Chapter 155

I decided to hear the terms of the deal.

[First. Elsland will be safe. The dimensional sovereignty of Elsland will be transferred to ‘Choi Gi-woong’.

Second. After successfully hunting the Demon God, half of the Experience Points will be shared.

Third. After successfully hunting the Demon God, the safety of the dimension will be guaranteed.

The mutual contract will be engraved upon the Soul and cannot be terminated.]

Not bad.

Especially the part about guaranteeing the safety of Elsland and the dimension.

Moreover, it said the contract would be engraved on our souls.

Even at my current level, I couldn’t break a soul contract between two beings.

In other words, it was an offer for a completely flawless contract… which couldn’t be true.

Its ulterior motive was obvious.

The intention was that once Chaos was dealt with, it could break any soul contract or whatever else.

I couldn’t figure out the exact method, but still.

Even now, that thing was hell-bent on killing me.

All while hiding its venomous fangs.

The situation with the Demon God wasn’t much different.

Though a series of honey-sweet rewards were laid out.

It was basically saying, let’s kill that guy first, then you and I can fight.

“……”

I was torn.

Whose hand should I take?

“I will think about it.”

For now, I’ll just pretend to take the bait.

Kwang!

Choi Soo-jung was sent flying backward. She collapsed with a thud. She’d held out for quite a while.

Immediately after, Kim Soo-gyeom, his face ferocious, reached me.

In terms of pure power, he was easily S-Rank.

Kim Soo-gyeom swung his sword down from above.

Nodding, I casually flicked him away.

He collapsed right next to Choi Soo-jung.

“Pass.”

They couldn’t hear me, but at this level, they were more than qualified to be called S-Rank.

“I’ll tell them when they wake up.”

Byeon Soo-hyeon, who had been standing beside me with his jaw dropped, hurriedly added. His eyes were sparkling.

It was understandable.

Right now, I was on the verge of achieving the 7th star of Chilyanggong.

How many was it again?

It was the result of learning an infinite number of Chilyanggong.

Of course, it would still take a bit more time to master it completely.

“I think they’ll be happy.”

“They’d better be.”

After all, these guys who had been stuck at D-Rank were now S-Rank.

Kim Soo-gyeom would probably be talking about being S-Rank all year long now.

“Whoa, shit. What did I just see?”

I looked behind me.

I had gathered all the Association agents here after they clamored to see just a little bit.

Some of them had been indifferent.

But now, every single one of them was speechless.

One agent looked at the unconscious kids with envy.

That agent barely managed to speak.

“Their lives are really set now. If I had been under Choi Gi-woong’s direct command, by now I’d be…”

“Sprawled out on the floor.”

“Still, what’s wrong with that? He’d make you S-Rank. I’d even lick his feet.”

“Wait your turn.”

Laughter spread through the hall.

The fact that we could joke around like this was proof that the world had gotten a little better.

“Alright, alright. Now that you’ve seen a good show, let’s all start training.”

Hong Gyeong-pyo clapped his hands, getting the agents to their feet.

The look in the agents’ eyes had changed. I could feel their fervent desire to become stronger.

Good.

Why was I making them train like this when there were no more threats, you ask?

Because there are always exceptional circumstances.

After helping them with their training for a bit, I went back upstairs.

As always, I burst open the door to Head of department Kim Yoon-joong’s office.

I saw two people.

Head of department Kim Yoon-joong and Im Han-na. Neither of them was surprised; instead, they sat in their seats as if this was routine.

“You’re here.”

“You’re not surprised?”

Head of department Kim Yoon-joong, sitting with an indifferent expression, snorted.

“There has to be something surprising for me to be surprised.”

Im Han-na, sitting opposite him, shrugged and greeted me with a nod.

“This man has nothing to do these days.”

It really looked that way.

It was the first time I had ever seen Head of department Kim Yoon-joong look so idle.

Unlike in the old days when he was always weighed down by gloomy dark circles, his face was now fresh and clear.

But his expression was different from before.

He was restlessly shaking his leg and anxiously biting his lip behind his indifferent face.

He looked like someone suffering from anxiety.

Sure enough, he suddenly shot up and started pacing around the office.

“What’s wrong?”

“Do I look like a dog that needs to shit to you, too?”

“…Who said that?”

I don’t know who, but that’s a very fitting metaphor.

“I did.”

Ah.

“I see. So it’s true.”

“I haven’t answered yet.”

“That was your answer.”

Im Han-na raised her hand and giggled.

“Pacing the hallways all day, biting your lip. You’re like a dog waiting for its master.”

“Hey!”

“What? It’s not like I said anything wrong. You were waiting for Choi Gi-woong to show up, weren’t you?”

“You punk, you’re losing all sense of hierarchy.”

Im Han-na pouted and smiled playfully.

“Hurry up and throw him some work. That man’s going to die like this.”

Head of department Kim Yoon-joong didn’t deny Im Han-na’s words.

He looked at me with a sullen expression that was the complete opposite of his clear complexion.

“It’s strange, you know. Now that life’s gotten a bit better, a man gets greedy, doesn’t he?”

“…That can happen. I understand.”

I suddenly wondered if I would have that same look on my face when all this was over, if I survived.

While I was lost in such idle thoughts, I heard a tsk.

Head of department Kim Yoon-joong, having clicked his tongue, looked at me disapprovingly.

“You, I heard you’ve been in contact with that Han Seung-hoon punk.”

“How did you know?”

“I can tell just by looking at that punk’s eyes.”

Smiling faintly, I told him why I was here.

“As a matter of fact, I came to give you a whole mountain of work.”

“…What is it?”

“You don’t want it?”

“It’s because I want it, you punk. Because I want it. So hurry up and tell me. Something cool, if possible.”

“You’ll have to go to the International Association.”

Lee Seok-jae and Rachel Carson are on the verge of collapsing from overwork.

It’s a position that requires managing the S-Rank Awakeners scattered all over the world.

“Me, you want me to go there?”

“If you really feel burdened, then I guess there’s no other choice…”

“I’ll go!”

Before I could even finish, Head of department Kim Yoon-joong grabbed my hand.

The dead look on his face vanished. His sparkling eyes, unbefitting of his age, were even a little burdensome.

“I know, right? That I’m always grateful to you.”

“Yes. I know, so please let go of…”

Just as I was thinking of using Mana to shake him off.

My head snapped to the side.

“Hm?”

Kim Yoon-joong tilted his head, asking me what was wrong.

Im Han-na, next to him, did the same.

“What’s going…”

Jjeojeojeok-!

The space in mid-air split apart.

Through the vertically torn space, like the eye of a reptile, I could feel a strong concentration of Mana.

Soon, two people appeared. No, I should say two demons.

One was Peter, and the other was…

Was her name Ruiche?

“What are those things…”

After a moment of trembling as if they’d seen a ghost, Head of department Kim Yoon-joong and Im Han-na blocked my path.

Their demeanor changed completely.

Simultaneously.

Bee- Bee- Bee-

The emergency bell rang throughout the Association.

It was set to go off automatically whenever a demon was detected.

“They’re demons.”

“Stay back.”

Stay back?

The Peter of today was a Demon King. With a single flick of his finger, he could kill not only these two but also all the Association agents rushing over.

-Detection Level is off the charts!

-All units, deploy!

-Sending a support request to the 5 major corporations and Mr. Hwang Mu-yeol.

-Top priority is the evacuation of Association President Choi Gi-woong.

-Confirmed!

Peter looked at me with an indifferent expression.

I shook my head. It was a signal to stay put.

Instead, I tapped the shoulder of Head of department Kim Yoon-joong, who was blocking my way.

“You can rest assured. Please send the agents who are coming up back down.”

“Rest assured or not, you get back…”

“He’s my subordinate.”

“What?”

“He’s my subordinate. Please step aside.”

Me, Peter, and Ruiche.

Peter circled the office, now empty except for the three of us.

“So this is the Master’s Mainland. The air is nice.”

“Good work.”

“Of course it was good work. This last operation, I mean. You know I did everything, right?”

“Yes. You did everything.”

This time, I was sincere.

If it hadn’t been for him, I would have had a hard time just entering the Demon Realm. I might have even died trying to face two united Demon Kings.

That was probably the best-case scenario that the System and the Demon God had hoped for.

“I would have died if it weren’t for you.”

Peter’s expression turned strange. Perhaps he hadn’t expected to hear such words.

Ruiche, standing beside him, also looked at Peter with a dubious expression.

Her face seemed to say, ‘How in the world did you earn a compliment?’

But he deserved it.

“…Thank you.”

Peter bowed his head, his voice completely devoid of its usual playfulness, and pointed at Ruiche.

“And this one is…”

“N-Nice to meet you for the first time. I’m Ruiche…”

“I’ve heard a lot about you.”

I nodded.

Ruiche looked like she was about to cry.

I had heard her story, so I just stood there quietly for her.

Well, if things worked out for her in the process, that was good for me too.

The really important thing was this.

“What about them? The Demon God’s side, I mean. What did they say?”

“They’re extremely anxious. They’re on pins and needles, worried you might side with the other one. What are you planning to do, Master?”

“You’d prefer I side with the System, wouldn’t you?”

“I will simply act as my Master wishes.”

“It offered to hand over Elsland.”

“……!”

His eyebrow twitched.

“If I accept, Elsland will be peaceful again.”

And I was thinking of giving that dimension to him.

“…I see.”

But his response was far from enthusiastic.

“As I said, I will do as you command, Master.”

“Wasn’t protecting Elsland your goal?”

“Isn’t getting rid of both of them your goal, Master?”

Look at this.

He was saying that as long as those two were dead, Elsland would automatically be protected.

“Actually, I came here for another reason.”

“Tell me.”

I was prepared to grant him almost anything.

Even a request to remove the slave shackle. Anything at all.

He had worked that hard for me.

“Please kill me now.”

But the words that came out of his mouth were beyond my expectations.

Completely.

“What?”

“Should I say it again? Please kill me now.”

The atmosphere turned icy, as if cold water had been poured over us.

Ruiche’s pupils trembled.

Peter smirked at her for a moment, then continued.

“Ah. Hasn’t this fight gotten too big? I don’t think I’ll be of any help anymore. Why keep a useless servant alive?”

He shrugged.

“I feel unburdened, honestly. I feel like I’d have no regrets even if I died. If there’s a heaven and a hell, I’d be fine with going to hell. So please, just kill me.”

“Wh-What are you talking about?!”

Ruiche, who was next to him, jabbed him in the side. She hissed in a whisper.

“This is when you should be asking for a reward for a job well done, and what? Kill you? Are you crazy?”

Peter remained unfazed by the barrage of words pouring out of her.

“I’m not joking about this.”

“It seems that way.”

Peter’s face showed not a single trace of lingering attachment.

I was the one who was more bewildered.

That’s why.

“I’ll put it on hold.”

“Didn’t you say you were going to kill me at some point? Just kill me. Now.”

“There’s still a lot of work to be done. The slave shackle on your head isn’t something that can be removed so easily.”

“…Is that so?”

After pondering for a moment, Peter nodded readily.

“Understood. In that case.”

Those words sounded even more suspicious.