“When you stayed in the Inhuman Demon Realm...... what happened......?”
When Han Iseo asked that,
Shin Youngjun had been arrogantly issuing orders to monsters,
but he spoke politely to people.
“Mm. I’m sorry I couldn’t explain beforehand. I figured it would be hard to believe even if I told you.”
“As I said, I survived in the Inhuman Demon Realm for a long time.”
“We know that.”
“But I never said I survived alone, did I? Rather.......”
Despite holding such overwhelming strength,
Shin Youngjun spoke with a bitter smile.
“Alone, I never could have survived beyond the Inhuman Demon Realm.”
“.......”
“These guys are one of the reasons I was able to survive.”
At /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ those words,
people looked down at the monster they were riding.
-The great one is being humble.
‘.......’
Saying he survived because of these monsters didn’t quite fit,
when the monsters were completely submitting to him.
‘It’s not that he survived thanks to these monsters.......’
‘Isn’t it that he was so strong he even used monsters as subordinates?’
Well, even a powerhouse needed a force.
In that sense, it wasn’t exactly wrong.
Then,
Jo Beomseok spoke, looking like he just couldn’t believe it.
“Are you saying you made all these monsters submit......?”
“Hm? Ah. You could see it that way.”
The way he gave orders to the monsters.
The way they bowed their heads cravenly and obeyed.
People thought Shin Youngjun had subdued the monsters and was using them as underlings, but—
“It’s similar, but a little different. These guys aren’t loyal to me.”
“What do you mean? They bowed their heads like that, and you’re saying they aren’t loyal?”
“The one they’re loyal to is someone else.”
His gaze went straight ahead.
Toward the place they were heading.
“Because of my relationship with that being, these guys have no choice but to follow my orders.”
“Relationship......?”
“If you think they’re following me purely out of their own will and approach them like that, you might get burned.”
What kind of relationship could it be,
that these powerful-looking monsters were following Shin Youngjun’s orders?
The branch leaders wanted to ask, but.......
Then.
‘......Huh?’
The branch leaders,
with the sharp senses of high-level Awakeners, noticed the change around them.
“Is it...... an illusion?”
“No, it’s not.”
At first they thought it might be their imagination, but it wasn’t.
A forest that was already dark.
The darkness of that forest was.......
“It’s getting thicker.”
The deeper they went into the forest under the monsters’ guidance,
the darker it became around them.
‘As if.......’
As if this thick darkness itself
was declaring that it was their territory.
“You all should be careful.”
“......?”
As people were flustered by the change around them,
Shin Youngjun spoke evenly.
“Their master...... no, the Queen of this place is.”
His gaze lifted slightly toward the sky.
When people followed his gaze and looked up—
“She’s on the same level as the giant that burst out of that veil...... no, an existence beyond that.”
“......!”
In the forest where the darkness had deepened,
at its very center—
“Hmm...... for now, this is probably the right way to say it.”
someone sitting in the moonlight
was looking down at them.
“Welcome to my domain, children of the native species.”
*****
A forest covered in thick darkness.
In the middle of that thick darkness, there was a single place where moonlight shone.
GRRR.......
KRRK.......
‘Living monsters.......’
‘They built a structure.’
A gigantic structure created by countless monsters fitting their bodies together.
The moonlight illuminated only the woman sitting at the very top of that structure.
“Welcome to my domain, children of the native species.”
A chair, likewise made by monsters lowering their bodies and forming themselves.
The woman sitting on that chair with a relaxed posture opened her mouth.
People had no choice but to be shocked when they saw her shape.
‘Beautiful.’
A woman sitting as the only one receiving moonlight in the darkness.
Wearing an antique dress like a medieval noble, she looked down at them with an elegant posture.
‘And.......’
In this dangerous Inhuman Demon Realm,
she looked far too out of place—too antique and too elegant.
That was why, instead of being captivated by her beauty,
people felt—
‘Afraid!’
