Please make sure to read today’s report.
Since the Eastern Alliance had set unprecedented terms and backed them up with decisive action, the Southern Alliance responded in kind.
Go Yeon-ju was ready to go all out against the Northern Alliance, but Kim Soo-yeon made it clear she wanted to resolve things through dialogue first.
Moreover, she officially announced that the Eastern Clan would be brought under their wing, and even allowed some of them to reside in Atlanta under the pretext of stabilizing the city.
In other words, it was a show of strength aimed at sending a message to the North.
By taking the first step to yield, they demonstrated that as allies, they would treat each other as equals.
The Shadow Queen had been indispensable during the Terra expedition, but that didn’t mean Kim Soo-yeon fully trusted the East.
These bold moves were calculated under the assumption that they could retake Atlanta at any time.
Even if the East betrayed them, with Kim Soo-yeon around, reclaiming the city was only a matter of time.
So, leading her main forces back to the Northern continent, Kim Soo-yeon swiftly reclaimed their base with the full support of the East.
Of course, the North didn’t just sit idly by.
As soon as the South returned, they launched their own countermeasures.
First, they severed the warp gate connections to the cities under their control, then gathered all their troops from the general city of Pamela and the smaller town of Mulo.
It was a strange deployment for a desperate last stand.
It looked more like they were preparing to abandon the Northern continent and flee to uncharted lands if things went south.
So it was no wonder Kim Soo-yeon felt a sharp pain at her temple.
To easily obtain the Zero Code, they needed the Sacred Queen, too. If they messed this up, everything would be for nothing.
Put bluntly, if they lost her, the plan to outwit the demons would be completely ruined.
In this situation, Kim Soo-yeon’s only options were to station her troops at the base, avoid provoking the North as much as possible, and repeatedly reach out for talks.
But contrary to expectations, the Northern Alliance remained silent and unmoving for days.
“I expected this,” came a dry voice.
“It’s not just about grudges or conflicts. No matter how bad things are, just hearing what they call us gives it all away.”
Han So-young sat with her chin resting on one hand, staring blankly out the window.
“Tyrant and Consort. We and they are worlds apart. Opposites that can never mix—like water and oil.”
Muttering to herself, Han So-young glanced sideways with only her eyes, which were half-closed already.
Her gaze grew even more languid.
The man who had requested this meeting was staring intently at her thigh.
With a slight sigh, Han So-young slowly turned her chair to face Kim Soo-hyun.
The steel chains wrapped around her thick thigh clinked softly, but Kim Soo-hyun’s full attention remained fixed on the flesh beneath.
Han So-young scoffed.
She subtly tensed her lower body, then suddenly spread her legs wide.
“Pfft!”
Startled by the unexpected move, Kim Soo-hyun jumped.
But that wasn’t the end.
Han So-young placed her hands lightly on the chair, keeping her legs spread, and lifted her hips.
Her wide hips rose slowly, meeting Kim Soo-hyun’s gaze.
Tilting her head slightly, she stuck out her bright pink tongue and lightly licked her upper lip.
Then she smiled slyly.
“Go ahead.”
Kim Soo-hyun was flustered.
“W-what?”
“You can… you know, stick it in. Right here.”
“No, that’s not necessary.”
“…Weren’t you the one who wanted to smell my…?”
Her words were lewd and blunt.
Kim Soo-hyun coughed a couple of times and quickly bowed her head in apology.
Han So-young’s expression soured, then she slowly straightened up.
Kim Soo-hyun cautiously watched the woman whose mood had clearly soured.
Though several days had passed, the shock from their first meeting still lingered.
Especially her hairstyle—long twin tails—still felt strange to him.
But deep down, he had come to accept that this woman before him was indeed Han So-young.
In the original world, Han So-young had sealed her emotions and hidden her nature to protect herself from the overwhelming sensory information.
But in this world, she was the opposite.
She openly exposed her true nature, refusing to hide from the extrasensory input.
Considering how the original Han So-young changed after opening her heart to Kim Soo-hyun, this wasn’t such a strange thought.
It was just a difference.
Kim Soo-hyun, still lingering with a hint of regret in his eyes, finally snapped back to reality after some time.
“Was it always this bad between you?”
“No.”
Han So-young answered immediately without even turning her head.
“It wasn’t like we were close, but it wasn’t this bad before. Since each of us represented a faction, we used to meet and exchange opinions. Until that incident.”
