Chapter 351.

[Paris, France]

Astaroth’s barrier around Madrid had been lifted . As many had feared, Astaroth, who came out of the barrier, brought with him a powerful army . The devil reached Paris in no time .

Ah Hae-In traveled to Paris to stop Astaroth . But by the time she arrived, Paris was already in ruins .

Astaroth and his army were trampling on the city and slaughtering humans . The screams of innocent victims rang out endlessly, and the Heroes were helpless against the devil’s attack .

Looking at the ruins of her old hometown, Ah Hae-In bit her lip . She felt something hot boiling up in her heart . The scene of the brutal killing filled her with anger . ‘I’m glad I didn’t bring Evandel with me,’ she thought .

However .

Hiiing—!

Suddenly the unicorn cried out . The unicorn, who had brought Ah Hae-In here at Evandel’s command, shuddered at the horrendous state of Paris . Evandel had ignored her master’s warning and shared vision with the unicorn .

“Evandel!” Ah Hae-In shouted .

The unicorn, trembling, sank to the ground . Evandel had cut off her connection to the unicorn .

“… . Damn it . ”

Evandel’s spirit beasts, having noticed their master’s agitation, suddenly lost control of themselves . They threw themselves at the devil’s army . Everyone turned their attention to Ah Hae-In, and she had no choice but to call upon her summoned beasts .

The Azure Dragon and the Black Turtle, two of Ah Hae-In’s most adored summoned beasts, responded to her call .

—I-it’s Duchess Ah Hae-In!

—The reinforcements are here-!

The Azure Dragon occupied the sky while the Black Turtle occupied the earth . Having noticed the arrival of the Cardinal Beasts, the Heroes of France cheered for Ah Hae-In .

This was the beginning of an all-out war between tamed beasts and the devil .

Kwang—!

The spirit beasts and demons clashed violently . There were explosions everywhere, and the cries of spirit beasts and the screams of demons mingled .

The situation wasn’t exactly in favor of humans as the spirit beasts lost their chain of command and went berserk .

“Evandel!”

Ah Hae-In sent Evandel a Mental Transmission . But there was no reply . The cruel war with endless deaths was still too early for the young girl .

Evandel’s spirit beasts also noticed their master’s agitation . Some of them thought she was in danger and left the battlefield altogether .

“Evandel! Hang in there, Evandel!” Ah Hae-In shouted .

It was then .

Suddenly the flow of air stretched and sound slowed down . Ah Hae-In was now able to feel the movement of the air and particles in the atmosphere .

It was a strange sensation .

Ah Hae-In stopped and looked around . The world had slowed down just as her senses did . The spirit beasts were frozen in place with their claws pointed forward and the rays of demonic energy remained frozen in the air without advancing further .

“It seems this has become quite a bit of trouble . ”

And then, a small voice flowed into Ah Hae-In’s ears . Startled, she turned .

“…Ah?”

Ah Hae-In widened her eyes . An old man was there . His thick gray hair and deep eyes were memorable .

“You’re… . ”

Ah Hae-In knew who he was . Not only was she familiar with his appearance, but she had also felt his magic power before . There was no way she could ever forget such a pure and marvelous power .

This old man was Oh Jaejin, the world’s first and last 10-star grand magician, and a member of the Nine Stars .

“It’s been a while . ”

Oh Jaejin gave a small smile . Ah Hae-In couldn’t say a thing . She first met him 20 years ago at a Magic Tower . At the time, Oh Jaejin was the head of Seoul Magic Power, and she was just a beginner who couldn’t control even the simplest of magic .

But one day Oh Jaejin left the tower . Even then the grand magician had been well-known for his peculiar character . Everyone thought he would return soon, but he never did . The first and last grand magician soon disappeared from the world of magic .

“…Grand Magician Oh Jaejin-nim?”

That’s why Ah Hae-In couldn’t believe her eyes . Despite the many shocking rumors—that he was suffering from dementia or that he had been castrated—Oh Jaejin had not appeared in public in years .

But now, here he was, in front of the devil’s army .

“Yes, it’s good to see you, Ah Hae-In . ”

“Pardon? Ah, of course . But, um . H-how did you get here? N-no, more than that, what have you been d-doing u-u-until now…?”

