[Republic of Leores]

“…Whew.”

Chae Nayun heaved out a sigh. Seeing this, the children surrounding her began to cry. They were standing on remnants of a crumbled building. Nearby, a wooden plaque reading [Orphanage] lied on the ground.

“Um….”

One of the children approached Chae Nayun with shaking legs. The child tried to say something.

Krrrr!

“Ah!”

However, she soon fell flat on the ground, hearing the low growl of a demonic beast.

“…Don’t worry.”

Chae Nayun reassured the children as she turned around. A wolf-like demonic beast, an octopus-like demonic beast, and an 8-handed humanoid demonic beast were eyeing her with killing intent.

“Older Sis here will protect you all.”

Chae Nayun split off a part of her magic power and created a protective barrier around the children. As creating barriers wasn’t her specialty, her magic power consumption shot up. Still, she knew it was better than having someone get injured.

—Krrrr!

The wolf demonic beast shot forward. Chae Nayun swung her sword at its head, cleanly severing it in half.

—U-Uwoah!

—Y-You can do it!

The children inside the barrier cheered as soon as she cut down one demonic beast. Just hearing them gave her a boost of energy, but it was then that more annoying monsters appeared.

—Kieeeeek!

A loud screech descended from the sky. Chae Nayun quickly tilted her head up.

—Kieeek!

—Kieeek!

Dozens, no, hundreds of flying demonic beasts were gathering around her.

“…I’m not good at aerial battle.”

To fight airborne monsters, Chae Nayun had to infuse more magic power into her sword to increase the length of its blade. Although that wasn’t difficult in itself, she was worried about the children. If she accidentally swung her blade in the wrong direction, she could very well destroy the barrier and even kill the children inside.

—We believe in you!

—Don’t die!

The heartwarming encouragement of the children seemed to invite the demonic birds.

—Kieeek!

With loud screeches, they shot down.

“—!”

Chae Nayun gathered her magic power in Balmung and swung it in a large arc. Balmung’s blade spread out like a fan and obliterated everything in its path.

It was then.

Something shot up from the ground in the distance. Without a sound, it left behind a curved line marking its path. No matter how she looked at it, she could only think of gunfire from a certain man.

Kwaaaaa—!

After a moment of silence, a thunderous clap boomed out. The sound of gunfire had arrived a bit after its firing.

Kwaaaa—!

The line left behind by the flying object soon forked into multiple paths. Seeing this, Chae Nayun realized multiple bullets had been fired simultaneously. The bullets traveled faster than sound. It was only after they pierced the demonic beasts that the impact sound rang out.

“…Whew.”

Chae Nayun pierced the ground with Balmung and leaned against it. Although she was still surrounded by demonic beasts, her intuition told her that her 24-hour-long battle was coming to an end.

Kwaaaaa—!

The pouring bullets decimated the demonic beasts, both in the sky and on the ground. For some strange reason, the bullets seemed to have a mind of their own, as they curved freely and struck down countless targets.

Chae Nayun breathed a sigh of relief. She knew that this ally of hers never missed his mark. She was convinced she could finally rest.

“Come here.”

Chae Nayun dismantled her barrier and gathered the children. The children were initially trembling in fear from the seemingly indiscriminate shooting, but it didn’t take long for them to realize that wasn’t the case. Chae Nayun fell flat on the ground and collected her breath.

“Let’s rest a bit.”

The children hugged each other and closed their eyes. Chae Nayun sat in the center of the group, gently stroking their hair and reassuring them.

30 minutes later…

Whish—

The endless barrage of bullets stopped, and a timely gust of wind tickled Chae Nayun’s shoulders.

She looked up and gazed at the sky. Although it was still dark from Baal’s barrier, there wasn’t a single demonic beast remaining.

“…It’s over.”

Chae Nayun chuckled. The never-ending battle she had been wrapped up in all day ended in just 30 minutes. She couldn’t help but praise Kim Hajin’s Gift.

—Is it over?

Chae Nayun messaged Kim Hajin to ask for a confirmation. A reply came back about a minute later.

—Yeah, more or less.

Chae Nayun closed her eyes and grinned.

She could hear the breathing noises of the children in her arms. She looked down, feeling a great sense of achievement. Protecting them was hard, but she had to admit it was well worth it.

—…Hey.

—What’s up?

As her heart rate slowed down from exhaustion, Chae Nayun sent another message.

—Thanks.

Kim Hajin didn’t respond right away. A long silence continued before a few words finally came back.

—Don’t say that.

Chae Nayun laughed at his words. She knew what he meant by those words. Like a fool, the Kim Hajin she knew always saw himself as someone to be hated.

So, Chae Nayun didn’t say anything back.

