Chapter 252.

Yoo Yeonha lost consciousness the moment she saw Kim Hajin . Kim Hajin, of course, had no idea why, and he infused Stigma’s magic power into Yoo Yeonha once more . Yoo Yeonha woke up, saw Kim Hajin, then fell unconscious again . Kim Hajin then infused Stigma’s magic power into her again… .

After repeating this about five times .

“… . ”

Yoo Yeonha finally woke up . She still had a dazed expression, but she no longer fainted the moment she saw Kim Hajin .

‘I should be able to talk to her now,’ Kim Hajin thought .

“What’s up with you?”

“… . ”

However, Yoo Yeonha didn’t talk . She remained silent and stared at him with watery eyes .

“…Hello?”

After staying motionless for a while, Yoo Yeonha finally took action . She charged into Kim Hajin’s embrace .

“Ah, hey, what are you doing?”

Her arms squeezed Kim Hajin and her face buried itself in his chest . It was a hug powerful enough to save the world .

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry… . ”

While Kim Hajin stood flustered, Yoo Yeonha apologized .

She still thought she was dreaming; that Kim Hajin was only a hallucination and that she was being haunted by guilt .

“Calm down, what are you even apologizing for?”

“I… I… . ”

Yoo Yeonha wanted to confess everything, even if it was only in her dream . Although it was too late, although she couldn’t be forgiven anymore, she wanted to tell Kim Hajin everything .

So that’s what she did .

What she had hidden from him, how much it pained her, and how much she regretted it – everything .

“Sorry, it’s all my fault… . ”

Yoo Yeonha spoke as she sniffled .

“So you can leave now . I’ll remember you for the rest of my life . ”

“… . ”

Kim Hajin stared at her blankly . He still couldn’t understand this comedic situation . So, he watched Yoo Yeonha make a fool out of herself for 2~3 minutes, then…

Chap—

He slapped her cheek lightly .

“Ow, what the heck . ”

Yoo Yeonha spat out a few words after being slapped . Considering that she was asking why she was hit, it seemed she hadn’t gone completely insane .

“What are you doing?”

“…Eh?”

“I said, what are you doing?”

“… . ”

It was then that Yoo Yeonha finally realized something was wrong .

She remained motionless, like trying to compute all the possible solutions to a problem, then CHAP— she slapped her face strongly .

She put enough strength in her hands to shake the room, and her eyebrows twitched at the pain .

“Auuu, it hurts… . ”

Seeing this, Kim Hajin spoke clearly .

“I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m not dead . ”

“… . ”

“But thanks for letting me know . ”

That was the final blow .

Yoo Yeonha’s face turned bright red .

**

2 hours later .

I sat face-to-face with Yoo Yeonha . Her face was still hot with embarrassment . I could probably fry an egg on her face…

Gulp, gulp—

Yoo Yeonha gulped down a glass of water then opened her mouth .

“T-To think you had such a skill… . ”

“Technically, I did die . It hurt a lot . ”

“…Haa, b-but… thank you for being alive . ”

After saying that, Yoo Yeonha slammed her head down on the table . White steam rose up from her head . I wasn’t exaggerating . It really was steam, proof that Yoo Yeonha was using a skill .

“What do I tell Nayun… . ”

“…Oh right, what happened with Chae Nayun?”

Before I noticed, Chae Nayun had discovered the truth . I was worried for her fragile mind .

Yoo Yeonha shot up and sent me a flashing gaze .

“Nayun… went back to the Himalayas . ”

“Why?”

“To… get revenge . ”

“Revenge?”

“Yes, she said she’d take revenge on the humanoid monster and make her grandfather pay for his sins . She left before I could say no . ”

“…I see . ”

I fell into thought . The situation looked quite serious .

‘Do I have to go see her to show that I’m alive?’ Seeing that I was contemplating what to do, Yoo Yeonha asked . It seemed she made another strange misunderstanding .

“…You still like Nayun that much?”

“Huh?”

I stared at Yoo Yeonha, bewildered by the sudden question . She had a somewhat bitter smile on her face .

“I didn’t take you to be such a romantic . But don’t worry, Nayun is a lot stronger than you think . ”

“…Can you stop saying weird things? You’re wrong . ”

Yoo Yeonha smiled bashfully and nodded .

