Chapter 245.

The moment I activated the 8-star card, a teahouse appeared on the right side of the bush . The small teahouse was made up of tiny, colorful bricks . Everyone stared at it in surprise .

“Wha, what’s that?”

Aileen’s eyes, which were round from the start, became rounder .

“It’s called the Miraculous Teahouse . It’s the best place to recover from fatigue . ”

I said and glanced to my side . Kim Suho and Jin Seyeon both seemed equally surprised . Yi Yongha kept taking pictures of the teahouse as if he’d been diagnosed with photophilia .

Jin Seyeon, the first to come back to her senses, asked me .

“Fenrir-ssi, is it really okay for you to use an 8-star card? We’re thankful, of course, but… I presume an 8-star card is very valuable . ”

Huh? …Ah~”

Her concern wasn’t all that surprising considering that the auction house’s most popular items were cards from the [Card Kingdom] . Moreover, Players would brag in the Community about their 6-star, and more rarely 7-star cards, though never an 8-star or above .

“It’s fine, when else would I use it if not now?”

Of course, the card was not so much a commonplace item to me either . But I could use it up to three times, and, well, this was the only way we could recover our stamina in the Demon King’s territory .

“Everyone, don’t just stand there; let’s get moving . Hey, let’s go . ”

I tapped Kim Suho on his shoulder .

“Huh? Oh, right . ”

Kim Suho nodded, and we approached the teahouse together .

“…8-star . ”

“Seyeon-ssi, do you remember how much 7-star cards sold for?”

“I don’t, but I do know they were very expensive . ”

Kim Suho suddenly interrupted Yi Yongha and Jin Seyeon’s conversation .

“I don’t mean to brag but Hajin gave me an 8-star card before as a present . ”

“…You sure do sound like you’re bragging . ”

Just like that, the trio happily chatted with each other as they followed after me . However, Aileen was oddly slow .

Something was wrong .

I studied Aileen carefully, then… I snatched up her wrist .

“Hiek! Y-You scared me! What?!”

Aileen seemed very surprised at the sudden physical contact .

“You wanna die? Do you?!”

Aileen tried to shake my hand off violently, but I stubbornly rolled up her sleeve .

Aileen’s resistance was feeble and the reason for that lied underneath her sleeve .

A black bruise ran across her thin, pale forearm . It was the result of ‘demonic energy poisoning’, in which demonic energy in a wound festered over time .

“What is this bruise, Lady Aileen?!”

“When did you get hurt, Aileen-ssi?”

The trio each reacted differently . Jin Seyeon shouted and examined the bruise, Yi Yongha worryingly took pictures of the bruise, and Kim Suho took out some medicinal herbs .

“Ugh, this is so embarrassing… . ”

With her bruise uncovered, Aileen shook my hand off . Small drops of tears began to gather in her eyes .

“It just happened . You know, the one that uses poison? Even Spirit Speech doesn’t work on this . I think it’s a curse or something . ”

This curse was probably from a demon blessed by the Demon King’s ‘Authority’ . Because ‘Authorities’ were higher ranked than ‘Gifts’, there wasn’t anything she could possibly do . Spirit Speech, though powerful, was only a Gift after all .

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about . It just shows that you tried your best to protect everyone . Ah, we don’t need those herbs . ”

I stopped Kim Suho from mashing the herbs to a paste .

“We can do the detoxification inside the teahouse . ”

I said as I pulled the doorknob of the teahouse . Clang— The door opened with the familiar sound of a chime . The first thing I felt was a cool breeze .

“Everyone, this way . ”

Together, we entered the teahouse .

The inside was bigger than how it appeared on the outside, and the interior decorations were amazing . Grass swayed on the ground beneath and a huge tree stood in the middle of the shop . I could also hear the sound of a stream running from a distance . I felt as if I stepped right into the heart of nature .

“…Woah . What is this place?”

Aileen, the last to enter the teahouse, seemed to have forgotten all about her pain and embarrassment .

