The door to the throne room swung open and a silhouette of a person emerged from the dimly lit labyrinth corridor.

It was a woman with red hair and purple eyes. It was Heina Latix.

“What the…” Heina’s eyes widened as she looked at the surroundings. Her eyes, initially mesmerized by the majestic throne, quickly moved to spot the unconscious people. Osiris, Asher, Clara were all lying against a wall or a pillar.

Amidst this disorder, there was one boy standing dazed while looking aimlessly.

His lips quivered and he shuddered while muttering nonsensical things with a quavering voice.

Heina immediately called out to the only conscious person in the room.

“Andreas!”

The boy's body suddenly shook with relief and he turned towards the source of the voice.

“Heina..you came.”

Heina moved toward Andreas while questioning him about the things that happened here. Normally, she wouldn't be surprised because this was her job. The deployment of reinforcements or medical units. People lying down unconsciously was a daily occurrence for her who had been working tirelessly as Osiris’ secretary.

But this time, the one who laid unconscious was Osiris' himself.

“..uhhh..so this..that..”

At first Andreas stumbled over his words. But after some time of trying hard to calm his emotions, Andreas explained how things stood at present.

“No way..Lord Osiris used all his mana? That had never happened before.”

“...”

“The throne is now enclosed by a barrier? Hmm..first we'll inspect the type of barrier placed.”

Heina raised her hand and signaled. Three people walked forward toward the throne.

After some time of inspecting the barrier, they returned with complicated expressions.

“Uhh..lady Heina, we've never seen this type of barrier. It seems to be a new kind. I think it would be good for you to inspect it personally.”

Heina cocked her head and inspected the throne. This time, Andreas accompanied her.

“This is....the Heavenly tribe's marking?”

The Heavenly tribe.

It is a tribe whose origin was unknown. Since nearly half of Tainad is still unexplored, there are many undiscovered species, tribes and monsters. The humans, unlike the ones on Earth, did not possess the hunger for the knowledge of the unknown. Instead, they stayed cooped in their continent for thousands of centuries, advancing their civilization to the maximum.

The tribe was well known for their advanced barrier techniques. Many demon nobles used their barriers to imprison notorious criminals. The humans used their barriers for research purposes and to advance their own barrier techniques.

The tribe got their name from their sense of righteousness and equity.

Their tribe is said to be closer to heaven than any other species on Tainad.

It is unknown what species they belong to since they refuse contact with the outside world. The magic barrier trade happens through a third party who would refuse to disclose their identity even when threatened.

Now the presence of the Heavenly tribe's barrier doesn't necessarily mean that they are the ones who placed it. But it is a possibility. The Heavenly tribe barriers used by the demons are not casually available at every local marketplace. It is the guarded possessions of the demon nobility.

“Andreas, you did well. We'll take over from here onwards. Rest.”

With that Andreas left the temple while the medical unit carried the unconscious Osiris, Clara and Asher in a stretcher.

----------------------------------------

Bright light filled my eyes, as I stepped outside the temple. The view that covered my eyes was tragic. The entire exterior of the Elva temple was stained with blood. The area in itself became dense with mana in just a few days with the excessive concentration of magic due to the war. Numerous dead bodies laid on the ground. Some of the injured were struggling to stand up. While some would be mentally and physically traumatized for the rest of their lives. The medic and rescue unit of the Latix were helping out everyone regardless of their family backgrounds.

The sky became dark, rain clouds gathered, the speed of the wind increased, then a huge thunderstorm occurred. The sky was crying, tainted with blood as if to reflect the sorrow present on land.

I moved to the nearest rescue helicopter as the rain slowly washed off the blood on the temple’s walls and the people’s faces. The helicopter took off shortly after the maximum capacity was reached. Then I began to fall into a deep thought.

In my old world, if it was mental torture and stress, then in this world, it is both—mental trauma and death at any moment. Sure now I can relax since the war has ceased. But it is only for the time being. The throne hasn’t been completely destroyed yet. Rather, there was a magic barrier on it. That too, a powerful one. My promise to Osiris was to bring a ceasefire to the Demon continent. That has been fulfilled now, but I am not satisfied. This is only a temporary halt to the ongoing war. Just like how it’s been happening for the past decade in this world.

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The helicopter’s speed gradually diminished, and I looked out the window. The sun was peeking through the high mountains as a new era of temporary peace began.

The helicopter landed on the Latix estate. It was a vast stretch of plains with farmlands present here and there. There were numerous houses present in the distance that denoted that it was a small village.

Helicopters numbering in the tens, landed all around me, as I got off. The gust of wind was too much to breathe normally due to the fast moving helicopter blades. People emerged from the landed helicopters. They all belonged to various demon high-noble families who were fighting just a day ago.

“You..! You killed my brother!” A man, who looked to be in his thirties, grabbed the collar of another man.

