Adelaide, who climbed on top of the warp circle, slowly closed her eyes.
‘The magic circle here looks much older than the one in Belial. There won’t be a problem right?’
Accidents with warp circles were not common, but when they do occur, they often cause a lot of casualties. Adelaide, who was suddenly worried that she would lose her comrades in such a terrible accident, grabbed Lisianthus’ and Caladium’s hands.
Her slick gloved hands twitched for a moment, then she grabbed a rough hand with her left, and a soft hand with her right.
With a buzzing sound, a majestic light enveloped Adelaide’s body. Even with her eyes closed, she could still see a light flashing over her darkened vision.
After a few seconds, perhaps a few minutes, Adelaide instinctively felt it.
They have arrived in Esperanza. The proof was the terrifying magic that crushed her as if she would explode at any moment.
“Gasp.”
Adelaide let out a gasp without realizing it. Her throat felt like it was being choked. For a moment, she had a hard time breathing.
“Adele, are you okay?”
Lisianthus hurriedly checked on Adelaide. His beautiful face was contorted with worry.
The magic that filled the surroundings was much thicker than he had expected. It was so long ago since he had been there and it was a mistake to have not considered the changes.
Lisianthus and Caladium were, of course, fine, but it was too much for Adelaide. It was more surprising that she didn’t faint right away.
“Let’s go back now! Caladium! Hurry up your ticket…!”
“Why are you making a fuss? She’s fine.”
Caladium tilted his head and said. At that moment, Lisianthus frowned, and a loud breathing sound erupted next to him.
“Huu, huu. I’m fine, Lisian. I just choked because I was caught by surprise. I’m okay now.”
Adelaide took a deep breath and smiled.
It was impossible. Lisianthus looked at her with a bewildered look. But Adelaide really did look fine.
“Really… Are you okay?”
“Is it because I got stronger because the dungeon level went up? It’s not as hard. It was actually more uncomfortable when we went to Sarman.”
“Ohh, did our Adela get stronger?”
Caladium mocked her. Adelaide pinched his cheeks again, and he teased her by whispering ‘Adela the Strongest Demon’, even as his cheeks were stretched. At this point, it seemed like he was begging to be hit.
This whole time, Lisianthus stared at Adelaide with a questioning look. He seemed to still be pondering if she was truly fine.
“Let’s get out of here for now. We have to come back before the warp stop closes, so we need to move quickly.”
“Master Adele. Just a second.”
“Huh? Why?”
As soon as Adelaide turned her head, her nose and mouth were covered with something. As she rolled her eyes down to see what it was, she saw a navy blue checkered scarf that was common in Mediar stores from 30 years ago.
“Ugh, lame,” Adelaide murmured.
“The winds of Esperanza are mixed with sand and dust. A scarf imbued with magic will help filter the dust.”
After Lisianthus wrapped the scarf around her, he began to tie one on himself. To put it bluntly, the classic design suited him very well.
Caladium pointed at himself and asked cutely.
“Where’s mine?”
“None.”
“J*rk…” Caladium murmured. ‘You cooked food and made furniture for me, but you’re discriminating again.’ He pouted his lips.
But in fact, he thought that he wouldn’t have worn a scarf even if he gave one to him. The design was too old-fashioned so he felt like he would look like an old demon once he wore it.
“Thank you. For not giving me one.”
Caladium, who quickly changed his demeanor, raised his thumb. Then he put on the hat he had prepared and hid his horn. Lisianthus frowned, as he did not understand the puzzling change in his attitude.
As Lisianthus had said, wind mixed with sand blew everywhere as they came out of the bus stop. Adelaide, who had secretly wanted to take off her scarf if the wind was not harsh, walked sullenly.
The party each rode a ladybug and headed to Zone 3 where the dungeon was located. Caladium said that he would not transform into a Phoenix because it wouldn’t be good for them to stand out.
“Wow, you even thought about that. You’re really great, Caladi.”
