Chapter 118: The Secret of this World
Those were the eyes of the sentinel. It was the ability of the Demon King, the final boss of the continent of Isocia. The Demon King could send sentinels to any part of the Demon Realm and see every area at once.
However, the reason why Lee Shin frowned was not because of that. The black fog spread in an instant and swallowed up the Pestilence King.
‘Tsk.’
Lee Shin’s mana surged into the sky.
[Thunderbolt]
Rumble— Crack!
A thunderbolt struck the ground. There was a deafening noise, and the impact of the strike was so powerful that it caused the ground to sink in, but Lee Shin did not look satisfied.
Lee Shin had no words.
He was a step too late. The black fog disappeared with the Pestilence King into the ground, and the thunderbolt struck nothing besides the ground, which was meaningless.
The greatest ability of a sentinel was that it could escape with demonic beasts from anywhere in the Demon Realm. Of course, there were limitations, but since the sentinel could save name-class demonic beasts, that alone was a great ability.
"Ha..." Lee Shin frowned.
Unexpected things kept happening. Dispatching sentinels was an ability the Demon King had that could only be used in the Demon Zone, starting from the Navy Zone. However, the sentinel had appeared in the Blue Zone, where it should not have been.
‘Clearly, the natural order of this world is changing.’
From the Predators to the Pestilence King and the sentinels, he could see that the power of the demons was growing stronger. Situations that went against common sense were happening one after another.
"Let's go back," said Lee Shin.
He clenched his teeth and rode the Skeleton Crow out of the Demon Realm.
***
Inside the Demon Zone, this giant canyon in the Black Zone was one of the paths that demons used to come out of the Demon King's castle. At the entrance of the canyon, there was a large fortress.
It used to be the base of the demons, but now, it was occupied by Meldeuren and became a fortress named Quebec. Quebec, also known as the Iron Wall Fortress, boasted perfect defense power—it had never been breached since it was in use. Now, for the first time, Quebec was unsteady.
"Darn it! What's happening?!" General Mosfel shouted.
"I don't know, sir."
General Mosfel, who was guarding Quebec, looked at the screen with a serious face. Black waves were gushing in from the end of the canyon.
"Were the guys who were sent here earlier the scouts?" General Mosfel asked.
"I think so... I think they seem to have decided to break through here."
"Can we stop them?" General Mosfel asked.
"I think we would be able to defend somehow unless the name-class demons of the Solo Digit are here."
"What about Double Digit?" General Mosfel asked again.
"Well, it will be difficult if two...no, if three or more come."
"So, you’re saying that we can somehow manage to deal with two, right…?" General Mosfel asked.
His palms became sweaty as he watched the demons' forces gather.
"Please… please don't come..." General Mosfel muttered.
His eyes were fixed on the demons. He was hoping that he would not see those demons he knew.
"But, you know, someone said that… if you wish earnestly, the reverse comes true..." the officer who had been listening to General Mosfel from behind muttered.
When General Mosfel heard the officer, his expression changed in an instant.
"You jerk! Stop talking shit!” General Mosfel yelled at the officer.
"If the name-class demon of Solo Digit appears, I will step forward,” said the officer.
"What can you do if you step forward? If even one of those demons appears, it will be difficult to deal with—even if all the officers here go out and fight!" General Mosfel shouted.
"That's not the only way," the officer said with a determined look on his face.
"This jerk keeps talking nonsense—" General Mosfel muttered.
"General! It appeared!"
"What?!"
Mosfel and the officers were stunned as they stared at the screen. A familiar, large demonic beast appeared amongst a mob of various demonic beasts.
"That is…" General Mosfel muttered.
It was a demonic beast in the form of a tree. It was not very wide, but was over ten meters tall. Flames were burning on its branches which stretched out in all directions, and its roots served as legs for walking on the ground.
"It's an Enflamer," said an officer.
"The burning tree? What number is that demonic beast?" General Mosfel asked the officer.
"It’s number 20, sir," replied the officer.
"Ha... I guess we’re lucky that it’s a demonic beast with Double Digit," said General Mosfel.
"But it's not a good match for our citadel, which has the defense set up on the highlands," said the officer.
"If it’s number 20, then we can manage," said General Mosfel.
General Mosfel’s expression was still stiff, but his tension had eased slightly.
"We can't be too relieved yet. We don't know if another one will appear," said another officer.
"Can't you just be quiet?" General Mosfel shouted at that officer.
