Chapter 288

“Come in,” Old Man Hwang offered. Showing it to Gi-Gyu would be better than trying to explain it with words.

Gi-Gyu nodded and entered.

However, Old Man Hwang stopped Lou from entering. “Wait.”

“What do you think you’re doing?” Lou glared at the elderly blacksmith, exuding ominous energy. His forehead also twitched angrily.

“Please don’t get me wrong.” Old Man Hwang quickly explained, “Lord Paimon hasn’t been fully resurrected yet. If someone with powerful sorcerous energy like yourself enters the ritual barrier, I don’t know what effect it would have on him.”

Lou looked at Gi-Gyu and murmured, “But what about him…?” But without waiting for an answer, he conceded, “Fine.”

Lou stepped back, knowing that Gi-Gyu was an exception. Gi-Gyu was connected to Paimon through his sync ability. In addition, Gi-Gyu could control his energy better.

Before entering the room, Gi-Gyu said to Lou, “I’ll be right back.”

El followed.

“Tsk…” Lou clicked his tongue and sat down, now all alone in the hallway. There was nothing he could do other than just wait. Either he would get an answer or…

‘Paimon himself will walk out.’ Lou closed his eyes and waited. He was still very much troubled, but he took comfort in knowing he was close to the answer.

***

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When Gi-Gyu entered the room, he waved his hands to push away the boiling energy that filled the space.

He could barely breathe as his eyes turned toward the center of the room. There, he could see the magic circle, created by Baal and perfected by Min-Su, responsible for helping Paimon.

In the middle of the circle was someone who looked like Min-Su.

“Is that Min-Su?” Gi-Gyu asked in awe. The figure seemed like a corpse because it didn’t make the smallest movement, and its breathing was also faint.

What shocked Gi-Gyu the most, though, was Min-Su’s appearance.

Old Man Hwang answered, “He is absorbing Lord Paimon’s body. He is almost done.”

Old Man Hwang tried to explain as best as he could. “Lord Paimon is a high demon with incredible power. You may have synced with Min-Su, but that doesn’t mean his shell volume, strength, and such would immediately increase—it’ll take some time. However, he must now absorb Lord Paimon, who is well beyond his limits. So this would take some time.”

Gi-Gyu nodded.

Old Man Hwang added, “Think of that magic circle as a tool to help Min-Su absorb Lord Paimon’s physical body. Without your help, it would have been impossible.” He stood beside the magic circle.

Hwang Chae-Il seemingly didn’t realize Gi-Gyu was there because he kept his eyes closed and was chanting something.

Old Man Hwang murmured, “Please wait here for a moment. There is something you need to do for us soon.”

Without explaining exactly what Gi-Gyu needed to do, Old Man Hwang closed his eyes and began chanting too. Gi-Gyu watched Min-Su while sensing the profound energies in the room.

Min-Su no longer looked like an immature boy. He still wasn’t an adult yet, but he now looked like a high school student. Min-Su had grown at least 20 cm since the last time Gi-Gyu saw him. He also had long hair now.

Gi-Gyu noticed how red Min-Su’s hair was. The boy’s facial features still remained, but one could also see Paimon’s facial characteristics. Gi-Gyu thought Min-Su would look like Paimon in a few years at this rate.

Just then, the boiling energy suddenly paused.

“Huh?” Gi-Gyu jolted when he saw the magic circle glowing. It began absorbing the energies in the air; Old Man Hwang and Hwang Chae-Il started chanting even faster.

A group of fulgent lights gathered around Min-Su.

Fwoosh!

All the lights heading toward Min-Su exploded.

“Master!” El screamed.

Suddenly, Gi-Gyu realized what Old Man Hwang wanted him to do. He raised his hands and began controlling the abundant power in the room. The magic circle had mutated the various energies, but Gi-Gyu could still control them. He stopped the energies from running amok and stabilized the magic circle.

Gi-Gyu restrained the energies, allowing only the amount he knew Min-Su could handle to pass through.

The process didn’t take long.

“Ugh…” Hwang Chae-Il groaned.

