“What.”
Yujin furrowed his brows at Illu’s words. It was an unexpected statement, one he hadn’t anticipated at all. He had thought any clue related to Illu’s seal would only emerge within the demon realm.
‘What does that mean?’
[Faintly, I sensed a power that should have originally been mine.]
Confusion was evident even in the dagger’s tone. How could his own power be sensed from a mere demon? It was at an unexpected time, place, and directed at an unexpected target.
“Are you sure?”
[You seemed foolish enough to mistake your own power.]
Illu’s sharp reply made him drop his doubt. Besides, who would know better than the owner himself what his true power was? There was no reason for Illu to lie about this.
Then.
The possible assumptions could be narrowed down as follows. First, Sanghwa carried a fragment of Illu inside his body. Second, Sanghwa himself had seized divine power on his own. Third, someone external had bestowed Illu’s power upon Sanghwa.
[If that beast had the fragment, I would have found it long ago.]
Exactly.
The first hypothesis was naturally ruled out. Since Illu’s fragment was part of a god, its presence wouldn’t be hidden away inside a mere demon. If the first guess were true, the fragment would have been found during battle.
[And divine power is not something that a demon like that could claim on its own.]
‘Even if he had such power, he wouldn’t have lost to me in the first place.’
Though he didn’t know exactly what divine power entailed, no mere human, even an immortal, could withstand it. If the second guess were true, the place where Sanghwa lay would have been inside the demon’s belly.
[…But bestowing power is possible.]
“So that’s it.”
Eliminating the first left only the other two possibilities: external involvement. From Illu’s words, it was possible for a god’s power to be granted to a subordinate. That meant someone had obtained Illu’s power and intervened in the demon’s affairs.
“What kind of bastard did such a thing?”
His brows tightened. To cause a demon outbreak within human territory? That was a capital offense under imperial law.
‘Even if it wasn’t for some grand reason…’
Forcing the situation so that the saint had to have her throat cut in a vision. The one behind that was a bastard who deserved to be killed.
‘I’ll tear him to shreds.’
[One thing’s certain, whoever it is.]
Part of his voice was laced with anger.
[How dare someone steal my power!]
Someone who had grasped divine power and interfered with demon growth. Even just concluding that such a person existed changed the situation. Until now, he had thought the journey was only about finding hidden fragments of the god.
‘But now, it’s a competition.’
There were others after the fragments besides them. He didn’t know what intentions they had for the fragments of Illu, but he had clearly seen today what had already been done with those fragments.
“I will kill them without fail.”
Such a dangerous individual, if left unchecked, could become a threat to humanity. At worst, it could lead to a replay of the Demon King’s descent from a hundred years ago. For Illu’s sake and their own, the obstructer had to be eliminated.
[And I must reclaim what is mine.]
‘That goes without saying.’
Just as he agreed with the dagger and steeled his resolve,
“Sir? Are you feeling unwell?”
“Eh?”
Turning his eyes, Emilia was looking down at him with concern.
“Your expression has gotten rather grim.”
“…It’s nothing.”
He must have shown anger in his expression while talking with Illu. Normally, he didn’t display emotions so openly, but recently, such things had started happening more often.
[It’s because I’m getting old.]
“Shut up.”
He thought better of it and fell back asleep before anger rose again.
“…Oh my, was it taken care of already?”
A woman opened her eyes in the dark palace. What had awakened her sleeping consciousness was a part of the returned power, implanted inside the empire through her trusted subordinate.
“I thought it would take longer.”
She had expected the forces inside the empire to take at least a week to exterminate it. Now, the empire’s tactics and weapons were more developed toward killing humans than demons. Unlike before, specialists in demon hunting had become scarce. So humanity still had strong warriors left, it seemed.
She had assumed they had sunk into the comforts of science and technology.
“But to be exterminated just one day after awakening.”
Though it was a mutated specimen of Sanghwa. Yet, a warrior at the level from a hundred years ago still remained.
“Since the objective has been achieved, it doesn’t matter.”