"I'm just telling you the truth,” said the officer.
"Who doesn't know that? How come you know how to say so much, but you don't know that every word you say has power?" said General Mosfel accusingly.
"I'm well aware," the officer replied.
"If you know so well, then why are you acting like—” General Mosfel could not finish his sentence.
"General!" a soldier shouted.
"What now?! Did something appear again?" General Mosfel shouted at the soldier, annoyed. General Mosfel had become extremely sensitive.
"Yes, it's a name-class demonic beast," the soldier replied.
At the soldier’s words, General Mosfel looked at the screen again. Something huge was flying in the sky, among other demonic beasts.
Crack—
General Mosfel gritted his teeth. The scars on his left arm suddenly felt like they were aching again.
"Veck Jack..." General Mosfel muttered.
Veck Jack was a demonic beast that could fly and spit poison. It had a scorpion-like appearance, with a long body and a giant hook for an arm.
General Mosfel remembered the day he was attacked by that demonic beast. Hundreds of his beloved followers were killed. Veck Jack had disappeared with fatal injuries that day, but now it appeared again in perfect condition.
"Damn it, a Solo Digit appeared..." General Mosfel muttered.
"This demonic beast is number seven, sir.”
"I know that!" General Mosfel clenched his fist.
They were already in a difficult situation dealing with the Enflamer, but now Veck Jack, a Solo Digit, appeared as well. It seemed as if it would not be long till Quebec fell.
"I will sacrifice myself," said the officer with determination.
"..."
General Mosfel, who would have normally yelled and told him not to spout nonsense, said nothing. He looked at his left arm once again and then back at Veck Jack on the screen.
"...Do you think you can handle it?" General Mosfel asked the officer, although he was not looking at her.
The officer understood the meaning right away and replied, "I was always prepared."
"Thank you," said General Mosfel.
"No problem, sir,” replied the officer.
"I'll take care of Veck Jack, so block the Enflamer," said General Mosfel.
"Yes sir, I'll kill it no matter what," replied the officer.
General Mosfel and the officer left the command room and headed toward the walls of the citadel. The demonic beasts surged toward them like waves, and Veck Jack and Enflamer were leading the army at the front.
The officer slowly activated her mana and began to destroy her mana vessels one by one. Shortly after, her mana surged rapidly throughout her body.
“Thank you for everything until now, General Mosfel.” The officer spoke her last words and her final flame rose in the battlefield that was filled with demon power.
General Mosfel sighed as he watched her.
"Didn't I say this would happen...?" General Mosfel muttered as he looked up at the sky.
***
In another citadel in the Black Zone called Knox, chaos broke out at the sudden news.
"Quebec has fallen?" Morgan, the Castellan of Knox, asked the messenger again, because he could hardly believe the news even though he had heard it properly the first time.
"Quebec has fallen due to the demon invasion," the messenger replied.
Bam!
Morgan slammed his desk with his fist.
"How could Quebec fall?" Morgan shouted furiously.
Morgan's expression became more and more serious as he heard the reports by the officers.
"Veck Jack and Enflamer appeared? And thousands of demonic beasts gathered?" Morgan could not believe what he was hearing.
"Yes sir," replied an officer. Morgan furrowed his eyebrows.
The next moment, he saw Quebec's fall on video.
Quebec's proud walls were completely destroyed, and countless soldiers were lying dead. It was not a lie. The demons had really invaded and destroyed Quebec.
Morgan left the conference room in a hurry. The officers tried to follow him, but he stopped them and headed for the Telecommunications Room. He kicked out all the signallers there and connected with the homeland by himself.
He was quickly connected, as communication with the homeland had been established earlier.
"This is Morgan," said Morgan.
- I heard the news, Morgan.
It was Clarke, who was known as the schemer in Meldeuren.
"Yeah, looking at the scowl on your face, I guess you know what has been going on. Tell me why things are happening this way,” said Morgan accusingly.
- We are still trying to figure it out.
“Damn all this figuring out! How long are you going to be doing that for? Quebec has completely fallen apart. Do you know how much damage has been done? Do you know how many soldiers died there?!" Morgan shouted in anger.
- We are sorry for your loss. We will definitely seek revenge for this.
Morgan felt frustrated by the robotic response he received and thumped his chest.
"Isn't this different from what we have negotiated before?” Morgan asked.
- Yes, that's right. That's why we have already sent two people.
