Chapter 291. Looking Back (1)
Last night’s attack on the lord’s mansion caused a commotion in Lupiton.
Most of the guards, who weren’t even aware of the infiltration, were ousted and replaced by the smarter and stronger monsters sent down by higher authorities. The effect of the incident was so great that Monster King Orden even enclosed a personal letter to Pleron. In it, he delivered words of encouragement and praised Pleron for her prompt countermeasures. Any servant would have been honored to receive such a letter from their king.
“…Hm. Yeah?”
Amidst all the chaos, Cheok Jungyeong entered the lord’s mansion. No one was there to stop him as he walked down the hallway.
“Explosion, you say…. Geez, you guys are nothing without me,” Cheok Jungyeong muttered as he looked down at Boss who was lying in bed.
“It’s not that we’re weak, “ Jain remarked bitterly, “Bell’s too strong.”
The public considered either Chae Joochul or Heynckes as the strongest man of the present era, but that was because they didn’t know about the relationship between Bell and ‘Shin Myungchul’, who was revered by all as the strongest Hero in the history of mankind.
“Anyways, this dude is pretty good at writing. His servant probably wrote it for him, don’t you think?”
Jain gave a small smile as she read Orden’s letter. At the time of the explosion, Jain had lost her consciousness momentarily, yet her ‘disguise’ remained intact. It wasn’t only because she was the farthest from the impact, but also because her Gift wasn’t easily canceled to begin with.
“It’s Hajin, so I’m sure he’ll manage somehow.”
Jain put Orden’s letter away and transformed back to Pleron. She was quite fond of the ice wings that she could control freely.
“…You’re calm.”
In contrast to Jain’s carefree demeanor, Cheok Jungeyong appeared discontent.
“So, are you looking for Bell?”
“Of course. Everyone thinks Bell is the terrorist. I told them Bell came alone. I even fluttered my wings for authenticity~” Jain smiled.
Pleron, Lupiton’s village lord, was currently locked up in Kim Hajin’s card jail, so the entire village now belonged to Jain.
“I even had a composite sketch made. My monster servants will find him in no time~”
“…Uk.”
As Jain asserted with a smile, Boss suddenly made a sound.
“Ah, Boss!”
“Boss, are you awake?”
Cheok Jungyeong and Jain looked down at Boss.
Boss tossed and turned in discomfort before finally opening her eyes.
“…!”
Suddenly Boss’ upper body bounced upward like a spring.
“Haa, haa, haa….”
Boss gasped for air, and Jain approached Boss worriedly.
“Boss, are you okay?”
“…Is it you, Jain?”
Boss frowned at Jain who was disguised as Pleron.
“Yup. It’s me.”
Jain untransformed her face.
“I see. …Huu.”
Boss closed her eyes and recalled all the things that had happened before she lost consciousness. She quickly grasped all the events that had led up to their current situation.
Their attack on Pleron, Bell’s subsequent ambush, and Kim Hajin’s abduction.
She felt an unimaginable amount of rage from that last memory.
“…Bell.”
With clenched teeth, Boss looked at Jain. The swelled up blood vessels in the white of her eyes were about to burst from anger.
“Bell. Where is that son of a bitch?”
“We’re looking for him.”
“…And Hajin?”
“Same goes for Hajin.”
At that moment, Boss put on a strange expression.
Her face crumpled in sadness, and fear and sorrow replaced the anger in her eyes. She was truly worried for someone. Jain had never seen Boss like this before.
“Don’t worry~ He’s the type to thrive no matter where he is~”
Despite Jain’s attempt to comfort her, Boss’ expression remained the same. The situation worsened the next moment when Boss began to blame herself. Jain felt sorry for Boss. She reluctantly glanced at Cheok Jungyeong.
“Boss~ Cheok Jungyeong says that he found an ‘underground village’.”
Cheok Jungyeong flinched, and Boss raised her head to look at Jain.
“Underground village?”
“Yeah, it’s a village made up of the members of the Resistance or something. According to Jungyeong, Kim Suho, Jin Seyeon, and everyone else is there~”
Boss usually wasn’t interested in Heroes, but Kim Suho was an exception. People had been saying that the Swordsman of Wish would become the youngest Master-rank Hero in history.
“Do you want to go visit them~?” Jain asked.
Boss frowned, deep in thought, but now was the time to grasp any straws available.
“…Yes.”
She finally nodded.
**
Meanwhile, in the underground village in Lupiton.
“…We’ve obtained information about Tigris’ travel route.”
Their mission was well underway.
Although Lupiton’s surveillance heightened after last night’s incident, the number of Resistance members also increased proportionally. They felt they had nothing to worry about.
