TPITT - Chapter 163

“Me, me?!”

“Rosie?”

My face was filled with more repulsion than Rosenite's. I and Rosenite looked at each other in that state, our expressions trembling.

Rosenite turned her head first. She expressed her refusal towards Brigitte.

“Monsters are pouring out from there. And you want me to go in there? No. I don’t want to go.”

Brigitte said, not even looking at Rosenite.

“I don’t care if it’s Derek or Rosie. Eve, do whatever you want.”

“I told you, it’s dangerous so I don’t want to go.”

“Come to think of it, I guess you should take the Knights with you. In that case, I’d be more grateful if you took Rosie with you.”

“Excuse me, Betty. I said no. I’m not going!”

“Derek’s Knights are my Knights, so why can’t I leave them to you, Eve?”

“Are you listening to me?!”

Pretending not to hear Rosenite's thick voice, Brigitte spoke only to me. This kind of blatant disregard and disregard was something Rosenite had never experienced before.

'What is this? I am the Emperor's white rose. How could you do this to me?'

In the political arena, the prestige of the social circle was of no use. Rosie was treated as a tool to be traded according to conditions. She felt insulted and trembled.

Meanwhile, I was deeply troubled by the sight of Rosenite like that.

'It's right to take her. It's right, but...'

I was tormented by the feeling of rejection and disgust rising from the pit of my stomach. I felt like sighing.

“There’s no time. Choose quickly. Derek or Rosie?”

'Oh, you should definitely say that out loud?'

The answer was set.

I reluctantly opened my mouth. Despite my extremely irritating displeasure, my judgment was firmly guided by reason.

“Give me Rosie, no, I'll take Rosie.”

I almost bit my tongue while talking without thinking.

With this, the affiliation of Rosenite, who was shaking with indignation, was decided.

Brigitte asked with a snicker.

“You said three days. What supplies do you need?”

“Please give me a cart.”

“Yes. Do you want to give the order yourself?”

"Yes."

For a moment, I thought, paradoxically, this was the most lively conversation I had with Brigitte as sisters.

I moved, shaking off my senses. I abandoned the carriage and rode Snorlet's horse.

I took over and got on.

“My lord..."

“It’s okay, Lady Luciard. I’ll go first and wait for you.”

After saying a fond farewell to Anais, I looked straight ahead and gave a powerful command.

“Punishment and White Night enter the gate. Byeokhyeol and Hwanyeon support from the rear. They help break through.”

The knights began to move in unison. Punishment and White Night broke through the road and entered the gate.

It was not long before the breakthrough gained speed. With the knights, three horses galloped away, each carrying Eve, Michael, Sylvestian, and Rosenit.

When the entire group was sucked into the door, the cube that was the key to the door was pulled out.

Dddd ...

The seal snapped into place with a skull-shaking vibration.

Moved slowly.

The demons swarmed in more and more through the narrowing gap.

Black wings, limbs, and sometimes heads were crushed and crushed in the cracks.

Kuuung!

Finally, the door behind me latched shut.

I closed my eyes and opened them. It was time to face the world beyond the barrier.

***

Gray Barrier Outpost, Dandelion.

Although it was called an outpost, it didn't even have proper walls or watchtowers. To put it bluntly, it was just a village surrounded by a fence.

They had to survive on their own with little external support, so they could only focus on military activities.

The mid-level homunculi were more of a vigilante group than an army, busy fighting, hunting, and gathering in the demon lands.

The human outcasts stayed in the village and took care of non-combat activities. They used the resources brought by the homunculus, they repaired buildings, made food, and cultivated relief crops and medicinal herbs.

If we put aside the fact that it is a place where life and death are at stake, their civilized facilities and standard of living were far better than those of the lower-level homunculus.

The mid-level homunculi of Dandelion are allowed to practice magic, and the human outcasts are allowed to practice alchemy.

In fact, about half of the humans here were imprisoned in Dandelion for a crime committed by their ancestors hundreds of years ago, and that crime was being labeled a witch.

There was a time when there were Gods on the continent, and divine power was transmigratory. Alchemy was not considered a discipline then, but rather a special kind of demonic witchcraft. The greed of the priests to strengthen their priesthood led to a fanatical demon hunt.

The kingdom of Hadelamid, which was only a kingdom at the time, was busy watching the temple.  The temple could not be completely blocked. The best the kingdom could do was to propose banishment instead of a cruel burning.

At that time, people were expelled and living in one place. Because there were no magic dragons in the world, Dandelion was just a normal village.

The tragedy began when the Lord-class dragon Ambroxa was sealed around Dandelion, making it a den of monsters.

Dandelion was suddenly called an outpost and was forced into a life-or-death battle.

Every year, they send young homunculus who are ignorant of the world along with some food and weapons, saying it is support.

