Chapter 261.

Jin Sahyuk vacantly stared at the portrait of her old servant . Her heart began to pound loudly .

Her hand that held the page was shaking . She grew dizzy, and a cold sweat ran down her back .

“… . ”

Though she had considered this possibility before, the shock was still far beyond her imagination . Now, Jin Sahyuk couldn’t think properly . She only trembled . A wave of shock swept over her entire body from the inside .

[Kindspring Winter]

The portrait of her servant bore a frightening resemblance to Kim Hajin . Except for the hair color and the bushy beard, they looked the same, just like herself and Prihi .

So in the end, it was true .

Kim Hajin was Kindspring, and so he had no choice but to resent her . Because everything was her fault to begin with… .

“…Fuck . ” She swore quietly . Unable to keep her eyes open, she dropped her head on the desk . Nausea filled her throat . Her memory seal partly eroded, and now, she was suffering from old memories and regret .

At that moment, Tok, tok—, someone tapped on Jin Sahyuk, but she didn’t respond .

Pssh, pssh—

This time the figure began to shake her shoulders from side to side . That small gesture made her feel so dizzy that she raised her head to glare at the intruder .

“…What are you doing here?”

In front of her eyes was the young Jin Sahyuk, King of Plerion, Prihi . Despite Jin Sahyuk’s threatening gaze, Prihi was not intimidated .

“Even priests are not allowed to use the royal library without my permission . ”

Jin Sahyuk stared at the King’s face in silence . This child was her past self . Jin Sahyuk used to be the foolish and pitiful ruler of Plerion . Despite it all, Jin Sahyuk still felt resentful towards the King .

Jin Sahyuk brushed her sweaty hair off her forehead . Then, she pointed at the portrait in the record book .

“King, do you know this person?”

“… . ” Prihi’s expression immediately froze .

Jin Sahyuk glared at Prihi with her eyes full of magic power . She hastened Prihi to answer, urging her to speak .

Prihi broke out in a cold sweat .

“If you do know him, answer me . ”

Still, Prihi kept her silence . Without a word, she stared at the portrait of ‘Kindspring’ .

She didn’t answer, but her eyes did . They were filled with forlorn regret and were slowly being consumed with unspeakable pain, like a fire turning to ashes .

Sadness swelled inside Jin Sahyuk .

Suddenly, she heard a loud shout outside .

—The post horses have arrived! They found the other priests!

**

Early in the morning, post horses came back with good news .

“…We seriously almost died . ”

They’d brought back Seo Youngji and Yi Yongha to the palace .

The two were beyond filthy and basically half dead . They had managed to survive by eating grass and drinking rainwater .

“It’s all thanks to Youngji-ssi that I survived . ” Sitting among the withered grass and flowers of the royal garden, Yi Yongha said to Seo Youngji .

“Same here . I only survived because of Yongha-ssi . Also I learned for the first time that cooked grass tastes good . ”

Having survived together for nearly a week, they became closer to each other . The two looked at each other affectionately . Then, with a look of discontent, Aileen pulled Yi Yongha by his ear .

“Ak, aak! What?”

“Are you having an affair?”

“…No way . You know my wife is the only one for me . ”

Now that everyone except for Shin Jonghak had gathered, I decided to ask them about the ‘top priority’ .

“Excuse me, but have you seen a crystal that looks like this?”

“Crystal?”

“Yes . ”

I took out the piece of the Tower Crystal from a cylindrical container .

“No, we haven’t . ”

“We were too busy looking for something to eat… . ”

But the duo shook their heads .

It wasn’t surprising since they probably wouldn’t have made it back here in one piece if they actually had the crystal with them .

I put the crystal back where it belonged and asked them about our second priority .

“How about Shin Jonghak?”

This time Yi Yongha and Seo Youngji both let out a sigh at the same time .

“…We haven’t seen Jonghak-ssi either . ”

“That’s what worries me the most . He’s strong, so he’s probably alive somewhere, right…?”

“Hm . Okay, well, I understand . ” I nodded hesitantly .

