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The next morning.
Davian and Mons returned to the coastal cliffs.
The traces of yesterday's fierce battle remained intact.
The haphazard piles of massive rocks were also untouched.
"Where do we even begin to look for Velos?"
"I don't know. Let's look around first."
"Yes, Master."
Davian and Mons slowly began to explore the coastal cliffs.
"Master, over there."
Davian followed the direction of Mons's finger.
He saw a distortion in the air between the trees.
"Is that a dungeon?"
"Maybe not a dungeon."
"If it's not a dungeon, then what is it?"
"A dimensional portal."
"A dimensional portal?"
"If that's really a dimensional portal, it'll be easy to find out who's behind this."
The Marino Empire.
Davian and Mons approached the shimmering space.
"If it's a dimensional portal... does that mean the inside isn't a dungeon, but a completely different dimension?"
"That's right. Probably the Demon Realm."
"The Demon Realm? Then the Marino Empire guys must be behind this. You're going in, right?"
"I have to."
Davian took a big step into the shimmering space first.
Mons followed his master without hesitation.
A red sun.
Clouds so dark, it was hard to tell if they were originally red or if it was just the light of the red sun.
Three planets of varying sizes floating near the horizon.
The pungent smell of sulfur.
Mountains and fields all dyed red.
It was the Demon Realm.
"Is this the Demon Realm?"
"Yeah. It's the Demon Realm."
"It's definitely not a dungeon. This reddish place feels very ominous."
"I think so too. Let's go to that forest over there."
Davian and Mons were standing where a path led into the forest.
"Why are you so sure it's that way?"
"It looks like they're telling us to follow this path."
"Well..."
"This is the Demon Realm. The Marino Empire guys may be collecting Demon Stones to open dimensional portals, but that's all they can do. If we wander around aimlessly, we might run into some strong demon at any time, and that goes for them as much as it goes for us."
"Ah... so even though they dragged Velos into the Demon Realm, they must have avoided places swarming with demons, right?"
"Right. They wouldn't have kidnapped Velos and held her in the middle of a demon army base. They couldn't even get there in the first place."
"Why would they bother kidnapping her to the Demon Realm if it's so dangerous for them too?"
"I don't know. It's not a bonus stage, but it feels like we're doing a bonus stage. It seems like they're testing me. Step by step."
Mons stared at Davian.
"You said you never know when or where you might run into some strong demon. Didn't you almost die meeting some Legion Commander last time?"
"I did."
"You're amazing, Master. To risk your life and enter the Demon Realm to save a junior who will enroll next year. You truly have the qualities of a hero."
"Don't talk nonsense."
Davian waved his hand dismissively and started walking towards the forest.
But Mons, looking at his back, didn't think his words were nonsense at all.
What kind of Academy first-year would walk into the Demon Realm of their own accord to save a junior who hasn't even enrolled yet?
Well... whether the two are lovers or not.
'A true hero. A man who values his comrades more than his own life. That's our Master Davian.'
Mons was once again amazed by his master.
But there was something Mons didn't know.
For various reasons, Davian wasn't risking his life to come here.
First, the failure penalty for this event was 'Velos's death'.
If you don't accept the event or fail to clear it, Velos dies.
But there was no penalty written that Davian would die.
Secondly, Davian actually has life insurance.
He used up all three 'regression' chances that would return him to the starting point upon death.
But this time, he made a contract with the Ice Spirit Glasier.
Glasier, an entity that is everywhere and nowhere, will never let Davian die easily.
But Mons, unaware of these things, just saw Davian's back, walking ahead, as larger than it actually was.
Not long after entering the forest, Davian and Mons had to stop.
Davian urgently whispered.
"Mons! Duck down!"
Davian and Mons crouched lower than the waist-high bushes.
"Wh-what is that?"
"It's a Dullahan."
The place Davian and Mons were looking at.
About 30 meters away, they could see the figure of a knight on horseback.
The knight seemed even bigger than Nubes, and something that should be on top of his neck was missing.
Instead, he had his own head tucked under his left arm.
In his right hand, he held a broad and long two-handed longsword.
The sword alone looked to be 2 meters long.
He was clad in dark armor and riding a large black horse.
The black horse was also clad in dark armor, and the horse also lacked what should be on top of its neck.
While the knight had his head tucked under his arm, the horse was wandering around without a head at all.
Dullahan.
According to the monster tier list made by humans, it was a monster that should only be in the boss room of an A-grade dungeon.
Its combat power was so high that some books simply described it as a grim reaper who brings death.
"Let's avoid a head-on collision if possible."
"I think so too. But Master."
"What?"
"It looks like it's coming this way."
"Damn it."
Whether it sensed their presence, the Dullahan, rolling the eyeballs of the head tucked under its arm, began to approach the bushes where Davian and Mons were hiding.
"Mons. Be careful of the head rather than that big sword."
"I know."
"Let's get up. It looks like we've been completely discovered."
"Yes, Master."
Swish.
Mons drew his sword and stood up.
Whoosh.
Davian also created an ice sword.
Clatter.
The sound of hooves.
The sound of four hooves kicking the ground in turn.
The sound was only once.
But the Dullahan had already arrived within reach of Davian and Mons.
"Dodge!"
The Dullahan's head, tucked under its left arm, opened its mouth wide.
Kaaaa.
Crimson blood gushed from the Dullahan's mouth.
