TEOCH 8

The thick purple smoke stung my eyes and nose sharply. Even in broad daylight, the fog was so dense that it was hard to see even an inch ahead. The eerie cries of monsters from beyond the horizon stirred human fear, and the sticky wind clung unpleasantly to the skin.

All these things, impossible to experience in the human world, drove one’s mind into a haze. Seeing such unfamiliar sights for the first time caused the brain to reel, making one doubt whether the scene before them was reality or a midnight nightmare.

Of course, this was no dream. Though it was a world born from someone’s malice within a game, it was undeniably the reality I faced.

Turning my head and pretending not to see couldn’t purify the toxic air filling my lungs. Closing my eyes and curling up couldn’t shield me from the scorching heat that reddened my skin.

And no matter how much I ignored reality, there was no way to send Tristan, who was leaning against me, gasping in pain, back to the original world.

“What’s going on? Why in the world is His Majesty here?!”

“I don’t know. The moment His Majesty reached out, the gate to the Demon Realm suddenly opened…”

“This is a disaster, isn’t it? His Majesty shouldn’t be in a place like this! Why did things turn out this way?”

The other companions were also writhing in agony from the unfamiliar atmosphere, but they seemed more shocked by the fact that their king had been thrown into this otherworldly realm than by their own suffocating pain.

I gritted my teeth with effort and looked around. The passage back to the original world was completely closed, and the message floating before my eyes confirmed that I had already reached the tutorial stage, “Entrance to the Abyss.” The distant roars of monsters only made it clear that we needed to move quickly.

“We don’t matter, but His Majesty must be sent back at all costs!”

“Can’t you, wizard, cast a spell to reopen the passage?!”

“It’s impossible. Opening a passage from the human world to the Demon Realm is already a difficult task, but opening one in the opposite direction requires an immense amount of magical power. Even the court wizard couldn’t do it, let alone a young wizard like me…”

“Then what are we supposed to do? Are we to proceed with this adventure, exposing His Majesty to danger?!”

In the midst of this nightmare, I contemplated suicide.

It was a serious and desperate temptation.

“Is this what you called the gods’ revelation?”

Once I faced the reality that there was no way to send Tristan back to the human world, the arrows of blame turned squarely toward me. Rikiel, in particular, was the angriest. Since his brother had been thrust into this dangerous world because of my mistake, he had every reason to be upset.

“If you hadn’t rushed into this expedition so recklessly, this wouldn’t have happened. If you had at least gathered all the companions, His Majesty wouldn’t have been dragged into the Demon Realm because of this unfortunate incident! His Majesty is not someone who should be in a place like this!”

Rikiel glared at me with such intensity that he seemed ready to grab me by the collar, and I could only clench my teeth, unable to offer a proper excuse. He was right. Tristan was not meant for this world.

This was the realm of monsters, a place where survival was nearly impossible without exceptional mental and physical strength. Those without a robust body would be quickly devoured by monsters, and those who clung to the goodness and frailty of the human world would only waste away from hunger and thirst.

To survive fully in the Demon Realm, one had to follow its rules. You had to use the sticky, foul-smelling blood of monsters as drinking water and eat the scraps of meat left by lesser monsters to survive. Sometimes, you even had to commit acts that would be considered pure evil by the morals of the human world.

There was no way he could endure such a life. Even if, by some miracle, he adapted to it, he would be utterly broken in the process—just as I had been to become accustomed to this cruel world.

“I’m sorry.”

“How do you plan to take responsibility for this? You’re an otherworldly being, so you can just return to your world, but if His Majesty suffers a grave injury because of this expedition, we…!”

I couldn’t even lift my head. I had never imagined something like this would happen. I hadn’t known that from the moment we met, Tristan had already been incorporated as my “companion,” or that the moment I accepted Rehas as my third companion, the game considered all four companions gathered and forcibly triggered the event. These were situations I couldn’t have predicted or anticipated.

But making excuses now was pointless. The result was that Tristan had been dragged into the Demon Realm because of my mistake, and the only way to send him back to the original world was to start over from the beginning.

“Should I really start over?”