“It is indeed your smartest moment.”
Neither Adelaide nor Lisianthus hid their surprise at his logical remark. Of course, they half intended to ridicule his ignorance.
“I am kind of smart.”
However, Caladium did not realize these intentions and just laughed triumphantly. Lisianthus sighed. There was no point in teasing an ignorant demon.
“By the way, can you hear that?”
Adelaide said as she poked her face from the ladybug’s back. Unlike the fluffy and warm Phoenix, the ladybug only smelled musty.
“You’ll find out soon.”
Caladium stood up on top of the ladybug and said that it wasn’t scary.
“If I did that in front of Pippa, she would have hit me on the back,” Adelaide murmured, missing Penelope.
The closer they got to Zone 3, the louder the thumping sound became. And soon Adelaide found the source.
“Aaah!”
“Die! Argh!”
It was truly hellish. Numerous demons were fighting. The thumping sounds were the rumbling of their feet, the sounds of bodies clashing, and their severed heads falling to the floor.
“What is all that?”
Huu, Adelaide took a breath.
She had heard of Kronatan’s brutal atmosphere, but after she had seen Sarman, she decided that they were all just rumors. But today, she realized that the rumors were true, or rather, they were downplayed.
“Everyone looks so strong…”
“Yes. Most of them are probably the strongest among the mid level or high level demons. It would not be an exaggeration to say that all the demons that were born in Kronatan are gathered here.”
‘Are you saying that just as there are low level demons on the streets of Belial, there are as many high level demons here?’
The number of times she had seen high level demons was so few that it could be counted on one hand. She felt embarrassed.
“They’re fighting to become the ruler of Kronatan. What are you going to do with that skill, you idiots.”
Caladium sneered and laughed. And Adelaide, who didn’t have a lot of skills, bit her mouth with a feeling of being stabbed for some reason.
A few minutes later the ladybugs lined up and landed. The place they saw earlier was the main battlefield and they could no longer hear the battle from this side. Instead, loud cheers came from somewhere.
“Esperanza is noisy in many ways.”
“Master Adele. Let me fix that.”
Lisianthus approached her and fixed the scarf tied around her. He seemed to be concentrating on covering her face somehow. He lowered his head and made eye contact, and whispered in a low voice.
“It is best not to show your face as much as possible. As you know, they’re not very friendly to Succubi here.”
Adelaide nodded. It would have been fine if they were in Belial, where the Succubus Alliance had been firmly established, but this place was terrifying.
Lisianthus also covered his face in case his beautiful appearance would catch attention.
Caladium murmured that it was his appearance that they should be worried about, then covered his face with a cloth that appeared out of nowhere.
Adelaide looked around her, only her eyes were revealed through the scarf. She was trying to find Casa del Sol, Sol Dungeon’s circus.
“Why did they call it Casa del Sol? It’s so cringy. Is that the trend these days? Like dogs and cows all pretending to be cool with the words they picked up somewhere. Tsk Tsk.”
Adelaide grunted saying these things just won’t stop these days. Then Caladium whispered softly into her ear.
“Maison de Adelaide.”
“…”
Adelaide closed her mouth and walked silently.
Finding the location of Casa del Sol was not difficult. They just had to go in the direction where the cheers were coming from. After passing a large square, a huge tent came into view. It was Casa del Sol.
They saw more demons the closer they got to the entrance. It was so crowded that it was impossible to lose the party.
Adelaide grabbed the collars of the two on either side and took firm steps. The cheers were so loud that her ears buzzed.
“-cket!”
A grumpy-looking demon blocked Adelaide. As she tilted her head, unable to hear him because it was too loud, he frowned and shouted in a louder voice.
“Ticket!”
‘Oh, I need a ticket.’ Adelaide, who was stiff for a moment, reluctantly gave her money to the demons who were standing in a row. She didn’t want to pay to see a circus like this, but she had no choice because she wanted to confirm the situation.
