Chapter 258.

[Orden’s Living Quarter]

Deep inside the heart of Orden’s kingdom, Orden sat on a throne in front of his loyal subordinates .

“An intruder has entered the Time Barrier . ” The kneeled servant of the King reported .

“So yet another fly entered the trap . ”

“Not this time . The intruder seemed to know how the Time Barrier worked . If we let him be and he dismantles the barrier, the souls we have trapped inside will escape . We’ll need to do something about him . ”

Hearing this, the King looked at the servants kneeling in a line in front of him . Kurukuru, Lacor, Veritas, Garimto… If he wanted, he could simply make his loyal servants annihilate the arrogant intruders .

“…I will handle it . ”

But before the King could say anything, a human spoke up .

The servants of the King glared at the human with discontent . However, the human didn’t show any sign of fear . In fact, the human snorted and spoke again in a more confident manner .

“I will strike him down . ” Jin Sahyuk’s words put a smile on Orden’s face .

“Will you?” Orden asked .

Jin Sahyuk nodded with confidence, “Of course . ”

After her fight with Bell not too long ago, she had joined Orden . Of course, that didn’t mean she planned on cooperating with him fully .

She just had to embrace a bit of disgust to avoid Bell’s hindrance .

“I will make him disappear from your sight . ”

She wasn’t lying . She planned to bring Kim Hajin back to Akatrina’s past, so he would disappear from the monsters’ sight . Although the opportunity came earlier than she anticipated, she didn’t mind it whatsoever . She wanted to get away from this place reeking of humanoid monsters’ smell as quickly as possible .

“Good, then you may do so . ”

Orden gave his approval, and Jin Sahyuk released her magic power with a smile . Her new Gift, [Reality Manipulation], formed a portal .

“I’m leaving then, you sons of bitches . ”

She cursed at the humanoid monsters and disappeared into the portal . Unsurprisingly, the King’s servants became furious .

“…My King, why have you accepted such an impudent human into our ranks?”

“Kill… that… bitch… . ”

“Kururu, kurururu… . ”

Orden released his magic power and suppressed his servants’ dissatisfaction .

**

[84 days equaling only 12 hours in the real world]

Aileen’s party marched forward towards the castle in the distance .

1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours, 8 hours… After walking for a long time, they realized that their surroundings weren’t changing in the slightest .

“Something’s wrong…”

“Hm… Why don’t we split into two teams? We have ways to communicate, so it should be fine . ”

The team split into two at Jin Seyeon’s suggestion . Aileen, Jin Seyeon, and Shin Jonghak formed the first team, while Yi Yongha and Seo Youngji formed the second . They decided to contact each other the moment they found something .

Time passed by .

One day, two days, three days, four days, ten days… and finally, eighty-four days . The problem was obviously food . The supply they brought with them wasn’t enough to last them three months . The lack of water was especially detrimental .

On the sixth day, they decided to give up and return using their Return Scrolls .

“W-Why isn’t it working…?”

Of course, the Return Scrolls didn’t work inside the Time Barrier . With their last hope gone, despair set in their hearts . Aileen, Jin Seyeon, and Shin Jonghak fell on the ground in frustration .

To give an analogy, even a Ferrari couldn’t run without fuel . Better cars required better fuel as well . Once exhausted, superhumans were no different than ordinary people .

Even so, death by dehydration and starvation was something they hadn’t expected . No one thought they would meet their end by hunger rather than battle…

As time passed and despair grew bigger, their minds collapsed .

…And that’s when it happened . As they were about to accept their deaths, they felt an unknown presence approach them . They turned their heads at that direction .

Then, they regained hope .

The man who appeared like the wind wore a coat of armor that shone brighter than anything they’ve seen before .

“Huh…?”

“What’s… that?”

It was Kim Hajin . Looking at his face, the three people blinked blankly . They barely had the strength to talk .

Kim Hajin walked up to them and said as he handed them bottles of water .

“Get up . ”

These two words were perhaps the coolest words Aileen, Jin Seyeon, and Shin Jonghak heard in their lives .

**

I first gave them water .

Gulp— Gulp—

After watching them gulp it down, I began to cook . Because they were starving for a long time, I made soup . Even superhumans would have trouble digesting food in that state .

A few minutes later, the three paupers walked up to me .

“…Done . ”

“““Ooooh . ”””

First, I gave a bowl to Shin Jonghak . His usual handsomeness was gone, replaced by the look of a hobo .

