Chapter 450

"It's nothing big. Just a damned unlucky day."

Oara spoke. She had already entered the Demon Realm dozens of times.

Alone, no less.

In the beginning, it was just slaying monsters near the entrance.

Later, she started venturing deeper in search of a way to destroy the Demon Realm.

And finally, she went even deeper, armed with a hypothesis.

That's when she encountered a bizarre creature.

A ghoul with a deadly poison in its claw tips.

The moment she saw it, her knight’s instinct screamed—it wasn’t a foe to be taken lightly.

And more than that, it served as evidence for her theory.

What exactly is the Demon Realm?

You could call it another kind of colony.

And a colony disappears when you kill its leader.

So what about the Demon Realm?

"It's the same principle. This one isn't even that big. But it's been rooted here for over fifty years, hasn't it?"

It came up in the conversation along with the subject of poisons. Enkrid listened quietly.

Oara wasn't a scholar, but she was a knight who had devoted her life to eradicating the gray forest Demon Realm before her.

Things that couldn’t be figured out by thinking? That couldn’t even be guessed?

She solved those by throwing her body at them.

If you don’t know, go into the Demon Realm, see it with your own eyes, and find out.

It was a method no one would dare attempt without brute strength on a ridiculous level—but she did it.

And this is what she discovered.

"It's a period of succession."

She didn’t understand the full mechanics, but one thing was clear.

The core of the Demon Realm shifts.

Oara believed that ghoul was the new core sustaining the next generation of the Demon Realm.

In colony terms, it was the leader.

She only had to cross swords with it a few times to know.

It wielded strength, speed, and intelligence on a whole different level.

She didn’t know what the previous core had been, nor did she care to find out.

To Oara, only one fact mattered.

Slay the evolved ghoul, and the Demon Realm would lose its power.

No more dangerous monsters like that one would appear. The rest could be cleaned up over time.

There’d be no need for knights after that.

Roman would take over the job.

He was her successor.

She had already chosen one.

If the opportunity came, she would burn her life away to erase the core of the Demon Realm.

That was her resolve and belief.

Her expression brightened, an unusual sight.

Will surged through her entire body.

It was strange, honestly.

Oara thought as she spoke—it really was strange, but talking to the man before her made her feel a surge of energy.

A part of the omnipotence she felt when she’d first become a knight filled her body once more.

"Are you saying the poison can't be neutralized?"

Enkrid had grasped the core issue and asked. Just then, arrows flew once more across the land where darkness had fallen.

"Oara!"

The soldiers shouted. Arrows rained down alongside the fortress’s defenses. Right in front of the gate stood the usual four squires and two junior knights.

If anything happened, they’d immediately become the wall that would shatter the monsters’ skulls.

Oara chuckled at Enkrid’s question and clapped him on the back.

"Hey, do I look like I’m about to die? We’re still working on a way to neutralize it, so don’t /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ worry. And I’ve got at least ten good years left, alright?"

She said time would sort it out somehow. And it didn’t sound like a lie.

The poison had come from the ghoul’s claws, but for now, there was no way to cure it.

There were many reasons for that.

She had repeatedly entered and exited the Demon Realm with that body.

She’d fought the ghoul two more times, adding different poisons to the mix and causing compound intoxication.

They had tried divine healing and used potions from a renowned alchemist, but so far nothing had worked.

After all, divinity isn’t all-powerful.

"I figured it out after a few times, but damn, your back muscles are something else."

Oara said as she looked at her palm.

The firmness of Enkrid’s back muscles still lingered on her hand. In short, they felt good.

Then she added that some days were just like this.

Today was one of those days.

A day when the damn monsters popped out like troublemakers.

You couldn’t predict every move the Demon Realm made.

"Those spider bastards."

Oara muttered. Her eyes gleamed white. The Will within her gaze pierced the darkness.

Several massive monster spiders charged forward, leaping at the squires and junior knights.

Their massive bodies loomed over the humans.

"Don’t get cocky!"

In front of them, Oliver swung his mace down.

Crack.

The spider’s head split open, spilling thick, black fluid.

“Dunbakel.”

Enkrid called to Dunbakel from a distance.

Dunbakel dragged her feet as she approached, clearly hating every second of being here.

She’d been whining for days about when they were going back, so this reaction wasn’t surprising.

When Rem threatened to cut her ankles off if she dragged her feet again, Dunbakel moved a lot faster.

Kaa-ak.

The crow shrieked tirelessly.

From inside the Demon Realm came the constant hooting of an owl—Bwoo-ooo, Bwoo-ooo.

“You see anything?”

“Roughly.”

Beastfolk have excellent night vision. Enkrid himself could make out some shapes thanks to training, but he couldn’t match her precision.