Seeing the tired children sleeping in her arms, remembering the people she saved during the day, and recalling the people who lost their lives, she felt like she could finally understand it.

If Kim Hajin didn’t kill Chae Jinyoon that day, he would have become a devil and killed countless people. Chae Jinyoon would have been forced to commit murder, never to find salvation.

Chae Nayun understood all this. But she didn’t voice it aloud. Instead, she changed the topic.

—Where are you going now?

—…Isn’t that obvious? For both of us, I mean.

Chae Nayun nodded at Kim Hajin’s reply. The final target was the villain behind the appearance of devils on Earth – Baal.

Chae Nayun clenched her teeth.

—That Baal bastard, the one who’s responsible for the rift between us, let’s storm into his castle and beat him up.

“…Yeah.”

At that moment, Chae Nayun’s ears perked up.

“…Huh? What?”

She heard a voice from far, far away. It wasn’t a Mental Transmission or a mystical message like the one from Infinite Communication. It was a real voice, albeit faint.

Chae Nayun quickly turned to the east. She could see the rubble of a crumbled building in the far distance.

Her intuition roared.

It was telling her that Kim Hajin was there. That he wouldn’t run away if she came to him. That he couldn’t….

“…Pft.”

Chae Nayun smirked. She grinned from ear to ear before turning back to look at the children she rescued.

“I’m going to sleep before heading there, so go on ahead.”

Kim Hajin didn’t reply. It was only obvious since she said it aloud without messaging him. In any case, Chae Nayun lied down on the ground with a thin smile. Lying comfortably, she looked up at the sky darkened by Baal’s barrier and murmured to herself.

“…I’m thankful but I can’t thank you. I like you, but I can’t like you. It’s still like that for me.”

**

Jin Seyeon and Cheok Jungyeong arrived at the waiting room of the Colosseum. Vassago’s servant personally guided them. A fancy table and a set of luxurious chairs were placed inside it, and Jin Seyeon and Cheok Jungyeong immediately grabbed a seat.

“Oh?”

When Jin Seyeon sat on the chair, she exclaimed in surprise. The way the chair comfortably hugged her lower body was something she had never experienced before.

“Lord Vassago is a renowned collector. Every item our guests see and use are masterpieces in their own fields.”

Jin Seyeon let out a dry cough, somewhat embarrassed by her subconscious outburst, but Cheok Jungyeong only laughed disdainfully.

“Way to act high and mighty with such cheap furniture. The stuff we have in our hideout is thousands of times better.”

“…!”

Cheok Jungyeong only meant to make a snarky remark, but it was something the servant couldn’t overlook. His expression contorted viciously, his shoulders shook, and his stomach boiled with anger.

He felt a strong urge to kill Cheok Jungyeong on the spot, but he barely held himself back, knowing his Lord would dislike his challengers disappearing.

“Please refrain from telling such lies. This Colosseum is under our Lord’s control. He can be watching you if he so wishes.”

“I’m not lying, you hunchback weasel. Have you been to our hideout? Have you sat in our chairs or lay in our beds?”

The Chameleon Troupe’s hideout was full of furniture crafted by Kim Hajin. From Cheok Jungyeong’s perspective, Kim Hajin’s furniture was far better than the ones he saw and felt here.

“….”

The servant became speechless. Jin Seyeon spotted fury from his cold expression and quickly blocked Cheok Jungyeong’s mouth.

“Ahem, thank you for guiding us.”

Even so, the servant didn’t stop glaring at Cheok Jungyeong. Of course, Cheok Jungyeong wasn’t the type to shy away from a battle, much less a staring contest. He looked back at the servant and smiled proudly. In his mind, he was only thinking of relieving his boredom by fighting.

—Let it go.

At that moment, a voice rang out from the ceiling, startling both Jin Seyeon and Cheok Jungyeong. The servant immediately retracted his anger and knelt down.

“My apologies, Your Highness.”

Cheok Jungyeong looked up at the ceiling. The voice rang out once more from the same place.

—What you said catches my interest. Every item in my possession is of the finest quality. You say that they are lacking?

Vassago wasn’t as perverted a collector as Baal, but as a devil who specialized in discovering treasures, what Cheok Jungyeong said caught his interest.

“I’m saying that the stuff we have in our hideout is better.”

Cheok Jungyeong spoke with confidence. The servant jumped in shock, while Vassago remained silent.

Of course, Cheok Jungyeong’s confidence was only natural given the origin of the Chameleon Troupe’s furniture. Dwarves were one of the rarest races and the race with the best craftsmanship. Vassago’s journey across many dimensions had allowed him to obtain several dwarven items, but he only possessed ‘weapons’. This was because the dwarves were known to only craft weapons.

