Chapter 81

From our side, someone muttered as if entranced.

“Jung Hye-in… a distress signal…”

The place where Jung Hye-in, a figure comparable to none other than Seong Yo-han, was sending a distress signal.

It seemed the reality of what kind of place Jeju Island was, and that they had to stay here for three months, was finally sinking in.

At least the experienced ones who had been to Jeju Island a few times only let out groans, but the faces of the agents here for the first time were a sight to behold.

The faces of the trio who had been forcing a positive outlook, saying the South Sea was pretty, were now completely ashen.

“This is Jeju Island. A place where you never know when, where, or even if an S-Rank Awakener might die.”

Im Han-na, who was next to me, muttered.

“Even I didn’t expect Hye-in to send a distress call. But don’t be too scared. She’ll probably be rescued safely…”

Im Han-na, who had been talking for a while, looked at my face and clicked her tongue.

“Who was I even worried about.”

“?”

“You’re probably the only one whose expression hasn’t changed in this situation. Why don’t you at least pretend to be a little scared?”

If I had come here without going through the Demon Realm Forest, I might have.

But the hell I experienced was just as bad.

No, that place was even thicker with Demonic Energy.

Besides, I had something else to do.

For example, the task of tuning the frequency.

A process of synchronizing my Mana with this place so I could draw out energy at any time.

In the meantime, Kang Min-jeong, who was in contact with the control tower, let out a sigh of relief.

“Yes, yes! I understand! We’ll go right away!”

Hanging up the phone, she clenched her fists.

“They said they pinpointed the location earlier and have already secured it. It’s not far. It seems she ran into Demons while returning to base. She’s injured.”

“Really? What about the rescue team? Have they been dispatched?”

“They’re departing in one minute.”

Oh Jeong-hun let out a deep sigh.

“What? So they found her?”

“It… seems so?”

“Oh, man. That took ten years off my life.”

A sense of relief spread through our side as well.

Then, suddenly, Oh Jeong-hun asked.

“How much time is left until the terrain shift?”

The terrain shift was the reason the Demon Realm Forest was called an impregnable Dungeon.

Like a puzzle, the land moved from moment to moment, causing people to lose their way or fall into deeper parts.

However, modern mathematics had succeeded in figuring out the patterns of the terrain shifts.

“With the D-36 pattern, the probability of the terrain shifting within an hour is 0.2 percent.”

In other words, there was a 99.8 percent chance that Jung Hye-in would be rescued.

People finally let out sighs of relief.

It was at that moment.

Rumble-rumble-rumble-

The ground beneath us shook, creating a deafening roar.

It was a familiar sound. One I had heard to the point of exhaustion when I lived in the Demon Realm Forest for over a month searching for Saint Ajadun.

Still, it would stop in five minutes at most.

Terrain shifts happen in the blink of an eye.

Ah.

I suddenly looked ahead.

Oh Jeong-hun and Kang Min-jeong.

Both of their faces were contorted in despair.

The original plan was this.

I was going to take a quick look around to see what Jeju Island was like and search for traces of Han Seung-hoon.

But now, it seemed I had to postpone all of that.

“Attempting to pinpoint location. Time remaining: 2 minutes and 30 seconds.”

To say the inside of the control tower was chaotic was an understatement.

This was closer to a scene of pandemonium.

“H-13 pattern! It’s a normal rotation pattern.”

“There’s a 96 percent probability that there are four hours and thirty-two minutes until the next terrain shift!”

“Considering a safe return time, they must return within two hours of dispatch!”

Jeong Gi-hwan, who had introduced himself as the Branch Director, wiped his dry face.

I heard he’d been with the Association for 30 years, but this incident seemed to be bewildering even for someone like him.

Then, he suddenly turned his head toward us.

‘Ah, right. There were these guys too.’

With that kind of look in his eyes.

The people who had been standing there like spare tires were startled.

Approaching, Jeong Gi-hwan offered a handshake.

Not to Im Han-na, but to me.

“I’ve heard a lot about you. You’ve handled many major incidents while you were here.”

“Thank you. Please speak comfortably, Branch Director.”

“This is more comfortable for me.”

Jeong Gi-hwan, putting up a wall, said as if tossing the words out.

“Normally, we should start the handover right away, but the situation is what it is.”

He clicked his tongue.

“Let’s find Jung Hye-in first and talk again. It’s an urgent situation.”

“We’ll help too.”

No need to say ‘we.’ I alone would be enough.

The Branch Director stopped putting on his gear and looked at me.

“Have you been to Jeju Island many times before?”

“This is my first time.”

He wasn’t asking because he didn’t know.

“I’m not looking down on you, Mr. Choi Gi-woong. But we can’t lose two sheep trying to find one.”

With those words, he finished putting on the rest of his gear.

His Rank was automatically measured.

On par with me, or slightly below.

Even a powerhouse of that level couldn’t hide his tension.

“Monsters or Demons might try to take advantage of this opening. Those of you here, please keep an eye on them.”

“We have a location! One hour away on a direct path!”

“Jeong-hun, Min-jeong! You two, follow me!”

And just like that, the three of them rushed out.

It was as if a storm had just passed.

“C-Can they find her?”

Someone asked.

No answer came.

Trying to find someone lost in the Demon Realm Forest was like finding a needle in a haystack.

Lost in thought, I suddenly felt gazes on me.

When I turned around, the agents were all looking only at me, like baby birds looking for their mother.

I clicked my tongue and said.

“Let’s unpack our things first.”

I unpacked my luggage and shoved a ready-to-eat meal, which I had no appetite for, into my mouth.

All the while, I was continuously spreading my waves.

[Trace Tracking]

To find out where Jung Hye-in was based on her Mana pattern.