The inside of the tent, which she had been pushed in, was scorchingly hot. The audience constantly cheered or shouted toward the stage with crazy faces. Because most of the demons were large, Adelaide could not see anything but the backs of the demons in front of her.
‘Did I come for nothing? I wanted to check the facts, but…’
It was so unpleasant. It was even disgusting to see them go crazy looking at the suffering of other living things.
Adelaide bit her lip and stopped moving. Fortunately or perhaps not, she could see the stage exactly from her spot.
For an instant, her pink eyes fluttered like branches hit by a strong wind.
“Adela, don’t look.”
Someone covered her eyes with a large hand. Judging from the voice and touch, it was Caladium.
However, this was after Adelaide had already witnessed it. A harpy tied to a pole in an outfit that would be embarrassing to even call it underwear, and Raham, tortured by demons and seemed to have lost his former cool appearance.
“Look at this, everyone! Today, the Durahan is about to sacrifice his two legs for her! Isn’t that true love?”
The audience cheered once again at the voice of the host who made fun of Raham. “Cut it now!” The words came from the crowd.
“Get your hands off me, Caladi.”
Adelaide said, clicking her tongue. But Caladium rejected her order. Rather, he gave more strength to his hand that covered her eyes.
“Don’t look. Just, don’t.”
“Fucking bastards…” Caladium murmured harshly.
“It would be convenient to cut it all at once. But what should I do? The weapon that the Durahan randomly picked today is an old axe. It doesn’t look very sharp!”
Contrary to his disappointed tone, his voice was unmistakably pleased. The audience laughed and clapped.
“Serves him right! Why did he fall in love with a heavenly person!”
One of the demons standing near Adelaide shouted, “Retribution.” The other spectators joined in laughter.
“Ah, the audience over there, you are right! He made a mistake and he has to pay the price, right? Then, he has to pay today!”
With the sound of cheers, the blunt axe was lifted high in the sky.
Adelaide, who climbed on top of the warp circle, slowly closed her eyes.
‘The magic circle here looks much older than the one in Belial. There won’t be a problem right?’
Accidents with warp circles were not common, but when they do occur, they often cause a lot of casualties. Adelaide, who was suddenly worried that she would lose her comrades in such a terrible accident, grabbed Lisianthus’ and Caladium’s hands.
Her slick gloved hands twitched for a moment, then she grabbed a rough hand with her left, and a soft hand with her right.
With a buzzing sound, a majestic light enveloped Adelaide’s body. Even with her eyes closed, she could still see a light flashing over her darkened vision.
After a few seconds, perhaps a few minutes, Adelaide instinctively felt it.
They have arrived in Esperanza. The proof was the terrifying magic that crushed her as if she would explode at any moment.
“Gasp.”
Adelaide let out a gasp without realizing it. Her throat felt like it was being choked. For a moment, she had a hard time breathing.
“Adele, are you okay?”
Lisianthus hurriedly checked on Adelaide. His beautiful face was contorted with worry.
The magic that filled the surroundings was much thicker than he had expected. It was so long ago since he had been there and it was a mistake to have not considered the changes.
Lisianthus and Caladium were, of course, fine, but it was too much for Adelaide. It was more surprising that she didn’t faint right away.
“Let’s go back now! Caladium! Hurry up your ticket…!”
“Why are you making a fuss? She’s fine.”
Caladium tilted his head and said. At that moment, Lisianthus frowned, and a loud breathing sound erupted next to him.
“Huu, huu. I’m fine, Lisian. I just choked because I was caught by surprise. I’m okay now.”
Adelaide took a deep breath and smiled.
It was impossible. Lisianthus looked at her with a bewildered look. But Adelaide really did look fine.
“Really… Are you okay?”
“Is it because I got stronger because the dungeon level went up? It’s not as hard. It was actually more uncomfortable when we went to Sarman.”