“As expected of an 8-star card… . ”

“Where did you get this card, Hajin?”

I answered Kim Suho’s question with a small smile .

“I’m pretty lucky . ”

I wrapped up the conversation and approached the counter .

The shop owner was dozing off in their chair .

Long hair and soft, fair skin . Big eyes and long eyelashes . Sharp nose and cherry-like lips .

The owner appeared to be a woman but could be a man . No, members of their race could pass as both a woman and a man . Either way, their beauty was perfect as if they were a collage of everyone’s expectations for an ideal beauty .

“…Elf? Hey, isn’t this person an elf?”

Aileen said, surprised .

The shop owner was indeed an elf, just as she said . The biggest evidence was the elf’s pointed ears .

We were all staring at the elf in awe, when the elf finally opened their eyes .

“…Ah~ Customers have come~?”

The elf smiled . His or her enchanting voice lingered in my ears . For a moment I had a hallucination that the world suddenly lit up . Everyone here probably did .

As a side note, elves were androgynous in my setting . When falling in love, elves placed emphasis on inner qualities rather than outward appearance, and they decided their sex based on their partner’s preference .

“You’re customers, correct?”

“What? Ah, yes, we’re customers . ”

I never imagined the shop owner would be an elf .

I managed to stay calm just barely and asked .

“Here, Kuhum, what kind of teas do you have?”

“We have a lot . There’s the menu . ”

The elf pointed at the menu hanging on the wall .

[Turquoise Wind]

[Green Sweetness]

[Mother Nature’s Vitality]

[Sad Engagement…]

“How much is the tea for detoxifying demonic energy?”

“I don’t accept money . Instead… . ”

The elf suddenly stopped and looked down at the tiny Aileen next to me . It seemed the elf detected an aura of demonic energy on Aileen .

“Mm . I see, she’s under a curse . ”

“Ah, yes . ”

“And is she a dwarf?”

…At that moment .

Aileen, who was looking around the shop, humming to pretend all was well, put on a menacing expression . Her face turned as red as a tomato . She lowered her head and began to tremble in anger .

“…You . ”

Suddenly, Aileen grew taller .

She was tiptoeing .

“What did you say?”

“Oh, you aren’t? I’m sorry . There was just so much magic power in such a small body . That is characteristic of dwarves . ”

“Wha, what? Characteristic of dwarves? You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? Hey, let go . Let me go… . ”

Jin Seyeon intervened before Aileen began to cause a scene . Aileen flailed her short arms and short legs with all her strength, but they weren’t very effective against Jin Seyeon .

“Seriously, a dwarf? You keep calling me a dwarf, you must be soooo happy you’re tall and pretty . Good for you—!”

“Lady Aileen, please calm down . ”

“How can I be calm? She just called me a dwarf—!”

A tiny fuss started .

Suddenly, the elf’s gaze fell on Kim Suho . Kim Suho looked at the elf curiously .

The elf spoke .

“Beautiful . ”

“…Pardon?”

The elf was probably talking about Kim Suho’s inner qualities . Kim Suho thanked the elf in a daze and nodded .

“Since one of you is in dire need of detoxification, I’ll offer you the first tea free of charge . ”

“…Thank you . ”

The elf began to brew the tea .

I watched his/her hand movements in close proximity to see if I could learn the recipe for the tea using my Dwarf’s Dexterity and Thousand-Mile Eyes .

“Ho…”

There were just too many ingredients for one tea . I could count at least 179 ingredients, and that wasn’t even counting the elf’s magic power . I could perhaps imitate their magic power with Stigma’s… but it would be near impossible for me to gather all of the ingredients .

“All done . ”

The elf offered Aileen a cup of tea . Aileen, still sullen, glared at the elf and snatched the cup out of their hand .

“This better be good… . ”

Sniff sniff

The dwarf smelled the tea . And instantly, all her anger and irritation disappeared into thin air . The dwarf sipped the tea as if she had been put under a spell .

“Wow… . ”

Here was a dwarf enchanted by an elf’s tea .

