Today's the 31st of October, what would have been Halloween in my old world. But that's irrelevant here. What was relevant, however, was my next plan. Entering the Demon Forbidden Zone, letting one of the Demons possess me, and then resist and prevent them from taking control of my mind……that will let me retain control of my body, while gaining access to their Demonic power.

  I'll have to enter the toxic wasteland area to do so, that's unavoidable. I'll head north through the underground dinosaur cavern, and then burst through the ceiling once I'm underneath the wasteland. Unfortunately, I can't teleport to the area since I don't have any monsters under my control there……all the monsters in that area were under the control of some of the monster kings that were sealed in Forbidden Zones.

  Once I get there, entering the Forbidden Zone should be simple……I can just use a teleportation spell, point it in the direction of the Forbidden Zone from a certain distance, and that should teleport me right inside the barrier. According to Lazarus, within the bounds of the barrier, the Forbidden Zone only suppresses and nullifies Dark Magic, therefore my normal Mana should work just fine. And if it doesn't work, I can try summoning and undoing the summon with one of the monsters under my control.

  However, I won't be going there just yet, I need to take some precautions to ensure that I won't fail to resist the Demon taking over my body and mind. Taking past experiences into account, it's unlikely that anyone in this world can beat me in a battle of pure willpower, but even so, I would prefer to eliminate that risk entirely, or at least as much as possible.

  Specifically, I was extensively familiarizing myself with the inner workings of my own consciousness, and I had made decent progress……before, I couldn't enter my own consciousness without Lazarus's help, but now, I can do so with ease all on my own. I'll start heading for the Forbidden Zone once I'm satisfied with the degree of familiarity……

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  Point-of-View: Fuo Wesroh

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  A logical approach over an emotional one, huh? I don't know, this seems more insane than logical……entering a Forbidden Zone was downright crazy. But if anyone could pull it off, well……there was no one but him who could. I won't be tagging along for this, I wouldn't be able to survive for long in the wasteland, after all……with his healing capabilities though, it shouldn't be a problem for him.

  On another note, I was starting to get bored……I mean, it had been over a month and a half since we came here, and I'd had absolutely nothing to do. And somehow, I just wasn't in the mood for training, at least not as much as I usually was, I just felt too anxious. It was hard to stop thinking about this whole situation……and when I look at it that way, it's easy to understand why Kuro sealed his emotions.

  With each passing day, I felt a growing sense of anxiety, I couldn't help but worry about everyone's safety back home. But for the most part, I'm not directly affected by the existence of Shiro, while Kuro most certainly is……an imposter was taking his place in his life, pretending to be him……if I was going through something like that, I'd probably lose my mind after this much time.

  Well, either way, there were only two months left now, before this'll be over one way or another, and it isn't going to end without at least one death. The only way for Kuro to come out of this alive was for him to kill Shiro, there was no getting around that fact……but now, it was different from before, the deadline isn't the only reason motivating Kuro to kill him……no, that's probably not even the primary reason. More than anything, he wanted to kill him to avenge Mika's death.

  And to ensure that he won't fail again, he was resorting to something as extreme as entering a Forbidden Zone……but if that works as planned, he'll likely be truly unstoppable, one would imagine. Yeah, he's already at a level of power that no one else in this world can match, at least as far as I know, so the thought of that increasing even further was kinda ridiculous……

  About a week and a half later, on the 11th of November, he finally began heading out to the Forbidden Zone, having done……whatever preparations he'd been working on, I don't really know the details of what it was that he'd been working on.

  "Are you sure this is a good idea?" I inquired skeptically, as he began heading into the tunnel leading underground.

  "Yeah, I am," He responded, his tone as blank as ever.

  "I hope so……hey, just……just come back alive, okay?"

  "I fully intend to. Dying is the one thing I can't afford to do."

  And with those words, he disappeared into the darkness, as I let out a sigh. It'll probably be at least a week before he's back, maybe more. As I turned around and began heading back to my room, I was startled as someone was standing behind me.

  "Wha……oh, it's just you, Thirteen. You scared me for a second there," I sighed, after jumping slightly.

