9

Until his second and third encounters with monster hordes, he remained unfazed.

These were within the range of what he had anticipated when heading to the demon realm alone.

After slowly surveying his surroundings to estimate their approximate numbers, he assessed whether he could defeat them alone without risking injury. Repeating this pattern of combat and advancement, he safely made it through the first day.

But the next day was different.

From the previous evening, medium-sized monsters had started to appear in the mix, and as time passed, it became a feast of large monsters. Occasionally facing ones under the command of demons, his stamina was rapidly depleted, and his anxiety grew.

If someone had been watching his back, he could have rested intermittently to manage his stamina, but that wasn’t an option now.

Eventually, he found himself retreating more than advancing—more accurately, fleeing without even beginning to fight.

“Huff, huff.”

He had no idea how long he had been running through the sticky darkness.

Wasting stamina and time inefficiently was a problem, but an even bigger issue had emerged.

He found himself increasingly overwhelmed by uncontrollable emotions.

The endless darkness made it difficult to properly track the passage of time, his breathing became labored with even slight movements, and his skin—which he had neglected, thinking the slight burning sensation and heat were insignificant—had begun developing blisters of various sizes.

That wasn’t all. He repeatedly fell into anxiety about potentially dying meaninglessly in this strange, desolate place without even finding Natalie, only to forcefully shake it off. Anger, despair, anxiety, and impatience took turns tormenting him.

He kept thinking that the air must contain toxic elements that affected humans.

If there was any consolation, it was that he could be certain he was on the right path thanks to the key’s guidance.

Though the increasing number of demons he encountered was burdensome, it was also reassuring in a way. The further he advanced, the closer he would get to Natalie.

As he continued advancing through repeated battles and retreats, McClain suddenly stopped when he spotted a silhouette dimly visible in the distance. Despite seeing it for the first time, it felt strangely familiar.

Moreover, the round dome, pointed spires, and high castle walls…

Their combination strongly suggested that this might be the demon castle.

When he took a few more steps forward and his vision became clearer, a small exclamation escaped McClain’s lips.

He realized why it had felt familiar. The scene before his eyes matched exactly with the illustration that had briefly appeared during the narration explaining the Demon King’s invasion of the Empire in the game.

※※※

Lilith, who had said she would return quickly, didn’t come back until half a day after leaving the room.

Whether due to Demon’s absence or because she had lost the energy to act again after her full-hearted performance hours earlier, Lilith’s demeanor was fiercely aggressive when she reappeared.

“Here’s your food. Eat up.”

Lilith threw something down in front of Natalie while seething with anger.

Her behavior seemed like she was unleashing all her pent-up anger at once, leaving Natalie more bewildered than offended.

When did she even see me? Why is she this angry?

Of course, having been assigned to serve a lowly human despite being a high-ranking demon would wound her pride and make her angry. However, the excessive rage she was displaying seemed to stem from more than just that.

Could she be jealous?

The thought suddenly struck Natalie as she narrowed her eyes and looked at Lilith.

Judging by her appearance, she was a succubus.

Wasn’t that the typical character trait of a succubus?

A l*stful demon who drains life force through s*xual *ntercourse, leading to death. A beautiful, glamorous appearance with a sensual body—the embodiment of jealousy.

Come to think of it, unlike when Demon was present, Lilith’s eyes had changed to a vivid red as she glared at Natalie.

Is this her showing her true colors?

It seemed Lilith was a character faithful to the typical succubus setting.

If so, the anger Lilith was directing at Natalie could be considered jealousy-based.

Having made this assessment, Natalie casually picked up the hard bread that had rolled onto the floor.

She brushed off the dust nonchalantly and began eating as if it were nothing.

It wasn’t that Natalie had a strong stomach. She had grown accustomed to terrible meals while visiting corrupted areas, and besides, this wasn’t the time to be picky about food quality.

“You, you worthless thing, really!”

However, Natalie’s attitude seemed to further provoke Lilith’s anger, as she began stomping her feet.