Why was Shin Jonghak separated from the rest? Everyone else came to this world in pairs…

I began to ponder when suddenly… .

“It’s good to see more people from the Temple!”

A child-like voice rang out .

I turned my head to see Prihi and Jin Sahyuk standing side by side .

But something was wrong with Jin Sahyuk . Her usual arrogant demeanor was gone, and she was looking at me with glum, sorrowful eyes .

When our eyes met, Jin Sahyuk sighed and turned back . With faltering steps, she disappeared to somewhere .

“Well then, let us dine together . Half of the 63 eggs are infertile, so we should be able to have a good meal . ” Prihi said with a bright smile .

Her smile was so cute that I had to reply with my own smile .

“Yes, that sounds great . I’ll cook . “

**

[30F, Demon King’s Castle]

The Demon King swung his demonic sword . Kim Suho countered with his holy sword .

KAANG—!

Magic power exploded at the point of their clash .

The demonic sword was heavy . In the past, Kim Suho thought he would never be able to withstand its weight, yet now he could block it without much effort .

KWANG—!

The Demon King swung his sword again . In between the relentless attacks, the King spoke, “…Your sword has changed a lot . ”

KOOONG—!

Kim Suho answered, pushing him back, “…I realized the power of what I already possess . ”

KWAANG—!

The demonic sword and holy sword clashed .

Kim Suho did not give in, not even a single step, against the Demon King . He learned to stand firm . He realized the weight of his Gift, Sword Saint, once again and what it meant to be able to ‘cut anything’ .

KWAAANG—!

Kim Suho cut off all doubts in his mind . He cut off his fear and his dread . The only thing he had left inside him was ‘victory’ .

“Today will be the last . ”

Kim Suho believed in himself .

He believed in his friends who believed in him .

Thus, the Sword Saint would triumph over the Demon King in this fight of the swords .

KWANG—!

The holy sword and the demonic sword clashed again . The holy sword dissolved the demonic energy of the demonic sword . What Kim Suho wanted to cut was the Demon King’s soul, not his sword .

‘Sword Saint only becomes complete when it confronts the heart instead of the blade . ’

Kim Suho had come to this enlightenment . As such, he gave it his all to swing his sword . Bearing the desire to win, thoroughly excluding any emotion besides the drive for victory, that was what the Sword Saint’s sword was like by nature .

“…Your determination is interesting . ”

Blocking a blow from the Sword Saint, the Demon King laughed .

Kim Suho also smiled .

He was sincerely enjoying this fight . He was greatly engrossed in the battle between life and death comparing the state of existence of two swords .

“—!”

He waved his sword, shouting out loudly . The golden blows that diffused out of the holy sword rushed to the Demon King . The Demon King defended himself from Kim Suho’s attacks with a broad smile across his face .

And the moment he stopped one of the blows… Kim Suho suddenly appeared in front of the Demon King . Kim Suho’s speed was equal to that of his attack . The Demon King, impressed by Kim Suho’s movement, laughed out loud .

“Hahahaha… . ”

The two struck swords while facing each other’s smile .

Now, less than a step remained before the end of the Tower of Wish .

**

[Akatrina Continent]

…5 weeks into life in Akatrina .

During this time, the capital city of Plerion had improved quite a bit . The restoration work proceeded smoothly, and the construction of the communal shelter for exactly 8,633 citizens was completed . Building materials were supplied by my [Random Dice], and construction employed Aileen’s magic power and Yi Yongha’s fire .

I made new livestock almost every day . We ended up with a total of 53 chickens, 12 pigs, and six cows . A new barn was built to house them . The constant cry of chickens filled the chicken coop where the knights kept guard day and night .

I would have been happy to make more, but because the power in one crystal shard was limited, I couldn’t even make a single chicken with 5 streaks of Stigma now .

Jin Seyeon obviously was very enthusiastic about volunteer work . Seo Youngji helped her .

