As we entered the area, a cold cutting sound sliced through the air.
"Keiek!"
The lizardn group that had been fluttering around in front of us was quickly dispatched. It was clear that the monsters here were no exaggeration, as we were imdiately greeted by a swarm of them.
Despite the area being engulfed in flas, life still found a way to survive. How they managed to find food, I wasn’t sure.
There were various types of monsters. Fire-wrapped lizardn, scorpions that spit flas from their tails, and enormous serpents with searing hot fangs. Each one was dangerous, but with the caliber of people gathered here, they weren’t much of a problem yet.
Neria was even contributing to the fight.
"...Pierce."
Fwush-!
With just a single word from her, the monster ahead of her was pierced clean through. One of the adventurers, seeing her in action, complinted her.
"Wow, you’re small, but your magic is impressive. Were you at the eting earlier? I don’t think I saw your face before..."
"..."
"What, maybe I forgot. Honestly, my mory’s all over the place with this guy here. Anyway, you’re quite the stoic one."
Thankfully, it didn’t seem like anyone was eyeing Neria suspiciously in the crowd. I let out a quiet sigh of relief inside.
‘Phew…’
Honestly, it had been one of my biggest concerns. Bringing a kid with us had nervous in so many ways.
Of course, just because people didn’t suspect her didn’t an I could get too close to her. I was already drawing a lot of attention, and if I acted overly familiar with her, all the focus would shift there.
So, Neria stayed a little away from the group, following us with her hood up. Since we were moving as a team, it wasn’t an issue if she stayed a bit apart.
Honestly, with two manifesters already participating, I didn’t really need to hide Neria, but it didn’t hurt to be cautious.
‘But...’
As we moved forward, I furrowed my brow. The distance we were supposed to cover in a day wasn’t being covered quickly due to the constant monster attacks.
When I thought about it, my own depth was relatively close, only taking half a day to reach the deepest part. I could make it there in a day or less.
But my first ti reaching the end of my depth had taken nearly a month, mostly because of the constant monsters attacking .
Even though they said it would take only a day, I knew better than to get excited. If the monsters kept coming at this rate, we could be stuck for several days.
But we were gathered here specifically to break through, and with a powerful force assembled, we weren’t at risk of being stuck. The real issue was the extre strain on our stamina from constant battles.
With the heat and constant movent, my body was growing more uncomfortable by the minute.
"Ugh..."
Sweat poured down , and my body felt unpleasantly warm.
Annoyance rose within . At least I wasn’t wearing armor, but how were the other adventurers and knights faring?
As I was lost in thought, Vivian, the leader of the hunt, timidly called out.
"Alright, let’s rest here for the day...!"
We couldn’t directly engage the demon at the altar while exhausted. So, we planned to rest midway. Given how much we’d pushed ourselves, we should be able to reach the altar tomorrow.
"Ha!"
"I’m dying!"
At Vivian’s declaration, the won around collapsed to the ground.
"Hey, if you’re alright, why don’t you have a al with us?"
"Get lost before I kill you."
I quickly brushed off the adventurer who ca up to and sat down. These damn adventurers kept pestering , even when we were fighting monsters. It was getting on my nerves.
The adventurer, hurt by my words, returned to his party.
Then, to my surprise, he suddenly started crying like a baby!
His party mbers rushed to console him.
"It’s alright, you showed courage!"
"Yeah, man, that’s how won grow—being dissed like that."
I couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty seeing the scene.
‘Maybe I was too harsh...’
But it couldn’t be helped. These guys would keep pestering if I didn’t set so boundaries. Honestly, considering the way they kept trying to approach even with my party around, I felt justified in being harsh.
While I was contemplating, one of the adventurers nearby shouted out.
"Goddamn, I can’t stand this anymore! I’m gonna die from the heat first!"
He suddenly started taking off his clothes. It seed the combination of the battles and the scorching heat had finally broken him.
It was crazy to strip in such a dangerous area, but the oppressive heat made it seem almost reasonable.
Soon, several other adventurers began stripping as well. So even went as far as removing their upper clothes, exposing their underwear.
"Ugh, I can’t take it anymore. I’m gonna do the sa."
" too. Even with my armor off, the heat is still coming through."
Even my party mbers were the sa. Apparently, the won had no qualms about shedding their clothes in this environnt.
Suddenly, I was surrounded by a display of bare skin, and I found myself completely confused about where to look.
‘Dammit...’
It was already hard enough with my head overheating, but now I could feel the heat creeping down to my lower half too.
Honestly, I wanted to strip too! Even though I was only wearing light clothes, the heat was making them feel like they were about to burst off.
But I had to hold back. With the number of rough adventurers around, and being the only ‘guy’ here, I couldn’t risk it.
‘How is Neria dealing with this?’
Curious, I turned my gaze to Neria. She had to be feeling the heat more than I was, especially with that thick hood on.
