Chapter 341.

[Baal’s Castle]

Kim Suho continued to climb a seemingly endless spiral staircase . As he grew closer to the sky, he continuously mulled over what Jin Sahyuk said two hours ago .

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

‘If you knew how Kim Hajin feels, you would all be shocked speechless… . ’

Unable to understand what she meant, Kim Suho called Shin Jonghak .

“Shin Jonghak, do you know anything about it?”

“About what?”

“About what Jin Sahyuk said . ”

Shin Jonghak shook his head .

“No clue . I only followed her here… . But I’ve seen that woman stare at Kim Hajin with a warm look . ”

“What? Really?”

“Don’t worry about it, Suho . I’m sure she’s lying . Why would Fenrir like that crazy woman anyways?”

Aileen cut in .

To be honest, Kim Suho thought the same way . But he knew Jin Sahyuk wasn’t the type to make such jokes . She considered herself as royalty, and joking was something that didn’t suit their dignity .

“Rather than that, I’m curious when we’ll reach the end of this staircase . ”

Aileen crossed her arms unhappily . Just as she said, the group had been climbing the staircase for almost three hours, but they had yet to catch a glimpse of anything resembling a pathway .

“…Oi! Black haired girl!”

Aileen called Jin Sahyuk, who was climbing ahead of them . Jin Sahyuk stopped and looked back at Aileen .

“Are you sure we’re going the right way?”

“…Who knows?”

Jin Sahyuk shrugged irresponsibly .

“What?”

Aileen scowled, to which Jin Sahyuk smirked .

“What other choice do we have? It’s not like we can shout for Baal to come out . Let’s just keep going, and in the meanwhile, I’ll send a Mental Transmission to Black Lotus . ”

“…Mental Transmission? To Black Lotus?”

“Yep . ”

Jin Sahyuk nodded and sent a Mental Transmission to Kim Hajin . Her way of sending Mental Transmissions was rather unique, as she used ‘Reality Manipulation’ to do so .

—I’m in Baal’s castle with Kim Suho . You stay outside . Don’t enter the castle . If you want to save the world, then do as I say .

Kim Hajin replied about three minutes afterward .

—…Why?

It was a short, blunt question . Jin Sahyuk laughed inwardly at this cute reaction . Behind her, Aileen’s loud voice rang out .

“Cmon-! How long do we have to keep—”

“Oh, there it is . ”

Jin Sahyuk interrupted Aileen and pointed to a spot on the spiral staircase . Shin Jonghak, Kim Suho, and Aileen all turned their gazes to the spot Jin Sahyuk was pointing to .

“…Huh? You’re right . It really is there . But there wasn’t anything just a moment ago . ”

Aileen’s eyes widened . Just like she said, a huge gate had suddenly appeared at a previously empty spot .

“…I’ll go in first . ”

Shin Jonghak stepped forward as soon as he saw the gate . He hopped up the staircase, three steps at a time until he reached the gate . Seeing how Shin Jonghak was practically running, Jin Sahyuk smiled .

Soon, all four members of the group reached the gate . Standing in front of the ogre-sized gate, Shin Jonghak stared at Jin Sahyuk, and Jin Sahyuk nodded her head . Shin Jonghak then grabbed the knob on the right side while Kim Suho grabbed the knob on the left . Together, they pushed it forward .

Kiik—

The giant gate opened with a course sound . Immediately, a brilliant light shone from the other side, and classical music began to play . The four of them blinked their eyes at the dazzling light, and in the next instant, their thought processes stopped .

A scene they hadn’t expected to see was spread out before them .

“…Where is this?”

Aileen muttered quietly and rolled her eyes to study the area . To describe it simply, they were at the scene of a ‘banquet’ . A fancy chandelier cast light in all directions, and a sumptuous feast was prepared inside . They could also see well-dressed men and women dancing to the tune of classical music .

No matter how they looked at it, they were in a banquet hall .

“…There he is . ”

While the others stood confused, Jin Sahyuk spotted a certain person from the crowd and smiled .

Kim Suho and Shin Jonghak also followed Jin Sahyuk’s gaze, while Aileen’s attention was caught by a waiter holding a plate of fancy chocolates .

