Chapter 345: Demon Region
"Oh? To think a stray would be here. How presumptuous. Move aside."
"Ugh!"
"Cari!?"
"Caribert!?"
The moment the man casually flicked his hand as if brushing something aside, Cari was sent flying.
His body slammed into a tree.
Pain exploded through him, and he nearly lost consciousness.
Still, he forced himself to lift his head and saw two figures rushing toward him.
"...Mama... don’t..."
The man’s target was undoubtedly Qiong Xing.
"I suppose I’ll take you with me."
Behind the approaching Qiong Xing, Cari saw the man reaching out his hand.
"No!"
"Father, stop!"
"Albe!"
As Cari shouted for him to stop, Albe also realized that Qiong Xing was in danger and tried to protect him.
But he too was blown away and crashed to the ground.
"Mama... run..."
Cari wanted at least Qiong Xing to escape.
But there was no way Qiong Xing would listen.
Instead, he stepped in front of his children and faced the man directly.
"I will not allow you to hurt my children any further."
"Children? What an amusing thing to say. But the only one who interests me is you."
"And you think I’d go with you because of that? I feel nothing but disgust toward you."
No matter how capable Qiong Xing was, facing a demon placed him at a disadvantage.
His magical power was overwhelmingly superior, but he had almost never used that power offensively.
Cari wished Qiong Xing would abandon them and run.
But someone as kind as him would never do such a thing.
Please hurry, he prayed silently as he searched for Iseul.
Even a demon like this man would not be able to ignore a dragon so easily.
"Do you truly believe a mere human can defeat me?"
"How would we know unless we try? If it’s to protect my children, I won’t hesitate to use whatever means are necessary."
Cari felt bitterly frustrated.
Qiong Xing had worked so hard to train, yet in the end, it was still Qiong Xing protecting him.
The person he wanted to protect more than anyone else was standing in danger because of him.
Not only was he unable to protect Qiong Xing, he was nothing but a burden.
The realization filled him with anger toward his own weakness.
"To speak to me so boldly. Humans truly are foolish creatures."
"Does that bother you? Then why don’t you leave right now? We’re not so idle that we’ll entertain your whims."
Qiong Xing’s words were remarkably fearless considering he was facing a demon.
Yet Cari could see that his hands were trembling.
There was no way he felt no fear.
And yet, for their sake, he refused to back down even a single step.
Groaning through the pain, Cari raised his hand and tried to hurl a blade of ice at the man.
"You’re in the way."
"Mama!"
The moment Cari began gathering magical power, he was about to be blown away once again.
But just before it happened, Qiong Xing stepped in front of him protectively and was sent flying instead.
Perhaps he had hit his head badly.
His eyes were closed, and he appeared unconscious.
"What a foolish thing to do. Still, it saves me the trouble."
"Stop!"
As the man reached toward Qiong Xing’s limp body, Cari launched another attack, aiming directly for his head this time.
It was effortlessly deflected.
Frustrating!
Infuriating!
Unforgivable!
To hell with conserving magic power.
Cari unleashed spell after spell with all the strength he had.
"You should just die..."
"Sorry to keep you waiting. I’m here to pick... Qiong Xing?"
At last.
The moment Cari turned toward the familiar voice, the man scooped up Qiong Xing and vanished from sight.
Cari would never forgive him.
Never.
As Iseul hurried over in alarm, Cari looked up at him and made a silent vow.
He would find Qiong Xing no matter what.
...
Qiong Xing had heard that the Demon Region was where demons lived, so he had imagined something like hell.
However, after looking around, although it was somewhat dark, it did not feel particularly frightening.
The buildings were not very different from those in the human world.
"Who would just wait quietly like that?"
After muttering this, he continued toward the exit, still dragging the chain wrapped around his leg.
In the end, he was unable to remove the chain from his leg.
So he broke it.
He did not fully understand how it was constructed, but no matter how much magic he used, he could not cut the part attached to his leg.
So instead, he chose to cut the bedpost it was fastened to.
Of course, he had not forgotten the nausea from earlier, and it was quite painful, but not to the point where he could not endure it.
More than anything, his life was on the line.
A little discomfort was trivial.
Even so, the impact was significant, and it took time.
After repeatedly catching his breath, he finally managed to sever it.
All that was left was to escape, so he stepped out of the room, but.
"Why do big castles all have such similar layouts!"
His natural sense of directionlessness kicked in,and he ended up wandering in circles through similar looking corridors.
He was seriously trying to find the exit, but he could not tell where he was anymore.
Everything looked the same, so he did not even know whether he was moving forward or going back.
He wished they would at least label rooms clearly.
Better yet, there should be signposts pointing to the exit.
In such a large building, not a single person could be seen, which only made it more unsettling.
He moved cautiously, hiding just in case, but still could not reach the entrance, which only made him more irritated.
"I am never giving Cari and Albe back to a man like that. He should just die alone and miserable."
He did not know if demons even had old age, but he cursed him anyway, thinking he should grow old with no one to care for him and die alone and abandoned.