“Okay . …Also, I want to apologize again, About keeping that a secret . ”

She was talking about the fact that Yoo Jinwoong was behind the Kwang-Oh Incident . It pained me slightly because of my synchronization with Chundong, but I wasn’t furious or anything .

“I can’t say I’m not angry, but… Huu…”

I couldn’t react too differently from how Kim Chundong normally would for a topic as sensitive as this .

A part of it had to do with my conscience, but the main reason was ‘synchronization’ . This strange number increased ever so slightly every time I did something that wasn’t aligned with Kim Chundong’s wish .

But it was extremely small, so I didn’t worry about it too much .

“I lived because of your father . It’s not like he wanted to do what he did, and even if he did, that has nothing to do with you . There’s no guilt-by-association in Korea . ”

With that, I got up . A new smartwatch was on my wrist .

‘Essential Smartwatch Code Black’, it was a 17 billion won luxury watch made with titanium and blood diamond .

“I got the watch I wanted, so I’m leaving now . I made some food for you, so you can eat it later . ”

While Yoo Yeonha was calming herself down and collecting her thoughts, I made rice and kimchi jjigae for her . Since she only had high-quality ingredients in her fridge, I could guarantee their flavor .

“…Wait . ”

But as I was about to leave, Yoo Yeonha stopped me .

“Hm? What now?”

“Why are you wearing a suit?”

“Oh, this?”

‘It was because I was going to visit the Buckingham Palace…’ I was choosing my words, when Yoo Yeonha walked up to me .

“Your necktie is loose . ”

She stood in front of me and placed her hands on my tie . She unfastened it, then tied it once again .

“… . ”

Meanwhile, I stood still . The scent of her hair made me feel weird .

As the tie slowly formed a knot…

Tak—

Something heavy fell on my chest . I glanced down . Yoo Yeonha had placed her forehead on my chest in the middle of tying my tie .

Soon, a cold voice left her mouth .

“…Stay . ”

“…Huh?”

“Stay . ”

Stay . With this one word, she began to shake me back and forth .

“Stay, stay, stay, stay…!”

My head bobbled . This was the first time I was being grabbed by the collar . Of course, it didn’t last a long time .

Yoo Yeonha kept her hands on my collar and headbutted my chest .

“…Stay in touch . You’re our majority shareholder . ”

“… . ”

Her voice sounded noticeably affectionate . I blushed . Feeling embarrassed, I scratched the back of my neck .

Though I was busy, it was true that I didn’t contact her for about three months . It wasn’t strange that she thought I was dead .

“…If I have time . ”

“…Excuses . ”

Yoo Yeonha let go of my collar and finished doing my tie .

“There . ”

She tapped my shoulders a few times, then backed off . She looked at the tie she tied and smiled in satisfaction .

“…Oh right!”

Then suddenly, she shouted as though she’d just remembered something important .

“When you go back to the Tower, do NOT look at the messages I sent you! If you do, our relationship is ov—”

—Emergency news! African monsters are marching northward . Monsters on other continents are also invading human territory! Civilians are advised to stay indoors while…

At that moment, a disaster warning popped up on my new smartwatch .

My smartwatch wasn’t the only device that received it .

Yoo Yeonha’s smartwatch and the smartwatches of the people on the streets outside the window were all beeping with disaster warnings .

“… . ”

I stared at Yoo Yeonha silently .

She was also looking at me .

**

[21F – Card Kingdom]

“…Finally . ”

Meanwhile, Shin Jonghak was looking at a card he obtained on the 21st floor .

===

[Tremoring Echo of Light] [Applied Effect] [7-star] ＊Effective Good＊

○Applies the ‘Echo of Light’ effect to a target weapon .

○Echo of Light

—Echo Attack: attacks from the affected weapon will resonate like an echo .

—Attribute Infusion: adds light-attribute to basic attacks and echo attacks .

===

A 7-star card that applied the light-attribute to a weapon of choice . Furthermore, it made the weapon perform an additional attack through an echo . It was indeed worthy of how much TP it cost .

“Huhuhu… . ”

Shin Jonghak smiled as he held the card in his hand .

He thought back to all the work he put in to obtain a source of light-attribute . He used all of his TP to obtain the light-attribute, not luminous nor shine-attribute, and he even made up for the TP he lacked with funding from outside the Tower .