“So, Tigris will be giving a speech in ‘Doloren Square’?” Aileen asked. She had secretly arrived here last night. In all seriousness, Aileen stared at the document outlining Tigris’ travel route.
“Yes, but we’ll stay put while he’s giving the speech. We strike after his speech when he’s leaving the square to go somewhere else.” Ellio explained the mission that he devised with Yi Gongmyoung. “The most important piece of this mission is Tigris’ horse.”
“Horse?”
“Yes. He’s called ‘Horseless’. He’s known to be violent towards everyone other than his owner. Tigris is extremely fond of this horse. Rumor has it that he even loves him.” Ellio showed Aileen a photo of the horse.
Horseless was beautiful; his white mane was in striking contrast with his pitch black body. Aileen couldn’t imagine him being violent. That’s why Ellio’s next words were shocking.
“Horseless eats humans.”
“…What? Humans?”
“Yes, he consumes them, quite literally.”
Ellio showed her more photos. In them, Horseless was chewing on a human arm. Tigris was watching him contently in the background.
“He’s nuts.”
“Tigris rides Horseless wherever he goes.”
“And?”
“Even among the monsters, General Tigris is notorious for his temper. He pretends to be kind and generous but he’s actually very violent and cruel. He is the type who can’t hold back his anger.”
“…Ah, I see where you’re going with this.”
Aileen was still confused, but Jin Seyeon nodded in agreement.
“You’re planning to murder Horseless.”
“Yes, that’s right. If Horseless dies, Tigris will lose his temper for sure. Tigris is known to slay his own comrades when things go awry. So, can you imagine the things he would do when he sees his horse get murdered before his eyes?” Ellio gave a small smile. “He will become mad to the point he can’t tell right from wrong. Tigris will go on a rampage, destroying any and everything that comes into his line of sight. When he finishes killing all of his guards, that’s when we jump in to annihilate him.”
This was the best case scenario that Ellio and Yi Gongmyoung came up with.
“That sounds like a good plan. Leave Horseless to me, then.”
Ellio nodded at Jin Seyeon’s remark. To the Divine Archer, killing a horse would be a simple task.
“…Then I’ll take on Tigris.” Kim Suho announced all of a sudden. He looked around the village hall with a serious look.
Aileen frowned. “Hey, I’m the Commander, not you! And one particular person isn’t in charge of Tigris. Together we’ll all-”
“You know he’s invincible unless we fight him at close quarters. You've all seen the video from the Chinese government.”
Through the video, Kim Suho witnessed all the heinous crimes that Tigris had committed. Tigris killed a countless number of civilians and Heroes for pleasure. He didn’t even budge while committing a massacre that would go down in history.
Kim Suho could neither understand nor forgive such evil deeds.
“Please let me take him on.”
Kim Suho was determined. The Sword Saint wished to cut down Tigris’ madness.
Aileen stared at Kim Suho for a while, and… nodded.
“…Okay, fine. But only because it's better to minimize the number of Heroes in a mission. But I'll be watching you and we’ll intervene as soon as things get out of hand.”
“Thank you.”
Kim Suho nodded with a big smile.
It was then.
KWANG—!
Suddenly, the door of the village hall burst open and the high-rank Hero, Seo Youngji, rushed inside.
“Commander Aileen! The Chameleon Troupe is here!”
“What?”
“Please come on out!”
Aileen jumped to her feet and hurried outside.
“Where, where?”
“Over there.”
Seo Youngji pointed at the entrance of the village.
Three people were there, indeed.
But Black Lotus wasn’t one of them.
Aileen tilted her head in confusion, and the Chameleon Troupe’s boss stopped in front of Aileen.
“…What happened?”
Aileen asked.
“We….”
Boss opened her mouth to answer but stopped when she ‘detected’ a certain gaze on her.
She looked at the owner of the gaze.
“…That woman.”
“What? That woman?”
That woman wasn’t supposed to be here.
She was the bait to lure Bell in.
It was ‘Jin Sahyuk’.
“…!”
Jin Sahyuk shuddered when her gaze met Boss’. Boss moved immediately. There was not a single moment of hesitation in her movement.
As she watched Boss charge towards her like a ray of light— Jin Sahyuk smiled leisurely.
“I’m used to things like this now.”
She’d gotten beat up too many times to be surprised.
She gracefully emitted her magic power to form a barrier around her to prepare for the upcoming impact.
Crack—
“…?”
But Boss’ punch easily pierced through her barrier.
“Wha…?”
The punch landed on Jin Sahyuk’s right cheek.
Whoosh—
Jin Sahyuk flew and slammed against a wall.
