Chapter 303

At the very moment Han Kangyoon and his party were facing the Jade-Eyed Fire Specter and the Dragon Abyss God, Han Seoa was also fulfilling her own duty.

“Are you… Cheongil?”

Black horsehair-like hair, and unfathomably deep eyes. The man who slowly raised his eyes stared at Han Seoa and spoke.

“Well, I’ve lived long enough to see everything. I never thought someone would actually reach this place.”

“……”

“Yes. I am Cheongil. What is your name?”

After entering the Eternal Labyrinth at Han Kangyoon’s request, Han Seoa was on the verge of clearing two previously unconquered labyrinths through relentless effort.

And in the final labyrinth, the Guilt Maze, Han Seoa had finally succeeded in awakening Cheongil, who was sealed within a massive stone.

“My name is Han Seoa. I’ve come here seeking your help.”

“Not a child of a prestigious family… yet to achieve such mastery at such a young age. Truly remarkable. But help, you say?”

“The outside world is in chaos right now. Specters from the past, sealed within a divine artifact called the Oracle Bone Casket, are running rampant, and the entity called Polar Night at the end of it all is so powerful it’s beyond what human strength can handle. Present-day Korea absolutely needs the help of a hero like you, Cheongil.”

Upon hearing this shocking news, Cheongil stroked his chin with his finger and fell into a long silence. Then, he finally gave his answer.

“Such a thing… has happened, you say. Hmm, it’s subtle.”

“What do you mean?”

“I cannot judge if this is a situation where I should step forward.”

At these puzzling words, Han Seoa tilted her head.

With the Cheong Family he belonged to and everyone in the world in immediate crisis, was there any reason to hesitate?

“Don’t look at me with that expression. It’s not that I don’t want to help. It’s just… the causality of this world takes a form more complex than you can imagine. And to be honest, I have an intuition that our current meeting deviates somewhat from that flow.”

“Does that mean… you also possess the power of prophecy, Cheongil?”

“It’s different from that. This is closer to the product of a more personal talent. Anyway, judging from my life experience so far, the further one deviates from the normal flow of causality, the higher the probability of facing an unfavorable outcome.”

For Han Seoa, it was a difficult statement to understand, but it seemed to be an important issue for Cheongil in his own way.

However, she couldn’t back down because of that. Han Kangyoon had said Cheongil’s help was absolutely necessary, and Han Seoa trusted her brother’s words more than those of the Cheongil before her.

“Even so, the fact that the outside world needs your help remains unchanged. I must repay my party’s trust and bring you with me without fail.”

“Troublesome. Even I cannot predict what consequences my current decision will bring in the future. I don’t want to say anything ominous, but can you bear that responsibility?”

“We can all join forces again to solve whatever happens then. At the very least, we cannot turn a deaf ear to the pleas of everyone asking for help now out of fear of an unknown future. Isn’t that the mindset an Exorcist should rightfully have?”

Han Seoa revealed her own mindset, almost rebuking Cheongil. She thought her words might be somewhat rude, but instead, Cheongil responded to her with a satisfied expression.

“Good. If you have that much resolve, then it shouldn’t matter. My intuition is also far from perfect. I, Cheongil, will do my utmost to help you resolve the anomaly outside.”

“…Thank you!”

“Well, I may have spoken grandly, but the truth is, neither you nor I could break through the final section of this maze alone. That’s why I had to choose to seal myself until someone qualified arrived.”

Indeed, it was somewhat puzzling that someone of Cheongil’s caliber was trapped, unable to pass through the maze. It seemed this Guilt Maze was a type of space where the clear conditions couldn’t be met alone.

Only then did Han Seoa understand the circumstances and nodded to Cheongil.

“Now, then. Let’s try to break through this tedious place once. Just the two of us.”

“Yes. I’ll do my best.”

Thus, Han Seoa succeeded in persuading Cheongil and finally set out for the battle to clear the final maze.

Thinking only of the faces of Han Kangyoon and the other comrades struggling outside.

“You’ve worked hard! You’ve truly accomplished something amazing!”

After defeating the Dragon Abyss God, meeting Hwang Jihak and others at the outskirts of the lake, and returning to the barrier via the barrier, the Exorcists who heard the situation showered us with praise.

However, even while receiving such admiring gazes, the expressions of most of our party members were not good.

Because we could feel with our skin that an even greater crisis was approaching.

“…What’s your prediction?”

“I have a bad feeling. I think we probably won’t have much leeway.”

Although we had defeated the Great Specters, a sinister, piercing energy remained, not disappearing.

We were all exhausted from the fierce battle against the Jade-Eyed Fire Specter and the Dragon Abyss God, and we needed to quickly recover our energy before the next battle occurred.

We’ll handle the guard, so get as much rest as you can in the meantime.”

“Thanks.”

With Hwang Jihak, who had become the new Elder of the Hwang Family, in charge, we could rest assured. We hurried into the prepared lodgings and, sleeping like the dead, began to recover our stamina.

And in just half a day, we had to face urgently delivered news.

“Ugh. It’s already starting?”

“…Seoul and Busan. Only two locations confirmed so far. What should we do?”

Considering the locations, it would be better to leave the Seoul side to the rest of the party and head to Busan ourselves.

However, given that we struggled quite a bit even against the Dragon Abyss God, I wasn’t confident that just the three of us could handle a Great Specter likely stronger than it.

