Chapter 480 - Stretch Of Dry

[Old Treyna, Hollow Foundation Outskirts – "Stretch of Dry", Later That Day]

"The Stretch of Dry"—an infamous region of Old Treyna, infertile as the soil is barren of life and moisture.

In the midst of the summer, it reaches heights of heat that cause death to any unprepared, unsuspecting people within a day. 

Such a land, holds little respite—as you can see: 

"Nobody told me this place had this–!" He yelled out. 

"I thought I told you–or Mother did!" Iris yelled in return, running alongside him, "Old Treyna is infamous for its abnormal environment!"

Behind them, as they sprinted over the lifeless, cracked soil that made up the outskirts of the foundation, a towering wave of mud loomed over them. 

"I didn't hear squat!" 

Glancing behind him, the flaming, bulbous slimes squealed as they were caught in the jaws of the tsunami of sludge as it burrowed through the soil. 

How did a slime-hunting quest turn into this?! He thought. 

"I knew you were going to jinx it–!" He shouted. 

–All he could recall for being the source of the unorthodox natural terror was the pond of mud he and his partner passed by on their way to the nest of the fiery slimes. 

Up ahead, he could see the village in the distance, inhabiting a small patch of silver grass that seemed to act as a border between the desert-like biome and the plains of Old Treyna. 

"Ren, at this rate…" Iris noticed the same thing as him as she looked back, then forward. 

"I know…" He muttered, "it's heading right for the plains…that'll affect the village over there." 

They both came to a stop in unison, facing the colossal wave of mud as it left a trail of sludge in its path. 

After sprinting for ten minutes away from the wave, he worked up a swear, only due to the doting sun up above. 

"Iris!"

"I've got it!" She shouted in response, "Hyperion: Bound Gate!"

–Intercepting the path of the monstrous wave came a wall of reinforced light, taking on a physical form as it solidified, stopping the wave in its path. 

Even so, it continued to press against the barrier with an immense weight. Naturally, the weight of the storm of mud, backed by its aggressive push, had to be innumerable. It was enough so that as it was held there by the wall temporarily, it casted a shadow over the surrounding area, blocking even the clingy rays of the sun up above the clouds. 

"I can't hold it for long, Ren…!" She grunted. 

"That's fine–just keep it right there for a bit longer," he told her, holding his hand forward. 

I don't really like this, but I guess it's my only option for something like this, he thought. 

"Araphel: Void Cabinet!"

Just as the barrier was released, he manifested an abyssal portal that siphoned the horde of mud into its interdimensional depths. 

I've never stored this much before–and it's going to be a mess! He thought. 

"Ah–" He let out in surprise, noticing a lapse in his judgment. 

–Sucked into his dimensional locker, the fiery slimes were tucked away in the space alongside the vast, hungering wave of sludge before being stowed away. 

"That's not good…how am I going to sift those out alongside all that mud later?" He questioned, rubbing the back of his head. 

"It's better than worrying about the village, isn't it?" She smiled. 

"Yeah, yeah," he sighed out with a returned smile. 

In the distance, he waved to a few adventurers who were partaking in their own quest, who were also escaping from the mud wave. By the looks of them, they were newbies–seeming simultaneously ecstatic to be saved from the mud-fall and frightened by the encounter with the abnormal terrain. 

"Guess that could've gone worse," he muttered. 

"Right?" Iris smiled. 

Moving onwards, their job wasn't finished yet; a herd of red-bodied slimes continued to bounce towards the village, leaving trails of flames in their wake. 

Trudging through the barren region of Old Treyna, the soil cracked and split beneath each step with little foliage to be seen–and even less being alive. 

"I've been wondering something," he said curiously. 

"Hm?"

"What's with the clean split between the desert section of Old Treyna, and the plains? It's night and day between the two, yet they're so close to one another," he asked, kicking a pebble that split apart. 

Iris placed her hands behind her back as she walked alongside him, "I believe what Mother told me was that the "Stretch of Dry" used to have a flourishing city that was quickly expanding into a formidable kingdom."

"Really?" He said, looking around, "hard to see that now."

