“The ‘Other Side’ is what we call the Immortal Realm,” the one-eyed boy said.

“…What?”

For a moment, I thought I had misheard him. But no—I definitely heard the word “Immortal Realm.”

“Are you saying… the Immortal Realm exists?” I asked, still trying to process his words.

“Of course! Around these parts, it’s common knowledge… or so I thought,” the boy replied with a shrug. “I mean, you’re a mage, right? Didn’t you come here to get a sword made?”

“Well… yeah,” I admitted reluctantly.

I didn’t feel like explaining how the blacksmith had refused to forge anything for us. It didn’t seem relevant to this strange conversation.

Unbothered, the boy continued with enthusiasm. “That blacksmith—he’s what we call the ‘Gatekeeper.’ He maintains the balance, keeping this world and the Immortal Realm separate. He’s the key.”

“The old man? Really?”

“Old man, huh? Hah, he must be pretty up there in years now. When I first met him, he was just a little kid,” the boy said, gesturing to indicate a height no taller than my knees.

Wait, was he serious? That would make the blacksmith about three years old when they met. Surely he was exaggerating—but in the world of exorcists, it wasn’t unheard of for kids to start training that young.

Still, I couldn’t quite wrap my head around what this boy was saying. I had more questions than answers.

“Hold on, are you telling me that blacksmith is responsible for keeping the Immortal Realm separate from our world? Why?”

“Ah, you’re a sharp one. Surely you know—Immortal Realms expand, don’t they?”

“…No, I didn’t know that,” I replied, frowning.

This was the first I’d heard of it. Harunaga hadn’t mentioned anything about this when I spoke to him. Why did everyone assume I knew these things?

The boy seemed surprised by my ignorance, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Huh, so the oral traditions have been lost… well, that makes things tricky. Guess I’ll have to explain it. But first…” He gestured toward the trail we’d just walked up.

“Take me to the blacksmith. We’re running out of time.”

“Why don’t you just go there yourself if you know the way?” I asked skeptically.

“Can’t cross the barrier,” he admitted bluntly.

Oh, right. There was a barrier in place. I’d forgotten about that.

“And if you betray us?”

“You can just kill me. Easy, right?” he said casually.

His flippant response left me momentarily speechless. Most monsters cling to life desperately—they attack humans to steal their magical energy, which prolongs their lives. So why was this one so nonchalant about dying?

Dad, who had been listening in, called out from behind me. “Itsuki, let him walk ahead of us.”

“Walk ahead?”

“Yes. It’s a single path. If he tries anything, we’ll deal with him then and there.”

That… made sense. Reassured by Dad’s plan, I sighed and turned to the boy. “Alright, you walk in front. I’ll guide you from behind.”

“Thanks, boss! Knew you’d come around!” the boy grinned, standing up and dusting himself off.

And so, with the boy leading the way, we followed a few meters behind. As we walked, I kept pressing him for answers.

Enjoy new chapters from empire

“What did you mean earlier when you said the Immortal Realm expands?”

“It’s exactly what it sounds like,” the boy replied without looking back. “The Immortal Realm is a separate world from this one, but it’s constantly growing. To stop it from expanding too much, magical energy has to flow into this world.”

“You mean… like the ley lines?”

“Exactly. It’s a natural process—normally, the Immortal Realm balances itself out. But…” He trailed off.

“But now it’s not balanced?” I guessed.

“Correct. The fact that I woke up means something’s gone wrong.”

From the way he spoke, it sounded like this boy—or whatever he was—had been designed to awaken whenever the Immortal Realm’s balance was disrupted. But who had set that up?

As I mulled this over, Aya-chan, walking beside me, spoke up. “Um, can’t you just release enough magic to shrink the Immortal Realm?”

“Not that simple, missy. Too much magic released into this world is like poison. That’s why the ‘Gatekeeper’ maintains the balance. It’s his job.”

“That old man?” I asked, still struggling to picture the blacksmith in such an important role.

“Yup. But if too much magic is released, who knows what disasters it might cause… dormant volcanoes might even wake up.”

“So you can’t release any more magic?” Aya-chan asked.

The boy nodded solemnly. His explanation made sense, but it raised another question that had been bothering me.

“You said earlier that people would die if the Immortal Realm expands. Why?”

“Because monsters from the Immortal Realm would spill into this world, cloaked in its magic. They’d devour humans left and right—a ‘Night Parade of a Hundred Demons,’ as they call it,” he said grimly.

At those words, I felt Nina-chan, walking on my other side, stiffen. I gently rubbed her back to reassure her as I processed what he’d said.

So, the Immortal Realm was like a water balloon, constantly filling up with magic. Normally, it would let out just enough magic to maintain balance. But now, for some reason, the balance had been disrupted.

Letting out too much magic could cause disasters, but not letting it out at all would lead to the Immortal Realm bursting, unleashing a flood of monsters.

…This was a no-win situation.

“What’s the solution, then?” I asked.

“The Gatekeeper, of course,” the boy replied. “When the balance breaks, it’s usually because something’s gone wrong inside the Immortal Realm—a ‘Demon Blight,’ as we call it.”

“Demon Blight?”

“A corrupted being within the Immortal Realm. If you purify it, the balance will be restored.”

“So we just need to exorcise this Demon Blight?”

“Exactly. Just like how your body fights off infections. The Immortal Realm is alive, in a sense, and it works the same way.”

That made sense, I supposed. The Gatekeeper—the blacksmith—was like the Immortal Realm’s immune system. But…

“Problem is, the Demon Blight we’re dealing with now is a Rank 5 Class-C. Not exactly easy to exorcise.”

The boy stepped onto the mountain trail leading to the workshop. Dad, who had stopped to retrieve a sword from the car, followed close behind.

“The trouble is,” the boy continued, “the Gatekeeper isn’t doing his job this time. We’ve got to deal with the Demon Blight before it’s too late, but…”

As we passed through the barrier, the scene that greeted us stopped us in our tracks.

“…Huh?”

Lying just outside the workshop, clutching his chest, was the blacksmith.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep