Chapter 332.

“My blood reacts when it is exposed to demonic energy . I guess you can say it boils . ”

In the Secret Service Institute’s training room that Shimurin constructed with the help of Seraine’s funding, I was listening to Harin’s explanation .

“When my blood mixes with magic power, it transforms into a new power . My clan calls it Exorcism . Although it’s incredibly effective against demons, it cannot be used at all against those who aren’t . ”

“Mm . ”

Listening to her explanation, I looked at the Gift I obtained through luck .

===

[True Exorcism]

—Blood of an Exorcist

*Increases all variable stats by 1~100% when facing demonic beings . The stat increase is proportional to the power of the demonic being .

—Abyss

*Strengthens Partial Devilization

—Exorcism

*Connects with your Authority, ‘Devil Hunter’, and greatly ignores the demonic energy of demons .

===

Kwang—!

As I was slowly reading through the Gift’s description, the training room door burst open, and Yun Seung-Ah and Aileen barged in, fuming from their nostrils for some reason .

Harin and I stared at them in confusion .

“Argh, how annoying . Seung-Ah, are we allowed to be ignored like this?”

“…People just aren’t friendly to new faces . ”

Aileen stomped the ground as soon as she walked in, and Yun Seung-Ah simply sighed .

“Those weak idiots… Arrrgh—!”

Aileen was on the verge of exploding, raising her hands in frustration . Seeing her like this, I asked in a quiet voice .

“…Did something happen?”

“…Huh? Ah, you guys are still here . ”

Aileen quickly sizzled down . She scratched the back of her head in embarrassment before placing her hand on her hip and staring at us . She was clearly readying herself to vent her frustration .

“Listen, we went to the higher-ups because there were things we needed to do . But the employees there didn’t answer any of our questions and just ignored us . When we gave up and turned back to leave, they openly shit-talked us about how we got in through connections and whatnot… . ”

Aileen paused for a moment and grabbed the nape of her neck .

What happened to them made sense . They were equivalent to Korea’s grade-5 public officials, and it was perfectly clear that we got in through connections .

“Ah, my blood pressure… . I’m too old for this . ”

“Pft . ”

A chuckle escaped my mouth . It felt strange seeing Aileen say that with her high schoolgirl-like appearance .

“Did you just laugh?”

Aileen immediately sent a death glare my way .

“No, I didn’t… . ”

Tok, tok—

It was then that a knock saved me from a difficult situation . We simultaneously turned to the door, and Aileen opened it before I even mentioned it .

“Hello! …Oh? Aileen-ssi?!”

“…Ah?! Who are you guys?”

Beyond the door were Essence of the Strait’s Kim Youngjin, Yohei, Shen Yuan, Yi Jin-Ah, and some others who entered the Demon Realm Gate .

“Ooh, familiar faces!”

It seemed they entered the Secret Service as new members .

Aileen seemed to have found a new toy to play with as she greeted them with a bright smile .

“Welcome, my juniors~!”

**

1 a . m . , a time when the stars illuminated the sky’s dense darkness .

Kim Hajin came out to the Republic’s nameless forest, alone . Jin Sahyuk had chosen this secluded place, but it actually seemed to be a trail for walks, as long benches were placed around the forest here and there .

Kim Hajin sat down on a bench and looked up at the sky . The full moon radiated cold light, and stars surrounded it as if to protect it . He couldn’t help but gaze at this beautiful scene .

“… . ”

Just like that, he looked at the calm scenery in a daze . After about ten minutes…

“I thought you’d be late . ”

A woman’s voice rang out from the darkness .

Kim Hajin turned his head sideways, where Jin Sahyuk was trudging out of the darkness .

Her long hair was tied in a ponytail, and she was full of confidence as always .

Kim Hajin asked without even the slightest change in his expression .

“…Why’d you ask me to come?”

Jin Sahyuk stopped in front of Kim Hajin’s bench . Naturally, she ended up looking down on him .

“There’s something I need to ask one last time . ”

“…Last?”

Last… The strange connotation of the word raised Kim Hajin’s eyebrows .

“That’s right . This is the last time I’ll be seeing your ugly face . ”

Jin Sahyuk retorted nonchalantly and sat down on the bench .

“…Ku, Kuhum . ”

Despite acting so imposing, Jin Sahyuk found that she was at a loss for words when she sat down .

Rather, she didn’t know how to start a conversation . When she was a king, she had always been straightforward with her words . That was the only way she knew to talk .

That had not changed even now .

“It’s about Kindspring . ”

“…Pft . ”

Kim Hajin smirked from the abrupt skip to the chase . Jin Sahyuk stole side-glances at him and continued her question .