“Oh! It’s [Tremoring Echo of Light]! I saw that in the card encyclopedia . It’s super rare, right?” Yi Yeonghan, who was standing next to him, chattered .

Shin Jonghak glared at him before putting the card away .

Yi Yeonghan spoke again, “If you attack, it makes light-attribute echoes, right?”

“Shut up . ”

“…Do you even have a weapon to use it on? You’ll need at least a level 8 weapon if you want to use it to its full potential . ”

“I do, so shut up . ”

Shin Jonghak observed his surroundings carefully . Thankfully, he didn’t see anyone who could be a thief . Because the [Card Kingdom] was full of skilled pickpockets, not even experts let their guard down at any moment .

“Are you going back to the 26th floor?”

Yi Yeonghan had many questions . The annoyed Shin Jonghak glared at him, but Yi Yeonghan lightly pushed his glares away . Shin Jonghak had no choice but to sigh and accept his situation .

“…Yeah, I’m going back right away . ”

“Ooh~ As expected of Desolate Moon’s Boss!”

The position of guilds in the Tower was like that of Earth . Essence of the Strait was number 1, while Frost Sanctuary and Desolate Moon followed close behind .

The only difference was in the English Royal Court and Creator’s Sacred Grace .

The former had influence in the Tower, while the latter was single-handedly carried by Kim Suho’s achievements .

“But even if you go up, you can’t do anything, right? The Demon King’s fighting Kim Suho . ”

“…He might not beat him . ”

“Mm… so you’re going to challenge the Demon King next?”

“That’s right, because I’m much stronger than Kim Suho . ”

Shin Jonghak nodded with confidence .

“As expected of the Emperor’s bloodline . ”

At that moment, a silvery voice touched the two Heroes . Happy to hear someone praising him, Shin Jonghak turned his head .

“Nice to meet you, Jonghak-ssi . It’s been a while . ”

There, Shin Jonghak saw Jin Seyeon, smiling as brightly as ever . Shin Jonghak was happy to see her, but he nodded without revealing his feelings outwards .

“Yes, nice to meet you too . ”

Paat—!

At that moment, a flash of light flared up in the distant sky . The three Heroes looked up simultaneously .

“…Suho-ssi must be fighting . ” Jin Seyeon muttered .

“Do you think he can win?” Yi Yeonghan asked .

“It’ll be hard . ” Shin Jonghak answered .

Jin Seyeon laughed at his cute jealousy, but Shin Jonghak pouted seeing Jin Seyeon snicker .

Paat—!

Another flash of light spread out in the sky like a spider web .

—Must be intense .

—Damn, what a show .

—How can their magic power undulations reach all the way down here?

—By the way, what happens if Kim Suho wins?

—That won’t happen, so don’t worry .

It wasn’t just Shin Jonghak, Yi Yeonghan, and Jin Seyeon who were looking up at the sky . Everyone in the Card Kingdom was the same .

30F, the final floor of the Tower of Wish .

How Kim Suho was fighting the Demon King . Whether he could defeat him .

Everyone both inside and outside the Tower was wondering the same thing .

**

Kim Suho slowly opened his eyes . A crushing pressure and hot pain pressed down on his body . Overcome with pain, his body didn’t move . The only thing he could do at the moment was to endure the pain .

“You lost again . ”

A soft voice rang out from nearby . Kim Suho turned his head in that direction . The Witch was standing there . Next to her were the equipment he had on before along with Misteltein .

“The King used 50% of his power and won with 73% of his energy remaining . You used all of your power and lost . ”

The Witch reported the results like notifying a player of a game result .

“Your equipment has been repaired . You now have two choices . You can give up, or try again—”

“Again . ”

Kim Suho spat out a single word . But the moment he did so, a wave of pain swept through his body . Kim Suho coughed out a mouthful of blood and continued .

“I’m trying… again . ”

His fight against the Demon King ended in his complete defeat . He challenged him three times and lost all three . The Demon King was that strong . His strength was one that Kim Suho never imagined or experienced in his entire life .

But this made Kim Suho’s conviction burn brighter . If he couldn’t defeat the Demon King, then he knew he couldn’t stop the calamities that would come in the future and protect his new home .

His determination as a knight was still burning inside him .

“… . ”

The Witch stared at the knight silently . After staring at him for a long, long time, she dropped her head and muttered softly .

“…I will give you four days to recover . ”

With that, the Witch left .