“That’s Yi Yeonjun, the previous boss of the Chameleon Troupe . ”

The moment Jin Sahyuk mentioned this…

“What?”

Aileen’s eyes shot open, and her attention turned to Yi Yeonjun .

“That bastard… he’s really alive?”

Aileen also had an ill-fated relationship with Yi Yeonjun . Currently, he was sitting on a chair at a balcony on the upper floor of the banquet hall, looking down at the crowd below .

**

[Demon Realm Gate – Baal’s Barrier]

I stood in front of Baal’s castle . Jain and Shimurin were standing next to me . Although I used up most of my bullets, I eliminated all the demonic beasts running amok inside the barrier . Soon, Rachel, Yun Seung-Ah, and the other Heroes should arrive here as well .

“Let’s go in . ”

Just as I was about to enter Baal’s castle…

—I’m in Baal’s castle with Kim Suho . You stay outside . Don’t enter the castle . If you want to save the world, then do as I say .

Jin Sahyuk’s Mental Transmission flowed into my ears . I paused immediately .

“…Hm? What’s up~?”

Jain tilted her head curiously .

“Uh… hold on, I just got a strange message . ”

I messaged back .

—Why?

But she didn’t return an answer . After waiting for a few minutes, I contemplated ignoring her warning and going inside . I gave it more thought and concluded that the changed Jin Sahyuk wouldn’t lie to me .

“Let’s wait a bit more . ”

I spread Aether out like a mat and took a seat on the ground . Jain and Shimurin also sat down next to me . Jain yawned, and Shimurin took out a scroll as soon as she sat down .

“Is that the dimension scroll?”

I looked at her scroll with keen interest . Shimurin nodded her head with a grin .

“This scroll will summon a portal connecting two dimensions together . It’s still incomplete and unsafe . The portal isn’t big enough either . There’s still a lot I have to fix… Why? Do you want to give it a go?”

“…”

I stared at the scroll fixedly . Then, a brilliant idea flashed across my mind .

“Let me test something . ”

I took out two A4-sized pieces of paper . Shimurin tilted her head and asked .

“What’s that?”

“They’re just pieces of paper for now… . ”

I activated Setting Intervention, adding [Linkage], [Recording], and [Durability] to their setting . I also changed the name of the papers to ‘Messenger’ .

[You used 103SP to change the setting of a set of objects . ]

[Luck activates . ]

[Item, ‘Messenger’, increases in rank . ]

[Item, ‘Messenger’, has been strengthened in functionality . ]

“Now it’s a messenger . ”

“A what?”

Shimurin’s eyebrows went up, and Jain turned her gaze to us with interest .

“A messenger . If you write something on one paper, the same thing will be written on the other . ”

I demonstrated the Messenger’s function . Shimurin nodded her head .

“So that’s what it is . You want to send this to your world?”

“Exactly . ”

“…Hm . ”

Shimurin rubbed her chin and fell in thought . After about 30 seconds, she continued .

“It’s likely that the paper will burn while crossing over to your world . ”

“It’s fine . This paper has good durability . ”

At the very least, it should withstand being burnt . I added [Durability] to its setting, not to mention the added bonus from luck .

“You’re that confident? This scroll might look tiny, but it’s expensive enough to be a national treasure you know?”

“Just do it . Who cares about money when the world is at risk?”

“…Well, that’s true . ”

Shimurin let out a dry cough and tore the scroll in half . The grand magician’s magic power flowed into the scroll, and a small, fist-sized portal appeared in the air .

“Alright, Kim Hajin, it’s your turn now . ”

“Got it . ”

I sent Stigma’s magic power into the portal and set the coordinate to Evandel’s cabin .

“Done . I’m going to give it a go then . ”

I wrote a message on the paper, folded it into a paper airplane, and sent it flying inside the portal . With my Master Sharpshooter Gift, the paper airplane practically flew like a real one .

“Wow~ how cool~ so we just have to wait now~?”

Jain muttered, but Shimurin and I only stared at the remaining paper .

…It was then .