“What is your relationship with Kind—”

“I don’t know either . ”

“What?”

Kim Hajin didn’t want to talk about Kim Chundong . To explain everything, he would need to accept once again that this world was a novel he wrote .

But this world wasn’t a novel but a true, real world .

Kim Hajin chuckled and turned to Jin Sahyuk .

“I don’t know the details . I came here from another world, just like you, and Kim Chundong… went to your world and became Kindspring . That’s it . ”

Jin Sahyuk received Kim Hajin’s gaze with a stern expression .

“I already know everything, so don’t try to hide anything . Bell looked into your memories—”

“I wouldn’t tell you even if I knew . ”

“What did you say, you bastard?”

Jin Sahyuk frowned . Kim Hajin simply shrugged his shoulder .

“I won’t tell you . No matter what . ”

“… . ”

Jin Sahyuk was dumbfounded, but it really didn’t look like Kim Hajin would spill anything, especially about Kindspring and ‘Synchronization’ .

After all, what idiot would reveal his weakness openly?

“…I see . ”

With no other choice, Jin Sahyuk heaved out a sigh . She then got up from the bench and shot a look at Kim Hajin .

“I called you here for nothing then . ”

“…That was it?”

“Yeah, you piece of shit . ”

Disappointed, Jin Sahyuk was about to take her leave, when she suddenly grew angry and turned back .

“Oi, we won’t meet again after this, so wanna fight me one last time?”

“Fight?”

Jin Sahyuk asked for a fight, and Kim Hajin got up without a moment of hesitation . Jin Sahyuk immediately flinched, albeit slightly . She didn’t expect Kim Hajin to fall for such an obvious provocation . Did he have a lot of pent-up stress?

“W-W-What? You’re down? F-Fine, come at me . ”

Unlike Jin Sahyuk, who was brandishing her arms and legs clamorously, Kim Hajin simply raised his hand and…

Tak— .

…gently placed it on Jin Sahyuk’s shoulder .

“Why would we? We’re friends now, aren’t we?”

Jin Sahyuk could feel warmth and sincerity from the smile on Kim Hajin’s face .

“…?”

In that instant, Jin Sahyuk’s mind turned blank, and she blinked her eyes in a daze . Her vision seemed to blur as if a hammer had struck her head .

“I’m leaving then . See you again . ”

But Kim Hajin didn’t give her much time to recover, walking past her like the fleeting wind .

“… . ”

Jin Sahyuk stood frozen . She simply waited until Kim Hajin’s footsteps got farther away .

The word ‘friend’ shocked her .

Jin Sahyuk had never heard this word until now . She never even considered the possibility that she had a friend . After all, a king didn’t have any friends… .

Shoooo—

At that moment, magic power condensed on the bench Kim Hajin was sitting on . The magic power swirled together and formed the shape of a human being . Jin Sahyuk knew who it was without having to wait .

“…You came to like him?”

The figure’s voice awakened Jin Sahyuk’s mind .

“Shut your mouth, you damned—”

“What, didn’t you say you were going to bring him to Akatrina? You just let him go! I told you how to switch Kim Hajin with Kindspring . ”

“… . ”

Bell’s words made Jin Sahyuk speechless . Just like he said, Jin Sahyuk planned to bring Kim Hajin to Akatrina, even if she had to forcefully abduct him .

That was, until she heard the word ‘friend’ .

“He…”

Jin Sahyuk scratched her head and spat out an excuse .

“He made me remember the past . ”

Of the many memories she had with Kim Hajin, she recalled the Recorded Past, where she saw her younger self, Prihi, interact with Kim Hajin .

In the Recorded Past, Prihi and Kim Hajin were close . Prihi learned many things from Kim Hajin, relied on him, and even declared that she would one day ‘become like him’ .

There was no problem calling Prihi and Kim Hajin ‘friends’ .

‘…If, if I also met someone like Kim Hajin when I was young…’ Jin Sahyuk pondered .

“Well, I don’t care either way . I just don’t want you to be lonely, and you’re going to be lonely without me . ” Bell added playfully .

Jin Sahyuk glared at him and shot back, “I don’t need you . Shut the hell up . ”

Hearing this, Bell gave a bright smile and turned into a wisp of magic power .

“I’ll go on ahead . Don’t be late~”

“I’m not going back today, retard . ”

Shoooo— Bell flew away with the wind . Left alone, Jin Sahyuk plopped down on the bench and looked up at the night sky .

The same sky Kim Hajin was just looking at entered her sight . The lone full moon shone in the dense darkness, but it didn’t look lonely thanks to all the stars surrounding it .

“I… . ”

Jin Sahyuk muttered slowly as she gazed into this sky .

