“Let me introduce him. He’s my friend, Black Lotus.”
Jin Sahyuk said as she grabbed Black Lotus by his collar. Black Lotus immediately threw her a sharp gaze, and Chae Nayun looked back and forth between Jin Sahyuk and Black Lotus.
“…Black Lotus?”
Chae Nayun muttered quietly.
Kim Hajin still kept his mouth shut. Now that the Art that allowed him to change his voice was gone, he feared there was a chance he might be discovered if he talked.
Staring fixedly at Black Lotus, Chae Nayun asked in a stiff tone.
“Oi, why did you invite a thief?”
“Hm?”
Jin Sahyuk tilted her head.
“What thief? Isn’t he a legend to you?”
“Legend my a.s.s. Now that I think about it, Jin Sahyuk, you’re with the Chameleon Troupe! Like Cheok Jungyeong that b.a.s.t.a.r.d….
Jin Sahyuk smirked at Chae Nayun’s aggressive tone.
“Think what you want.”
Jin Sahyuk let go of Black Lotus’s collar. Black Lotus promptly took a step back.
Jin Sahyuk said to Chae Nayun, “Alright, well I have something to discuss with Lotus.”
“…Go ahead.”
Surprisingly, Chae Nayun left the room with protest.
Kw.a.n.g—!
She purposely shut the door hard, but it was obvious she intended to eavesdrop from the other side. After all, a mere wall shouldn’t be able to block her sharp hearing if she focused.
“Now then….”
Jin Sahyuk must have noticed Chae Nayun’s intentions too. But with a mischievous smile, she continued on from before.
“Are you going to kill Yi Yeonjun?”
“….”
Kim Hajin didn’t answer her. Jin Sahyuk stole a glance at the door and continued.
“Yi Yeonjun is trying to become Baal by succeeding the position of the incarnation body. But if that crazy b.a.s.t.a.r.d returns to Earth as Baal, it’s obvious what will happen to it. He’s far more evil than Bell will ever be.”
Yi Yeonjun was without doubt the most evil human being Jin Sahyuk knew. He was someone whose very root of existence was pure evil.
Jin Sahyuk knew this. That Yi Yeonjun was currently infatuated with Baal.
“So… Lotus, are you going to kill Yi Yeonjun? Or….”
Jin Sahyuk paused for a moment. The corner of her lips twisted up.
“Will you let Kim Hajin kill him?”
“….”
…Brrrr.
Both Kim Hajin and Jin Sahyuk felt someone’s presence outside the room. It was obviously Chae Nayun.
Jin Sahyuk glanced at the door once more and continued.
“You should know what this means. It doesn’t matter which one of you kills Yi Yeonjun, but one of you must do it.”
Kill Yi Yeonjun yourself— That was what Jin Sahyuk was saying.
“But if I were to guess… I’d say Kim Hajin will be the one to kill him.”
Jin Sahyuk sn.i.g.g.e.red and released her magic power. It slowly wrapped around Kim Hajin’s body, but as it carried no hostility or killing intent, Kim Hajin stayed still.
Jin Sahyuk opened her mouth in that state.
“If you look at it from a bigger picture, it’s Yi Yeonjun’s fault that Kim Hajin had no choice but to kill Chae Jinyoon.”
“…What?”
Jin Sahyuk’s sudden nonsensical comment was one that Kim Hajin couldn’t ignore. His eyes immediately shot open, and shock emerged from his pupils.
“Like I said, if you look at it from a bigger picture.”
Jin Sahyuk said mischievously. But their conversation was forced to a stop then. Chae Nayun, who was eavesdropping from the outside, burst into the room again.
Kw.a.n.g—!
The door opened roughly. Chae Nayun was glaring at them with a shocked expression.
“Hey! What did you mean by—”
But Kim Hajin couldn’t hear the rest of her sentence.
Woong….
When Jin Sahyuk activated her Reality Manipulation, her magic power stuck to Kim Hajin reacted. Chwaaaa— A brilliant light shot out.
Kim Hajin closed his eyes momentarily before opening them again. Surprisingly, he found himself standing in the middle of a forest.
