Anything to Survive in Hell: From Weakling to Tyrant-Chapter 15 Demon Lord Descends!

The space shook violently. Colors twisted in ways that made no sense. My thoughts stretched and snapped like rubber bands. I had no idea what was happening to me at all!

And so I crossed the passage to another world...!

"Kuaaaaaaak!"

I descended upon the Mortal Realm!

"Keuhak...!"

I realized very clearly that I had landed in the Mortal Realm. The violent swaying had stopped. My surroundings were stable now.

Unclear vision. An incredibly hazy mind. Unreal sensations.

My stomach churned... I felt like I was going to throw up!

"Haah...haa...!"

But I forcibly held back the urge. Vomiting right now wouldn’t do me any good.

What state was I in? Had I actually set foot on the ground? No — I was lying face down. Realizing that, I focused on the sensations running through my entire body.

Wild, chaotic feelings everywhere. I had to stabilize them. This was the pain of dimensional travel. I understood it clearly. I never wanted to experience it again.

"..."

As quickly as possible, I calmed my mind and regained my senses. Even at this moment I had no idea what danger might be waiting.

According to what Karla told me, demons who undergo the Descent Ritual usually land in some remote wilderness.

Was this that remote wilderness?

"Keoheuk... Huu. Haa..."

Soon my breathing steadied and I raised my head.

"Uh."

Green light filled my vision.

A space lush with thick greenery.

"A forest...? No, is it a jungle?"

I intentionally spoke aloud to test my voice. It came out fine.

I wasn’t sure if it was a forest or a jungle. Either way, there were a fuck-ton of plants and rocks scattered everywhere.

"Hand axe!"

I immediately groped inside my coat, grabbed the hand axe, and gripped it tight!

I didn’t know if this was a forest or a jungle, but there was no mistaking raw wilderness when I saw it. Raw wilderness is raw wilderness no matter how you say it — there was no way a place like this wasn’t dangerous. It was absolutely not safe.

If I were a normal demon I’d probably be fine, but I was barely past the basics. I was almost no different from an ordinary human right now. And humans don’t survive in the wild unless they’re trained.

"It begins now."

The beginning of survival itself had started from this moment.

I raised my tension and scanned my surroundings.

"..."

Insects and birds moved among the trees, grass, and vines. Right now I was so fucking scared my body felt like it would tremble uncontrollably.

I chewed and swallowed that fear. I was fortunate! I hadn’t encountered anything dangerous yet!

Honestly, even running into a wild dog — let alone a bear — would mean a gruesome death. And whatever lived in the forests of the Mortal Realm weren’t ordinary beasts. They were monsters.

"Good. There’s nothing yet."

Seriously, no lie, it felt like I had fallen here completely naked.

"Items."

First I checked inside my coat. The tools and books I’d stuffed into the inner pockets were all still there. Simple survival gear and the dark magic tome — everything intact.

That was truly fortunate. If I had lost them inside the dimensional passage there would have been nothing but true despair.

The high-grade Hell coat.

Right now this coat was my entire fortune.

I would cherish it.

From this moment on, the will to survive was everything. My starting point was this forest. If so...

"I need to find water."

Whether it was a stream or a valley, I needed drinkable water. Demons weren’t immortal — these bastards died without water too.

Let’s see.

First, so I didn’t get lost... I needed to move very carefully. I remembered hearing you should pick a distant tree as a landmark and head toward it step by step.

I immediately started moving that way, mimicking the technique while gripping the hand axe tightly. Finding water — I’d do it the way I learned in the military.

Plants.

There were so many of them.

"Ah, this fucking hand axe."

The hand axe wasn’t ideal for cutting through thick vegetation. What I really needed was a jungle knife — a machete. But there was nothing I could do about not having one.

I kept walking, thinking those thoughts.

Sa-aaak!

"...!"

But fuck, every time I heard a sound like that my heart felt like it would burst and kill me!

"Ssriiip..Sriiikkk...!"

A bird-like creature I’d never seen before sprang up, and some unknown small animal darted past.

These sons of bitches, seriously!

"The ecosystem... seems very well-established."

Were all those things monsters? If there were many small ones, there had to be bigger bastards that ate them... Seriously, even a moment of carelessness crept up on me.