To my surprise, Neria was still wearing her hood, her face glistening with a little sweat but otherwise unfazed. She was acting like she wasn’t bothered at all.
It was almost making feel hotter.
Seeing this, Neria seed to notice my gaze and walked over to . She extended her hand and quietly used her ability.
"...Cold wind."
Whooooosh-
A cold gust of air blew through, cooling down the oppressive heat. My head felt much better.
‘She really is amazing.’
Her ability was almost like a cheat. Whatever she wanted, she could just say it, and it would happen.
I whispered to her.
"Thanks. Just don’t overdo it, alright? There are side effects too."
"It’s fine. It doesn’t take much effort."
"And you should take off your hood. Isn’t it too hot for you?"
"But there are so many people around..."
"At this point, it’s weirder that you’re still wearing it."
At my insistence, Neria cautiously removed her hood. Her bright red hair was revealed, and she looked much more comfortable.
She smiled in relief, clearly feeling better now that she wasn’t overheating.
She used the cold wind a few more tis, then returned to her position.
Thanks to her, I was able to sleep much more comfortably that night.
...Thankfully, nothing caught fire.
The next morning, we continued our journey. Since we had made good progress the previous day, we reached the altar quickly.
In the middle of the burning plains, a massive pit appeared before us.
It was so large that the entire hunting party could enter at once. The open plains offered a clear view from a distance.
"Well, they’re not even trying to hide it."
Yurgen, who was with us, chuckled.
"Alright, let’s head in."
Once again, it was Yurgen who spoke. Her calm, confident voice seed to carry more weight than Vivian’s, and it wasn’t long before she took charge of the hunting party.
Though Vivian was technically in charge, she seed content to step aside, clearly relieved not to be in the spotlight.
‘How did she even beco the commander of the knights…?’
I always found it a bit puzzling, but after spending so ti with her, I was starting to understand a little better. Despite her timid nature, when it ca to battle, Vivian was incredibly bold.
I hadn’t had the chance to observe her closely during the fights, but I’d seen enough to know that she was no slouch.
‘...And then there’s that woman.’
Yurgen was different. Her style of fighting wasn’t flashy. She didn’t throw herself into the fray, nor did she move excessively. She simply observed the battle, waiting for monsters to co at her before swinging her sword.
What was incredible, though, was that every monster that faced her was sliced in two with a single swing of her sword.
Even A-rank adventurers and knights were caught in close combat with the monsters, but Yurgen remained calm and composed throughout.
While she hadn’t yet revealed all her abilities, it was clear she was a force to be reckoned with.
"Mm?"
As I quietly observed, our eyes t.
I must have been staring too obviously.
Yurgen smiled slyly and approached .
"You fight pretty well yourself."
"..."
"Color surprised. I figured soone with your build wouldn’t be so capable. But honestly, you’re better than most of the others."
"...Thanks for the complint."
I responded casually. She definitely looked like soone who had enjoyed her share of battles in the past, but I wasn’t interested in becoming close to soone so much older than .
Luckily, the entrance to the pit wasn’t far.
As we passed through the dark, scorching path, we ca to a vast do, twice the size of a soccer field.
The walls flowed with streams of lava, and flas erupted from the ground, making the scene feel like an oppressive furnace.
In the center, towering above us, was a giant man with only his upper body erging from the ground.
His massive form took up a significant portion of the do, and his entire body seed to burn with an intense fla.
"Ah... So, those who wish to et have co again," the giant said.
He had red hair, red eyes, and a red body, almost as if his entire being was made of fire. This was Amon, the Seventh Demon Lord, ruler of the southern lands of the Demon Realm.
"However, it is unfortunate. I only accept those of the fire’s blood. Your welco is not to be had."
Whooosh!
With that, he enveloped himself in flas. The heat from the flas grew exponentially, and I was worried we might burn alive if we stayed in this heat for too long.
Even though we were still at a stand-off, I gripped my spear tightly, knowing that this was a foe who had already repelled the hunting party three tis. It was better to stay cautious.
...But it seed I was the only one truly feeling tense at the mont.
The rest of the hunting party seed too busy admiring the spectacle to feel the sa way.
Confused, I glanced over at the broadcasting screen. Despite the large number of adventurers around, they couldn’t afford to broadcast the boss fight openly.
As a result, Chaerin had turned off the broadcast for the plains but switched it back on now.
I could see the audience’s reactions.
[Wow] [Ohhh...] [Holy shit, look at that body] [Isn’t this about to get cut off... This is way too lewd] [Red skin... maybe not so bad...]
Only then did I fully realize what was going on.
Amon, despite being just his upper body, was naked, his muscular fra exposed.
Though it was only his upper body, his appearance would undoubtedly be a source of stimulation for the won here. To , he just looked like a cool boss monster, but clearly, for the won here, things were different.
"Ah."
Seeing their lewd thoughts, I couldn’t help but rub my forehead.
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