Chapter 16: The Undertaker’s Gambit

A fallen ring.

To claim it, four women lunged at the ring with all their might.

“It’s mine…!”

The first to move was Chae Yuri. Encircling the ring with a fiery barrier, she ensured that no one could approach it.

“Your Majesty! Quick, summon the soldiers!”

“Ugh… Everyone, retrieve that ring at all costs! Lay down your lives if you must this is an imperial decree!”

Min Sena clung to the emperor, urging him to act.

The emperor shouted commands to the soldiers, his voice trembling with urgency.

At the emperor’s orders, the soldiers prepared to charge through the fiery blockade.

But how?

With no protective equipment or special magic, were they expected to leap straight into the inferno barehanded?

“Hurry! What are you waiting for? Bring me that ring right now!”

The femme fatale’s harsh screams echoed, finally spurring the soldiers into action.

However, none dared to recklessly cross the flaming barrier.

While they were prepared to sacrifice their lives in battle against demonic forces,

risking themselves for a ring seemed an unreasonable request, one that failed to stir the depths of their conviction.

“The ring is mine!”

Chae Yuri, using her flying magic, dove into the flames with ease, effortlessly seizing the ring.

“With this, I’ll—”

Just as she was about to slip the ring onto her finger—

Slash!

A whip tore through the flames, coiling tightly around Chae Yuri’s wrist.

“Ack…!”

It was Lian Hwang’s whip, studded with thorn-like spikes, lashing out from just outside the fire.

“Aahhh!”

The thorns bit into her wrist, drawing blood, as Lian Hwang yanked hard,

pulling Chae Yuri out of the fiery barricade she herself had created.

“Hand it over!”

“I won’t let go…!”

Even as blood streamed from her wrist and she was dragged out of the flames,

Chae Yuri clung to the ring with all her strength.

“Bring me that ring! Quickly!”

Min Sena continued her incessant yelling, as the standoff between the sorceress and the commander unfolded.

Crash!

Something heavy slammed into the middle of the whip.

A colossal hammer shattered the whip’s hold, forcing Lian Hwang to release it as she fell face-first to the ground.

Thud!

Her face hit the dirt hard, and the whip went slack.

Taking advantage of this, Chae Yuri tightened her grip on the ring, her hands trembling.

“It’s mine—”

“Give it here…!”

The silent observer until now, the last hero,

Park Hayoung, delivered a brutal kick to Chae Yuri’s stomach and wrenched the ring from her grasp.

“Kuh, haah…!”

The sheer force of the attack nearly dislocated Chae Yuri’s hand, leaving her no choice but to let go of the ring.

“Hey, Park Hayoung!”

“I’m leaving…! I can’t stand being here anymore!”

Tears streamed down Park Hayoung’s face as she slid the ring onto her finger.

“You brat!”

Just as the ring was about to slip onto her finger, Min Sena lunged forward,

grabbing Park Hayoung by the hair and yanking her backward.

“Let go…!”

“Drop the ring! It’s cursed by the Demon King!”

“Then why are you trying to take it?!”

“Shut up! When I say drop it, you drop it!”

Using her free hand, Min Sena wrapped her arm around Park Hayoung’s head and bit down, desperately reaching for the ring.

“It’s mine…! This is—”

Thwack!

Someone kicked Min Sena in the back, sending both her and Park Hayoung sprawling to the ground.

“You wretches…!”

With her nose bleeding profusely and face twisted in anger, Lian Hwang staggered forward.

The ring lay abandoned on the ground. She reached for it, clutching it tightly.

“You worthless fools… trying to leave me behind and go home…?!”

“Hey!”

“Don’t call me ‘hey’! I’m your elder, you insufferable…!”

But just as Lian Hwang attempted to slip the ring onto her finger, it shattered.

“What?”

The ring broke into two, falling to the ground before she could even wear it.

“This… this can’t be happening…”

“Idiots.”

From afar, Chae Yuri grinned wickedly, clutching her bleeding wrist.

Encased in flames once more, she held up another ring, taunting them.

“Look at you morons fighting over something without even knowing if it’s real.”

“No… You swapped it…! When?!”

“Does it matter? ”

“Even if I told you I prepared a fake while obscuring your view with flames, what difference would it make? Fools.”

And with that, she slipped the ring onto her middle finger, holding it up in a mocking gesture.

“…What?”

Nothing happened.

The ring remained inert, completely unresponsive.

“This… This doesn’t make sense! Send me back!! Undertaker!!”

The ring was destroyed.

