Chapter 584: Reunion after a Long Time, And… (1)

It was an aggregate of magic power made up of pure energy itself.

‘Huh… huh…’

Craaaash!

Baaaaannnngg!!!

I was no longer interested in his status. It was unreasonable to wish him to survive after being hit by such a massive attack in the first place. The air was trembling. The walls were vibrating with a whistling sound.

It was difficult to keep my eyes open properly because of the wind pressure. The people cheering from a distance away screamed as if they witnessed a natural disaster and fled to the outskirts as fast as they could.

I realized that if they were caught up in the magic sent by Jung Hayan, they would have died.

It wasn’t an appropriate expression, but they looked like wild animals taking refuge before the earthquake hit.

They showed a more fearful reaction than when the villain awakened. It was almost as if Jung Hayan was the real villain.

‘No… fuck… don’t collapse… don’t collapse. You can withstand it. You can hold on, right?’

My main concern in the current situation was the wall of site 5, which I wanted to see until the end. No, the forward base itself was at risk.

Thud! The demon then blocked the conglomerate of magic power with that sound, but it looked like a human that had been trying to lift the Earth.

The floor that was supporting him was hollowed out with a loud noise.

‘Stop, fuck, Hayan… stop… Our wall is flying away. The forward base too. This isn’t the proper countermeasure. Fuck…’

As I looked back in a hurry, I saw Jung Hayan hovering in the air. My body soon levitated as well. Blood was flowing out of her lips because she was biting down on it too hard, and her reddening eyes were staring at the motherfucker that had barely endured her attack.

I finally understood why the Order’s leader was muttering that she was a demon when he saw her. She indeed looked like one.

“Die… die… I will kill you. I will kill you.”

I naturally realized she wasn’t in a normal state because of her self-talk. Still, I spoke because I thought she would hear what I was saying, but my mind was blurred.

‘Huh?’

It wasn’t because my stamina was exhausted. Jung Hayan had applied something to my state.

‘What, you… why all of a sudden…’

Only then did I realize what my appearance was like.

She probably thought it could affect my psyche if I continued staying in that condition. That was why she cast some sort of sleep magic on me.

I wished that was the case and that she didn’t have a different purpose.

I hoped not to be cursed by the mad wizard once I opened my eyes. I tried to awaken my blurry mind as much as possible, but there couldn’t be any other way.

I admired the leader of the Order for standing in the midst of that.

‘Yes, you asshole. You can overcome it… You even sold your soul…to the demon… so you have to endure… this kind of attack. Fuck, I mean it. You have to push that attack away before you die.’

Craaaaccckllee!

He was gradually sinking into the ground. Naturally, the agglomeration of magic power hit the wall.

Craaaaaaaassshhhhh!

‘No!!!’

I was on the verge of losing my mind.

It was possible to see her magic as a natural disaster completely destroying one side of the wall.

‘Hayan… you’ve grown so much. Fuck…’

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnggggggg!!!

“…”

“…”

“…”

* * *

“Fuck!”

The moment I woke up, I was in the hospital room as usual. I didn’t know how many days I slept, but my body was quite stiff.

“Y-You’re up, Lee Kiyoung.”

As I turned my head at the voice, I could see Elena looking at me with a reddish expression.

Her breathing was rough as if she ran. It was almost like she was surprised. I didn’t know why she was taking the lead, but she seemed very embarrassed.

Even her sweat-soaked hair looked oddly alluring.

I realized that it had been a long time since I last saw her with a completely different look than her usual appearance. I had already contacted her in advance through the Goddess’s Hand Mirror, but seeing her in person was much better.

One could say not much could’ve changed that much in a year, but she had grown more mature than before.

“Ah… long time no see, Elena. When did you arrive?”

If I had been alone, I would have cursed a lot. The scene I saw before I went unconscious was still vivid. However, when I heard about the situation through Elena, my anger toward Jung Hayan disappeared.

“Jung Hayan… picked me up. She said that you fainted… and urgently told me to come with her. That’s how I arrived faster than expected. Hee-young and Jeong-yeon from the guild also came. Also, Sora…”

“…”

“…”

‘Okay, Hayan… you didn’t do anything wrong.’

She must’ve been the most surprised.

She was the one who still lacked the ability to maintain judgment in unexpected situations, so I couldn’t really blame her. She wouldn’t have had the time to think of anything other than the thought of killing the enemy and saving me.

I didn’t know if it’s because I hadn’t heard the exact size of the damage yet… But for the time being, I was forced to agree with a bad taste in my mouth.

“Ah… I see.”

“Yes, at first, she talked gibberish, and I couldn’t understand her properly, but… thanks to her, I was able to get here on time.”

‘She must have cried a lot too.’

I couldn’t have known since I was unconscious, but I could deduce what kind of state she was in.

“More importantly, Lee Kiyoung, can I examine you to check if there is anything wrong? You’ve been in your silver-haired state for three days… of course, there seems to be nothing wrong only by looking at you, but I think it might be a little different inside.”

“What?”

“Fortunately, after the priests of the Benignore Church came, you came back to your original form, but…”

‘Ah… fuck. I didn’t change my class and passed out.’