The two of them, together with the people, worked in the fields and dug wells benevolently . Thanks to their hard work, thieving citizens disappeared, and potatoes and corn were fully grown in four weeks and distributed evenly among everyone free of charge .

Furthermore, Jin Sahyuk had gotten very passionate about Prihi’s education . I wasn’t sure what she was going after, but Jin Sahyuk taught Prihi about the basic application of magic power and also tormented her by stuffing Machiavelli’s governing theory in her brain .

But for some reason, Jin Sahyuk didn’t talk to me a single time . She kept avoiding me, without even making eye contact with me .

Well, now that I think about it, she wasn’t exactly avoiding me . She threw glances at me secretly or followed me around from a distance . Then, whenever our eyes met, she would quickly run away .

At first, I thought she was trying to assassinate me . But days passed without her showing the slightest sign of hostility . My confusion only grew day after day .

“…I think it’s about time to go find the crystal shards . ”

In any case, we were currently on top of the perfectly repaired castle wall .

I suggested, looking down below from the rampart .

“I feel like something bad is going to happen if we leave . ” Aileen said . She seemed to have grown fond of Akatrina .

“That’s why I’m planning on going alone . ”

“Isn’t that too dangerous? We don’t have the slightest clue where the crystals are . ” Jin Seyeon said worryingly .

I shook my head with a smile . “It’s okay, the crystal shard I have will react when other shards are nearby . It probably won’t take me long to gather all of them . ”

“Don’t underestimate the outside world . ”

This time, one of Prihi’s knights, who was standing guard at the wall, came forward .

His name was Leot, a macho knight who wielded a heavy claymore .

“There’s not just Schupert and monsters, but also the ‘Vigilante’ outside . ”

“Vigilante?”

“Yes, they surfaced about two or three years ago, when things just started to get bad . They engaged in guerilla warfare, going back and forth between Shupert’s castle and our castle, stealing food, horses, and weapons . ”

“Ah… . Yeah, well, that’s okay . ”

I just let his words slip and nodded . After all, I was pretty confident in my ability to run away .

“I’m only going to be patrolling the area today . ” With a short exclamation, I jumped down the wall .

Tak— After landing, I realized Jin Sahyuk was leaning against the wall behind me . She was staring at me, immersed in the atmosphere .

“What?”

“…I’ll go with you . ” Jin Sahyuk said and stood beside me .

I was curious why since she’d been avoiding me this whole time, but I just let her be . There was something I wanted to say to her anyways .

“Do as you please . ”

And so, I walked with Jin Sahyuk .

[Crystal shards resonate when they are near each other . ]

Walking through the forest, occasionally checking the crystal in my hand, I spoke after a period of silence .

“I heard you’ve been rummaging through the underground dungeon and the royal library…”

“…”

I had heard from the knights that Jin Sahyuk was spending a lot of time in the underground dungeon and the royal library . It was obvious who she was looking for .

“Who exactly are you after, Kim Suho or Puharen?”

On a side note, Kim Suho did not exist in this world . It was probably because he was too extraordinary to be recreated by the power of a Tower Crystal .

Jin Sahyuk shook her head at my question .

“Neither . ”

“…Really?”

From the look on her face, I could tell she had found something .

I glanced doubtfully at the side of her face .

“It’s Puharen, right? Because you know when he’s going to turn into a devil . ”

“I told you, I’m not looking for Puharen . ”

Jin Sahyuk stopped and stared at my face, as if trying to find something in me .

After a while, Jin Sahyuk let out a pent-up voice .

“…Are you testing me right now?”

For some reason, her words sounded strangely emotional .

I looked at her in complete bewilderment, and Jin Sahyuk’s face distorted .

I couldn’t tell whether she was sad or angry .

“You’re so mean… . ”

Jin Sahyuk said with a trembling voice . It was then .

Woong… .

Suddenly, the crystal began to vibrate . I covered Jin Sahyuk’s mouth with my hand .

“…Uuup!”

“Shut your mouth for a second . Someone’s here . ”

—There’s no need .

However, it seemed I was too late . A heavy voice pierced through my ear .

