Chapter 354.

Shin Jonghak looked at Shin Myungchul who had been regenerated in his consciousness . He felt the time around him slow down . And because Shin Jonghak was the owner of this space, time had actually slowed in reality .

Shin Myungchul slowly got up . Shin Jonghak’s neck stiffened .

His grandfather who he had missed so much . The man who was the guidepost of his life… .

His hero was right in front of him .

But Shin Jonghak couldn’t bring himself to move . He couldn’t speak either . He only watched Shin Myungchul as if he were just a mirage that could disappear at any minute… .

—It’s been a while .

Shin Myungchul spoke in the same old voice that he had missed so much . Dazed, Shin Jonghak stood as still as a statue . Shin Myungchul patted his grandson on the shoulder and went on .

—Jonghak, I have a lot to say to you… . But first, let me start by apologizing . I’m sorry for being a horrible grandfather .

Shin Jonghak looked Shin Myungchul in the eye . In the past, he used to only look up at his grandfather . But now, they were equally tall .

Shin Myungchul seemed old, but he was still graceful and strong at heart . He continued with a kind smile .

—And… ah, I’m afraid I’m not good with words . What I meant to say was that… Jonghak, I’ve lived inside you for a long time . I’ve felt and experienced the same things you did… .

His voice was soft like that of a grandfather reading bedtime stories to his grandson . Listening to his grandfather, Shin Jonghak felt a torrent of emotions form in his heart .

—…When I was alive, and even now, I am distressed by your love . Because it’s too good for a coward like me .

He dared not tell his grandson of his fault . The pain of betrayal his grandson would feel once he learned the truth worried Shin Myungchul more than his own suffering .

—I’m sure you know the truth now and don’t need my explanation . Jonghak, I’m not a hero . Millions have died because of me . I’ve brought many disasters to the world, and most of them are still ongoing… .

Shin Myungchul confessed calmly, and Shin Jonghak nodded .

‘I know now . ’ Shin Jonghak thought to himself . Shin Myungchul could hear his grandson’s thoughts .

—But even now I still harbor a sense of relief deep in my selfish heart . After all, if I hadn’t gone back in time, I wouldn’t have been able to see you .

A bitter smile spread across Shin Myungchul’s face .

—That’s why I can’t truly regret my decision . It would mean denying my love for you .

Shin Jonghak felt tears streaming down his face . Shin Myungchul wiped away his grandson’s tears with his big and rough hands .

—…Jonghak .

Shin Jonghak nodded in silence, and Shin Myungchul went on .

—Are you happy with who you are?

The two men fell silent . Shin Myungchul smiled kindly . After a moment’s thought, Shin Jonghak nodded . But that was not the correct answer . It took Shin Jonghak a while to finally find the courage to shake his head .

—…It’s good that you admitted it . Always be true to yourself and live without leaving behind any regrets . It’s nothing big, but I’ve left something to help you out . But before that, I have a favor to ask of you .

Shin Myungchul put his hand on Shin Jonghak’s shoulder . The weight of the hand seemed to weigh down on Shin Jonghak’s whole body . Feeling overwhelmed, Shin Jonghak turned his gaze to Shin Myungchul . He was determined to grant his grandfather’s wish no matter what .

But what Shin Myungchul said next was completely unexpected .

—Please be the one to correct me . When everything is over, tell the world about my misdeed . Tell them that it was my selfish greed that almost destroyed the world . You should be the one to do so .

Shin Jonghak began to tremble . He looked at his grandfather with widened eyes . He couldn’t believe his ears .

To Shin Jonghak, Shin Myungchul was an eternal hero . His grandfather’s past didn’t matter to him . He wanted to continue to admire Shin Myungchul based on his accomplishments and the memories of the days they spent together . Naturally, Shin Jonghak couldn’t imagine the future where Shin Myungchul’s name was tainted… .

Shin Myungchul gave a bitter smile and put his hand on Shin Jonghak’s head . He then moved his hand slowly and began stroking his grandson as he had done many times in the past .

—Please, Jonghak . This is my last wish for you . You’re free to refuse, of course, and you’ll still get the legacy I promised you, but… I’d really like you to do it .

Those soft words broke Shin Jonghak down . All of a sudden, tears welled up in his eyes .

“…”

Shin Jonghak clenched his teeth . But tears were already running down his face . His legs trembled, and he soon began to sob loudly .

Shin Jonghak lowered his head in both embarrassment and sorrow . Like a child, he wailed miserably, as in those days of the past .

Shin Myungchul stared at his grandson for a long time .

…Finally, the boy’s sobbing stopped, and a nod echoed in the hollow silence .

**

Baal was thinking of the time when he was still young . It must have been 10,000 or 100,000 years ago . Back then, he was still ‘nothing’ .

In those days he was surrounded by a thin film . The beating of his existence began inside that film, and only then could he see and feel the world around him . At that time, he was neither a devil nor Baal . He was ‘nothing’ .

However, as time passed, he had naturally become a devil . Whether he wanted to be good or evil, he couldn’t recall . It just came to him one day that he was inherently a being parallel to good . He was designed to be evil .

Believing so, he ripped through the film surrounding him . Immediately his eyes reflected the view of the Transcendent Realm . It was a world full of stars .

There, he earned the name Baal and learned to think by observing humans living in other worlds… .

…Baal awoke from his recollection and sighed .

Up until now, he had never wondered about the origin of his existence . But now he had a vague idea of where he came from .

