Where do monsters and demons come from? In the novel, it points to a place called the "Demon Realm."

A desolate land that has turned so barren it’s black, with a sky covered in dreary gray clouds—an ominous world. If anyone were to see it, they would doubt whether any living beings could even survive there.

That’s the Demon Realm. So, where is the Demon Realm exactly?

Where is it located that it can just pop and scatter monsters and demons across the entire continent?

The author described it like this:

-The Demon Realm and the Human Realm are like two sides of a mirror, with their backs against each other.

Simply put, the Demon Realm can be considered an underground world or even a shadow world. The makeup of the world is the exact opposite of the Human Realm, which is why it looks like that.

The creatures that live in such a world are called monsters, and those with higher consciousness are called demons. And these demons and monsters often break away from the common stereotypes.

----!!

The demon screeching from below right now is no exception. Its roots, scattered deep underground, are being destroyed by the drill.

The fact that such an active demon is embedded so deeply in the ground suggests it’s been here for quite some time.

'But hasn’t it been moving the monsters since about a week ago?'

If that’s the case, there’s no reason for it to stay here this long. I stared at the severed roots wriggling about on their own and thought.

'…Maybe to hinder the Hero’s movements even a little?'

Then, the "Fortress of Twilight" that I’d face in a few months popped into my mind. Naturally, the "Fortress of Twilight" is also the work of demons.

And not just any demons, but ones of quite high rank. By now, they’re likely drawing up plans and putting them into motion, so if I assume that this low-ranking demon was stalling for time…

'That’s possible.'

They are surprisingly smart. To control and handle such ferocious monsters, they would have to be. That’s why even the Hero’s party or other strong figures from the kingdoms sometimes fall into their traps.

So it wouldn’t be far-fetched for them to devise such a strategy.

'Well, I’ll just ask this one about it.'

I looked down again. Aside from the severed roots, I couldn’t see what appeared to be its main body.

The drill had fallen into the tunnel where the demon was supposedly hiding. Since it was underground, it was too dark to see clearly.

'Where did I put the lighting magic tool?'

Boom!!

At that moment, a loud noise shook the translucent barrier. A massive fist filled my field of vision as it struck from above.

-Uooooh!! How dare you!!

I had assumed it had run away, but apparently, it had come back to bravely face me in battle. It had launched its attack while I was distracted again.

That’s the kind of boldness fitting of a demon.

"But you should’ve just run."

If it had, at least it might have lived to fight another day. Of course, I wouldn’t have let it go, but at least it would’ve had hope.

Demons in this world are very different from the common image of them in my past life. Its lower body resembled a tree trunk and roots, while its upper body was like a gorilla or some kind of large primate.

It moved its many tentacle-like legs in a wriggling motion and specialized in a combat style involving punches. The advantage of this form was its incredible speed and power, thanks to its many legs.

But that didn’t mean it was unbeatable. I didn’t even need to use [Unique Magic] against it. I didn’t bother pulling out my makeshift workbench or my pen either.

-How dare you damage the noble body of Akturas!! You will die here!!

Boom!

Once again, its fist came flying at me, but nothing had changed from a moment ago.

My robe had been crafted by someone who had taught me magic and cherished me dearly. There was no way a mere low-ranking demon like this could cause any greater damage to it.

One of my goals is to create defensive tools on par with this robe. There are many fields to explore, but I still lack depth.

-A cheap trick! I will shatter it…!!

Thud… Thud…

"How far down did you dig?"

Something was smashing through rocks as it rose from below the surface. I had called for it earlier, but it seemed it had fallen quite deep underground before it started causing a commotion on its way up. It shot out from beneath the demon, piercing its body straight through.

Crack.

The demon was killed instantly by the makeshift drill I had created earlier, its body left with a long hole through it. Its blood sprayed out, polluting the earth around it. The mastermind behind the plot to engulf an entire village had met its end.

"Now that I think about it, crops grow really well around here."

Would that mean the village’s carrot soup recipe was filled with grains? The thought made my mouth water. But at this rate, the crops might be in danger because of the demon's blood.

Which means, fewer ingredients for that excellent carrot soup.

I stuffed the drill haphazardly into my magic storage space and cleaned up the blood-stained ground with a large broom. After making sure no one was watching, I also stashed the demon’s corpse into the storage space labeled [Processing Pending].

"Hmm, I’m just collecting trash."

Definitely not because I wanted the materials for myself.

Now the only things left were the soiled ground and me standing there.

"Huh?"

