Chapter 152

Translator: Rainbow Turtle

It had been five days since they entered the first floor of the Dark Castle . Lee Jihye ran down a corridor of the Dark Castle with the injured Lee Gilyoung on her back and Shin Yoosung .

[The 5th grade demon species, Dark Tracker is chasing you . ]

“Jump!”

Lee Jihye avoided the scythe that appeared from the dark tracker and used Demon Slaying . Magic power scattered through the air as Lee Jihye took the children and ran with all her strength .

“Damn, Taming doesn’t work on them?”

“…I can only tame monster species . ”

“Damn!” Lee Jihye kept cursing as she ran .

There were roughly 10 demon species following her . The 5th grade demon species were stronger than other monster species . Her skills weren’t enough and she couldn’t use her stigma in this environment .

‘I shouldn’t have come in . ’

After Kim Dokja’s death, the morale of Kim Dokja’s party was completely disturbed . They lost focus and started acting individually . To make matters worse, Yoo Jonghyuk mysteriously went missing while the ninth scenario, Dark Castle appeared .

The dokkaebi had told them when the scenario first started,

[This scenario… Um . Haha, maybe you’ll fail . ]

Lee Jihye’s reaction had been disbelief . They were going to fail? The scenarios always seemed impossible but they always won . Thus, they could do well this time .

At least, that’s what Lee Jihye had thought thought .

‘Go right now . Smash all these scum!’

She didn’t know why she had been so hasty . Maybe it was because of guilt, rather than confidence . She felt guilt for someone’s death and pushed herself to the limit to wipe out the monsters .

Maybe it wasn’t just Lee Jihye . Jung Heewon, Lee Hyunsung and the other members felt a similar sense of urgency . Thus, they prematurely rushed to the scenario area to get rid of their insecurities .

After all, they were the strongest rankers in Seoul and the strongest incarnations . However, Lee Jihye soon realized that it was a mistake .

‘Shit, this is ridiculous… ridiculous . ’

Lee Jihye’s power didn’t work in Dark Castle . The trajectory of Kendo, which reached level 7, rarely hit and the power of Demon Slaying only provoked the demons . Her sword had broken a long time ago .

“JIhye unni!”

Lee Jihye moved at Shin Yoosung’s cry and she avoided a dark tracker’s blade . She picked up a weapon dropped by an incarnation and used Sword Training and Ghost Walk .

“Unni! Behind you!”

Dark liquid from the dark trackers scattered through the air . Lee Gilyoung’s small insects came from somewhere and were hit by the liquid instead of Lee Jihye .

The insects hit by the black liquid experienced bizarre cell deformation and exploded . Thanks to the time bought by the insects, Lee Jihye was able to deal a bit more damage to the dark trackers .

“Aaaaaaack!”

The armour around the neck of a dark tracker broke and it fled . However, there were still nine remaining . Besides, the dark trackers were just a joke . The really scary thing was the guy on the other side of the dark trackers .

[Demon Viscount Noslocke . ]

He had a human body with a rhinoceros head . Lee Jihye’s body shook every time he approached . She had never seen such a monster before .

In terms of individual strength, he wasn’t as strong as the Flood of Disasters . If the Disaster of Floods had her power suppressed, the demons had no such thing .

Moreover, Lee Jihye’s higher strength had become a poison to her . She knew the opponent’s strength and this only raised her fear . Lee Jihye raised the blade and bit her lips . Thus, here…

[On the first floor of the Dark Castle, the ‘Ancient Magic Power Barrier’ has been formed . ]

“Unni, over there!”

A blue room was created at the end of the hallway . It was the only resting place in this Dark Castle .

Lee Jihye and the children rushed to the room with all their might and barely escaped from the pursuit of the dark trackers . It was a small space that was less than two square metres but the three of them barely managed to fit in .

[You have entered the Ancient Magic Power Barrier . The special barrier will be activated for 30 minutes . ]

If it wasn’t for this safe zone being activated three times a day, Lee Jihye and the children might’ve been killed already .

The dark trackers groaned as they touched the barrier and retreated . They tried to enter several times before giving up . However, that guy was different .

“Why isn’t he leaving?”

The demon resembling a rhinoceros . The Demon Viscount Noslocke sat on the gorund a few metres away, as if it knew the principles of this barrier .

“…It is waiting . ”

The demon’s long tongue swept over his lips . Like a gourmet waiting for delicious food, he watched Lee Jihye and Shin Yoosung . Shin Yoosung shivered at those terrible eyes .

“Now what? There are no more monsters to summon . ”

“There are still 30 minutes . Let me think . ”

At the edge of the barrier, Lee Jihye was able to see the outside world through the windows of the castle . They couldn’t leave through the window because of a special enchantment but they could see the outside anyway .

Demon species poured from the entrance of Dark Castle that Li Jihye and her companions had opened .

