Everyone, at some point in their life, indulges in absurd daydreams.
And these fantasies usually stem from the circumstances they find themselves in.
For example, someone fed up with reality or drowning in boredom might have wondered:
What if I wake up to find a nuclear war has broken out, plunging the world into a post-apocalyptic nightmare?
Or what if, when I open my eyes, zombies have overrun the earth?
Kim Su-yeon was no different.
After the successful expedition to Atlanta and the harrowing encounter with the demon, each day felt like an endless struggle.
Abandoning the New Continent felt like a waste, especially after surviving near-death experiences and conquering the Steel Mountains.
But holding out any longer meant certain annihilation.
Caught in this dilemma, she secretly hoped—if only for a moment each day—that the demons might retreat, or that someone would come to their aid.
Yet reality was harsh.
Or rather, realistic.
Strictly speaking, both hopes were fantasies with a near-zero chance of coming true.
Yes, just pure imagination.
Daydreams born from the crushing weight of reality.
So when Kim Su-yeon opened her eyes in bed, the first thing she did was doubt the reality before her.
She slapped her cheek, pinched her thigh hard.
Then, with a dazed expression, she stared out the window.
“…”
Even though the morning sunlight flooded her vision, she didn’t blink.
As her foggy mind cleared, her gaze sharpened.
Because this moment felt like a dream.
If she closed her eyes and opened them again, she feared she’d be plunged back into despair…
“Hmm.”
Suddenly, she felt a leisurely embrace from behind and almost closed her eyes reflexively.
The firm touch against her back, the gentle warmth wrapping around her entire body—it was so sweet, so comforting.
Fighting the urge to fall back asleep, she slowly turned her head to look behind.
There, just inches from her nose, was Kim Su-hyun’s peaceful sleeping face.
Seemingly pleased with the pillow, Su-hyun smiled faintly and hugged her tighter.
It took Su-yeon about three or four seconds to realize this was her own bedroom.
Thwack.
“Oof!”
She jabbed her elbow into Su-hyun’s stomach, making him groan and roll over.
She’d hit him with some force, but he didn’t open his eyes.
Instead, he frowned slightly, still deep in sleep.
“Ugh… what’s wrong? What happened?”
Kim Yu-yeon rubbed her eyes and sat up as the bed shook.
Looking at the two with a baffled expression, Su-yeon swallowed her rising anger and asked,
“Why are you here?”
“Because I wanted to sleep with you…”
“Fine, you, but what about him?”
“He asked to sleep together. It’s been my long-time wish to share a bed with my little brother and sister.”
She said “long-time wish” with such confidence it was almost comical.
“And you could’ve just asked, why hit him? Hey, did it hurt, Su-hyun? Come here, come here. Let’s snuggle a bit more in big sister’s arms.”
She scolded her little sister, then comforted her sulking little brother, pulling him close.
Su-hyun chuckled softly as he nestled into her embrace.
Su-yeon’s eyes grew heavy.
Setting aside the fact that this was her real sister’s behavior, that pitiful face was painfully awkward.
Honestly, she wanted to grab him by the neck and shake him.
What was with the act yesterday?
Who are you really?
Her heart raced recalling the overwhelming power that had crushed the demon alone.
Then fear crept in thinking of those bloodshot eyes.
And now, watching him whine like this, she just couldn’t get used to it.
And then—
“You’re…”
“You’re different from me.”
That last phrase flashed through her mind, and her mood plummeted.
What exactly was different?
If it had been a criticism or disappointment, she might have understood.
But Su-hyun’s tone was clearly one of admiration and pride.
There was even a hint of envy.
Just as she had once admired his back, he seemed to look up to her.
Su-yeon stared silently at Su-hyun, who was nestled in their sister’s arms with a complicated expression.
“…Idiot.”
After a long moment of wordless watching, she muttered to herself, meaning unclear.
“Are you kidding me?”
A beautiful soprano voice soared sharply.
“Didn’t I clearly ask for all information about that incident? Yet all I get is that the demon faction was defeated, and the mercenary alliance suffered minor losses. Is that it?”
Je-gal Hae-sol growled into the communication orb she held close.
She hadn’t slept a wink last night; dark shadows clung beneath her eyes, but her gaze was as sharp as ever.
“I know. I heard about some user suddenly appearing. But what did that user actually do?”
After a moment, Hae-sol frowned at the voice coming through the orb.
“Seriously! I don’t want the outcome—I want the process! Why did the demon faction lose? How were they wiped out completely? Who is this user? What role did they play? Who? When? Where? What? How? Why? That’s what matters!”
Cha Seung-hyun watched Hae-sol angrily cut the communication with a wry smile.
Her rare outburst made him uneasy.
This woman was like the reincarnation of Descartes—questioning everything before making a plan.
No matter the situation, no matter the crisis, she calmly led Yoo Hyun-ah with a clear mind.
That she was this worked up now was proof the situation was dire.
“You should take a break.”
Unable to bear her restless pacing, Seung-hyun spoke softly.
Hae-sol, still pressing her nose, glanced at him sideways.
Then she said,
“Want to have sex?”
Seung-hyun cleared his throat lightly.
“Hmph. Hearing you say that actually makes me feel better. You seem relaxed.”
“That’s harsh. You’re crushing a woman’s heartfelt concern.”
“Yet progress is moving pretty fast, isn’t it?”
“Don’t tell me you want to start with love letters?”
The teasing ended there.
“I went to the temple this morning.”
Suddenly sitting up straight, Hae-sol murmured in a low voice.
“The temple? Did you get a summons?”
“No. I had something to check. Actually, I’ve sensed some strange signs recently…”
“Strange signs?”
“Yes. It’s hard to pinpoint since I only felt it faintly.”