In this ruined world,
Awakeners had learned from experience that the more something looked out of place, the more dangerous it was.
‘Is she human?’
‘No, there’s no way she’s human. She’s probably...... a monster with overwhelming power.’
And,
as if proving that thought correct—
-We greet the Queen!!!
‘......!’
The monsters they had ridden
bowed their heads to that woman.
‘The Queen.......’
Only then
did people realize she was the Queen Shin Youngjun had mentioned.
The one who ruled all these monsters.
......A monster of higher rank than the giant that had appeared inside the Wall of Fire.
As people tensed under that overwhelming presence,
she spoke.
“And...... it has been a long time.”
Her gaze
turned toward the man standing at the very front.
“My oathbound ally, Shin Youngjun.”
“Yeah. It’s been a while.”
At that, people were horrified.
‘An oath.......’
That powerful-looking existence
was speaking with Shin Youngjun
as if they were equals.
“......Calling you ‘oathbound ally’ is the right way, yes?”
“Yeah. It’s true, isn’t it?”
*****
‘The oath, and.......’
‘And all the other monsters submitting to Youngjun.......’
It meant that she and Shin Youngjun
were at least on the same level.
“......If I talk like this, it won’t cause problems later.......”
“It won’t, so don’t worry.”
‘......?’
Something like a strange confirmation had been exchanged,
but overwhelmed by the atmosphere, people couldn’t say anything.
“Hmm. By the way, it seems like you brought quite a lot of children.”
Her red eyes turned toward the people.
“What is the reason you brought so many humans into my territory?”
“The monsters that made that winter are coming here. We have to face them.”
“So that is what this force is for. Hmm! Normally, I could not tolerate those who are not my children wandering my territory.......”
When those eyes turned to them,
people flinched.
“But, since they were brought by my oathbound ally, I will let it pass.”
“Th-thank you.......”
“If they are my oathbound ally’s guests, they are no different from my guests. You all look quite exhausted from the long journey. I will provide a place, so unpack your baggage there and rest. And.......”
She rose from her chair,
then spoke as she descended from the wall the monsters had formed.
“My oathbound ally, come this way. It seems I should speak with you alone after so long.”
*****
And so.
When the Queen took Shin Youngjun and disappeared,
the people left behind among the monsters had no choice but to panic, not knowing what to do.
But then.
“Hello.”
“......Huh?”
A being appeared from the darkness.
And, astonishingly.......
“A human......?”
“Haha. You’re reacting like this is the first time you’ve seen a human.”
That being that emerged from the monster crowd
had a human shape, just like the Queen.
“My name is Lee Beomjae. It’s only for a short while, but I’ve been put in charge of guiding all of you.”
“......I’m Jo Beomseok.”
When the man who appeared from the darkness held out his hand and said that,
Jo Beomseok, the commander of the group, stepped forward and shook his hand.
“This way, please. I will guide you to a place you can stay.”
“Mm.......”
People moved, following Lee Beomjae’s guidance.
After walking for a few minutes,
a clean clearing appeared, with not a single tree.
“You can build a camp here. I would like to guide you to a proper lodging if I could, but there is no such lodging.”
“This is enough for us. We have an [Architect]. And besides.......”
As the Eastern Branch personnel, including Kim Jongdu, began making camp,
Jo Beomseok looked at Lee Beomjae with suspicion.
“Are you really human? Like the Queen, are you a monster that resembles humans.......”
“The name Lee Beomjae was given to me by my grandfather.”
“.......”
“Well, even if I say it this far, it’s hard to believe, isn’t it. Besides...... what does it matter whether I’m human or not.”
“What do you mean?”
“Aren’t we allies?”
At that, Jo Beomseok’s eyes widened.
“Allies?”
“That is what I heard.”
Lee Beomjae’s gaze turned toward one direction.
The place they had walked from.
Toward the outside of the Inhuman Demon Realm.
“An alliance to fight the cause of that cold.”
