“A crossroads…”
The thought struck me suddenly. Could this be the ‘critical moment of choice’ that Ganesha had mentioned?
“So, it really comes down to a binary choice. Either abandon the Eastern Continent and strike at the Central Continent…”
“Or save the Eastern Continent and exterminate the demons.”
Seraph nodded in agreement.
I fell into deep thought for a while, then spoke quietly.
“What’s the consensus among the angels?”
“…Unanimously, they favor the latter. But please understand this—we don’t expect Suhyun to save the Eastern Continent out of mere humanitarian concern…”
I raised my hand mid-sentence, and Seraph trailed off, puzzled.
“There are a few questions I’d like you to answer first. I’m already convinced.”
I had already made up my mind. No—more than that, I was certain.
Right now, the most important thing wasn’t some emotional tug-of-war, but resolving the crisis before us in the best possible way. The angels had promised full support, and the choice was clear. All that remained was to take the path we had to follow.
But to do that, I needed information. As the saying goes, “Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated.”
“First, tell me what benefits the demons gain if they conquer the Eastern Continent.”
“Understood. First, in the future competition among the continents surrounding the Central Continent, they can effectively incite users from the Southern Continent. This gives them a plausible cause while strengthening their internal unity.”
“That’s not incitement—that’s just the truth. And?”
“The second point is the most important. Suhyun, are you aware that beings from this dimension have a limited amount of power they can use when descending into the intermediate world?”
“To some extent.”
“Good, that makes this easier. For example, in this situation, the demons and demon tribes have been subject to this law since the moment they stepped out of the summoning room.”
“You’re not saying there’s a way to break that law, are you?”
“No. No matter what they do, the law of causality is absolute and unchanging. …However.”
I asked, just in case, and Seraph shook her head slightly. But then she added a troubling caveat.
“They can artificially accelerate the rate at which their available power in the intermediate world recovers.”
Seraph’s explanation was simple. First, if a demon’s original power is 100, they can only use 20 in the intermediate world. Second, the moment the law of causality kicks in, their power drops to 1.
In other words, they don’t start out with 20 power—they’re extremely weakened right after being summoned. That much I already knew.
But apparently, there’s a way to artificially speed up the recovery from 1 to 20.
As I stared silently, Seraph continued.
“Suhyun, do you remember when the Hell Duke appeared?”
“…Ah.”
At that moment, I finally understood what Seraph was getting at—and why the demons were trying to conquer the Eastern Continent.
“Don’t tell me… they want to use humans as nourishment…”
“Yes. I believe there’s no other reason to go to the Eastern Continent. Humans, especially users, are the best source to restore their power.”
“Wait a minute. Then why not just go to the Southern Continent? There are more users there.”
“Then there would be no reason for them to join forces. In fact, it might backfire on them.”
Ah, so it’s not about invasion but coexistence.
Anyway, let’s assume the worst-case scenario. As Seraph said, it’s best to assume they’re already advancing into the Eastern Continent. Since they’re being pursued, it’s unlikely they’re still leisurely lingering in the Southern Continent.
“This is a race against time.”
I could feel it instinctively. Right now, time was on our side, while the demons were the ones being chased. That meant Satan must be desperate for the Northern Continent to abandon the Eastern Continent and march toward the Promised Temple.
Why?
Because that would buy them as much time as they wanted without interference.
“They’re aiming to catch us on the way back and settle this in a single decisive battle.”
That can’t happen. Now that I know, I won’t let things go their way. The Northern Continent still holds the choice.
“Oh, by the way, isn’t the Eastern Continent still under your jurisdiction?”
“If you’re thinking of annexing it like the Western Continent, I must warn you—it’s extremely risky.”
“Why? If it succeeds, it would be a perfect counterattack.”
“That’s true, but the current situation on the Eastern Continent…”
As Seraph explained further, my mouth fell open. Not even a new continent—just barely taking a major city? We had conquered Barbara years ago, hadn’t we?
This changes everything. Unlike the Western Continent, where we had established routes during the initial invasion, here there’s nothing. Without any prior exchanges, crossing the continent is no easy feat.
…In the end, we have no choice but to go rescue them.
A bitter taste lingered in my mouth as I chewed on the thought.
But soon, I stood up.
“Alright, I understand.”
I had all the information I needed. Now all that was left was action.
“Su… Suhyun?”
“I’m heading back now. I have to resolve the Western Continent issue, and if we’re going to the Eastern Continent, we need to hurry.”
“Huh?”
“…Why?”
I turned around, sensing something was off. Seraph had risen from the altar, staring at me with wide, startled eyes.
“You’ve already made your decision?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you really going to disregard our opinion…?”
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m not blindly following your opinion. It just happens to align with mine.”
I shrugged lightly and turned back. There’s plenty of time to think, but once a decision is made, you move quickly. Just as I was about to step into the portal, I suddenly heard hurried footsteps.
