As I ventured deeper into the cave, I found a vast clearing—with the War Bears lying unconscious on the ground!?

I hurried over to check on them, relieved to see that they were still alive.

They seemed to just be asleep, and I sighed in relief as I scanned the surroundings. Nothing was there.

But why had the War Bears suddenly fallen asleep?

The War Bear I’d kept by my side started nudging the others awake with a paw to the back of their heads.

The War Bears woke up one by one, looking around in confusion, and when I asked what had happened, none of them had an answer.

They couldn’t remember anything. So, why had they passed out?

Just then, a chill swept through the air, and a protective shield formed around me.

Thanks to the shield Yong-yong created, the surrounding smoke couldn’t get close and dissipated harmlessly.

“Interesting. You’re not an ordinary human, are you?”

A figure appeared.

A man in elegant attire emerged, his aura radiating that of a mid-level demon.

“Hello there. Do you know who I am?”

“I don’t!”

His blunt response left me momentarily speechless. When I introduced myself as a Duchess of the Demon Realm, he stared at me, then burst out laughing, clutching his stomach.

“Ahaha! If you’re a Duchess, then I’m the Demon King!”

His face turned a comical shade of red, and with a snap of my fingers, something strange began to happen.

The entire clearing trembled, and a portal opened.

A skeleton cloaked in a flowing robe appeared, wielding a massive scythe.

The Executioner had arrived.

“Executioner of the Demon Realm, reporting to Duchess Yuna.”

“It’s been a while.”

The demon fell silent, recognizing the Executioner’s presence, then immediately dropped to his knees.

“F-Forgive me! I didn’t realize who you were!”

“It’s alright.”

I gave him a reassuring smile, but unfortunately, another part of me wasn’t quite so forgiving.

“But… I don’t think the Executioner agrees.”

At my words, the Executioner began to advance slowly, understanding exactly what I meant.

The demon stumbled back in terror, but there was no escape in this clearing.

While the music of a fittingly gruesome tune played in the background, I took out a mana stone from my subspace and fed Yong-yong. About 30 minutes later…

“I’ll be on my way, Duchess Yuna.”

“Thank you for your service.”

I bid the Executioner farewell and approached the demon, who lay sprawled on the ground.

He looked so beaten he couldn’t even stand.

“Now then, let’s have a little talk.”

“Y-Yes, Duchess.”

He told me what had happened in the Demon Realm, and the news was worse than I’d anticipated.

The Demon Realm, which once occupied a whole continent like the Celestial Realm, had been fractured and scattered across various towers.

And what of the World Tree? Were the Dark Elf children safe? What about the Demon King?

The situation was more serious than I’d thought. I needed to hurry and conquer these towers.

“Thank you for the information. Take this.”

I handed him a mana stone, and his eyes widened with gratitude as he accepted it with trembling hands.

I opened a portal and instructed him to leave through it, where a guide would await him. Then I headed to the next floor.

I continued rescuing demons trapped on each floor, all the way up to the tenth floor, and upon exiting the tower, I was greeted by a massive crowd.

How did they all find out?

“Lady Yuna from the Frey Guild! Please look over here!”

“The leader of the Red Revolution and master of countless monsters…”

Embarrassed by the outpouring of titles, my cheeks flushed. Just then, Leah arrived out of nowhere and rescued me.

“The Frey Guild declines all interviews. We’ll be taking our leave now.”

With that, she guided me safely back to the guild’s base.

A protective barrier surrounded the base, keeping out intruders unless they were exceptionally skilled.

Once inside, Leah sat me down on the couch, offering me a warm glass of milk to help me relax.

“Thank you…”

“It’s nothing. Taking care of family is only natural, right?”

She smiled, and the word *family* lingered in my mind.

So, I had a family in this other world, too.

As I sipped the warm milk, its sweetness comforted me.

Leah waited in silence until I finished the glass, and I began recounting everything that had happened in the tower.

After hearing the full story, she thought for a while before speaking.

“Then… does that mean you have to enter each tower and negotiate?”

“I’ll have to, but we’re running out of time.”

It had taken three whole days to conquer just one tower.

Traveling between all the towers and negotiating with the demons was going to be impossible with our time constraints.

And even if I sent other Travelers into the towers, there was no guarantee they’d succeed in persuading the demons.

How would they convince demons who didn’t even trust me?

As a last resort, I could wait for the towers to release all the monsters at once after the time limit. At that point, I could try to rally them and eliminate the threat in one go, but this was uncertain, too.

Would they unite, or attack in guerrilla-style waves?

Holding my head in my hands, Leah suddenly offered a solution.

“Aren’t demons ultimately the servants of the Demon King?”

“That’s true.”

“Then, wouldn’t it solve the problem if we persuaded the Demon King?”

It was a simple solution, but one only I could attempt.

With the Demon King’s help, I could unify the demons released from the towers, but first, I had to find the World Tree.

The World Tree was a vital being, protecting the world from corruption.

“We need to find the World Tree and relocate it.”

“Then let’s entrust the Travelers with that task.”

If the goal was exploration rather than conquest, they could handle a reasonable amount of danger, with a higher chance of survival.

The time had come for Travelers from all over the world to join forces.

A press conference was held to announce the situation.

“There are demons within the towers, but they can be dealt with by Yuna, a noble of the Demon Realm, and leader of the Red Revolution. However, we also need to locate the World Tree within one of the towers.”

Leah presented the details of the crisis in the Demon Realm, revealing the corruption that had invaded it.

This announcement made it clear that Earth wasn’t safe from the threat either. With the request for assistance, Travelers began entering towers worldwide.

The mission was purely to search.

A week later, news arrived—they had found the World Tree.

“You’re saying the World Tree appeared in the tower in America?”

“Yes, look at this footage.”

She played a video showing the World Tree I had nurtured, though something seemed off…

“It looks bad. We need to act as soon as possible.”

Using Yong-yong’s power, I opened a portal to the tower in America, where a large group of Travelers awaited.

They offered to guide me to the World Tree’s location within the tower.

As we proceeded, I noticed that corruption had already begun to spread.

“This is serious. Let’s hurry.”

“Yes, Lady Yuna.”

What I saw unfolding around the World Tree reminded me of the Demon Realm.

The corruption was centered on the World Tree.

It seemed the World Tree had been specifically targeted, yet… why wasn’t this happening in other towers?

Puzzled, I pressed on, hurrying as the World Tree came into sight in the distance.

Thankfully, it was located on one of the lower floors, or finding it could have been much harder.

As I approached, arrows suddenly flew toward us in warning. Raising my hands in a gesture of peace, I moved closer.

Then, out of the shadows appeared… Dark Elves.

“M-Mom…?”

They were the only ones who ever called me that.

The Dark Elves came forward one by one, their faces lighting up as they recognized me.

“I’m here, kids.”

“Mom!!!”

They rushed to embrace me, their childishness belying their size as they clung to me, tears streaming down their faces. They poured out their hardships to me, explaining everything that had happened.

“The corruption kept attacking the World Tree, and we’ve been so busy defending it that we nearly died.”

“Yes, they were relentless…”

I patted their heads, thanking them for enduring, and told them to rely on me now. My cheeks flushed as they poked at them, teasing me for my words.

“Alright, everyone, let’s check on the World Tree.”

“Yes, Mom!”

They backed away as I approached the World Tree. A sense of death hung thick in the air.

The World Tree… was dying.