Soon, a group of knights appeared from behind the bushes . Because I didn’t sense their presence, I assumed there was only one enemy at first .

“The hell, how are there so many?”

But what appeared from behind the bushes was… at least a hundred knights . Their presences were so overwhelming that even Jin Sahyuk had to take a step back .

“Looks like you two are from the royal castle . ”

Their leader smiled and stepped forward . His armor was simply dazzling but I was more focused on the sword in his hand .

There was a blue crystal embedded in the center of the hilt .

It was a Continental Fragment .

The man looked over me and Jin Sahyuk one by one .

“You’re here on a patrol? What poor luck you have to bump into us . ”

His voice sounded slimy as if it had been buttered .

I was going to devise a plan first . A plan to steal the crystal and run away from here . However, Jin Sahyuk suddenly burst into anger .

“Raylen, you son of a bitch . Fancy meeting you here . ”

“…Hahaha . So you know me . Not surprising, considering only a handful of Sword Masters remain in this world . ”

“Sword Master?”

At that moment, my expression automatically turned into a frown .

“That’s right . My name is Raylen, the Sword Master of Schupert . ”

I wasn’t sure if the guy in front of us was a real ‘Sword Master’, but if he was, then we were in a really bad situation . Sword Masters were not common beings in my story .

A Sword Master was, as the name itself implied, a ‘God of the Sword’ .

‘Sword Master’ was the realm Kim Suho would reach by defeating the Demon King . So the man in front of us right now was at least as strong as Kim Suho, or worse, stronger .

“And are you the King’s servants that the Count was talking about?”

Raylen asked while raising his sword . The knights behind him also drew their swords .

Guooo… .

A huge surge of magic power spread throughout the forest . The magic power of one hundred knights formed a small whirlpool .

“Jin Sahyuk, get ready to run . ”

“…You run . I have a duty to kill that son of a bitch, even if this is only a dream . You should know about that traitorous bastard, too . ”

Jin Sahyuk glared at Raylen and released her magic power .

Her magic power rose into the air and took on the shape of a spear and a sword .

“—!”

Jin Sahyuk immediately fired them towards Raylen . But Raylen swung his sword and easily knocked them away . We were at an disadvantage here . It was difficult enough to deal with one Sword Master, but there were one hundred knights in addition .

“No, don’t be stubborn and…?”

Right then, I stopped talking and looked up at the sky .

A huge shadow had blanketed the ground where we were standing .

The others also instinctively looked up .

“What… . ”

Hundreds of spears were pouring down from the far-off corner of the sky, covering the entire sun . These spears didn’t belong to Jin Sahyuk . They belonged to a third party .

Suddenly, the knights shouted .

“It’s the Vigilante!”

“Everyone, get ready to fight!”

“Those wolves have come again!”

The spears landed on the ground as soon as the knights got ready to strike back . They caused a huge explosion . Hundreds of spears rushed in and blew up the whole area around us .

KWAAAANG—!

Smoke frothed out from where the explosion took place . My vision was completely blocked by the smoke, but I was safe thanks to Aether . Surrounded by the Aether shield, I looked up at where the spears had come from .

A man who seemed to be the leader of the Vigilante stood there .

Strangely, he looked familiar .

A thick beard, dark swollen eyes, a shabby cloak fluttering in the air… . Though his appearance had changed dramatically from what I remembered, I could tell who it was .

It was Shin Jonghak, without a doubt .

This whole situation was somewhat like déjà vu . The moment I saw him, I suddenly remembered the ‘first recorded past’ I had visited a long time ago . Back then I was the only one who fell into the past at a different time .

What if, as I did in the past, Shin Jonghak also fell into a different time…?

“Shin Jonghak?”

Shin Jonghak turned his gaze on me . At first I thought he was relieved to see me .

“…Three years . ”

But it didn’t take me long to realize I was wrong .

“I’ve been waiting here for three years, you scumbags—!”

Shin Jonghak pointed his crimson spear at me, venting his rage .

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