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Chapter 212: The Demon Realm (2)

Karyl received the spore from Allen and turned to Nain Darhon.

“Hey, did you use something like this when you made that creature?”

Looking at the Black Spore resting on Karyl’s palm, Nain shook his head.

“...You always speak so casually. And what’s with this weird thing? Are you sure it belongs to this world?”

Despite Karyl being much younger, he exuded an inexplicable sense of authority that Nain couldn’t resist.

“It’s a fruit that grows in the Demon Realm."

“...!!”

“...!!”

Everyone present was shocked by Karyl’s words.

“The Demon Realm? What are you talking about? The human world is the only realm with open dimensional gates.”

“Exactly. Allen also mentioned that the connection was severed before the Magical Era. But it seems it wasn’t completely cut off.”

“...What do you mean?”

The spore on his palm seemed to be searching for nutrients, with protrusions sprouting and continuously pricking his skin.

“Because a dungeon is a gateway directly connected to the Demon Realm. Not all of them, but among the higher-tier Dungeons, there are monsters that possess intelligence.”

Nain Darhon nodded.

“And among the boss monsters that emerge from S-rank dungeons with more than three precursors, there are demons as well.”

“But isn’t it common knowledge that dungeons are isolated dimensions, unrelated to the Demon Realm? Once the boss monster is defeated, the dungeon shuts down.”

“Why?”

Karyl’s question seemed to challenge the established belief.

“Why...? What do you mean, why?”

“Why does the death of the boss monster cause the newly created space to disappear? Can you really be certain that the space truly vanishes just because it’s an isolated dimension? Or, does the space really disappear at all?”

Nain Darhon’s face showed confusion. The long-established theory had never been questioned.

“Stop stalling and explain already,” Allen urged. “The theory of dungeons was also established by the Assembly of Seven Elders. Are you implying there’s something I don’t know?”

“If someone transported the spore into our world, whether human or demon, then it’s possible.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because dungeons themselves are passageways to the Demon Realm. Demons can come to the human world through dungeons without needing a dimensional gate.”

“That’s absurd. Once a dungeon is conquered, even the entrance disappears. How could demons cross over?” Nain Darhon shouted at Karyl’s assertion.

“Not all of them. For instance, the Stinging Nettle Rolling Hill, home to the Sand Serpent known as the Lord of the Rolling Hill, was originally a dungeon but has since become a distinct geographical feature.”

“Are you saying that dungeons that become part of the landscape can be passageways to the Demon Realm...?” Allen asked with an incredulous expression. “But the hill isn’t home to an intelligent boss monster, which is why it remains.”

“Correct. Monsters like the Twin-Headed Eagle and the Sand Serpent are left alone because their materials are valuable.” Karyl nodded at Allen’s comment.

“And like in the Magical Era, don’t you guys always eradicate dungeons with humanoid bosses? Even now, there shouldn’t be any dungeons with demons or similar entities.”

“There aren’t.”

“What are you trying to say...” Allen furrowed his brow slightly at Karyl’s ambiguous answer, but then he fell silent at his next remark.

“I’m talking about the active dungeons.”

“You don’t mean...”

“That’s right. The dormant dungeons.” Karyl nodded. “People think they’re just empty spaces because the activity has ceased. But why do they remain even after the monsters have disappeared?”

“That’s because...”

“Yes, it could be because they’ve more or less blended with the terrain.”

Nain Darhon, who was about to say something, fell silent at Karyl’s response.

“In that case, we need to rephrase the question. Can you be sure that all terrain-like dungeons only house giant beast-type monsters like the Sand Serpent?”

“...”

Both Allen and Nain were lost for words.

“If even one dormant dungeon housed a humanoid boss, it may well have been a demon or a devil. We’ve never investigated this possibility,” Karyl continued. “And if... one of them was a dungeon with a humanoid demon boss, why would it remain?”

“Are you saying... the reason is... that the demons intentionally left them to use as passageways?”

Gulp—

Nain Darhon swallowed dry at Allen’s words, clearly shocked. If Karyl’s theory was correct, it would shatter everyone’s long-held beliefs.

“If so, there could be dormant S-class dungeons with demon bosses. But how do we find them?”

“So that’s why Lord Karyl ordered the extermination and sealing of all dungeons in the Great Plains in the south.” Mikhail nodded as he finally understood the meaning behind Karyl’s orders.

During his time in the principality, Beikan, Kinu Mukari, and the southern barbarians had begun clearing dungeons. After Miliana had joined the Tatur army, the dungeons in the Digon region were also being systematically cleared.

The empire also cleared dungeons regularly, but Karyl was different in that he sealed the entrances of every dungeon, active or dormant, after clearing them.

“It was to prevent demons from using dungeons to enter... I see.”

Nain Darhon scoffed at Mikhail’s realization.

“Seal the entrance? Hah, how did you manage that? Piling up some rocks? Karyl, even if we assume you’re right, do you really think that simply blocking the entrance can stop demons from coming to the surface?”

“No.”

Karyl remained composed despite Nain Darhon’s sarcasm.

“Sealing it with a magical barrier won’t stop demons, but placing an alert spell on the sealed entrance can let us know when the barrier is breached.”

Nain Darhon raised his eyebrow, as if to question the purpose of that.

“If demons do start emerging from dungeons, we can’t afford to be caught off guard without knowing where they’re coming from,” Karyl continued.

“But once they’re already out, what difference does it make that we know which dungeon they came from?”