‘…My stamina isn’t fully recovered yet either.’

I hadn’t noticed during the battle, but the ability of the new Phantom Body Trait was a type of power with considerable consumption.

Our condition was not perfect.

Perhaps it would be better to join up with the rest of the party and combine our strength.

While I was pondering this, suddenly an Exorcist from Headquarters found us and handed over a communicator connected to someone.

Ch-ch-chz.

[Oppa, can you hear me?]

“Seoa? Are you back?”

[Yes. The connection isn’t good, so I’ll be brief. I found Cheongil inside the maze. And we’re currently heading for Busan.]

That was truly good news.

Frankly, I thought it might take more time or even fail, but it seemed Seoa had splendidly conquered the maze and secured Cheongil’s cooperation.

“Then we should also go to Busan…”

[No, you go to Seoul.]

A man’s voice I was hearing for the first time in reality, but it was clear who it was.

“…Are you Cheongil?”

[That’s right. You must be that Han Kangyoon? The one that appeared in Busan is at a level we can handle given enough time. However, the sky to the northwest is unusual, so there’s a high possibility a great threat will descend upon Seoul.]

If it was the word of Cheongil, a hero of the past no less, it could be trusted.

I quickly finished my deliberation and lent weight to his opinion.

“Understood. Then we will head to Seoul one step ahead.”

[Good. I pray for your safety.]

The party members who had heard the situation from me beforehand nodded with bright faces, and the Headquarters Exorcist beside me, tilting his head at the name Cheongil, took the communicator back.

Anyway, with this, our destination was practically decided.

“We’ll hurry to Seoul.”

Thus, we once again took to the skies with the help of the Shikigami.

Hwang Jihak and Jeong Hansol decided to stay here to guard the barrier, while three Special-Rank Exorcists, including Cheong Soha, headed to Busan in case of unforeseen circumstances.

And what greeted us upon arriving in Seoul were Exorcists engaged in battle against two Specters adorned with massive ram’s horns.

‘…The Black-White Twin Specters?’

The undead Great Specters who share one soul between the two of them.

I distinctly remember they appeared following the Dragon Abyss God in the original work as well.

Facing them were the Elders of prestigious families, Special-Rank Exorcist Yoon Haecheol from Headquarters, and Yoo Haon’s party. Surprisingly, our side seemed to have the upper hand.

[Keeeek—!]

“…I won’t let you escape.”

Whoosh!

Crackle—!

Leading the charge, suppressing them, were Yoo Haon and Arietta.

Especially Arietta—perhaps having succeeded in perfectly mastering the knowledge passed on by Bloodrot—was completely overwhelming the opponent by deploying his Grand Art, Blood Boundary Array.

“What’s the situation?”

“They suddenly appeared a few hours ago. We’ve evacuated all the people and plan to defeat them here.”

To the naked eye, the situation didn’t look bad, but the expressions of Yoo Haon’s party fighting them weren’t very bright either.

“Isn’t something… a bit strange?”

“What part?”

“Well, I don’t know if I should say this, but the enemies are weaker than expected, or should I say, not very impressive…”

As Cheong Joohwa said, the Black-White Twin Specters were being pushed back, unable to break through the combined assault, constantly on the defensive.

It was certainly a bit odd that they were this powerless, so I hurriedly checked their information.

【White Specter】

▶Level 85 (78)

【Black Specter】

▶Level 85 (76)

Something was strange.

For some reason, they seemed significantly weakened, unable to draw out their original power.

And only after checking their status did I realize that the owner of the ominous energy swirling around all of Seoul was something else entirely.

“They’re not the main entity. There’s something else.”

“…Ugh, no wonder it felt weird.”

However, we couldn’t let our guard down because of that. Even though weakened, the Black-White Twin Specters were still sufficiently threatening opponents.

‘Who could it be? Originally, their next turn should have been the Specter Mask King.’

The final Great Specter of the Oracle Bone Casket, excluding Polar Night, a nigh-invincible monster that boasted unrivaled power alone and tormented players.

But the current situation was different from the appearance of the one I knew.

Especially, what the existence of the weakened Black-White Twin Specters implied was something I couldn’t begin to guess at the moment.

Amidst such doubts, what drew everyone’s focus was the voice of a terrified Exorcist.

“H-hey. What… is that?”

It was black fog.

No, that single word was woefully inadequate to define it, but at least, simply put, it was.

And facing the black fog that began to slowly appear around them, the Black-White Twin Specters began trembling in fear, trying to flee their spot.

“…I believe I said I wouldn’t let you escape.”

Whoosh!

As Arietta used the power of the Blood Boundary Array to engrave a Mark, the movements of the specters froze in an instant.

Although it was only a momentary Restraint, the bizarrely intensifying black fog reached their side in that interval.

And then.

[Keheheek—!]

Crunch!

Squelch—!!

In an instant, the Black-White Twin Specters, swept into the interior of the fog, let out agonized screams and vanished without a trace.

“What the…”

“N-no way, is that fog also…”

An entity that was itself a Specter.

Judging so, I didn’t hesitate and used the Appraisal function to check its identity.

And then.

Ding!*

【Dark Devourer】

▶Level –

▶Stats

【Health : -】

【Spiritual Power : -】

【Art Formula : -】

【Mental Power : -】

▶Traits (0/10)

Unbelievable information greeted my astonished eyes.