Swoosh! Crash—

A blazing violet arc, jagged like a saw blade, came flying in and carved diagonally into the demon’s ashen neck.

It tore through the dark crimson whirlwind the creature unleashed, swatted aside the incoming membrane wings with the sheer force of the Willful Grasp, and finally reached its target.

Of course, that meant Ian’s charge lost some speed.

Crunch...

That was likely why the black sword failed to cleave through the demon’s upper body. Ian tightened his grip on the hilt, but the blade’s momentum was already bleeding away.

"--------!"

At that moment, the demon spread its four pairs of membrane wings wide and let out a tearing shriek. The chaotic vibrations carried in the sound wave rattled Ian and refracted outward in all directions.

It’s been screaming its damn head off this whole time!

Grinding his teeth against the metallic taste rising in his throat, Ian looked up.

The huge head looming above him split its maw wide and howled. It looked like some grotesquely mutated bat.

It was almost certainly another familiar or subordinate of the vampiric bloodline—one that had survived by chance, hidden itself away, and eventually risen to become the master of this demonic realm.

Just like the others nearby.

"-----!"

"-------!"

"----!"

Shrieks echoed back from all directions almost at once, as if answering the call. The minions were responding to their master.

The others behind him were dealing with them, but a fair number would still manage to break through.

Of course, Ian had no intention of waiting for that.

Swoosh—

Gray magic was already swirling violently within his eyes as he stared down the demon. The instant the violet light flashed at the center of his pupils, the gem in his left hand flared and began to pour out a spell.

The black sword screamed like it was being torn apart, but Ian didn’t loosen his grip.

Boom!

An explosion burst from the blade, steeped in violet haze, a Vacuum Explosion.

The blade tore a massive hole through one side of the demon’s upper body, and the chaos released along with it ravaged everything inside.

That was likely why the demon’s roar cut off as cleanly as if severed by a blade. Its head lolled to one side, and the dark crimson glow in its eyes wavered.

Thud—

The force flung Ian’s arms, still gripping the sword, upward, but he immediately swung the Willful Grasp. The staggering demon was slammed forward as if struck in the back of the head by a hammer.

Crunch!

Its enormous body crashed into the ground.

Gritting his teeth, Ian twisted in midair and barely managed to halt his arms, which were still being pulled upward along with the sword.

Whoosh...

Violet haze surged up from the crossguard, flooding over the blade. Almost at the same time, Ian came crashing down, bringing both raised arms down with all his strength.

Slash!

The blazing purple arc came crashing down toward the demon’s neck, pinned to the ground.

Crunch.

Ian landed on one knee.

The severed head slammed into the ground and bounced, but Ian didn’t even spare it a glance.

He simply exhaled the breath he had been holding and rose.

He had already felt it—the chaos unleashed with the Vacuum Explosion had crushed the creature’s core somewhere deep within it.

Swoosh...

The demon’s head began crumbling into ash as it fell. Its upper body, sprawled forward on the ground, was doing the same, exhaling dark crimson chaos like smoke as it broke apart into drifting powder.

Thump... Thump...

Suppressing the pulsing resonance of the essence bead that seemed to stir with greedy hunger, Ian turned around.

"-----!"

"---!"

The minions surged forward, wings flapping wildly like convulsions. Their forms resembled gargoyles more than bats.

Swoosh—

The chaotic shrieks that had filled the air vanished in an instant as the Platinum Barrier bloomed from Ian’s left hand.

A dozen or so creatures that had been diving toward him immediately began dropping like puppets with their strings cut.

Without the slightest hint of surprise, Ian lowered his stance and raised the Platinum Barrier.

Just as I thought, they’re the same.

The minions in this region of the demonic realm always died once the core was destroyed. It was likely because they had been born through unnatural means.

Crack! Fwoosh.

A minion that collided with the barrier burst apart into ash on impact. Others that brushed past Ian and slammed into the ground shattered apart like drifting charcoal dust.

Dark red dust laced with chaos billowed thickly into the air.

Schwing!

With a sharp motion, Ian swept the Platinum Barrier aside and returned the sword, now calmed of its haze, to his waist.

"Huff... huff..."

