Chapter 104

Gigigigigigigik!

In the lightning of Thunderbolt, where Shadow Monsters burst out, screams echoed.

The monster swung its shadow at me as a last resort, but my vision had already shifted.

Si-ho had brought me to her using Space Movement.

She was holding me from behind, glaring at the collapsing Shadow Monster.

The Shadow Monster eventually shook violently once before exploding into ink.

Hyuk-seo, who had been trapped inside the Shadow Monster, rolled on the ground.

My eyes turned to Hyuk-seo.

His neck, lying on the ground, was dripping with shadow.

The shadow that had been holding Hyuk-seo’s neck together was also disappearing due to the aftermath of destroying the Shadow Core.

The moment that shadow disappears, Hyuk-seo will die.

I knew that, but my eyes kept wanting to close.

“Manager!”

Hearing Si-ho’s shout, I barely opened my eyes.

The pain kept making my consciousness waver.

“What do I do! What do I do! Because of Si-ho, because of me. Quickly, to the hospital, to the hospital first!”

Si-ho hugged me, even showing tears, not knowing what to do.

I grabbed her wrist and exhaled softly.

“It’s, okay. Si-ho, it’s okay.”

“It’s not okay! It’s not okay……”

Si-ho, with an angry expression, touched my cheek with trembling hands, and I couldn’t say anything.

Honestly, if Hyuk-seo hadn’t resisted, I would have been done for.

Even in this state, surviving was a stroke of luck.

At that moment, someone appeared on the building’s outer wall in the distance.

His hair, surrounded by pitch-black darkness, fluttered in cosmic colors.

Erebus.

He had finally come.

According to Eun-namu’s information, he was supposed to be abroad for some reason, not in the central district.

With his appearance, the Association’s plan was effectively ruined.

He was a person with that much power.

Eun-namu hadn’t informed me of this.

It seemed something had happened on Eun-namu’s side as well.

I started to worry about her.

“Dom-i, go.”

At that moment, Hyuk-seo grabbed his neck and forced himself to stand.

His trembling body looked like it would collapse any second.

“It’s okay.”

Looking at him, I quietly exhaled and looked up at the sky.

Camellia flower petals were fluttering there.

Amidst the fluttering flowers, red hair appeared.

Her clenched sword was dyed red, ominously glowing.

Cheonma Cheon Hong-ryun.

She had arrived.

Erebus glanced at us for a moment.

His presence here meant Giraseong was effectively annihilated.

So, he could have pretended to be crazy and attacked Si-ho.

But he gave up and disappeared back into the darkness.

Cheon Hong-ryun swung her sword at Erebus, but he had already vanished.

The sun was setting.

As the God of Darkness, he could move more freely at night, so even Cheon Hong-ryun would find it hard to chase him.

After giving up on Erebus, she leaped towards us.

As soon as she saw me, her eyes widened.

She immediately ran to me, hugged me, and her trembling hands touched my body.

“Again, why, Dom-i, you!”

“Ugh, Ayu, your touch hurts more.”

“Really……”

She was about to scold me but bit her lip instead.

“My Si-ho, ugh, seems to have been watching well.”

I shot Thunderbolt to take down the Shadow Monster but also to signal our location.

Anyone who knows me would have realized the situation and come.

Thanks to that, the mighty Cheonma herself had come.

“You’re angry, so stay quiet. First, eat this.”

The problem was, Cheon Hong-ryun seemed really angry because of me.

As she took out a Hwandan, I tried to take it, but my hand wouldn’t move properly.

Seeing me like that, she sighed as if she would break and put the Hwandan directly into my mouth.

Since she gave it, it would surely help my recovery, so I chewed it despite the bitterness.

“Is it too bitter? Should Si-ho chew it for you?”

How far does Si-ho want to go?

Thinking that I ended up like this trying to protect her, Si-ho was restless.

Meanwhile, I felt the Hwandan seeping in, slightly easing the pain.

It seemed perfect for emergency treatment.

I put my hand on Si-ho’s head, indicating I was okay, and exhaled softly, shifting my gaze upward.

“It’s quite bitter. But it’s okay. Si-ho, can you handle the Dimensional Gate first?”

