The Author's POV

"We're here." 

When I shut my eyes, I was able to perceive the barrier that blocked my path to the city that was directly in front of me, despite it being invisible from view. 

Ohm―! I reached out my hand in front of me and stopped when I came into contact with something hard and smooth. 

I was able to catch a glimpse of a tiny ripple that was forming around the area that I touched, and the ripple, to my relief, stopped moving a couple of meters away from where my hand touched. 

"It's pretty strong."

Even though I hadn't put it to the test, I had a hunch that not even someone with an <SSS-> rank could break through the barrier in a single attack. 

However, I couldn't say for certain since I hadn't tested it yet. 

That being said… 

Swoosh―!

When I shut my eyes and concentrated on a specific energy within my body, a dark hue centered over the palm of my hand, and I brought it forward in a slow, methodical manner.

…Nothing said that I needed to break the entire structure. 

WOOOM―! After the thin film that was surrounding the city was cut cleanly through by my hand, I slowly brought my hand back down.

In that short moment, a small cut appeared on the barrier before me. 

It was small, but it was still there. 

'I can cut it.' 

There was also a fair amount of resistance coming from the barrier, but it was nothing that I was unable to handle in any way. The only issue was that it was a rather slow process, as that single cut took quite a few seconds. 

When I turned around to look at the others, I was taken aback to see that they had already surrounded me and were attentively observing the area around us.

'That's good.' 

I smiled at the sight. 

I had just been considering telling them to cover for me, but it didn't appear as though they required any kind of reminder.

With my back secured, I returned my focus to the barrier in front of me, and I brought my hand up. 

'This'll take a couple of minutes.' 

*** 

"The humans have started to breach the city; what should we do, your highness?" 

"Nothing for now." 

On top of a large structure, Prince Plintus was looking in a specific direction as he stood there gazing outward.

Even though it wasn't obvious, and there didn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary happening, the Prince smiled as he lowered his head and stared at the orb that he held in his hand.

Everything was going according to plan. 

"Don't alert the demons patrolling of what's going on. We don't want to startle our guests into thinking this is a trap before it's too late." 

"Understood." 

The demon is next to the Prince replied. Thinking of something, he suddenly asked. 

"Your Highness, what about the other humans?" 

"Which ones?" 

"The human groups that are surrounding the city outside. What should we do with them?" 

"Nothing yet." 

The images within the orb shifted, and Prince Plintus's eyes squinted at what was replayed inside of it. 

There were several large groups of humans outside and were all waiting for orders to attack.

They were currently hiding their identities with hoods, and although he was unsure of who they were, he wasn't particularly concerned with their identities. 

He already had a general comprehension of the forces that comprised the Human Domain, and he was aware that the most difficult opponent was the kid with the blue eyes who was attempting to enter and assist them in infiltrating his city.

Just that… 

'They'll never get that chance.' 

The Prince smiled and fiddled with the core once more.

He was starting to get addicted to it. 

His gaze eventually came to rest on the human who was tampering with the barrier. Particularly the dark film that was covering his entire body.

His gaze changed at the sight. 

'I didn't think we'd have a traitor in our midst.' 

It was clear to him that a demon had betrayed them and had formed a contract with him. Prince Plinuts wasn't sure who the demon responsible was, but he wasn't pleased by the revelation. 

'I'll torture the information out of him once I capture him.' 

In his mind, the five of them were already in his grasp. 

What mattered at the moment was finding out who the demon that had betrayed them was and how he should get the information out of them once he captured them. 

"Get the forces ready to ambush them. As soon as they settle, we'll attack all at once." 

Prince Plintus commanded, tearing his gaze away from the orb. 

"…Make sure you keep the one with the blue eyes alive. Kill the others if need be." 

Fwap! 

Flapping his wings once, his figure disappeared. 

*** 

"We're in." 

After what seemed like an eternity, I was finally able to carve out a space that was almost big enough to accommodate a single individual. 

"Haaa… ahh… well, that'll do." 

Beads of sweat trickled down the side of my cheek, and I tried to catch my breath.

…The process was a lot more tiring than I originally anticipated. 

"Here." 

As I was regaining my strength, I felt a coarse fabric on my face. I didn't need to look to understand what was happening because I immediately recognized the voice.

"Thanks." 

"Um." 

After putting away the towel, I noticed Amanda's nose crease ever-so-slightly as she looked at the towel in her hand. 

I could tell from a glance that she was somewhat repulsed by the sweat from the towel, but it surprised me that she didn't throw it away as she normally would have done in this situation.

Rather, it appeared that after only a few brief seconds, she had returned to her normal self and put the towel away, which was somewhat surprising to me.

That neat freak of all people? 

'Can I call that progress?' 

I silently laughed to myself before turning serious once more. 

Glancing at the others once and meeting their gaze, I nodded my head. Only when all of them reciprocated did I finally enter the barrier. 

"Follow me." 

Stepping through the barrier, I was brought into a whole new world.

The sky was shrouded in thick clouds that blocked out the sun, casting a perpetual gloom over the entire area.

The buildings were tall and imposing, made of dark stone and wrought iron. They were lit by flickering gas lamps that cast long shadows across the streets.

"It looks like just as I've imagined them to be…" 

I mumbled, looking around me in both awe and surprise. 

The streets themselves were narrow and winding, filled with twisting alleys and dark corners where one could barely see the end.

The people who lived here seemed to be a mix of humans and demons, with the demons holding the upper hand in this city.

At a glance, everything seemed normal. 

No… 

There was a bit of unrest. 

Most probably from the imminent war that was about to come to them. I was quite certain that they were already aware that we were coming. 

Swoosh! Swoosh! 

Within seconds of appearing in the city, Jin, Amanda, and the others appeared behind me. They too seemed rather impressed by the city that lay before their eyes, but that didn't last for long as I managed to gather their attention once more. 

"We've already talked about what we're supposed to do beforehand." 

I turned my head to stare in the distance where an enormous building stood.

It loomed over the surrounding landscape like no other building, its twisted spires reaching toward the sky as if to claw at the very fabric of reality itself. 

Blackened stone, etched with unholy sigils, made up the bulk of its construction, while jagged obsidian spikes jutted out at irregular intervals, forming an imposing barrier against any would-be intruders.

My eyes squinted at the sight of the building. 

'Now that I look at it, it's far more impressive than the Union Tower.' 

The mere sight of the building felt intimidating. Most important, however, was the bright light that shot up from the tip of the building.

"Mana Compressor." 

Jin's muttering reached my ears.

  I nodded my head without looking at him. 

That was our current target, and so long as we managed to destroy it, we'd be able to destroy the barrier that was surrounding the city. 

As it was directly fueled by the demonic energy derived from the mana in the air, as soon as it vanished, the barrier would lose its fuel source and collapse. When this happened, those waiting outside would be able to directly attack the city.

"Is everyone here?" 

I did a double take on everyone, and only once I was sure that everyone was present did I let out a short breath and move toward the structure. 

Just before leaving, my feet paused, and I reminded. 

"Make sure you hide your presence as much as possible. It's important that we reach the tower without getting caught." 

So long as we didn't get caught…

I silently licked my lips. 

Nothing else needed to be said.