“So we can go into that dungeon and take the fight to them.”

“Are you suggesting we descend into the Demon Realm?”

“If they’re coming up to the human realm, why not? We can’t let the continent become a battlefield. It’s better to burn their front yard instead.”

Nain Darhon looked at Karyl, stunned by his aggressive stance, shaking his head in disbelief.

“You speak as if demons are about to emerge at any moment.”

“It’s not impossible. We already have evidence, no?” Karyl argued as he showed the Black Spore in his hand.

In the predetermined future, demons were bound to attack humanity through dungeons during the Oracle War. He couldn’t reveal this certain future to Nain Darhon, but this spore served as perfect evidence to support his claim.

But this is unexpected. I haven’t considered that humans might already be connected with demons before the Oracle War. The Wooden Cloud...

Karyl frowned.

Could it be that they’re the reason demons will emerge after the Oracle is prophesied? If, by any chance, my suspicions are correct, I’ll make sure to erase the Wooden Cloud from the continent’s history entirely, he vowed to himself.

“The ones who provided the Book of Nightmares must have some connection,” Allen said. “Karyl, you need to find out the whereabouts of the one who gave the book to Antihum. This isn’t a trivial matter. If they’ve made a pact with a demon, they’re not an ordinary person.”

“Of course,” Karyl replied.

“It’s not going to be easy. If they’ve made a pact with a high-ranking demon, their influence might already be affecting the continent’s politics,” Allen cautioned.

“What other choice do we have?”

Crack—

Karyl twisted his stiff wrist.

“We just need to catch them and beat the information out of them.”

Allen sighed, looking at Karyl with an expression of resigned acceptance.

“I almost forgot. Sometimes, you can be even more brutish than the barbarians.”

“If words alone could solve things, I wouldn’t have picked up a sword in the first place,” Karyl retorted.

“So, what’s your plan now?” Allen asked.

“First, we need to trace the origin of this thing. We know the ones who gave the book to Nain Darhon are connected to the Wooden Cloud, but we don’t know where they’re hiding,” Karyl explained.

“We don’t even fully understand what this spore is, and you want to use it to find the Wooden Cloud? Isn’t that a bit far-fetched?” Nain Darhon interjected.

Allen nodded in agreement.

“He’s right. Even though I recognize the black spore as a demonic fruit, I can’t say how it’ll behave in the human realm. As I said, the Demon Realm was isolated even during the Magical Era.”

“What if there is someone who knows?” Karyl asked confidently, looking at Nain Darhon and Allen.

“What are you talking about? It can’t be someone from Antihum, right? Are you saying there’s someone in the Immortal Council with more magical knowledge than me? That’s impossible,” Nain scoffed, then quickly corrected himself with a startled glance at Allen. “Well, except for you, Master.”

“Who could possibly know more about the Demon Realm than us?” Allen asked, visibly irritated by the thought.

“There is someone,” Karyl said with a mysterious smile. “A peculiar bookworm that I know.”

***

“What is... this?”

“I thought you might recognize it, sir. Doesn’t it look familiar?”

Nain Darhon’s lips twitched at Karyl’s words.

Why does he speak formally here?

The fact that Karyl was always speaking informally to him, the head of the Immortal Council, while showing respect to the slender man in front of them, irked Nain Darhon. But his annoyance was short-lived as his curiosity about this place grew.

“Was there such a place in the Grand Library? I haven’t paid attention since leaving the librarians in charge.”

The room was damp, located deep underground, with an impressive height that belied its subterranean nature. The small rectangular room was packed with books on all four sides, leaving just enough space to open the door.

“Wh-What brings you here, sir?”

The man, noticing Nain Darhon behind Karyl, hurriedly stood up.

Swoosh—

The man’s height became apparent as he stood, though his thin frame did not give the impression of a warrior.

“Are you the caretaker here?”

“My apologies. I am unable to properly manage the books. I’m merely... reading the discarded ones.”

“Discarded books?”

At Nain’s question, the man hesitated before answering cautiously, “We call this place the Book Tomb.”

“Why is that?”

“Didn’t you order all books related to magic to be brought to the library, sir? However, books that aren’t strictly grimoires lack popularity... With limited space, we started storing other books here.”

From historical texts to novels, every book on magic that wasn’t a practical grimoire found its way here, abandoned. The name “Book Tomb” was fitting yet gloomy.

Shff...

Karyl pulled a book from the shelf and examined it.

The Light of the World.

Reading the title, he smiled.

“This was a book I read in Einheri. It’s nice to see it here again.”

“Is that so? Even the members of the Immortal Council rarely read this one... If you enjoyed that, you might also like The Underground of Dungeons and The Darkness of the Afterlife.”

The man, delighted by Karyl’s interest, promptly located the suggested books without hesitation.

“You... Have you read all these books?” Nain Darhon asked, impressed.

“My apologies. I lack talent in magic, so I find more joy in reading these books.”

“Huh...”

The underground library seemed to hold an endless number of volumes. Reading all of them was impressive enough, but remembering their exact locations was outright incredible.

“We don’t need magical knowledge. No one can rival you or Allen in that regard.”

Karyl handed the Black Spore to the man after glancing at Nain Darhon.

“But what we need to uncover the mystery behind this is wisdom, not knowledge.”

He looked at the man with a hopeful expression.

“I believe you can find the answers we seek, Israphil.”

One of the Ten of the Oracle, Karyl’s old comrade, Israphil, met his gaze with a faint smile.