The situation could have felt threatening, but Natalie was optimistic that Lilith wouldn’t attack her immediately.

She had sufficient grounds for her optimism.

First, Lilith had personally promised Demon that she would take good care of Natalie, so she couldn’t ignore his wishes. Additionally, since they were the same gender, it was obvious that Lilith’s seduction and hypnosis abilities wouldn’t significantly harm her.

The fact that Lilith couldn’t even touch her with a fingertip despite her outburst was proof of this.

Of course, even if Lilith were to attack her contrary to expectations, it wouldn’t be a major problem. During her time alone, Natalie had confirmed that she could still manipulate her magical power without difficulty.

In fact, the power that had been gathered in circles had become more solidly concentrated, surrounding her entire body like armor. So she was certain she could block any tricks from a mere succubus.

However, the reason she wasn’t provoking a fight now was because defeating Lilith wouldn’t benefit her.

Judging by Demon’s attitude, even if Natalie dealt with Lilith and got away safely, another succubus or equivalent demon would inevitably be assigned to her. Given her position without Demon’s complete trust, she would certainly need eyes watching her under the guise of service.

In the worst case, Demon himself might stick to her and suffocate her.

So for now, it was advantageous to entrust herself to this character who pretended to be clever and perceptive but was actually extremely one-dimensional.

And she soon realized that her judgment wasn’t wrong.

※※※

The next day, Lilith’s complexion was strangely flushed when she visited Natalie’s room. She had come earlier than expected, and Natalie, who had greeted her casually, felt puzzled.

This was completely different from how she had wrinkled her face in disgust every time she visited the day before, as if encountering something terribly foul. Natalie even flinched and stepped back a few paces when she saw Lilith approaching urgently with a face that looked as if she had met an old hometown friend.

“W-what’s happening? Why are you acting like this?”

It was just as Natalie was about to take another step back from Lilith, who was getting too close.

Lilith grabbed Natalie’s sleeve and pulled her closer, whispering urgently.

“He’s here! He’s come all the way here to take you away!”

Natalie couldn’t immediately understand what Lilith was saying with such evident joy in her voice. She also couldn’t comprehend why she was so happy.

But after a moment of confusion, Natalie finally realized what Lilith meant.

Someone had come to get her. The only person who would come to this strange and dangerous place for her was McClain, and him alone.

He’s already here!

She should have pretended not to understand, acted like she didn’t know what Lilith meant, but she simply couldn’t.

Seeing Natalie struggling to hide her rising smile, the smile that had bloomed on Lilith’s face disappeared. She then warned Natalie in a voice that had grown distinctly colder than before.

“Are you going to keep pretending to be stupid in front of me? Remember, today is your only chance. If you’re going to try anything, you must do it today.”

“Only today…?”

This time she was genuinely asking because she didn’t know.

Why only today? And why was this woman acting as if she would help with her escape attempt? To get rid of a competitor?

Just as Natalie’s thoughts drifted in that direction, Lilith’s dry explanation continued, as if she had expected this.

“His Majesty will have almost recovered his strength by tomorrow, and he’ll come to check on you again. Are you going to waste time stupidly until then? Today is also the last day I can help you!”

Anyone listening would think she had been doing her utmost to help Natalie all along.

Natalie almost let out a mocking laugh, but she managed to compose her expression and nodded.

If Lilith’s words were true, it seemed certain that she would be Natalie’s ally, if only temporarily.

Perhaps appeased by Natalie’s ready agreement, Lilith lowered her raised eyebrows and began urging her again.

“You said you received some power from His Majesty, right? Then hurry up and follow me. I’ll take you to that man. I’m a bit worried that you don’t know His Majesty’s name, but you might be able to use the dimensional gate if you use that power.”

At the mention of a dimensional gate, Natalie, who had just been about to leave the room with Lilith, stopped in her tracks. She had heard information she couldn’t help but question.

“Dimensional gate?”

“The gate His Majesty uses when going down to your world.”

“Can anyone use it?”

“Of course not. You need to know His Majesty’s full name and infuse it with His Majesty’s power for it to work.”