Chapter 276: Episode 52. ■■ (1)
After the Demon King Selection, the Yoo Jonghyuk – Kim Dokja Industrial Complex became busy with reconstruction. The citizens’ expressions were dark from the dangers of war. The atmosphere would’ve been harsher if it wasn’t for the relief resources that I persuaded Bihyung to give.
“The clock tower is over there! Hey, watch out over there!”
Due to the deaths of the dukes, the citizens of other industrial complexes came over and I wasn’t lacking manpower. I spent two days helping the citizens rebuild and the city was gradually regaining a lively atmosphere.
“Thank you for the help, Yoo Sangah-ssi.”
The foundation reconstruction would’ve taken a longer time if it wasn’t for Yoo Sangah’s Arachne’s Web. Yoo Sangah wiped the sweat off her forehead and replied, “You should take a break Dokja-ssi.”
“I’m fine. What about Yoo Sangah-ssi?”
Yoo Sangah looked closely at the bandage wrapped around my chest while answering, “I’m good as well.”
Good... It was a word used by Yoo Sangah.
I stopped working as I climbed up the clock tower with Yoo Sangah and looked down at the square.
Yoo Jonghyuk and the other seriously injured party members were hospitalized in Aileen’s ward. Jung Heewon and Lee Jihye were relatively well and helped with the reconstruction of the industrial complex. Meanwhile, Lee Hyunsung was demanding to be discharged from the ward because he was all better.
Thanks to the hard work over the past two days, the square area started to feel like a place where people lived. The schedule was tight but the things I were doing now would be returned to me as a reward.
“They came.”
A portal had appeared in the air. There was a kid running at great speed from one side of the square.
I lightly jumped down the clock tower and greeted him.
“Dokja hyung! Uwaaaaah!” Lee Gilyoung struggled in my arms. I smiled and patted his head.
“Have you been well? You seem a bit taller.”
“Really?”
“Yes, you’re almost around Yoosung’s height now?”
“I’ll be bigger soon!”
It wasn’t just Lee Gilyoung who came through the portal. A large man fell to the floor of the square with a thud.
“It has been a long time, Gong Pildu-ssi.”
“Bah!” Gong Pildu stared at me like he didn’t care about my safety and then waved to Yoo Sangah. Yoo Sangah bowed her head with a slight smile and Gong Pildu spoke in a slightly more relaxed tone. “I didn’t come to see you.”
During this time, Gong Pildu had changed a lot. Who could call him one of the 10 Evils now?
“Han Sooyoung?”
“I think she needs some time to recuperate.” Lee Gilyoung answered with his head against my stomach.
Recuperate... She had offered the Abyss Stones as a sacrifice but the damage wouldn’t be small because she took the black dragon into her body. However, to not come here...
“Ah, Sooyoung noona told me to give this to you.” Lee Gilyoung rummaged through his pockets and handed me a note.
It was a crumpled piece of paper that gave off an obstinate impression similar to Han Sooyoung. I carefully opened the note while avoiding Lee Gilyoung’s glistening eyes.
-I will kill you if you make me do it again next time.
I couldn’t help laughing. Indeed, there was a reason she hadn’t come. If I closed my eyes, I could still see the bandaged Han Sooyoung laughing like crazy.
-There are still a few problems left.
The note contained some other information. There were things about the Korean Peninsula and the nebulae that could only be heard on Earth. Fortunately, the situation on Earth didn’t deviate much from the original cycle I knew. In fact, most of the information were things I already knew and didn’t need to be conveyed.
Han Sooyoung knew this and struggled with eloquence.
-Anyway, that’s it... well... goodbye, idiot. See you when you come to Earth.
It was too bad. I was going to tease her properly if we met this time. I put the note in my coat and told Lee Gilyoung and Gong Pildu.
“There will be a party at night. Go wash up and prepare.”
“Party?”
“Guests are coming.”
I’ve passed one crisis but the crisis of this industrial complex was just beginning.
[The constellation ‘God of Wine and Ecstasy’ has accepted your invitation.]
[The constellation ‘Queen of the Darkest Spring’ has accepted your invitation.]
.....
I saw numerous indirect messages pouring in and sighed lightly.
***
Since the selection, Yoo Jonghyuk hadn’t woken up.
“How long will it take for him to recover?”
“It should take two more weeks.” Aileen checked Yoo Jonghyuk’s pulse, wlaked out of the hospital room and glanced at me. “You need to rest as well. Do you know?”
“Don’t worry.”
Aileen left but I stayed in Yoo Jonghyuk’s hospital room. The sleeping man’s complexion was paler than any ‘Yoo Jonghyuk’ I had ever seen. It was natural. This was the first time that Yoo Jonghyuk didn’t regress despite suffering injuries serious enough to trigger ‘regression.’
I stood up and checked the story packs that were stuck to him. Sometimes, a story pack being inserted incorrectly could cause death from side effects. It might be different if he had Lamarck Kirin like me...
“...Packs like these are being plugged in.”
「 I am going to a lonely world. 」
「 The sword master was the easiest. 」
「 I was a genius since receiving the sword at 5 years old. 」
Fortunately, Aileen was a story expert and had a good grasp on the composition. In fact, Yoo Jonghyuk of the 144th round briefly went crazy after wrongly receiving Lee Hyunsung’s army story.
“He is a picky guy.”
I was almost shocked by the voice suddenly heard behind me. I looked back and saw a handsome giant leaning against the wall.
“Since when were you there?”
“From before you come in.”
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint stared down at me with calm eyes before indicating Yoo Jonghyuk.
“It is too much healing. Just throw a few Murim dumplings at him and he will get better soon.”
