However, his vision was disturbed by the light, causing the scenery to distort for a moment. And Evelyn, not missing the instant when Satan squinted his eyes, swung her paralyzing dagger with all her might—not at the exposed skin, but at the horns that had been emitting a strange light whenever Satan used his power.

“ARRRRGGGHHH!”

She had suspected those horns must be connected to Satan’s vital point. Although the poison-coated dagger couldn’t break the horn, it seemed to have bought enough time to temporarily bind Satan’s feet.

[The boss of the hidden area, Satan, has been infected with paralyzing poison. Time remaining until poison removal: 02:59]

With only about 3 minutes remaining and her dagger shattered from striking the horn, it was still enough time to escape this place with all the male leads.

“Your Highness! Knock out the Tower Master first and take him out!”

According to the setting, Luinel was the only one who could manipulate magical power as freely as the Tower Master. Despite Evelyn’s request, which sounded more like an order, Luinel moved his magic without objection.

While Nox struggled to block Pluton’s attacks with his aura-infused sword, Luinel approached silently, concealing his presence with magic. Then he struck the back of Pluton’s neck with his magic-wrapped hand while Pluton was completely focused on his battle with Nox.

It was Hezel who caught Ian’s body—or rather, Pluton’s—as it collapsed with a choking sound.

“Tower Master. You owe me one now, right?”

Hezel, who had gathered up the already unconscious Ian, was the first to leap toward the crack. Next came Evelyn, flanked by Nox and Luinel, who soared into the air with Luinel’s magic. The roar of Satan, who was furious enough to die from rage, echoed behind them, but they never looked back.

By the time the message announcing that Satan’s penalty had been removed was heard, she had already jumped across the crack with all the male protagonists.

[Congratulations! You have successfully completed the hidden quest <Escape from the Demon Realm.> As a reward, you are granted special permission to create a hidden skill. You can select one skill each from basic skills and advanced skills to create a new skill. Once selected, cancellation is not possible, so please choose carefully.]

Thanks to this hidden quest, it seemed possible to drive out the demon called Pluton or whatever that had taken residence in Ian’s body. Breathing a sigh of relief at the thought of one less worry, Evelyn heard a blunt voice pierce her ear.

“Why do you look like that?”

Luinel, breathing heavily, glared at her body, or more precisely, at her filthy maid uniform with a displeased expression. Evelyn, whose strength and magic were completely depleted, sat down at the bottom of the mountain range and blankly looked up at the sky. It had been dark before entering the crack, but now dawn was breaking, bringing with it a wave of extreme fatigue.

“Ah. I was somehow captured in Satan’s castle. Undressing was unavoidable during the escape. But how did you two know to come?”

“The Guild Master came to our camp and asked for our help. He had an artifact that shared locations with the Tower Master. Seeing that it worked even in the demon realm, it seemed like an artifact the Tower Master had made with black magic long ago.”

According to Nox’s explanation, they had tracked the Tower Master’s location with the help of the artifact, then all passed through the crack together, where they found Evelyn in danger.

“I’ve already heard a rough explanation from the Guild Master, but do you plan to put yourself in danger like this every time?”

“Nox. Perhaps we should find a place to keep Evelyn safely locked away.”

“Since it’s a place where we must serve the Saint, we’ll need to put in considerable effort.”

The problem was that their conversation didn’t sound like a joke at all. While Luinel’s thinking had become quite twisted after the Empress’s death, when did Nox become so dark? However, Evelyn, who desperately wanted to sleep like the dead right now, just collapsed carelessly.

“Would someone please carry me back to the camp?”

“Saint, I think we need to check on the Tower Master first. He’s showing signs of waking up, but I can’t be sure if it’s the demon or the Tower Master.”

Evelyn, who had been staring blankly at Hezel’s face suddenly filling her vision, barely managed to get up. She noticed Ian lying not far from them. Suddenly remembering the broad back that had blocked her path as if it were natural, Evelyn approached him.

As Hezel had said, Ian’s eyelids were slowly rising. Evelyn, ready to back away at any moment, carefully observed his pupils. Fortunately, pupils of normal size looked up at her. Meeting Ian’s silent gaze, Evelyn smiled.

“I’m glad you survived with all limbs intact, Tower Master.”

“……”

“Shall we all go back now?”

Behind Evelyn, who was extending her hand toward him, the bright sun was rising, marking the end of the long darkness. Though his memories during the time his body was possessed by the demon were unstable, Evelyn’s voice insisting to Luinel that they needed to knock him out and take him away remained clearly imprinted in his mind.

After staring at the smiling Evelyn in front of him for a long time, Ian got up and grabbed the hand she offered. And he thought to himself that he would never be the first to let go of this hand. Even if Evelyn wanted him to let go, he might not be able to.