The trees of the Demon Realm required a more detailed description than simply being referred to as conifers.

They had black leaves that were so hard and sharp they were almost like blades, and trunks so sturdy that even a hefty axe would struggle to make a dent. Occasionally, they would move, attempting to grab the living.

These creatures were closer to carnivorous beasts than mere plants. It would be more accurate to consider them monsters disguised as trees.

And the fastest way to break through such a forest wasn’t to tread carefully, watching for the creatures and trying not to touch them.

Crack!!

“Uaaaah—!! Die! Die! Die!!”

Running recklessly over branches, dashing above the trees. Isabelle cut down a branch that was wrapping around her ankle and hurried after Ivan.

Ivan led the way without a word. On his shoulder hung Yuri, looking like she might vomit as she reached her hand out.

“Um… Giyo.”
“Mm.”

With Yuri’s direction, Ivan slammed into another branch roughly. The impact shook the trees, and the branches reached out, trying to grasp the trace of the now-vanished Ivan.

Soon, the other party members followed closely, stepping precisely on the trunk he had just crossed.

“Yujin, take a step to the right.”
“Got it, bro!”

In the northern Demon Realm, the carnivorous plants were divided into ‘safe trunks’ and ‘dangerous trunks’. It was nearly impossible to visually distinguish between them at a glance, but their slight movements could be perceived in advance.

These plants moved in a manner almost identical to that of regular animals. In other words, there was a kind of nerve bundle resembling a nervous system present. The nerves were sensitive enough to react even to a gust of wind, but the networks of the safe trunks were relatively faint.

Thus, if one could find the trunks swaying with the wind’s direction to step onto, it meant they could traverse the trees relatively safely.

Of course, it would be nearly impossible to step only on the trunks that showed slow reactions. One would have to identify their movements without error while racing through a dense forest, even on a cloudy night.

However, due to this acrobatics, they could carry out reconnaissance for the Hero Party. The depths of the Demon Realm, near the Seven Dragon Lords’ king, were an even more horrifying region filled with malice.

“Over there, light!”
“Got it.”

Dismissive of Ecdysis’s words, Ivan glanced at Yuri, who nodded her head in response.

Ivan didn’t question this. If he trusted once, he would trust to the end. No matter how strange the conclusion, if he had faith, there was no need to ask again.

Swish.

He drew his axe and hurled Yuri like a package behind him, using the recoil to spring forward.

Since this was already the third time, the party quickly caught Yuri and took cover in a safe area.

Boom—!!
Uuuaaaah!

Cruch?!

An explosion erupted continuously from the direction of the light beyond the bushes. Isabelle sighed wearily.

“Let’s just do it together. Seriously.”
“If we fight, we’ll definitely tire out before we even get going.”
“I know, shut up, Yujin.”
“Yes.”

Still, she couldn’t help but feel disappointed. After claiming to be the same party, situations like this couldn’t be ignored.

At this rate, it’d be embarrassing to claim they were on the same side. Whenever there was a fight, Ivan would always be the first to dash out and resolve it alone.

Putting all his focus into breaking through the hazardous area while also managing to control each mistake of the party and optimizing their movements alone, fighting everything by himself?

This was hardly what one could call a party; it sounded more like he was simply the “protectee”.

While Isabelle was lost in thought, lightly fiddling with the hilt of her sword, Ivan stepped back from the foliage once more. He was breathing heavily. He too was feeling the fatigue.

He noticed blood dripping from the edge of his axe. Beyond the parting bushes, the demons lay crushed as if caught in a grinder.

“Are you okay?”
“This much is fine.”

Ivan answered briefly as he walked past Isabelle, pulled Yuri, who was resting, onto his back, and quietly said.

“Next.”
“Uh, this direction.”
“Distance.”
“It’s not far, not far at all. But this direction…”
“It’s not south. That’s not something you need to worry about.”

Without a moment’s rest, Ivan dashed in the direction Yuri indicated. The party hurriedly followed behind.

This was already the third engagement. And all three were aimed at the demon army camps that weren’t quite due south.

