Episode 88

“Everyone, stay alert and keep your wits about you. As long as you’re awake, that’s all you need to do. Don’t get caught now. Holy water is too precious to waste.”

From the moment when ownerless belongings and bodies sprawled haphazardly across the fields began to appear, it was apparent the charm magic had become incredibly powerful. Now, all sorts of hallucinations and auditory illusions started to run rampant even in reality. Of course, if one had a firm resolve not to be swayed, it might be possible to endure, but if it were that easy, why would the word ‘addiction’ exist in this world?

Even for a moment, if one’s gaze was stolen and their heart wavered, they’d fall into the spell of enchantment. Allen, too, had seen and heard countless women’s nude masturbation shows and lewdly enticing sounds, but he tried very hard not to lose his reason until the end… Even if not for the other members, at least he must not show such a disgraceful sight as a group leader.

It was truly a series of desperate situations where one could not let their guard down, even for a moment. There was no such thing as a break. Just when they stopped the forced march for a brief rest and sat down, they would turn their heads to find an attractive beauty rubbing against them naked, asking them to do something for her… If the curse infiltrated slowly without distinguishing between night and day, this would mean that they would be attacked with charm crazily all night long. The problem was, while they wouldn’t die from a curse, they could die from being charmed.

“Shit, this is driving me crazy.”

Someone muttered as if talking to themselves. There was no conversation among them. Enduring and enduring again. There were quite a few who screamed in agony and endured extreme conditions. Naturally, there were a considerable number who couldn’t withstand and collapsed.

The group leaders and the members had almost no room to care for other mercenary groups, let alone their colleagues. It was honestly overwhelming just to take care of oneself.

Vice Group Leader Palmer signaled to move again. The mercenaries ended their seemingly nonexistent rest and got up from their places.

The night was still far from over. However, the illusions became even more numerous and more persistent.

“Let’s go together.”

“Stop this boring act.”

“I’ll let you taste my body as much as you want.”

“You’ll definitely be happy.”

“I’ll make you happy.”

“Fuck off, you bastards!”

After enduring and enduring, Group Leader Allen finally swung his arm and cursed like that too.

…He was going mad in a different sense. Inside him, [Sex Maniac], [Womanizer], and [King of the Night] were rampaging wildly, and it was anything but easy to suppress his true nature. By that point, even his greed for money couldn’t exert much force.

The blind saintess seemed a bit worried, quietly approaching Allen’s side.

“Are you okay?”

“…Still am.”

“…If it’s hard, rely on me… I will suck your dick amazingly well…”

‘What is this now…?’

Allen, thinking that such words would only come from the milk-jug mage and not Ordnung, looked to his side. She was naked, seductively opening her mouth wide enough to show her sticky tongue and inside of her mouth.

…It was truly dangerous this time. Allen almost fell for it.

‘This fucking. Timing the attack and going crazy, this motherfucker…!’

However, no matter how much he endured, he couldn’t subdue his abruptly standing erection. It was a physiological phenomenon that simply couldn’t be helped. Not just Allen, but everyone here was probably in a similar state.

As the group of mercenaries endured numerous temptations and walked for a while, they finally saw a mountain range in the distance. And on the ground stretching in that direction, various objects and bodies were sparsely and lengthily laid out, as if marked. Just like the breadcrumbs Hansel and Gretel had scattered one by one.

When seeing the decaying bodies on the field, the excitement that had been bubbling up gently subsided.

After a brief rest, the group of mercenaries walked again. And as dawn approached, with not much of the night left, they finally decided to end today’s march and set up camp there.

“If you’re really desperate, just cover yourself with a blanket and jerk off.”

As Group Leader Allen chewed on his jerky and said this, the members snickered… Honestly, Allen also desperately wanted to jerk off refreshingly, but jerking off here would not save the Group Leader’s face.

The Group Leader’s face was the face of the mercenary group. Since it was directly related to the mercenary business, it was especially a part that needed more attention… Having the goal of becoming one of the Top 10, being nicknamed ‘the jerk-off guy’ would be troublesome.

The mercenaries filled their stomachs roughly and sprawled out on the mats. There were countless ones who really shook it off under the blanket and jerked off. That wasn’t exclusive to male mercenaries.

Looking at the faintly brightening sky, everyone closed their eyes and tried to sleep. After yawning as if his mouth would tear, Allen also closed his eyes.

