The story of Kriz had been told, and half of the journey was already behind them.
Along the way, countless monsters in Greenpath were held back by the soldiers of Anteria.
They were ferocious, ready to lunge and attack at any moment.
There was the Mantiscrab they had encountered before.
There were Grave Hoppers — giant grasshoppers with dark brown bodies and massive hind legs.
There were also Vine Snakes — legless creatures with wings on their backs that Shinji's group had met earlier.
And many other creatures continued to appear.
"Pretty dangerous… We didn't run into this many this morning, did we?"
Shinji asked Akidou.
After traveling for a while, they approached the white mist.
It gradually appeared before them, turning the path ahead into a deep wall of white.
"We're almost there, humans."
Mieren said.
When they finally stood before the mist—
"Goodbye, Mieren. We'll leave from here on our own."
Mieren looked puzzled.
"What? You're really going to cross it?"
Alba stepped forward, entering the mist first.
Shinji, Lio, and Akidou — who was carrying Omelet — followed behind.
Mieren watched them from the back.
"Be careful. Inside the mist, the number of monsters is many times greater than outside."
But once inside, they couldn't hear anything anymore.
Only faint sounds echoed around them, like someone whistling from afar.
"What was Mieren saying?"
Alba wondered.
After walking for a short while, a small light appeared in the distance within the thick white fog.
"There! The exit!"
Immediately, they ran toward it.
Alba stepped out first.
"What…?"
Standing before him was Mieren, holding a lantern.
"You're out already?"
Shinji and Lio crashed into Alba's back and fell over.
"Sit down and rest a bit. Otherwise, you'll exhaust yourselves."
Mieren set the lantern down. An ant soldier handed him a piece of bread.
"This is strange. I refuse to believe I can't cross it!"
Alba immediately turned around and ran back into the mist.
Shinji and Lio waved at Mieren before chasing after him.
Akidou was still inside, wandering around trying to find them.
"Hey! Everyone!"
He looked around in confusion. The space was nothing but endless white.
"No way… Did I get lost…?"
As Akidou panicked while carrying Omelet, hurried footsteps suddenly echoed nearby.
It was Alba, charging straight ahead.
"Alba!"
Akidou shouted, but Alba didn't stop.
Lumber was in his arms, and Gumber sat on his shoulder as he continued rushing forward.
Shinji and Lio ran past and found Akidou.
"Hey, hurry up, Akidou!"
Shinji shouted while running.
Akidou immediately followed them.
Once again, Alba saw the light.
"There's the light, kid! Hurry up!"
Gumber urged from his shoulder.
Alba poured all his strength into sprinting toward it.
And once again, they returned to the same place.
There, Mieren had already spread out a mat and was sitting with the soldiers, eating bread they had made themselves.
"Oh, I knew it. That's why I waited here."
Mieren held out a piece of bread toward Alba.
"Sit down and rest. It's useless."
With no other choice, they all sat down.
Alba was exhausted from running while carrying both Lumber and Gumber.
Shinji and Lio were also worn out, slowly drinking water.
Akidou gently set Omelet down.
"The one who's unconscious… he's from the fairy race, isn't he?"
Mieren asked.
"That's right. Why?"
Mieren put a piece of bread into his mouth and spoke calmly.
"As far as I know, only the fairy race can dispel the white mist. Am I right?"
"That's correct."
Akidou stretched, wincing from the pain in his body.
"Back then, I was only able to enter Greenpath thanks to a fairy soldier."
He took a sip of water and looked at Mieren.
"Hey, I just told you about Kriz earlier. Don't tell me you already forgot?"
After eating and recovering their strength, Akidou turned to Lio.
"Hey, where's the medicine Olivia gave us, Lio?"
Lio took out the pouch and handed Akidou the bundle wrapped in leaves.
"It's kind of frustrating. Since Lio can't speak, I've always been curious about what his voice sounds like."
Suddenly, Lumber jolted upright.
"What the hell?! Where am I?!"
He looked down at his stomach. The large leaf Olivia had used to bandage him made him itch terribly.
He tried to rip it off, but Gumber stopped him.
After calming down, he sat and began eating bread with the others.
"So I got slashed and passed out. And this brat dropped from the sky and defeated Almond?"
Lumber looked at them suspiciously, then pointed at Shinji.
"And this kid defeated that owl-faced woman?"
"That's right!"
Shinji replied confidently.
"Lie too much and you'll never grow up."
Akidou placed the leaves and the furry creature into a bowl, following the method Olivia had used.
"Ah, the Muis!"
Mieren pointed at it.
"Hey… I really have to crush it into the medicine…?"
Akidou asked, trembling.
Mieren took the bowl and prepared the medicine for him.
The black mixture formed again. The moment Akidou saw it, he ran off to vomit.
Afterward, he fed the bowl of medicine to Omelet, his face pale as he tried not to throw up again.
Omelet coughed once after drinking it.
Everyone immediately felt relieved — he was about to wake up.
Akidou stared at the dark mixture and the Muis, completely losing his appetite.
"Hey, eat up. If you get hungry later, you won't have the strength to carry Omelet."
Alba handed him some bread.
"No… I don't feel like eating anymore."
Alba shoved the entire piece into his mouth.
"Just eat. Don't be shy."
Deepgreen.
Almond sat in the middle of the battlefield. His body was completely burned, blackened like charred wood.
His massive arm cracked and fell to the ground.
The surrounding earth had been scorched black by the heat.
"How pathetic."
A figure appeared from afar.
"Already dead? Faster than I expected."
Each step he took left behind a puddle of dark green mud that slowly faded away.
"Mocking humans as inferior, yet dying at their hands."
A curved golden scythe, connected to a golden chain, protruded directly from his abdomen. His mud-like body oozed slime.
"If the Demon King hears about this, he'll be delighted."
He repeatedly hacked at Almond's severed arm with the scythe.
From a distance, another figure approached. His body resembled tangled roots, with vines hanging from his chin.
"Envy… can I eat now?"
He spoke to Envy — the demon tormenting Almond's corpse.
Envy turned around.
"Oh, of course. Go ahead and eat to your heart's content, Freyz."
Freyz stepped forward. He was the same one who had devoured the Mantiscrab before.
"Go on. Eat."
Envy's eerie grin stretched to his ears, his eyes deep and hollow.
Countless vines burst from the ground, binding Almond's corpse.
They snapped his body apart piece by piece. Ash scattered into the air, irritating Envy.
"Be neater. It's filthy."
Freyz opened his enormous mouth and bit into large chunks of charred flesh, devouring them greedily.
"How amusing. A Intelligent ranked demons is nothing but the Demon King's joke."
Envy spun his scythe, the chain clinking around his wrist.
"Pathetic. You'll never earn the title of High Demon like this, Almond."
Large pieces of Almond's body were torn apart, mixed with Envy's scornful words.
"If you keep indulging in foolish romance, your fate can only be to become food."
In the distance, a surviving flying demon hid and watched everything.
It flapped its wings, preparing to flee.
Slash!
Envy's scythe pierced straight through its head.
The chain extended endlessly, coated in thick green mud.