Chapter 196: Chapter 196

The promised 3 days have passed.

During that time, Park Hyun-a’s magic circuit has completely recovered.

Her magic vessel has also achieved the minimum stability needed to withstand spatial movement.

With preparations complete, all that’s left is to move.

“Then let’s go straight to the Kingdom of Mariette.”

“Wait. There’s somewhere we need to stop by first.”

At those words about needing to stop somewhere, doubt fills Sara Dunphy’s eyes.

Park Hyun-a continued her explanation.

“We need to go report to Ultimoon Fes.”

“It’s the organization I belonged to. They have a hideout not too far from here. Given that I haven’t received any contact, they probably haven’t moved the hideout.”

If they had moved the hideout, they would have contacted her somehow.

Or they would have left a message at the hideout’s location.

Either way, she needed to go back and check.

“Transport us to these coordinates.”

For Sara Dunphy, spatial movement magic isn’t particularly difficult anyway.

Making one stop along the way shouldn’t be an issue.

Soon after, when everyone had gathered,

Sara Dunphy cast the spatial movement magic.

A slight dizziness swept over them.

When they opened their eyes, another forest came into view.

Choi Hyun-seok, looking around, turned to Park Hyun-a.

“This is a transport point, a little distance from the hideout. If we go in that direction for about 30 minutes, we’ll reach the hideout.”

Park Hyun-a took the lead, and the rest of the group followed.

After about 10 minutes had passed like that.

Suddenly, Sara Dunphy moved up beside Park Hyun-a.

“Couldn’t we increase our speed? I’m not detecting any magical or holy power in the vicinity.”

“We can’t let our guard down. The Gatren bastards have many magical tools that can neutralize detection.”

“Does your organization also wear such magical tools?”

At that moment, Sara Dunphy’s expression subtly twisted.

“Then that’s strange. There’s nothing in the direction we’re heading. I only sense the energy of insignificant creatures.”

“Well, there could be a barrier, or they might have already moved the hideout and left a message.”

Sara Dunphy had an unsatisfied expression, but she didn’t continue the conversation further.

They would find out when they arrived anyway.

There was no need to argue about it.

More time passed like that.

Finally, when the group arrived at where the hideout had been.

Park Hyun-a blanched at seeing the hideout reduced to ruins.

Magical beasts feeding on corpses growled.

They were low-level creatures eating the leftovers after stronger beings had already had their feast.

If one had to describe them, they were like the forest’s cleaners.

Park Hyun-a glared at them with fierce eyes.

“You sons of bitches!”

Startled by her sharp intensity, the magical beasts scattered in all directions.

Sara Dunphy approached and placed a hand on Park Hyun-a’s shoulder.

“Calm down. If enemies remain, we could be discovered.”

Park Hyun-a took a deep breath and looked around the hideout.

From the traces, it seemed they had suffered a large-scale attack.

Thousands of people surrounded this location.

The battle scars indicated that multiple legendary-grade beings had participated.

“Are there… No survivors…”

Park Hyun-a bit her lip hard.

It had been 8 years since she’d become familiar with them.

While they weren’t quite like family who had shared all life’s ups and downs, they were close enough to be called comrades without awkwardness.

It was natural that she had grown attached to them.

Park Hyun-a lowered her head with a curse.

In this cruel world, the meaning of the word ‘comrade’ carries more weight than one might think.

The fact that all such people had died pained her heart, even for someone like Park Hyun-a.

Choi Hyun-seok carefully approached her after reading the atmosphere.

“Older sister. Are you alright?”

At that question, Park Hyun-a raised her head.

“Of course, I’m fine, fool. People dying isn’t anything new.”

“Listen well. People like us who live by killing others must always be prepared. Prepared for the fact that we too could die someday.”

Park Hyun-a let out a carefree laugh.

“This time it was just their turn.”

“Yeah. That’s all it is.”

Her eyes held an indescribable emptiness.

She had wielded a blade in this strange and cruel world for nearly 20 years, witnessing countless deaths.

Death can come to anyone.

She’s seen so much death that she’s sick of it, so she won’t be shaken by something .

For a moment, anger flashed in Park Hyun-a’s eyes.

“Still, they were comrades. I should at least get revenge.”

Choi Hyun-seok silently nodded.

Though it was a short time, he too had received various help while working with Ultimoon Fes, so he wasn’t comfortable with the situation.

Since they had to face the Holy Empire of Gatren anyway, it would be fine to keep the blade of revenge in one corner of their hearts.

“Alright, let’s get going. Standing around with gloomy faces won’t bring the dead back to life…!”

Park Hyun-a stretched with her arms spread wide.

Smiling slightly as she spoke, she was no different from usual.

The group nodded and prepared to move.

“Now we’ll head to the Kingdom of Mariette.”

Sara Dunphy’s spatial movement magic was ready.

Park Hyun-a waved her hand in farewell.

“Take care and live well.” Get full chapters from 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⁂𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖⁂𝕟𝕖𝕥

“Older sister. Just a moment!”

Choi Hyun-seok bought and handed her a high-grade communication crystal from the hero’s shop.

“Contact me if anything happens.”

“What would happen? You just do well, fool. Don’t go dying somewhere.”

Though her words were grumbling, there was a smile on her lips.

She took the communication crystal and moved beside Sara Dunphy.

“Then we’ll move now.”

Sara Dunphy’s demonic energy stirred.

With a flash, the two women disappeared.

They had moved to near Scolbon, the capital of the Kingdom of Mariette.