Then Dunbakel spoke again.

“They’re holding the front of the wall.”

Kiiiaaaagh!

Another piercing shriek erupted—more spider screeches.

It was coming from just a little beyond the gate.

A couple of torches lit the figures standing there. Their shadows stretched long toward the Demon Realm.

The four squires and two junior knights had stepped forward to meet the oncoming spiders.

“Not bad.”

Dunbakel said, her voice devoid of emotion.

Enkrid’s eyes didn’t leave the scene.

Nothing had changed. They shattered and crushed any monster spiders that dared approach. They didn’t look like they had any intention of retreating.

Roman, who was holding down a whole segment of the barricade with pure strength, was brimming with confidence that reached the heavens.

“You bastards better die smiling!”

A cheerful shout.

They showed no sign of strain.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

There was no threat. And yet Enkrid’s instincts screamed at him. His skin prickled.

Why?

He didn’t know. Dunbakel, watching the fight, asked:

“Shouldn’t we just pull back?”

“Hey, Captain. This feels off.”

Rem approached and called out to Enkrid.

Farther off, Lua Gharne cast a glance from afar.

“Hm?”

Oara tilted her head.

It wasn’t just Enkrid who could sense the atmosphere shift.

No, perhaps because he had experienced death so many times, Enkrid was more sensitive to it.

But even Oara felt something was off.

She blinked once and thought: for a wave, this isn’t a lot.

Spiders usually fight with sheer numbers.

That’s why the soldiers atop the wall had fired arrows to thin them out first.

But why did it feel ominous? Why did the air feel so foul?

“Twin Blood Moons?”

It was rare, but there were nights when both moons turned red.

It was a day known as Darpina.

A time when the god of death descended upon the land, and the god of monsters peeked briefly into the world.

In other words, a day when awful things happened.

“Bring me my armor.”

Oara ordered, and two soldiers brought it over. The chest was reinforced with steel and leather padding covered the rest.

As she removed her cloak and put on the armor, a clamor drifted to Enkrid’s ears from inside the gate below the fortress wall.

Between the snap of bowstrings and the shouts of commanders, there was a strange noise. It sounded like an argument.

“I’m going ahead.”

Enkrid descended the stairs.

On his way down, he saw those quarreling in front of the gate.

The gate was cracked open—just enough for a single person to pass. A soldier, the one they called Rowena’s man, stood there.

“Let me through!”

He shouted.

“Don’t be insane. You’ll die if you go out now.”

“I don’t care. I’d rather die!”

The soldier yelled, but Millio, guarding the gate, couldn’t allow that.

“You dumb bastard.”

“Goddamn it, Millio, Rowena went out on recon and hasn’t come back!”

The soldier didn’t sob, but it sounded close.

Millio couldn’t say anything back. Rowena and the man before him were the city’s most well-known lovers.

A flower blooming in the darkness of the Demon Realm. And Millio knew—

Those two would give their lives for each other if it meant keeping the other safe.

So he couldn’t let him through.

Rowena was a capable one.

A few more years, and she’d likely be considered for the knighthood herself—so yes, she was probably still alive.

“Trust her and wait. Rowena’s sharper than you.”

“It’s already past the time she should’ve come back.”

Millio couldn’t win against this man. Behind him stood the loyal underlings of that friendship-bound fool, silent and unmoving.

“You all planning to go together?”

“To support our squad leader’s love.”

The soldier behind him replied. He was the one who’d killed two thugs serving a corrupt lord in his homeland and fled all the way here.

Now he was a proper soldier of the Brick City.

It was madness. Clearly madness—but Millio stepped aside.

“The front’s already being held by the knights. Loop left.”

“We know.”

The soldier slipped out through the gate.

“Oara!”

Millio shouted suddenly, and the soldiers atop the wall stomped in response.

“Oara!”

“Gonna die with a smile!”

The chant tore through the night sky.

The Screamer Spiders were only one type of monster spider.

There were also armored spiders and those that shot webs.

Of course, none of them had breached the barrier the knights had formed twenty paces in front of the gate.

And now, one more had joined the fight.

“Hey! Let’s play!”

It was Oara. She slid down the fortress wall with her back against it and landed smoothly, rejoining her knights.

Just the act of descending the wall like that was a feat in itself.

Then she darted among the monsters.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

She charged forward, drawing her sword—a long, slender blade. She ran straight ahead, then curved sideways.

As she did, her blade slashed.

It was like a stream of water cutting through the dark.

A fluid, uninterrupted curve drawn by her sword.

With each step and stroke, she carved a line.

Any armored spider or giant spider that touched that line was sliced apart.

Whether it was the belly, the head, or the carapace—it didn’t matter.

Her sword would not be stopped. You could tell just by watching. If the monsters came at her one by one, she could easily slaughter them all on her own.