It wasn’t that difficult. Just like last time, I could bring a dagger to my throat and slit it without hesitation. If that could solve everything, I could do it as many times as needed. Even if I had to end my life as many times as he would have to die in the future, I could do it for atonement’s sake. So…

But I couldn’t follow through on that resolve. Tristan, who had been groaning in pain, struggled to his feet and stepped in front of Rikiel.

“Enough, Rikiel.”

“…!”

“This isn’t Rohan’s fault. If this is truly the gods’ revelation, we have no choice but to follow it.”

“What are you saying? There’s no way you, Your Majesty, can endure this place…!”

“I understand why you’re worried. I’m not a hero blessed by the gods, nor am I strong or skilled in combat like you. I know my presence is a burden to you all.”

“That’s not what I meant!”

As Tristan swayed and caught his breath, Rikiel, startled, supported his body. I quickly summoned my purification energy and infused it into Tristan’s body. He managed to steady his breathing and stand upright.

Something felt ominous. The Demon Realm’s air was thicker than usual. Could this be another effect of the increased difficulty?

“But what can we do? The gods have guided me here, so if I’m to truly retrieve the queen, I have no choice but to follow their will.”

“Even so, there’s no reason for you to come this far!”

“Why not? If you think about it, isn’t this only right? The queen is my spouse, so it would be absurd for me to stay comfortably in the kingdom while an expedition sets out to retrieve her.”

Rikiel fell silent, as if struck mute. I was even more surprised by Tristan’s unexpectedly composed demeanor. He calmly lifted his head to look at me. The clear gaze, devoid of any reproach, only made me feel guiltier.

“Don’t make that face, Rohan. It’s not your fault.”

“No, Your Majesty. If it weren’t for my negligence…”

“You merely followed the gods’ revelation. Perhaps this is fate. If I hadn’t stepped into the passage, the gate to the Demon Realm might never have opened.”

Tristan said this with a bitter smile. I wanted to retort that it wasn’t true, that if I’d chosen someone else as a companion, this wouldn’t have happened, but then I realized something strange.

“Come to think of it, when did he become my companion?”

In the first playthrough, Tristan was just a regular NPC, not someone who could be a companion. Even if the second playthrough added the option to make him a companion, I had never once considered choosing him. Yet, at some point, the system had naturally classified him as my companion.

It made no sense. As I pondered what could have happened, a chilling and ominous possibility crossed my mind. It couldn’t be, but what if…

“Like Rikiel? A type that’s forcibly added as a companion once encountered?”

My throat felt like it was closing up. If my suspicion was correct, simply dying wouldn’t solve this. Rikiel was a rare character who appeared only once every few hundred times, so avoiding him was feasible, but Tristan was someone I couldn’t avoid meeting! Even if I restarted a hundred times, he would always be my companion!

That meant my wish to avoid showing him the ugliness of this world was impossible from the start. I wanted to collapse on the spot.

This wasn’t what I wanted. I’d made this choice to buy time, to sort out my lingering attachment to him, only to end up breaking him! I silently hurled vicious curses at yesterday’s self, who had been thrilled at the prospect of Tristan following me in the second playthrough.

Sure, satisfying a moment’s desire felt good, didn’t it? Now you can finally let go of your attachment, just as you wanted. Because of your greed, he’ll wither away in this desolate world!

But this wasn’t the time to be angry with myself. As I stared blankly at the ground with a pale face, Rehas cautiously spoke to me.

“Hey, Rohan. Sorry to interrupt, but it doesn’t seem like we should be standing around like this.”

“What do you mean?”

“I get that you’re having a serious talk, but the wizard’s looking over there with a pretty grim expression. Something’s up, isn’t it?”

I snapped back to reality and looked up. As Rehas said, Damian was clutching his staff with a pale face. Seeing the tip of his staff vibrating loudly with an ominous scarlet glow, I recalled what Damian’s abilities were.

Like the other companions, Damian had two abilities. One was his inherent fire magic, and the other was a detection magic common among wizards. His ability to sense the presence of foreign lifeforms was primarily used to detect approaching dangerous monsters.

“They’ve noticed our presence, and monsters are rushing toward us! Staying here any longer is dangerous!”

Before Damian could even turn to us with his scream, I instinctively hoisted Tristan onto my back and started running. The game had already begun. If I wanted to survive here, if I wanted to keep this man alive, I had to act without hesitation.