Chapter 710 – Loss (3)

So then—

‘Where exactly am I supposed to go now?’

Axenheights was waiting for me alone.
I only learned later that the Akshan seniors in hell were diligently cooperating with the Holy War Alliance.

…Though their definition of diligent is questionable.

They were famously diligent in training and demon hunting, yes—
but group assignments…? Not so much.

With that in mind, I asked him as a matter of convenience:

“What’s the current state of the Holy War Alliance?”

The hand he’d placed on his chest, and his earlier declaration acknowledging me as Akshan’s true leader—
none of it had been exaggeration, clearly.

Axenheights answered my brief question with utmost respect.

“They emerged from Grandfell’s curse just moments ago.”

“!”

Grandfell’s… curse?

‘No— I shouldn’t be surprised.’

Technically speaking, Grandfell is a demon.
It isn’t strange for a demon to manifest a curse.

What shocked me was the reason.

‘I thought he’d just ignore them.’

After all, if you don’t meet his “standards,” he doesn’t even deem you worth dealing with.
But he welcomed the Alliance with a curse?

Naturally, the intention piqued my interest.

“What was the purpose of the curse?”

“I cannot imagine that you, of all people, would be unaware of that.”

“……”

What do you mean, I wouldn’t be unaware?!

‘I can’t even guess what that guy is thinking!’

I wanted to grill Axenheights right then, but his answer had been far too firm.
Even if I wanted to demand clarification, the situation and my dignity… didn’t quite allow it.

‘He’s not saying that casually— he genuinely believes it.’

He was already giving me too much credit by acknowledging me as Akshan’s leader.
If I confessed ignorance now, that reputation could crumble.

Not that I cared about those things anymore.

‘I’ll find out soon enough.’

We were already inside the demon world.
Better to witness it myself.

Considering Akshan’s cryptic way of speaking, a clear answer wasn’t likely anyway.

So I responded as if it were nothing:

“I see.”

“Indeed.”

“In that case, guide the way.”

After the Great Collapse, the demon world had inverted itself.
With every step I took, the scenery transformed entirely—
plants, landscapes, writhing creatures overlapping chaotically until everything was indistinguishable.

‘So this is the limit of Reversal Magic.’

Reversal Magic activated without full understanding—
even I, its user, felt firsthand how dangerous that was.

Which made me think…

Just how had the former timeline’s Lee Hoyeols reverse the flow of time itself?

Even now, I only managed because—

‘I have the answer sheet.’

But the very first Hoyeol…
the one who reached the extreme of reversal without any foreknowledge—

‘He achieved that with this brain? Really?’

It was such an old, hazy memory that it barely felt real anymore.
Human limits were truly astonishing.

I was about to dismiss the thought when Axenheights suddenly halted.

“That will not be possible.”

That—
that sounded way too abrupt.

Did he mean he couldn’t guide me?

Had I been treating him too much like a subordinate?

Some problematic habits rubbed off on me…
There’s a saying about paying off ten thousand debts with words, yet here I was damaging relationships instead.

I was debating whether I should adjust my speech when—

“…I have lost the path.”

…Excuse me, senior. What did you say?

Axenheights continued with a grave expression:

“I was certain they passed through this route, but… tch.”

Ah.
I’d overlooked something crucial:

Akshan Demon Hunters’ signature trait—
their surface-level bravado.

Even a former leader of Akshan could not break free from class limitations.

I understood, of course.

‘You need an explorer-class specialist to navigate a demon world like this.’

Still, shouldn’t he have prepared at least a basic plan before coming to get me?

I wanted to question him right away, but he looked genuinely troubled.

‘Such is my fate…’

Which meant I had only one option left.

‘Avoiding a collision is impossible.’

This demon world was a wasteland.
I couldn’t even tell if the ground beneath my feet belonged to friend or foe.

All I could do was press forward.

Nothing is ever simple for me, huh?

‘Teleportation and portals require exact coordinates.’

The one saving grace was that Axenheights had managed to find me alone—
which meant the Alliance couldn’t be far.

‘They must be close by.’

Ttogak.

With that in mind, I resumed walking without pause—

…Zzt.

A sharp, snapping sensation ran across my mind.

‘Neuralgia?’

I had been thinking about too many things lately.
To the point where I was confident that I was under extreme stress.

‘A psychiatrist would probably admit me on the spot.’

I turned back time with reversal magic!
Say something like that and anyone would react that way.

Regardless, I told Axenheights:

“There is nothing to worry about.”

If you lack teeth, chew with your gums.

“Do you have a plan?”

Goooooooo—

Instead of answering, I released my mana.
No matter how warped the demon world was,
traces could not help but remain.

“Oh… magic.”

He sounded surprised.

Well, I was different from other demon hunters.
Even if they remembered a portion of past cycles—
none had faced me directly before.
This was Axenheights’ first time meeting me.

‘It’s not even a particularly special magic.’