I let out a dry cough and looked at the elf .

“Thank you . ”

“You’re welcome . ”

“…Our meeting here seems to be fated . Will you enlighten me with your name?”

I said as I struck a pose . I placed my hand on the table and ran my fingers through my hair like a model .

“… . ”

The elf did not answer .

Because my effort didn’t seem very effective, I turned my head to the right . The right side of my face was more handsome than the left side, in my opinion .

“… . ”

Yet there was still no response, and I finally decided to show off my specialty— the melancholic gaze .

The elf finally showed a reaction .

“What are you doing?”

“…Ah~ Haha . Hahahaha . It’s nothing . ”

I scratched the back of my neck with a nervous laugh . I thought maybe I could convince them to give me an extra tea or two, but as I thought, I wasn’t good enough .

Well, not that it mattered .

I gave the elf a solemn look .

“Do you have any wood?”

“Wood?”

“Yes . ”

I already knew what elves liked .

Elves, who loved trees and possessed the ability to breathe life into trees, loved cute wooden dolls .

“I’m great at making wooden dolls . ”

**

…After that, we spent three whole days at the teahouse . Aileen liked that decision more than anyone else . Though she got mad over the word ‘dwarf’ from time to time, she fell in love with the cakes that the elf made for her .

“…Today is the last day for business . ”

However, it was already time for farewell .

The elf looked at us with a sad expression .

I was disappointed that, more than anything, I never got to utilize my ‘Medicinal Memory Physique’ to the fullest . Still, I learned to brew almost every kind of elven tea . With the right ingredients, I should be able to recreate them on Earth .

“Thank you for everything you’ve done . ”

Jin Seyeon bowed, Yi Yongha and Aileen pitched in with comments of appreciation, and Kim Suho handed the elf a letter which he worked hard to write .

“Thanks for everything . ”

“Oh, Suho-ssi… . ”

Touched, the elf received his letter .

Watching them, I realized yet again that Kim Suho was certainly the main character .

“And this is from me . ”

Tears were gathering in the eyes of the elf, who seemed to be on the verge of declaring their sex as female, when I handed over the last wooden doll .

It was a cute puppy .

The elf happily infused the wooden doll with magic power . The doll gained liveliness and began walking toddlingly with his four legs .

“Thank you . ”

“Please take care . ”

“I’ll take one last picture to commemorate this memory . ”

“Bye . Thanks for the cake and the chocolate . I’ll enjoy them . ”

Jin Seyeon, Kim Suho, Yi Yongha, and Aileen each said their goodbyes in order .

“Yes, goodbye . I had a lot of fun these past three days . ”

The warm-hearted elf saw us off with teary eyes .

Kwaaaaa… .

Soon, the teahouse started to shake, and we stepped outside .

I took a step into the gloomy scenery of the Demon Realm, and when I looked back, the teahouse was already gone .

“You all rested well, right?”

I said to everyone who seemed slightly forlorn .

Starting now, there wouldn’t be any time left for them to even feel lonely .

“Let’s get started for real . Everyone, get ready . ”

**

[Vladivostok, Russia — Evil Society’s Headquarters]

One gloomy day, a strange being visited Evil Society’s headquarters . The being introduced himself as a ‘messenger’, though he was clearly a monster .

“… . ”

The man who rose to the top of Evil Society after the Tower of Wish—Kim Hakpyo—greeted the monster .

The monster’s appearance was similar to that of a human, except his body was covered in hair and his head resembled that of a wolf . The label ‘werewolf’ would fit the monster perfectly .

“…You’re the messenger?”

—Yes .

From the monster’s throat came out a strange sound of scratching metal . Kim Hakpyo wished to never hear it ever again . He asked with a frown .

“I see . So what’s your business here?”

He was undoubtedly one of those famous ‘humanoid monsters’ . Frankly, it was quite bothersome to deal with them, but Kim Hakpyo couldn’t just brush them aside, considering the situation in Pandemonium . ‘I guess I should at least listen to what they have to say,’ he thought .

