Finally a town

After continuing on through the rock-strewn plains, they eventually came to see a large river spanning from north to south, as well as a sturdy-looking bridge made out of stone.

This was "The Bridge of Ulug", located to the west of town. After crossing the stone bridge, there was a fortress made to look like a castle gate, and beyond that laid the town proper.

Walking this far from Starfall Tower should have usually taken about five-three minutes in-game, but it had taken about three hours to get here.

The Bridge of Ulug was supposed to be the one defense that the city of Faltra had to protect itself in this area. This was because if you passed through the Man-Eating Forest that spread out to the west, you would enter the domain of the Fallen, where high-level monsters would appear.

It was used as a place that players could recover their HP and MP and farmers some EXP wait for their other party members in order to conquer the "Primordial Forest Ruins" dungeon located in the forest.

Since it was located along the southeast path to the town, the Bridge of Ulug also acted as a checkpoint of sorts. They would do things like check travelers' identities and inspect luggage; kind of like modern-day security checks.

There were numerous guards equipped with armor, making it easy to understand that this was a heavily fortified position. Despite their heavily-armored appearance, the guards were standing at full attention. Diablo crossed the bridge and tried to pass through the fortress—a guard stood in his way.

"Hey, you there!"

He carried a halberd in his right hand, with only the upper half of his body covered in armor. It was normal for low level soldiers not to wear any armor on their legs. Because of that, the armor they wore from the waist up was quite thick.

His race was that of a "Human" male. He had short brown hair that spiked out at the ends. His eyes were wide, and there was nervousness on his face.

Now that he looked at me, he seemed to be quite young.

They were basically the police, and would dole out punishment to any Adventurer who committed crimes. So, for example, if you did something like killing a player outside of combat or stole something, then those Adventurers would have their names colored red as a mark that they were a "Criminal". If you approached a town or fortress in this state, the guards would surround you and beat you to death.

If the guards gave a strained reaction here, then there would have been no point for being to nice to him doing his Demon Lord roleplay for the two girls behind him. He would have to answer back as best he could!

"What is it? I trust you have must have a ass reason for stopping me."

The guard backed off, stunned. It was obvious he had been overpowered.

"W-Well, it's just... We're in charge of checking those who come through here trying to get to Faltra, and I've never seen you before... It might seem rude, but I'd like to tell me who you are and what you're here to do."

Rem's voice came from under Diablo's arm.

"...He is my Summon...kind of. The circumstances are a little complicated."

For some reason, she was hiding her body under Diablo's cape, only making her head visible to the guard. Just like Rem, Shera also only showed her head as she spoke.

"And I'm telling you, you're wrong! I'm the one who summoned him!"

"Oh, it's Rem, and Shera the Elf... But, a Summon? I've never seen or heard of a human-shaped Summon before. Not only that, but he can talk, too?"

Rem looked away.

"...With my power, I am able to call Summons the likes of which have never been seen before. You're not doubting me, are you?"

She had tried saying that in a forceful tone of voice, but since it was only her head sticking out from under the cape, ears twitching, she looked more like a scared kitten. Cute. The guard was a bit flustered after being asked that.

"N-No, I would never doubt your power, Rem! But, you know...your Summon doesn't have the necessary collar around his neck or anything..."

"Hmph... Do not put me together with the likes of those Summons. I will not control my hand If you insist on fouling my mood any further—"

Diablo reached back and grabbed his cloak to hide the two girls behind him which was easily done with his 7 foot frame. Rem and shera face tune red from not wanting the guard to see their collars.

"...Please let us through."

"What else do you want from us!?"

In the face of Diablo's overwhelming pressure and the girls' protests, the guard stepped aside.

"I-I'm terribly sorry! Please take care!"

"Good. Let's go."

Ignoring their objections, Diablo kept walking.

In a panic, Rem and Shera ran to catch up with him.

The other guards and travelers they passed on the Bridge of Ulug reacted with the same level of shock when they saw the girl's hiding behind me. Their faces showed great concern as they watched Diablo walk along, the two girls in tow.

Faltra was a town with a warm climate and received blessings from the river nearby. The townspeople were cheerful and kind and because of how pleasant it was, there was no small amount of Adventurers who chose to settle down and live here

This was only a place the game's story would have you come back to, or for when you finished the beginning parts of the game.

Whatever the case, there was no mistake that it was a convenient, warm, and beautiful town. The outer walls were built of stone, and came together in the shape of an octagon. Water from the river was drawn into waterways, forming a moat around the town. It also ran inside the town, splitting it down the middle.

The stone walls and the moat served as a way to avoid monsters. Wild animals were a constant threat to the normal people living here. They would even damage the crops.

