[Baal’s Castle – Banquet Hall]

The Death Knights revived by the devil had no emotions in their eyes. However, their hands grasped their swords tightly. Having lost their consciousness and will, the bodies left with only their instincts stared at Jin Sahyuk.

They were the knights of Plerion, the servants of Jin Sahyuk who dreamed of a brighter future. Jin Sahyuk clenched her teeth. She was more confused than angry.

“—!”

At that moment, Chae Nayun swung her sword with a spirited shout. Her greatsword of magic power shattered the banquet hall’s ceiling.

“Sunshine, Earth, Watery…”

Rachel called her elementals. The elementals of wind, ground, and water floated up and revealed themselves. Earth focused on defense, creating barriers to protect its allies; Watery transformed into a cold mist and froze some of the Death Knights.

Whish—

Gusts of white sword wind blew in the battlefield, almost like falling cherry blossoms. This was the work of Yun Seung-Ah’s Flower Sword. With elegant movements, Yun Seung-Ah displayed her swordsmanship.

Slowed by Rachel’s elementals, the Death Knights couldn’t follow Yun Seung-Ah’s attacks. One by one, the Knights’ heads fell to the floor.

—!

Of course, that wasn’t enough to stop the knights who were already dead. In fact, the ones that had their heads chopped off charged at Yun Seung-Ah more viciously. Although her Flower Sword severed their arms and legs, one Death Knight eventually reached Yun Seung-Ah.

Just as its sword was about to stab her, a fierce wind blew around her.

“…A storm will devour you!”

A storm of Spirit Speech pushed the Death Knights up to the sky. Immediately afterward, a flash of golden light from the Sword Saint cut through them.

Kwaaaa—!

A shower of golden light poured down from the sky. Kim Suho’s sword light eliminated dozens of Death Knights instantly. He looked back at Yun Seung-Ah and muttered.

“…Let’s continue.”

Yun Seung-Ah made a faint smile at his encouragement. She woke up from her stupor and returned to battle.

Kwang-! Clang-! Koong-!

The battle continued, destroying the banquet hall. The fancy interior turned into a muddy mess as hundreds of Death Knights ceaselessly fought back.

Jin Sahyuk watched her knights from the balcony. She watched them get beheaded, their hands chopped off, and their swords destroyed.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck….”

Jin Sahyuk cursed out loud. She knew they weren’t the real knights of Plerion. Baal had to be playing a trick on her after reading Bell’s memories.

She tried to calm herself to overcome this unwelcome taste.

But she couldn’t.

“…Ah.”

Jin Sahyuk let out a short cry. A small child she saw in the distance broke her heart.

“What….”

In the corner of the dark battlefield, a child from Plerion was hiding by the curtain. Jin Sahyuk remembered the pitiful boy. He was someone she incarcerated and left to die. The boy who died in the prison cell was now staring at her.

Puharen. The boy who turned into a devil.

Her chest pounded. Unable to meet his eyes, Jin Sahyuk closed her eyes. Something welled up from the bottom of her heart. The boy’s face surfaced beneath her eyelids. Jin Sahyuk fell to her knees.

The seal of magic power buried deep inside her became broken. A faint voice rose up like the falling sand in an hourglass.

Why am I stuck here? It’s cold. I’m hungry. How long do I have to wait? The chains are cold. The pain isn’t going away. I want to leave. Let me out… let me out….

Jin Sahyuk covered her ears, but she could still hear the voice. She clutched her chest in pain, but the pain didn’t go away.

Jin Sahyuk breathed heavily and remembered Akatrina.

The world full of sadness, loneliness, and regret…. Her kingdom…. The boy she killed to become the king, who returned to destroy her kingdom as a devil.

She couldn’t forget Puharen. She felt nauseous, and her head hurt. Almost as if her limbs were rotting away, her past ate away at her…

—…Jin Sahyuk! Jin Sahyuk! Snap out of it!

At that moment, a voice woke her up. Jin Sahyuk snapped her eyes open in surprise.

“W-What?”

—Finally, you can hear me.

A sighing voice rang out. Jin Sahyuk quickly noticed that it was Kim Hajin’s voice.

—What are you doing there, squatting? Are you okay?