[Returner Hero]

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A few numbers and words were all that it took . As much as it was hard to believe, it was the truth . His years of solitude were derived from a crude novel written by a human .

He recalled the world he saw in Bell’s memory .

There were no devils in that world . Religions were only beliefs, and magic couldn’t affect the laws of physics . Humans dominated other species .

Humans did not possess the ability to interfere with abstract concepts, and concepts could not exert power beyond the laws of nature to humans . Humans could not stop time, and time worked fairly for everyone . It was a scientific world consisting of thorough calculations and logical rules, with no room for magical interventions .

Compared to his world, this world was quite plain . The world of ‘extras’, built on complex laws and principles—

Such was the creator’s world .

“Hiyaaap—!”

A loud shout brought Baal to his senses . He opened his eyes and looked at the countless humans rushing at him .

They all appeared resolute . Baal smiled coldly . All of them were nothing but characters in a novel, just like himself .

‘Our existences are all in vain . ’

Baal looked up into the distant sky . A huge chunk of metal was floating over his head, and in it was Kim Hajin, the author who created this world .

Baal felt an impulse of anger . He glared at the author and boosted his demonic energy . To descend wholly, he vented his demonic energy like a volcano . The seething energy covered the whole world, encroaching on nature, and drawing all ‘characters’ into Baal’s barrier .

“—!”

Baal roared in his barrier and vowed to himself once again .

‘I’ll destroy your precious little world . I will not remain a mere toy . ’

Baal’s eyes turned crimson, and his darkness swallowed the world .

**

[Genkelope’s Vessel]

Exactly 30 seconds after the 9-star card disappeared, Shimurin appeared on the spot it vanished from . So, did that mean the 9-star card summoned Shimurin? But why? What kind of relationship did Shumurin have with the mural?

Feeling confused, I looked down at the ground below .

“What the… . They’re all people from the other world . ”

Tomer muttered as she observed the soldiers of Leores and Arunheim . I shrugged and turned to her .

“Anyway, you should be getting ready to go down . ”

“You want me to go too?”

Tomer raised her eyebrows . She seemed to doubt whether they really needed her help .

“Of course . We need all the help we can get . ”

I nodded and took out the Misteltein Bullets that I’d been keeping in my Stigma . The four, long bullets were glowing faintly .

“…What are those?”

Tomer asked, glancing at the bullets . I rubbed the bullets lightly for a few seconds before activating [Synthesis] .

[Fusing Misteltein Bullets… . ]

As soon as the system message appeared, the four bullets merged into one . In addition to Synthesis, I spent all my remaining SP to add the ‘Exorcism’ attribute to the final bullet .

“Woah . They became one . ”

Just like that, the ultimate bullet was born . But this alone wasn’t enough to bring Baal down completely .

I showed the bullet to Tomer, who had been watching this entire process with fervent interest .

“This should be able to drive Baal into a corner at least once . ”

The weapon was ready . Now the most important thing was timing .

When the strength of all Heroes unite when my luck guides the luck of the others and all the powers of the world come together… .

That would be the right time for me to fire this bullet .

And that timing was probably… .

KWAAAAANG—!

Suddenly there was a huge explosion, and darkness swallowed everything .

“…What?”

Tomer quickly raised her head . But there wasn’t anything she could do . Immediately the floor of the ship sunk— no, the ship itself disappeared, and the two of us began to fall 4000 meters down to the ground .

“Uaaaaaah-” Tomer screamed .

I summoned Spartan in a hurry . Spartan, who burst onto the scene like a hero, spread his wings and caught Tomer and me on his back .

“Oh my god . ”

Tomer clutched her chest and began breathing heavily . Her reaction was understandable; even a superhuman like her would not survive a 4000-meter fall .

“…”

I looked around nervously . Genkelope’s Vessel was gone, the sky was gone, the trees and grass were gone, and we were surrounded by endless darkness .

However, when I widened my eyes and looked further, I discovered a lot of familiar faces .

Kim Suho, Chae Nayun, Yun Seung-Ah, Shimurin, Aileen… . Surprised by the sudden change of scenery, they too were trying to comprehend the current situation .

“Hey . Where are we?” Tomer asked .

I obtained information about this place through Observation and Reading .

[Baal’s barrier — A space created by Baal for his descent on Earth . It resembles Baal’s Transcendent Realm . ]

Well, it seemed that Baal had done something crazy .

I replied bitterly, “Inside Baal’s barrier . ”

“…Huh?”

“It looks like Baal brought us here . ”

I turned my gaze to Tomer . Tomer stared back at me and chuckled .

“So, that means that Baal is down there, right?”

“That would be correct . ”

“Okay . Well then-”

Tomer rolled up her sleeves . With a playful smile, she increased her magic power .

“I’ll show you how I earned my nickname Ironblood Duchess . ”

Her body began to burn blue . Her eyes and fingers, her heart and her hair— all of them were engulfed in azure flames . She was now the epitome of superhumans only seen in cartoons .

“Okay, then I’ll… . ”

I nodded and loaded the Mistelin Bullet into the Desert Eagle . The truth was that I was scared, but I pretended to be fine and put my hand on Tomer’s shoulder .

“…Cover you from behind . ”

“…Cover me?”

Tomer seemed dissatisfied for whatever reason .

“Yeah . I’m originally a sharpshooter, remember?”

“…Whatever . ”

She nodded discontentedly, then flounced off at a speed faster than my bullet .

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