However, in the face of abnormally strong enemies such as the Fallen or Summons, they were severely lacking in power. It was not just the walls and moat that protected the town. Towers were built in the corners in each of the eight sides of the stone walls.

They were thin and tall, like antennas.

These towers formed a barrier that would protect the town. This barrier did not allow just anyone who approached it to pass through, and would only intercept and protect against attacks or the Fallen.

Because of the powerful barrier, no monsters or Fallen could enter the town, making it a safe haven— That was its backstory in the amine. Diablo was aiming for the drawbridge located on the west side of the town.

He was a "Demon". This was one of the playable classes you could choose when starting Cross Reverie. According to the game's setting, Demons were a race of humans who had somehow received the blood of the Fallen. Tattoo-like marks covered their face and body, and while their physical prowess was lacking compared to the other races, they excelled at anything related to magic.

This was especially true for the INT (Intelligence) stat, which determined the power of your spells. It was only this class that could max out this stat.

Since their HP and AGI (Agility) stats were weak, even among the other Sorcerers, they were a class for players that had to rely on protection from their allies.

It was extremely unusual to see a solo player like Diablo use a Demon Sorcerer as their class. Because the town's barrier would repel anything related to the Fallen, Demons, as well as weapons and armors made by the Fallen, could not enter the town.

Because of this, there were gates placed at the four cardinal directions of the town that anyone could pass through.

Though I could come and go through them as I pleased in the game, Diablo was already expecting them to be under even stricter watch than the Bridge of Ulug. People were actual living beings in this world. They were different from NPCs or amine side characters who would only act according to their programming or plot.

By the time they had reached the gate, it was already dusk. The setting sun lit up the stone walls, painting it the color of blood amber. The plains they had traveled across were dyed red, as if they were on fire.

It was a beautiful scene.

Rem and Shera did not say anything as they were used to seeing it, but Diablo was secretly moved by it

They crossed the drawbridge. Five guards in armor were standing in front of the gate. Turning up the lapels of their clothes and using their hands to cover their necks, Rem and Shera passed by while hiding their collars.

This time, no one tried to call out and stop them.

He could feel stares following them. They were attracting attention. Entered the town Continuing through a large thoroughfare sandwiched between tons of stone buildings, Diablo decided to head toward the town plaza. At this point, it wasn't so much that this was a habit he picked up from the game, but it was simply because he wanted to go sightseeing. The goal: to look around town. Despite it being the early evening, the area around the west gate was packed with people.

It was an amount you would have only seen in a rush hour in a subway. As for the races here: there were Humans; long-eared, slender bodied Elves; Pantherians, with their triangle-shaped ears; Dwarves, who had thick beards and dog-ears; Grasswalkers, who looked like children with rabbit-ears and tails; and finally, though there weren't many of them to be seen, Demons, who had marks covering their bodies and faces.

They were wearing everything from plain clothes to armor, carried knapsacks and weapons, and were walking, talking, and buying things as they pleased. Rem, who was standing right next to him while hiding her collar, cheeks flushed as if she was embarrassed, started to speak up.

"U-Um..."

"What is it?"

"I would like... to go to the inn..."

Her face turned completely red as she fidgeted around.

"Hm, yes. I was just thinking that I would like to head to the inn myself."

It was then a voice reached his ears.

"That's Rem and that Elf girl, isn't it? Why are they wearing those collars?"

Maybe it was because they had stopped, but by the time he had noticed they were surrounded by people. He could hear parts of the conversations they were whispering to each other.

"Huh? Those two weren't summons, were they?"

"But aren't they wearing Enslavement Collars? That should go on the Summon..."

"No, they aren't just for Summons. They go on slaves, too..."

"Does that mean those two became that guy's slaves!?"

"Shh! Don't say it so loud! ...Look at that guy's face, he's bad news. He may be a Demon, but I haven't seen many like him before. Look at those horns... They're twisted, real ominous-looking too..."

"You got that right... Making Lady Rem into a slave, doesn't that make him pretty dangerous? Might be a good idea to report this to the Mage's Association."

"From what I hear, that Elf girl over there is supposed to have come from a pretty crazy background."

"She's definitely no normal Elf, that's for sure... Something must have happened if he made those two into slaves, right?"

"Oh crap, he looked at us. Be best not to get involved with him, he's gotta be something like the Fallen."

They were saying some pretty horrible things.

It seems Rem and Shera could hear it, too. Their faces red, they cast their gazes downwards. Their shoulders were shaking a little. Not only that, but Rem was famous enough that people were calling her

"Lady," while Shera came from an amazing family background a princess nonetheless. They continued to gain more and more attention.

"Hey, you two, what are you doing standing around for? Did you not want to go to the inn?"