It split in two, one half falling to the ground with a dull thud, while the other remained on Chae Yuri’s finger.

“This… this insane…!”

The four women realized it at once—the ring had been a fake all along.

“Where is that damned undertaker?!”

But the undertaker was already gone, leaving no trace behind.

“Idiots.”

[You might actually have a knack for joining the Demon King’s army.]

“Shut up.”

I punched the blade of the cursed sword, Kramutua, then deactivated my clairvoyance spell.

“Why would being chased around by a bunch of lunatics make me Demon King material? That’s just ridiculous.”

[Did you expect me to say something nice?]

“Tch. I should just toss you into a swamp somewhere.”

[Wait a second! Undertaker, let’s think about this rationally, okay?]

“I am rational.”

I kept flicking the core of the sword with my fingers.

“See? I set up a fake ring, tricked those women, and used teleportation scrolls to keep dodging them.”

” Thanks to this little fiasco, people are starting to wonder, ‘What’s so special about that ring, anyway?’”

[Hmm. A ring that can take you back to your original world. Intriguing.]

I had explained the gist of my situation to Kramutua.

Though not an ally, the sword acted as a sounding board for my thoughts, and I could count on it to keep my secrets.

[Strange. Why not just take the Saintess and leave with her?]

“I already tried.”

That was the first thing I attempted after waking up in this world putting the ring on her finger.

It didn’t work.

I had wanted to take her back to Earth with me, but it wasn’t possible.

So, I devised a plan.

A perfect plan that would let both of us return to Earth together, leaving us both satisfied.

“Hey, Kramutua. If I agree to leave this world peacefully, you better cooperate with me.”

[Of course. Once you’re gone, the remaining four are nothing.]

“Watch your mouth.”

[Am I wrong? If they can grow stronger, all I have to do is crush them before they do and scatter them across the world.]

“Exactly.”

I casually rubbed the sword’s core.

“Just like this.”

Splash.

Drifting downriver on a small boat, I threw a wooden box into the water.

The river was deep, at least 10 meters—too deep for an ordinary person to dive into.

If I could, I’d toss it into something like the Mariana Trench. But for now, I was content with making it difficult to retrieve.

I scattered her remains—the fingers, the bones—in places inaccessible to humans.

And some of it went elsewhere.

Places no one would dare approach.

Just then—

“Stop, hero.”

As I ventured deeper into the forest along the river, figures appeared in the trees, their bows aimed at me.

“Even as the Undertaker, you cannot enter the forest with a cursed sword.”

“Guardians of the Forest,” I greeted with a wry smile. “It’s been a while.”

“Do not feign familiarity. We hear much about you from the human world.”

The elf on the tree glared at me with sharp eyes, toying with their bowstring.

“Are you a demon? A corrupted soul? Or a contender for the throne of the Demon King?”

“None of the above. I swear on the goddess herself, I’m merely trying to rid this world of a few dangerous elements before I return to Earth.”

[Truth Mirror!]

The elf summoned a mirror with magic, inspecting me thoroughly.

“…Interesting. Even as the master of a cursed sword, you tell no lies. There must be some dark truth we don’t yet see.”

“It’s not that dark. I just want to get rid of some troublesome women before leaving.”

The forest guardian leapt down from the tree, landing lightly on my boat.

“Elpidia,” I greeted. “It’s been a while.”

“…I won’t shake your hand, but I will ask you one thing.”

Elpidia clenched her fists and crouched across from me.

“How did my husband die?”

“He struck the Demon King’s horn with an arrow, followed by three more to his abdomen.”

“And?”

“…He and his friend, the orc Sir Gehendra, held back the Demon King’s magic to the very end.”

“Thank you. I knew he died in battle, but it’s different hearing it from someone who was there.”

Elpidia gave a bitter smile and gestured upward.

“Three days ago, the female heroes sent us a request for aid. ”

“They claimed the Undertaker had gone mad as the master of a cursed sword and might flee into our forest.”

“Quite thorough of them.”

“Yes. But you know what? They didn’t even know my husband had fought alongside them.”

Her lips twisted into a wry smirk.

“They didn’t know because they never fought alongside him. Human lies don’t fool us.”

Elpidia extended a hand toward me.

“…The elves welcome you, Undertaker. So, why have you come to our forest? If it’s protection you seek, we’ll guard you with our lives.”

“It’s not me I need you to seal away.”

I pulled out another box.

“This is…?”

“A wrist. Only the middle finger remains.”

“…Interesting.”

Elpidia grasped my hand firmly.

“Welcome to the Forest of the Elves, true hero.”