"Haa... phew—"

Through the settling dust, Mev, Nasser, and Moro came into view. Mev and Nasser were both bent low, catching their breath, and Moro snorted heavily as well.

That was only natural. They had sprinted a long distance after Ian and gone straight into battle the moment they arrived.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.

Rumble—

The ground began to tremble.

As his senses realigned, a faint dizziness followed. The distorted space-time of the collapsing demonic realm was returning to normal.

Ian held his lowered stance, maintaining his balance without faltering.

Thud, thud, thud...

The dizziness quickly faded along with the tremors. Spitting out a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva mixed with dust, Ian finally straightened.

"Phew... phew...." Mev was closer now, down on one knee and catching her breath.

Watching her rise while using her sword like a cane, Ian said, "Looks like you didn’t get hurt this time. Good work."

"You too, Ian," Mev answered as she lifted her visor.

Her gaze was as calm as ever, but there were shadows beneath her eyes. And her skin looked dry and rough—not just because she was covered in dust.

"I never thought I’d be the one saying this...."

A voice threaded with breath came from near Mev’s feet. It was Nasser, sprawled flat on the ground.

Meeting Ian’s gaze, he added, "I’m starting to feel like I might actually die at this rate."

As they traveled south past La Drin and the outskirts of Bel Ronde, the group continued clearing everything in their path—demonic realms, monster nests, and even bands of corrupted brigands driven mad.

Even when it wasn’t obstructing their route, Ian never let anything he saw pass untouched.

To minimize wasted time, he had even chosen to press forward at high speed, accepting the risks that came with it.

While using main roads instead of side paths, they sometimes went half a day without incident, but since entering the region near the former kingdom of Lu Sard, even that had changed.

The area felt completely cut off from the outside world, as if abandoned, with different demonic realms connected one after another.

"Rest where you are for a bit. Just don’t fall asleep." Ian pulled a bottle from his pocket dimension and tossed it to Mev. She accepted it without hesitation.

"I’m not that weak. Still, I knew the Kingdom of Lu Sard had fallen, of course, but I didn’t expect the entire region to be left in such a state," Nasser replied in a weary voice, letting out a chuckle.

"You passed through here before when crossing the inner sea, didn’t you?" Ian said, watching Mev take a drink.

Nasser, slowly forcing himself upright, nodded. "At the time, we traveled along the foothills in the northwest. It was still dangerous land, of course, but I assumed it was just because it was a remote outer region."

Only then did he sheathe the sword in his right hand. Dusting off his shoulders and body in several places, he smacked his lips.

"Now that I think about it, it seems the entire former Kingdom of Lu Sard was like this. Completely abandoned... and only getting worse over the past few years."

"Maybe they tried, but couldn’t stop it," Ian replied, holding out his hand.

The bottle Mev tossed lightly was caught midair by his Willful Grasp and drawn into his grasp.

"The war accelerated the corruption of the frontier, but the decisive fracture was created right here," Ian added indifferently, raising the bottle to his lips.

He still didn’t know that a priest of the Round Table had widened that fracture and spread madness through it.

So in his mind, the crack carved in the Vampire Empress’s final moments had been the true turning point—what pushed the frontier toward becoming a demonic wasteland. Not long after, the influence of the void had begun to seep in.

"Hmm. That makes sense. And then the signs of erosion began after that. Since this place is close to the Empire, it may have been affected by that, too." Nasser muttered, nodding slowly. There was a faint unease in his tone.

However, Ian wasn’t even listening anymore.

It’s definitely going up...

He was checking his status window.

Even after weeks filled with nonstop combat, his level still hadn’t increased.

That said, it wasn’t meaningless. It just wasn’t at a satisfying pace, and he hadn’t received a single sub-quest. Still, his experience was steadily increasing.

If they cleared just a few more demonic realms, he’d likely level up before reaching Drenorov. And even with the delays caused by constant combat, it had only cost them about a week in total.

Unaware of Ian’s thoughts, Nasser added as he pushed himself up, "My side still aches from that injury the other day. My wrist too. It’d be nice if we had a little time for the wounds to heal."

Mev, who had already removed her helmet and was shaking out the dust inside it, glanced over at him. "Then sit out the next fight. I’ll handle your share."

