The Healing Solaris Cleric-Chapter 384: One Way (3)

The moment Han Jung-Woo returned home and logged into the game, a message popped up.

Ding!

[You have received the Blessing of Pegasus buff.]

[You cannot kill archdukes or the Demon King in the Demon Realm.]

[You cannot be killed by archdukes or the Demon King in the Demon Realm.]

They really do move fast with these things.

It hadn’t even been an hour since they parted ways with Marco and Dr. Jim.

Yoo Ha-Rin, who had logged in before Kai, approached with quick steps and asked, “Kai, did you get home safely?”

“Yes. What about you?”

“M-me? Well... thanks to you, I got home fine.”

Kai had escorted her since it seemed dangerous to let a woman walk home alone late at night.

“Thank you for today. For everything...”

“No, I should be the one thanking you.” As Kai continued speaking, he made a playful joke to ease the awkward mood. “Come to think of it, you grabbed my hand pretty naturally when we were talking to Dr. Jim earlier, didn’t you?”

“Uh...” Yoo Ha-Rin’s face instantly turned red. “Th-that’s because... you’re someone important...”

“Sorry? I didn’t quite catch that.”

“Nothing!”

Yoo Ha-Rin ran off, shutting her eyes tight and saying she needed to help the demons.

“Hm.” Left alone, Kai casually looked up at the sky. “Shadow Shift.”

Ding!

[The Shadow Shift skill will be available to use in 12 days.]

“Knew it.”

With a light sigh, Kai scratched the back of his head. It was one of those days where he especially missed tugging on both of Helik’s cheeks.

***

“Ah-choo!”

As Helik sneezed, Kal Rashya asked with a worried face, “Are you okay? Did you catch a cold or something?”

“I’m a god. A cold is...”

“Then why did you suddenly sneeze?”

“That, I’m not sure about. My body feels chilly and I feel a little uneasy.” Tilting her head, Helik suddenly looked anxious and tugged on Rashya’s sleeve. “D-do you think maybe something happened to Kai?”

“What could possibly happen to someone who goes around beating up archdukes?”

A god naturally became aware when a believer achieved something. The moment Kai defeated Archduke Kinesa, Helik had let out a breath of relief.

“Hmm, that is true... but I still feel this unexplainable sense of unease.”

Rashya pulled out a few tissues and brought them to Helik’s nose. “Here, blow.”

“Rashya, I can handle this on my own. I’m not a child.”

Taking the tissues, Helik blew her nose herself.

As Rashya watched that proud moment, she wore a concerned expression and took out her phone. “I’m gonna go make a quick call.”

“Okay.”

Thanks to their exchange program(?) to the human world, Helik had gained a better understanding of phones. The upgraded phone could now handle not only texts but also calls.

A seductive female voice came from the other end,

—Hello?

“Hello, Roby? It’s Rashya.”

—Oh my, what brings our cutie number two to call me?

“Are you busy right now?”

—Nope, not busy. And even if I were, I’d make time for my cuties.

“Then could you stop by the Celestial Garden for a moment?”

—Hold on.

A few seconds later, Roby’s voice returned.

—I’m here. What for?

“Could you check if the snack sack in the corner is still four bags?”

—Yeah. There are four bags.

“Then could you also check if the giant lollipop hidden in the bushes is safe?”

—Hold on... Ah, found it. It’s safe.

“Hm. Then I wonder why she’s like that...” Rashya murmured while looking at Helik, who still looked anxious.

—Why? Is something wrong?

“Helik just seems a little unsettled today. I was wondering if maybe someone stole her snacks.”

—Who would dare steal the Solarian God’s snacks? Anyway, unsettled, huh...

Roby’s voice turned slightly serious.

—Does it seem serious?

“...I don’t think it’s that serious yet.”

—If things start looking bad, come straight to the Celestial Realm. That way we can prepare. I’ve told you many times, but the Middle Realm is dangerous.

“Okay, I’ll be sure to do that.”

—Aww, and make sure you cuties finish your homework.

“... Okay. Take care.”

After hanging up with Roby, Rashya worriedly looked at Helik who was trembling.

***

“The southern front?” Kai asked back.

When Kazura’s request for a meeting was accepted and Kai entered the tent, Kazura brought up the southern front right away.

“Yes. As you know, the south fell into chaos after the archduke died by your hand.”

“Right.”

Dozens of factions had split apart and were fighting to claim dominance over the south. Even demons from the east were slowly creeping down to join in, making it a complete mess.

“Thanks to you healing a large number of demons, the Liberation Army's power has greatly increased.”

“So you want to make a move on the southern front?”

Kazura nodded. “Even excluding the demons who can’t fight, we have over thirty thousand available forces. From what I’ve found, a force this size would rank in the top three in the south.”

“Well, if we’re just talking numbers, sure. The problem is there’s no real strength behind it.”

At Kai’s blunt assessment, Kazura lowered his head. “You’re right... While there are some upper-ranked demons in the Liberation Army, we have no top-ranked ones.”

“Well, of course. Top-ranked demons have no reason to join a liberation movement.”

The top-ranked demons sat at the top of the Demon Realm’s food chain. Naturally, they wanted the current system to remain in place.

“To be honest, even upper-ranked demons don’t really have a reason to fight for liberation. Don’t they get treated well in any territory?”

“We definitely are treated well compared to lowest, low, or middle-ranked demons. We get to live a proper demon's life.”

“So why don’t you?”

“Why don’t we? What are you trying to say? I just hate seeing lower ranks treated unfairly because of their grade,” Kazura grumbled, feeling like Kai was constantly testing him.

“I apologize if I offended you, but why are you suddenly interested in the southern front? Unless I’m wrong, you’re the cautious type. I didn’t think you would be interested in a high-risk area like the south.”

“... It’s an order from above.”

“Above?” Kai tilted his head.

From what he had observed while staying in Elision for a few days, the leader here was Kazura. He was the strongest among the thirty or so upper-ranked demons.

“This is the first I’m hearing that you had a superior.”

“Well, I just never mentioned it before.”

“Hm. So the reason you brought up the southern front is because you want me to lend a hand?”

“That’s right...” Kazura admitted quietly.

“Then I think I have every right to know about the leader of Elision... no, of the Liberation Army.”

If they wanted help, they needed to reveal everything. That was Kai’s condition.

“Hmm.”

But unlike what he expected, Kazura contemplated for quite a while.

Who in the world is this superior? Judging by how troubled Kazura looks, it must be a top-ranked demon.

At this point, Kai’s curiosity only grew bigger.

“If you’re so curious, would you come with me to meet them? They’re quite interested in you as well.”

“Perfect. I’ll meet them face to face.”

Kai called over Yoo Ha-Rin, who was wandering around Elision.

“What’s going on?”

After hearing the explanation, her eyes widened.

“Huh? Wasn’t Kazura the leader here?”

“I thought so too, but it seems he isn’t.”

“Hm. That’s a bit surprising.” But that only lasted a moment as she became curious about the identity of the Liberation Army’s leader too. “I want to come too.”

“She says she wants to come. Is that alright?”

“Well, I suppose so,” Kazura nodded and called a comrade over.

It was the demon who had transported Kai and Yoo Ha-Rin to Elision using transportation magic.

“Are you serious...?”

“This has already been approved, so it’s fine.”

“Then I’ve got nothing more to say.” The demon nodded and slashed the air with his nail.

The air tore open, and a new landscape appeared beyond it.

“Kai, it’s snowing over there.”

“I see it too. Snow in the Demon Realm...”

As the strange sight didn’t quite match their expectations and made the two hesitate, Kazura stepped into the gate and said from the other side, “The western part of the Demon Realm. It’s called Satera, the extreme hell. It’s where the founder of the Liberation Army lives.”

***

“Brr. It’s cold,” Yoo Ha-Rin shivered and pulled something out of her inventory.

It was the orc leather that Kai had given her back in Glendale.

Recognizing it, Kai’s expression brightened and asked, “Huh? Isn’t that the leather I gave you? You still had it?”

“Oh... hehe.”

It was the first gift she had ever received from someone without any reason. She draped the leather over her shoulders and held it close.

“Yes. I like it because it’s warm.”

Perhaps because of the heart behind the gift, her heart always felt warm whenever she wore it.

“It’s still just orc leather, so it probably doesn’t insulate very well. I’ll lend you this instead.” Kai pulled out the leather of the Triple-Headed Ogre from his inventory. “Do you remember this? It’s the one you gave me.”

“I remember! You kept it all this time too...”

“How could I throw it away? It’s not just any other item.”

Kai wrapped the leather over Yoo Ha-Rin’s head and shoulders with a soft smile.

Yoo Ha-Rin looked down at the snow-covered ground as if she was shy.

Not any other item... Since then Kai must have...

She felt happy, as if she had just reconfirmed his feelings.

“It’s a Rare item, after all. No reason to throw it away.”

“Hehe, you’re so funny.”

“Huh? But I wasn’t joking...”

Kai tilted his head, but to Yoo Ha-Rin, it only looked like he was trying to hide his embarrassment.

Just then, Kazura pointed to a massive fortress ahead. “We’ve arrived.”

The fortress, standing firm in a region of snowstorms, was made of blue ice.

“It’s bigger than I expected. Do all top-ranked demons have a fortress like this?”

“I’m not sure.”

Kazura showed a faint smile and pushed open the main gate of the fortress. They followed the opened door and stepped inside.

“Wow, it’s beautiful.”

Beyond the walls, the first thing that caught their eyes was a village covered in snow and ice. It looked as beautiful as a village straight out of a fairy tale.

“Yes, it is beautiful. It would be the perfect place for couples to go on dates during Christmas time.”

Yoo Ha-Rin’s ears perked up at Kai’s casual comment, and she secretly opened her calendar app.

[Satera, Christmas Day with Kai.]

After saving the event, Yoo Ha-Rin ran toward one of the ice statues standing on the street.

“Kai, look at this. Have you ever seen an ice sculpture like this?”

“No, this is my first time. It’s incredibly well made.”

They admired the sculpture, which was shaped exactly like a typical demon.

“There’s more than one. Look, they’re lined all along the path!”

“It must have taken a lot of work to make these.”

Kazura, who had been quietly watching their reactions, scratched his head and said, “Those aren’t ice sculptures.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

In response to Kai’s question, Kazura shrugged. “They’re just demons. Demons who committed crimes and were frozen.”

“All of them...?”

Lined along the path were what appeared to be hundreds of ice statues. The line of figures stretched all the way to the entrance of a large mansion in the distance.

“I should warn you before we go in. Choose your words carefully when we’re there, unless you want to become an ice statue.”

Kai narrowed his eyes.

Something feels off.

Kazura knew that he defeated Archduke Kinessa, but to give him a warning of this level could only mean one thing.

“Don’t tell me the master of this fortress is...”

“Figured it out now?” Kazura nodded with a faint smile. “No point hiding it now. Let’s go in.”

He walked confidently as he led them forward.

“The Enlightened Archduke, Serphine, is waiting for you.”