Usually, such long-distance movement would require considerable preparation, but Sara Dunphy completed it simply by taking a little time.

It was a glimpse of her excellent magical abilities.

“Well, shall we get going too?”

Choi Hyun-seok said, looking at Sidriel.

From now on, they needed to go to the 3rd Corps’ jurisdiction.

Since they didn’t know the exact coordinates, they had to move on foot unavoidably.

While walking, Choi Hyun-seok asked.

“Roughly how long will it take?”

“If we move quickly, we should arrive within five days.”

“That’s quite a while.”

For those who could run faster than most cars, five days meant an incredibly long distance.

“It can’t be helped. We need to watch out for potential enemies along the way.”

“Well, alright. Let’s go!”

Just as they were about to pick up the pace.

Sidriel, who was walking in front, suddenly turned around.

She hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“Heaven. Can we not go again?”

Choi Hyun-seok grinned.

“Of course we can! Let’s have a proper good time after this is over.”

Sidriel smiled brightly at Choi Hyun-seok’s words.

Then Rachel, who was sitting on his shoulder, suddenly stood up.

“Hero! Why are you leaving me out!”

“Alright, I’ll give you some too.”

“I didn’t even get a bite last time, so next time you have to give me a whole one! Got it!?”

Rachel said with a serious expression.

Finding her seriousness amusing, Choi Hyun-seok laughed.

“That’s too greedy for someone who can’t even eat it all.”

Asking for a whole fruit as big as her body.

He thought it was a bit too greedy, but Rachel was adamant.

“Yeah, yeah. Alright, let’s go.”

“You must! You must!”

Perhaps she was quite upset about not being able to eat the fruit this time.

After that, Rachel asked five more times to get confirmation.

“Alright. I’ll give it to you, so stop asking!”

8th Division Commander’s Office.

Reidrun, now a Corps Commander, was still using this place as his office.

How much time had passed as he wrestled with documents?

His head was throbbing from the long hours of work.

It was a daily occurrence since becoming Corps Commander, but he still hadn’t gotten used to it.

“I need an adjutant.”

He couldn’t do everything alone.

Reidrun needed someone talented whom he could trust with his work.

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m far from being someone who pushes a pen.”

Motem said, slightly turning his head away.

It was an expression of absolute refusal to share the work.

Reidrun didn’t give up.

“If you want, you can take the Corps Commander position. I’ll become Vice Commander and assist you.”

It was a radical proposal.

Offering the position of Corps Commander.

Motem’s response was a snort.

“Reidrun. I didn’t think you had it in you, but you have a funny side. Do I look interested in power?”

Reidrun cleared his throat.

Yet his gaze wouldn’t leave Motem.

Reidrun knew well that while Motem claimed to be far from intellectual work, that wasn’t actually true.

If someone trustworthy like him helped, the workload would surely decrease significantly.

Just then, Motem stood up from his seat.

“I should get going now.”

“Where are you going?”

“Just remembered something I need to do.”

Reidrun’s eyebrows twitched.

To tell such a blatant lie without even trying to make it sound convincing.

Reidrun was the only demon who talked with Motem here.

What business could someone who was practically a loner have?

But it’s not like he could stop him.

Reidrun nodded with a sigh.

Motem coldly left the office.

And Reidrun was buried in paperwork again.

About a minute passed like that.

Suddenly, the office door opened and someone entered.

Reidrun frowned without raising his head.

“Did your business end already?”

He could tell it was Motem who entered without looking.

However, even for Motem, acting this rudely wasn’t right.

Even if he wouldn’t help with work, he shouldn’t interfere.

“As I’ve mentioned before, knocking is a basic courtesy when entering the office. Please be mindful of this.”

Reidrun said, still not raising his head.

Then a familiar voice was heard.

“Oh my~ Sorry. Did I upset our dear Corps Commander?”

At that moment, Reidrun’s eyes went wide.

He slowly raised his head.

There stood Motem and Hemis together.

Hemis appeared as a beautiful demon, not as the giant lip monster.

It was even more difficult to adjust since he hadn’t seen her in this form for decades.

Hemis grinned and waved her hand.

“Long time no see, Reidrun.”

Reidrun tried to keep his composure as much as possible.

“Oh my~ Dear. Did I look that easy to kill?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

The Holy Empire of Gatren had devoted all its resources to eliminating Hemis.

Honestly, it would have been stranger if she had survived.

Everyone had believed she was dead too.

“If you were alive, why didn’t you come? The corps was about to collapse without you, Lady Hemis.”

“Sorry. I had my reasons. But you took over the 3rd Corps well, didn’t you?”

At the mention of taking over the corps, Reidrun lowered his head.

“I apologize. I never meant to covet your position.”

“No. You did well. I actually believed you would do it .”

Hemis came closer and continued speaking.

“By the way, do you know why I came back today?”

“To save… The demon race?”

The demon race is currently facing an absolute crisis.

Not only has contact with the Demon King’s Castle been cut off, but the entire command system has collapsed.

Wasn’t Hemis here to fix this situation?

Disappointingly, that wasn’t it.

Hemis shook her head and said, “No. I have a few things to tell you.”

“Things to tell me…?”

“First. The Demon King is dead.”

It was a shocking statement from the start.

Though he had privately suspected it might be the case, actually hearing it directly was still shocking.

However, the real story was just beginning.

Hemis grinned and continued.

“And. The one who killed the Demon King was Choi Hyun-seok.”

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