Chapter 85: To the Demonic Realm (13)

Eternal Sea of Trees.

Paradise of demonic beasts.

Land of death.

There were many names for this place, but among them, the name most called was set.

Demonic Realm.

Even on this land, where it seemed rules and laws did not exist, there were beings who had reigned for long years and solidified their territory.

Users called those beings, each of whom possessed strength that surpassed a named entity and reached boss-level, the King of demonic beasts.

Seven kings who rule the Demonic Realm.

But just as nothing in the world was eternal, with the appearance of the Destruction Dragon, a full four of the seven kings who had reigned in the Demonic Realm died.

The causes were varied.

Two were reduced to prey by the Destruction Dragon, one was hunted by the Player Union that felt threatened by the Destruction Dragon’s advance, which grew even stronger by devouring even the King of the Demonic Realm, and the last one died by my hand.

I didn’t know what the Demonic Realm’s power structure was like now, but at least a demonic beast that could be called a King would not have emerged easily.

Because in that long passage of time, only about seven had been able to fully establish their own territory in the Demonic Realm and reign.

‘Has one of those three awakened?’

As far as I knew, the three surviving kings had all entered a long hibernation.

The reason for that was not known for certain, but I knew for sure about at least one of them.

Because, while being hunted by me, the bastard had barely escaped by offering up its entire pack.

From that perspective, there was no need to think too hard about why the remaining two had entered hibernation.

They probably suffered grave injuries in battle with the Player Union, or were severely wounded while fleeing from the Destruction Dragon, and fell asleep.

‘Hmm.’

In the old days, whether a King of the Demonic Realm woke up or not, it was just a matter of more prey, but not now.

If a King of the Demonic Realm, who had been asleep for a long time, were to awaken, a huge change would occur in the power structure within the Demonic Realm, which had been quiet until now.

And that change was highly likely to be borne entirely by the Winter Castle, the adjacent area to the Demonic Realm and the shield that protected the Empire.

‘Above all, it will be a big hindrance to what I’m trying to do right now.’

I was currently heading toward the temporary warehouse I had made in the past.

If it was true that one of the kings had awakened from a long sleep, something might have happened to my temporary warehouse, which should have been in a safe zone.

In the worst case, it meant that the conditions for the safe zone itself might no longer be met, and it could have been devastated by demonic beasts.

‘Tsk.’

I quickened my steps.

It hadn’t been that long since the abnormal phenomena had begun in the Demonic Realm, so if I hurried, I might be able to avoid the worst-case scenario.

‘By the way…… even though it’s the Demonic Realm, I’ve barely seen any Mutants.’

The number of Mutants I had discovered since entering the Demonic Realm was small enough to be counted on one hand.

Excluding the Mutant I hunted with Yohan, the majority of them were powerful demonic beasts that I didn’t dare hunt, or were in environmental situations where I couldn’t hunt them carelessly.

Because of that, I had currently obtained no Ascension Stone Fragments since entering the Demonic Realm.

Since Yohan had eaten all the Ascension Stone Fragments that the Mutant we hunted together had.

I thought I would be able to find Mutants easily if I came to the Demonic Realm, but it seemed the absolute number of Mutants was quite small.

‘Come to think of it, I didn’t ask Yohan what the authorities after level 4 are.’

The bulletin board authority I had currently acquired was up to level 3.

Just looking at the level of Demonic energy I had seen before, it was certain that Yohan had acquired a higher-grade authority than me.

In that case, it meant there was a high possibility he also knew the authorities of level 4 and higher, after the Guild Bulletin Board, but I had forgotten to ask this important thing.

‘Well…… if I get really curious, I can just call him separately on the Anonymous Bulletin Board and ask later.’

As I was crossing the path of the boundary while thinking this and that, a sheer cliff revealed itself between the bushes.

If my memory was correct, my temporary warehouse that I had made in the past was right below that cliff.

It definitely should have been, but…….