“Rather than that, your voice is more feminine than I expected.”

Cheok Jungyeong put aside talking about furniture. He was more curious about Vassago’s gender. Hearing the silvery voice that rang out from the ceiling, he could only guess that Vassago was a woman.

—…Devils don’t have genders. Rather, it depends on the incarnation body. If you are talking about now, I am indeed a woman.

Vassago answered. Although she talked like she was being generous, the discontent in her voice was clear.

—In any case, I would love to see the furniture in your hideout. If you can get out of here alive, that is.

“Kuhahaha. Great, I’ll personally bring your head to the hideout and show you around.”

—…Good. I hope that confidence isn’t just coming from the natural arrogance of humans.

With that, Vassago’s voice cut off. Vassago’s servant sent Cheok Jungyeong one last glare before leaving as well.

“…It looks like our theory is correct.”

As soon as they vanished, Jin Seyeon muttered in a serious tone.

“What theory?”

“That devils are naturally more obsessed with things than humans. If you think about it, Djinns are humans who were influenced by devils to pursue their desires. In that case, devils should be the incarnation of desire.”

“So what?”

Cheok Jungyeong asked with a frown. Jin Seyeon clenched her fists and gazed at Cheok Jungyeong. She sent him a Mental Transmission in case Vassago was listening.

—It means it might be possible to defeat devils without fighting them. All types of tricks can be used.

**

[Baal’s Devil Castle]

Kim Suho entered the Devil’s Castle. The first floor of Baal’s castle only consisted of stairs. Despite the eerie atmosphere, there were no traps or obstacles, so rather than worrying about enemies, Kim Suho eyed Jin Sahyuk who was technically his ally.

After about 20 minutes…

“Do you have a plan for killing Baal?”

Jin Sahyuk suddenly asked. Kim Suho flinched at the unexpected question before letting out a cough and answering seriously.

“…I’ll cut him down. That’s it for now.”

They only had two days left, which wasn’t enough to form a detailed plan. Kim Suho simply believed in himself and his sword, Misteltein.

“What about you? Do you have a plan?”

Aileen asked from next to them. She was floating in the air with the help of her Spirit Speech, mainly because she wanted to stay at their eye level. Jin Sahyuk suddenly stopped. Her pause caught Kim Suho, Aileen, and Shin Jonghak’s attention.

“…You do? Then tell us.”

Seeing Jin Sahyuk remaining mute, Aileen urged her. Jin Sahyuk looked back and forth between Kim Suho and Aileen.

“I’m going to ask Black Lotus.”

Kim Suho, Aileen, and Shin Jonghak all shook with shock. Shin Jonghak made a dissatisfied face, while Kim Suho and Aileen looked curious more than anything.

Aileen asked, “You’re going to ask him? How?”

“When I send the signal, he will fire an arrow at the Devil’s Castle. If it’s him, he should be able to destroy the entire Devil’s Castle.”

“W-What? You think that’s possible? Even my Teleportation didn’t work inside this castle. That’s why we’re running up, remember? And if that was possible, why are we even climbing it in the first place? We can just wait for Black Lotus to destroy the castle and….”

“Quiet. I know he’s capable. He will destroy the castle from the outside, but we have to take care of what’s inside.”

Jin Sahyuk stood steadfast in the face of Aileen’s sarcastic comments.

“….”

On the other hand, Kim Suho kept staring at Jin Sahyuk. He couldn’t understand why Jin Sahyuk trusted Black Lotus so much. In fact, he couldn’t understand how Jin Sahyuk trusted anyone at all.

“Jin Sahyuk, what’s your relationship with Black Lotus?”

He asked a logical question.

“What?”

But to his surprise, Jin Sahyuk acted mad, muttering, “Kim Suho, you bastard, you’ve grown arrogant!”

However, in the next moment, she smirked like it wasn’t a big deal.

“Actually, rather than Black Lotus, I have a relationship with Kim Hajin.”

“…Huh?”

Kim Suho immediately became lost for words. He was so shocked that he couldn’t speak. Kim Suho wasn’t sure whether he heard what he thought he just heard. But before he could carefully go over what was just said, Jin Sahyuk added even more provocative info.

“Kim Hajin has complicated feelings for me, so much so that it’s troubling even for me.”

It wasn’t a complete lie taking the ‘Synchronization’ into account. It was also true that Kim Hajin’s ‘complicated feelings’ were ‘troubling’ her.

“….”

“….”

But Jin Sahyuk’s words were more effective than she imagined. This time, even Shin Jonghak and Aileen’s heads turned blank.

“That’s all I’m saying. Is that so surprising~?”

Jin Sahyuk chuckled to herself and began climbing the stairs once more. This time, her steps were more poised and elegant.

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