A grand torii gate, vividly painted in bright vermilion.

That was the appearance of the Demon Gate which the Mitsurugi family had protected for three hundred years.

The moment the Demon Gate came into view, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t deeply moved. The younger me overcame the trial ceremony to become a Green Forest Flag Bearer, wishing fervently to fight to protect this gate. I never imagined that I would step through it under these circumstances.

However, that sentiment started to melt away like light snow as I got closer to the Demon Gate. A chilling, trembling magical power was emanating from the gate.

It was as if a cold aura was creeping around my feet, slowly making its way up, crawling on my skin. This power was reminiscent of the magic of the demon god I once confronted on this island, but there was a distinct difference. While the demon god’s magic was undoubtedly powerful, it did not possess this indescribable malevolence.

This is an ancient force that doesn’t fit into categories like Mana or Od. It’s something fundamentally incompatible with me, which I can understand on a primal level. Before I knew it, every pore on my body was open, and I was sweating profusely.

This energy, it was something familiar, or at least something closely related. What came to mind was the bottomless pit I saw in the deepest parts of Titis Forest – the Dragon Hole.

I see, so this is why Claira mentioned the Demon Gate back then, I thought to myself.

When we first discovered the Dragon Hole, Claira lost consciousness after mentioning the Demon Gate. Probably, Claira felt the same thing I’m feeling now.

The Demon Gate and the Dragon Hole. These two share a fundamental power. I cannot assert they are identical, but without a doubt, they are of the same nature.

“… Lord Sora, is something amiss?”

Claira, walking slightly behind, asked gently. Perhaps she sensed my subtle agitation.

Snapping back to reality at her voice, I replied in as calm a manner as I could manage.

“It’s just that the gate, which is said to seal the calamities of the world, feels rather eerie. Ursula, it’s alright for us to pass through, right?”

“Yes. We have the permission of the Flag General, so there shouldn’t be any issues.”

True to Ursula’s words, the flag bearers guarding the Demon Gate did not stop us. However, sharp gazes were cast upon us from every direction, which was to be expected. After all, Claira, who committed the grave sin of leaving the island, and I, the disowned former heir, were trying to enter the Demon Gate together.

What surprised me a bit was the lack of contempt or disdain in the looks directed at me. While not entirely absent, the majority of gazes were of interest and observation.

I even thought I sensed some goodwill. I discreetly asked Ursula about this, and she told me that while many in the First Flag group are eccentric, they genuinely respect the skilled. The fact that young Ursula sits at the tenth rank, surpassing many of her seniors, is accepted as being commensurate with her abilities.

Given that they constantly withstand this eerie magical energy and fight within the Demon Gate, perhaps a genuine meritocracy has taken root in a positive sense.

While pondering such thoughts, I stepped into the Demon gate.

The moment I did, a strong sensation akin to dizziness overtook me, forcing me to halt.

To put it into words, it felt similar to the sensation of ascending rapidly into the sky aboard the Clau Soras. At the same time, it was like the feeling of jumping off the back of the Clau Soras at high altitudes and plummeting to the ground.

A contradictory sensation grasped my entire body—an indescribable discomfort and unease. The intensity of this sickening feeling made my vision waver, almost bringing me to my knees.

I clenched my teeth hard and resisted the urge to kneel. I couldn’t show such a pitiful sight in front of Claira and Ursula. Chiding my trembling knees, I continued to stand.

I can’t determine how long that sensation lasted. It felt like mere seconds, but it could have been longer.

When I came to, an entirely different scene from Demon Island lay before me.

The first thing that caught my eye was a rust-red sky.

I later found out that this wasn’t a transition in the sky due to sunrise or sunset. This murky red was considered a “clear day” inside Demon Island.

There was a sun, but it was hazy, like a mirage, casting no sunlight upon the land. Looking at it directly, it didn’t hurt the eyes, resembling more a moon than a sun.

“I doubt clothes would dry properly in this,” I thought, shifting my gaze from the sky to the ground.