“It is because there are no Murim dumplings here.”
Despite the words, the eyes of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint were still very mild. Then the terrible man’s voice was heard.
“So he is the one who beat you up?”
Something the size of a frog was hanging upside down from the ceiling opposite the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. It was Kyrgios Rodgraim.
“Master.”
“Tell me. Is it this guy?”
I was reminded of the nonsense I spoke to send Kyrgios to Murim. I was beat up by the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint’s disciple. Kyrgios’ handsome eyebrows curved and the aura of Electrification appeared around his entire body. “Was it all a lie?”
I gulped and opened my mouth. “It wasn’t completely a lie! In fact, I’m not on good terms with this guy. I was actually beaten up...”
“You were just beaten up?”
“Of course, I hit back...”
It was a loophole in the system but I didn’t lie because I had beaten up Yoo Jonghyuk in the Absolute Throne battle. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint made an intrigued expression as she listened to the story. “Hrmm. You beat my disciple?”
“Then who won?”
The gazes of the new teachers met in the air. It was only their gazes collided but the sense of space seemed to distort and sparks flew. I thought the two of them were getting along better with each other but it seemed to be my mistake. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint’s voice was cold. “That is a stupid question. Just looking at the face, it is obvious that my disciple is better than yours.”
“My disciple can’t be weaker than an aura parasite who only raises muscle. Don’t look down on my vision of my martial artists...”
“Your martial artists are getting smaller.”
I thought the hospital room would explode if this continued and quickly stepped in between the two of them.
“I have something to ask you.”
The fearsome gazes shot towards me at the same time. I raised my status and barely endured the pressure.
“What happened to First Murim?” I was curious. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint and Kyrgios were here so I knew Murim was likely to be safe. However, the opponent was an outer god.
The first one to speak was Kyrgios. “Hmph, this body moved personally and you think I can’t save one world?”
Kyrgios flew out the window like he was offended.
...What was wrong with him? The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint gazed at the window that Kyrgios had disappeared through and replied, “We stopped it but it is hard to say that we stopped it.”
“Did you defeat the outer god?”
The aura of a giant story could be felt from the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint’s body. It was clearly a giant story associated with First Murim.
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint nodded. “It was a daunting opponent but it wasn’t something I couldn’t fight. That unlucky paradox was also present.”
Only the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint could describe an outer god as a ‘daunting opponent.’
“The problem was the next guy.”
***
The outer gods also had ranks. So to speak, there were different names for them. For example, ‘old one’ and ‘great old ones.’
-He was neither ‘old’ or a ‘great old.’
However, there were also distant beings beyond such categories.
-I have never seen such an existence before so I can’t explain it clearly. The only thing certain is that Paradox and I together couldn’t beat it. In fact, it wasn’t even a fight. If it hadn’t withdrawn itself, we would’ve disappeared from the universe along with Murim.
The words of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint were strange. According to the development of the original novel, there was no such possibility that such an outer god would appear in First Murim that day. Yet such a great outer god appeared and withdrew.
-It disappeared like it found another delicious prey.
A being that was neither old or a great old one. An outer god that forced strong people such as the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint and Kyrgios to freeze...
Waaaaaah!
A small party was currently in progress in the central hall of the industrial complex. The recovered party members had gathered. The symbolic bodies of some invited constellations could be seen.
[Hmm, Demon King of Salvation. Did you receive the gift I sent?]
Persephone approached with a mischievous smile. Once again, her symbolic body took Yoo Sangah’s appearance. The party members stared at her symbolic body with surprise. In particular, Yoo Sangah’s expression was a delight to see.
“...I don’t like garter belts anymore.”
Persephone wore a Chinese dress and waved her fan while laughing.
[Is that so? It was a pretty good performance.]
Lee Hyunsung’s ears pricked up at the word ‘performance.’ I spoke quickly before the wrong words could come out. “I am indebted to you regarding the selection game.”
[Hmm, I didn’t do anything?]
“I know that you persuaded the Master of the Skywalk.”
Now Olympus was in a divisive state. If she hadn’t persuaded Hermes, I might’ve had to fight more Olympus constellations in the competition.
[Think of it as an investment in the future.]
The smiling Persephone headed to the centre of the hall and started dancing. She even pulled Yoo Sangah over as her partner. At first, Yoo Sangah was embarrassed but then she kept a cool expression. Jung Heewon whistled. “Yoo Sangah-ssi is cool!”
Dionysus had already finished his tenth drink in the corner while Cheok Jungyeong was sharing a cup of soju with the Brash Swamp Predator. It was a small party but it was more relaxed than any other party I had attended.
[It is a precious break. Congratulations, Demon King of Salvation.]
I turned back and saw an old man in a formal suit. “You came, Mass Production Maker.”
He was also one of the constellations who helped in this selection.
[I saw your story well. The Gourmet Association is making a huge fuss.]
“You’re overpraising me.”
I grabbed a glass from the table and bumped cups with the Mass Production Maker. It was pretty strong alcohol based on the smell and I poured it into my mouth. We were silent for a moment. Perhaps the Mass Production Maker was choosing his question. The question was why he and the other constellations attended this party and why I held it.
The Mass Production Maker sipped the alcohol before speaking. [You got the qualification of the end so the filtering should be turned off.]
I could feel a fine change in the atmosphere. I nodded. “That’s right.”
The hall was still buzzing but the eyes of the constellations gathered one by one on me. Persephone, Cheok Jungyeong, Dionysus... Everyone was pretending not to care but they were listening to this story.
The gazes of all the constellations focused on me and the Mass Production Maker asked, [Can I ask what your ■■ was?]