—Our King, Orden, demands your loyalty .

“…?”

But Kim Hakpyo froze instantly at the insolent remark .

“W…hat? Did I hear that right…? Say it again . Lo, loyalty?”

—Yes, that is correct .

Kim Hakpyo said nothing . The werewolf, too, stared at Kim Hakpyo in stillness . Heavy silence filled the space between the two .

…Quite a bit of time passed by in complete silence .

Suddenly, a loud laughter escaped from Kim Hakpyo’s mouth .

His laughter shook the earth .

“Uhahahaha—!”

The king’s envoy took his laughter as a positive response . The werewolf continued with a faint smile .

—Our King shall rule the world, but he is benevolent enough to share portions of it with the Djinns… .

“You son of a bitch—!”

Kim Hakpyo again let out an explosive yell . The yell, which bore magic power, entered the werewolf’s ears and shook his skull from the inside .

“You mad beasts, you never fully grew you brains, huh—?!”

Kim Hakpyo shouted and slammed down his fists .

KWAAANG—!

A thunderous roar filled the air . At the same time, magic power soared into the air and spread out in a huge shockwave .

“Bastard, who do you think you’re talking rubbish to—?!”

Kim Hakpyo yelled and clutched the shoulder of the werewolf who seemed clearly confused .

Chwaaak… .

He tore the wolf’s arm off before the wolf could say a thing . With his other hand, he grabbed the wolf’s head and slammed it to the ground .

“You little piece of shit, who do you think I am? What, king? King—?!”

Kim Hakpyo stomped on the werewolf’s head repeatedly to release his fury .

Puk— Puk— Puk—!

The appalling tramples continued at a regular interval .

Soon, the werewolf collapsed to the floor, barely breathing .

“Haaaa… . ”

Kim Hakpyo let out a heated sigh and bent down on one of his knees . He then grabbed the werewolf by his head and pulled him up to make eye contact with him .

“Listen to me well, Wolf . ”

Kim Hakpyo’s eyes glared at him sharply . His scarlet eyes, which were characteristic of Djinns, stared right into the vivid yellow eyes of the werewolf .

“I do not know nor am I interested in knowing who your king is, but… . ”

Kim Hakpyo opened his mouth wide . A thick fog of demonic energy flowed out from his mouth and encompassed his whole body . Soaked in demonic energy, Kim Hakpyo transformed into a ‘non-human being’ .

A being more horrendous than a monster and more destructive than a human .

It was a perfect Devilization .

—Tell him I’ll bite his head off if I ever catch sight of him .

The Djinn’s voice boiled with blatant rage and demonic energy .

**

[28F – Demon King’s Castle Wall]

After three days of travel, we finally arrived at the Demon King’s castle . The castle, surrounded by huge walls, gave off gloomy vibes as well as the aura characteristic of the strong .

“First, I think it would be best to travel underground into the castle . ”

We hid behind a nearby bush and began our strategy meeting . The leader of the meeting was, of course, me . I was the only person who knew about the structure and the blind spots of the castle .

“How are we going to infiltrate the castle from the underground?”

Nom nom Aileen asked as she chomped on a chocolate .

“The eastern wall and the northern wall each has a crack that leads inside . ”

“…Nyam . And how do you know that?”

“My eyesight is really good . You know about satellite view, right?”

Aileen nodded .

“I can see the entire castle that way . My field of vision isn’t horizontal but vertical . It’s easy to spot a gap if you’re looking down from above . ”

“Aha… Is that part of your Gift? Or is it a skill?”

“Well, let’s say it’s part of my Gift . ”

I gave a small smile .

Jin Seyeon stepped up next .

“Well then, there are five of us, right? We should first divide ourselves into teams . One team of two and another of three . ”

“Yes, good idea . ”

I agreed with her . If the five of us moved together, not only was there a greater chance of getting caught, but it would also be more difficult to find an escape route if we were defeated for some reason .

“Then Hajin-ssi and I will… . ”

“Huh? Hajin has to go with me . ”

But there was a conflict of opinions regarding the division of teams .