Everyone who fought together belonged to one family, so even if one of them dies, it would be unbearably heartbreaking. It was literally one family versus the other.

“Uwah! It was self defense! He rushed toward me first!” The man who was seized by the collar, cried out desperately as he tried to avoid the dagger swung towards him.

I sighed inwardly. I wouldn’t be able to say anything now—neither calm the anguished man nor protect the man who attacked for self defense. Both sides were right according to their point of views.

“Stop it both of you. Wasn’t fighting a three-day bloodthirsty war not enough for the two of you?” Another man tried to calm them both down with some philosophy. He was covered in battle scars. Some were old, but most of them were ones which he might have gotten during the most recent war.

“A man who fights to take a life, should also be prepared to let his life be taken.”

At his words, not only the two people who were fighting stopped, but the entire area fell silent. Everyone thought of the meaningless struggles. What was it all for? No one knew. All of them fought because their family head desired the throne. It was all for the greed of their family heads. Some of them, after getting enlightened by the man’s words, flashed pained smiles. The atmosphere became melancholic.

Then everyone dispersed from the area including me. The hell was finally over, and at least now I wanted to experience real freedom.

I walked in the direction of the village. As I got closer, however, I realized that this wasn’t your average tiny village. Sure, it looked like an average medieval village, but the sheer size of it was enormous. I could see some inspiration from human architecture in some areas.

After walking through the village, I arrived at a shopping street. I observed the surroundings, and realized that they relied more on their magic for everyday things more than the humans. The humans, with their advanced technology, did not care all that much for magic. According to them, using magic was even more burdensome than using sophisticated technology. In my previous world, using magic would have been easier, but not for the Tainadlings.

As I walked through the shopping street, my stomach let out a low growl. The smell coming from the nearby food stalls must have aroused it. My mouth involuntarily became drooly. I went up to one of the food stalls and looked at the dishes. Hmm..there was a fried fish platter, something that looked like lamb meat which was not cooked but kept marinated with some spices unique to the Demon continent. There was one more thing. A dish which seemed to be cooked monster meat. The rich aroma that I caught hold of earlier must have been this one. Ah man, my mouth was already watering, but now after looking at it, I was unable to control myself.

I looked at the price tag. Thirty Demonic Syks. Huhhh….Syks? The name seemed familiar. Wait, I remember. Wasn’t that the name of the legendary hero Sykic who is said to have slayed the Progenitor? It made sense to name your currency the name of a liberation hero.

Everything was nice, but…I didn’t have any money on me. Come to think of it, up until now, Osiris had been sponsoring me, but now I have to start living on my own.

To earn money. What were my options? I didn’t know anything about this world. Osiris showed the ‘history’ of this world, but only the history in relation to the Progenitor’s throne. As I hopelessly tried to think of ways to make money, a hand touched my shoulder.

I looked at the person and instantly realized who it was. It was the same philosophical man covered in battle scars who calmed the people when we landed in the Latix estate.

“Are you by chance lost?” The man seemed to have noticed my difficult situation.

“No, but I’m looking for ways to earn money.”

The man smiled lightly before replying, “I can help you. I know many ways to earn money.”

“But why..”

“I just get the urge to help out newbies.” He was helping me just because he had an ‘urge’ to help? It was fantastical, but I wouldn’t complain.

Grrr!

“Ah..” My stomach resumed its growling.

“Before that, let’s eat.” This man…he was the best.

While sitting on a nearby stone bench and eating, we shared our life stories.

“Yeah, I was a newbie once too. At that time, a reliable person helped me out. He was like a mentor to me. But soon after…” The man’s face became grim.

I didn’t want him to suffer just to tell me his life story. “I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. I just have to believe that he is in a better place now.”

“Yeah.” I tried to change the subject. “By the way, we still don’t know each other’s names.”

“Oh my, yes. It is crazy how we’ve been talking with each other for nearly hours now without knowing each other’s names!” We both laughed.

“I am Andreas. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I told my name and extended my hand.

“No need to be formal with me Andreas. I am Agnar Latix. It is good….”

Agnar paused while speaking because I was making a stupid expression.

“You are one of the nobility…?”

“Yes, I am.”

“You belong to the Latix household?”

“Yes, the Latix branch family.”

I furrowed my eyebrows and looked closely. It made sense that he was one of the nobility because he too fought in the war. He also wore the Latix family's armor. But still something didn't fit it..

“Why are you asking me all this?”

“Uhm..if you belonged to a noble family, then you must be rich right?”

“That's right.”

“So why did you struggle so hard to just make a measly amount here?”

Agnar thought long and hard. Then, finally he cocked his head like he got it.

“It is because I wanted to lead my life as an adventurer. I wanted to pursue my passion.”

“Wow..”

After some more time of chit chatting, Agnar told me about the ways to earn money in the shopping street. Then, we walked along the street to find the perfect occupation for me.