Ah Hae-In couldn’t even speak properly .

Nevertheless, the grand magician replied with a smile .

“A few months ago, there was a young man who came to see me . He told me he needed my help . ”

Though his dementia healed thanks to the medicine he received from Kim Hajin, it took him a long time to reclaim his sense of magic lost over the years . Also, he had a difficult time persuading his wife, who always worried too much .

“I was hiding because I needed a little time… but that’s all in the past now . Move over, I’ll deal with him . ”

Oh Jaejin plodded past her . Ah Hae-In turned and looked at his back . It was just an old man’s back but it felt as big as a tower to her .

The old man held a long tree branch like a cane and shook it very lightly .

And the world stopped . This was not hyperbole . Everything except Ah Hae-In and Oh Jaejin ceased to move . This mesmerized Ah Hae-In .

She couldn’t help but admire such an astonishing skill . Oh Jaejin, the great 10-star grand magician, had defied the logic of man and nature and reached a miracle .

He could control exerted time— in other words, all the movements of the world .

**

[Essence of the Strait Underground Facility]

As soon as I activated [Dimensional Entropy], I also activated [Buster Call] . My Stigma hadn’t been restored completely yet, but I was able to summon Genkelope’s Vessel using Overclocking .

“Are you done~?” Jain asked . I nodded and turned my gaze to her .

Andromalius, the rank 72 devil . Though he was ranked last, he was still a devil . However, right now, he was… .

Crunch—! Crunch—!

…Being eaten alive by Droon’s Mimyo .

“Don’t overdo it, Mimyo . You might get a stomachache later . ”

Droon patted Mimyo, and Mimyo wiggled his ears .

That whole scene was pretty mind-boggling . I gave a bitter smile and began speaking to Horner .

“Horner, are you there?”

—Yes, sir . Everyone is on standby .

His voice never failed to ease my mind . Moreover, when I checked the vessel with the Thousand-Mile Eyes, I could see that the whole ship, not just Horner, had been upgraded greatly .

“How are things down there?”

—According to the supercomputer, not so good . We’ve detected two powerful devils .

It had only been about 10 seconds since I summoned the ship, but the supercomputer had already completed all the calculations .

Trying to conceal my surprise, I answered, “Got it . We’ll be there . ”

—I’ll open the portal .

All of a sudden, a portal sprang up right in front of me . This technology had never failed to amaze me .

—Come in . Your guest is waiting for you .

“My guest? What guest… ah . ”

I had a rough idea of who it was . I had just activated the [Dimensional Entropy], so the timing was right, too .

“Okay, I’ll head over right now . You guys, protect this place,” I told the members of the Chameleon Troupe, who were preparing to follow me .

At present, the [Dimensional Entropy] was more important than anything else in the world . So I needed to leave it in the hands of trustworthy people .

“Why should you have all the fun… . Ehew . Fine~”

Jain pouted at first but nodded when she felt Boss glare at her .

“I’ll leave it to you . Yoo Yeonha, follow me . ”

“Pardon? Ah… okay . ”

I entered the portal and Yoo Yeonha followed me while glancing at Boss .

[Genkelope’s Vessel]

As soon as I entered the portal, I saw the letters ‘Genkelope’s Vessel’ engraved on the ceiling of the ship .

“Long time no see, sir . ”

Horner greeted us with a welcoming smile .

“Long time no see . Ah, this is Yoo Yeonha . ”

I introduced Yoo Yeonha to Horner . She shook hands with Horner and looked around the ship .

“Let’s get moving now . We don’t have much time . ”

“Yes . Please follow me, Ship Commander . ”

I followed Horner to the control room . From there we could freely observe the battlefield below .

“Many Heroes are fighting there right now . ”

Horner pointed to where Baal and Morax had been summoned . The situation didn’t look good even at a glance . It was more of a one-sided slaughter than a war . The number of monsters and demons hadn’t changed at all, while the number of Heroes was decreasing at a rapid pace .

“They don’t really care about us, do they? Even though this ship is huge . ” I asked curiously .

Horner answered . “We’re currently in Stealth Mode, so the enemy can’t see us . ”

“Really?”