It seemed both Jin Seyeon and Kim Suho wanted to form a team with me .

“Suho? What’s wrong?”

Jin Seyeon tilted her head questiongly, her gaze fixed on Kim Suho .

“You never opposed me until now… . ”

“Well, it’s just that having two sharpshooters in one team doesn’t make sense . ”

“No . Hajin-ssi might as well be considered a close-range fighter . Remember what he said last time? That guns are better for close-quarter combat?”

“That’s true, but in terms of teamwork, Hajin and I are better together . After all, you’ve only met him a few times . ”

“More importantly than that, shouldn’t we consider the efficiency? What do you think would happen if two sharpshooters form a team? They’ll never get caught, right? Since we’re both sharpshooters who excel in traveling secretly in the dark… . ”

A full-scale quarrel broke out .

Contrary to my assumption, the quarrel continued for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, then 15 minutes… .

‘Kim Suho aside, why is Jin Seyeon so persistent?’

Suddenly a thought crossed my mind .

Jin Seyeon had asked me about the Kwang-Oh Incident while I was Black Lotus . In that case, was Jin Seyeon also…?

“That’s enough . You, come with me . ”

Unwilling to listen to Kim Suho and Jin Seyeon’s quarrel any longer, Aileen pulled me by my sleeve . .

“Eh? Why must you step in, Lady Aileen?”

“She’s right . You don’t suit him . ”

“Oh, whatever . Shut up before I use Spirit Speech . ”

Aileen seized(?) me by force, and finally the teams were decided .

Team 1 – Aileen and Kim Hajin .

Team 2 – Kim Suho, Jin Seyeon, and Yi Yongha .

In a sense, this was the most balanced combination .

“We finished forming teams . So, Kim Hajin? Tell us the plan . ”

“Ah, of course . The plan goes like this: there are two secret cracks in total . One in the East and the other in the North . We’ll use these openings to… . ”

**

After the meticulous briefing, Aileen and I entered the castle through the opening in the north .

There was absolutely no talking between us, as even the smallest sound of footsteps could prove to be lethal .

But the further we advanced into the castle, the thicker the demonic energy became . I suddenly heard a small groan from Aileen .

“…Aileen-ssi, is something wrong?”

“Ah, it’s just… that bruise from earlier . Wait a sec . This’ll make it better . ”

Aileen made a mask using Spirit Speech and put it on .

“I’m all set . Let’s go . ”

The solution was only temporary but we didn’t have any other choice .

We continued forward .

The castle was dark and we couldn’t see a thing . But we both knew that the moment we let our guard down, the enemy would show up .

Tzzzt…

And that moment came quickly .

We heard the sound of sparks . Startled, we looked up .

A big chandelier hung from the ceiling of the castle .

Above it, a thin ray of light rose up like fog .

“…It’s the enemy, right?”

“…Yes . The middle boss, probably . ”

Aileen couldn’t see in the blinding darkness but I could .

On top of the chandelier stood the middle boss of the Demon Castle .

—Pleasure to meet you all… .

The boss’ slimy voice gave us the sensation of being licked by a snake .

The development so far had pretty much been a cliché . ‘The party divides into two, and while his comrades battle the middle boss, the protagonist confronts the true boss . ’

‘That’s true, but… . ’

I glanced at Aileen next to me . Aileen seemed strangely distressed . Her expression didn’t look too good .

—My name is Kain, the affectionate puppeteer who has been waiting for you to arrive… .

The cloying voice introduced himself .

Thud, thud .

Suddenly, loud footsteps rang in my ear .

But this wasn’t my own perception .

It was a sensation that Spartan shared with me .

I gave a small smile .

There was nothing to worry about now .

‘…Oi, you sure this is the right way?’

The strongest warrior in all of Goryeo and a soldier of fortune who swept the country with a single sword .

Guided by Spartan, the man by the name of Cheok Jungyeong, who left an everlasting impression in the history of the Korean Peninsula, was approaching our way .

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