“… . ”

But Shin Jonghak only stared at me without taking the bowl of soup . He was smacking his lips, but he seemed to be too embarrassed to take it .

“What are you waiting for? If you don’t want it, shove it . ”

When Aileen tried to shove him away, he finally took the bowl . I then gave Aileen and Jin Seyeon their bowls as well .

Three minutes later, they returned their empty bowls .

“Aah… Kuhum, so, how did you know to come save us?”

Aileen, who licked everything off the bowl, stared at me with a look of regret . I told her the excuse I prepared beforehand .

“I’ve been here for a while . ”

“Oh…”

“As expected of the famous Fenrir . I admire you, Senior . ”

Aileen and Jin Seyeon reacted . They signaled for me to refill their bowls .

“…Senior?”

“Didn’t you say you were here before us? That makes you our senior . Thank you, Senior, thank you . ”

Jin Seyeon’s eyes were full of emotions . She seemed ready to kowtow and kiss my feet . It seemed they had it harder than I thought .

I looked at Shin Jonghak to see if he wanted another bowl as well .

“hrp, hrp…”

He was licking his bowl . He had his back facing me, but I could tell by the sound he was making and the way his shoulders jumped up and down .

I snatched the bowl out of his hands .

“A-Ah! W-What do you want!? Give it back!”

“You finished it, geez . You can have seconds . ”

I filled all three bowls and returned them .

“…I don’t need your help . ”

But Shin Jonghak was obstinate . His eyes were fixed on the bowl of soup, but his mouth rejected me .

Whoosh, whoosh .

I tried shaking the bowl in front of him . Shin Jonghak’s eyes followed the bowl as though he was enchanted .

“…Ssp, ssp, sssssp . ”

“Are you sure you don’t want it? I can see you salivating . ”

When I asked again, Shin Jonghak murmured quietly .

—…Today, just for today, I need you to be my cook .

I smiled and handed him the bowl . Afterwards, I cooked some meat and even provided them with potions that boosted their vitality .

“Ah… you saved us . By the way… do you have any dessert~? I’m just feeling a bit dizzy… ah, I’m gonna fall… I, I think I need a chocolate to heal me… . ”

“Thank you, I owe you my life . Take my kowtow… . ”

“…How did you know to find us here? You won’t be able to leave either . ”

Aileen, Jin Seyeon, and Shin Jonghak said respectively .

They really had quite unique personalities .

With a wry smile, I gave a chocolate to Aileen .

“Thanks… nyam . ”

Seeing the chocolate, Aileen blushed and smiled bashfully .

I asked her, “How did you fall into a trap the moment you arrived?”

Aileen’s expression contorted to a frown, “I don’t know . I’m wondering the same thing . I just teleported to the coordinates I got from the higher-ups . ”

Coordinates from higher-ups . I could sense where the trouble was .

“…Who came up with the plan?”

“Hm? Oh, our hairy leader discussed things with the Association for the plan . ”

“Leader?”

“Yep, his name is Park Hanho . You’ve heard of him, right? He’s the chairman of the Temple of Justice . You should have seen his name in textbooks . ”

I realized who the traitor was .

Park Hanho . His name was mentioned in the original story and although he never played an important role, he wasn’t the chairman of the Temple of Justice for nothing .

In the [Potential List] I created to jot down the power levels of characters, Park Hanho was at…

[Park Hanho 9 . 45/9 . 45]

A maxed-out potential score .

This number was slightly higher than the [9 . 4/9 . 55] rating I gave to Aileen .

“… . ”

My expression stiffened . Seeing this, the other three could surmise what happened .

“You mean, Park Hanho betrayed us?” Aileen asked .

I nodded calmly, “If the ones who carried out the plan didn’t do any wrong, then it must be the person who formed the plan who did . ”

“But Park Hanho doesn’t have a motive . I know him well, and he—”

“No . ”

Aileen interrupted Jin Seyeon . Her face was more serious than ever before .

“Now that I think about it… That old man, his daughter died recently . ”

“Pardon?”

“I’ve seen something too . ”

Aileen recalled Park Hanho talking to the Association’s upper echelon . He was shouting at them, saying that his daughter needed the Authority of Healing, but the upper echelon didn’t grant his wish .

Park Hanho had a frightening face when he hung up the call, and his daughter died a month later from her illness .

