The forest shifted again as they pressed forward.
The white radiance surrounding Sora kept the worst of the oppressive pressure at bay, but the deeper woods still felt wrong—too quiet, too tense, as if the land itself were waiting.
Then the undergrowth trembled.
Then—
A low, vibrating growl rippled through the trees.
Sora stopped instantly, raising a hand.
From between the twisted trees, a creature lurched into view.
A Dire Wolf.
F-rank.
It resembled a massive wolf, but its body was distorted by unstable mana. Crystalline growths jutted from its shoulders and ribs, glowing a dull blue. Its eyes burned with feral intelligence, and corrupted veins pulsed beneath its skin.
Sora assessed it in a single glance.
"F-rank mana beast," she said calmly. "Not strong—but dangerous enough to kill an unprepared fighter."
"Fast. Aggressive. Its claws can pierce light armor."
The beast snarled, scraping its talons against the earth.
Null's fingers tightened around his sword hilt.
"…Mind if I handle this one?"
Sora turned to him. His stance was tense, but his mana flow was steady—controlled.
"This won't be a spar," she warned. "It will try to tear you apart."
Null exhaled slowly.
"Then I'll try not to let it."
A brief pause.
Sora nodded.
"I'll intervene if necessary," she said. "But this is your fight."
The beast lunged.
Its speed was brutal, crossing the distance in an instant.
Null barely managed to roll aside as razor-sharp claws tore through the space where his torso had been. The impact shattered a fallen log behind him.
He came up on one knee, blade raised.
"Fast," he muttered.
The beast spun and charged again.
Null forced his body to move the way he'd been taught—stance low, weight centered, sword angled defensively.
Steel clashed against crystal as he deflected a swipe, the impact sending a shock up his arms. He staggered, boots scraping through the dirt.
The beast snapped its jaws inches from his face.
Null twisted and slashed, his blade grazing its side. Mana sparks burst from the wound, but the creature barely slowed.
It retaliated, raking its claws across his shoulder.
Blood sprayed.
Null grunted in pain—but he didn't fall back.
From behind, Sora's eyes narrowed.
His movements are clumsy, she thought. Unpolished. Like someone who's trained but never fought for real.
That made sense.
And yet—
There's something else.
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
A faint, almost casual ease beneath the tension.
It was subtle—so subtle she almost dismissed it.But her instincts were rarely wrong.
He wasn't panicking.
He wasn't freezing.
His eyes stayed focused. His breathing stayed steady.
Sora filed the observation away in silence.
The beast circled him, muscles coiling for another charge.
Null adjusted his grip, recalling the drills he'd repeated a hundred times under the Rainbow Guard commander's instruction.
"Basic form," he whispered to himself.
The wolf lunged again.
This time, Null didn't retreat.He stepped forward, inside the wolf's reach.
He parried the first swipe, ducked under the second, and countered with a clean diagonal slash—textbook swordsmanship. His blade cut across the beast's chest, leaving a glowing wound.
It howled in rage and reared back.
Mana surged along Null's sword.
"Basic Sword Skill—"
The air vibrated.
"—Crescent Cut."
He swung.
A sharp arc of compressed mana surged forward, cleaving through the beast's neck.
The mana beast froze mid-motion.
Then its head slid cleanly off.
The body collapsed into the dirt with a heavy thud.
Silence returned.
Null stood there, chest heaving, blood dripping from his shoulder.
"…Yeah," he muttered. "That was definitely real combat."
Sora approached him immediately.
"You're injured," she said, already preparing a minor healing spell.
"Just a scratch," he replied, though his arm was clearly shaking.
She placed her hand near the wound. A soft cyan glow sealed the gash.
"Your form was rough," she said. "Your footwork lacked refinement. Your timing relied on instinct."
He smirked. "But I won."
"You survived," she corrected.
Then, after a pause, she added quietly:
"…And you stayed remarkably composed."
Null blinked. "Is that bad?"
She studied him for a moment.
"No," she said. "Just unusual."
Her gaze shifted to the wolf's corpse.
"Don't let it go to waste. Remove the core. Then store the body—it's valuable."
She pointed to its chest.
"With the sword?" Null asked.
"Yes. Aim just beneath the sternum."
He followed her instructions, cutting into the chest cavity. After a moment of resistance, a faintly glowing blue core emerged—warm, pulsing with residual mana.
Sora nodded. "That's the mana core. Alchemists, blacksmiths, enchanters—they all pay well for intact materials."
Null held it up. "This?"
He slipped it into his spatial ring.
"And the body?" he asked.
"Store it as well," she said. "you can sell it."
Null raised an eyebrow. "You're telling me to carry a whole corpse."
She smiled faintly. "You have the storage space."
With a shrug, he activated the ring again. The massive carcass vanished in a shimmer of spatial light.
"…Well," he said, dusting off his hands, "that's my first official monster kill."