"I can’t do that. It’s not like there’s no reward for it. The more we fight, the more the darkness in the frontier will recede, won’t it?" Nasser replied, brushing off his shield before slinging it onto his back.

A gentle smile touched Mev’s lips. "Right. Just a little more, Nasser. There are surely many whose lives will be saved because of us."

"And we’ll grow stronger because of it." Ian cut in, tossing the bottle toward Nasser with a shrug. "Not that you all weren’t already among the best on the continent."

"Can’t argue with that. The best training is real combat, after all." Nasser brought the bottle to his lips, a faint bitter smile forming again. "Though I doubt I’d ever experience this much ‘real combat’ back-to-back if I weren’t traveling with you, my lord."

"And that’s what makes our lives more meaningful. Including your atonement." Mev added, tucking her helmet under her arm as she brushed through her matted hair.

A very paladin-like thing to say.

Ian let out a chuckle and brushed dust from his clothes and added, "Still, Nasser has a point. If nothing unexpected happens, let’s set up camp here for tonight."

Nasser, eyes lighting up even with the bottle still at his lips, nodded immediately.

Prrr—

Moro, who had been standing off to the side, shaking off foam-like sweat, suddenly snorted.

Mev glanced at it, then turned her head in the same direction. Beyond the shadowed grass, the faint sound of hooves was drawing closer.

"They’re finally here," Nasser murmured, a genuine sigh of relief escaping him.

Soon after, beyond the dry, tangled grass, a carriage pulled by warhorses came into view.

Clip-clop, clip-clop—

Even the northern warhorses looked noticeably gaunt. It had clearly been a grueling journey for them as well. The only one who looked unchanged was Nila, appearing alongside them without carrying anyone.

"Good grief... you’ve had it rough again," Miguel said from the driver’s seat.

Ian took the bottle back from Nasser and tilted his chin. "Everything go alright on your end?"

"Of course not."

The reply didn’t come from Miguel, but from atop the carriage.

Thesaya sat there casually, glancing over Ian, Mev, and Nasser before shrugging.

"But like always, my little pup and I handled it just fine."

Truth be told, most of them were chasing after you folks anyway," Miguel added, scratching his scarred, grimy cheek and looking down, having done little fighting himself.

Moro stepped forward as if to greet Nila.

"I told you not to let Lily fight if you can," Ian muttered.

Thesaya let out a soft scoff and looked down at Lily, who was sitting in front of her.

"I’d like that too, but what am I supposed to do when she starts casting on her own the moment monsters get close?"

Reaching out, she smoothed Lily’s brown hair, which had been braided into several strands—though loose tufts still stuck out here and there.

"You can’t exactly stop someone who wants to fight. And she needs to learn what kind of enemies we’re dealing with."

If only she knew when to keep quiet.

Ian clicked his tongue quietly as Miguel brought the carriage to a stop. He still couldn’t shake the discomfort of putting a child like that on the battlefield.

However, regardless of how he felt, Lily’s abilities were exceptional.

Just as written in Roben’s research notes, her control over magic was extraordinarily advanced.

She was able to manipulate the spell circuits engraved into her as easily as moving her fingers, and could even deploy multiple spells simultaneously.

With little to no fear or hesitation, she was essentially a walking spell turret.

At this rate, traveling with us will turn her into one.

Nasser, who had approached the carriage, said, "In any case, everyone, please dismount. My lord says we’ll set up camp here for the night."

"Here? Why not go a little farther down the road, Ian? It’s not even night yet." Thesaya raised a brow and looked at him.

Nasser frowned. "You saw what we passed on the way here, Elder. We’ll run into another demonic realm. I understand you’re restless from staying in the carriage all this time, but—"

"That’s not why I’m saying it, Half-Ear," Thesaya cut him off with a click of her tongue.

"Then what is it?" Ian asked. He handed the bottle to Mev beside him.

Nasser smacked his lips and turned as well.

"I only realized it after the demonic realm collapsed, but the surroundings felt strangely familiar."

She looked at Ian with a meaningful gaze for a moment, then tilted her chin.

"If I’m not wrong, just a bit further down from here should be Glumir."