—We just found Yi Yeonjun in what seems to be the first stage, a ‘banquet hall’ . You wait outside and destroy Baal’s castle with an arrow when I give the signal . I know you can do it .

Jin Sahyuk returned a belated reply .

“What is she talking about?”

I spat out a complaint out loud . When Shimurin and Jain gave me a curious look, I returned a reply .

—Are you crazy? How am I supposed to destroy Baal’s castle?

—You can do it .

—No way .

It was impossible, especially when even Baal’s barrier could only be partially destroyed with the help of the ‘Mystic Key’ .

…Wait . Mystic Key?

—You should be able to do it . So when I give the signal, shoot immediately and destroy the castle .

Ignoring my worries, Jin Sahyuk gave a firm command .

**

[Earth – ♡Evandel and Hayang’s Cabin♡]

On the other hand, Ah Hae-In and Evandel returned to Evandel’s ‘domain’ .

“TV, TV~”

Evandel hummed happily as she turned on the TV inside the cabin .

—Valac’s army retreated from Europe .

A timely report of the day’s news came out .

—Duchess Ah Hae-In and her disciple led humanity to their first victory .

Ah Hae-In and Evandel had successfully stopped Valac’s army from advancing into Europe . Evandel and her unicorn commanded 5000 spirit beasts as though they shared one mind, while Ah Hae-In fully utilized the power of the Cardinal Guardians to force Valac to retreat .

—The streets of Europe are filled with people cheering the two magicians’ achievements… .

“Oooh, look Hayang, we did good~”

Evandel watched the news with sparkling eyes . Seeing her achievements broadcasted across the world, she was both excited and proud .

—We captured footage of a black wolf defeating Valac’s adjutant . Let’s take a look .

“…Fenrir, Fenrir, come over here! They’re praising you on TV!”

Evandel hugged Fenrir excitedly . Fenrir maintained his indifferent act while stealthily gazing at himself appearing on TV .

Kwaaaaaa—!

A house-sized wolf was storming forward and crushing several demons .

“So cool!”

—Krrr .

Fenrir shrugged hearing Evandel’s cheer .

“…Haha . ”

Ah Hae-In chuckled and left Evandel to enjoy her time with her spirit beasts . Then, she turned on her smartwatch, which she kept off during the war .

She was immediately stormed with messages from the Association .

[Demon Realm Gate – Kim Suho, Aileen, Yun Seung-Ah, Shin Jonghak, Rachel, Yoo Yeonha, and others]

[Valac – Ah Hae-In]

[Leraje – Game to be released next Monday]

[Astaroth – Leore, Kim Hwaoong, Yi Heejoon, and 13 other 8-star magicians]

[Vassago’s Colosseum – Jin Seyeon, Vast Expanse, and others]

She received a report containing the activities of various Heroes . Ah Hae-In found the name ‘Rachel’ on the list and looked back at Evandel .

Evandel was clapping her hands like a seal and watching the news with widened eyes .

“…Cute . ”

A faint smile emerged on Ah Hae-In’s face . She became worried when both Kim Hajin and Rachel left, but it seemed that her worry was unnecessary .

Tiriring—!

As she was watching Evandel play with her friends, she received another message .

[Duchess Ah Hae-In, when will you introduce your disciple to the world? Everyone is curious . Earth needs an icon of hope . ]

It was from the Association yet again . In truth, the Hero Association already knew who Ah Hae-In’s disciple was, that it was a young girl of the name ‘Evandel’ .

That was why they kept pestering her . A ten-year-old genius magician who could wield an army of spirit beasts . Evandel was truly the perfect candidate for an ‘icon of hope’ .

“… . ”

Ah Hae-In ignored the message and turned her smartwatch off . At that moment, a paper airplane flew inside the cabin from the window .

“What’s this…?”

Ah Hae-In frowned and grabbed the airplane . When she touched it, her face immediately stiffened . She could feel a trace of magic power from the paper material .

She quickly opened the airplane and checked the contents .

[Evandel, are you doing well? It’s me, Hajin . If you have something you want to say to me, all you have to do is write something on this piece of paper . I can reply to you on the same paper . I want to see you . ]

“…!”

It was, without doubt, a message from Kim Hajin .

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