“Ohh, did our Adela get stronger?”
Caladium mocked her. Adelaide pinched his cheeks again, and he teased her by whispering ‘Adela the Strongest Demon’, even as his cheeks were stretched. At this point, it seemed like he was begging to be hit.
This whole time, Lisianthus stared at Adelaide with a questioning look. He seemed to still be pondering if she was truly fine.
“Let’s get out of here for now. We have to come back before the warp stop closes, so we need to move quickly.”
“Master Adele. Just a second.”
“Huh? Why?”
As soon as Adelaide turned her head, her nose and mouth were covered with something. As she rolled her eyes down to see what it was, she saw a navy blue checkered scarf that was common in Mediar stores from 30 years ago.
“Ugh, lame,” Adelaide murmured.
“The winds of Esperanza are mixed with sand and dust. A scarf imbued with magic will help filter the dust.”
After Lisianthus wrapped the scarf around her, he began to tie one on himself. To put it bluntly, the classic design suited him very well.
Caladium pointed at himself and asked cutely.
“Where’s mine?”
“None.”
“J*rk…” Caladium murmured. ‘You cooked food and made furniture for me, but you’re discriminating again.’ He pouted his lips.
But in fact, he thought that he wouldn’t have worn a scarf even if he gave one to him. The design was too old-fashioned so he felt like he would look like an old demon once he wore it.
“Thank you. For not giving me one.”
Caladium, who quickly changed his demeanor, raised his thumb. Then he put on the hat he had prepared and hid his horn. Lisianthus frowned, as he did not understand the puzzling change in his attitude.
As Lisianthus had said, wind mixed with sand blew everywhere as they came out of the bus stop. Adelaide, who had secretly wanted to take off her scarf if the wind was not harsh, walked sullenly.
The party each rode a ladybug and headed to Zone 3 where the dungeon was located. Caladium said that he would not transform into a Phoenix because it wouldn’t be good for them to stand out.
“Wow, you even thought about that. You’re really great, Caladi.”
“It is indeed your smartest moment.”
Neither Adelaide nor Lisianthus hid their surprise at his logical remark. Of course, they half intended to ridicule his ignorance.
“I am kind of smart.”
However, Caladium did not realize these intentions and just laughed triumphantly. Lisianthus sighed. There was no point in teasing an ignorant demon.
“By the way, can you hear that?”
Adelaide said as she poked her face from the ladybug’s back. Unlike the fluffy and warm Phoenix, the ladybug only smelled musty.
“You’ll find out soon.”
Caladium stood up on top of the ladybug and said that it wasn’t scary.
“If I did that in front of Pippa, she would have hit me on the back,” Adelaide murmured, missing Penelope.
The closer they got to Zone 3, the louder the thumping sound became. And soon Adelaide found the source.
“Aaah!”
“Die! Argh!”
It was truly hellish. Numerous demons were fighting. The thumping sounds were the rumbling of their feet, the sounds of bodies clashing, and their severed heads falling to the floor.
“What is all that?”
Huu, Adelaide took a breath.
She had heard of Kronatan’s brutal atmosphere, but after she had seen Sarman, she decided that they were all just rumors. But today, she realized that the rumors were true, or rather, they were downplayed.
“Everyone looks so strong…”
“Yes. Most of them are probably the strongest among the mid level or high level demons. It would not be an exaggeration to say that all the demons that were born in Kronatan are gathered here.”
‘Are you saying that just as there are low level demons on the streets of Belial, there are as many high level demons here?’
The number of times she had seen high level demons was so few that it could be counted on one hand. She felt embarrassed.
“They’re fighting to become the ruler of Kronatan. What are you going to do with that skill, you idiots.”
Caladium sneered and laughed. And Adelaide, who didn’t have a lot of skills, bit her mouth with a feeling of being stabbed for some reason.
A few minutes later the ladybugs lined up and landed. The place they saw earlier was the main battlefield and they could no longer hear the battle from this side. Instead, loud cheers came from somewhere.
