At Demon’s irritable response, Lilith covered her mouth and shook her head. As expected, she was a woman who could change her stance very quickly.

“Hup, no, Your Majesty. I’ll be quiet from now on. Though I say these things, you know I have many useful skills. I’m sure I can help this human woman in many ways. Hey, aren’t you hungry? Looking at your face, it seems like you’ve been starving since morning.”

Lilith asked Natalie in a sweet voice. However, Natalie was startled by her. She was amazed by Lilith’s excellent acting skills—speaking with such a kind voice while glaring at her with one eye that the Demon King couldn’t see.

If the other person was going to act that way, she would need to wear an even stronger mask to match.

Natalie forced her stiff lips into a smile and created a pitiful voice.

“Everyone here is so kind. You even noticed my hunger, and I don’t know how to express my gratitude. I’m sorry, but if there’s something simple I could eat, may I ask for it?”

Then she touched her forehead and fluttered her eyelids as if suffering from dizziness due to hunger.

Though she felt some self-loathing for acting this way, it was necessary to survive in good condition for as long as possible.

The problem was that, as a side effect of Natalie’s acting, Demon’s affection level began to rise again as he listened quietly.

Demon de Marteva’s affection has increased by 2%.

Demon’s affection: 89% ▶ 91%

Demon de Marteva’s affection has increased by 3%.

Demon’s affection: 91% ▶ 94%

“Gasp!”

Seeing his affection level suddenly exceed 90%, Natalie involuntarily sucked in a breath. When Demon approached with narrowed eyes, she hurriedly waved her hands.

“I’m sorry, but could I please be alone for a while? Since everything happened so suddenly, I think I need time to organize my thoughts. Just a little, please give me just a little time.”

At her desperate plea, Demon narrowed his eyes slightly but nodded. Surprisingly, Lilith’s interference helped him withdraw so readily.

“My, how pitiful she looks. She wanted to come to Your Majesty in perfect condition, but she seems uncomfortable. She looks delicate but appears to be quite a perfectionist. Why not give her a few days, Your Majesty? If you keep hovering around her like this, the pressure might slow her recovery.”

“Hmm, alright. I’ve waited this long, so a few more days…”

“I’ll take good care of her in the meantime, so don’t worry. You’ve used a lot of energy opening the dimensional gate so suddenly. You’ll need to recover quickly if you’re going to lead the great army down again soon.”

Though her tone was gentle and soothing, something about it bothered Demon, who suddenly glared at Lilith with intensity.

“I’m not one to lose energy from using that level of power, Lilith.”

“Oh my, I’ve said too much in front of this insignificant creature. It’s just that I was so worried about Your Majesty…”

“I’ll entrust this child to you for now. I’ll be watching how well you attend to her, so make sure she recovers fully.”

“A-attend?”

This time Lilith raised her eyebrows at Demon’s words about attending well to Natalie. It sounded like he was treating her, clearly a high-ranking demon, as a mere servant to a human.

However, Lilith quickly changed her expression, slapped her chest, and promised:

“Of course! I’ll take responsibility and ensure she recovers perfectly. We should leave now. I need to prepare something to feed this poor thing.”

Click. Only after the two had left and their footsteps had completely faded did Natalie exhale a long sigh of relief. She immediately sat up from the bed where she had been leaning weakly and her eyes gleamed.

This short period of freedom she had worked hard to earn—there were so many things she needed to calculate and consider during this time.

※※※

“Oh no, Commander!”

“Commander! You can’t!”

“Nooooo!”

The urgent cries of his squad members could be heard, but they quickly faded into the distance. McClain had already stepped beyond the dimension.

He felt a slight resistance along with the sensation of being swept away by rapid currents. It was curious how these seemingly contradictory sensations could be felt simultaneously.

But this feeling was brief. As soon as the blue light of the transportation door that had been blurring his vision disappeared, a profound darkness from an unfathomable abyss followed. McClain blinked his stinging eyes, perhaps due to the sudden change, and tightened his grip on his sword. He was on guard against any monsters that might be prowling nearby.