“That incident?”
Had Kim Soo-yeon and Yoo Hyun-ah ever been involved?
It was a story unfamiliar to Kim Soo-hyun.
Han So-young continued.
“The Northern continent is currently divided into the Eastern, Southern, and Northern Alliances. The Central region became a no-man’s land after the Golden Lion Clan was disbanded… But what about the West?”
“Now that you mention it…”
“Simple. We destroyed it. Have you heard of the Devil’s Seed?”
“I have.”
There was no way he wouldn’t know.
When angels summoned humans as their proxies on Earth, demons retaliated by planting seeds to corrupt them.
It was a surprisingly effective tactic.
“To cut to the chase, the leadership of the Western Alliance was infected by the Devil’s Seed. Back then, the demons hadn’t fully revealed themselves, so very few noticed. But once we found out, there was no way Kim Soo-yeon would just stand by. So we planned to wipe out the West…”
Han So-young trailed off, licking her sticky, bright pink tongue over her upper lip.
After a long pause, she suddenly flopped forward onto the table.
“Ugh… what a pain.”
Kim Soo-hyun, who had been listening intently, stared at her in stunned silence.
“Uh, Istantel Low Lord?”
“Don’t know.”
“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”
“Don’t know. Can’t remember. I’m the one talking, and you’re just listening. That’s unfair.”
“That makes no sense.”
“I don’t know. If you want me to keep talking, you have to show some effort too.”
Watching Han So-young repeat “don’t know” over and over, Kim Soo-hyun buried his head in his hands.
“I’ll just hear it from you, then.”
“You didn’t come here to hear it from me, did you?”
“I can ask Kim Yu-yeon.”
“Well, she’s your older sister, so she might sugarcoat it. I’m probably the only one who can tell you the full story objectively.”
Han So-young chuckled quietly.
“…What kind of effort is that?”
In the end, Kim Soo-hyun gave in.
Han So-young, still lying on the table with her upper body, lifted only her lower half off the chair.
Surprisingly, it was a sensual pose.
“Put your head on the chair. Face the ceiling.”
Kim Soo-hyun really didn’t want to, but knowing the importance of the conversation, he reluctantly rested the back of his head on the chair.
Han So-young smirked and settled her hips back down.
More precisely, she sat right on Kim Soo-hyun’s face.
“!?”
He hadn’t expected this.
Her hips moved vigorously, but when she pressed down firmly, his resistance quickly faded.
“Mm… ah…”
The sensation of her full weight and her heavy breathing made his most sensitive parts burn with heat, causing a satisfied smile to spread across Han So-young’s lips.
“How is it?”
Kim Soo-hyun didn’t answer.
In truth, his mouth was effectively sealed.
Han So-young, seemingly indifferent, began moving her hips in circles, rubbing and grinding.
“…So… um… that’s where the disagreement started… ah, ah…”
After a moment, the playful sparkle in her eyes faded, and her soft lips parted slowly.
“Kim Soo-yeon wanted to kill them all… haah… Yoo Hyun-ah wanted to minimize the damage… ahh…”
Her suppressed moans quickly turned into heated cries.
Her waist movements grew more intense.
Her hips traced circles, rubbing and grinding harder.
Then—
“In the end, Kim Soo-yeon acted alone, but ugh!”
Half explanation, half moan, Han So-young’s eyes suddenly snapped wide open.
She felt a sharp poke in her nose.
Caught up in the mood, she hadn’t even realized how aroused she’d become.
“Yoo Hyun-ah secretly sided with the Western Alliance—ahhh!”
Gripping the table tightly, she tried to hold on, but the fire spreading through her body was unstoppable.
It was a mistake to overlook that Kim Soo-hyun wore the Ring of Essence.
Just as she was about to reach climax in shock, Han So-young suddenly froze mid-motion, twisting her waist.
The surge of pleasure that had shot straight up vanished like a lie.
Looking down quickly, she saw Kim Soo-hyun calmly looking up, his face slightly turned away.
“What’s the big deal? It’s nothing special.”
“Huh, what?”
Han So-young asked pitifully.
Kim Soo-hyun shrugged.
“Yoo Hyun-ah saw the users infected by the Devil’s Seed as victims and tried to help them. But Kim Soo-yeon caught her, so she failed. If you look further, the Northern Alliance might have been used or caught up in that incident too. Since then, the two factions have been mortal enemies… Is that right?”
