Chapter 186: The Demon Realm (3)
“Marriage? That’s too sudden. I think it’s better to discuss this another time.”
-You don’t have to accept it right away. You don’t have to take the marriage proposal seriously. Just think of it as a light greeting. Even if you don’t end up marrying, you could still become good friends. You’ll have to look around to get used to the Demon Realm anyway, so it would be good to meet my daughter while you’re at it.-
“······.”
It was a polite suggestion in form, but not in substance.
Satan, who had been suppressing his intimidating aura out of consideration for me, was now threatening me by slowly releasing his magic.
It was half a threat.
“······I understand.”
I had no choice but to agree for now.
In the Demon Realm, Satan is like a king.
If I get on his bad side, I could die here before I can even return to the mortal realm.
-It seems you’ve gotten used to breathing.-
“Yes.”
“······Hmm.”
“You don’t breathe.”
“······.”
-Then I shall guide you outside. If I were to wander outside carelessly, many of my people would be frightened, so these two demons will guide you. Come to think of it, I’m very late in introducing them. This is Astaroth. And this is Dantalion.-
Astaroth waved his hand with a sly smile (I couldn’t tell if he was actually smiling because the outline of his mouth was so vague), and Dantalion greeted me with a shy look in his eyes.
I had almost forgotten since Satan appeared.
These guys are also incredibly powerful, enough to keep me from moving.
“Are both of you Great Demons?”
“There is only one Great Demon here, and that is I······. There are only seven Great Demons in the Demon Realm, and these guys are just ordinary demons.-
These two guys aren’t Great Demons?
My mind went blank for a moment.
Didn’t Belphegor say he was a Great Demon?
That weakling is a Great Demon, but these ordinary demons are this strong?
‘That bastard Belphegor······. He was playing a joke on me.’
He made a big deal about being a Great Demon.
It seems it was all just a bluff and a lie.
-If there is anything that troubles you during your stay here, please let me know through these guys. I will take care of it right away.-
“Thank you······.”
At Satan’s gesture, a round entrance opened and closed again in the lava waterfall.
I left Satan, who was sitting solemnly in his seat, behind and went outside with the two demons and Miso.
Then, the view of the sea made of bright red lava appeared.
That’s not all.
From the seemingly intact ground, stones would occasionally shake and lava would spout like a fountain.
An extreme environment where humans cannot survive.
However, the demons walked leisurely through this dangerous area as if it were nothing.
I felt the heat and squeezed Miso’s hand tightly.
“We have to find a way to return to the mortal realm quickly.”
“······Yes.”
Living here is unbearable.
I can’t get my bearings right now.
But I will definitely return to the mortal realm.
I reaffirmed my determination with Miso.
“Why do I feel like I’m being watched?”
-Of course you are. Don’t you think you stand out?-
“No, I know that······.”
As I followed the two demons carefully.
I felt the atmosphere getting stranger and stranger.
Black figures emerged one by one from the caves here and there.
They all stared at us silently with their black pupils.
It wasn’t just the curious or wary eyes of strangers seeing us for the first time.
I had a similar experience when I first entered Elvengard, but this was definitely different.
Something······.
I would have to say it was murderous.
-Hmm. Is it because of your blue vitality?-
-We almost couldn’t hold back and ate you because of it.-
“······.”
Murderous was right.
All those eyes were looking at me and licking their lips.
Thinking about it, I unconsciously moved closer to the two demons.
······The eyes of these two didn’t seem much different.
‘But they’re just a lot of them. I’m not really scared.’
I was just nervous because I was facing an unfamiliar threat in an unfamiliar place.
I didn’t feel much danger.
When I glanced at them, I could tell that the power of each of those demons was about the same as or less than Belphegor.
To put it bluntly, I think I could win even if hundreds of those demons attacked me at once.If only Mijeong stays by my side, I think I can do anything.
Are most demons originally this weak?
At that moment, I felt a sense of wonder.
I gradually felt my blurry vision clearing up.
It seems like I’ve somewhat adapted to the atmosphere here.
Even though it’s the magic of the other world, I think I can control it now.
But for some reason, it seems like I can handle magic better here than in the mortal world.
-The place you just looked around would be considered downtown in the mortal world. And this is the path leading to the underground prison.-
“Why to the underground prison?”
-Your marriage partner is there.-
“······?”
After wandering around the demon world for a while, we finally arrived at our destination.
