During his time as a Hero, Clay had fought countless monsters.

Among them were creatures that hadn't aimed to destroy his body, but something else entirely.

"……"

Clay slowly lifted his eyelids, as if waking from a deep sleep.

Whoooooosh.

A hollow chamber.

Before him now stretched an endless void, shrouded in darkness. A wind blew from some unknown place, making the air even more chilling.

Still, there was a faint light that illuminated the area—no torches hung on the walls. It was more like everything glowed faintly, as if lit by the moon.

Tap. Tap.

Clay began to walk. The place was desolate, but it wasn’t unfamiliar to him.

And for good reason—he had been here many times before.

GRAAAAGH!

Soon, the howls began.

GUOOOOOH!

KIIIEEEK!

In an instant, dozens—no, hundreds—of glowing eyes flared open in the darkness.

—He’s back! He’s come back!

—The hypocrite Hero! The false Apostle!

—Our eternal nemesis who locked us away!

Like a sudden downpour, voices of hatred and rage poured down upon him as his gaze swept over the iron bars surrounding him.

Yes.

This massive space was lined with cages like prison walls, extending out like hallways.

—Let us out!

—Open the doors!

—Set us free!

The owners of the glowing eyes pushed and shoved each other inside their cells, screaming at Clay.

He ignored them and kept walking.

—Keh keh keh… You’re trapped here too, aren’t you?

Someone sneered.

—We saw it all!

—You were the one bleeding!

—You’ve been pulled into this place to be sealed away forever!

One voice after another piled on like a wave.

Clay glanced down. Red blood stained the ground—leading like a trail into the distance, as if showing the path of one who came before.

“Still the same.”

Clay let out a dry chuckle at the clamoring inmates.

They were the ones who had tried to break his mind and were now sealed here as a result.

Nightmares, phantoms, illusory beasts, necromancers who had invaded his mind by leaving their bodies behind, parasitic abominations whose failed possession left only a lingering will—there was no end to the variety.

Though these monsters no longer needed to be kept within him, Clay never let them go. As bodiless entities, they could freely roam and commit atrocities against the living.

Ironically, only Naiad knew this secret. Had Clay truly died and everything ended, these beings could have been unleashed upon the world, becoming new calamities.

‘Though even if they had been released, it wouldn’t have mattered much.’

Even right before his death, Clay had refused to set them free. A stubborn vestige of pride as a Hero. Now, the circumstances were different—but that didn’t mean he could let them go.

They’d be the first to attack him if he did.

—Hero.

As he walked along the trail of blood, a voice slithered deep into his ear.

—You’ve changed.

He stopped and turned his head.

From within one of the cages, white eyes glowed in the darkness as the voice continued.

—Have you fought so many calamities… that you’ve become one yourself?

“……Yimemangryang.”

The formless illusions from another dimension that had invaded his mind whispered from the shadows, their shapes hidden in the gloom.

—What a pity.

—You were different from the others.

—Though, even now, you still are.

Clay turned his eyes forward again.

As he continued along the bloody path, Yimemangryang added in a gentle tone:

—If you ever need strength, just say the word. I truly like you, you know.

The creature’s laughter echoed behind Clay’s head.

♧

“Clay?”

Seeing Clay frozen in place, Naiad clutched her head with both hands.

“Again?!”

His consciousness had entered his mental world. His body had gone completely still.

Looking into his faded, unmoving pupils, Naiad swallowed dryly.

“He looks dead!”

Naiad hated it whenever Clay entered his mental realm.

Even aside from the fact that his body became completely defenseless, she hated how he looked like a lifeless corpse when it happened.

‘If I ever see him actually dead…’

A shiver ran down her spine. She was grateful she hadn’t been in the human world when the execution took place. She didn’t know how she would’ve handled the shock.

‘Or maybe…’

Maybe if she had been there, she could have done something, anything.

But it was all hypothetical now. What mattered was that Clay was alive today. Naiad clenched her small fists and scanned her surroundings.

‘At least nothing dangerous nearby.’

Indeed, the Demon Realm was much harsher than human territory. The ground was red, and the plants were more twisted and withered than lush and green. At a glance, it really did look like a corner of hell.

‘No wonder humans were so terrified of this place.’

But despite appearances, the Demon Realm wasn’t completely uninhabitable. Most of the plants that looked dead were still alive, and though ugly, some even bore edible fruit.

The river, which at first glance looked like muddy sludge, turned out to be fairly clear when scooped up by hand. It wasn’t great, just better than expected—but compared to the human world, it was indeed a harsh environment. Still, it wasn’t quite hell.

‘Prejudice really is terrifying.’

Naiad shrugged and clicked her tongue.

‘If people just looked around a little, they’d realize folks live here too—’

That was when she noticed something approaching.

Dudududu!

A herd of cattle.

They were Devil Cows, charging forward with vicious horns on their heads and glowing red eyes.