“…What? Y-You can see me? Where are you?”

—I’m outside the castle, but I can see what’s happening inside with my awakened eyes. Reinforcements are coming soon, by the way.

Kwang—!

Just as he said that the banquet hall’s door burst open.

“Knight Commander! We are here!”

Reinforcements had arrived, just like Kim Hajin said. Dozens of knights led by Airun, the Devil Hunter Harin, Heroes from Earth like Yohei and Yi Jiyoon, and Yi Yongha and Nicholas from the Temple of Justice….

They were the allies who entered Baal’s barrier through the gap Kim Hajin opened.

“…Looks like the party’s already started.”

Nicholas, the rank 4 member of the Temple of Justice, raised her dagger. With a seductive smile, she licked her dagger. Next, Yi Yongha appeared with his staff raised.

“We’re here, chairman. Not too late, right?”

Looking at Yi Yongha, Aileen smirked.

“No, you’re su~per late. Also, what’s up with that staff?”

“It’s a gift from Yeonha-ssi. It adds the exorcism attribute to my fire.”

Yi Yongha imbued his magic power into the staff. An inextinguishable hellfire shot up to the sky, but Jin Sahyuk didn’t pay any attention to it.

“How long were you watching?”

Jin Sahyuk asked Kim Hajin.

—For about three minutes, I guess?

“Did you… hear anything?”

—Hear what?

It seemed Kim Hajin didn’t know the conversation she had with Yi Yeonjun. She paused for a moment to think. Yi Yeonjun said that this world was a novel Kim Hajin created, but she didn’t have the time to confirm whether that was true.

At that moment, Kim Hajin spoke up once more.

—Anyways, I think I can do it.

“Do what?”

Jin Sahyuk infused magic power into her heart as she replied. It was a bit of a unique process to overcome her trauma.

—Destroy the castle.

“…Really?”

—Yeah. But I’m going to do it right now.

“Now?”

Jin Sahyuk furrowed her brows.

—Yep. So, King, I’ll trust you to take care of Baal.

“…Tsk, do whatever you want.”

Jin Sahyuk got up without saying much. Kim Hajin’s snarky command got on her nerves, but she liked being called a king.

“Hmm….”

She stood tall and looked to the distance. Puharen was still there. But this time, she didn’t avert her gaze.

“…Hahaha.”

Jin Sahyuk suddenly let out a chuckle. She realized she didn’t feel anything when she looked at Puharen.

She knew that the true worth of her Authority, [Reality Manipulation], was in manipulating the ‘inside’ rather than the outside.

“I bet you didn’t know this, you piece of shit.”

Using this Authority, Jin Sahyuk eliminated the complicated and dark feelings she had towards Puharen. Now, she could even smile while looking at him.

“Just you wait, Baal, I’ll go find you soon.”

Jin Sahyuk looked up at the ceiling and crossed her arms arrogantly. Behind her, a terrifying amount of magic power rose up. Her reddish-black magic power turned into dozens of spears.

**

[Outside Baal’s Castle – A Forest Shrouded by a Barrier]

“Yep. So, King, I’ll trust you to take care of Baal.”

I sent Jin Sahyuk a Mental Transmission as I held the Black Lotus Bow and Mystic Key in my hands. As I had activated my Ultimate Skill, [Complete Understanding of Spirit Power], my Mental Transmission was crystal clear.

—…Tsk, do whatever you want.

Jin Sahyuk’s reply was rather simple. With a grin, I checked my luck stat once more.

[Invariable Stat – Luck 9.9]

A luck stat transcending human capability. I wasn’t sure what I would gain from this 30-minute period. But I did know that I couldn’t waste this opportunity.

I immediately used Synthesis.

[Fusing Athena’s Moonlight Arrow with Mystic Key…]

[The chance of success is astronomically low….]

[But you succeed! A perfect fusion increases the rank of the item!]

The key fused with the arrow and became ‘Athena’s Mystic Arrow’.

“Are you ready~? You’re gonna shoot now~?”

“Yep.”

I nodded my head at Jain’s question. Then, I nocked the arrow onto the bow.

Kiik—

The bowstring tensed up. I aimed the bow at the Devil’s Castle and targeted only the castle. Using Overclocking, I squeezed out every ounce of Stigma’s magic power.