As all worst-case assumptions tend to be, human intuition is often surprisingly close to the right answer.

Just like now.

‘This has gotten annoying.’

At the dizzying bottom of the sheer cliff.

In the place that should have originally been a safe zone, a giant rocky mountain, which I had not seen before, had taken its place.

The appearance of the Destruction Dragon had caused countless geological changes on the Lagna Continent, but it was certain that, at least, that rocky mountain had not suddenly sprung up due to that.

It had to be.

Because that mountain was alive.

Although it was a little different from the form I had known, that giant build and characteristics reminiscent of a mountain didn’t go anywhere.

‘It’s definitely him.’

One of the seven kings who reigned in the Demonic Realm.

The Walking Rock.

He Who Shakes the Heavens and Earth with a Single Step.

Bizarre Rock Giant Stone.

Great Stone Mountain, Mogron.

That thing was asleep, having taken root in the middle of the safe zone where my temporary warehouse was.

A hitch had occurred in my plan to retrieve the items from the temporary warehouse.

‘The saving grace is that Mogron is still in hibernation.’

Once Great Stone Mountain, Mogron fell asleep, it didn’t wake up easily.

This was because, on top of its immense size, Mogron’s entire hide was made of grotesque stone, like rock, so it couldn’t be stimulated by just anything.

The problem was that the range Mogron had taken up was covering the entrance of my temporary warehouse exactly.

‘Should I give up?’

The reasons I had come to the Demonic Realm were two: to retrieve the items in the temporary warehouse and to hunt Mutants.

Although I might not be able to achieve the top priority objective, if I devoted the remaining time to hunting Mutants, I might be able to catch one or two.

It meant that although it was a bit disappointing, it wasn’t something I couldn’t give up.

‘Hmm.’

The deliberation was not long.

‘It wouldn’t be too late to give up after going down and checking the state of the temporary warehouse’s entrance first.’

Giving up was always an easy choice.

But if I kept choosing that easy choice, at some point, it would be wringing my neck.

This was that kind of world.

A place where one or two cowardly choices would eventually remain as regrets for later.

‘Then…….’

Having made my decision, I looked down the sheer cliff and connected the band on the lining of the Blade Black Raven Cloak to my waist.

This was to prevent the cloak from flapping during the fall, no, the flight.

‘Is this about right.’

Having finished my preparations, I stood on the cliff.

A dizzying height that made me feel like I would get vertigo just from looking.

It was said that the people of the Empire in the distant past called this cliff The End of the World.

Of course, this cliff wasn’t really the end of the world, but the cliff’s height was that enormous.

To the point where I, who was about to jump from here, felt like a person wishing for suicide.

“Hmm.”

It was a story I was newly reminded of, but one of the extreme sports, the wingsuit, was said to be a sport with a surprisingly low injury rate.

Not because the wingsuit was a safe sport, but because if an accident happened, the victim almost always died.

And as I had said before, the flight function of the Blade Black Raven Cloak was almost similar to a wingsuit.

Not flying in the sky, but a flight closer to falling at an angle.

It was none other than the crazy thing I had to do from now on.

“Hoo.”

After a brief deep breath, I jumped off the cliff without hesitation.

At first, I plummeted straight toward the ground as if I were falling, and then, finally, when buoyancy caught the Blade Black Raven Cloak, the real flight began.

The wind brushing past my face felt like a cutting wind.

If I had brushed against even a leaf at this speed, a plausible scar would have formed on my face, but fortunately, there were no such things as leaves at this altitude.

At the same time, the surrounding scenery passed by quickly, and the sight of the ground came into view.

It made me feel why the endlessly unfolding labyrinth of trees was called the eternal Sea of Trees.

[Krururu!]

[Kruk! Kruruk!]

On the ground, it seemed that quite a few demonic beasts had become aware of my presence, and they were making a fuss, but there was no need to worry much.

Because I, who was cutting through the blue sky at a very high speed, would now look to the demonic beasts like the Blade Black Raven, the ruler of the Sky Mountains, or a similar flying demonic beast.

