Chapter 121

“Welcome. To those who have visited the Sanctuary for the first time in hundreds of years.”

Long, lustrous red hair that reached the floor. Ruby-colored eyes. She possessed perfect proportions and a face so beautiful that even Chel and Kelly—who were top-tier among elves—would be envious.

If a Goddess of Beauty existed, she would surely look like this. While the rest of the party stood dazed by her overwhelming appearance, I was the only one who let out a hollow laugh while looking at the woman.

After all, her appearance was almost identical to the day she kidnapped me back in the Northern Continent. Of course, the one that appeared in the North was a replica made of blood, so some minor details had been blurred, but I had no trouble recognizing that they were the same person.

‘She has no intention of hiding it, does she?’

Perhaps noticing my gaze, she winked at me with one eye. Then, maintaining a soft smile, she continued.

“How did you all end up falling into such an unholy place?”

Chel, though overwhelmed by the woman’s mysterious aura, spoke up hesitantly.

“Ah, well… we’re from the Tubilan Empire… but when we exited the Imperial Capital’s Labyrinth, we found ourselves in the Demon Territory…”

“Oh my. What a tragic turn of events. You must have suffered greatly.”

Her atmosphere was warm and friendly—like a mother, a sister, or a close friend. The frozen party members finally began to open up.

“Ah… it really was like that! You have no idea how hard it was… Oh, this is my pet, Snoopy, and he was a huge help…”

“It wasn’t a completely useless time. Aside from the fact that our lives were at risk every single day, we learned quite a lot. But…”

The red-haired woman patiently listened to their stories with a smile full of benevolence.

“I see, such things happened. It truly was a grueling journey. You are all very brave. But do not worry. Your difficult journey ends here.”

At those words, Elizabeth burst into a wide grin.

“I had a feeling, but it really is the true Sanctuary! Priestess!!”

“Yes, of course. If you pass through that gate over there, you will arrive directly in the West Continent. In particular, the gate in my Sanctuary is a special edition, unlike those in other Sanctuaries.”

“A special edition?”

“Yes. While other Sanctuaries only connect to each other, the gate in this Sanctuary allows you to go anywhere you wish within the West Continent without having to pass through another Sanctuary.”

“Wow… then, can we go straight to Redna City in the Tubilan Empire?”

“Of course. In fact, not long ago, there was a child who went to Redna City through here.”

“Really?”

Elizabeth nodded happily, her face brightening. But soon, she tilted her head as she caught a minor contradiction in the woman’s words.

“…Um, you said it’s been hundreds of years since anyone visited the Sanctuary…”

“Yes. It has been hundreds of years. To be precise, about 200 years. Since this Sanctuary was built 200 years ago.”

“Then the person who went to Redna City recently was…?”

“Ah, I didn’t count that child because it wasn’t a person.”

“Huh? Not a person…?”

“Hmm… how strange. You are Hunters, aren’t you? Then you must have seen that friend at least once, directly or indirectly.”

“Uh… what did it look like?”

The red-haired woman placed her index finger on her chin and tilted her head cutely.

“Hmm… first of all, it was long.”

“Long?”

“Yes. And by your standards, it must have been quite large.”

“Long… and large…?”

“And crucially, it looked like a snake. What was it again? The name they called that child in the West Continent was surely… the Black Snake?”

At that answer, the bodies of Chel, Kelly, and Ailet froze stiff.

Chel stammered out a question.

“…What did you just say?”

The red-haired woman replied with a radiant smile.

“The Black Snake. The Black Snake.”

“…No way. The One-Horned Snake? The One-Horned Black Snake? That 50-meter-long snake monster? The one Orabeoni snapped the spine of?”

“Oh my, that’s right. The One-Horned Black Snake. I recall it being called exactly that.”

“……!”

“……!!”

“……!!!”

The party’s faces turned deathly pale.

Having vaguely realized the identity of the woman before them, Chel grit her teeth and asked in a trembling voice.

“Y-you definitely said this was a Sanctuary…”

“It is a Sanctuary.”

“But you said a monster just traveled through that gate…”

“Yes, it did. I pick them out as I see fit and throw one in about once a day. Sometimes I designate a location, and other times, I just toss them in like I’m rolling dice. Because of that, some of them fall into the ocean and drown.”

“…An Invasion.”

“Ah, so that’s what they call my little pastime.”

Elizabeth, who still hadn’t fully grasped the situation, tilted her head at the strange atmosphere.

“What? What does that mean? Isn’t this the Sea God’s Sanctuary? Isn’t all that’s left for us to go home? Are you saying this pretty lady lied to us?”

“Oh my. A lie? This is a Sanctuary. And it’s true that you can go to the West Continent through that gate. It’s just that the owner of this Sanctuary isn’t the Sea God.”

Chel spoke the name that replaced “Sea God,” as if spitting it out.

“…Di… sis.”

“Ding-dong~ That is correct. This is the ‘Sanctuary of Disis.’”

“……!”

“……!!”

“……!!!”

She narrowed her eyes and laughed brightly.

“In other terms, it is also known as the ‘Demon King’s Castle.’”

Immediately after, five pairs of blood-red wings sprouted from her back.

Flap…!

Five pairs of wings—the proof of her rank. Above the level of Potestates.

It was the moment *West Demon King Disis fully revealed herself.

“Ack…!”

“Urgh…!!”

The party members simultaneously fell to their knees, clutching their throats and chests under the weight of her overwhelming presence. The Spiritual Pressure was so intense it was causing them difficulty breathing.

I clicked my tongue and stepped in front of them.

“Haaah! Gasp, gasp…!”

“Huff, huff…!”

Only after I took Disis’s Spiritual Pressure on their behalf did they finally manage to catch their breath. I glared at Disis and scoffed.