“Argh-“

It felt like my heart was going to burst from the Time Reversal I was forced to use, but it was bearable. I needed to endure it at the very least.

[You used Overclocking… Your lifeforce has been damaged!]

[Luck activates!]

[You used Overclocking… Your lifeforce has been damaged!]

[Luck activates!]

Magic power gathered by repeating the above process and began to shake the heaven and earth as it brewed up a storm.

Whish—!

The air currents surrounding me flowed into the arrow, and leaves and grass flew into the air.

Tssssst…

Burned by the magic power, the soil and rock underneath me turned black.

“I’m shooting now. Get ready.”

Before I fired, I signaled Jin Sahyuk. It was then.

….

Suddenly, someone approached me from behind. That person broke through Jain and Shimurin and reached out towards me, pulling my arrow and twisting its course.

Kwaaaang—!

At the same time, large and narrow blades shot up from the spot I was standing.

The misfired arrow then shot up towards the sky, past my intended mark.

“What….”

I stared at the Devil’s Castle as I was dragged back by the mysterious hand.

Even I couldn’t see the peak point of the castle. A mysterious barrier was blocking my vision.

But I decided not to worry about it too much. In fact, I wondered what devastating effect my 9.9 luck stat would have.

**

[Devil’s Castle – Baal’s Room]

On the other hand, Yi Yeonjun returned to Baal’s room. He was still raging. Although Yi Yeonjun couldn’t see Baal, he could tell by the demonic energy covering the room.

“….”

Yi Yeonjun empathized with Baal. Baal called himself a ‘World Collector’, yet he had just found out that he himself was nothing more than a small piece of a collection.

“…Baal.”

Yi Yeonjun called Baal’s name. At that moment,Koong—!

The space pulsed intensely. It was a pulsation of anger.

Sssss….

Soon, demonic energy gathered and formed the shape of a giant face. This was the personification of Baal, a transcendental being.

Baal moved his lips made of magic power.

—Who permitted you to speak my name.

Yi Yeonjun stared at Baal who was expressing his anger. Baal narrowed his eyes and glared at Yi Yeonjun.

“What’s your plan now?”

Yi Yeonjun’s brusque tone caused Baal to narrow his eyes even further. His face twitched a bit, as though he was deep in thought. Then, he spat out in a nonhuman voice.

—…Let me ask you first, human.

The room rumbled. Baal’s fury permeated the room.

—How do you plan to live from now?

“It depends on the truth of the memory you passed me.”

—That was the truth. There wasn’t a single bit of falsehood in the memory Bell gave me. That was… Truth.

“Are you sure?”

—Don’t get too cocky, human. I am an existence that has transcended worlds. I could tell that that was the truth.

“Then….”

Yi Yeonjun closed his eyes.

“I don’t have confidence.”

Yi Yeonjun couldn’t find a way to overcome the helplessness and sense of emptiness he felt. Because he found value in things that weren’t himself, knowing that this world was a novel was a huge blow to him. He couldn’t ignore it as easily as Jin Sahyuk.

—In the end, you are just human. But I am different.

But Baal was different.

A human’s anger was different from Baal’s anger. As a mere human, Yi Yeonjun lost his drive. However, Baal was plenty powerful.

—I will become the destroyer.

Baal’s demonic energy surged up. His presence enveloped the entire castle.

The Demon Realm Gate, the Devil’s Castle, and the container known as Bell.

The conditions for Descent had all been met.

—I will destroy that irresponsible, reckless man and put an end to the world he created.

Guoooo…. An overwhelming reverberation of magic power shook the room. Yi Yeonjun closed his eyes as Baal released demonic energy in fury.

Baal’s demonic energy stormed the room as if to destroy the world.

It was then.

Chweeeek—!

A small arrow broke through the barrier. Baal and Yi Yeonjun turned to the bed, which had just been struck by the arrow.

….

A moment of silence filled the room.

In this short period of time, Yi Yeonjun pondered, ‘How did this arrow get here?’

But before he could even think, the arrow released a brilliant light.

Chwaaaaaa….

A hot, holy current of silver light swallowed everything in the room.

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