“I’ll make you happy.”

Allen fell asleep to the sound sweetly whispering in his ears.

From around noon, dark clouds began to gather in the sky, soon pouring down thick streaks of rain. The mercenaries woke up to the raindrops falling on their faces and quickly put on their leather hoods… It seemed wrong to sleep any longer.

However, the mercenaries couldn’t delay their mission just because it was raining. Even if they got completely soaked, the mission had to be completed to the end.

The mercenaries chewed on their rain-soaked jerky and got up from their spots. The lower part of their bodies, which the hoods couldn’t protect, was already drenched in rainwater.

The group moved again towards the horse path. No, especially in such situations, it was right to hurry and complete the mission.

Even though it was still daytime, fortunately, those lewd temptations that whispered all day long were not heard. However, the eerie atmosphere noticeably intensified.

The foggy water landscape due to the rain evoked the feeling of having arrived in a world not of this realm. Of course, that other world was not one filled with dreams and hope, but a terrifying place no different from hell.

Everyone was gasping for breath roughly, but even the sound of their breathing was drowned out by the pouring rain… Allen was constantly reminded of that terrible memory from long ago, during military training, marching in the rain wearing a raincoat. The soles of his feet were painfully sore, his shoulders felt as if they were carrying a thousand pounds, and wearing that damp raincoat made him feel utterly filthy. He thought he would never experience something like that again, but who could have known that he would have such a shitty experience again in another world? Moreover, this time it wasn’t just simple training; it was entering a demon-infested land…

Allen let out a self-deprecating, bitter laugh at his own situation… He even thought that maybe he should have just enjoyed life as a gigolo for noble ladies.

Thus, with heavy steps, one by one, steadily walking, before long, the Demon Lands were right in front of their noses. In front of it was something like a ditch, which seemed to have widened and deepened a bit due to the rain.

The mage group leader approached the ditch and measured the water level with his long magic staff. Roughly knee-deep. It seemed shallow enough to cross, so Vice Group Leader Palmer immediately gestured to cross.

And so, the mercenary group crossed the ditch one by one. And soon, it was the turn of the Allen-Mercenary Group.

Group Leader Allen took off his shoes and rolled up his pants to his thighs before crossing the ditch. The flowing muddy water was quite strong, but still not unbearable.

After all the mercenary groups had crossed the ditch, they took a short rest. Of course, the thick raindrops continued to pour down relentlessly.

The mercenaries collected rainwater in their canteens while resting. It was best to store as much water as possible when the opportunity arose.

Now, the Demon Lands were truly just around the corner. Before entering the boundary, Allen gave his team members one last brief warning.

“Most of you have experienced this before, but from the moment we enter the Demon Lands, we cannot let our guard down, even for a moment, until we leave. It truly requires extreme mental strength… And with the Siren’s Song overlapping, it will be even more difficult. But you must not be swayed by the temptation. It’s all an illusion. The moment you fall for it, your soul will be handed over to the demon. So, be fully prepared.”

“Yes.”

Allen counted the number of holy water bottles he currently had. There were exactly twelve left… Not a large number. There wasn’t even enough to go around two bottles per member.

The relic was also considerably contaminated by the dark mana, with parts of it blackened as if scorched. The remaining time was, at best, a day or two. After that, once fully contaminated, it would become a cursed relic and would have to be discarded.

Still, there was no thought that it couldn’t be done. The seven mercenary groups chosen from Vermandois had enough skill to do their part, after all. Group Leader Viola wouldn’t have chosen mediocrity for a task that put her reputation on the line.

The group, having finished their last rest before entering the Demon Lands, lined up in two rows and slowly entered the Demon Lands.

Raindrops were blocked by the densely packed leaves, flowing down here and there like waterfalls. The water-soaked ground was soggy and damp, like a swamp.

Every breath felt like sticky moisture was violently violating their lungs due to the mist. And from all around, a fierce aura seeped out, mercilessly drilling into their spine… As if turning around would reveal a chilling ghost staring right at them.

In terms of eeriness, it was worse than the Susalber dungeon. Allen thought it was a mistake to think [Guild Master] was a management game rather than a horror game. He could hear whispers in his ears, and it seemed like he could see vague shadows…

However, Allen no longer possessed the innocence to be startled by such things.

‘…Rather, Mom’s nagging is scarier.’