"Mosfel is dead—the one who had always opposed this negotiation. He insisted that the demons would betray us, and he protected Quebec by himself until the end. He died because of your careless thinking," said Morgan.
- Well Morgan, you didn't stop him until the end either.
Bam! Crack!
Morgan slammed his desk hard. Unable to withstand his strength, it broke and fell over.
- Don't break things for no reason.
"Who cares! I knew this would happen from the moment you said we should catch this one Korean challenger. If you keep going like this, Knox will also collapse soon!" Morgan shouted.
- Don't worry. We are already gathering our troops and will soon depart for Knox. And when the two we’ve sent come back after finishing the negotiations, we will let you know.
Bip—
Clarke finished his last sentence and cut the call. Morgan glared at the blank screen with wide eyes and then left the Telecommunications Room.
***
Ralph and Misty, who were both the Qualified of Meldeuren, headed toward the Great Dale in the northwest corner of the Isocia continent. It was a place with the largest and toughest mountain range on the continent and deep valleys.
They traveled through the area as if it were familiar to them, even though only a few humans had ever set foot there. It was a treacherous path where even a small miss could be fatal. There were many Demon Realms located all over the place, and these were dangerous areas where menacing demonic beasts roamed, since humans hardly went there.
The two of them went into the valley. As they continued to go deeper inside, the air around them gradually became heavier. Soon, they could see a cave. Inside the cave was a space void of any light.
The two stood in front of the cave and gulped, but they still trudged in slowly. As they went further, they felt suffocated and suppressed. In a situation where it was pitch dark and nothing could be seen clearly, the two discovered a vague figure that was lingering around.
As the two got closer, they saw a woman, so dazzlingly beautiful that she could blind them, trapped in chains. They could not figure out where the chains came from and how they were formed.
"Stop making useless moves and come closer. You cannot understand with your limited intelligence," said the woman, who seemed to be sleeping.
The two stood in front of her stunned, as if they were possessed. Their hearts beat so fast just from seeing her. It was not just because the woman in front of them was beautiful.
‘The devil…’?
She was a creature at a different level from ordinary demons. Misty stared at the woman—if she did not focus hard, her eyes might glaze over.
"Why… Why did you break the deal? The demons destroyed the citadel of Meldeuren," Misty spoke slowly and clearly, trying not to reveal any quivers in her voice.
At Misty’s words, the devil gave a mysterious smile.
"Well, we made a deal. I cut off the connection between this world and the other world, and you guys were supposed to maintain this world for a long time," said the demon.
"Yes, that’s right. But the balance began to fall apart," said Misty.
"Yeah! Why are you invading us?" Ralph asked the demon.
"Well, that’s because you guys invaded our land." The woman looked at the two as if she could not understand why they were angry.
"Huh?" Misty did not understand what was going on.
"Our deal was to prevent the Demon King from dying and the Demon Zone from getting reset," said the woman.
"And so, to do that, we agreed to adjust the power on the front line, don’t you remember?" Misty shouted.
"Well, I guess…” said the woman.
"Well I guess…? Does that mean it is not the case anymore? If you come out like this, we will have no choice but to kill the Demon King too," said Misty.
"Go ahead, if you can," said the woman.
The woman looked calm and the two people sensed that something was going wrong as they saw her reaction.
"Making a deal with the devil to catch that one, He Who Knows Death… This is why humans are so foolish,” said the woman.
Their faces turned pale instantly upon hearing her words.
‘Did she just say He Who Knows Death?’
‘Does she already know that we’re targeting Lee Shin?’
At this point, the two could not tell how much she knew.
"Hahaha! You foolish humans. Deals are only made when there is a balance of power. Why should I keep my deal with idiots who don't even know how this world works?" the demon laughed at them.
"Well, we are bound by a contract in the system! If you break it, then you'll...ugh!" Ralph gasped.
The devil used her demon power and gripped Ralph's neck as he spoke, and she brought Ralph close to her and licked his cheek with her tongue.
"Lies are everywhere," the woman said.
As her demon power grew stronger, Ralph's pained groans grew louder.
"But, how…? We're bound by a contract, so you shouldn’t be able to attack us," Misty said, trembling with fear and dropping to the ground.
The devil looked at Ralph and Misty with cold eyes.
"If you two spend a night with me, my opinion might change," the woman said.
At her malicious smile, Ralph and Misty disappeared in the flood of demon power.
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on (f)reeweb(n)ovel.com