
"Nice to meet you."
"Yes. I'm also pleased to meet someone as remarkable as you—"
Cale continued speaking, regardless of what the Lady of the Night was about to say.
"Where's Choi Jung Gun?"
Somehow, he felt the need to leave this place quickly.
He began to understand the reason behind the uneasiness he had been feeling all this time.
"Ah. Mr. Choi Jung Gun is fine. Ha ha, but..." "Let's go see Choi Jung Gun first." "Ha ha. Yes, I'll guide you."
However, the woman standing before him wasn't so easy to deal with. The Lady of the Night firmly gripped his hand and didn't let go.
"However, I've heard that you're quite wealthy. Would you be interested in investing in our organization?"
Ah. There was indeed a reason for his discomfort.
"Haha! Haha!"
The people welcoming them were overly enthusiastic. All of them were laughing heartily while smiling generously at Cale's group. And all of them were dressed in a shabby manner. Their armor and weapons were so worn out that it wouldn't have been surprising if they fell apart at any moment.
"Human, this place is scary! For some reason, it feels scary! Something, something! I feel like I need to protect my piggy bank!"
Yes. As Raon said, this was a terrifying place.
"Haha!"
The Lady of the Night. The woman smiled as she said,
"I heard you own mines too, slurp. You've got, hehe, quite a bit of wealth."
What. The woman's eyes had turned wild. Her years of experience were daunting. Those golden eyes gleamed as they looked at Cale. For the first time, Cale found himself in the presence of someone who saw him as nothing more than a golden calf, a lump of gold.
"Oh, and my name is Aurora."
The Lady of the Night, Aurora, flashed the most friendly smile she could muster at Cale.
The only descendant of the previous demon king. To survive in hiding in a world ruled by the current demon king, she sometimes had to hold back the demon king's power.
She needed a lot of money, but there weren't many ways to get it. Furthermore, maintaining such a large organization like the 'Mediators' required vast resources.
That's why she had to lower her noble status to become the 'Lady of the Night.'
Over the years, living for a grand cause and a brighter future, how could she not be desperate for money? Sometimes, money was scarier than an enemy. No, in fact, over time, money became the scariest thing of all. Before her eyes now stood a lump of gold.
As she passed through her youth and into middle age, Aurora's experience told her everything.
"A lump of gold right in front of me!"
Clearly, the man in front of her had plenty of money.
"Haha!"
Slurp.
While swallowing, Aurora displayed the friendliest smile possible.
Cale.And Cale, whose expression of fear gradually faded, his eyes darkened.
You have to stay on guard.The Cheapskate spoke seriously, and Cale agreed.
"Yes, I have to stay on guard."
Whatever he would do with these 'Mediators' in the future was uncertain. However,
You can't waste money! You can't be scammed! It's the wealth we've worked so hard to accumulate! For your future as an unemployed person, the money we've desperately gathered!However, he would protect the money. If he couldn't safeguard his wealth,
Then at least we have to get the maximum return from other things.Cale was serious. The Cheapskate was serious too. For the first time, Cale and the Cheapskate were in complete agreement. An unquenchable flame flickered in his heart.
-------------
But that flame subsided, and a cold shiver rose in his heart.
"It's horrible."
As Cheapskate had said. The terrible sight of Choi Jung Gun lay before Cale's eyes. His body, with closed eyes, had turned gray, and his appearance was so dreadful that even Cheapskate called it horrible. The gray parts of his body were swollen with bulging veins, and a thick liquid, indistinguishable as sweat or something else, covered his skin. Additionally, lumps like abscesses appeared all over his gray body. Those abscesses were festering.
Chaos contamination.
Cale watched Choi Jung Gun's appearance, recalling the moments they had shared, and wondered why only death remained at the end.
At that moment, the Lady of the Night, Aurora, suddenly spoke in a monotone voice.
"It seems there were followers of the god of chaos mixed in among the Wanderers."
Cale's gaze shifted toward Aurora.
"Do you know what kind of beings the Wanderers are in the Five-Color Family?"
Aurora asked, and when Cale couldn't respond, she continued.
"The leader of the Five-Color Family. The King of the Wanderers."
Choi Han and Choi Jung Soo stared intently at Aurora. She met Cale's group's gaze impassively and calmly went on.
"The First Wanderer."
Those who had the right to become Gods. Those among them who didn't ascend to Godhood and continued to live in the divine world. Their lives were endless, like that of a God. They were called Wanderers because they lived a life of endless wandering.
"The Leader of the Five-Color Family is the First Wanderer."
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