Only Si-ho can close a Dimensional Gate of that scale.

Dimensional Beings are still pouring out.

The Returners and Hunters can’t hold out forever.

Si-ho nodded at my words and stood up.

“I’ll do it quickly.”

With that, Si-ho reached out to the sky and began closing the Dimensional Gate.

“Haa, look at this mess.”

At that moment, Baeksan’s voice was heard.

He looked at me, sighed deeply, and asked.

“Your body.”

“Can’t say it’s fine.”

I smiled awkwardly, and Baeksan nodded as if that was enough.

I had pushed my body quite hard this time, but it seemed he decided to let it slide since I was alive.

“You must take at least three months off. At least until I can intervene.”

Baeksan said that, seemingly heartbroken that he couldn’t stop me even though he reached out at the last moment.

Even if Baeksan had possessed me, my body, still affected by the previous possession during the Academy days, wouldn’t have been able to handle it.

I could only nod with a bitter smile at his words.

Meanwhile, Cheon Hong-ryun approached Hyuk-seo.

Cheon Hong-ryun, fluttering Camellia flowers, was distorting her eyes in anger.

“Are you satisfied now?”

The magical energy surrounding her seemed ready to explode.

“……Namgung Cheon-ryong’s demon horse.”

“I killed it. Just because of that guy, I missed you, and Dom-i ended up like this. I’m so angry I could go mad.”

It seemed something unexpected had happened on Cheon Hong-ryun’s side as well.

Originally, she was supposed to subdue Hyuk-seo, and Eva was supposed to persuade him, but it was strange that Hyuk-seo appeared on our side.

Looking down at Hyuk-seo, Cheon Hong-ryun’s eyes began to distort with anger.

I had a bad feeling.

With a slightly recovered body, I jumped up and hugged Cheon Hong-ryun’s waist, lifting her.

“Eh, what.”

Startled, Cheon Hong-ryun struggled but then realized it was me and widened her eyes.

Ayu looks taller as Cheon Hong-ryun, but when held, she feels no different from Ayu.

After all, Ayu and Cheon Hong-ryun are the same person.

“Ayu, stop.”

“……I was going to stop anyway.”

“Your eyes didn’t look like it. You looked like you were about to do something.”

“Do you see me as a murderer? I won’t do that. Put me down.”

I carefully put Cheon Hong-ryun down, and she sighed.

Then, glancing at me, she hesitated and said.

“……You can keep hugging me a bit longer.”

I flicked Cheon Hong-ryun’s forehead.

She widened her eyes and covered her forehead.

Her expression, as if she couldn’t believe I flicked her, made me laugh.

“Ayu, can’t you do something about Hyuk-seo?”

If left like this, his neck will fall off again, just like when he cut it himself.

Hearing me, Ayu sighed and approached Hyuk-seo, squatting down.

Then, her Camellia flower petals wrapped around Hyuk-seo’s neck.

“It’s a temporary measure. It seems his dantian is destroyed by his standards. Anyway, the Saint will handle it.”

Hearing Cheon Hong-ryun’s words, I gratefully ruffled her hair and approached Hyuk-seo.

“Hyuk-seo.”

“……Dom-i. Sorry. Are you okay?”

At his question, I scratched my cheek.

“It hurts like hell.”

I said that, but I smiled.

“You worked hard coming all this way.”

“……If I had held your hand that first day, things wouldn’t have turned out like this. That day.”

“Even then, Giraseong would have done the same thing. At most, Hyuk-seo would have just switched to our side.”

This wasn’t exactly comforting.

According to Eun-namu, Giraseong had been preparing for this from the start.

So, whether Hyuk-seo was here or not, it would have happened the same way.

Ultimately, the World Returner Association and Giraseong were destined to clash today.

“So, my part is just this one.”

Hearing that, I remained silent for a moment, then punched his head.

Thud!

Is his head made of stone?

The clear sound made my fist hurt instead.

Fortunately, thanks to Ayu’s measures, Hyuk-seo’s neck didn’t fall off.

“From now on, you have to take responsibility for what you did while being part of Giraseong.”