The empire had used these weak, awakened minions—those infused with divine power—as bait to divert attention. The bait’s purpose was to cover the events near the Great Forest,
“And thanks to that, I obtained it without interference.”
She raised her palm, and golden fragments floated from her grasp. Runes written in an ancient language unintelligible even to the demon tongue…! The fragments pulsed, perhaps due to the power contained within.
The returned power from Sanghwa flowed into the fragments. A power that could evolve even the weakest demon into a powerful mutation.
‘And this is just the power of a single fragment.’
Now she understood why the Demon King had hidden this power. Even one fragment was strong, but if all fragments were gathered, it was obvious that the throne of the Demon King’s castle would be overturned by someone else.
“But I am different.”
She gathered the fragments with pure loyalty. If she collected these shards, worn from countless battles, perhaps the resurrection of her lord would be possible.
“Ah, Demon King…”
Imagining facing her lord again made her body tremble. If she succeeded in this, reviving His Majesty, would he cherish her again as he once did in life?
“I’m sure he will.”
She was different from the other traitors who had betrayed the lord. Unlike the wild hounds from the western volcanic region who knew nothing but combat, the old fox in the east who pursued only his own research, or that mute man from the north, whom the Demon King despised.
To do this, she must hurry. Before those three traitors realize the existence of the divine fragments and make their move. Though the reality displeased her, it was too difficult to face all three factions alone. They had to gather as many fragments as possible before the others even knew of their existence.
“The fragments of the Demon God.”
They had discovered their existence five years ago when the lord’s secret library was found. Far from the Demon King’s castle, on the frontier, hidden underground was a dungeon. Deep within was the sealed library of the lord.
‘By chance, I found it and saw it.’
There were records of the Demon God, once even under the command of the previous Demon King. The Demon God’s power was said to be so strong it rewrote the laws of the universe with a mere gesture. The first Demon King sealed the Demon God, scattering its fragments across the world.
“I only just learned that our demon race once had a god, but that fact doesn’t matter. The important thing is how strong the Demon God’s power was. If I gather these fragments, I can partially restore the Demon God’s power, and revive my lord.”
Not only would she regain favor, but also restore the might from a hundred years ago and invade the human world. In the new empire under her revived lord, she would be chosen as the empress.
‘No one can stop my plan.’
She clenched her fist once more.
‘I will eliminate anyone who stands in my way.’
*****
“Wow…!”
Children pressed their faces against the window, watching outside. Their exclamations came from the sight beyond—a massive mountain range stretching across the horizon.
‘They’re all as excited as puppies seeing snow for the first time.’
Yujin chuckled softly, observing the children’s reactions.
“That’s the Great Mountain Range, right?”
“It really is a Great Mountain Range, just as they say.”
“The summit’s hidden in the clouds, I can’t see it!”
To think we’d get to see the Great Mountain Range with our own eyes…
“Has anyone ever climbed all the way to the top?”
Here.
They had crossed the mountains during their adventure with the hero a hundred years ago. The Great Forest was no longer a passable path for people.
“The Great Mountain Range is a natural barrier dividing the demon realm and the human territory, along with the Great Forest.”
Its peaks pierced the clouds above, and its length stretched all the way to the north of the Holy Empire in the west.
‘It’s like a wall cutting the continent almost in half.’
This limited access. Therefore, demons could only invade the human realm by detouring through the sea, landing on the coast. Or by breaking through the Great Forest in the empire’s north and advancing southward.
‘Now, both routes are blocked.’
A hundred years ago, the Great Forest had been completely dominated and used as an infiltration route. Thus, when the Demon King was defeated, they didn’t enter the demon realm through the Great Forest, but circumvented it by crossing the Great Mountain Range and entering from the rear.
“Then why don’t demons just come down the Great Mountain Range?”
Emilia asked a sharp question. Other children’s eyes also turned toward her. Why did they always turn to him first when they didn’t know something? Since he already knew the answer, he explained.
“It’s not that they don’t come down. They can’t.”
Silvia raised an eyebrow at that.
“Can’t come down?”
“Because scarier things live in the Great Mountain Range.”