We followed a deep, cylindrical pit and endlessly descended a circular staircase.
It seems like all demons have excellent stamina, because I had to ask them to take breaks several times along the way.
“······Oom.”
“What. Speak properly.”
“······Oom.”
As soon as I plopped down to rest, Mijeong bit my finger.
Is she too lazy to even ask for food now?
I used magic to create a wound on my elbow, and Mijeong eagerly rushed over to suck on it.
“By the way, I’m hungry. Is there anything to eat?”
-Something to eat? Hmm······. Ah. That’s a problem······. Demons’ main food source is the life force of the living that they obtain through contracts······. There’s probably nothing here that a living being can eat······-
“Ah······.”
-For now, I’ll go catch a dragon! I’ll have you try it and see if it’s to your taste!-
In the blink of an eye, the two demons disappeared, tearing through space.
And a moment later, they returned carrying a giant lizard.
I could barely breathe because of the smell, but I somehow managed to clean it and cut off a part of the hind leg that looked edible and roasted it over a fire.
Only then was I finally able to take a bite, and my impression was······
“We have to go back.”
“······Yes.”
We definitely have to go back.
That determination only grew stronger.
After finishing our break,
we started to descend the underground prison again to meet my supposed marriage partner.
It gradually got darker as we went down, and the appearance of the demons visible through the iron bars became even more bizarre.
“Didn’t you say that the one I’m supposed to marry is Satan’s blood relative······?”
-That’s true, but she’s quite the problem child. She ran away from home and was recently caught again, so we’ve locked her up for now.-
-We had no choice because she might run away again and disappear for thousands of years or something.-
“······.”
So, they’re trying to give me their troublesome daughter to deal with.
I’m sorry, but things won’t go Satan’s way.
I’ll find a way to escape the demon world no matter what.
I have no intention of having a demon wife, giving birth to rabbit-like children, and living a peaceful life.
-We’re here.-
“······?”
The lowest level of the underground prison.
The moment we arrived there, a black shadow stirred within the dark iron bars.
It was clearly a strange connection I had made in a strange land.
For some reason, I felt a sense of foreboding from the figure beyond the iron bars.
I thought all demons looked similar because they were all pitch black.
But as soon as I saw the face that emerged from the darkness, I realized.
This bastard.
“Hey, you son of a b*tch-“
-Hey hey hey?! Stop that human!-
-No! She’s your future wife!-
It was none other than Belphegor.
For a moment, I couldn’t control my anger and charged at him with my arms flailing.
But I was quickly subdued by the two demons.
“Cough cough cough?!”
-Look at that! He got excited and forgot how to breathe again!-
In the meantime, I accidentally inhaled and my lungs were once again filled with magic.
I could feel my entire lungs being destroyed in an instant, and I coughed up blood.
The demons immediately approached to help me, but I raised my hand to stop them.
‘I’ve gotten used to the magic here too.’
I’ve more or less figured out how to use magic.
Unlike in the mortal world, the magic of the demon world is very heavy.
But that doesn’t mean it’s more difficult to handle.
If you just get the hang of it, it’s actually easier to handle a lot of magic at once.
Slowly, I grabbed the magic that had filled my lungs and pulled it out.
Then, a pungent black smoke came out of my mouth through my esophagus.
Then I quickly took out a healing potion and stuck it in my mouth, sending it down my windpipe and into my lungs.
It was very painful.
But in the end, I was able to heal myself completely on my own.
It would be difficult to do this if I ran out of healing potions······.Of course, that’s not important right now.
-Hi, hiik······! Why is that human in the Demon Realm?!-
“That’s what I want to ask you. Why are you here, Belphegor?”
-Isn’t it obvious? This is my resting place.-
“This brat is out of his mind-“
-Hweeiiiik!!!-
As I raised my fist, Belphegor’s mask came off and he started to make a fuss.
I wanted to kill him right here and now, but I had to stop because the two demons next to him looked like they were about to attack me again.
-Were you guys acquainted······?-
“What a terrible grudge. But if this guy is here, does that mean······ that he’s the one you’re supposed to marry?”
-Yes, that’s right. He was once a great demon named Naetae, but he was dethroned. Belphegor is the daughter of Satan.-
As I approached, the darkness and magic that covered her dissipated.
A woman with copper-colored skin was revealed.
From Noble mtl dot com
Suddenly, my head started to throb.
That … I didn’t see coming.