“Yes, of course. However, it doesn’t seem like there is anything wrong with my mind or body. Perhaps… How long have I been asleep?”

“Four days.”

‘It seems that I stay in bed for more than three days once I pass out. There seems to be no reason for me to remain unconscious for so long… Does my Doom state consume more stamina than I thought?’

I thought it might be because Jung Hayan’s magic was too strong as well. My physical strength was so weak that I wanted to increase the possibility of the former rather than the latter.

No matter how much Belial looked for my convenience and supported me, it wasn’t easy to accept the power of a devil with a human body. The Order’s appearance was a very good indicator of what it was really like to be intoxicated by a demon.

‘It would be better not to use it as a habit.’

Even while lost in thoughts, Elena was checking my body with a serious face.

However, since Benignore had already switched my class, it would be impossible to find other side effects. After a few minutes, she nodded reassuringly.

“Fortunately, I don’t think there’s anything wrong. However, it seems that your physical strength has fallen a lot, so it would be better to take a supplement for the time being. Of course, don’t skip meals. I would like you to refrain from staying up all night and doing hard tasks.”

“If possible, I will. Only after this job is done properly.”

“If you say this job…”

“What happened to District 5? And securing the identity of Mikhail or Natalie… I’m curious about what happened to the post-processing of the incident. If there is anything you know, I would like you to tell me everything.”

“Sigh… It would be better to hear it from other people than from me. They’re all outside right now, but they’ll probably gather soon after contacting them. They went out only for a second…”

“Okay.”

“Before that, it was so sudden that I couldn’t tell you, but… I-I’m really happy to see you after such a long time.”

“Yes, I’m happy too.”

I could feel her warmth as she hugged me tightly for a moment.

As if she was ashamed, she went outside with a reddish face. Certainly, a person who was innocent a year ago was still innocent a year later. That aside, there was only silence in the hospital room after Elena left.

‘Everyone must be here.’

Perhaps it wasn’t just Elena.

‘Sun Hee-young and Hwang Jeong-yeon should be here too…’

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Yoo Ah-young, who had come with Elena, must’ve arrived as well. Park, Ki, Lee, the revolutionary three, Cho Hyejin and Jung Hayan, were together before I passed out. They wouldn’t have gone elsewhere. Maybe the news reached Kim Chang-ryul as well.

Even Jung Hayan’s best friend, Han Sora, must’ve been around by that time.

And…

‘Kim Hyunsung, that bastard must be here too, right?’

He probably was.

Even though he never called or answered me during his closed training, there was no way he wouldn’t come since I was lying in the hospital room.

‘I did so much for him… if he doesn’t come, then he’s really trashy.’

If they had reached him, he would come running right away, right? Looking at the list next to me, I saw the names of the people who visited me.

The people who went in and out as a habit like last time were most noticeable.

Among them, it was Jung Hayan that had the most overwhelming share. Surprisingly, seeing that I didn’t see Lee Jihye’s name very much, I deduced that the post-work was harder than expected.

‘Huh? Hee-ra also came.’

Yuno Kasugano’s name was also written on it. Guild members also stopped by as a group… It was noteworthy that the representatives from the State also came.

However, no matter how much I looked, Kim Hyunsung’s name wasn’t there. I was about to feel a bit disappointed at that point. On the third day after I was released from the Doom state, I saw his name.

[Visitor List]

[10/24]

[Kim Hyunsung] 08:43 AM - 5:50 PM

It seemed that he had been stuck with me all day long before the Benignore Church sent the priesthood to resolve my Doom state issue.

He didn’t spend just a few hours. Rather, he spent all day in the room, making me think that he was indeed extremely worried. Didn’t he actually arrive before I was released from the Doom state?

‘Would it have been okay?’

It was also worth noting that the person who forced me to be stuck in my other class had been visiting for a long time.

In any case, it was clear that she exceeded her authority, but it seemed to have been tolerated to some extent by others. I naturally formed a satisfying smile. It was because I thought she had been supporting me day and night.

The efforts I made after coming to the North were not in vain. With that alone, a warm feeling bloomed in my heart.

Just as I was to feel pleasantly relaxed, an anxiety-inducing thought stirred in my head.

‘Ah… it’s going to be annoying again.’

The problem was that my movement was restricted, as in the last confinement case. I thought that the post-work after the end of the incident was more important than the job itself.

In particular, since many issues had to be dealt with in absolutely necessary. I had to know who was the demon contracted by the Order and how they were able to get into the 5th District.

Most of all, I had to prevent the lovely regressor from accessing the evidence as much as possible, as the Order and Mikhail might have faked some information about me.

‘Rather, you shouldn’t have come.’

It was a sudden change of stance, but I couldn’t help it.

I had to be concerned about my safety to a certain extent, but it was obvious that it would be bothersome in to me. Just as I sighed and put the list of visitors back to its original position…

“Kiyoung! Kiyoung!”

With that voice, the lovely regressor kicked the door open and popped out.

‘Hyunsung, fuck… I was just passed out.’

I hadn’t seen him in nine whole months.