The unconscious orc was gone, leaving only a pool of blood behind. Upon closer inspection, several of the demon's roots were scattered around. It seems that while I wasn’t paying attention, the orc had become a source of nutrients for the demon.

After sweeping away the blood with the broom, the ground looked completely normal again. As for the tunnel…

"…Let’s just ignore that."

Filling it in would take far too much time. Goblins and orcs aren’t monsters that can hold off the Hero’s party for hours, so I had to get back quickly before I was caught.

"My robe is clean, so okay, let’s head back like thi—"

Damn it. I fell back into the ditch I had stumbled into earlier. They say if you repeat a mistake, it becomes a skill. At this point, I could represent my country in the Ditch Falling Olympics with how good I’ve become at it.

My robe was spotless, so I just brushed off my face and hair and stood up. I looked a bit disheveled, but I didn’t care.

As I got closer to the village, I noticed a commotion.

"Huh?"

I cautiously approached to take a look inside…

"Has an orc entered the village?"

There was the Hero, Aswell, urgently questioning the villagers about the whereabouts of the monster. Surprisingly, he seemed quite flustered, which was unusual for someone who had fought many orcs.

"Aswell, what’s going on?"

"Serlin, while we were attacking the orc tribe, I saw one orc fleeing in this direction. It definitely came this way, but…"

"Nothing came into the mountains. Are you sure you didn’t see wrong?"

"No way…"

Elves have sharper senses compared to humans. In other words, it was impossible that Lapirie, with her excellent sight and hearing, would have missed the sight of a lumbering orc running by.

'Was it the one that came to me?'

If we’re talking about a lone orc that disappeared, it could only be that one. The one that approached me under the demon’s forced orders to attack, but soon became a useful source of nutrients for the demon.

"Hero, our village’s militia can handle a single orc."

"No, this was my responsibility. And orcs, especially ones with high reproductive rates… if it goes undiscovered for too long, this same situation could happen again."

By then, the Hero’s party would be in the west or the north. After the attack on the Fortress of Twilight, they could rely on adventurers and mercenaries, but before then, they’d be defenseless.

'I should probably say something now.'

It wasn’t great seeing them so worried. I fixed my expression, cleared my throat, and casually strolled into the village.

Oh, and I had the orc’s sword—the one I’d used as a material for the drill—held in both arms as proof of my "victory." I had dismantled the drill to offer the Hero tangible evidence. I could just substitute other materials for the sword’s spot in the drill, so it wasn’t a big deal.

"…Louis! Wait, is that…?"

"Oh, I found an orc wandering around nearby."

With a shrug, I nonchalantly implied, 'Hey Hero, I took care of the problem you were worried about!' But the Hero’s reaction wasn’t what I had expected.

"What? Are you okay?"

"Huh?"

"Hold on, there’s dirt on your face… are you hurt?"

"Uh? No, I’m fine…"

"Fine? Arya, could you help, please!"

"Yes!"

Damn it. This isn’t going the way I thought. Even Saint Arya rushed over with a worried expression and grabbed my hand.

"No, really, I’m not hurt…"

"I’m sorry, this happened because I let that orc get away. Sigh…"

"Aswell, at least it ended with no major harm."

"…I need to train more. Louis, I’m really sorry."

"No, seriously, it’s fine…"

But the Hero wasn’t listening, looking troubled as he walked into the village.

"Lapirie."

I called out to my ally Lapirie, but she also looked at me with concern.

"At least you didn’t get a scar on your cute face. If you had…"

If I had?

'Well, we could’ve just healed it.'

But it seemed Lapirie was imagining something horrible.

"Phew… Luckily, there’s no major issue."

"That’s good. Louis, I know you enjoy your walks, but it might be best to avoid them in situations like this."

"Lady Serlin, it’s not that, actually I killed a demon…"

"We’re worried about you, but it seems Aswell is the most shaken up. He’ll probably be doing extra sword practice every night for a while."

"…"

I was wrong. There was no point in trying to explain further. I glanced at Arya, hoping she’d at least listen, but she was looking at me with the same concerned gaze as the others.

She even pulled me into a tight embrace, despite knowing I was fine.

Ugh. Ugh. Can’t breathe.

"Louis, it’s only been a few days, but we already consider you a true member of our party. So… if you ever need help, don’t hesitate to ask. Promise me that, okay?"

I tried to tell them about the demon, but it was too late.

'Do they really trust me this little…?'

I headed back to my room, shocked, though for a different reason than they were. I ended up staying up all night, wondering how I could possibly earn their trust.

And as Serlin had predicted, I could hear Aswell outside, practicing his swordsmanship endlessly through the night.