Chapter 105
Leaving the fifth Kliroft, Nahun headed toward the last place he needed to go in Hell.
“Poo.”
“Mwoo.”
He was accompanied by two massus at the back that made weak sounds like these, in order to meet the last massu of the end, ‘Gize’.
Like the Behemoth in the scorching land, he had heard that Gize held its ground in its own realm, the Misty Sky. It should be easy to find and bring it back by overpowering it, but what troubled him was…
“It must be in the sky, right?”
As a massu symbolizing the sky, it would surely be flying in the heavens. The name of its realm, Misty Sky, was also significant.
“Such a hassle.”
Using magic would pose no problem, but it seemed that moving in the air wouldn’t be as free as moving on the ground.
After all, anything that doesn’t possess wings cannot move freely in the sky. Nahun pondered for a moment, then suddenly recalled something and muttered.
“Wings?”
He thought of the enormous wings that had been behind Gamaliel. If Gamaliel, a great demon, had wings, could he not have them as well?
He couldn’t remember how to manifest the wings or even that he had them, perhaps due to sealed memories. But it was a possibility worth considering. With that thought in mind, Nahun asked the massus following them.
“Hey guys.”
“Poo?”
“Mwoo?”
“Do I have wings?”
“Pupup.”
“Muwung.”
The two massus nodded as if saying yes. Nahun pondered briefly on how to manifest those wings. Then, he tried to channel his available magic power towards his back.
Flap!
A massive black wing spread out from his back. It felt quite nice. Nahun, who had thought it would be a bit unfamiliar, was surprised by the unexpected familiarity as he moved the wing here and there.
“Poo!”
“Mwoo!”
Suddenly, the massus behind him made noises as if expressing dissatisfaction. It turned out that Nahun’s wings were flapping around and hitting the two massus carelessly.
“Um… sorry.”
“Poo.”
“Mwoo.”
Nahun dispersed his magic power. Immediately, the wings lost their shape and vanished.
“That should make it easy to fight in the sky.”
If he had wings, he could surely move freely in the air, so the demerit of having to subdue Gize was eliminated. Nahun set off towards Gize’s realm, which was located on the path leading to the fourth Kliroft.
After a while, Leviathan and Behemoth simultaneously nudged Nahun. Nahun understood why they reacted that way.
“Is that it?”
“Poo.”
“Mwoo.”
Indeed, it was a place worthy of being called the Misty Sky. The sky overhead where Nahun was looking was not red. Hell always had a crimson hue, giving it a true hellish feel, yet this was not the case here.
The sky was dark. It was all because of the fog that covered the sky in that vicinity. Nahun was sure it wasn’t clouds, as if it were all clouds, it would be raining or lightning would be striking. It was absurd for darkened clouds to not bring anything down.
“There’s fog, but Leviathan, can’t you fight here?”
“Poo.”
The black fog was also a means of mobility for Leviathan. He asked, but Leviathan shook his head. It seemed that, aside from that, its power weakened within the realm of other massus.
“Understood.”
Then I’ll have to do it alone, Nahun thought, stepping into Gize’s realm. As soon as he stepped in, the quiet fog began to stir. It seemed the owner of the realm sensed his presence and was moving.
“Like with Behemoth, its reaction is quite quick.”
The fog was dissipating. Not naturally, but unnaturally forced away by someone’s movement.
“…What the hell.”
Nahun was startled. The shadow he glimpsed was… incomprehensibly larger than both Behemoth and Leviathan.
The last massu of the end revealed itself through the blackened fog.
A long body coiled like a serpent, adorned with feathers. Its face resembled that of a lizard, but it had a massive beak like that of a bird of prey.
Nahun bluntly voiced his impression.
“It’s mixed together like a true mythical creature.”
The king of the skies, Gize.
It was the last massu of the end that Nahun had to reclaim.
—
Nahun chuckled. Gize’s size was overwhelming. Behemoth, Leviathan, and even Golraph, whom he had met earlier, were all described as massive, but…
“…It occupies the entire sky with just its body.”
The body that coiled through the fog was unimaginably long. It was larger than Golraph.