‘Forget what I said!’

Naiad’s eyes widened in panic.

“What the hell is with this stampede?!”

One or two would have been manageable, but seeing a whole herd of demonic beasts bearing down on her, Naiad screamed.

“Don’t come any closer!”

Her warning did nothing. The Devil Cows only sped up.

“I said stay back!!”

Whooosh!

As she thrust both hands forward, torrents of water erupted into the air, crashing down on the Devil Cows like waterfalls.

Uwaaargh!

The beasts stumbled, slipped, and rolled over under the flood.

“Yaaaaaah!”

But there were dozens of them. Desperate to ensure not even one reached Clay, Naiad fired off water bombs wildly in all directions.

“What’s all this noise about? So you’re the one guarding the pest disturbing the Demon Realm.”

From amidst the Devil Cows emerged a hulking beast the size of a house.

“You’re…!”

A bipedal beast in bovine form wielding a colossal axe—this was a Chaos Minotaur, said to dwell in the hidden depths of a labyrinth protecting divine relics.

Before Naiad stood a primal demonic beast, the progenitor of all half-human, half-beast creatures.

“I’d been meaning to meet you anyway.”

Snorting, he raised his axe.

“You wouldn’t visit my labyrinth, so I had to come out myself.”

“W-Wait a second!”

Naiad raised her hands.

“There’s no need to drag your labyrinth into this! We’ve been above ground the whole time! No one even knows where your stupid labyrinth is!”

“No, but that guy’s subordinate keeps freezing the entrance to my labyrinth.”

“What? Freezing? Who the hell—”

A name popped into Naiad’s head.

“Someone who constantly talks about Clay and flaunts their power anywhere and everywhere… don’t tell me…”

Selimia.

The Northern Calamity who had crossed into the Demon Realm.

It seemed she’d expanded her territory and accidentally found the labyrinth’s location.

Ordinarily, this would’ve been useful information for Clay. But the timing was terrible.

“I’ll kill the culprit and bring back his head!”

The Chaos Minotaur charged straight at Clay.

“Oh come on!”

Naiad conjured rings of water in both hands and shouted:

“Why am I always the one stuck cleaning up the mess?!”

Unfortunately, there was no one around to hear her complaints.

♧

It’s noisy out there.

Even while deep in his mental realm, Clay could sense the disturbance outside.

I’d better move soon.

Though Naiad was nearby, the Demon Realm was unpredictable. As Clay continued walking along the trail of blood, he heard a strange noise and quickly broke into a run.

Schlk… schlk…

Something wet and sticky was squelching across the floor. After a brief pursuit, Clay finally saw what it was.

“Vlad.”

A mass of flesh and blood staggered through the darkness—it was Vlad.

Hearing his name, Vlad turned to look at him.

“You found me.”

Vlad spoke in a low voice.

“To think you had a world like this hidden in your mind.”

He let out a hollow laugh, sounding almost impressed.

“I have to admit, I’m in awe of you as a being.”

“Is that so.”

“But even so, it doesn’t change the fact that I’ll trap you here.”

Blood began to spread from his feet, pooling around Clay.

“You must have been full of yourself after defeating me outside. But here, inside this world, I am stronger than you.”

The pool began swallowing Clay’s legs.

Clay calmly looked down at his sinking body.

“My mind, tempered by eons of imprisonment, will overwhelm a short-lived being like you.”

As Vlad spoke, Clay slowly tried to raise his arms, half-submerged.

Interesting.

His limbs didn’t move as he wanted—as if mired in sticky mud.

But…

This was the mental realm.

Everything here was an illusion shaped by the mind’s strength.

Crack!

With a blink, Clay solidified the blood beneath him.

“What?!”

Crack! Crackle!

Ignoring Vlad’s shocked outburst, Clay shattered the pool and walked out.

“H-How?!”

Vlad tried once more to drown Clay in blood.

But—

“Vlad.”

The blood couldn’t touch Clay. It merely circled around him.

“Did you think mental strength came from time alone?”

Being chosen as a Hero meant facing trials most would never encounter in a lifetime—on a daily basis.

“You’re not the first who tried to break me using time. And it’s not even your specialty.”

This world wasn’t a battlefield favorable to Vlad.

“If you wanted to win, you should’ve done it outside.”

Crack!

This time, Vlad’s body began to stiffen. Clay didn’t even need to move—his gaze alone was enough.

“Gah… grrk!”

Vlad trembled in horror.

“This is impossible! You’re just a human—how could you be forged by mere hardship?!”

“Because I’m human.”

No one dares test the gods.

Only humans are underestimated and constantly challenged.

That’s what trials are.

“Vlad. Choose.”

Clay looked down at the drying, stiffening Vlad.

“Will you be sealed into one of my cages… or vanish from existence for good?”

The look in Clay’s eyes—eyes even gods dared not meet—made Vlad shudder in silence.

(End of Chapter)

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