In the eyes of the natives, those homunculus were also outcasts.

Sympathy in a harsh environment is what makes them stronger together.

Although the homunculus did not know how to fight together, they quickly learned how to live in cooperation with others.

That was the background for the development of a certain sense of unity and group consciousness within Dandelion.

So the human outcasts and intermediate homunculus struggle for survival.

It had barely managed to survive for 300 years. But now, that history seemed to be coming to an end.

“Is the end coming..."

“Ah, now I was wrong..."

Homunculus and humans sighed together as they watched the hordes of black monsters rushing in.

Every year after the rainy season in summer, they have had a difficult time, but this year, it was the first time that so many monsters had swarmed in that they completely blocked their vision.

'Even if we fight with all our might, we can't win anyway.'

It filled the forest border and even the sky.

Seeing the black things, the villagers lost their will to fight. Even the mid-level homunculus trained for fighting lowered their weapons to the ground.

“God, save us.”

A human exile said, "Bring them here."

It was not the God who had been banished that was called. God at that time had long since abandoned the world.

In harsh environments, humans tend to seek out objects of mental dependence.

The same was true of Dandelion. There was a local belief that one day a being would appear who would save the outpost.

Among the humans, a few with a strong inheritance of alchemical and magical talents fueled the fire.

They went around shouting that it was a prophecy, 'The King of humans and homunculus will soon appear!'

“Savior, please..."

The atmosphere of hoping for a miracle spread rapidly.

Both humans and homunculus gathered in the square were facing a terrible front.

They turned their eyes to look behind them. A huge, towering gray wall and gate stood before him, looking down on them.

But soon the residents' eyes began to sink into despair.

A door that never opens except when supplies and homunculus are brought in.

It was not a door, but a 'wall' that only deceived people with the shape of a door and tortured them with hope.

Iron grumble.

An iron sword in someone's hand crashed to the floor. What does it mean for a soldier to throw away his weapon?

And so, starting with the sound of the bell, this time the atmosphere of despair spread like a plague.

Kkwadduk!

Crunch!

Just then, the fence collapsed. An army of monsters began to surge into the village.

“Ugh, ugh!”

The screams of human pain and the terrifying roars of monsters mixed together to form a terrible mess.

'So this is how I die in the end.'

They were destined to become the sacrificial offerings of this terrible dungeon. Everyone's eyes sank into the swamp.

But that was just then.

Dddddddddd!

The ground shook as if it were a familiar sound. The residents of Dandelion looked back once more. And their eyes widened to their limit.

The gateway that seemed like it would remain a wall forever, was now showing an unusual gap.

Kieeeek!

It seems that the desire to escape from the land of the demon dragon was stronger among demons than among humans.

As the passage to the world opened, the Black Demon Legion changed its target and course.

The instinct of the monsters to escape through the gap in the door that wasn't even fully opened was tremendous.

They were so busy pushing and trampling each other as they pushed their way into the labyrinth that they were out of their minds.

Thanks to this, many residents of Dandelion barely managed to survive.

They were rescued. But they quickly realized that the situation was not yet one in which they could feel relieved.

“Ha, the sky...!”

The distant sky was filled with black dots. They were all winged creatures.

As if the door was calling them in, more and more monsters were rushing towards Dandelion.

Some people with quick judgment said.

“ Hey, if you become a bottleneck, this place is going to be a wasteland!”

“Abandon the village and run away... Huh?”

At that moment, another strange thing happened at the door.

The forces of the monsters escaping through the passage were gradually being pushed back, and eventually, even beings entering from the opposite direction began to appear.

The residents of Dandelion doubted their eyes.

They went against the demons' offensive and came into this hellish land.

They existed. They were a group of armed knights.

A group of strong men, who looked to be at least forty strong, advanced without hesitation, slaughtering the monsters.

They are intermediate homunculus and are difficult to deal with.

They were able to expand the front line while dealing with them easily. They could see the monsters hesitating and being pushed back.

'Ooh, a rescuer? Really?'

It was a miracle they had been hoping for, but it didn't feel real.

By that time, three horses, likely carrying the commander, had entered the outpost. With that, the gate was closed.

Kuuuung!

It was at a time when the appearance of a strange being had left them breathless. A howling sound that shook the sky awakened the minds of the Dandelion residents.

The monster in the air was now close enough to be recognizable as a shape rather than a dot. Someone was pointing to a spot in the sky and thinking.

He shouted out.

“Th-That’s...! It’s Balrog! There’s Balrog!”

There were even powerful monsters that they would never encounter again.

However, the rescue troops that finally appeared were busy slaughtering the monsters on the ground and did not pay any attention to the monsters covering the sky.

'Look here! Look up!'

It was a time when the residents of Dandelion were despairing of their narrow vision.

There was a girl who stood out among the support group.

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