Davian and Mons had already split apart to either side.
The bushes that were covered in the Dullahan's blood began to wither and die.
Mons, who had jumped to the left, sprang up and rushed at the Dullahan.
Clang!
He unleashed a sharp sword strike that was difficult to follow with the eyes, but the Dullahan, who had no head, lifted his large and heavy sword to block Mons's attack.
It was tremendous speed and power.
Bang!
This time, Davian's Fireball flew in from the right.
The Dullahan's body staggered from the explosive impact.
But it soon regained its balance and stood its ground.
It was tremendous defense.
But Davian and Mons were no match for it either.
While quickly dodging the blood attack that would kill them instantly if they were hit, they raised their swords to block or deflect the sword attacks.
In this way, a state continued where each side could not inflict fatal damage on the other.
Mons, who had retreated and taken a short breather, opened his mouth.
"What should we do? Master. Its attacks just don't seem to be working. But we're going to die if we make a mistake."
Davian, who had approached him, replied.
"Let's aim for its weakness."
"Where is its weakness?"
"The horse's four legs."
Whether it was tired from the sustained battle, the Dullahan did not rush at them and stood there glaring at Davian and Mons.
"I've already tried aiming for its legs. But it swings that big sword so fast. It blocks everything."
"We have to aim for its ankles."
"If we crouch down and go in like that, we'll either get covered in blood or get our backs pierced by its sword."
"Why crouch down? We can just lift him up."
He wasn't yet proficient in telekinesis.
But after nearly an hour of intense back-and-forth attacks, the Dullahan was clearly tired as well.
Now was the time, when they were catching their breath and conserving their stamina.
It was time to use telekinesis.
"Are you able to do that? Then I'll rush in and cut its ankles. But why didn't you do that earlier...?"
"It's because that guy has been running around non-stop for an hour. I haven't been properly trained in telekinesis for very long."
"Ah, yes. I understand."
Mons's sword vibrated sharply.
A dark blue aura surrounded Mons's sword.
Seeing this, the Dullahan also raised his sword again and prepared to rush in.
Meanwhile, Davian completed preparations for telekinesis.
Feeling the mana flowing between his fingers.
Grabbing the mana.
Accurately calculating the direction, distance, and weight.
Manifesting magic power with his fingertips to create mana waves.
Float.
The Dullahan and his horse floated into the air.
At the same time, Mons launched himself.
The posture used to crawl under a carriage to repair the lower part is completely different from the posture used when lifting the carriage with a lift for repairs.
Of course, the efficiency of the work also differs depending on the posture.
Whoosh!
Mons's sword cleanly cut through the horse's right front ankle.
The Dullahan tried to swing his sword to block it, but the angle was not good for blocking Mons's sword, which was rising from under the horse.
In other words, it was a favorable position for Mons and an unfavorable position for the Dullahan.
The Dullahan and his horse mustered their strength to break free from Davian's telekinetic restraint.
Black clouds swirled from the Dullahan and the horse's bodies.
Whoosh!
In the meantime, Mons succeeded in cutting through one more ankle on the diagonally opposite side.
Bang!
Eventually, the Dullahan, who had overcome Davian's telekinesis, returned to the ground.
Mons quickly jumped to his master's side.
"Good job."
"You too, Master."
"Should we be able to handle it now?"
"Of course."
The Dullahan raised his sword and began to charge.
The speed was noticeably slower than before.
"Hah, hah. He's amazing. This guy. He's still holding on even after all four ankles have been cut."
Mons could see the Dullahan's horse collapsed in front of him.
The Dullahan, who had fallen from his horse, slowly got up.
Then.
Davian used telekinesis to pull the Dullahan's body towards him with all his might.
Mons, surprised, shouted.
"Master! Danger..."
Davian released his telekinesis and threw his ice sword hard.
The Dullahan was still flying towards Davian due to inertia.
The Dullahan's head opened its mouth wide towards Davian.
But the ice sword was faster.
Crack.
The ice sword pierced the head that was tucked under the Dullahan's left arm.
"Kuaaa!"
The Dullahan, his head pierced, screamed grotesquely.
It was the first scream the guy had made since they met the Dullahan 2 hours ago.
Thud.
The Dullahan's knees fell to the ground.
Bang.
Eventually, it collapsed completely.
Davian and Mons had to face all sorts of monsters for more than half a day after that.
When dozens of Owlbears attacked, it even felt too easy.
"Master. But how did they get past here? We've only come a few kilometers? Are their skills that good?"
"They didn't get past here."
"What? Aren't we chasing after them right now?"
"I didn't think about it before coming here. But now that I see it, I don't think they necessarily took Velos to the Eastern Coastal Cliffs from the beginning. We haven't seen even a hint of Velos's presence while chasing after them, have we?"
"If so..."
"It means their course and our course are different."
Mons frowned.
"It's our fault for carelessly heading towards the Eastern Coastal Cliffs just because we were told to go there."
Davian shook his head.
"No. Otherwise, we might have been wasting time looking for traces until now. Traces that they would have already perfectly erased. In the end, what they wanted was for us to come this way."
"Ah, I see. Well, we came knowing it was a trap from the beginning."
After a few more battles with monsters, Davian and Mons emerged from the forest.
When they reached the other side of the forest, they saw a large cave.
"If what you say is true, Master, it means they want us to go in here this time?"
"That's right."
"Let's go."
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