“......Right, Youngjun did say he came here to find additional troops.”
“Those troops are us.”
Jo Beomseok asked, still doubtful.
“Why would you fight with us? To begin with, can we trust you?”
“Yes? Of course you shouldn’t trust us.”
“......What?”
“We just met, didn’t we? Even among humans, you shouldn’t blindly trust. And those who serve the Queen are mostly monsters. Naturally, we’re the kind you shouldn’t trust, aren’t we?”
“What are you saying—”
“Instead.”
He smiled faintly.
“When it comes to fighting those monsters, you can trust that.”
“That completely contradicts what you just said.”
“Don’t trust us—trust logic.”
“Logic?”
“Do you know why we—no, why so many monsters are holed up in this dark forest?”
“Well.”
Jo Beomseok thought for a moment and answered.
“Because they couldn’t endure that cold.”
“That’s right. Because of that cold...... we were driven into this narrow region and put in a position where we have to fight unwanted territory wars.”
“......Then that means.”
“If you came into the Inhuman Demon Realm to fight the cause of that cold, then I can only tell you that you came to the right place.”
A man still wearing a faint smile.
But even if his eyes were smiling, his mouth was not.
“There is no one who hates the cause of that cold more than the residents of the Inhuman Demon Realm.”
“......!”
Only then did Jo Beomseok nod.
Separate from trusting them,
it was certain these were people who had reason to hate the cause of that cold.
“......Um.”
“Yes. Do you have a question?”
When Jo Beomseok’s conversation ended,
Han Iseo timidly stepped forward to ask.
“What are you...... exactly?”
“Mm, it’s hard to explain. Just think of us as one of the forces reigning within this Inhuman Demon Realm.”
“One of the forces?”
“Ah. You don’t know about the Inhuman Demon Realm’s ecosystem.”
Then, an explanation of the Inhuman Demon Realm’s ecosystem followed.
That monsters feared injury and respected a powerhouse’s territory.
And because of that, territories formed around especially strong monsters.
“We are one of them. It’s not something to brag about, but we hold the largest territory in the Inhuman Demon Realm.”
“......My God.”
“Well, we aren’t clearly stronger than the other forces yet. We took quite a lot of damage while subjugating the previous force.”
One of the powerful forces that divided this Inhuman Demon Realm into four.
And even among them, the strongest force holding the widest territory.
“The Queen from earlier...... what is she, and what is this oath? And why are you being so formal with us?”
“Hm? It seems my master’s o—...... oathbound ally did not tell you.”
Lee Beomjae nodded and explained.
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t hear much from the Queen, either. If what I know is enough.”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
“As far as I know...... I heard that at least half a year ago from now, the Queen and the oathbound ally fought a battle.”
“What?”
A battle with that Queen who looked so overwhelmingly powerful.
And not even recently—half a year ago?
‘He fought a monster like that back then......?’
People were horrified, but
Lee Beomjae continued calmly.
“I did not hear the result of that battle...... but I heard that after that fight, the two of them formed an oath.”
“That oath is—”
“I don’t know the exact contents, either. All I know is that it was an oath far more favorable to the oathbound ally.”
At that, people thought.
‘An oath far more favorable to Youngjun.......’
‘Does that mean Youngjun won that fight?’
No.
No matter what, it didn’t make sense that he was already that strong half a year ago.
Maybe the Queen wanted Shin Youngjun’s power and offered an oath on unfavorable terms to form an alliance with him.
“A Queen who rules over more than a quarter of the Inhuman Demon Realm.......”
“And to be an equal existence to such a Queen.”
People muttered while looking toward where the two had vanished.
“Over there, what on earth.......”
“What kind of conversation could they be having.......”
*****
“You said you cleaned this area up so it was safe? I got openly ambushed on the way here. And you call that ‘cleaned up’?”
“Th-th-that is not so......!”
“Not so, my ass!”
The moment I was away from the people,
I started talking to Ariella alone.