‘Is this one the strongest?’
He thought Gize might be the strongest among the massus that followed him. Just seeing that size sparked such thoughts.
Gize opened its massive beak and let out a roar, eyes fixed on Nahun. It was wary of him. Its rejection of the old master invading its realm was reminiscent of Behemoth.
“Those fools can’t even recognize their master.”
Suddenly, Behemoth and Leviathan, who had been behind him, moved to Nahun’s side and shouted.
“Poo!”
“Mwoo!”
They made sounds that didn’t feel majestic at all, but it seemed that Gize reacted to their cries. Gize stopped its roar and looked at them.
“Poo!”
“Mwoo!”
Thinking that their words were being acknowledged, Leviathan and Behemoth took a step closer to Gize. However…
Boom!!!
“Poo!!!”
“Mwoo!!!”
From Gize’s mouth, flames erupted, sending the two massus flying. Nahun watched in slight disbelief and muttered.
“…What the hell made them charge in?”
It seemed they had taken a strong attack, but the two massus were sturdy and would be fine. Nahun didn’t particularly worry for Leviathan and Behemoth and stepped forward.
“Gize.”
Gize’s head turned to gaze at Nahun.
“If you wish to follow me again, I will overlook the rudeness shown until now.”
Nahun drew his sword. Gize’s breathing intensified at the sight of the gleaming blade.
“However, if you continue to refuse, I will have no choice but to knock you down and take you with me—just like I did with the Behemoth you sent flying.”
At Nahun’s benevolent offer, Gize didn’t show a hint of hesitation. It immediately responded with a roar that instilled fear in all creatures.
Nahun felt the muscles in his body tense. Just the roar alone was enough to instill such a sensation in a great demon like him, reminiscent of a dragon’s ‘fear’ from the fantasy novels of the past.
“…Well, I understand your answer.”
Nahun spread his huge wings. His membrane-covered black wings even evoked a sense of dread.
“You too need to be educated.”
Gize breathed flames from its beak. Nahun lightly flapped his wings to evade it and charged towards the Gize that was hiding within the fog.
Whoosh!!
Gize once again breathed flames. But something was different this time.
“!”
The flames didn’t stop. Unlike the previous instance, where it was a single burst, this time flames continuously flowed from Gize’s beak.
Gize turned its head as the flames scorched everything in the direction it faced. Nahun soared away quickly, avoiding the flames, and chuckled.
“Seriously, it’s like a game pattern.”
Nahun adjusted his flight path to be towards Gize, knowing it couldn’t shoot flames at itself. As expected, Gize stopped spewing flames.
The giant body that had been coiling within the fog began to move slowly. Upon seeing this, Nahun hurriedly raised his sword and, at that moment, Gize’s beak was suddenly right in front of Nahun.
Boom!!!
‘…It really embodies the massu of the skies.’
Nahun blocked Gize’s beak with his sword. It was only due to his anticipation of Gize’s movement that he could react in time. If he had reacted only upon seeing it move, he would’ve never been able to respond.
“Quick, huh.”
Even though Nahun blocked the attack with his sword, it seemed Gize had no intention of stopping. It pushed against him as if trying to drive Nahun into the ground.
—
Gize roared, preventing Nahun from easily responding to the situation. Nahun felt his entire body stiffen, unable to offer any resistance.
And just like that, Gize drove Nahun into the ground.
Boom──!!!
Gize believed that even Nahun wouldn’t be able to withstand the impact. To ensure Nahun’s defeat, it kept pressing him down with its beak.
Crack!!!
However, Gize soon regretted its decision. It noticed cracks forming in its own beak. Gize hurriedly lifted its head, but somewhere along the way, Nahun had grasped the cracked beak with his bare hands.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Gize gathered flames within its mouth. It was planning to escape by exhaling fire, but Nahun wouldn’t let that happen.
Stab!!
Nahun’s sword pierced through the gap created by the flames. The massive body of Gize was so large that Nahun’s sword was unable to inflict internal damage. However, Nahun left the sword immersed in the heated flames and harnessed his magic power.
“Devour.”
