Chapter 9: The Knot of Everything

“Did you see it? That peculiar presence.”

“I didn’t see the face. I just saw the silhouette. The places with the guardian spirit subtly shimmer, so I could distinguish it.”

It’s like a fairy tale.

A story that an ordinary person wouldn’t believe.

‘Maybe it’s some magical device hidden in the Desert Empire.’

Unable to know its true identity, I dismissed it that way.

‘As we talk, time is quickly passing.’

My eyelids gradually felt heavy.

I tapped Merem’s shoulder and whispered softly.

“In a few days… we’ll be temporarily apart.”

Merem and I had our own plan.

When we reach a certain point, Merem will separate from me and head straight for the center of the swamp.

And there, she will confront Beliphor.

One step ahead of Enrique.

“Don’t worry.”

“Be careful.”

“Yeah.”

I couldn’t help but worry.

If my strength were intact, I would have torn Beliphor’s limbs off long ago.

I gripped Merem’s hand with determination.

It might be a blink of an eye for me, but for her, it would be quite a long time.

The time she waited for me.

Now that she has finally gained my heart and is trying to find happiness, I wished for her to return to me without a single wound.

I wished for that.

For the first time in my eternal life, I made a wish for someone.

When the sporadic rain stopped, everyone rejoiced, patting their waists.

While engaging in battles, advancing, and repeating battles, everyone secretly hoped for the rain to stop.

‘Now that the rain has stopped, the scent of rain is truly pleasant.’

I stretched and looked around.

When Merem was by my side, thanks to the water spirit, I could keep myself clean from head to toe. However, from now on, there wouldn’t be much difference between me and the soldiers covered in mud.

Merem had sneaked out of the camp early in the morning.

‘If Enrique finds out that Merem is going to face a demon alone, he won’t stay still.’

Yet, leading him down a path that doesn’t emit magical energy other than where Merem is supposed to be would raise suspicions.

‘How can I kill time…’

I had calculated that Merem needed three days.

Three days to fight and defeat Beliphor alone.

However, from here to where Beliphor is lurking, there is only a day and a half of distance.

In other words, if Enrique and the holy knights find out that Merem is missing, they will run with all their might to avoid losing the holy artifact, and then Merem will be disturbed during the battle.

‘I need to somehow keep them in circles.’

While waiting for breakfast to be prepared, I pondered intensely, and at that moment, someone approached me.
In such a cloudy place, even without seeing the face, it was unmistakably Shaila.

“Here, it’s a gift.”

“Huh?”

Shaila, who had hidden something behind her back, spoke to me in a cheerful tone.

I slightly opened my mouth as a bouquet of flowers was suddenly thrust in front of my nose.

It was full of pure white flowers.

“Where on earth did you find something like this?”

“I went scouting, and there was a flower field nearby. It was fascinating, so I picked some. Did you sleep well last night?”

The small, white flowers seemed harmless at first glance.

There were no thorns on the stems, and no bugs were crawling on the roots.

Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be just flowers, and she probably brought them for that reason… but.

‘This is it!’

I smiled, lifting the corners of my mouth, and buried my nose in the bouquet, inhaling the fragrance deeply.

“Thank you, Shaila.”

“You’re welcome. If you haven’t had your meal yet, have it with me.”

Shaila might not know, but the name of this flower was ‘Illusion Maze Flower.’

It didn’t activate when it rained but emitted an illusionary mist when the rain stopped.

A flower that blooms in the Demon Realm, one of the prohibited items to be brought to the human realm.

There was no way the flower walked out on its own, so it ultimately meant that Beliphor had planted it.

‘But he probably didn’t know it would help me.’

I took my face away from the flowers and smiled slightly.

“Really?”

“Yes, I’ll bring it.”

No, it will take a few days to meet again.

Fog is already starting to form.

The hazy energy that gradually approached from some point was sticking oppressively from my calves.

“Uh? Where did it go?”

“It was here just a moment ago?”

“Hey! Answer if you can hear us!”

With each step I took, people disappeared.

The best way to deal with the Illusion Maze Flower was to firmly hold hands and not let go.

‘Because this Illusion Maze Flower sends anyone caught in it randomly within a radius of 30 kilometers around the flower field. That’s completely random.’

Other than that, it didn’t cause much harm.

If this weren’t a swamp infested with demons, there would have been no problem.

“Your Majesty! Something strange is happening!”

Shaila’s urgent voice echoed.

Soon, Shaila, who opened her eyes wide, reached out to me and approached—exactly at that moment.

‘Yes, disappeared like that.’

It was expected, so I wasn’t surprised at all.