“Let’s go.”
At that, the four of them—two men and two women—were left speechless.
Kim Su-yeon looked as if she couldn’t believe her ears, while Kim Yu-yeon tilted her head in confusion.
“Just go in like this?”
Even Kim Yu-hyun asked hesitantly, half in disbelief.
“Let’s go in.”
But Kim Su-hyun repeated firmly and, without any further explanation, strode forward with confident steps.
Straight ahead, boldly.
“Hey, hey!”
Kim Su-yeon reached out belatedly, but he was already fading into the distance.
In an instant, Kim Su-hyun reached the castle gate and paused briefly.
He glanced up at the firmly shut iron door, then lightly swung his arm.
With a chilling metallic sound, the hand that had only gripped the sword’s hilt until now finally drew the blade.
Ssshhh—!
At the same time, an invisible diagonal slash cleaved the gate in one clean cut.
“What…!”
Kim Su-yeon, who had come running breathlessly, widened her eyes at the sight of the gate nearly toppling backward.
Not because of the iron door itself, but because of what lay beyond.
The scene inside the castle was charged with a piercing tension.
More precisely, users with power reaching the level of ki-baek were stationed everywhere, as if on standby.
Of course, they too looked stunned at the suddenly shattered gate, but that was all.
One user behind Kim Su-yeon immediately raised a staff upon seeing her.
A sphere of magical energy shot into the sky, exploding with a firework-like noise before scattering in all directions.
Moments later, the guards at the gate began to retreat slowly, and hurried movements could be sensed from all around.
“…Looks like they knew.”
Kim Su-yeon, staring blankly at the orderly retreat, glanced at Kim Su-hyun, who muttered to himself.
“Knew?”
“They probably didn’t expect us to arrive this fast. But they must have known we were coming.”
Kim Su-hyun said calmly, stepping over the neatly sliced edge of the gate and entering.
“What do you mean by that?”
Kim Su-yeon instinctively followed him inside, but no answer came.
Kim Su-hyun brandished his sword fiercely at the retreating enemies.
The sudden strike with the flat of his blade sent a shockwave rippling forward like a tidal wave.
“Ah, ahhh!”
“Ughhh!”
The once orderly formation was thrown into chaos in an instant.
Seeing the ki-baek users collapse in a heap, Kim Su-yeon snapped out of her daze and drew her sword—or tried to.
“You.”
“Don’t.”
Kim Su-hyun grabbed her right arm and shook his head.
At his words, Kim Yu-yeon and Kim Yu-hyun, who were just about to cast spells, stopped mid-incantation, confused.
“We didn’t come to fight. I told you, we came to talk.”
Kim Su-yeon was about to shout, “What nonsense is this?” but fell silent as she looked ahead.
Because the users Kim Su-hyun had just knocked down were now slowly getting up, all with stunned expressions.
None of them looked seriously injured.
After watching for a while, Kim Su-yeon sighed deeply and asked, as if utterly baffled, “So what exactly are you trying to do?”
“Simply clear a path. I’ll handle it—you just follow.”
“Then why are they acting like this?”
“…I don’t know.”
Kim Su-hyun finally looked up.
“That’s…”
His eyes fixed on the castle towering in the city center.
“We’ll find out when we get there.”
He shrugged, exuding an air of ease.
Anyway, the deed was already done.
Kim Su-yeon, finally letting go of her sword, clicked her tongue as if to say, “Do whatever you want.”
Among them, only Je-gal Hae-sol wore a strange smile.
“Wow!”
Je-gal Hae-sol, sitting with her chin in her hand, let out a breath of admiration.
The place looked like a large conference room.
“Did you see that? Did you just see that?”
Cha Seung-hyun pointed at the communication orb, watching Je-gal Hae-sol’s wide-eyed excitement with a hint of discomfort.
Their allies were outside the castle, fighting desperately to hold back the enemy’s advance, while he was stuck inside, merely observing.
Whether she realized it or not, she kept marveling nonstop.
“Truly a monster, a monster.”
“Je-gal Hae-sol.”
“No.”
“…What?”
Startled by her quick refusal, Cha Seung-hyun blinked rapidly.
“You were about to ask if we’re just going to stand by, right? Well, no. We’re staying put.”
Without taking her eyes off the screen, Je-gal Hae-sol said this, causing Gong Chan-ho, who had been sitting silently with his arms crossed, to raise an eyebrow.
Cha Seung-hyun quickly signaled him to hold back and tried to stay calm as he continued.
“You’re not seriously suggesting we just do nothing, are you?”
“Hmm~. It’s surprising they came this fast, and with such a small force. So, I guess we have to revise our plans.”
That changed everything.
If this was a reconnaissance to gauge the enemy’s strength, then the sacrifices of their allies would have meaning.
“How?”
Since Je-gal Hae-sol had originally planned to eliminate the mysterious man, Cha Seung-hyun asked eagerly.
But she crushed his hopes mercilessly.
“Complete cancellation.”
When sighs of disbelief echoed around, Je-gal Hae-sol finally looked up, pouting as if to say, “Why are you all looking at me like that?”
“Don’t be so harsh. I’m human too, you know. How can a mere human hope to defeat a god who’s determined to come in?”
“A god?”