Kim Suho didn’t despair, even while writhing in pain . He wasn’t scared of the difference between him and the Demon King . He still had many chances . He refused to give up .

“—!”

Every muscle in his body screamed in pain . However, Kim Suho swallowed his cries and raised his body .

Recovering his broken-down body . He was now more familiar with it than anyone else . His soul had even experienced death . His conviction was as strong as a sword and would not yield to mere pain…

“…haa, haa . ”

Kim Suho eventually forced himself up and breathed heavily while covered in blood and sweat .

When he turned around while feeling a strange gaze on him…

“K-Kuhum . ”

He saw the Witch staring at him .

**

[Seoul, Korea, rooftop of a nameless building]

—Emergency report! African monsters are marching northward .

—There are at least 30,000,000 of them, but that is the smallest estimate .

—This isn’t a naturally occurring phenomenon . Orden, the self-claimed ‘Monster King’, has taken responsibility for the phenomenon, adding to the shock of the public…

“Oho . ”

Jin Sahyuk shook her head and turned off her smartwatch . She had returned to Earth after spending a long time in the Tower, yet the world was in total chaos . Nothing interesting was happening, and people were only talking about monsters .

“Orden… . ”

She remembered Bell mentioning someone by that name . That a monster in Africa had a grand aspiration of conquering all of Earth .

“…Hm . ”

But Jin Sahyuk didn’t care about a mere monster . She was only worried about what she heard from Rachel today .

—Hajin-ssi called Puharen an incarcerated royalty . He said it was from a movie… what is it called?

Chewing on a leaf like smoking a cigarette, Jin Sahyuk mulled over the words Rachel told her .

Kim Hajin knew Puharen, someone he shouldn’t know . That was why Jin Sahyuk left the Tower . She couldn’t stay in Crevon . It was driving her mad .

“Huu… . ”

Jin Sahyuk looked up at the distant sky and sighed . Then, she muttered as though she was talking to thin air .

“…Come out . ”

Her words were exceedingly vague . But she was clearly speaking to someone, and that someone revealed himself soon after .

Tak—

Light footsteps rang out . No one knew whether he came from above or below . Jin Sahyuk stared in that direction .

A human-like rabbit was standing there .

“…Are you a rabbit or a human?”

Jin Sahyuk’s voice reached Gato .

Gato glared at Jin Sahyuk and returned her question with another question .

“Young Human, I can feel that you’re strong . Are you Black Lotus?”

“…Pft . ”

Jin Sahyuk sneered . Could these idiotic monsters not even tell sexes apart? So much for being ‘humanoid’ .

“Don’t you know that Black Lotus is male?”

“…I heard he’s completely black . ”

“My hair is navy, retard . It looks darker because it’s night . ”

Hearing this, the rabbit unleashed magic power . His magic power compared the image of Black Lotus with Jin Sahyuk . When the result came out, Gato nodded his head .

“Then I have no business with you . My target is Black Lotus . ”

With that, Gato turned his back . The monster rabbit didn’t plan to fight . As a monster created solely for battle, he had a strong desire to fight, but he had a command to follow: protection of his King’s allies and the death of Black Lotus .

“Oh?”

Jin Sahyuk sneered while looking at Gato .

…A fierce wind blew, and the smile on her face disappeared .

“Oi, Rabbit . ”

She stopped Gato . She raised her body, dusting off her hands .

Gato turned around silently . She glared at Gato and made a twisted smile . Dark magic power was burning around her .

“With whose permission are you looking for that bastard?”

She spoke in a relaxed manner . However, her magic power was nothing but relaxed .

But Gato had no reason to fight . He wanted to get away from this place . Completing the mission given to him by his King was his first and foremost goal .

But to his surprise, he couldn’t escape the rooftop .

A wall was preventing him from doing so .

“…?”

Gato stepped backwards, wondering why .

He was currently entrapped in the ‘3rd Wall’, something that was neither a barrier nor a spell .

This strange ability was part of a new Gift Jin Sahyuk awakened called [Reality Manipulation] .

“Older Sis here is feeling like total shit today . ”

Jin Sahyuk laughed inaudibly and stared at Gato .

Gato instinctively realized that he had no choice but to fight . This would mean that his action would not disgrace his King’s orders .

“So why don’t we have a go until one of us dies?”

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