“…?”
Jin Sahyuk had teleported him far away from Chae Nayun.
**
[Korea, Seoul]
After the opening of the Demon Realm Gate, large-scale calamities descended one after the other.
First, Demon Realm Transformation sped up rapidly. Previously, it was confined to Manchu and the Ural Mountain Range. Now, it had spread to Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and Northern Europe. Over 20% of Earth became corrupted.
Of course, humanity didn’t just sit around and wait.
Researchers around the world discovered that mana stones delayed the progress of Demon Realm Transformation. Next, with the power of [Dimensional Entropy], Essential Dynamics succeeded in creating more mana stones. As a result, the speed of Demon Realm transformation diminished noticeably.
However, another problem arose due to Djinns and demons.
When Pandemonium partially went through Demon Realm Transformation, demons took over the land, and the Djinns that were chased out went into human society, causing chaos.
The politically moderate argued that ‘Djinns served different devils, and there were non-hostile Djinns who served non-hostile devils’. They encouraged distinction between evil and non-evil Djinns, but their opponents argued that Djinns were fundamental evildoers who belonged in prison.
And so, the current political climate was charged with chaos and anger.
[Tower of Heroes], the headquarter of the Hero a.s.sociation.
“….”
“….”
Two n.o.ble guests, Chae Joochul and Heynckes, were staring at each other. Chae Joochul was just as expressionless as always, while Heynckes shrugged his shoulders as if he had nothing more to say.
“Are you finished?”
A gentle voice flowed into their ears. Chae Joochul and Heynckes both turned to the direction of the voice.
Standing there was a woman who had died once but now had revived.
“I can leave then, right?”
The first Descender – Medea.
She didn’t cower in the slightest in front of Chae Joochul and Heynckes, two of Earth’s strongest fighters. In fact, she treated them like children and laughed at their actions.
“What kind of life do you plan on leading from now?”
Chae Joochul stopped Medea and asked.
Medea stared at Chae Joochul, as if she were looking at a cute puppy, and touched her lips with her finger.
“Let me think… Since I’m the first Descender….”
The First Descender. Medea liked this t.i.tle. Athena, Lü Bu, and others were looking for opportunities to descend, but she knew they were far from ready.
“I’m going to live beautifully. I heard Seoul is the richest and most powerful city. So I’m going to build a huge mansion in Seoul. I’ll have my workshop in the bas.e.m.e.nt and have about a hundred servants serving me.”
“….”
“….”
Chae Joochul and Heynckes exchanged glances once again. For someone who was called a witch, the lifestyle she wished for seemed too simple.
Once the brief exchange between the two men was over, Heynckes opened his mouth.
“We can do that much for you. But—”
“By the way, when will you two stop using casual speech? I’m a couple thousand years older, you know?”
Medea furrowed her brows unhappily.
With a peeved look, Heynckes nodded his head.
“…We can grant you that. But, will you be willing to help us in return?”
Heynckes didn’t argue and used polite speech with her. A smile immediately bloomed on Medea’s face.
“You’re saying the same thing as that man.”
Heynckes furrowed his brows.
“That man?”
“Ah, you don’t need to know. He’s far more delicate and valuable than you two.”
“….”
Hearing this, even Chae Joochul frowned a little. Neither him nor Heynckes could think of any man who would fit that description.
“Well, anyways.”
Medea smirked.
“Don’t worry about that. I don’t want the world I’m going to live in to be dirtied either.”
She spun around and flapped her ceremonial dress. This heavenly dress was the epitome of perfection, crafted by the successor of the dwarves, Kim Hajin.
“My true name is Medea. As an ancient demiG.o.d and a sorceress, I shall lend you my strength.”
Immediately, suppressed magic power rose up from Medea’s body. Her insurmountable magic power swirled inside the room.
“….”
“….”
In that instant, both Chae Joochul and Heynckes stared at each other.
Heynckes said with his eyes, ‘Looks like things worked out, friend.’
Chae Joochul replied with his eyes, ‘Indeed.’
It was a very Chae Joochul-like response.