It wasn’t an easy task.

It required spreading my Mana across the entire island of Jeju to specify just one person’s.

But it wasn’t a difficult task either.

It just needed time.

About four hours had passed like that.

By the time the sun was beginning to set.

Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble-

As always, a vibration rumbled from beneath the ground.

Here on Jeju Island, the only area where the terrain didn’t shift was within a three-kilometer radius of the spire.

The next moment.

With precarious timing, the three who had left returned.

Naturally, Jung Hye-in had not returned with them.

It’s always like this.

When bad things happen, they tend to happen one after another.

“Branch Director! We can’t track Jung Hye-in’s location. The signal has been lost.”

Jeong Gi-hwan, who had been preparing for the next dispatch, slumped into a chair with a drained face.

Various assumptions were made.

That she was already dead, that she cut the signal on purpose, and so on.

In any case, the conclusion was one and the same.

That any further attempts to find Jung Hye-in were meaningless.

The Silence lasted only for a moment.

They were veterans.

From then on, things proceeded swiftly.

A report was sent to the Association headquarters, and after going through various procedures.

The final conclusion was one.

“It’s an order from the Chairman. Give up the search for Jung Hye-in and focus on the handover.”

The atmosphere in the situation room, where only a few executives remained, sank heavily with sighs.

After roughly composing the atmosphere, Jeong Gi-hwan spoke to me with a haggard face.

“For now, please get some sleep tonight, and we’ll continue the handover tomorrow. Seong Yo-han said he’ll be arriving tomorrow as well.”

“Understood.”

Bowing my head, I headed straight outside.

As I exited the spire, the air was different.

The stuffy Demonic Energy clung to my body stickily.

But I had already finished the Synchronization.

And one more thing.

Beep—

The tracking magic I had been observing since earlier finally indicated Jung Hye-in’s location.

Fwoosh—

Like a minimap in a game, a dot appeared in the corner of my vision.

From here to where Jung Hye-in was.

23 kilometers in a straight line.

And the Monsters in front of me numbered well over three thousand.

A virtual simulation runs.

No matter how many times I run it, the three thousand-plus enemies are no problem.

The problem is what comes after.

If those of High Priest rank or higher catch the scent and come…

I’ve made my decision.

I’ll go and come back as quietly and quickly as possible.

Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble-

The ground began to shake, and the forest spread out before me started to move as if on a moving walkway.

I entrusted my body to it.

The battle that had raged on for ten hours was something even the great Jung Hye-in could not endure.

The location was bad.

Even when she tried to draw out her Mana, the gloomy energy would choke it off, and the constantly changing terrain led her deeper and deeper.

The more that happened, the more the effectiveness of her Skills dropped.

-You have entered a Corroded Zone.

-The effect of Skills composed of Mana is reduced by 30%.

-The effect of Skills composed of Demonic Energy is greatly increased!

“Cough!”

Jung Hye-in leaned against a tree.

As if they had been waiting for their prey to tire, the creatures revealed themselves.

Even after she had killed so many, there still looked to be over a hundred.

At the very front, the one acting as the leader opened its mouth.

“Three hundred of our kin have died because of you, wench. Three hundred. Among them, over fifty were Apostle-rank, and there was even one High Priest candidate.”

“……”

“Nevertheless, our merciful lord has decided to give you a chance. Come over to our side. We will grant you eternal life. We will grant you power. Power to rival Yeo Ju-kyung…”

Jung Hye-in, gasping for breath, waved her hand.

The next moment, the leader’s head fell off.

Jung Hye-in gasped for air.

No matter how she tried to wring out her Mana, nothing more came out.

That was her last bit of strength.

Now, she couldn’t even lift a finger.

The leader’s subordinate, who was standing next to it, saw this and clicked its tongue.

“That’s your answer, then. Kill her. Tonight, we will use this as a Sacrifice to honor the souls of our brothers.”

A Jung Hye-in who had already exhausted all her energy could be killed even by a Lower Demon.

Step.

It was when a Demon, having heard the order, stepped forward.

Suddenly.

A bolt of lightning that appeared from the darkness struck the creature’s body.

Thud.

The creature collapsed just like that.

The next moment.

A figure appeared from the darkness.

His steps were as nonchalant as if he were out for a stroll.

“Who are you.”

The figure didn’t answer and approached Jung Hye-in.

The Demons didn’t stop him. No, it was more like they couldn’t stop him.

His presence was extraordinary.

Jung Hye-in’s eyes blinked as she saw the figure’s face.

“…Let’s just get out of here alive first.”

The figure who said that turned around.

By then, the Demons had figured out the figure’s identity.

“It’s Choi Gi-woong.”

“You know me?”

The figure showed an expression for the first time.

The second-in-command, who had become the leader, nodded.

“So you’re the one who uses that filthy power.”

Choi Gi-woong took out the ring-shaped Durandal.

Drrrk—

Emitting a bright light, Durandal revealed its form.

The Demons did not back down even after seeing the Divinity.

It was understandable.

They were on a different level from the Lower Demons that scrabbled around on the mere Mainland.

Furthermore, this was the Demon Realm Forest, a place saturated with Demonic Energy. No matter how strong the Divinity, it would be rendered powerless here.

-It is time to vanquish the wicked, my brother.

On the other hand, Durandal, held in Choi Gi-woong’s hand, was excited. It was a chance to be drenched in the blood of the filthy ones and heighten His glory.

It was at that moment.

Suddenly, a dark Demonic Energy covered Durandal’s entire body.

-What is this…

“Do not resist.”

-You crazy…

The moment Durandal’s blade was completely covered in darkness.

Slice—

Choi Gi-woong beheaded the leader.

Its head fell off cleanly.

“When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”