**
[England — Borand Forest]
Meanwhile, despite all the commotion that was happening in Africa, Evandel, Ah Hae-In, and Rachel arrived at a forest in England, along with Hayang.
“Wow….”
They were in a ‘rank-1 danger zone’ called Borand Forest.
“Evandel, do you remember what you need to do first in order to establish a personal domain?” Ah Hae-In asked inside a forest full of monsters above high-intermediate rank.
Evandel, who was in her training uniform, wondered for a moment before finally shouting, “You have to grasp the nature within the domain!”
“Mn. You’re wrong.”
Ah Hae-In shook her head.
Evandel was confused but soon came up with another answer.
“Then… you have to befriend the nature within the domain!”
“How? How do you befriend it?”
“Um… That’s….”
Evandel glanced at Rachel, seeking her help.
“…hu… uu, hu….”
However, Rachel was already preoccupied with the sorrow of her upcoming breakup. Evandel held Rachel’s hand gently.
“You don’t have to try so hard. That answer was wrong, too.”
Ah Hae-In smiled and stroked Evandel’s head.
“The first and foremost thing you should do before establishing a personal domain is…”
She raised her head and looked out into the surrounding nature.
The grass, trees, and streams were all full of magic power. This land would make an excellent ‘magician’s domain’.
“…buying the land.”
“…Ehh?”
Of course, children were oblivious to such grown-up interests.
Evandel blinked a few times in confusion.
“First, you have to make this land legally yours. Even magicians need to abide by the law, after all.”
“Mm… Then….”
“But there’s no need for you to worry, Evandel.”
Ah Hae-In twisted her words again. Evandel frowned slightly.
“From here to there, all the land has already been purchased by Kim Hajin.”
“…Ah?”
Evandel’s eyebrows wiggled.
Ah Hae-In beamed.
Though, to be precise, this land wasn’t purchased by Kim Hajin. It was purchased with Kim Hajin’s ‘money’. So far Kim Hajin had paid her a total of 40 billion won for Evandel’s lessons. With it, Ah Hae-In had purchased this land in Kim Hajin’s name.
“Are you ready to begin?”
“Yes!”
Evandel nodded with a big smile.
“Good. Now, don’t hold back, and summon your beasts.”
“Whew….”
Evandel closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she sat on the grass, emitting her unique magic power signature.
The message embedded in the signature was ‘Come to me.’
“Your next task is simple. You’ll consolidate this land with the help of your spirit beasts. As you live in nature with your spirit beasts and as you create new ones, make this land acknowledge you as its rightful owner.”
Evandel nodded with both her eyes shut tightly.
She focused on emitting her magic power signature for the next five minutes.
Vibrations and noise came from far away.
Tens of thousands of spirit beasts that Evandel had released were returning to her.
“They’re coming.”
“…Yes.”
Both Ah Hae-In and Rachel waited for the wave of spirit beasts to appear.
Uuuuu… The faint vibration soon became a loud roar.
Amidst the majestic sound of footsteps that filled the air and the earth, the two adults were overwhelmed as they witnessed Evandel’s spirit beasts approach them from a distance.
Spirit beasts surrounded Evandel. Rabbits, lions, tigers, horses, hippopotamuses, wolves…. Countless spirit beasts formed a giant circle around Evandel.
One would be lucky to witness such a spectacle even once during one's lifetime.
“…Now, open your eyes.”
Evandel opened her eyes.
She looked at the spirit beasts around her and smiled mischievously.
“Let them roam around freely. Your spirit beasts will consolidate your domain for you.”
“Okee!”
Evandel set her spirit beasts free.
Tudududu—
Hiiing—
The footsteps, the roars, the fluttering of wings.
Her spirit beasts jumped into the air and ran along the earth, leaving their marks all across the surrounding nature.
**
I woke up in a dark room. I could feel a soft mattress under me.
“…?”
For a moment, I blinked a few times and assessed the situation. Immediately, I was filled with confusion. I remembered getting swept up in a huge explosion. But I wasn’t hurt. In fact, my head felt clearer than ever.
Perhaps it was because of the Orb of Regeneration, but it was still strange how refreshed I felt.
Was it because I got a good amount of sleep? Or was this also due to my luck?
“You’re awake.”
A voice disturbed my train of thought. I tilted my head slightly to the side. There, I saw a handsome man who looked like Legolas from the Lord of the Rings, smoking cigar.
“…It’s you again.”
I knew this man.
Bell.
But there was no hint of hostility in his eyes. The way he opened his eyes wearily made him appear quite attractive, actually.
“What’s your deal this time?” I asked.
Bell spoke slowly, stroking dark circles under his eyes.