And then—
“Suhyun.”
I froze instantly. A soft yet desperate hand grasped my collar. Turning sharply, I found Seraph standing right behind me.
“Are you really going to leave like this…?”
“What?”
What was that? “Are you going to leave?” sounded like a wife seeing her husband off to war.
Her sudden change in tone caught me off guard.
“No. You said it would take ten days to arrive. And we still have to organize the relief forces for the Eastern Continent…”
“I will help you.”
“Huh?”
“I told you earlier—I’ll help as much as I can.”
“……”
“It’ll only take ten minutes, no, five. There’s a way to drastically shorten the time.”
Her eyes shone with a stronger light of trust than ever before.
Atlanta.
Istantel Low Clan House.
Tap, tap…
Han So-young sat alone in her room, resting her left hand against her chin. Her eyes stared blankly at the records on the desk, either lost in thought or simply passing time without purpose.
Tap, tap…
The quill between her index and middle fingers tapped softly as she swayed it side to side. Then suddenly, the endlessly shaking quill snapped upright. Han So-young squinted slightly and began to write calmly.
What on earth was she writing so diligently? Probably something important related to clan administration.
Let’s see. Starting from the top of the record…
He: “Hey, why are you pretending not to know me? Have you forgotten me already?”
Me: “I don’t know. You were the one who completely forgot about Mercenary Lord…”
He: “Haha. Forget? I’ve really missed you. …Ah! Since it’s come to this, can I start calling you So-young from now on?”
Me: “W-what? What did you say? That’s—Ugh!” (He suddenly kisses me hard here.)
……
…………
Huh?
“Phew.”
Han So-young sighed deeply and put down the quill. Her cheeks flushed faintly, like the red glow of dusk. What else had she written below?
He: “But you’re dressed pretty provocatively. Is that on purpose?”
Me: “W-what kind of rude thing is that? Watch your words.”
He: “What? You sound cheeky. No way. So-young, you need some discipline. Take off your pants and underwear right now. Then turn around and lie face down.”
Me: “What did you say? How could you say that! The Mercenary Lord I know would never…!”
He: “Quiet! This is all your fault. You’re so sexy and lewd I can’t help myself. So it’s your fault.”
Me: “That’s nonsense! No, please don’t! Gehenna is right outside the door!”
He: “I don’t care! From now on, you’re the only one for me…!”
Me: “Ah, ah…! Aaaah…! Aaaah, I don’t know, I don’t know, blah blah blah…”
…What on earth was this about?
No, was this even possible in real life?
Thud!
At that moment, her forehead slammed hard against the record. Her mouth twitched slightly as she buried her head. Her hands clenched so tightly on the desk they began to tremble. She must be mortified by what she’d just written.
Then—
“!”
Suddenly, Han So-young jerked her head up from repeatedly banging her forehead.
Tat-tat-tat, tat-tat-tat!
And in that split second when a certain sound came from outside the door, three actions happened all at once. First, she burned the record with a silent incantation. Then, she snapped her posture into perfect alignment. Finally, she pulled out a blank sheet of paper and began studying it intently.
Once she was fully prepared,
“Unni! Unniii!”
With a loud kick against the door, Park Da-yeon burst in, flustered and frantic.
“What’s all the fuss about now?”
Han So-young exhaled sharply, her voice stern and deliberately severe. It was as if she was annoyed at being interrupted during something important. Whether or not delusions counted as important was up for debate.
But Park Da-yeon didn’t seem to care in the slightest and kept babbling nonstop.
“Did it happen? Did it happen to you too, unni?”
“Huh? Happen?”
“I mean, did it happen to you?”
“What are you talking about? What happened?”
This time, it wasn’t just a frown—Han So-young’s eyebrows knitted tightly in genuine confusion. She had no idea what Da-yeon was trying to say.
“Huh? That’s weird. That can’t be.”
Still frustrated, Park Da-yeon pounded her chest and suddenly pointed toward the window.
“Seriously, you don’t know anything? Haven’t you looked outside? It’s total chaos out there!”
“Chaos?”
“Hamel, the Tower of Magic, Reverse, Han, Shin Koran, even the Northern Alliance. Not just the major clans, but the big ones too—they’re all gathering at the Mercenary Castle…!”
“…”
The moment Da-yeon finished speaking, Han So-young sprang up from her chair. She walked slowly toward the window, tilting her head in curiosity. She still didn’t understand what exactly had happened, but there was no way to dismiss Da-yeon’s urgency as a joke.
And then—
Just as she was about to peer out the window with a puzzled expression,
Ding!
A familiar alert suddenly rang in her ear.
Han So-young’s eyes widened in surprise as she tilted her chin upward, and letters began to slowly appear in midair.
A message only Han So-young could see.