A day in the rift is long. In fact, it is a place that makes you misunderstand the concept of time.
A colorless field and vision that spreads around. A landscape that is the same whether you look ahead or behind.
A terrible place where an ordinary person would turn crazy, unable to survive a day, but Ignet managed to survive and endure.
Wheik!
She used to jump over the cracks when she was younger.
Swish!
Woong!
“Huh, it is pretty big this time.”
In the dimensional rift, she even used sorcery energy. Humans and demons, who hadn’t previously gotten along, were now good friends to help relieve their loneliness.
Of course, the best opponents were different.
“Clown, let’s have fun today too.”
Ignet said as she loosened the clown’s collar. Right, this hideous and terrifying being was the one who changed her, but he was also her partner in surviving the rift.
It was disappointing that the clown was becoming more docile than before; if he truly saw the possibility of escaping, he would be overjoyed; for Ignet, nothing was more interesting than fighting with him. She smiled as she stretched out her right hand and pulled out her dark, sharp, and black sword.
And the clown said,
“Let’s go to Devildom.”
“…”
“You should know, there is no return for you.”
No…
The fact was that her fate was sealed the moment she lost her body to the Demon King. Ignet remained silent for a long time after hearing the clown speak in this manner. She continued to stare at her body.
He wasn’t mistaken. Her body couldn’t be recognized as a human one. This was the case from the beginning. It was ten years ago, or more, when she said she would wait for Airn and the others to arrive.
The clown knew this too.
Still, he stayed silent.
He patiently waited for Ignet to reveal her weaknesses so that he could have the best outcome possible.
She wasn’t the only one working hard.
For the clown to resume his usual life, he, too, went through hellish days here.
“These aren’t empty words. You can be the king.”
“I am sure. Even if the ones in Devildom are stronger than when I last went there, no one is more worthy than you to be the king.”
“Of course, doing it alone will be difficult since you don’t know how Devildom works. The conditions will favor the great devils who built their forces.”
“But with me, you can do it.”
“With my assistance, it is possible. King. Let’s not waste time here and move.”
Reign
Dominate
Realize in Devildom the dream you cannot achieve in the human world.
Although he was nothing more than a clown, he will devote his body to work as the most loyal servant to the Demon King…
Kwak!
“Kuaaaak!”
The clown couldn’t speak more as Ignet’s sword fell like a shooting star and shattered his body and mind. It didn’t end there. It wasn’t enough to crush it, so the body was burned down.
Wheik….
“Hmm, it was getting boring.”
Ignet remained firm.
She was aware of this beforehand. The clown was not the only one who knew. Remaining in this rift. She spent what seemed like eons in here and wasn’t a human or devil, but the curse still shook her heart.
Regardless of how splendid of a hero Airn was. Even if Ilya is a direct descendant of Dion Lindsay. Even if Judith possessed flames that could resist death and even if Bratt was selfless.
Even if the minds and hearts of people with more pure and clear working thoughts used their minds to restore her… She knew it was impossible to purify a corrupted body. She would have killed herself if she were her former self.
If not that…
‘… as the clown said, I would have gone to Devildom.’
Conquer the poison, become the Demon King, and wipe out the devils in Devildom.
Come to think of it, that would be quite pleasant. Ignet imagined herself falling into hell. For a moment, she smiled.
“But I cannot do that.”
Ignet shook her head.
Right. She couldn’t.
She didn’t believe that Airn and the others could save her, nor did she believe that she could overcome this darkness. Nevertheless, she wouldn’t follow the clown or take her life. Waiting while not caring for the promise like this, she didn’t care, nor was she anxious.
Because she realized.
What is the most important thing to you?
Who can be trusted, and is there a place to return to?
Recall.
Reflect, reflect.
Time like an eternity passes again…
Finally, the time has come.
Ching!
Tak!
“…”
“…”
“…”
“Long time no see.”
“So late”
“… I am sorry, for real.”
Airn had the same expressionless face.
And it wasn’t just him. Ilya, Judith, and Bratt, too, had the same feelings; they couldn’t help it. It had been 24 years. They knew it wouldn’t be easy, but they didn’t think it would take this long either. Knowing that she was suffering here, they felt guilty.
‘Still, she is in a good state…’
The reason for this was, of course, that the only thing that could survive here was not a human. No, she was worse than she had been 24 years before. The blackness swept through her body like a typhoon trying to scare them. She couldn’t be brought back to the human world in this manner.
But it was fine.
They had the fruit to turn the impossible into possible.
An apple from the Land of Illusion was passed down to the sorcerers, and unlike the dragons, it was the most precious thing the world had never once discovered.
“So, this is…”
Airn said.
There were many things he wanted to say. How they got this golden apple, and what kind of effort they put in.
What had changed on the continent over 24 years, and what hadn’t changed. What happened to the four. He wanted to speak and hear her side too.
But.
“Stop.”
“Uh?”
“I will hear it later. Is it okay to eat it now?”
“Uh? Yes…”
“Give it.”
Snap
Bite.
After cutting off his words, Ignet took the golden apple and bit into it. Then, the refreshing energy slid down her mouth, throat, and body. With her eyes closed, she felt the darkness in her cells wash away.
Feeling reborn, Ignet returned to her human form and said.
“Let’s go.”
“Uh, uh…”
“What is with this man? What is with you?”
“What are you saying?”
“No, well. So… so back and forth the…rift with no emotions…”
Judith, too, was stuttering, and Bratt, too, nodded. And following them, Airn and Ilya nodded, thinking the same thing.
‘These two, it seems like they turned into the same after marriage.’
It was a miracle that they got to her. However, Ignet, feeling down, didn’t want to give them the reaction they wanted
She frowned and said.
“I don’t feel good.”
“Eh? Suddenly?”
“Enough. Let’s head back.”
“Uh, um. Okay…”
Ching!
The portal opened, and the humans who set foot into the rift returned to where they were supposed to be. Ignet thought, walking after Airn, Ilya, Judith, and Bratt.
‘Certainly, I want to know what happened to you all this time.’
Judith’s flames were strong, and Bratt’s sea was wide.
Ilya felt more like the sky, and Airn gave out one energy instead of five. The five energies of his didn’t disappear. It seemed like they were all united as one. And this realization couldn’t have just come without effort. So a lot of things must have happened.
‘But there is no rush; I will listen to it all slowly.’
Stepping into the portal, Ignet closed her eyes.
Looking back, it was a terrible day. The sense of voice spread across the cracked space and was difficult for a woman to bear, to maintain her core, and to constantly be like a human.
So it was clear.
‘Georg Phoebe’
‘Anya’
‘And the knights who followed me.’
As a child from Macan, the bonds she made. The friends she wanted to have a bright future with, sharing bread with them, the harsh reality hit her.
Her colleagues from her mercenary times. Those promises to change the world and create a bright future, then leaving their sides as the mercenaries began to go after money.
… there were many more.
The people who never left her in thousands of recollections.
The people who followed her without even looking back, the ones who walked behind her despite the hateful situation.
The apology she owed to Airn, who worked hard to keep his promise.
For her, they were her number one priority.
Eventually, Ignet opened her eyes.
“…”
“…”
Her attention was drawn to the altered environment.
The royal palace of Avilius, which was very familiar despite the changes here and there, and Anya Martha and Georg Phoebe, who had grown up a lot, indicated to her that 24 years had passed. And the men behind her.
“….”
She couldn’t say anything. There was no need to express it in words.
Watching the Black Knights saluting to her in tears, the four of them stayed silent.
A week later.
The Holy Kingdom Avilius announced the return of the fifth hero.
