IRM Chapter 33

“How many of us are left?” Inside the cave, a middle-aged man dressed as a Holy Knight showed panic on his face, along with deep fear and unease. He took out a white shirt from his magic bag to use as clean cloth, pressing it firmly against the wound on his abdomen, finally managing to stop the blood that kept seeping from the wound.

 

The monk who had been dispelling dark elements for everyone hadn’t suffered much harm, but his magical power was severely depleted. He now sat pale-faced, huddled in a corner. “Only two or three warriors and rangers left, one mage, and one summoner… but the summoner was pierced in the chest by an arrow trap and will die soon.”

 

The Holy Knight’s hands trembled as he gripped his greatsword. “What about the healing potions we were given? Don’t save them now! Take them out and use them quickly!”

 

The monk was nearly in tears. “We used them all up long ago! The priest only allocated five bottles to us in total, and we ran out when passing through the magical traps!”

 

The Holy Knight listened in disbelief, then angrily cursed, “What’s wrong with your Church? Don’t you prepare properly before exploring the Dark Night Forest? Look at those students! What kind of missions are they doing, and each one has a whole box of potions! And look at your Church – if you’re going to be so stingy, don’t recruit adventurers! If it weren’t for the high pay, who would want to be a damn Holy Knight!”

 

The monk became unhappy after hearing this and mustered the courage to retort. “As an adventurer, don’t you know how precious potions are? Compared to those students, why don’t you look at what kind of families they come from! Besides, no one forced you to become a Holy Knight. If you’re dissatisfied with the Church, why didn’t you speak up before we set out?”

 

The Holy Knight was left speechless by his words and turned his head away, grumbling.

 

A nearby ranger carrying an iron bow quickly stepped in to mediate. “Stop arguing. Let’s find the exit first. Staying here benefits no one.”

 

The group fell silent and rested briefly. When the pain from their wounds wasn’t so intense, they got up and walked forward cautiously. Fortunately, the path ahead was suspiciously smooth, and except for their previous injuries, the entire team remained intact.

 

The Holy Knight walking at the front turned around a fork and saw faint light coming from the cave entrance ahead. His face lit up with joy, and he ran toward it!

 

He was truly fed up with this trap-filled cave!

 

The monk following behind him vaguely sensed something was wrong, but his overly tense nerves from the journey made him momentarily ignore that fleeting sense of crisis.

 

Only when he also squeezed out of the cave entrance did he realize a fatal problem.

 

How could there be light in the Dark Night Forest?

 

Outside the cave entrance, a red-dressed demon hummed a song as she spun in the forest clearing. She bent down to light flickering candles, instructing her loyal familiar to arrange them around the area, as if setting up a feast of temptation in the forest.

 

Lilith raised her blood-colored pupils and looked at these delicious delicacies that had delivered themselves to her, extending her crimson tongue to lick the corner of her lips. “You’ve finally come. I’ve been waiting for you for so long.”

 

She stood in place with a radiant smile, her entire being emanating an intoxicating charm.

 

But this charm couldn’t affect the Church members who were on high alert. They fearfully and vigilantly took defensive positions, waiting for the demon’s next move.

 

Lilith was also waiting patiently, but as she waited, her smile froze at the corners of her mouth. “You… that’s all the people you have?”

 

The Church members instantly felt humiliated! They had indeed come with many people! Wasn’t this current miserable situation the result of your deliberate scheming? What exactly are you surprised about?!

 

Lilith frowned. “What kind of trash has the Church been recruiting these years? So many people died in the Little Master’s playground?”

 

Playground! The Church members were shocked! What kind of devil would consider that dark, gloomy, trap-filled cave a playground?!

 

Seeing their inexperienced appearance, Lilith lost interest. She turned and waved her hand. “Lu, deal with all of them. How boring. Finish quickly and come back.”