“Ah, nothing big. I just looked at your memories… with my ultimate skill. For 10 minutes or so.”
“…What?”
“It turns out I can’t keep it up for longer than 10 minutes. Your memories are just too complex. So I only saw bits here and there. Ah, it’s not like I have a voyeurism fetish.”
“No, that’s not what I-”
I frowned.
I had killed Bell once in the Tower of Wish. I still clearly remembered how I fired my gun into his head.
Therefore, it was impossible for him to have a ultimate skill.
“DIdn’t I kill you once in the Tower?”
“…Ah~ Right, that happened. But you can’t kill me. My body is made up of magic power, thanks to my Authority [Magic Power Body]. Haam~”
Bell yawned and stretched at the same time.
“No…, but I did kill you.”
“…Hmm? Ah~ You’re right. Your anti-magic power did break my ‘magic power’. But it couldn’t destroy my Authority.”
“Mm… Tell me more.”
“Haha,” Bell laughed aloud and continued with his explanation, “I’m saying that you should just consider me ‘nature’. This world has already recognized me as a part of nature. Just like how wind blows, rain falls, and flowers bloom, I too am a part of nature. So when I die, nature automatically rearranges my existence. This phenomenon is only possible because I am entirely made up of magic power.”
“….”
“In short, I can’t die. I’m bound to live forever.”
I was at a loss for words.
Magic Power Body was indeed in my original settings, though eventually I got rid of it because it felt overpowered.
But still, ‘resurrection’ was never a part of Magic Power Body.
When I turned my doubtful gaze to Bell, he smiled at me.
“By the way, aren’t you curious about the fact that I looked at your memories?”
“…Huh?”
My heart sank.
The fact he looked at my memories meant that Bell now knew all of my secrets.
“Yeah, that’s how you should respond.”
Bell smirked and sat down next to me.
“I never imagined there’d be another Transmigrator other than Jin Sahyuk and Kim Suho.”
“…Transmigrator?”
What Bell said was strange.
At first I was confused, but I soon realized that he had interpreted my memories in a completely different way.
“Yeah, Transmigrator. Kim Hajin and Kim Chundong are the same yet completely different people. That’s the reason Jin Sahyuk thought you were her servant. Kim Chundong, whose body you took over, became Jin Sahyuk’s servant ‘Kindspring’ in Akatrina.”
“….”
“I understood that much. I also saw the world you’re originally from. Although I couldn’t figure out how you came here, since that information had been blocked securely.”
I said nothing and only stared at Bell.
“Another Earth in a parallel universe. It was a boring yet nonetheless fascinating story.”
Bell smiled leisurely. I looked at Bell’s deep, dark blue eyes.
Just what exactly was this man who was neither in my original novel nor setting?
“…Do you want to know who I am?”
Bell muttered as if he had read my mind.
“Will you give me an answer if I ask?”
“Of course. It’s give and take. I figured out your identity, now you should know mine.”
I looked at Bell as if saying, ‘Then, tell me.’
“Okay. But first, have you heard of ‘Baal’?”
I froze.
Baal.
That was the name of the devil ranked as the first among Solomon’s Seventy-Two Devils. He was the most popular and the most powerful devil of all, along with Satan.
“So you do know. Then you also know that for a devil to descend on Earth, he needs an incarnation body, right?”
Bell smiled.
I listened to Bell in a daze.
“At this point, you probably figured out where I’m going with this. I’m Baal’s incarnation body. I only have six months left at most. In six months, Baal will be born in my head.”
It was a sudden, shocking declaration.
“…So?”
Bell frowned slightly at my nonchalant reaction.
“So? I said, I’m Baal. When I become Baal, the world is doomed. You’ll never be able to kill me.”
“…And?”
Still, I was calm.
The reason was simple. I knew I was here as a result of the [Accumulation of Luck] that happened during the explosion, and I could still see the sentence [This is a momentary misfortune that will lead to the best ending] in my window.
In short, this meeting with Bell was the result of the purest ‘luck’.
“…Ehew.”
Finally, Bell sighed.
“Okay, I’ll get to the point. But first.”
Bell’s gaze suddenly sharpened.
“…Chundong.”
Bell called Kim Chundong.
He was one of the two people in this world who knew Kim Chundong.
“Kim Chundong.”
Also, he was the only one who witnessed the root of Kim Chundong’s existence.
[In response to the called name, your synchronization with ‘Kim Chundong’ is increasing.]
Something in my heart responded to Bell’s voice.
I glared at Bell, and Bell asked me, “Do you think… you’ll be able to betray Byul just for a second?”
He was asking me if I could betray Boss.