“It’s said that Orden pokes at people’s weaknesses . His daughter died, so… his motive is clear . ”

“…He joined Orden to bring the dead back to life? How foolish . ” Shin Jonghak commented coldly .

I didn’t disagree with him .

“Anyways…” I gave them my bag, which was full of food . “Stay here until we know for sure what’s going on . It might be dangerous to go out . ”

Now that I knew who the suspect was, I could ask the [Book of Truth] to confirm it . [Who is the traitor?] was too broad a question to work with just five streaks of Stigma, but [did Park Hanho join Orden?] should work .

Aileen grumbled unhappily, “It’s not like we have a choice . There’s no way out of this place . ”

“That’s fine . I’ll weaken the barrier . ”

The first assassination team was destined to fail . The most important thing was finding out who the traitor was .

“Weaken? How?”

“I’ll tell you about that later . For now, we have to find Yi Yongha-ssi and Seo Youngji-ssi . ”

It was then .

Guooo—

Magic power flickered from a distance . We quickly got up and put up our guard .

In the empty air, magic power gathered together and formed an oval portal . Soon, a person walked out of it .

No, it was one person who was holding on to two people .

The person was Jin Sahyuk, and the two people in her hands were Seo Youngji and Yi Yongha .

“…!”

Our eyes widened . Jin Sahyuk sneered as she held up the half-dead Yi Yongha and Seo Youngji .

“Yo . ”

“… . ”

“Y-You crazy bitch! Let go of them!”

“Who are you!? Reveal your identity!”

I remained silent, but Aileen and Jin Seyeon reacted strongly . They seemed ready to charge at Jin Sahyuk at any moment .

“I’ll kill them if you get any closer . Especially you, dwarf girl . I’ll kill them the moment you open your mouth . ”

But Jin Sahyuk stopped them with a single sentence . She formed a blade with her magic power and pointed it at Yi Yongha and Seo Youngji .

“You bitch… who did you call a dwarf…?”

“I have no business with you fools, so screw off . Oi, Kim Hajin . ”

Jin Sahyuk called me out, and I glared at her silently . I employed Stigma’s magic power into my Thousand-Mile Eyes’ sharp gaze .

“Kuek . ” Jin Sahyuk flinched . At the same time, cold sweat formed on her forehead . I was evoking the trauma inside her . If I continued for a bit longer, she might even faint on her own .

“Ah, fuck…!”

Did she achieve growth in her state of existence without me knowing? Jin Sahyuk released her magic power and overcame my gaze .

“You son of a bitch, if you don’t want these two to die, stop that glaring—!”

That’s what Jin Sahyuk said, but I knew she wasn’t the type to kill hostages . Cowardly victories went against her principles .

I smiled and said teasingly, “You’re taking hostages now? You really hit rock bottom . I thought you could become at least somewhat of a human being . I guess I should have killed you back then after all . ”

Immediately, blood vessels popped up on Jin Sahyuk’s face . She became genuinely furious . She glared at me who mocked her principles .

Of course, her hostility did nothing to make me cower .

“Shut up and come here before I kill them . ”

“Why, you can’t kill me?”

“…Shut up before I rip your mouth apart . ”

“Well, alright, I’ll go over so try ripping it . ”

I walked over to her in a relaxed manner, all the while prepared to activate my unique skill at any moment .

One step, two steps, three steps…

When only three steps were left between us, Jin Sahyuk suddenly took something out of her pocket . At first, I thought it was a bomb .

“What…!”

Scared, I activated [Fate] .

However, what she took out wasn’t a bomb but a crystal radiating blue light .

My eyes, which now had the function of my laptop, showed me the description of the item .

===

[Continental Fragment]

—You can use this fragment to return to the Recorded Past – Akatrina during the time of Continental Year 555 .

===

“Ah, wait, that’s—”

I tried to stop her, but it was too late . Jin Sahyuk infused her magic power into the blue crystal, and the crystal blew up .

KWANG—!

The magic power condensed inside the crystal flooded out . The huge torrent engulfed both Jin Sahyuk and me, as well as everyone else in the area .

**

“Ah… . ”

Jin Sahyuk opened her eyes . She felt dizzy and somewhat groggy . She looked up at the familiar sky . Two moons and gem-like stars were laid out beautifully across the blank canvas .

“Where are we…?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

A voice answered her . Startled, she shot up . A man was sitting on the grass .

“The recorded past . ”

Inside the darkness, his somewhat sorrowful eyes looked up at the sky .