 

The familiar bowed respectfully, his dark figures leaping and moving through the forest. Warm fresh blood was like aged wine, screams and pleas like the trembling of strings, presenting a perfect finale to this feast.

 

Lilith boredly raised her hand and yawned. Just as she was about to disappear into the darkness, she suddenly stopped, turned around with a charming smile. “I almost missed a little mouse. It seems I wronged the Church after all – not everyone there is trash.”

 

In the direction she faced, a tall and upright figure gradually emerged from the withered black trees.

 

Reize raised both hands in a harmless gesture, somewhat helplessly curving the corners of his mouth. “I thought I was hiding quite well… Ah, but please don’t count me among the Church people. That would make me feel sick.”

 

The moment he exposed his aura, Lilith frowned slightly. She could sense that the man before her was more troublesome than all the previous Church members combined. It wouldn’t be easy to deal with him here. Thinking this, her fingers imperceptibly dropped, and a summoning scroll appeared in her palm.

 

Reize lowered his eyes to glance at her movement, stopping at a distance that was neither too far nor too close, his purple pupils gazing at her. “Then please at least listen to what I have to say first, how about it? After that, you can do whatever you want with me. I won’t cause trouble for a lady.”

 

Lilith’s fingers gripping the summoning scroll didn’t move. She slightly raised her chin. “Then speak.”

 

Reize put away his casual expression and said seriously, “Then you’d better tell the Demon King: The Holy Knights you’ve been dealing with recently are just temporary advance teams formed by the Church hiring adventurers. The real forces are about to gather, and war preparations have already begun.”

 

After hearing this, Lilith’s expression changed, then she lowered her voice, “Why should I believe what you’re saying?”

 

Reize took something out of his magic bag and spread it before Lilith.

 

It was a rose frozen in time, blooming magnificently. Not another one could be found in the entire Demon King’s Castle – it was a gift the Demon King had given to his beloved wife.

 

Lilith’s red pupils suddenly contracted to pinpoints. “This is…”

 

Reize said flatly, “This was given to me by Teacher Sheryl. She’s now being controlled by the Church and is also on her way to Demon King’s Castle.”

 

“She wants you to be prepared.”

 

At the center of Dark Night Forest, Demon King’s Castle.

 

The team’s consumption of healing potions had suddenly increased dramatically. Ji Chi was holding a bottle of potion in his hand, with several more in his pockets, and a pile of empty potion bottles on the ground.

 

The Little Master was sitting on the ground without any regard for his image, tilting his head back and gulping down the potion Ji Chi handed him.

 

Saintess Coralie looked at them with guilt, trying to explain, “I haven’t been back for too long. I didn’t expect this place to have become so desolate…”

 

Time rewound to a few minutes earlier.

 

Black-haired, red-eyed Saintess Coralie stood on the teleportation array, extending an invitation to them. Her face was indifferent and calm, but her heart was anxious and uneasy.

 

During the years away from the Dark Night Forest, she had lived in torment every single day. The constraints of rules and hypocritical facades made her want to destroy everything constantly.

 

Just when she was about to collapse, the decision to study at Magic Academy saved her, because she met a group of very good friends. Although each of them was quite… difficult to describe in words, none of that mattered. What mattered was that she didn’t want to be despised by them.

 

Silver Moon Spring was surrounded by silence, making her heartbeat sound like drumbeats.

 

The straightforward bears reacted first, exclaiming, “Wow! You molted?”

 

Saintess Coralie: “……”

 

The Little Master said enviously, “Ah! I want red eyes too!”

 

Saintess Coralie: “……”

 

Evan asked with concern, “Aren’t you cold standing in the water?”

 

Saintess Coralie: “……”

 

Ji Chi reminded, “Hey, the teleportation array is about to disappear.”

 

Saintess Coralie: “……”

 

I shouldn’t have given you guys any meaningful looks!