Though she sounded a bit annoyed, Seung-hyun accepted it.
Hae-sol often showed an uncanny ability to perceive reality.
He didn’t know it came from her ‘mind’s eye that looks down from the heavens,’ but he just nodded.
From a warrior’s perspective, she was a trustworthy user.
“Did you get the answers you wanted?”
“No. Not at all. They said nothing. Instead, they seemed overly anxious and tried to hide things.”
“Sounds like something’s going on.”
“Exactly. Something big enough to fluster even an angel. But that’s enough for now.”
Hae-sol’s tone shifted instantly.
Seeing her regain confidence bit by bit, Seung-hyun cautiously spoke.
“Tell me the core. I want to feel some relief too.”
“Relief? No way. The real danger starts now.”
“Danger?”
“I’ve thought of a way. But there’s only one.”
Seung-hyun’s face darkened, feeling like he was trapped in a riddle.
At some point, Hae-sol’s words dropped all uncertainty.
It meant she had reached a firm conclusion inside.
“The strange signs I felt, the being that unsettled the angel, and the illogical phenomena… it’s a terrible situation, no doubt. Oh, how unfair it must have been for the demons~.”
Hae-sol chuckled, then sighed deeply.
“The important thing is that there’s only one of that being.”
“One?”
“Yes. Not an army, not multiple. Just one. So, whether the method works or not, at least the odds improve.”
“Je-gal Hae-sol, numbers don’t matter against overwhelming power.”
Noticing what Seung-hyun worried about, Hae-sol nodded.
“I know.”
“The powerful demon faction was wiped out overnight. If what you say is true, and it was just one person… there’s no guarantee it won’t happen to us.”
“But we have time. Time to prepare.”
“And if we fail?”
Hae-sol paused, then shrugged.
“Well… we’ll just all die, won’t we?”
“…What doubts did you have about that method?”
Seeing Seung-hyun’s expression, she burst out laughing.
Then gracefully rose from her chair and spun around like a ballet dancer, continuing,
“It’s simple. Assuming the absolute worst: that being can’t be killed even if we, the users, angels, and demons all attack together. But—”
Jeogal Haesol paused for a moment, then suddenly cracked a sly smile.
“If that’s really the case, wouldn’t it be possible to make it disappear?”
Killing it was impossible.
But making it vanish—that was doable.
Cha Seunghyun didn’t immediately grasp the difference between those two words.
“What do you mean?”
Jeogal Haesol fixed him with a sharp gaze and added quietly,
“To make it disappear from this world.”
At the same time.
The Mercenary Castle in the world Kim Soohyun had vanished from was in a bit of chaos…
Well, not exactly chaos, but surprisingly calm.
Compared to the past, it was an unexpected state of affairs.
Most surprising of all was that Kim Yuhyun, Soohyun’s older brother, wasn’t rampaging around but was unusually composed.
“So, you’re saying Soohyun got caught up in a multiverse?”
Kim Yuhyun spoke calmly, staring into the void.
Though invisible to the naked eye, a profound energy shimmered where he looked, gradually taking shape.
Zero Code was impressed.
“A little. When Soohyun was dragged to hell before, he stayed in the central library for a while. That’s when I picked up some knowledge.”
“That’s true. My brother is incredible.”
“Fine.”
Just as Zero Code, pleased that the conversation was going better than expected, was about to leave—
“I’ll handle telling the others appropriately. But you have to take me to where Soohyun is.”
The energy that had been about to fly off suddenly froze.
If Zero Code had a face, it would have shown disbelief.
“I said, take me to where Soohyun is.”
“If Soohyun can go, then so can I.”
“Nothing’s more important than my brother’s safety.”
Zero Code quickly checked Kim Yuhyun’s user info.
Seeing his real name, he understood immediately.
“I refuse your refusal.”
“You’ll regret this.”
“Fine.”
Kim Yuhyun shot back coldly, clearly implying, ‘What can a mere human do?’ Then he turned and vanished like the wind.
Whether or not that happened, Zero Code scoffed and was about to leave when curiosity got the better of him, and he secretly followed.
A little later, he clearly saw Kim Yuhyun tattling in front of the Hell’s Terror, the Eternal Snow, and Hwajeong.
It was a startling sight, but those three were each gods of the Ninth Heaven.
Not just beings with the power of the Ninth Heaven, but gods who literally resided there.
The problem was that just now, a presence had appeared that surpassed those three—perhaps even rivaling Zero Code himself.
Seeing Soona, who rarely listened to humans, pay close attention, Zero Code’s thought of ‘mere human’ vanished completely.
The next moment, the three women and the young girl all nodded and rose from their seats.
At the same time, the energy that made up Zero Code trembled violently.
A dazed voice echoed.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Sorry for the delay.
Well…
There was a bit of a problem today.
I always write using MS Word, but strangely, every time I press the Hanja key on my keyboard, Word freezes and a message pops up saying “Microsoft Word has stopped working.”
I usually try not to press it, but sometimes I accidentally hit it once or twice.
I wasn’t too worried, though.
I could just copy and paste the Hanja from Notepad, and even if Word crashed, I could force quit via Task Manager, then reopen and save the document.
But in my haste, I clicked “Don’t Save.” OTL
Word closed abruptly, and the Windows screen appeared—I let out a sharp groan reflexively.
Thankfully, Word’s document recovery feature saved most of it, but half was gone.
Ah… ㅠㅠ
I was mentally crushed, staring at the screen, sighing deeply.
I grabbed a pack of cigarettes, locked myself in the bathroom, chain-smoked, then came out and stared at the floor for a long time.
What did I do to deserve this…
From now on, I’ll make a habit of saving frequently.
To all the readers waiting patiently, I sincerely apologize. (__)