“Esperanza is noisy in many ways.”
“Master Adele. Let me fix that.”
Lisianthus approached her and fixed the scarf tied around her. He seemed to be concentrating on covering her face somehow. He lowered his head and made eye contact, and whispered in a low voice.
“It is best not to show your face as much as possible. As you know, they’re not very friendly to Succubi here.”
Adelaide nodded. It would have been fine if they were in Belial, where the Succubus Alliance had been firmly established, but this place was terrifying.
Lisianthus also covered his face in case his beautiful appearance would catch attention.
Caladium murmured that it was his appearance that they should be worried about, then covered his face with a cloth that appeared out of nowhere.
Adelaide looked around her, only her eyes were revealed through the scarf. She was trying to find Casa del Sol, Sol Dungeon’s circus.
“Why did they call it Casa del Sol? It’s so cringy. Is that the trend these days? Like dogs and cows all pretending to be cool with the words they picked up somewhere. Tsk Tsk.”
Adelaide grunted saying these things just won’t stop these days. Then Caladium whispered softly into her ear.
“Maison de Adelaide.”
“…”
Adelaide closed her mouth and walked silently.
Finding the location of Casa del Sol was not difficult. They just had to go in the direction where the cheers were coming from. After passing a large square, a huge tent came into view. It was Casa del Sol.
They saw more demons the closer they got to the entrance. It was so crowded that it was impossible to lose the party.
Adelaide grabbed the collars of the two on either side and took firm steps. The cheers were so loud that her ears buzzed.
“-cket!”
A grumpy-looking demon blocked Adelaide. As she tilted her head, unable to hear him because it was too loud, he frowned and shouted in a louder voice.
“Ticket!”
‘Oh, I need a ticket.’ Adelaide, who was stiff for a moment, reluctantly gave her money to the demons who were standing in a row. She didn’t want to pay to see a circus like this, but she had no choice because she wanted to confirm the situation.
The inside of the tent, which she had been pushed in, was scorchingly hot. The audience constantly cheered or shouted toward the stage with crazy faces. Because most of the demons were large, Adelaide could not see anything but the backs of the demons in front of her.
‘Did I come for nothing? I wanted to check the facts, but…’
It was so unpleasant. It was even disgusting to see them go crazy looking at the suffering of other living things.
Adelaide bit her lip and stopped moving. Fortunately or perhaps not, she could see the stage exactly from her spot.
For an instant, her pink eyes fluttered like branches hit by a strong wind.
“Adela, don’t look.”
Someone covered her eyes with a large hand. Judging from the voice and touch, it was Caladium.
However, this was after Adelaide had already witnessed it. A harpy tied to a pole in an outfit that would be embarrassing to even call it underwear, and Raham, tortured by demons and seemed to have lost his former cool appearance.
“Look at this, everyone! Today, the Durahan is about to sacrifice his two legs for her! Isn’t that true love?”
The audience cheered once again at the voice of the host who made fun of Raham. “Cut it now!” The words came from the crowd.
“Get your hands off me, Caladi.”
Adelaide said, clicking her tongue. But Caladium rejected her order. Rather, he gave more strength to his hand that covered her eyes.
“Don’t look. Just, don’t.”
“Fucking bastards…” Caladium murmured harshly.
“It would be convenient to cut it all at once. But what should I do? The weapon that the Durahan randomly picked today is an old axe. It doesn’t look very sharp!”
Contrary to his disappointed tone, his voice was unmistakably pleased. The audience laughed and clapped.
“Serves him right! Why did he fall in love with a heavenly person!”
One of the demons standing near Adelaide shouted, “Retribution.” The other spectators joined in laughter.
“Ah, the audience over there, you are right! He made a mistake and he has to pay the price, right? Then, he has to pay today!”
With the sound of cheers, the blunt axe was lifted high in the sky.