Despite the rambling, he had managed to understand.
When Han So-young couldn’t find the words, Kim Soo-hyun muttered, “Alright then,” and slipped out of his chair.
“W-wait a minute!” Han So-young reached out, her voice tinged with desperation.
Kim Soo-hyun wiped his nose with the back of his hand and gestured behind him with his thumb.
Footsteps were approaching down the hallway outside.
Han So-young let out a hot breath and sank to the floor.
“What happened?” Kim Soo-yeon asked.
“What do you mean?”
Kim Soo-hyun answered casually.
“You ran to the bathroom in such a hurry. I’ve never seen that look on your face before.”
“That’s right. It looked like the expression my dog makes when it’s in heat,” Je-gal Hae-sol chimed in, who had sneaked back last night, avoiding Ko Yeon-ju’s notice.
“Well, I guess it was urgent. But hey, how about we start moving soon?”
“Moving?”
Kim Soo-yeon, who had been pondering what to do next, eagerly jumped on the change of subject.
“The warp gate isn’t opening, so we have no choice but to go there ourselves.”
“You mean marching to Pamela?”
That was indeed the only option.
The problem was that Je-gal Hae-sol was in Yoo Hyun-ah’s camp.
Since she also had warp abilities, if she decided to run, things would get complicated.
Noticing their concern, Kim Soo-hyun shook his head.
“Don’t worry. We just need to approach without provoking them.”
“Can you do that?”
Kim Soo-yeon asked, her eyes lighting up.
Instead of answering, Kim Soo-hyun looked at Je-gal Hae-sol.
“How long do you think it’ll take to get to Pamela?”
“That depends on how many people are with us.”
“There’ll be five of us—me, you, hyung, nuna, and this kid.”
“Let’s see. If we’re heading to the nearest city, it’d take about three weeks on foot…”
Je-gal Hae-sol counted on her fingers, focusing on the calculation.
“But I think it could be done in about four days.”
Her voice was confident.
“Yeah, right.”
Kim Soo-yeon immediately dismissed it.
Cutting a three-week journey down to a quarter of the time? That was just nonsense.
Je-gal Hae-sol raised her left eyebrow slightly.
“What are you gonna do if I can?”
Her tone was a little annoyed.
She’d hit a nerve.
“I don’t know your full capabilities yet. If that’s true, then it’s impressive.”
Kim Soo-yeon replied noncommittally, though disbelief was clear on her face.
But exactly four days later—
“…No way.”
Kim Soo-yeon had no choice but to reconsider her skepticism.
Because Je-gal Hae-sol had actually succeeded in bringing four others, as Kim Soo-hyun requested, all the way near the castle.
Kim Soo-yeon had initially guessed that this world’s Je-gal Hae-sol’s abilities might be slightly stronger, but she was utterly stunned.
After all, no one could have imagined she’d possess a warp ability so vastly improved, directly enhanced by Gehenna herself.
Pamela was now within reach.
“The internal defenses are pretty tight. There are sentries posted all around the warp gate. It’s almost like a war zone.”
Kim Yoo-hyun shook her head, her golden eyes scanning the area.
Je-gal Hae-sol shot a cocky smile at Kim Soo-yeon, who was staring blankly.
Then she approached Kim Soo-hyun, who was observing the castle.
“What do you want to do? Use it one more time?”
If they did, they could definitely get inside the castle.
Though there was no guarantee they wouldn’t be detected.
Kim Soo-hyun stared at the castle for a long moment.
Then, as if making up his mind, he gripped the hilt of his sword at his waist and took a step forward.
And he said—
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Hello everyone.
I have something to ask of you today.
To be straightforward, I’m planning to take a break from April 15th (Friday) to April 23rd (Saturday)—a total of nine days.
There’s no particular reason other than that my exam period starts next week.
Especially since I have three major exams all on Monday, I’ll need Friday and the weekend to prepare.
My parents have set a condition that I maintain a certain grade level and graduate if I want to keep writing, so I need to focus.
Honestly, I want to wrap up this omnibus quickly since only four or five parts remain, but the pressure of exams is heavier than I expected.
I’ll study hard and do my best on the tests, and I’ll be back on April 24th (Sunday).
I sincerely ask for your understanding. (__)