『 Gŭla lupus 』
In an instant, Nahun’s sword transformed into the head of a giant wolf. Thus, Gize’s beak was forcibly opened, and the wolf swallowed Gize’s flames in a single bite.
The moment Gize had a gap, Nahun raised his empty hand. He clenched his fist and swung down…
Boom───!!!
The beak of Gize that he had cracked moments ago was smashed down. With a sharp cracking sound, Gize’s sturdy beak shattered.
Gize thrashed in pain, writhing. Nahun looked at Gize and thought.
‘The beak will grow back eventually.’
Even if he broke it once, it wouldn’t matter. It seemed that the destruction of its beak was a significant shock to Gize, as it shook its colossal body violently, making the sky tremble.
“Will you continue?”
Nahun asked, and Gize bowed its head toward him. It seemed to be in much pain; its enormous body shook as if it would collapse.
Nahun sighed as he watched Gize suffering from its broken beak.
“…I really wish you had just listened from the start.”
Sometimes one needs to be hit to come to their senses. Nahun instructed Gize to shrink in size, and as if still in pain, Gize grunted while complying with his command.
The smaller Gize resembled a little dragon with feathers. Seeing it holding its beak with its front limbs, Nahun asked.
“Does it hurt?”
“Bee…”
Gize looked at Nahun with eyes that seemed to ask if he could heal it. However, soon, Gize’s hope was shattered. Nahun chuckled and replied.
“It’s your karma.”
“Beeek…”
“Poo.”
“Mwoo.”
Just as they returned, the unscathed Leviathan and Behemoth approached and circled around Gize as if consoling it. Nahun thought to himself that perhaps they had kinder hearts than he initially assumed, but…
“Pupup.”
“Muwung.”
“Beeek!!”
Instead of consolation, they were teasing. Behemoth even poked Gize’s beak with its nose, provoking it.
‘…Are these two naturally at odds with each other?’
Watching the childish behavior of the massus in sheer disbelief, Nahun chuckled lightly.
“Well, it’s time to go.”
“Mwoo?”
“Bee…?”
“Poo.”
Nahun had finished all he needed to do in Hell. Now, it was time to return to his original place. He lifted his head and murmured.
“I wonder if everyone is doing well.”
Coming to Hell made him lose track of time. It wasn’t that Nahun wasn’t paying attention; it was that the concept of a day didn’t truly exist here. For the great demons, a day simply referred to the time they spent being active and resting, not a designation from midnight to twenty-four hours like in other places.
So even though Nahun had not slept a wink since arriving in Hell, from Hell’s perspective, a day hadn’t even passed.
‘…I wonder how much time has passed outside.’
He’d have to see for himself. Considering the time he had been moving, at least a month couldn’t have passed. With that thought in mind, Nahun crushed the space beside him with his magic power.
“Gate.”
『 Līmen』
The space crumpled under his magic, opening a pathway. It was time to return to his desperate waiting disciple.
—
“…Huh?”
Nahun, having arrived in the Demon World after telling the massus to wait outside, tilted his head in confusion.
He clearly opened a path to the 69th floor, but what lay before him was not the Demon King Castle but only the ruins of a burnt landscape.
“Where is this?”
Nahun had no idea.
He didn’t understand why the door to Hell would only be on the first floor of the Demon World, or whether the rules were actually followed by the great demons and other demons. Because this reason wasn’t presented in the game’s settings, Nahun couldn’t possibly know.
It was to prevent being trapped in the flow of time when crossing from Hell to the Demon World.
The reasons were unknown, but this phenomenon occasionally occurred when moving between the Heavenly realm, Human realm, and Demon World to Hell. To avoid experiencing such occurrences, conduits were established in both the Heavenly realm and Hell.
If they were not bound by such rules, there would have been no need for them to establish conduits between worlds that they considered inferior to themselves.
Nahun, unaware of this, had always carved his own paths when traveling from the Demon World to Hell or vice versa.
Nahun had indeed arrived at the 69th floor, and what he saw now was…
“…What’s going on?”
The scenery of the 69th floor had been transformed after eight years due to two erroneous travels.