“Your hospitality is a total mess. Wasn’t it me you had business with? Why are you messing with the others?”

Disis let out a low laugh as a red radiance spread from her.

“Oh my, wasn’t it you who brought those vermin here? So I thought it was perfectly fine to do this.”

“What are you talking about? You’re the one who lured us here by putting strange information into Kelly’s head.”

“What I wanted was you and my ‘Kin.’ I assumed you would naturally leave the rest of the leftovers in a safe place.”

“The entire Demon Territory is in the palm of your hand, so ‘safe’ my ass. They’re as good as dead the moment you set your mind to it, no matter where they are. In that case, I’d rather keep them where I can see them.”

“Hehe. Does that mean you believe you can protect those vermin from my hands?”

“We’ll see. But I can certainly try my best to protect them.”

“How interesting. Especially since you haven’t blinked an eye even while taking the full force of my Spiritual Pressure since a moment ago.”

“Well, thanks to that, I’m causing quite a bit of trouble for my two friends ‘inside.’ So why don’t you put away that useless pressure?”

“Hoooom…”

Disis let out an exclamation of interest as she looked at me. Then, as I requested, she withdrew her Spiritual Pressure along with the radiance.

Then, with a casual wave of her hand, she caused the rest of the party—excluding Kelly—to vanish.

“Where did you send them?”

“The top floor of the castle. Don’t worry; they’ll be safe for the time being. I don’t want to be hated by you—at least not ‘yet.’ I simply removed them because I wanted to have a quiet conversation without any interrupters.”

I let out a low sigh and nodded.

“Fine. Then let’s get into it.”

It was at that moment that Kelly, the only one left in the room besides Disis and myself, picked up her halberd with trembling hands.

Gritting her teeth, she shouted to me in a voice half-hoarse with terror.

“Orabeoni! I don’t know what’s going on, but…! I’ll buy you some time. You have to escape!!”

At that, Disis’s gaze, which had been fixed on me the entire time, shifted to Kelly for the first time.

“Hmm?”

“Me and the rest of the guild are done for anyway! But you! If you can just get out of here… even if the opponent is a Demon King, you might be able to get away!”

“…….”

“I’ll be fine! Please, just save yourself…!!”

Disis smiled softly and beckoned with her finger.

“Oh my. It won’t do for a ‘Kin’ to point a weapon at her master. Put that scary thing down on the floor, dear.”

In an instant, Kelly’s eyes clouded over, and her expression went slack and vacant.

Clang!

The halberd struck the stone floor, the sharp metallic ring echoing through the hall.

“Yes. Good girl. Honestly, it’s impressive that you can still define yourself as ‘Kelly.’ Usually, when exposed to my Spiritual Pressure, one loses their ego and becomes a part of ‘Us.’ Is it because the original was such an excellent specimen?”

I clicked my tongue harshly.

“Tsk. So that was it after all.”

“I gave you so many hints that it would be silly to ask how you knew, wouldn’t it?”

“Making her lick my blood every time I got hurt… was that to create my Doppelganger?”

“Yes. Doppelgangers can share information with each other through me. But after making it, I found the reproduction rate to be shockingly low—even after receiving almost a full cup of your blood. What kind of mortal has such a massive ‘volume of information’?”

“When was Kelly swapped out?”

“Right after I sent you to the West Continent. I needed someone to lead you here. She was quite strong for a mortal, so it took some effort.”

That meant Kelly had already been a Doppelganger from the very first moment we met at the General Store.

“No wonder she was so strangely favorable…”

“Ah, don’t misunderstand. If I may make an excuse for my lovely Kin, this child built her relationship with you purely as the individual ‘Kelly.’ All I tinkered with was the speed at which her emotions developed. Even if the original had been in that position, she would have eventually fallen deeply for you.”

“…How did you connect the Lily Labyrinth to the Demon Territory?”

“I devoured the Master of the Lily Labyrinth. That labyrinth is mine now. This Demon Territory is also mine. Connecting what is mine to what is mine isn’t exactly a difficult task.”

“…What about the Forbidden Step?”

“I can ignore the restriction for a short while. Of course, I grow exponentially weaker the further I move from this place.”

“So that’s why you tossed me into the Tubilan Empire, the place closest to the Demon Territory. To keep me within your sphere of activity.”

“Exactly.”

“What happened to the real Kelly? Did you kill her?”

“No.”

“Hm? That’s unexpected. You’re keeping the original alive? That must have been troublesome in many ways.”

“As you say, I originally intended to kill her when the time was right. devouring the person entirely allows for a much more perfect performance than simply gaining information through blood or fluids. But after observing you through this child, I realized I must never kill her.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Do you not know yourself? You are a man of clear boundaries. You are infinitely indifferent to those outside your circle, but once someone crosses that line, you show them quite a bit of care. So, I kept her alive. As I mentioned before, I don’t want to incur your hatred just yet.”

“…‘Don’t want to incur my hatred,’ huh. That sounds like you have a favor to ask of me.”

At that, as if delighted that we finally reached the main point, Disis gave a beaming smile.

“Don’t you already suspect what it is?”

“Do I?”

“…Then I shall say it directly with my own lips.”

After a moment of hesitation, as if she had made a grand resolution, she bit her lower lip and dropped to her knees.

“…!”

As I stared at her in shock at this unexpected behavior… she went one step further.

Pressing her forehead to the ground at my feet, she implored in a desperate voice.

“I… do not know what kind of special quality you possess that allowed you to seal Akathastasia. I tried to find that specialness through this child, but in the end, I failed. So now, the only path left for me is to beg you.”

“…….”

“I, the West Demon King Disis, earnestly entreat you… please, just as you did for the North Demon King Akathastasia… save me as well.”

And to that desperate plea, I replied with just two words.

“Not happening.”