Sometimes, just her glare caused the monsters to freeze mid-step.

It was the same overwhelming pressure Enkrid had experienced before—enough to make one dizzy.

Oara was still just warming up.

The short-haired blonde’s performance wasn’t any less impressive. Her eyes glowed white.

“Poison. Evasive maneuver.”

She pierced the darkness with her gaze and adjusted their formation.

The four squires scattered into pairs at her words.

Whap!

A splash of black fluid landed where they had just been. A spider that spat poison had attacked.

“Tch.”

The blonde moved her hand. With a flick, a throwing knife flew through the air and pierced the head of the poison-spitting spider.

“Fucking spider bastards.”

Roman, wielder of the blunt greatsword, broke formation briefly. He stepped forward and swung.

Boom! Boom!

Explosive cracks rang out as six armored spiders were crushed under his hammer-blows.

Black bodily fluids splattered across the ground.

Meanwhile, Rowena’s man had already stepped outside.

“Hey!”

Oliver, swinging his mace on the far left of the formation, shouted when he saw him.

“I’m going with you,” Enkrid said as he followed, with Rem and the others right behind. At that, Rowena’s soldier looked on the verge of tears.

“Are you an angel?”

“Shut up. If you don’t move, I’ll throw you back over the wall.”

The flat warning silenced the man. They planned to scout only part of the area.

Could they hold out until dawn?

Maybe.

The Twin Blood Moons spilled their ominous red light between the clouds.

Enkrid turned back almost absently.

He saw Millio moving out with a portion of the forces.

A knight can cut through cloth, but they only have one body.

While you’re cutting one, nine hundred more can circle around and cause havoc.

That’s what squires, junior knights, and additional troops were for—to fill those gaps.

As he turned his gaze forward again, Enkrid’s hair stood on end.

“Brace!”

Before he could even identify the sensation, Oara’s shout came first.

Then—

Ting-ting-ting-ting-ting-ting!

A sound, followed by something raining down overhead.

Enkrid sensed it by the force and the sound of slicing wind—monsters had launched something. Arrows.

But he couldn’t see them clearly. The darkness was a veil. The Twin Blood Moons, hidden behind clouds, were no help.

Dunbakel’s pupils expanded. Once oval, they now filled her eyes with shining light.

She saw what the monsters had loosed.

Not ordinary human arrows—but white bolts, almost like bundled thread, streaking across the sky.

It was like dozens of meteors breaking apart and crashing down.

Dunbakel reflexively drew her curved blades and crossed them overhead.

Blocking, deflecting, dodging—simple as that.

“Head down.”

Rem also reacted, pulling down the head of a nearby soldier and swinging his axe. Enkrid, too, raised his shield on instinct.

Arrows struck the shield on his right arm.

Thump! Tong!

They didn’t have particularly sharp tips—more blunt than piercing. But they were heavy. That’s how they felt to Enkrid.

He dropped to one knee and easily blocked the next volley.

The barrage didn’t stop.

Attacks like this couldn’t stop squires, junior knights, or knights.

But regular soldiers? For them, arrows were still a deadly threat.

Those beside him were protected by Rem, Dunbakel, and Lua Gharne, and the troops atop the wall had the barrier as a shield.

But what about those who’d charged out to fill the gaps, risking their lives?

“Millio!”

Enkrid shouted, warning in his voice.

He saw it happen—a white arrow from the monsters struck Millio in the head.

Crunch!

He’d thrown himself to protect a subordinate instead of defending himself.

The arrow crushed his helmet, and his eyeball popped out.

His skull cracked, blood bursting forth.

Not every arrow packed that much power.

But a few of them were lethal.

The monsters were clever.

Rather than waste their shots on knights who wouldn’t even flinch, they targeted the weaker ones.

“You motherfucking bastards!”

Someone was shouting in rage.

Enkrid felt the same.

Millio had been the one who looked out for him most during his time here.

Saying he didn’t care about the man would’ve been a lie.

And it wasn’t over.

From within the monster horde, something like a pole suddenly rose.

A person was tied to it. At the top of the pole, a blue stone was affixed—looked like a firestone.

That pale-blue glow mixed with the darkness and lit up the captive.

“Rowena!”

The soldier who had come with them screamed.

Monsters, taking hostages?

Enkrid knew now—this wave was nothing like the others.

So what, was he supposed to stop? Just stand here in shock?

“Rem, Dunbakel—left.”

While everyone else froze for a moment, Enkrid crouched.

Darkness, firestone, hostage—yes, it was all shocking. But if you let that stop you, nothing changed.

If it was time to fight, then fight.

“Damn it,” Dunbakel muttered as she moved.

Rem had already crouched low and was advancing.