With this, fuck, could I even become a Demon King?

Right now I wasn’t a demon or a Demon King or anything — just a stranded primitive man.

"...Let’s go."

Gritting my teeth.

I advanced again.

Small monsters. I’d try hunting them if the opportunity arose. I’d never done anything like that, but hunting would be essential to live here. Didn’t I have to eat?

It was while I was moving like that, observing everything and staying on extreme alert.

"Hmm?"

Here and there I spotted fruits growing on trees and vines. Red ones. Blue ones. Fruits

Fruit, huh.

"I should gather these."

First I cautiously approached the tree with the blue fruits. This bastard — surely it wasn’t some plant monster, right?

"..."

I studied the tree, thinking those thoughts. It didn’t look dangerous, but I was too anxious to take chances.

Gripping the hand axe tightly, I checked for any threats.

"It’s fine."

Fortunately it was just an ordinary tree. I reached out and picked a blue fruit while still scanning my surroundings.

"...!"

Good! One fruit acquired! The thought of getting even a single junk item made all sorts of emotions burst inside me!

The blue fruit was slightly larger than a tangerine, its skin soft, and I could feel moisture inside. It looked juicy.

"This."

I didn’t know if I could eat it. I’d never seen it before. I didn’t know what kind of poison it might have. Demons had some poison resistance, but I wasn’t idiot enough to test it on my own body.

"Karla."

If Karla were here right now she would have told me everything.

Anyway, there would be time to test it later. For now I’d keep it.

Fortunately I had brought some thread and a small sack. I slipped the blue fruit inside and kept walking.

As I moved I found all sorts of fruits. Some looked similar to ones on hell, others were completely new shapes.

I carefully gathered whatever I could and stuffed them into the sack.

For now it was best to take as much as possible. The weight wasn’t a burden yet. I didn’t know what they were, but I’d pick them up anyway.

"Fruits are abundant... and so are the things that eat them."

Small.

In other words there were quite a few small monsters. Things like flying squirrels and spiders the size of dogs. Plump, large birds.

Coming this far I had seen many of them.

While those bastards devoured fruits they also fought among themselves. Watching fights was always entertaining, so my eyes were drawn to it, but the moment I kicked off the ground to try catching one they all scattered so fast I couldn’t catch them.

"Sons of bitches. Fucking fast."

They really darted away quickly.

"Hmm."

First I checked the fruit one of those bird-like guys had been eating. It was one I already had in my sack. Was it not poisonous? That bird might have a special constitution.

I’d keep it for now.

I couldn’t eat it yet.

It was while I was moving like that, staying hyper-vigilant.

"I found it...!"

Finally I discovered a place where water flowed! A small stream.

"Huu!"

Seeing the water made me feel relieved and my mood improved rapidly! Yes. A person could only live if they had water. Since that one thing was secured I couldn’t help but feel good.

"..."

Were there any other bastards around? I checked first, then approached the stream with maximum stealth. Fortunately there was nothing. I immediately scooped water with my hands and washed my face.

"Haa..."

Washing my face with cold water calmed me down a bit.

I pulled out my canteen from my coat and filled it with water.

"I should drink some."

Normally there was nothing good about drinking untreated water like this. But I was a demon. Though faint, ether existed inside my body. So it was at least somewhat safe.

I believed that.

"Kya. The water tastes good."

Something entering my mouth made me feel alive.

I refilled the canteen and moved away from the stream.

Because I had something else to do next.

Now that I’d found water, the next task was...

"I need to dig a pit."

It was time to dig a shelter immediately. I couldn’t just sleep out in the open like this. Obviously something would come for me at night. So I needed to dig a hole and make a basic shelter.

It was still daytime.

I had a fair amount of time before sunset. But with nothing but a hand axe it was clear it would take too long even if I started now.

"I must move... swiftly!"

I immediately kicked off the ground to find a suitable spot. Choosing a shelter was very important. If I found and made a proper one I’d be able to rest there. So I had to find it. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

It was truly laughable for someone who was supposed to become a Demon King to go looking for a place to dig a dugout.

A Demon King should dominate monsters and reign, right? That was the image. But right now I had absolutely nothing to dominate.

And so I searched for a place suitable for digging a pit.

What wouldn’t I do to survive!