The senior mages of the Magic Tower had joined the Holy War Alliance.
Naturally, their mana would have left traces throughout the demon world.

Good.
They truly lived up to their talent— their mana signatures were enormous.

‘If I’m sensing twilight mana, Mary must be here too.’

She joined the demon world expedition of her own will.
I hadn’t even ordered her to come.

Maybe stepping down as Commander of the Holy War Alliance wasn’t such a bad decision after all.

‘In some ways, it might be better for me to lead.’

With the target location identified,
I prepared to open a portal immediately.

Though, since the demon world was a mix of overlapping worlds…

‘I’ll probably have to chain several portals.’

As I optimized the most efficient series of jumps—

“!”

One of the mana particles I had scattered—
particles woven like a net—
caught onto a very familiar presence.

The target wasn’t emitting mana,
but failing to sense them would have been impossible.

‘Well— we did go to hell together.’

I had something to ask him anyway.

He broke their promise— but I should at least hear the reason.

Our ever-romantic explorer.

*

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The unofficial tales of the Arcana Continent.

“Get yourself together, Lorenzik.”

He must have been too absorbed in chasing after an absurd piece of history.
By the time he regained his senses, he had already arrived at the mouth of the demon world.
Lorenzik inhaled deeply, savoring the scent of the entrance he hadn’t visited in so long.

“Hmm. Still disgustingly humid.”

The mystery known as the Underwater City, Heshiyashi.

Anyone who heard the name would surely tilt their head in confusion.
After all, that single phrase contained two contradictions compared to what the world believed.

The first:
Heshiyashi did not look like this.

“It’s reasonable to think so. I did too.”

Heshiyashi—one of the southern cities of the Empire.

Among the mostly flat lowlands of the south, Heshiyashi was the only city built atop a hill.
Its most notable feature was simple: it had far more rainy days than clear ones.

After the Great Cataclysm, one more fact was added to common knowledge.

“Well, calling it a city is a story of the past now.”

No citizens of the Empire lived in Heshiyashi anymore.
It had already fallen once to demons.
Even after restoration was completed, the people refused to return out of fear.

Lorenzik knocked the mud off his boots.

“Structurally, it’s just not safe. If the enemies were human, maybe… but against demons, a castle perched on a hill is the perfect place to be isolated.”

But the people of Heshiyashi did not know.
They did not know the city’s hidden truth.
Lorenzik clicked his tongue at the thought of the city’s lord.

“Hiding a secret like this for yourself… really now.”

Why was it called an underwater city?
Not simply because it rained often.
Why was it built alone on a hill?
Because the hill was no ordinary hill.

Exactly.

Above Lorenzik’s head stretched a vast cavern ceiling—
and atop that ceiling lay the well-known Heshiyashi.
The underground space where Lorenzik now stood was the city’s true hidden place:
a submerged metropolis beneath sea level, a literal Underwater City.

Lorenzik had learned about this place a hundred years ago.

“If this useless brat had inherited even half his father’s competence…”

He stared at the skeleton.

The ornate garments strewn nearby made it obvious this was the corpse of Heshiyashi’s lord.
Clicking his tongue, Lorenzik headed deeper into the underwater city.

“You’d need all hands united to survive, but you tried to escape alone. Pathetic.”

Why did Heshiyashi hide its underground existence?

Simple.
Because something that should never exist was down here.

Lorenzik recalled the first time he stepped into the demon world.

“Went through hell back then—didn’t even know there was a separate entrance.”

The entrance to the demon world: the Maw of Behemoth.

If the Maw was the front gate, then the hidden dungeon beneath Heshiyashi was a tiny side hole.
From a biological perspective, it wasn’t strange at all.
Lorenzik stroked his chin seriously.

“If the Maw is that size, its body must be even larger… Hmm. If the Maw is on the surface, then this underground hole lies beneath it… In that case, this must be Behemoth’s navel?”

Behemoth’s navel, huh.

“That sounds terrible.”

Let’s just call it a side path of the demon world.

“Well then, shall we?”

Lorenzik never lingered before an adventure.
He had no time to bury the dead, to mourn foolish deaths, or even to wonder why they had died.

Yes.
At this moment, Lorenzik’s mind held only one thing:

“A Dialogue with the Sage.”

──────
And so, I asked him.
──────

Only one line from the old tales echoed in his mind.

──────
“If one turns back time, what happens to those left behind?”
──────

Lorenzik unconsciously bit his lip.

“This is the first time I’ve hoped my intuition is wrong.”

.
.
.

──────
The Sage smiled and spoke:

“Left behind? You still don’t understand, child.
It is the greatest wheel that turns backward.
What lies beneath the wheel does not matter.
The coachman who turns it would never hear the screams of those crushed beneath.”

The Sage’s voice was chilling.

“That cruel truth is the true nature of reversal.”

And his face… was far more vicious than before.
(…excerpt continues)
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