“It’s finally over…” Old Man Hwang announced with a tired sigh.

Gi-Gyu silently watched the middle of the magic circle. All of Paimon’s remaining power had entered Min-Su. He also absorbed all the energies Old Man Hwang and Hwang Chae-Il had prepared in advance.

‘Death and Life.’ Gi-Gyu knew they were meant for Min-Su, but some also entered Paimon because Eden was full of them.

After absorbing everything, Min-Su opened his eyes.

“Haa… That was rough,” said Min-Su, who wasn’t Min-Su.

“Paimon?” Gi-Gyu asked. The voice and the tone definitely belonged to Paimon.

“Did it work? This boy… I did give him some hints, but I never expected him to really pull it off,” Min-Su, who sounded like Paimon now, ignored Gi-Gyu and mumbled.

Gi-Gyu was about to say something more when Paimon in Min-Su’s body turned toward him.

“Hmm! As expected, this isn’t perfect. All he did was put the puzzle pieces together, but barely… Well, I guess it’ll do,” Paimon continued.

Gi-Gyu gave up on asking any more questions.

Meanwhile, Paimon was busy checking his new body. He mumbled, “Not bad. He definitely has the talent.”

“Are you really Paimon?” Gi-Gyu finally asked, realizing Paimon might never stop talking to himself.

“Are you blind?” Paimon finally answered. “Can’t you see that I am? What an idiot.”

‘It really is Paimon.’

“But what about Min-Su? What happened to him?” Gi-Gyu asked in a panic. This wasn’t what he had been told would happen. If Paimon took Min-Su’s body, what happened to Min-Su?

“Ahh, you’re a moron. Can’t you tell by now? Min-Su is perfectly fine. I’m just borrowing his body for a moment by placing my consciousness into it. Min-Su must be tired because he went inside to rest.”

“Haa…” Gi-Gyu sighed in relief. The sync had told him Min-Su was fine. However, he had been worried about how the process affected Min-Su.

“Just wait a little while. Three hours… probably? In that time, we should be able to sort things out. It just needs a little tuning, that’s all,” Paimon ordered Gi-Gyu to leave.

Paimon then turned toward the exhausted Old Man Hwang and Hwang Chae-Il, who were slumped in a corner.

“You two over there. You can still move, right?” Paimon pointed his finger at them. “I know you can, so stop being a baby and help me.”

Old Man Hwang and Hwang Chae-Il stood up. Pitying them, El injected some Life into them. Feeling much better, Old Man Hwang and Hwang Chae-Il thanked her profusely.

“What are you still doing here? Aren’t you leaving? You’re in the way, so get out,” Paimon ordered again.

Gi-Gyu finally left in silence.

Lou, who had been waiting alone, stood up when he saw Gi-Gyu. Because there was a barrier around the room, it was unlikely Lou knew anything that had happened inside.

Lou asked impatiently, “What happened? Is Paimon awake?”

Gi-Gyu sighed and replied, “It worked. He’s alive, but… I want to kill him again.”

El, who had been maintaining a blank face, laughed.

***

Since Paimon had told him it wouldn’t take long, Gi-Gyu waited outside the room. Just as he had promised, Gi-Gyu saw Paimon soon enough.

Old Man Hwang and Hwang Chae-Il looked more exhausted than before.

Gi-Gyu said to them, “You two should go and rest…”

The two of them should have been curious about the information Paimon was about to give Gi-Gyu, but they were just too tired. They thanked Gi-Gyu and left without a fight.

As the two walked out, Paimon spoke under his breath, “They’re weak, but if I work on them a while longer, they might turn into great assistants.”

Old Man Hwang and Hwang Chae-Il seemingly heard this because they flinched before leaving.

“So, is the tuning over?” asked Gi-Gyu.

“Well, sort of? I don’t think I’ll have any problem moving inside this body for now. But we’ll need to build a new body for me fast. It’s difficult to move in a body like this…”

“Pardon?” Gi-Gyu became confused. What did Paimon mean by building a new body?