To illustrate, he formed claw shapes with his hands.
“Dragons, for example.”
One of the guardians of the Great Mountain Range was the dragon. Though their numbers now were unknown, a hundred years ago they were predators that fed on demons.
“What!? Really?”
Rian’s eyes sparkled at the mention. Yedo also liked adventure stories quietly. No wonder she majored in Knightship at the academy. Boudica asked with a fascinated expression.
“Have you seen one, sir?”
“I have.”
And almost died. A hundred years ago, he found a dying ancient dragon in the Great Mountain Range. Trying to claim the Dragon Heart, he charged, only to be nearly wiped out.
‘In the end, Ian finished the beast and obtained the Dragon Heart.’
This story wasn’t in the hero’s adventures, so he hadn’t planned to share it with the kids. Besides, their attention had already shifted elsewhere.
“Seriously, you saw one!?”
“How did that happen?”
“What did it look like?”
“Did you fight it?”
Nowadays, almost no one had encountered a dragon. There were occasional rumors, but most were mistaken for similar subspecies. Seeing a true dragon was almost impossible unless entering the Great Mountain Range.
“I climbed the mountains for a mission and almost got eaten by a dragon.”
The dragon’s scales sparkled like metal, and its teeth were as sharp as rows of longswords. Fighting was out of the question; even running away was difficult. It was bigger than a four-story house.
“Don’t ever climb the Great Mountain Range as a joke.”
Only the strong survive there. It wasn’t for nothing that demons couldn’t advance southward through the mountains. If there weren’t such powerful dragons, they would have already taken over the Great Mountain Range and invaded south. The children showed various reactions to the explanation.
“Oh… I see…?”
“So that’s why it’s called the Great Mountain Range.”
“I thought it was just rough terrain. I didn’t know about that.”
“I wish I could climb it once.”
“Really!?”
Well, once they entered the demon realm, they’d have plenty of adventures. After one experience, they might never want to try again. There’s a reason people don’t want to leave the safety of their blankets.
[Passengers, we are arriving at the final destination soon.]
Just then, an announcement came that they were arriving at Enderdevelt. Today they would stay in this border town and set off for the Great Forest the next day. There was much to prepare, so no time was to be wasted.
Screech…!
The train soon pulled into the station, and everyone started gathering their luggage and getting ready to disembark. Passing through the narrow train corridor bottleneck, they got off at the station.
“Students, please gather here!”
A young man who looked like an Enderdevelt official beckoned to the students. Since they were about to depart for the Great Forest soon, he must be guiding them separately. Before Emilia headed that way, she waved at him.
“Sir! See you later at the inn!”
“Yeah.”
As the students left in a group, all that remained were mercenaries reeking of sweat and alcohol.
“Calling them mercenaries is a stretch; they’re just lackeys.”
“You know your stuff.”
Needles, under the pretense of a second mission, casually dismissed their complaints while observing the surroundings. He wasn’t familiar with the Royal Academy’s procedures, but only mercenaries had gathered around them.
“What’s this? Was it always like this?”
“It wasn’t like this last year.”
“Did you even work this job last year?”
From what he heard, this situation was unusual. Then why gather mercenaries separately in this exceptional way? There was one thing that came to mind.
‘Conscription.’
They only did this when they needed to requisition mercenary forces. Just yesterday, they had been attacked by Sanghwa. Would the situation be any better here at Enderdevelt?
“Gentlemen!”
As expected, a loud voice greeted them. Everyone turned their gaze toward the source, and so did he.
‘Who is that?’
He was surprised by the large figure soon coming into view. A knight clad in full heavy armor spoke solemnly to the mercenaries.
“By Article 30 of the Imperial Conscription Law, you are hereby summoned. But first, allow me to introduce myself.”
The knight struck his own chest.
“I am Sir Blizzard. Currently, I am the one responsible for this city.”
‘Blizzard?’
Hearing the name confused him even more.
‘Blizzard?’
The reason was simple. He knew of a knight named Blizzard. But he wasn’t such a large man,
‘She was a woman.’
And not a beastman with a lion’s head like that one.