Chapter 344.

[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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