I Became a Ruined Character in a Dark Fantasy-Chapter 421

"The opposite side?" Ian furrowed his brows slightly.

Valten answered instead of Diana. "The territory of Inaskurgl borders the southeast of Sol Bryn. It's quite a distance from here."

His bright yellow eyes, which had been scanning the corpses, returned to Ian. "The area up north from here belongs to the Dharmaraja. Only Akihatara's minions have occasionally set foot here. At least, until now."

Only then did Ian understand why Valten had been so deeply troubled earlier, too preoccupied to even notice him approaching. They had discovered traces of an enemy that had no reason to be here. And with clear signs of a fierce battle, it was no wonder his mind had been racing.

"So the war between the archdemons has begun." It was Lucia who finally spoke.

Ian nodded. "Most likely. And judging by this, its minions are winning." Ian glanced briefly at Lucia as she surveyed the area. "To have pushed this far north."

"I'm noticing it now. Most of the dead here are Dharmaraja's followers," said Lucia, her eyes carefully taking in the scattered corpses around them. "They were overwhelmingly outmatched. If the enemy kept sweeping through like this... Some of Dharmaraja's minions must have slipped away during the process."

"The demons must've brought those stragglers with them." Picking up on her words, Ian recalled his vision back in Drag Velga. As expected, the demons' war had already begun back then.

No matter how I think about it, it feels like it started later in the game.

The changes and chaotic ripples he had created after crossing the Wall must have affected them in some way. As always, he had sped up a great tide that would have inevitably occurred sooner or later.

"Dharmaraja's forces must be retreating. Even now."

At Lucia's added remark, Valten gave a nod. "You've reached a conclusion similar to mine."

"Doesn't this mean we might get to sit back and let them tear each other apart if things continue like this?" said Ian.

Valten turned back to look at him. "From the looks of it, perhaps. But I can't be certain. There have been several proxy wars until now, but nothing like this has ever happened before."

"Never?" Ian's frown deepened.

Lucia's eyes, visible above her half-mask, reflected his. "Why not? It's a war—there had to be winners and losers."

"Normally, yes. But neither side has ever been completely destroyed."

"I see. So each faction has clear limits they can't cross." Ian muttered.

Valten's yellow gaze flickered up and down. "Exactly. Just as Bukikia can't leave its isolated sea, and Yanar Tash remains confined to the Desert of Death."

Nodding, Ian briefly glanced at Diana. She kept her silence, her expression unreadable.

"The archdemons near here may have fewer restrictions than others, but they're not entirely free of them." Valten's tone remained level as he continued, speaking as though he intended to share everything he knew. It seemed like he had already considered them his future comrades.

"Even if one faction gains the upper hand, pushing their opponents to the brink is never easy. More often than not, before they can overcome environmental constraints, they are struck by another faction. In fact—" He met Ian's gaze as he added, "Inaskurgl's minions were always considered incapable of winning a war."

"Why's that?"

"They're incredibly strong and fast, but their numbers are limited. On top of that, they don't have the luxury of gradually expanding their territory as they advance, so their momentum inevitably weakens."

"This must not be the kind of environment they like."

At Ian's comment, Valten nodded. "There's not a single tree, nor any shadows for them to hide in. And yet, they advanced this far. I don't know how to interpret that."

"Maybe." After a brief silence, Lucia spoke up. "Maybe this war is different from the ones before. Maybe it's not a proxy war this time." Her words startled Diana, who had been slumped from exhaustion.

Even Valten's gaze flickered with unease as he turned to Lucia. "If that's true, then this war could be our final—"

"Or maybe they found a way to overcome their weaknesses." Ian cut in casually.

Valten's yellow eyes narrowed slightly. "To my knowledge, that's impossible."

"Then maybe the demonic realm itself has changed. Who knows?" Ian shrugged carelessly. "I'm just saying we should keep all possibilities open. Until we know for sure."

Of course, Ian was fairly certain that the archdemons who had long hidden themselves in their domains hadn't returned to the battlefield. In the game, each of them was essentially a dungeon boss. If creatures of that power were roaming the field, clearing the game would have been nearly impossible.

No matter how skilled a player was, no one could handle waves of fiends, beasts, and minions endlessly charging at them while dealing with such monstrous entities. Even with Hyked's help, it would be faster for the Lions and Wolves to be wiped out than to kill every archdemon.

"Hmm, yes. If they had returned, the world wouldn't be this quiet." Valten pondered for a moment before nodding. "They're beings capable of bending the very laws of the world."

"So it's true what they say—the presence of an archdemon is a domain of its own," Lucia murmured.

Yog's snickering echoed in Ian's mind.

—They're still just failures, though.

There it goes, talking in riddles only it can understand.

Ian turned his attention back to Valten. "Could something have happened in Sol Bryn? With things like this..."

Unexpectedly, Valten shook his head. "As long as His Highness is there, that won't happen. If anything had befallen him, I would have known immediately."

