“This place is hell.”
“Are you saying… this is hell?”
Upon hearing that it was hell, Hulan paused to think before speaking again.
“So… it’s a region called hell? Could you possibly tell me which countries are nearby?”
The dragon beastman and master, Hulan, seemed completely oblivious to the fact that he was in hell.
He appeared to think he had just arrived in a hot desert region.
The burning wasteland stretching beyond the horizon and the numerous demons everywhere probably led him to just think that the world was vast enough to have such areas.
“This isn’t a region nicknamed hell; it’s actually hell. This place isn’t part of the continent but the homeland of demons.”
“Hmm… I can’t believe this is really hell… but it does feel like there are too many demons around.”
He likely thought the demons were just abundant because of the nearby strongholds of heretics.
Most masters have their own factions and can’t move freely, but there are three masters who do.
Two of them are me and my mentor, the Empire’s shadow.
Though shadows can move freely, they are still affiliated with the Empire.
If we carried out activities, we usually have to report to the captain of the Royal Knight Order, the Empire’s number one swordsman, so it’s not complete freedom.
However, Hulan is perfectly free.
Not by his own desire, but still, he’s a free man.
He’s a beastman master, but he’s on the run from the alliance.
He was expelled from the alliance due to becoming entangled in a complex matter and has a bounty on his head.
He could have settled down in another country after escaping from where he belonged, but instead, he lives like a vagabond.
“By the way, why is a beastman master in hell?”
“… I don’t know either. I just got lost and ended up here.”
‘This poor fellow doesn’t even know where he is.’
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
In truth, calling him a vagabond is a stretch; this guy is terribly lost and rarely figures out his location.
Him saying he doesn’t even know where he’s going makes it hard to believe he could walk all the way to hell.
When he continuously shows such hopelessness with directions, I wonder if living like a vagabond is a choice he made or if it’s just that his terrible sense of direction prevents him from settling anywhere.
“Is the person over there the current beastman master Hulan?”
“Despite appearances, he is a master.”
Amy stared at the rare wandering master with fascination.
I’m glad to have met Hulan.
Without his help, my life would have been in danger.
Except for being completely hopeless with directions, he was hard to fault for being a master.
As the dragon beastman master, he’s above average in strength and has a decent temperament.
The fact that he doesn’t talk excessively is also a plus.
He’s one of the few masters that McKinto genuinely likes, but like the wandering lost soul he is, he’s never once attended a master summit hosted by McKinto.
“Ugh…!”
“Are you okay??”
I almost fell backward as my legs gave way.
Thankfully, Amy caught me.
I had been toughing it out, but after unleashing a barrage of vision swordsmanship while full of burns, I felt like I could collapse at any moment.
“U-uh… I’m fine.”
“See? It’s clearly not fine!!”
“… I’ll be okay once we get out of here.”
I had been insisting I was fine, but after witnessing my legs give way, Amy looked shocked as if she were the one injured.
It certainly wasn’t a pretty sight.
I had absorbed the hellfire that had been burning on my body and attempted to convert it into an attack, so thankfully, it hadn’t turned into a worst-case scenario, but I still had significant burns scattered all over.
However, I didn’t think it was serious.
In this hell, where even healing is tough, I believed I could recover once I escaped.
The method to get out of hell isn’t difficult.
Getting in is tough, but getting out is simple.
Since numerous demons flow in every day, if you search a specific area, you’ll find a hole big enough for a person or two to pass through.
“If you know how to get out of here, I’ll help you. You seem capable, but… I’m strong too.”
The beastman master Hulan supported my body.
Self-proclaiming to be strong… I already knew that without him having to say it.
“First, let’s find a hole.”
——————————————
The way out of hell is straightforward.
You find a hole formed due to dimensional instability, locate a mid-level demon, take its horns, and with that, you can pass through the hole.
“Whoa!!”
“AAAH!”
“Whoa!”
A hole opened in the air of the lush meadow, and three people fell through.
“Ugh… we’re back safely.”
As soon as I confirmed we had returned, I sat down to catch my breath.