“Continental Year 555, March 8th . ”

Kim Hajin turned his gaze back down . His eyes, dyed in magic power, sparkled like gems . Jin Sahyuk’s figure reflected off his blue retina .

“It’s your kingdom . ”

“… . ”

His words instantly organized Jin Sahyuk’s chaotic thoughts .

She shot up . Two moons, countless stars, and icicles hanging on every tree . This place was undoubtedly… .

“…Akatrina . ” Jin Sahyuk murmured in a daze .

The home she wanted to return to . Memories of the time she ruled Plerion as its king resurfaced in her mind .

“If you remember, get up . ” Kim Hajin sighed and got up . He really seemed to be familiar with this world .

“…What?”

“I said, get up . ”

He seemed to have a destination in mind, and Jin Sahyuk stared at him intensely .

“Kim Hajin, isn’t it time that you reveal your identi—“

“Shut up and follow me . ”

“…What?”

“It’s nothing much . ”

Kim Hajin scratched his neck . Although he was at a similar distance to the crystal that exploded in Jin Sahyuk’s hand, he was able to wake up earlier thanks to the Orb of Regeneration he kept in his pocket .

Jin Sahyuk was still unconscious when Kim Hajin woke up, and he had three hours to think for himself .

“…We have to clear the quest . ”

“W-What are you talking about?”

“What you broke was a Tower Crystal . Before we clear the quest, we can’t get out of here . ”

Kim Hajin looked up at the sky with a troubled expression . In front of his eyes hung rather complicated information .

===

[Problem]

—Jin Sahyuk and Kim Suho’s home world, Akatrina, isn’t mentioned enough .

[Changes]

—Greatly strengthened the power of Continental Fragment .

—Added a new Akatrina episode to fill the rushed story .

—Rewards added to the new episode .

[Reward List]

—Items that can be found by progressing through the story .

1 . Mysterious Magnifying Glass

2 . Omnipotent Magic Pen

3 . Purifying Crystal

4 . ???

[Failure Condition – Jin Sahyuk’s death]

===

Jin Sahyuk’s voice cut off Kim Hajin’s thoughts .

“What are you talking about?”

“… . ”

But Kim Hajin ignored her . He entered the field of grass to his right . Jin Sahyuk watched him blankly .

“That guy… . ”

Kim Hajin walked forward as if he knew where he was going . He wasn’t confused or flustered . He simply went on his way like he was taking a walk in his neighborhood park .

Seeing this, Jin Sahyuk became sure of her suspicions .

Regardless of who he really was, Kim Hajin had to be from Plerion . In other words, he had to be hers, as she was Plerion’s king .

When she thought about this, her expression stiffened .

…However, Kim Hajin’s thoughts were a little different .

[Book of Truth – Akatrina Continent Map]

“Mm . ”

He had created a map using the Book of Truth . This map was more trustworthy than some of the maps that Akatrina had .

“Kuhum . ”

Jin Sahyuk chased after Kim Hajin .

The two walked for a long time silently .

Jin Sahyuk became sentimental seeing her home world and sad knowing that it was only an illusion .

The two walked through the field in silence .

Kim Hajin had zero hesitation about where he was going, and Jin Sahyuk followed him in confusion .

“…Ah, there it is—!’

Soon, they found a castle .

Jin Sahyuk shouted in surprise .

“The Royal Palace!”

Kim Hajin stopped and stared at it . Soon, he smiled coldly .

“Royal Palace my ass . ”

“…What?”

“That’s the Schupert Castle . We’re far from the Royal Palace . ”

“…Hah?”

Jin Sahyuk furrowed her brows and looked at the castle once again .

Indeed, it was different than the Royal Palace in her memories . It was far smaller even at a glance .

“…Kuhum . ”

Jin Sahyuk shut her mouth and followed after Kim Hajin . His usually narrow shoulders looked wide today for some reason .

‘Haa…’ Jin Sahyuk sighed inwardly and pondered, ‘I was right . Kim Hajin was a citizen of Plerion . Even if he wasn’t Kindspring, he was undoubtedly one of my men… . ’

At that moment, Kim Hajin turned around and faced Jin Sahyuk . Jin Sahyuk froze in surprise .

Kim Hajin spoke, “Hurry up, idiot . Stop being such a nuisance . Tsk, so useless . ”

“Uh… Huh?”

Kim Hajin’s murmuring rang out in Jin Sahyuk’s heart .

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