The fortress of the Mitsurugi family, constructed to guard the Demon gate, was significantly smaller and narrower than city. Only the Green Woods soldiers resided in this fortress, so the fact that there were no civilians was natural. Consequently, many of its structures were specialized for military purposes.

I thought that such facilities would be unnecessary for battles using Soul equipment. However, they probably anticipated situations where techniques or something else rendered Soul equipment unusable. Moreover, if all Soul equipment users were to fall, the soldiers who couldn’t use Soul equipment would have to be mobilized to protect Demon gate. Such precautions seemed to have been made considering these eventualities.

“Shall we head to my room for now? We need to discuss what’s to come.”

At Ursula’s words, both Claira and I nodded in agreement.

And thus, I took my very first step inside the Demon Island.

◆◆

Ursula had been given a rather large room in a section of the barracks due to her rank as the tenth of the First Flag.

Once settled in that room, we exchanged opinions on our next actions. The objective was clear: searching for Klimt, who had gone missing. With that decided, the challenge was devising a specific strategy.

How could we find Klimt in the Demon World—a place unfamiliar to neither left nor right? According to Ursula, the people inside the Demon Gate commonly refer to it as such, so I decided to adopt the term as well.

Originally, the Demon World was not a place where a living human could wander around without preparations. The strange magic I felt when passing through the Demon Gate becomes even more potent in the Demon World, and one constantly has to amplify their Kei to protect their body.

This was true for Claira, Ursula, and even the flag-bearers of the First Flag.

This is probably one of the reasons why the flag-bearers of the First Flag are all Soul Equipment users. If they aren’t at the level of mastering Soul Equipment, they cannot fight in this land.

Furthermore, since one always has to maintain their Kei, they can’t rest while in the Demon World. The flag-bearers of the First Flag return to city periodically to recover their Kei.

Due to this constraint, humans can’t stay long in the Demon World. In the past, the Mitsurugi family didn’t invade the Demon World—or even if they did, they couldn’t secure the occupied territory—due to this very reason.

Moreover, according to Ursula, there has been an increasing influence believed to be of the Demon God in various parts of the Demon World, leading to worsening climate and soil contamination. Under such circumstances, aimlessly searching for Klimt would likely be futile.

So, what’s the plan?

I already had an idea. I had previously learned about the Demon World from Claira and had prepared accordingly.

Regarding Kei recovery, potions can be used. As mentioned before, Kei is essentially an individual’s magical energy, or “Od.” If you restore magic, Kei also recovers.

If we have the special potions that Miroslav made using my blood, we could probably operate in the Demon World for an extended period. I brought a considerable number of these potions, and since the main ingredient is my blood, we can easily make more locally. If needed, there’s even the option to drink my blood directly.

For me personally, I didn’t even need to drink the potion. Originally, my magic—or rather, the magic of the Soul Eater—was limitless. After fighting Hydra with full force for three days and nights, I still had plenty of energy left. My level has greatly increased since then, and by slaying local monsters and consuming their souls, I can easily compensate for any Kei deficit.

So, I didn’t need to worry much about the operational limits in the Demon World.

Next, the crucial matter of how to find Klimt. I had thought this through as well.

According to Claira, Klimt entered the Demon World to defeat Azuma, the king of the Kijin. So, the quickest way would be to ask Azuma himself.

Whether Klimt has already attacked Azuma or not, whether the attack was successful or not—if we could ascertain these facts, it would be easier to trace his subsequent whereabouts.

Of course, there’s no way the Kijin would entertain me, a human, if I knocked on the royal palace gates. Before that, due to the aforementioned operational limits, even the Mitsurugi family didn’t know the location of the city where the Kijin king resides.

To find the location of the capital city and meet Azuma to get information, we needed leverage.

Specifically, capturing a prominent figure from the Kijin tribe. If Klimt was captured by the Kijin, this would also serve as a bargaining chip for a hostage exchange.

While it might seem like a wild idea, it was something I had considered deeply.

The previous attack by the Kijin tribe was to assess the strength of the Mitsurugi family. Naturally, a full-scale offensive would likely follow. If we captured the commander leading that army, the Kijin king would be forced to hear us out…