Sora looked ahead into the deeper forest, where the light barely reached.
"The real danger hasn't started yet," she said softly.
Null followed her gaze, dark red eyes gleaming with quiet anticipation.
"Good," he said. "Wouldn't want it to get boring."
****
"Hey, Saintess Sora."
She glanced over her shoulder. "Yes?"
He hesitated, choosing his words more carefully than usual.
"What exactly… are demons in this world?"
She slowed her pace.
The question wasn't strange.
But the timing was.
Sora stopped beside a gnarled tree whose roots glowed faintly with corrupted mana. The white radiance around her brightened slightly.
"Demons," she said, "are not simply monsters."
Null's eyes narrowed in interest.
"They are entities who harness dark mana—the inverted version of true mana," she continued. "Where natural mana embodies magic, growth, and harmony, dark mana embodies distortion, decay, and corruption."
She gestured subtly to the warped forest around them.
"Demons don't just destroy. They reshape. They twist environments, creatures, even emotions into reflections of their nature."
Null hummed. "So they're walking ecological disasters with personalities."
"…That's not inaccurate," Sora admitted.
She resumed walking, and Null followed.
"Demons originate from Dystopia, the other side of the world," she explained. "A dimension where mana exists in its most unstable, dark form. When a demon crosses into our world, it brings that instability with it."
"And the higher-ranked ones?" Null asked.
"They possess intelligence," Sora said. "Strategy. Ambition. Some can speak. Some can manipulate. And the most dangerous among them… can influence reality without ever showing their true form."
Null let out a low whistle. "Sounds like villains with a long-term plan."
Sora glanced at him. "They are."
He thought for a moment, then asked, "Do they have, like… goals? Or are they just naturally destructive?"
"They desire," Sora replied. "Power. Territory. Influence. Some seek domination. Others seek transformation. A few seek something far worse—the unsealing of the Evil Divinity."
"Yeah, you mentioned that before. Who is this Evil Divinity?"
She didn't answer immediately.
"The radix of all evil in the world," she said at last.
Null slowed slightly.
"…That sounds malevolent."
"That is why the Divine Sanctum exists," Sora said. "To ensure that malevolence never succeeds."
They walked in silence again, the forest creaking softly around them.
After a moment of silence, Null spoke again—his voice quieter, more thoughtful.
"So… if demons vary that much," he said, "there's probably some kind of hierarchy, right?"
Sora glanced at him, then nodded.
"There is."
They continued walking, her white radiance parting the oppressive air as she spoke.
"At the lowest level are Lesser Demons," she explained. "These include demon beasts and other mindless entities. They're driven purely by instinct and corrupted mana. Dangerous, but predictable."
"Cannon fodder," Null summarized.
"In crude terms," Sora agreed. "Yes."
She lifted a finger.
"Above them are Greater Demons. These possess diluted primordial demonic bloodline. They retain intelligence, can command lesser demons, and often act as regional threats."
"Mid-bosses," Null muttered.
Sora's lips twitched faintly before she continued.
"Next are the Arch Demons," she said, her tone growing more serious. "They possess pure primordial demonic bloodline. Their strength is extraordinary, and many of them hold noble positions within demon society."
"Nobility?" Null echoed. "So demons have politics too."
"Unfortunately," Sora said. "And ambition."
She paused for a heartbeat before adding the next part.
"Above even the Arch Demons are the Singular Pandemonium."
Null felt a chill run down his spine.
"Nine entities," Sora continued, "each one a calamity in their own right. They serve directly under the Demon Lord. Their existence alone can reshape entire geography."
"Let me guess," Null said dryly. "Final bosses' final bosses."
Sora didn't smile this time.
"They are living disasters."
The forest seemed to creak louder around them.
"And at the top?" Null asked.
Sora's gaze lifted toward the darkened canopy.
"The Demon Lord," she said. "An entity of almighty strength and authority. They command all demons, embody the will of Dystopia, and possess power rivaling the highest divine beings."
Null digested the information, then tilted his head slightly.
"Hey, Sora," he said, curiosity creeping back into his voice.
"You keep mentioning primordial demonic bloodlines. What exactly does that mean?"
Sora slowed, her white radiance dimming just a fraction as she gathered her thoughts.
"The Primordial demonic bloodline refers to the original lineage of demons," she said. "The true ancestor—the origin of all that is demonic. The Demonic Overlord."
"Demonic Overlord—"
Null's words cut off mid-sentence.
The forest shifted.
Not with sound.
Not with movement.
With presence.
The white radiance around Sora flared instinctively, expanding like a protective veil as the air grew heavier—thicker—saturated with a pressure that felt ancient and hostile.
The warped trees groaned, their corrupted roots tightening in the soil as if recoiling from something far worse than themselves.
Null's hand tightened around his sword.
"…Okay," he muttered, eyes scanning the shadows. "That was not part of the lecture."