Iris nodded, "But, according to legend, a strange man passed through one day–all he asked for was a cup of mead at a local tavern. His order wasn't declined, but they were out of mead just then–it was a densely populated city, after all." 

"And?" He looked at her, interested in hearing more. 

"That man turned out to be the Demon Lord, Ashten," Iris looked at him, "in a fit of rage, his anger alone swallowed the surrounding land, eradicating every piece of life…It's said that after that, nature was too frightened to resurface in this land." 

He sighed out, shaking his head, "Talk about anger issues."

After walking for a minute more, he thought her words over again before finding a sudden, pressing question. 

"Wait," he looked at her, "did you say "Demon Lord"--is that what you said?"

"That's right," she nodded, looking curiously at him with her oceanic eyes. 

"...That actually exists in this world, too? I thought Adelaide was pulling my leg all this time…" He muttered. 

"Who's Adelaide?"

"Oh, uh–nobody," he quickly answered, coughing into his fist, "I've never heard of this Demon Lord guy–shouldn't he, like, be a big deal or something?"

Iris put her finger to her chin as her wedding ring glistened beneath the ever-present rays of the beading sun. 

"Not really," she answered with a surprising response. 

"Hold on, but you just said he wiped out an entire city just from a tantrum! This guy sounds like a menace," he put his hands to his sides. 

Iris laughed a bit, keeping her hands held behind her back once more, "Ren, that was centuries ago. The demon continent is on the other side of the world, and they don't really seek contact with this continent anymore." 

"Why's that? The demons I'm familiar with tend to have it out for humans, big time," he looked at her. 

"There you go again…this world is a lot different than Earth, you know?" Iris smiled at him, twirling the magical staff between her fingers, "the demons are peaceful nowadays; in fact, I've heard they're welcoming to foreigners–but it's their continent itself that's the real danger." 

"You sure do know a lot about this world, don't you?" He looked at her, placing his hand atop her head. 

Iris held a proud smile, "I've been here practically my whole life. Besides, it's a wonderful world, don't you think? There's so much we still don't know about it."

He looked up towards the azure sky, letting out a small breath, "Yeah, but maybe there's too much we don't know," he returned his gaze to her with a smile, "on that note, there's still a lot I have to teach you about Earth, you know?"

"Yeah," she nodded with a warmth to her smile. 

…I'll never regret it: marrying her. Even since the day I laid my eyes on it–that smile hasn't dulled in the slightest to my eyes. Each time I'm met with it, my heart skips a beat as if a shining array of voltage traverses my body, he thought. 

"You know…" He mumbled. 

"Mm?" Iris looked at him as her azure locks cascaded down her slender shoulders. 

"I love you–like, a freakin' lot," he mumbled again, folding his arms across his chest. 

Iris teased him, leaning closer as they walked together, "What was that? I didn't hear you." 

"You want to play that way, huh?" He muttered to himself before taking in a breath, "I said I love you, you dolt!" 

As he proclaimed his love out loud, letting his voice be carried through the barren outskirts, they both paused with a blush as they both remembered the passing adventurers from earlier. 

He cleared his throat, averting his gaze, "Got that?'

"I think I heard you that time," she laughed a bit, "I love you too, Ren." 

It was a longer hike than they realized, though it was nothing they weren't used to–as long as the village was in sight, a hike was fine. 

"How do you think the others are doing? Macheo, Aiko, and them, I mean…" Iris watched the sparse clouds move. 

"Knowing that bunch–perfectly well," he answered with a smile, "they all have their own ambitions, and they're strong…so I bet they're doing just fine in reaching whatever goals are in front of them." 

"Yeah, you're probably right…" Iris smiled before it faded a bit, looking up at him, "...How's your eye?"

Asked this, he gently brushed his fingertips across the eye patch, putting on a smile, "Better. It hasn't been hurting as much lately."

"That's good."

"Yeah."

As their conversation drifted to an end, it was brought upon by them reaching the herd of fiery slimes at last, having to watch their step as not to walk over the trails of flames. 

"They're close to the border," he said, drawing his blade, "--if they touch even a single blade of grass, we're not getting paid."