 

Thus, at the outskirts of Demon King’s Castle, a group that looked like they had been hastily squeezed into a rush-hour subway fell from the teleportation array in mid-air, directly crashing into the thorn bushes below.

 

The entire team’s (except Ji Chi’s) HP was reduced by half.

 

Ji Chi handed the potion bottle in his hand to Evan, watching his health bar gradually recover to full, and felt somewhat alert inside.

 

He considered himself quite the troublemaker. In the game, he had the personality of going everywhere to dig up quests. In this largely similar world, he unconsciously brought his previous habits along, even dragging a group of companions with him.

 

But this was ultimately a real world. Without preparation, death would mean total defeat. Just like now, a patch of thorns could nearly kill these fragile teammates.

 

He needed to find an opportunity to equip them properly. Ji Chi opened his invisible inventory, scrolling through several pages of orange equipment, thinking deeply with a serious expression.

 

But now wasn’t the time to discuss this. Ji Chi turned around and looked toward the familiar yet strange Demon King’s Castle not far ahead.

 

Here we are at this map again…

 

Demon King’s Castle was a very mysterious existence on the entire continent. In the Church’s description, it was dark and gloomy, with ravens crying mournfully, and gurgling rivers of blood flowing between ruins. Common people’s imagination wasn’t much different, at most adding some gold and desire, wine and decadence – everything that demons could represent.

 

But in Ji Chi’s view, Demon King’s Castle was no different from other peaceful and prosperous cities on the continent. It was adorned with roses that bloomed luxuriantly year-round. The gray-black towering brick buildings along the streets had just begun to show some demonic temperament when a stupid, cute cyclops demon would suddenly pop out and ruin the atmosphere.

 

Only the solemn ancient castle standing in the distance stubbornly marked the identity of Demon King’s Castle.

 

Demon King’s Castle’s day and night were reversed from the outside world. When Ji Chi and his group came from Silver Moon Spring under the bright moon, here it was just at the peak of daylight, with various strange magical creatures active throughout the city.

 

No wonder the magical creatures in the outside world were all active at night and rested during the day. To outsiders, this seemed sneaky and suspicious, but only those who had been to Demon King’s Castle knew they were just a bunch of poor creatures who hadn’t adjusted to the time difference yet.

 

While they were still observing, a demon patrol guard flapped its bone wings, with its pointed tail raised high, humming a song that no human could bear to listen to, slowly flying past them.

 

Then it suddenly froze in place.

 

“Little Master?!” The demon guards clattered down like crows that had crashed into a telephone pole, their black bone wings scattered all over the ground.

 

They shook their heads and jumped up from the ground, looking at Saintess Coralie in terror.

 

Ji Chi: Just what kind of torment did you guys suffer to be so terrified?

 

Saintess Coralie’s expression grew increasingly ugly. She felt somewhat embarrassed, her blood-red eyes scanning them emotionlessly.

 

The demon guards immediately shuddered and bent down with fake smiles. “You’ve finally returned! Everyone has missed you so much!”

 

Saintess Coralie looked at them for a long time, then suddenly smiled wickedly. “Is that so? I’ve missed you all too.”

 

The demon guards’ tails all curled up in fright.

 

“I’m done teasing you. I need to go to the castle.” Saintess Coralie didn’t have the mood to mess with them right now.

 

“Sorry, Little Master,” the demon guards suddenly became serious upon hearing this. “The Demon King has ordered that no one is allowed to approach the castle.”

 

Saintess Coralie paused, looking at him incredulously. “Are your eyes just for show? Can’t you see clearly who I am?”

 

The demon guards didn’t answer her question, only repeated the same words with lowered brows and submissive eyes.

 

Saintess Coralie’s blood-red pupils trembled slightly, as if storms were gathering and brewing within them. She ignored the guards and called to her companions to walk past them.

 

She walked with her head down, her steps revealing barely concealed anxiety. She bit her lip and said in a low voice, “My father would never give such an order to me. Something must have happened to him.”