“I’m used to being alone . ”

The words she muttered to herself disappeared into the cold air without reaching Bell or Kim Hajin .

**

[Transnational Peace Conference D-1]

One day before the Transnational Peace Conference, 11:40 p . m .

Everyone from the Secret Service made our way to the Leores Plaza . Citizens from all over the world were gathered to spectate the opening ceremony that would soon take place .

We began to survey the area for any potential threats .

“I don’t see anyone suspicious but stay on your toes . ”

I looked down at the plaza from the watchtower and communicated with the rest of the Secret Service .

—Got it .

—Okay~ Tell us if anything happens .

Members of the Secret Service answered from all across the plaza . They were waiting with their senses heightened to detect any surge of demonic energy .

It was then . Tap, tap- The sound of footsteps rang out from the staircase to the watchtower .

I put the crystal ball in my hand down and turned back .

“…Hmm . ”

A familiar voice rang out . The unexpected guest was Yoo Yeonha .

“Here you are . ”

Yoo Yeonha looked around the watchtower with her arms crossed . I could tell that the dusty junk at the corner bothered her quite a bit .

“What are you doing here, Miss CEO? Aren’t you busy running your business?”

When I asked, Yoo Yeonha furrowed her brows and walked closer to me .

“It will be the day of the Transnational Peace Conference in less than 20 minutes . Ah, I’m sure you know this already, but the Transnational Peace Conference is a 2-week event . The first ten days are no different from a festival, and the real conference is on the last four days . Unfortunately, we don’t know when Baal will descend . ”

“He’ll try to descend on the last day, if possible . ”

I answered with certainty . From what Jin Sahyuk told me, Baal would wait until the end of the event to make his move .

“…I see . I trust you . ”

Yoo Yeonha nodded her head without asking more questions .

The amount of trust she had in me was hard to come to terms with . I smiled at her, trying to appear cool, and asked my own question .

“Did you finish your preparation?”

“Yes, I gave each member of the Secret Service an exorcism weapon . We’ll have to wait to find out how effective they will be though… . Oh right, this is yours . ”

Yoo Yeonha held up the long, wooden case in her right hand .

“What’s that?”

“A bow . We couldn’t buy it even with the Republic’s treasury, so we stole it . ”

“…You stole it?”

For a second, I doubted my ears .

“Open it . ”

“… . ”

I tilted my head and opened the case .

Kiik— Inside the screeching case was a wooden bow that looked completely ordinary on the outside .

“How is it?”

I couldn’t answer Yoo Yeonha’s question .

“…Whoa . ”

An exclamation of shock left my mouth .

Until now, I never imagined that there would be a bow surpassing the Black Lotus Bow, the synthesized result of Temujin’s Bow and Horus’s Bow .

===

[Ancient Hero Leoricus’s Exorcism Bow] [Pinnacle-grade] [Legendary Artifact]

—The bow used by Hero Leoricus to combat devils .

—Contains several legacies of Leoricus’s exorcist power .

===

But now, I had a ‘legendary’ pinnacle-grade bow . This Leoricus had to be on the same level of fame that Yi Sunshin had in Korea .

“It’s amazing . ”

Hearing me murmur in a daze, Yoo Yeonha smiled faintly .

“But you have to return safely and give it back, okay? There’s a fake replica in the museum now . ”

“Huh? Uh… . ”

‘I don’t know if I can return this… . If I fuse this bow with the Black Lotus Bow, I can’t begin to imagine what the result will be… . ’

“S-Sure, I’ll return it safely . ”

But I nodded my head anyway .

It was then .

—The Transnational Peace Conference starts now!

Midnight seemed to have struck, as fireworks went off with a loud announcement .

Both Yoo Yeonha and I turned to the fireworks .

But I couldn’t focus on the scenery, as I was forced to stare at the series of messages popping up in front of me .

[The final episode, Daybreak, begins . ]

[You are now only a single step away from the end . ]

[Remember . You have the right to ask me a question or request something from me . ]

Looking at the messages, I closed my eyes . I focused on the sound of exploding fireworks and the cheering of the people . Suddenly, my heart turned cold, and a thought surfaced in my mind .

“…No matter how this episode ends…”

I sent a message to the co-author .

“Let’s butt heads once everything’s over . ”

But Yoo Yeonha thought I was talking to her and tilted her head curiously .

“Huh? Butt our heads?”

“…It’s nothing . ”

I laughed, and Yoo Yeonha pouted like a kid .

Then, to my surprise, the co-author messaged back .

[Understood . ]

[Whether Baal dies or you die]

[Once this episode is over]

[I will invite you . ]

[Then, I wish you the best of luck . ]

I now had another reason I absolutely had to win .

Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters .