Actually, I was the Real One

When Keira turned, she saw a villager’s head nailed to a tree.
Its torso was far away on the dirt floor.

However, an elongated neck connected them.
The head turned with a screech.

“Did you think I was dead? You thought I was dead, didn’t you?”

As the head spoke, the torso crawled with its arms and began approaching Keira at high speed.

“Keeeeeek!”

“Heeheehee[1].”

Several individuals at the same time.

“…”

The sight was so horrendous that Keira faltered.

She thought it would be better to fight a wild boar twenty times its original size. 

‘Is Cosette like this, too?’

She couldn’t continue dealing with demons that didn’t die even if she cut them in two.
There was a limit to her stamina.

So, instead of fighting back, Keira ran towards the forest.

‘Everyone only has their upper or lower bodies left.
I’m faster.’

However, the demonic forest wouldn’t let her go peacefully.

The woods was vastly different during the day and at night.

Swoosh–!

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The trees, which looked normal when the sun was up, began to move at night.

Slam–!

A tree trunk moved and blocked her path.

While Keira was blocked, the demons after her came closer.

“Catch her! Catch her!”

“Keeek!”

She intended to hide by climbing a tall tree, but it was a complete misjudgment.

‘D*mn it.’

Keira did think the forest of the Demon Realm was too peaceful.

She ran, cutting down tree trunks blocking her path one by one.

‘How far do I have to run away?’

No, the entire forest was one genus, so she didn’t know if running away was the right decision.

As Keira turned around, she started seeing a faint light in front of her again.
It was the cannibal villagers.

‘What should I do?’

The village was empty since they chased after her.

If she went back into the woods, she would be constantly chased away.
So, wouldn’t it be better to hide and wait for the sun to rise?

There was a limit to her movements in the dark forest.

‘There’s a saying that beneath the lamp is dark[2]…’

The village was enveloped in complete silence.
It felt as if they all ran out to chase their prey.

Keira picked a hut with a back door, crept inside, and made sure no one was inside before she sat on the floor to catch her breath.

Keira: “Haa.”

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He said that the magic of space and time would never catch her.*

When Keira thought of Erez’s face as he spoke it so confidently, her anger rose again.

If that man had just teleported her properly, she wouldn’t have to suffer like this.

He even told her not to worry, that he’d find her right away if they got separated!

Even after half a day had passed, not even a single golden hair could be seen, let alone the man himself.

Keira gritted her teeth and leaned her back against the wall.

‘Now what?’

Now that she knew this forest was no longer safe, she had to get out of here as soon as the sun came up.

However, there was no guarantee that it would be safe outside the forest.

“…”

It was a complete mess.
Did she come to the Demon Realm for nothing?

Just as she started regretting her decision…

Step–.

She started hearing footsteps on the dirt floor from afar.

Keira: “…!”

Keira immediately grabbed her sword from the floor.

It didn’t seem to be the demons who lived in the village.
After all, she had cut them all in two.

If they came back, Keira would hear the sound of their upper body dragging to the floor, not the sound of footsteps.

Step, step–.

To make matters worse, the footsteps were getting closer.

Keira covered her mouth with her mouth in fear that they would hear her breathing.

‘Just pass by.
Just go.’

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But despite her earnest prayer, the unidentified footsteps stopped in front of the hut where Keira hid.

She could see someone standing outside through the small gap under the door.

As if it knew exactly that she was here.

There’s a saying, ‘The one who strikes first wins[3].’

Keira stood up carefully so as not to make a sound.

Then, she pierced the mana-covered sword towards the door.

Bam–!

“Ahhhhh!”

She heard a scream outside the door.
It was a familiar voice.

“…?”

“What the h*ll are you doing!”

It was the voice of the one who dropped her here. 

Keira pulled her blade out of the door, then poked her head outside.

As if he had fallen for a moment, Erez was getting up, wiping the dirt off his clothes.

It was the real Erez.

He looked tidy, unlike Keira, who had been chased around.

When she saw him, her anger, which she had forgotten for a moment, came rushing back to her.
Keira slammed her sword to the ground and said.

Keira: “And you said you were confident in your space and time magic?”

Erez: “…I mentioned there was a possibility that we might get separated.”

Still, Erez’s conscience pricked him, so he avoided her gaze.

Erez: “I-isn’t it okay because I came to you, right?”

Keira: “You said you’d find me right away.
You never said it would take this long!”

Erez: “That’s because you moved from where you first fell! Don’t you know the first rule when you’re in distress? Stay where you are.”

How should I know that? Keira’s face wrinkled.

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But Erez didn’t care and continued.

Erez: “I’m glad I was able to find you by making a fuss.
The whole forest was in a commotion.”

Keira really wanted to hit him as he spoke softly.
In fact, Keira’s fists were clenched tightly.

‘Let’s be patient….
You can’t come all the way here and fight your partner.’

Keira: “Keep your voice down.
They still might be looking for me.”

Erez: “Ah, them? No need to worry.
I met them on the way.”

Keira didn’t know if Erez persuaded them not to pursue her or if he used violence.

She didn’t care either way.

Erez: “Do you really come all the way here and follow the stranger? Weren’t you scared?”

Keira: “…I thought she was human.
I thought she fell through the gate.”

Moreover, just before revealing their identity, they didn’t emit any ominous aura at all.

She really seemed like a normal human being.

Were all demons like this?

As if reading her mind, Erez answered.

Erez: “It’s because they’re weak.
Wouldn’t it be difficult to be driven out to such a deep place? This forest is where things caught in the gate often fall.
It eats humans who fall into the Demon Realm by accident.
They’d attack ordinary people as soon as they find it, but if it’s too much to deal with, they would pretend to be human, give them a place to sleep, then eat them.”

Whenever the gate was about to open, the general public would evacuate immediately and the knights who could deal with demonic beasts were dispatched.

Many of those who fell here would probably be combat personnel.

It would be unreasonable to subdue a trained knight with their skills, so it seemed like they would drug them.

At the very least, while asleep, they would get eaten without realizing it.

When Keira imagined it, a chill ran down her back.

She really didn’t want to be here any longer.

She could still see Ella’s face, hanging upside down by the door and asking where she was going.

It was a memory she would never forget for the rest of her life.

At her urging, Erez flicked his finger, then a black hole appeared in the air.

Erez: “You can go in.”

“…”

No one could blame Keira for not jumping into the hole.

Her wary gaze turned to Erez.

Erez: “You can really trust me this time.
We’re moving within the Demon Realm, so there’s no way I could make a mistake.”

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Keira: “…just let something like this happen again.”

She carefully tiptoed to the black hole.

She thought it was an empty space, but her toes touched something unexpectedly soft.

…The moment she thought of it, the hole sucked her in as if it was inhaling something.

‘Oh?’

She didn’t even have time to ask what was going on.
Keira was sucked into the black hole in an instant.

And at the same time, her vision turned black.

[1]The author wrote ‘낄낄낄,’ which is similar to ‘ㅋㅋㅋ.’ Both are laughing sounds.
[2] ‘등잔 밑이 어둡다’ is a proverb that literally translates to the quote above.
It means it’s easy to miss what’s around you.
[3] ‘선빵 필승’ is another saying that the first attack wins.

*Not 100% sure about this translation