“Does this divine being look like something a human force can handle? It’s been coming and going through the protective barrier I set up like it’s its own living room, without killing a single person.”
“…”
It was true.
The man leading the charge was so powerful that even Cha Seung-hyun, a war god, acknowledged—and even revered—him.
Especially impressive was how he deflected every arrow with a single sword or forced hundreds of their own troops to the ground with a mere gesture.
To be honest—
“We can’t win.” That was everyone’s unanimous thought.
They realized the rumors about him wiping out the demon faction in one fell swoop were true.
“I know a little about transcendent magic that can counter beings beyond human. That’s why I thought there was a chance, that there was a way. Until I saw it with my own eyes.”
Je-gal Hae-sol spoke quickly, then looked back at the communication orb.
But in the brief moment she looked away, Kim Su-hyun was nowhere to be seen.
“Looking at it now…”
She chuckled dryly, then turned toward the door.
“There’s no way. I know it sounds irresponsible, but I can’t think of any way to deal with him.”
It was basically a declaration of surrender.
The room darkened with the weight of her frank admission.
Je-gal Hae-sol was the kind of user who would execute a plan even if there was only a one percent chance of success.
For her to say there was none meant the odds were effectively zero.
Of course, they had anticipated this possibility, but knowing it in theory and feeling it firsthand were worlds apart.
What remained now…
Not long after the screen showed the empty landscape, commotion began outside.
“How’s the situation out there?”
Yu Hyun-ah, who had been silent until now, spoke in a weary voice.
“Seventeen seconds ago, all communications were cut off. Exactly three minutes and twenty-one seconds later, they broke through completely.”
Meanwhile, Je-gal Hae-sol hummed a tune, clearly enjoying herself.
No need to ask if it was true—the sounds of footsteps rapidly approaching the door confirmed it.
In this unbelievable situation, Yu Hyun-ah lowered her head slightly.
Meanwhile, the footsteps of three or four people approached steadily, then stopped just beyond the door as if by some strange coincidence.
“Damn it!”
Ban Da-hee gripped her weapon, rising in frustration, but Cha Seung-hyun stopped her again.
Judging by the enemy’s behavior, they had no intention of resisting.
Running away was an option, but Yu Hyun-ah was no ruler who would save herself by abandoning her comrades.
If that was the case…
Since things had come to this, they would leave it all to Je-gal Hae-sol.
Yu Hyun-ah shared the same thought.
They had received a message from the Southern Alliance before, saying they wanted to talk, not fight.
In fact, not a single person had been killed during their approach.
Though they had forced their way in suddenly, they weren’t foolish enough to be unaware of what their actions implied.
The biggest problem was that there was no other choice.
Then—
Knock, knock.
Amid the heavy atmosphere, a light knock suddenly sounded.
Yu Hyun-ah couldn’t hide her surprise.
Je-gal Hae-sol giggled and jumped up.
“Come on in~!”
Waiting for the enemy inside and welcoming them.
Not a scene you’d expect on a battlefield.
But the opponent was beyond common sense.
Capable of forcing such an absurd situation.
Creeeak.
The door slowly opened, revealing the first figure.
“Excuse me.”
None other than Kim Su-hyun.
“Welcome.”
Je-gal Hae-sol smiled brightly, greeting him warmly.
“Glad to see you, user from another world.”
As Kim Su-hyun stepped inside, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.
“You knew?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Good. Saves me the trouble of explaining.”
“Well, anyway, we’ll talk about who you are later… For now, please have a seat.”
Je-gal Hae-sol gestured toward the table opposite her.
As Kim Su-hyun entered slowly, his feelings were mixed—perhaps nostalgic?
He met the unwavering gaze of ‘War God’ Cha Seung-hyun and the murderous glare of ‘Madwoman’ Ban Da-hee.
It had been a long time since he’d seen these familiar faces.
Baek Han-gyul and Jegal Haesol were expected, but Gong Chan-ho showing up here was a bit of a surprise.
And then…
At the head of the table sat a beautiful, pure woman clad in gleaming white light armor.
Her hands gripped the armrests tightly.
“Hoo—.”
After a moment, she took a deep breath, bit her lower lip hard, and slowly lifted her head.
When their eyes met—large, warm hazel eyes that held a hint of sadness—
“…”
Kim Soo-hyun stopped in his tracks without realizing it.
It was a reunion after five years.
Even if their worlds had grown apart—
“I’m Beechwood Road. Yu Hyun-ah.”
“…Mercenary Road. Kim Soo-hyun.”
It was the moment when Kim Soo-hyun, now the ‘Lord of the Sword,’ and Yu Hyun-ah, the ‘Holy Queen,’ met again.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Thank you all.
Thanks to your understanding, I was able to get through my midterms safely.
Whether I did well or not is another story, but I gave it my best shot.
I stayed up almost every night, and I didn’t realize how much my past experience writing through the early mornings would help. :)
Since I’d been so focused on exams, opening Word again after a while felt really strange.
I’ll do my best to get back into the groove as quickly as possible.
Thank you once again for waiting patiently. I’ll keep pushing hard until the side story wraps up soon.
Wishing all my readers a peaceful night!
P.S. I haven’t been able to check messages in a while, but I’ll reply to all of them by tomorrow. (__)