  "You seem rather downcast, Miss Fuo," She remarked, staring at me closely.

  "Just call me Fuo……and what do you mean?"

  "You do not know? Well, to me, it seems quite obvious that you do not wish to be separated from Lord Kuro for too long, do you?"

  H-huh?

  "O-of course not, h-he could take all the time in the world for all I care!"

  "That is not very convincing," She replied with a stifled smirk, letting out a laugh and trying to pass it off as a cough.

  "Yes, I agree, I have noticed that you stare at Lord Kuro quite frequently," Remarked another voice from behind me.

  Zero? Where'd he come from all of a sudden!?

  "Grr, y-you're mistaken, leave me alone!" I stuttered, walking away with a huff.

  Oh, and ever since Kuro had asked them to spar with him to help with his training, they'd started calling him 'Lord Kuro', his power was rapidly gaining their respect. And since I was with him, they treated me amicably as well. Stupid Vampires, how ridiculous! I don't care if Kuro takes one day or one month, it makes no difference to me! But, well, I guess it wouldn't hurt if he got back sooner, since that means I won't have to wait around too long, that's all……

  ———————————————————————————


  Point-of-View: Kuro Black

  ———————————————————————————


  "Are you sure you should have waited this long? It may take upto two weeks to get to the wasteland area," Remarked Lazarus.

  Didn't you watch my memories from a few days ago? Not to worry……I already sent a Phoenix to go on ahead, it's the fastest monster type I have under my command. I commanded it to fly straight north as far as possible, only to stop if and when it reaches a dead end. Now, then……

  I summoned the Phoenix, and as it swooped down and perched itself on my forearm, I undid the summon, instantly finding myself in a different area. I was facing a tall, rocky wall……looks like it reached the dead end. So, this is far as the underground cavern extends, is it? Well, Lazarus? How close are we to the Demon Forbidden Zone.

  "Well, actually……we're about ten kilometers past it."

  Oh? That's perfect.

  "Hm? How so?"

  The range of one of the forward-teleportation spells I brought with me is about ten kilometers, I brought several with varying ranges, just in case.

  "Ah, I see……so, then, will you blast through the ceiling right here, and then teleport straight back with the spell?"

  What? Of course not……I have no reason to waste any energy on blasting through the ceiling……I can just point the teleport spell straight up.

  "Er……going ten kilometers straight up isn't really a good idea……"

  I know that……I'll be using the teleport spell with the shortest range I have, which is one kilometer.

  "Where did you get these spells anyway?"

  Weren't you watching my recent memories at all? I had a few of them on me when I got to Platinberg, and I searched through the abandoned weapon shops there to find more.

  "I don't watch all your memories, you know. I'm bound to miss plenty of details. Just tell me when you're doing something important, that'll alert me to watch the memories of it."

  Fine. Now, then, let's not waste any more time……we're starting now.

  I pointed the one-kilometer forward-teleport spell straight up and activated it……I then found myself a couple of hundred meters in the air, with the ground below me. I slowly flew down and landed, inadvertently letting out a cough as I did. Hm, my skin is getting damaged already……this area is definitely highly toxic.

  No matter, my Healing Factor heals much faster than the damage I receive from the corrosive air. Now, then, I need specific details on the location of the Forbidden Zone, Lazarus……tell me the direction right down to the single degree, and the distance to a decimal point.

  "……yeah, no, that's way beyond what I'm capable of, Kuro. But I'll try to be as accurate as possible."

  Once he'd calibrated the distance and direction as accurately as he possibly could, I pointed the ten kilometers forward-teleport Spell Card in that direction……and activated it. In the next instant, my surroundings grew significantly darker, everything around me bathed in a deep purple hue……

  Good, I was inside the Forbidden Zone, entry complete. And I could see quite clearly due to my improved eyesight. There were several skeletons all over the ground, presumably the deceased vessels that had once been possessed by the Demons in here……speaking of which, they were all around me. Dark shadow-like ghosts with two gleaming red spots where their eyes would be.

  "So, then these are the corporeal forms of Demons?" I remarked, before looking around at them and adding, "Now, then……who wants to try and possess me?"

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