Then, I stimulated two of the strongest essences residing in my body.
“Hah…!!”
Although I had never used them properly, I had obtained the power of Polymorph along with the essence of the dragon and incidentally acquired the essence of the Wolf God.
I sent the two greatest powers flowing through the wounds in my injured body.
As the essences spread through my body, a golden glow began to swirl around me.
Once I was confident they were adequately dispersed, I immediately moved on to the next step.
I stimulated a few specific meridians with my fingers.
This was a technique I had showcased while training Shaara.
By directly commanding the body, I could exponentially enhance natural healing, allowing even severe burns to recover swiftly.
If I simply facilitated it, the excess energy would go toward other areas and disrupt the balance, but since I had generously scattered the essences around, the healing proceeded without issues.
New flesh sprouted into the blistering skin.
“Phew… feeling a bit better.”
I would need to tend to the wounds more thoroughly when I got back, but for now, this was sufficient.
“Wow…”
“I told you I was fine, didn’t I?”
Seeing the severe burns starting to recover in a matter of minutes made it hard for Amy to believe as she covered her mouth in disbelief.
“Thank you for your help.”
“What’s that for… I was also able to escape thanks to you, so let’s just say we helped each other.”
Hulan wrapped himself in a tattered robe again.
“… But where exactly are we?”
——————————————
The place where we fell was a meadow between the Academy and the Black Forest.
I was relieved that we hadn’t fallen into another country and caused trouble, but the problem was Hulan.
“Is this the famous Academy of the Empire?”
If word got out that a master entered the Academy, there would be chaos.
I had come with a ‘letter of recommendation’, so I had no issues, but Hulan was a different case.
Ordinarily, he should have set off alarms the moment he touched the barrier surrounding the Academy, but instead, he had popped up suddenly from inside.
I doubt anyone would know he had entered the Academy.
“I’ve been curious about what the Academy is like. Do you think I could stay for a few days?”
“As a master, they wouldn’t turn you away. I’ll guide you to where you can lodge.”
“Thanks.”
As he was assured a place to stay, Hulan expressed his gratitude.
However, there were additional conditions.
“If possible, I would appreciate it if you could keep our presence a secret. It would be awkward if anyone found out we fell into hell.”
“I can keep that much.”
After all, Hulan simply got lost and popped out over here.
He was alone and had no one with him.
The principal would bubble with questions about why there was an outside master brought in at such times, but it couldn’t be helped.
“Where are you taking me…?”
“The only place that’s friendly to masters and has lodging… is the Church.”
Like McKinto, the Church is the most favorable organization toward masters.
Hulan was safely handed over to the Church.
A holy knight on duty at the Church was startled and fell backward upon learning Hulan was a master.
He’ll stay at the Church and talk with the principal tomorrow.
Having confirmed Hulan entered the Church from afar, I returned to Amy.
“… Does that hurt…?”
“I can endure it for now.”
Amy was staring at the burn marks on my body, which were regenerating, with concern.
She seemed to think it was her fault and was still worried.
“Ugh… we have to take that house down and build a new one.”
“That mansion… it was directly connected to Asmodeus’s trap. Shouldn’t we investigate further?”
“What if we get caught in another one like that? We both failed to detect it.”
We managed to escape this time due to Asmodeus’s voyeurism, but if we got targeted again like this, I wondered if we could escape once more.
It seemed best to completely obliterate that mansion and just leave the land as a remnant.
“Despite everything, you handled a Great Demon pretty well.”
I patted Amy’s head, who looked gloomy.
No matter how she felt about it herself, she had been quite helpful.
Especially at the end, making sure no demons approached was a massive help.
“If Asmodeus… what do we do? He survived.”
“It’s not like a Great Demon can easily come here, so for now… yeah, targeting Asmodeus’s cult next would be wise.
If we crush their forces, he won’t have anything to do in hell but stew in anger.”
“Are you going to raid their hideout again?”
“I did it last time, so this time, I’ll have someone else do it.”
I’m looking forward to the summit.
What will they think when I show them Asmodeus’s horn tucked in my pocket?