The victims this time are ordinary citizens.

No matter how much we prepared in advance, we can’t say there were no casualties.

Some people probably died today.

I’m not exactly an altruistic person.

I’m just focused on protecting those around me, not someone with a humanitarian desire to save all of humanity.

As I said earlier, Giraseong would have done the same thing even without Hyuk-seo.

In that process, someone would have died, and I could only hope it wasn’t someone close to me.

After all, even I killed Gwak Sa-yeon to save Seo-ho and Si-ho.

In the end, everyone lives according to their own standards.

Both Hyuk-seo and I.

While Hyuk-seo remained silent, I straightened my knees and stood up.

“Ha-chan!”

At that moment, Seol-hyang’s voice echoed from the road.

Seol-hyang saw me and ran over, grabbing my collar tightly.

“……What happened to you.”

Seol-hyang bit her lip, unable to bear seeing me injured.

“Does it hurt?”

“Not much, after eating what Ayu gave me, it’s okay.”

Actually, it still hurts here and there.

“Cheonma, what did you give him?”

“A Hwandan with recovery and pain relief effects. He’s just putting on a brave face. He needs proper treatment.”

Was I caught?

“Got it. I’ll call the Saint.”

Looks like the Saint will be making a house call again.

Well, considering Hyuk-seo, the Saint should come.

“How’s the situation over there?”

“It’s all taken care of. Did Erebus come here?”

“Yeah, he escaped.”

Cheon Hong-ryun answered, and Seol-hyang clicked her tongue in disappointment.

But given the situation, it seemed she decided not to chase him.

“The Immortal is still hiding and fleeing. Eun-hyeon is chasing him. So, excluding these two, we’ve captured everyone else who participated this time. And.”

She brushed her hair lightly while reporting the situation.

“We’ve also taken over all Giraseong bases in each world.”

This time, the World Returner Association didn’t just act in Korea.

Taking advantage of Giraseong’s forces gathering here, they attacked all other bases as well.

Eun-namu’s help was significant in this case.

She provided information on several bases that even the Association found hard to locate.

‘Where is Eun-namu now?’

I wondered.

Worried about her due to Erebus, I fiddled with the mobile phone in my pocket.

I should contact her later.

Meanwhile, Seol-hyang looked up at the sky.

I also looked up and saw the large-scale rapid Dimensional Gate slowly closing.

Now, everything was truly coming to an end.

It was a long fight.

Seeing that, I casually asked Seol-hyang.

“Seol-hyang, what about Juk-sim?”

“Nae-ki is bringing her. She found her hiding somewhere.”

“I’m here!”

At that moment, Nae-ki appeared, carrying Juk-sim in her arms.

The adult form of Juk-sim was nowhere to be seen; only the girl I first saw was there.

Juk-sim buried her face in Nae-ki’s chest, reluctant to lift her head.

It seemed she couldn’t handle being outside and around many people.

Seeing her like this, I realized she had put in a lot of effort this time.

‘Now, we just need Eva.’

Somehow, all guild members except Ggotbi had gathered.

With Giraseong and the World Returner Association, our guild members’ abilities are too outstanding, almost excessive.

At this level, we could even aim for world conquest.

It’s laughable.

Meanwhile, Nae-ki put Juk-sim down.

She staggered away from Nae-ki and let out a sigh.

Then, after glancing at Hyuk-seo, she beckoned me over.

“Juk-sim?”

As I approached her, Juk-sim grabbed my collar tightly.

Seeing that, Cheon Hong-ryun’s eyes sharpened slightly, but she stayed still given the situation.

Meanwhile, Juk-sim fumbled with her hands, then remembered something and took out her mobile phone.

She always does this when she has nowhere to look.

Anyway, holding the phone, she started typing something.

[ I’m sorry for letting Erebus escape. ]

Hearing her apology, I shook my head.

“Don’t be sorry. Without you, Juk-sim, it would have been a bigger disaster.”

If Juk-sim hadn’t been there when Erebus appeared, Seol-hyang would have been in danger.

So, she didn’t need to apologize.

[ I saved the ordinary citizens on the way here. ]

At that moment, my eyes widened at her next words.