“Do you think I’ll leach off my descendant’s body forever? I envy this child’s talent, but it would be a waste to use only one body when I can use two.” Paimon smiled. “But I have to admit that this child has immense talent. I mean it.”

“Why didn’t you tell me before?” Gi-Gyu asked.

Paimon had told Min-Su about how to save him, which Min-Su conveyed to Gi-Gyu during his last visit. Based on what he knew about Paimon, Gi-Gyu knew Paimon wouldn’t have given this information to Min-Su by accident. It was apparent that Paimon was giving Min-Su a hint about how to save him.

Paimon smiled and answered, “Because I wasn’t sure it would work. This child was plenty talented, but his potential hadn’t awakened then. Even if I explained the process to him, I wasn’t sure he would succeed. If he didn’t do it right, this child could have wasted his talent and body for nothing, so I only gave a hint or two. I didn’t have much expectation.”

Gi-Gyu nodded and asked, “And when will Min-Su’s consciousness wake up?”

“He’s already awake. He’s just waiting for me patiently. What a good boy.”

Gi-Gyu was relieved. He had only allowed this because this was what Min-Su wanted, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t worried. Thankfully, it looked like everything worked out.

However, Gi-Gyu still couldn’t help feeling apologetic toward Min-Su.

Paimon offered, “Do you want to talk to him?”

It appeared that Paimon felt Gi-Gyu’s feelings through their sync. When Gi-Gyu nodded, the look in Paimon’s eyes changed.

“Hyung!” This time, Min-Su’s excited voice rang.

“Min-Su!”

Min-Su smiled brightly. His face still resembled Paimon’s, but there was no doubt that this was still Min-Su.

“Ahh… So this is what it feels like.” Min-Su continued to smile brightly. “You feel very precious to me, Hyung. It’s a different feeling, but I don’t dislike it. It’s actually very similar to what I felt toward you before I synced with you.”

There was not an ounce of resentment in Min-Su’s smile. Gi-Gyu had been worried that the sync would burden Min-Su with unconditional loyalty toward him. He was still young, so Gi-Gyu felt guilty about this.

Min-Su continued, “You don’t have to feel bad about this. From now on, I’ll always get to be with you, Grandpa, and Dad. And now, Lord Paimon gets to be with you too, Hyung! That’s enough for me!”

In a blink of an eye, Paimon returned. “Do you feel better now?”

“…”

“I think the child grew further when I joined his body. This boy already had good feelings toward you. And perhaps it’s because he was a child, but… his loyalty can’t be called abnormal. He’s like me, I suppose.”

“…?”

“This would make a great research project. I like it. Work always makes me happy.”

Relieved, Gi-Gyu decided to get to the main topic. He asked, “What did you mean when you said Lou was one of the two swords God wielded?”

“Ah, so we’re getting right to the point? Hmm, well, I suppose you’ve been waiting for a long time.” A serious look appeared on Paimon’s face because he knew how important this was.

Lou wasn’t in the room, but Paimon continued, “God had two holy swords. One held the light of creation and the other the song of destruction. I read about this in an ancient document. The anecdote that included the story of the beginning of the world.”

Paimon scratched his cheek and added, “One of these records held information similar to Lucifer’s data. It was complicated information, and only I could understand it, barely. After all, I researched the Ego item for a long time. But I can’t explain the details to you.”

“Hmm…” Looking at Paimon’s face, Gi-Gyu asked, “Then can I look at that ancient document?”

They could figure something out if he and Lou could obtain this document.

“I don’t have it with me. It doesn’t exist anymore,” Paimon replied.

Gi-Gyu felt like he was getting a headache. There seemed no way to prove that Lou was a holy sword. Would they ever find the answers Lou sought?

Unfortunately, this was something they would have to revisit later. On top of the answers Lou was looking for, there was another reason why they needed Paimon. They needed the other secret information Paimon held about their enemy.

“Where do you think Ha Song-Su is right now?” asked Gi-Gyu. This was one of the things he still hadn’t heard from Paimon.

Without a change in his expression, Paimon replied, “Hell.”

“…”

“He’s probably in hell.”