Ah, I see. He's composed because he has someone to rely on.

While Ian nodded, Valten turned his gaze away. "But we should hurry our march. Since our legion never makes the first move, they might not have a proper grasp of the war's current state."

With that, he turned his horse toward the Wolves that had withdrawn a fair distance away. "We'll return to the main camp. Follow me." He urged his mount forward, and Ian glanced at Lucia.

She nodded before tightening her grip on Diana's arm, loosely wrapped around her waist. "We're moving, Diana."

"Alright." With that brief reply, Diana fell back into silence. Through the eye slits of her mask, her narrowed green eyes looked hollow, as if staring into another world.

Does she have some kind of bad history with Inaskurgl?

Ian exchanged a glance with Lucia, who had a worried expression. However, he simply shrugged and took up his reins. If Diana wanted to open up, she would. There was no need to pry into what was clearly an unpleasant memory. Besides, they had more than enough to worry about already.

***

The Wolves, waiting patiently in the thick fog, picked up their pace the moment Valten took the lead. Instead of walking along the rift's edge, they circled through the heart of the rolling hills, following the fog. Following that, they turned southeast, resuming their original path.

I've no clue how they're navigating.

But at the very least, they hadn't lost their way or deviated from their planned route.

With several warhorses pulling the supply wagons, the march naturally gained momentum. The wagons were loaded with food, supplies, weapons, and the spoils of war claimed by the Blue Wolves and Ian, alongside the wounded. The Wolves didn't stop for a single moment as they cut through the hilly terrain.

"No matter how I think about it, this doesn't feel right." Diana, who had been sitting in silence for a long time, finally spoke up just as it was time to flip the hourglass. Her voice, unusually low for a fairy, carried its usual gruffness.

"What now?" Ian shot her a sideways glance, feigning indifference.

Diana sighed quietly before continuing. "No matter how far I've gone on my own, I've never missed that damn mole hole this much. I know something's gonna go wrong, and we won't be able to get back quickly—"

"Diana." Lucia's serious tone cut her off mid-sentence.

Diana blinked in surprise. "Huh?"

Lucia turned her head, locking eyes with Diana as she spoke. "Spit. Now. Don't swallow it."

"Spit? Why?" Diana tilted her head, puzzled, but Lucia pressed on as if urging her.

"You're jinxing us with those words. If we're not careful, it'll actually happen."

For a moment, Diana's eyes widened. Then, without hesitation, she yanked up her mask and spat to the side.

Only then did Lucia let out a relieved sigh and continued, "In situations where danger could strike at any moment, saying things like that is especially risky. On the flip side, saying stuff like I'll never die or I'll definitely make it back alive is just as bad."

"Did they teach you that at the temple?" Diana asked in a slightly dazed tone.

Lucia paused for a moment before nodding. "Something like that. Of course, some people laugh it off as superstition, but most of them ended up paying the price for it."

"Huh."

"I hope you don't end up like that, Diana. I'm not interested in losing any more friends." Lucia spoke without the slightest change in her expression, then turned her head and spat, lowering her mask slightly.

Ian, who had been watching her from the side, couldn't help but let out a faint chuckle.

Is that Lucia or Miguel?

For a moment, he saw the image of a rough-looking, bearded mercenary-turned-priest overlapping with her. Of course, in reality, the two had nothing in common. And unlike when he thought of that red-haired knight, he didn't feel a particular pang of nostalgia.

"Friend?" Looking at Lucia with a different expression, Diana finally asked.

Rubbing the bridge of her mask, Lucia responded with a question of her own. "Why? I always thought of you as a friend. Was I wrong?"

"What? Oh, no, that's not it." Diana blinked rapidly, then quickly shook her head. A soft, deflating sigh escaped from beneath her mask. "Yeah... it's just been a while since I've had a friend."

"You've got plenty back in Drag Velga. The dwarves really seem to like you."

"They probably just want to beat me up. I feel the same way."

"Why are grown adults so dishonest about these things...."

Their conversation continued in low murmurs for a while, with no mention of Sol Bryn or the archdemons. It was probably Lucia's way of being considerate.

With their chatter as background noise, Ian chewed thoughtfully on pieces of jerky, alternating between sweet and salty bites, until the path ahead sloped downward.

On either side, gentle ridges formed a shallow, valley-like curve. As the view opened up, his eyes naturally drifted toward the sky, which then twitched faintly.

The sky was still a massive swirl of mixed colors, but a particular shade of gray—one stark and ashen—now stood out clearly, alongside an ominous red. The change had been so gradual that he only realized it now.

That gray, was it never just storm clouds?

Ian paused. A memory surfaced—he'd seen colors like this before.

Without taking his eyes off the sky, he asked, "That Inaskurgl guy—"

Lucia and Diana's quiet conversation cut off abruptly. Diana stiffened, while Lucia turned her head toward him.

"Was it, by any chance, a beastfolk?"