Fortunately, he was greeted only by silent darkness.

McClain tried his best not to make any noise as he slowly began to look around.

‘Is this the demon realm?’

A world that had never appeared in the game he created. No, it had appeared, but only briefly explained through short narration and a few illustrations.

His momentary hesitation was due to its unfamiliarity, not because he feared the demon realm.

Whether here or there, it was a world that wasn’t reality anyway. What mattered to him now wasn’t where he was, but where Natalie was.

‘I wonder if Natalie is in the demon castle.’

The common setting in both the original work and the game was that the Demon King, unable to endure the long, tedious centuries in the demon castle, eventually decided to make the Empire his playground.

Despite the extreme changes in development, he hoped the settings hadn’t been significantly altered, and decided to first find the way to the demon castle.

However, the problem was that he couldn’t see anything.

If darkness had depth, this world could be described as made from the deepest, heaviest, and blackest darkness gathered together.

It felt like experiencing a future night where environmental pollution had become so severe that even moonlight couldn’t penetrate.

Perhaps because of this, his skin tingled slightly and he felt a mild burning sensation. The different quality of the air made his breathing a bit labored and his body feel heavy, but he didn’t consider it significant. He would soon adapt with time, and even if he couldn’t, it would automatically resolve once he reached max level.

‘I need to find her as quickly as possible.’

The only problem was that there was no proper way to find his path in this pitch-black darkness.

He didn’t even know which direction the demon castle was in, and there wasn’t a single being in sight whom he could ask for directions. His plan to capture a monster as a hostage and use it as a guide was impossible in this situation.

He listened carefully, but only a deathly silence continued without even the sound of wind. It seemed almost ridiculous now that he had been so tense, expecting to face all sorts of monsters as soon as he arrived in the demon realm.

‘If I wander aimlessly, I might get lost.’

McClain took out the Key of Space, just in case.

There was something that had strangely bothered him while reading the quest description.

The two artifacts mentioned in the quest—the Key of Space and the saintess’s ring—were closely related items.

This was something that could be easily understood by carefully checking the item descriptions.

Key of Space

— Grade: Mythic

— Binding: Bound on acquisition approval

— Restriction: Usable at level 50 or higher

— Durability: 814/1,000

— Description: This is the masterpiece created by the great mage Dermakan of the ancient Empire of Erbania through a lifetime of research.

This key, made by melting down the blessed necklace kept by the last saintess of Erbania and ingeniously combining amplification magic and space control magic, can be considered a masterpiece created by Dermakan’s love for an unattainable object.

…

And what about what Natalie had said when she obtained the saintess’s ring?

‘Wow! It says this is the ring worn by the last saintess of the ancient Empire of Erbania? It says it needs refinement, but even in this state, it strengthens resistance against undead and enables area healing as it grows!’

If the Key of Space was made by melting down the saintess’s necklace, perhaps the saintess’s ring was made by melting down one of Dermakan’s items.

As soon as he took out the key, he could directly confirm that his prediction was accurate.

A faint light flowing from the tip of the key was illuminating one spot, like a laser pointer.

Whether his eyes had adapted to the darkness or his vision had improved thanks to the key, the dim landscape began to come into view where previously he had seen nothing—to the point where he thought he might have lost his sight.

A black sky with a tinge of red and black, sticky ground underfoot.

Still, there was no sign of any living presence.

But now he had a guide, and his stamina was abundant.

He began walking resolutely in the direction the key pointed. The path sometimes widened, then quickly narrowed, sometimes flat, then quickly steep again. There were far more treacherous or sticky paths that caught his ankles than comfortable terrain.

But he never slowed his pace, no matter how difficult the path. He just kept walking steadily and continuously at a constant speed.

How long had he been traveling like this?

Within half a day of arriving in the demon realm, he encountered more monster hordes than he had expected.

However, McClain welcomed them with a faint smile on his lips.

“I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, you bastards!”

He immediately charged toward the black swarm of monsters with a roar.