Moreover, in all three cases, they were at command posts with at least a significant number of troops present. In the second ambush, one squadron leader had been ripped apart, after all.

Ivan lightly loosened his stiffening shoulders as he thought.

“Breaking through in the shortest time doesn’t necessarily mean achieving victory.”

He mechanically jumped over the trunks, continuing his thoughts.

“Yuri’s ‘probability confirmation’ has already proven trustworthy. With the mobilization of troops in Drovian confirming the scope as well.”

Even if he considered the entire nation, he confirmed that Yuri’s ‘probability confirmation’ operated with precision without error.

Gathering the southern territories of Drovian and bringing them to the front lines without any time lag would have been impossible without her ability, even if a miracle had occurred.

Thus, it could be said that her instincts were guiding her on what the ‘victory conditions’ should be. Even if it took some time, she intended to eradicate the ‘support troops’ of the Demon Realm.

“There’s no Seven Dragon Lords in this area.”

If there were, then the demon army would hardly fall apart just from the destruction of the command post. Even if they managed to take down a couple of squadron leaders, the demons would regroup without trouble if the Seven Dragon Lords remained intact.

So, the directive to assassinate the squadron leaders suggests the absence of the Seven Dragon Lords in this region. Then, the Seven Dragon Lords… meaning, [Golden Nekinon] must be in the south now.

Beyond the Grand Gate, it indicated the northern territory of Krasilov.

So it wasn’t a ‘victory condition’ to rush over and stop him immediately. If this was the case, does that mean there’s a way to stop the Seven Dragon Lords and Maximilian in Krasilov…?

Or, in the worst-case scenario,

a situation he didn’t even want to think about.

“That the survival of Krasilov may not be included as a victory condition in national strategy…”

Even if Krasilov fell, as long as he could block the demons, the assumption could be that they achieved victory.

With that horrifying thought, Ivan tightened his grip on the axe without realizing it. He roughly shattered a branch approaching him.

The solid trunk splintered apart in an instant, scattering debris. Ivan quickly brushed the shards aside with his fingertips and resumed running.

This world always forced him to face choices.

Would he live and die as a peasant, or would he gamble with his life on the battlefield?

Would he be satisfied with his promotion or enlist in the Royal Guards dispatched to a hopeless battlefield?

Would he stay in the Royal Guards and die alongside the king, or voluntarily enter the horrific Demon Realm?

Would he defy orders and go into hiding, or comply and challenge the Seven Dragon Lords?

Would he seek vengeance for his fallen comrades, or serve the nation and retire?

Would he save an old friend or rescue Tylesse?

Would he save the world?

Or would he save the one he loves and might just be the last memory of their past together—a former commander and lover, perhaps.

In this choice too, would he have to give something up?

Ivan’s movements were still expressionless, but within him, a storm of thoughts was raging.

What if my choice is wrong?
What if my choice leads to losing someone again?
What meaning is there in saving a world with nothing left?

This thought never left his mind.

Always, his oath to save someone had never been fulfilled. Only the promise to kill someone remained unbroken.

He ran, praying this was the last time. That he wasn’t too late, that this was the best, that at the end of this path, what remained wasn’t ruins, but rather his hometown rising again to rebuild.

The next light appeared. It was a military tent. Judging by the size and type of the encampment and the patterns of the armed forces, it was likely another squadron leader grade.

They were operating the legion under a level of security not much different from before. It wasn’t difficult to slip through their shoddy defenses and intrude.

Ivan tossed Yuri aside once more and charged forward without saying a word.

Gunfire, the smell of gunpowder, bone and muscle grinding under the axe blade, enemies’ screams, the stench of blood, and the acrid aroma of the burning military tent from the fallen braziers.

War.

Yes, this is the environment he was most accustomed to. There were no allies, the chances of victory were thin, the future was uncertain, and the number of enemies was hard to count.

Amidst this sense of déjà vu, Ivan rampaged like a wounded beast and returned again with blood on his axe.

“Give me the next course of direction, Yuri.”
“Yes, yes….”