**
[Transnational Peace Conference D-10]
Only ten days were left until the Transnational Peace Conference. I looked out of the window of the director’s office and sighed. Birds flew in the clear, blue sky. Everything seemed peaceful.
“…Haa.”
But my mind was far from peaceful. I recovered my strength and reclaimed my equipment, including the G.o.dslaying Bullet, yet my worries stayed with me.
Both Baal and what Jin Sahyuk said lingered in my head.
—If you look at it from a bigger picture, it’s Yi Yeonjun’s fault that Kim Hajin had no choice but to kill Chae Jinyoon.
Why did Jin Sahyuk say that? Was it just to provoke me and Chae Nayun? Or did she hear something from Bell?
I managed to find out Yi Yeonjun’s relations.h.i.+p with Boss thanks to Yoo Jinhyuk, but there was still a lot I didn’t know about Yi Yeonjun.
What could Chae Nayun be thinking about right now?
What could she have talked about with Jin Sahyuk that day?
I was curious, but Chae Nayun had cut off communication with me.
“Is something on your mind?”
Harin asked at that moment.
I turned my head and glanced at Harin. Under the false name of ‘Yurin’, she had joined the Secret Service four days ago. In other words, she was now my subordinate.
“No, it’s nothing. What about you? Are you feeling better?”
“Yes, except that I still can’t get used to my name.”
Harin laughed out loud. I smiled bitterly and nodded my head.
“The Transnational Peace Conference is in ten days, but don’t worry too much.”
Harin calmed me down. Frankly, having her with me really was relieving. She wasn’t a half-a.s.sed devil hunter like me, but a real one inheriting the lineage of exorcists. She was sure to be a valuable a.s.set in combating Baal.
“I’ll leave it to you, Harin-ssi.”
“…Mm, but I can’t get used to having you be my superior. You used to be the one protecting me.”
“You can talk casually if you want.”
“No, no, it’s fine. I’m not n.o.bility anymore. I’m more comfortable the way things are now.”
Harin smiled calmly as if she found peace in her heart.
Tok, tok.
It was then. Someone knocked on the door.
“Hm? Is it Rachel?”
I tilted my head curiously and opened the door.
“Rachel…?”
On the other side of the door were guests I wasn’t quite expecting.
“Haha… It’s been a while, Hajin.”
A woman scratched her head with an awkward laugh.
“It really has been! Wow!”
And a muscular man tried to hug me with a wide grin.
It was Yun Seung-Ah and Yi Yeonghan.
“What…?”
I stared at them blankly. Yun Seung-Ah offered an explanation.
“We were in Krovon Kingdom, which is below the Republic of Leores. We heard from Suho that you were here and came to see you.”
“…Ah, I see.”
When I nodded my head in a daze, Yi Yeonghan smacked my arm and said loudly.
“Oh yeah, there’s someone else who came with us.”
“Hm?”
“Hey, get over here!”
Hearing Yi Yeonghan’s voice, a large man walked out from behind the wall. When I saw him, I couldn’t help but smile.
“…I didn’t expect to see you here.”
He was someone I had a mild conflict with back when I was in Cube.
To be exact, he was beaten up one-sidedly and made his exit early.
“Kuhum… H-Hey, it’s… been a while.”
Because I haven’t seen him in so long, I was somewhat touched.
The man was s.h.i.+n Jonghak’s old lackey – Kim Horak.
“Yeah, really.”
I grinned and offered him my hand.
Kim Horak flinched, but he smiled in embarra.s.sment and took my hand.
“Yeah… I’m happy to see you.”
“We haven’t seen each other since Cube, right?”
“Y…Yeah.”
I shook hands with Kim Horak. As expected of a close-quarter combatant, his hand was full of calluses.
“Whoa, you have a lot of friends.”
Harin approached us with a bright smile.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Yurin, the third most influential person of the Secret Service.”
“Pardon? Ah, yes, h.e.l.lo. I’m Yun Seung-Ah.”
“Yun Seung-Ah-ssi! What a pretty name. What about you?”
“I’m Yi Yeonghan.”
“Ah~ Yi Yeonghan-ssi.”
Like a true social extravert, Harin greeted the new faces warmly.