“Yes . We’ve been waiting for your order . Should we proceed?”

Horner looked down at the demons, his expression sour . He was clearly burning with anger, perhaps because his hometown in the Tower of Wish had been captured by demons as well .

“…Yes, let’s go . ”

“Thank you . Genkelope’s soldiers, get ready . ”

As soon as I gave my permission, Horner solemnly ordered the soldiers to sortie . Immediately the ship lifted its Stealth Mode, revealed its steel body and opened its hangar .

Shooong… Kwaaaaaa-!

Hundreds of fighter jets were dispatched from the hangar .

It was then .

“So this is where you were, Kim Hajin . ”

Someone called my name and stood beside me . I knew who it was without even looking .

“Yeah, it’s been a while . ”

“You betcha . I mean— long time no see . My name is Tomer, from the Empire . ”

It was Tomer . Much stronger than the last time we met, she was wearing a luxurious and powerful-looking armor and cape .

**

[Near the Korean border]

Shin Jonghak looked up in a daze . A pillar of light rose from the ground, and a huge warship appeared in the sky and began bombing the demons .

Not only Shin Jonghak but also many of the Heroes gathered failed to understand the current situation .

“Oi . ”

A woman approached Shin Jonghak, who was still dazed by the scene . Shin Jonghak flinched and swung his spear towards the woman, but she easily blocked the Conqueror Spear .

Shin Jonghak glared at her and asked . “…Why?”

“Why, what?”

The woman, Jin Sahyuk, gave an inscrutable smile .

Shin Jonghak frowned .

“What I meant to say was, why are you here?”

“Hmm? Ah~ Well, it’s nothing serious . ”

Jin Sahyuk scratched her cheek awkwardly .

The truth was that Jin Sahyuk wanted to run away . She wanted to escape from the nightmare that was Morax . Using the Dimensional Stone in her possession, she could easily return to Akatrina .

Unfortunately, that was never an option . Morax would never give up on her . She knew that if she didn’t take care of him here and now, he would follow her all the way to Akatrina .

And so, Jin Sahyuk went to Shin Jonghak .

“Well . Do you remember Bell saying that Shin Myungchul left you something very important?”

Shin Myungchul was the first clue to breaking Baal and Morax .

Shin Jonghak showed interest in the name .

“Yeah, he did say that . What about it?”

“Ah~ Nothing, just that I remembered something important . ”

“…”

Shin Jonghak grabbed the Conqueror Spear . Jin Sahyuk hadn’t said a word yet, but he knew she was going to insult Shin Myungchul . ‘I’ll kill her before she does,’ he decided .

Jin Sahyuk, however, put her hand on his shoulder without saying a word . Shin Jonghak looked down at her hand with a frown, then turned the scowl on her .

Catching his eye, Jin Sahyuk announced, “I think I figured out what Shin Myungchul left you . ”

“…What?”

Jin Sahyuk had a dream today about Eren and Prihi . Memories of those days in Akatrina remained in her heart as regret, and Morax was the physical manifestation of the said regret .

It was most certainly a tormenting trauma .

But thanks to that excruciating experience, Jin Sahyuk realized just what ‘Shin Myungchul’s legacy’ that Bell mentioned was and where it was hidden .

“Are you serious?” Shin Jonghak asked, suspicious .

“I don’t tell lies . So just shut up and follow me, loser,” Jin Sahyuk muttered and grabbed Shin Jonghak’s shoulder . And then, she activated her Authority without waiting for his answer .

At that moment, Shin Jonghak felt as if he was being sucked into something .

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out . He felt nauseous, but no vomit would come out .

About 30 seconds passed in that uncomfortable state .

“…!”

Shin Jonghak opened his eyes .

“…What, haa, haa . What the hell?”

He looked around, panting . He was surrounded in black . Nothing was here but Jin Sahyuk .

“Dammit . Oi! Where the hell am I?!”

“…Where do you think? We’re inside your mind . ”

“What? What does that even… what the hell are you talking about?”

It seemed that in place of confusion, anger was about to take control of Shin Jonghak .

Leaving him to vent alone, Jin Sahyuk looked around the dark .

“If my guess is right, then you’ll meet that Shin Myungchul guy who you seem to love so much . ”

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