## Chapter 199 – Outer Spirit – The Order’s Hunting Dog, Ishanna (1)
Ryu packed a few belongings and, with a much-improved expression, waved goodbye to Acer and Charlotte, who were seeing him off.
“I’ll be back.”
Acer, wearing only a simple negligee and looking much better than before, greeted him. Still rubbing her sleepy eyes, she spoke. It was no wonder, considering they had spent over three hours having sex in the bathroom yesterday. The heat of the bath and the sex still lingered on Acer’s body, her eyes glazed over.
Instead of Acer, Charlotte spoke to Ryu.
“We’ll prepare so we can leave as soon as you get back, so take your time.”
Ryu nodded and touched his necklace.
The sky turned black, and the ground beneath his feet was lifeless. He was now used to the rapidly changing scenery.
Walking along the path leading straight to the tower, the towering magic tower soon came into view.
Rowe seemed to know he was coming, greeting him at the entrance of the tower with a kind smile. Seeing Rowe, Ryu felt his pace quicken naturally. Calling her name, he hugged her, burying himself in her ample bosom, feeling the warmth of a mother.
Rowe gently stroked Ryu’s head as he snuggled up to her, saying,
“My dear, judging by your expression, it seems things have been resolved well.”
Ryu barely lifted his head to look at Rowe’s face and said,
“Fortunately, they both understood.”
Rowe didn’t say anything else, simply continuing the embrace. She knew how much courage this took and how much time he had endured to make this decision.
She took Ryu’s hand and entered the tower, heading straight to the upper floors. Rowe’s room was largely unchanged. Papers with magic circles scattered on the table, suspicious liquids boiling in glass bottles, and other elements that showed how she spent her time filled the room.
Rowe hung her coat on the chair and said,
“Aren’t you tired? Take a leisurely bath. I’ll make you some food soon…”
He didn’t necessarily need to wash, but he decided to accept Rowe’s kindness. It had been a while since he had been in District 2. A convenient place where various tools moved by magic took care of all the trivial tasks without him having to lift a finger.
After a quick shower, a mountain of steaming meat was already on the table. It had been a while since he had eaten a meal prepared by Rowe. A meal consisting entirely of meat, made just for Ryu’s taste. As Ryu sat down at the table with shining eyes, Rowe sat opposite him and said,
“I put a little extra effort into this since it’s been a while since I’ve cooked for you.”
She sat with her legs crossed, watching Ryu eat with a pleased smile. This must be what it means to be full just by watching someone eat. Rowe casually spoke to Ryu, who was busy eating.
“There’s an Outer Spirit that’s settled nearby… Would you like to go see it after you finish eating?”
Ryu almost choked on his food and spat it out at Rowe’s sudden suggestion. He quickly swallowed the food with water, but the effect still lingered. After coughing a few times, he wiped his mouth with his hand and asked again,
“R-Right now?”
“Yes, experience is the most important thing in a fight against Outer Spirits… The sooner, the better.”
Even so, this was too sudden. Was Rowe joking? He thought for a moment, but the years he had spent with her answered that she wasn’t one to make unfunny jokes.
Ryu stopped eating and pondered for a moment.
Planning to fight them, making up his mind, and actually putting it into action were clearly different in terms of will. It wasn’t that he had abandoned that will, but his body trembled at the thought of having to go to the battlefield right away.
Rowe spoke to the frightened Ryu as if to reassure him.
“Not all Outer Spirits are as strong as Dahlia. Besides, the one near here isn’t very strong, so wouldn’t it be good to get some experience in advance?”
If Rowe said so, it would be alright. Ryu took a deep breath and began to calm his mind, which had been scattered by fear. Right, he couldn’t join Lahart’s cause if he got scared here. Once he calmed down, Ryu asked Rowe a question to get some information.
“What kind of hero was the Outer Spirit near here in the past?”
Before starting the story, Rowe gestured to bring a teacup that was far away closer to her. She vaguely sensed that the story would be quite long. Rowe sipped the green tea and opened her mouth.
“Ishanna, do you know her?”
He shook his head at the unfamiliar name. Ryu, who liked to read, didn’t know all the heroes either. Rowe, who had drunk about half of her tea, began to talk about Ishanna.
“Ishanna… In the past, she was a hero who took the lead in the Order’s commands, labeling demons who didn’t believe in God as heretics, burning down and massacring countless villages. She was a strange woman who would let demons go if they showed proof of believing in God, but would immediately execute even humans if she thought they didn’t believe in God, but her strength was certain.”
He asked in the middle of the story with a worried voice. No matter how he thought about it, Rowe’s words that she wasn’t a strong individual sounded like a lie.
“If she’s that strong, don’t I have no chance of winning?”
“Outer Spirits become stronger in proportion to their desires rather than the strength they originally possessed. Fortunately, Ishanna doesn’t have very strong desires, but…”
Rowe trailed off for once.
“No… It would be faster to see for yourself.”
After finishing her words, Rowe got up from her seat and put on the coat she had hung on the chair again.
“Let’s take a walk on the way and talk a bit.”
He was starting to get full. Ryu nodded and followed her outside. The forest in District 2, filled only with the cries of crows, still felt desolate and lonely.
Rowe was walking more slowly than usual, as if she wanted to enjoy this time. Ryu didn’t mind this time with her, so he didn’t have any particular complaints. Rather, it relieved some of the tension of going to fight an Outer Spirit from now on.
As they went deeper into the forest than usual, the trees began to bend in bizarre shapes. Ryu’s words decreased significantly as it was his first time coming this far, but Rowe didn’t change her expression as if she was used to it.
How long had they walked? After walking through the dark forest, he didn’t even know what he was saying anymore. He had lost his sense of direction a long time ago, and the gaunt trees felt like they were staring at him. Every time gray leaves were stepped on, it felt like they were screaming. His senses were becoming increasingly sensitive. The wind touching his skin felt like a blade. In this state, it wouldn’t be strange if he died on the way.
Without realizing it, Ryu grabbed the hem of Rowe’s clothes, who was walking in front. Rowe stopped for a moment, bent her knees, and matched her eye level with Ryu.
“S-Sorry. I’m a little scared…”
Rowe gently hugged Ryu’s trembling shoulders. Hoping that his trembling would subside even a little, she whispered sweetly in his ear.
“You don’t have to be too scared. I’m by your side, aren’t I? And we’re almost there now, so don’t worry.”
At the words that they had arrived, Ryu put strength back into his legs and started walking again. As Rowe said, it wasn’t long before he saw it.
The end of the forest, the beginning of the barrier.
This was the first time Ryu had actually seen the barrier he had only heard about. The thin blue wall had no end in sight. He wondered why he couldn’t see such a large magic wall in the tower.
Beyond this one barrier, a place that couldn’t be called the Demon World awaited. It would be a lie to say that he had no curiosity about the unknown, but fear dominated Ryu’s thoughts more than that.
Still, he couldn’t back down now that he had come this far.
Rowe took Ryu’s hand, closed her eyes tightly, and naturally passed through the barrier.
He thought he was fine, and the moment he opened his eyes.
Ryu couldn’t stand the rising nausea and sat down on the spot, throwing up everything he had just eaten. Rowe, with a worried expression, immediately patted Ryu’s back and asked.
“My dear, are you alright? I’m sorry… I was too insensitive.”
Had Rowe always lived seeing such scenery alone? It wasn’t something to be proud of, but Ryu prided himself on having a bleak childhood. There were always brothers on the verge of death around him, and few survived.
But what was this sight?
The scenery itself was not much different from District 2. An endless forest, the only difference being that there were people here. In a form that should never exist.
The floor he thought was mud was blood and guts. What he thought were tree branches were torn human arms and legs. The scattered eyeballs were looking at Ryu, and the skin separated from the body became the new bark of the trees.
Outer Spirit, he came to give rest to the heroes who had gone mad from the curse. However, what greeted him first was the land overflowing with death. A bird that had lived its whole life in the cage called the Demon World and escaped to the wild in search of freedom could not survive in the harsh environment.
