The Protagonist Already Knows

In silence, neither of us daring to move, Carissa awkwardly looked up at me, her stomach still resting on my legs, her eyes practically shining an amber-brown while I tried my best to look away.

Leaning downward, I finally whispered.

"I thought you said the portal would automat-"

Her response was sharp and instant.

"I lied."

"...so you just wanted to chase h-"

"Shut up."

"..."

At that moment, the three Dreg voices sounded again.

"*GO NOW! YOU HAVE 30 SECONDS! REMEMBER, FIND THE GATE CRASH IN THE CAPITAL TO ESCAPE*"

"...fine..."

"Let’s go grab our weapons."

As the voices vanished, Carissa instantly stood up and dusted off her shirt while I took a moment to recover.

"Congrats on your death."

Not even looking back at me as she walked away, Carissa slowly descended the staircase to the room we had just heard the voices come from, carefully stopping at each step to examine the room.

Seeing her no longer hesitate, I followed behind, arriving in a dark stone-brick room with a few paintings on the walls.

Peering through a window in the room, I glanced at the small town contained in the fortress, with various streets of stone-brick housing and even vendors at each street corner, selling what seemed to be crimson fruits.

The watchtower and fortress walls towered over the town, at least fifty times their height, allowing me to see the entire town

The entire town was colored a dark-grey, devoid of any vibrant colors, with no grass, trees, or even paint on the houses.

Figures at least twice the size of humans, with crimson-red bodies and horns atop their heads, wandered the streets.

Some of the Dreg Demons had wings, others had four feet, and most had weird features like three or four eyes.

In the middle of the town stood an ancient Greek-like temple, with large quartz pillars surrounding it and various inscriptions of figures performing rituals and kneeling on the walls.

That was our escape.

As rapid footsteps approached our floor from below, I glanced at Carissa, who was already standing in a dark corner of the room with her bow pre-aimed at the staircase leading upward.

If those Dreg Demons saw that there was no portal, they would inevitably realize that an intruder must have entered the Dreg Dimension.

From there, they would alert the entire area, and our deaths would be guaranteed since Dreg Demons likely had a way of noticing humans.

Sighing, I unsheathed my Dao.

Since she had entered the Dreg Dimension regardless, my insults and words toward her brother had all been for nothing.

"Hm?"

However, at that moment, I suddenly noticed a small umbrella resting beside her feet, the usual fabric canopy now made of sturdy metal.

A paraglider?

Since flying was the main form of transportation for Dreg Demons, but not everyone had wings, the Dregs had invented paragliders that allowed one to fly for miles.

Kneeling down and grabbing the umbrella as the footsteps approached, I slid open the windowsill and stared at Carissa.

"Even if we somehow miraculously kill them, the person on the other side of the radio will know something is wrong."

Facing me, she spat out, as if speaking to me hurt her very soul.

"Then, what!? We wait for our deaths?"

Leaping onto the windowsill, with the umbrella now out of the window, I answered

"To escape, we have to get to that temple. There should be a distortion array for us to escape to the Dreg capital."

"Even if they find out there’s an intruder, if we manage to escape into the crowded capital city, it’ll be difficult for them to find us."

"..."

After a brief moment of silence, where she gazed at me with her eyes narrowed, Carissa finally muttered.

"How do you kno...you said The Dreg capital? Let’s go."

Grabbing onto the back of my shirt tightly, her nails almost piercing my shoulder blades, Carissa simply said.

"Hey, why did you come here, really?"

Before I could answer, two voices resounded from behind, prompting me to leap off the windowsill and into the air, raising the metal umbrella above me.

"Hurry up...it says their exam just ended!"

"I’m coming; I’m coming...not everyone has wings, you know?

As a gust of wind rushed against my face, I closed my eyes and held my breath.

However, just a moment later, a mocking voice sounded.

"Hey, sheep, are you going to open your eyes?"

My eyes slowly opening at the sound, I glanced forward, finding the two of us sailing through the air, barely losing any height as time passed.

Below, I could see the entire town, which was surrounded by a circle of giant walls, and various dots on the streets, each representing a Demon.

"..."

Then, reality set in.

We were like sitting ducks: if anyone decided to look up and noticed us, the small speck in the air, we were dead.

There was no escaping.

Feeling Carissa’s nails dig deeper into my back, I finally asked, needing some distraction from the height.

"What?"

"How do you know me...?"

"Everyone knows you; you’re the rank 4."

After a short silence, she pushed further.

"No...my brother, how do you know about him?"

"I read many articles in the newspaper about the demon realm raid and its members."

"...ah."

...

...

...

Gazing at Ash’s back as the two of them sailed closer and closer to the temple, Carissa couldn’t help but recall his words.

He read articles about the raid... he wanted to go to the Dreg Realm for some reason, just like her, and he knew all sorts of things about the Dreg Realm, like distortions and paragliders, as if he had done research.

He had lost someone to the Dregs, as well, hadn’t he?

Had he criticized her obsession with finding her brother...because he had gone through something similar?

Had he also been obsessed with finding a lost family member before...?

With that question on her mind, Carissa opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

No...even if he had lost someone as well, he had no right to say those words to her.