It meant that there was little possibility of them attacking me; rather, they would fear me.

‘Almost there.’

Normally, a wingsuit lands by opening a parachute at the end.

But since I had no such thing as a parachute right now, I had to land in a different way.

Chwaak!

The Blade Black Raven Cloak, which had been fixed to my waist until now, spread wide open, and enormous buoyancy was generated, making my body float up for a moment.

An effect similar to opening a parachute had occurred.

After finally landing safely on the ground, using the Blade Black Raven Cloak as a parachute, I finally let out a deep breath.

“……I almost died.”

Of course, even if some accident had occurred, my physical body itself was not that of an ordinary person, so I wouldn’t have died instantly, but it was true that it had been a dizzying experience.

In any case, thanks to that, I had flown in one go a distance that would have taken a full day to walk, so it had been worth taking the risk.

“Hmm.”

The area was quiet.

This vicinity itself had become the territory of Great Stone Mountain, Mogron, so it was only natural that most demonic beasts could not come near.

‘Thanks to that, the way there will be easy.’

Normally, I would have had to take a long detour even for a short distance because I was using the path of the boundary, but now I could go straight to where the temporary warehouse was without worrying about such things.

Of course, even so, I couldn’t be careless, so I crossed the Demonic Realm without letting down my guard.

How long had I walked like that?

My skin tingled from the overwhelming presence wafting from far away, as if to finally inform me that I had reached the place where Great Stone Mountain, Mogron was.

‘Arrived.’

Seeing it up close again, I thought I understood why Great Stone Mountain, Mogron was called He Who Shakes the Heavens and Earth with a Single Step.

It was that huge, and that magnificent.

To the point where if Mogron started to rampage, even I wouldn’t be confident in surviving.

If there was one saving grace, it was that, as I already knew, Mogron was currently in a deep sleep.

‘If it’s sleeping this deeply, it might be worth a try.’

Having finished my thoughts, I immediately approached the vicinity of the entrance where the temporary warehouse was.

And I found it.

‘There’s a gap.’

Should I say the heavens had helped?

It was true that Mogron’s giant body was covering the temporary warehouse, but fortunately, a part of the entrance was exposed.

If it was that much, it seemed I could dig up the surrounding ground a little and I would be able to enter the temporary warehouse.

‘On top of that, seeing as the entrance visible inside is almost undamaged, there’s a high probability that the items inside are also safe.’

I moved immediately.

Since I hadn’t packed a shovel or the like when I was sorting my luggage, I made a temporary pickaxe by tying a wide stone to a nearby tree branch with a string.

For something made temporarily, it looked quite usable.

‘Then, shall I give it a try.’

The work of digging the ground in earnest began.

It was work I had started without hesitation, but it was also true that I was worried inside.

‘Please don’t wake up.’

It was unlikely, but if Mogron were to wake up from its sleep, I would be crushed to death alive.

No, even if I luckily avoided being crushed to death, my cause of death would only change to suffocation from being buried alive; the result of dying itself would not change.

Nevertheless, the reason I didn’t stop digging was because the possibility of Mogron waking up without any external influence was very low.

It meant that as long as someone didn’t go crazy and beat a traditional brass gong to wake Mogron up, nothing would happen.

How long had I been picking?

‘Done.’

Finally, the entrance of the temporary warehouse revealed itself.

It was a bit cramped, but it was a sufficient size for one person to enter.

‘Shall I go?’

The padlock on the door of the temporary warehouse was firmly locked, just as in my memory.

It meant there was no sign of anyone having forcibly broken the padlock.

There was a keyhole on the padlock, but in truth, this keyhole was a trick.

This padlock wasn’t opened with a key, but by manipulating the padlock itself in a specific way.

Just like this.

Clack─

The lock of the padlock was released, and finally, the door of the temporary warehouse, which was the top priority objective of this journey, opened.

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