More of them were lesser demons but they were too much for ordinary incarnations . The demons of Dark Castle devoured and infected the incarnations of Seoul .

Thanks to this, many of the demon species outside the fortress were people she originally knew .

Min Jiwon and the Hwarang . The members of Nirvana’s Salvation Church . The people she knew were walking down the streets and tearing people apart . All of this was the result of her impatience . If she had been a bit more careful…

[Didn’t I tell you? The difficulty of this scenario is on a completely different dimension . ]

Lee Jihye heard the voice of the dokkaebi in the air and realized . It wasn’t because she was strong that she could survive until now . It was because she was lucky .

‘Damn! Damn! Foolish girl!’ She blamed her own impatience too late . The people who entered without preparation scattered in the maze of darkness and she met these children . What happened to the other party members? She didn’t know . Maybe they were all dead .

‘If only Master was here . No… not Master…’

“I wish Dokja hyung…” Lee Gilyoung’s voice was heard from behind her and Lee Jihye frowned .

“Don’t speak useless things, fool . You are hurt so go to sleep . ”

Lee Gilyoung, who was hit in the back of the head, fell silent again but unfortunately, there was one other person .

“Ahjussi isn’t dead . I don’t know why but I feel that way . ”

She didn’t know why these children kept on bringing up a dead person .

“That person is in hell . Quickly forget that ugly face . ”

Shin Yoosung showed an unexpected response to her harsh words . “I really don’t understand . Everyone says he is ugly but how is he ugly?”

The question was a bit embarrassing . In the meantime, she had pushed ‘Kim Dokja is ugly’ like a slogan (the constellations sometimes gave her coins) and she never really questioned why Kim Dokja was ugly .

“I mean, the shape of his eyes and nose… the whole harmony…”

The more she talked, the most confused Lee Jihye became . She couldn’t understand where Kim Dokja was ugly . No, Kim Dokja’s face didn’t come out clearly . It was as if it was obscured by something hazy…

Or like a face that hadn’t been created yet…

Why? Why couldn’t his face appear clearly?

Lee Jihye told Shin Yoosung, “I-It just isn’t to my taste . ”

“…You cried so much at the funeral . ”

“I was acting, you idiot . The constellations gave me a lot of coins at the time . ”

[Some constellations ask Lee Jihye if it was really acting . ]

Lee Jihye bit her lips .

“Unni is still a long way off . People aren’t all about faces . ”

“You really…” Lee Jihye watched Shin Yoosung for a moment and sighed . “…I know that much . ”

She spoke in a small voice . Just because she knew it didn’t mean she could admit it . At least for Lee Jihye, who was still immature .

She owed a lot to Kim Dokja . She survived because of him . She knew . She knew it well but she didn’t want to admit it . She wanted to repay her debt while still looking good .

In fact, he… was a pretty helpful person . Now that opportunity had vanished forever .

[There is one minute left for the duration of the Ancient Magic Power Barrier . ]

Lee JIhye came to her senses as the darkness in front of the barrier shook . The demon’s smile widened . Lee Jihye realized it was time .

“Yoosung . Can you pull Gilyoung up? Take him away at my signal . ”

“Huh?”

“Listen to me . ”

It wasn’t appropriate to sacrifice her life for a friend to live . Even so, she wanted to live like this . It was because of the teachings of the dead .

“Quickly! Run away and ask someone for help! Do it before I go to hell!”

“…Understood . Hang in there Unni . ”

Perhaps there wouldn’t be anyone else . Still, she had to say this . Otherwise the child wouldn’t leave .

Lee Jihye rushed forward the moment the barrier disappeared . The surprised demon jumped but that was it . The demon species surrounding her aimed for her body . Blood flowed from her white thighs and arms .

If only there was a lake nearby . No, if only she could get in touch with her sponsor whose link had been disconnected a few days ago .

“…I don’t want to die . ”

The trajectory of Kendo was gradually disturbed and she weakened . The demon’s smile became bigger . There was a big hit to the back of her head and her vision shook for a moment .

Lee Jihye muttered to herself . “I want to live…”

It seemed that something similar happened before . What had happened at the time?

At this moment, light appeared in front of her . The bodies of the dark trackers were split into two . It was as if the Messiah had descended and waves were splitting in two .

Lee Jihye watched in a spellbound manner .

The confused Demon Viscount Noslocke turned his head and a powerful electric current appeared around it . There was a man in the path of light created by the electric current .

Ah, ah…

Lee Jihye stuttered but she couldn’t make a sound . He was the one whose face she couldn’t remember . He was saying something but she couldn’t hear it . The next moment, the fog covering his face disappeared .

The demon viscount roared angrily . For what? She didn’t know . However, one thing was certain…

This time, the man’s face was visible .

‘…Ahjussi, is this your face?’

[The constellation who doesn’t yet have a name is looking at you . ]

Lee Jihye listened to the message and smiled as she fell forward .