After about ten seconds, the light outside dimmed, and I slowly opened my eyes. The scene before me was unlike anything I'd ever seen. Is this the Demon Realm? It's far more terrifying than I imagined. I was teleported into a forest filled with thorny plants and purple, wasp-like insects buzzing around. The sky was dim, shrouded in thick cirrus clouds, with jagged mountain peaks rising and falling in the distance. A celestial body, resembling the moon of the human world, hung high in the sky, but it emitted a faint orange glow. I never expected the Demon Realm to have a moon. This place felt like stepping into hell itself. Yet, why does this experience feel so similar to my first time in another world? I shook my head—no, now's not the time for such thoughts. I need to regroup with the others quickly. I shouted, "Help me!" and heard Kadi's voice nearby. I ran toward it and saw Kadi stuck in a muddy pit. As I tried to pull him out, a monstrous fish suddenly leapt from the mud, biting his lower body and dragging him down. "Argh! It hurts! Save me!" he cried. I pulled with all my strength while silently chanting a spell to launch a fireball at the creature. The fireball seemed ineffective, and Kadi was being dragged deeper. I shouted for him to hold on, drew my sword, and stabbed the monster. That seemed to work—the creature retreated into the mud. I quickly pulled Kadi out, only to find his lower body was gone. The sight horrified me. I didn't know what to do or how to save him. Watching my comrade on the brink of death, tears of sorrow streamed down my face. "Am I… done for? What… bad luck…" Kadi muttered. He pulled a pendant from his chest pocket and handed it to me with trembling hands. "Please… give this… to my parents… I'm begging you…" His hand fell limp. "Kadi!" I cried out in anguish. Barely arriving in the Demon Realm, I had to watch my friend die before my eyes. The grief was indescribable. Sobbing, I took the pendant—a boy's portrait with Kadi's name engraved on the back. I carefully tucked it away, buried him on the spot, wiped my tears, and resolved to find the others."What's going on? Weren't we supposed to be teleported to the Demon King's castle? Where is this place?" Kaia asked. Something had gone wrong with the teleportation spell, causing a deviation in location and scattering the group. Only about five hundred people remained with Kaia; the rest were missing. "Demon beasts!" someone shouted from afar. Kaia quickly led the remaining team toward the sound. "Something's definitely wrong here. For now, we need to regroup as quickly as possible," Judo said. Joe added, "With everyone scattered, this is a mess." Sisi chimed in, "Based on my intuition, this is likely a forest somewhere in the Demon Realm, and we're probably far from the Demon King's castle." Kaia replied, "The Royal Mage Corps wouldn't make such a basic mistake. We might have fallen into an enemy trap." Emily said, "Our priority is to ensure the safety of the magic team. We need them to guide us back to the human world." As Kaia's group searched for others while moving forward, they managed to find another three hundred people in nearby areas, but over a hundred were still missing, including two of the four generals. General Deckton said, "We have no idea where we are. For now, let's focus on gathering our forces and assessing casualties." General Arnold agreed, "Let's split up into a V-shaped formation to search." Sounds of combat and demon beast roars echoed from various directions, indicating the missing teammates were in trouble. Kaia and the others hurried to provide support.
