Chapter 783: The Last (16)

“We are not the only ones that need to prepare.”

“…”

“Humans must as well.”

Belial was busy fiddling with a cube. It was difficult to take my gaze from it half-floating in the air and moving by itself.

“That means…”

“The human that signed a contract with Ronove will once again bring everything back to the beginning.”

“…”

“That’s why they should prepare too. Although Ronove belonged to the 27th Corps, that is now a story of the past. She already has her own legion and, strictly speaking, might be stronger than the former me. Besides… She seems to be favorable towards her own contractor, just like I am with you. The terms of the contract wouldn’t have been that complicated.”

“Hmm…”

“I don’t feel like it’s impossible. We won the war against those flies, but that was a head-on fight. I wouldn’t have acted like that.”

“…”

“There is no reason to win the war if one really wants to go back to the beginning. What else can be as enjoyable and entertaining as ruining someone without any conditions or interests? No justification, no reason, no gains or losses after the war, no post-processing, nothing to worry about.”

“I think I understand what you’re talking about.”

“You just have to smash everything how you see it fit. It won’t probably be difficult for humans like you or her. There’s nothing as scary as those who have such disgusting souls lumped together. Hence, the people of the continent should also be prepared. I don’t want this dimension to go back to the start.”

“N-Neither do I. It seems that Elune is still wondering whether or not to come… The risk is high, isn’t it, Junior Lee Kiyoung?”

“You’re more demon-like than an actual demon, Benignore. How about changing your business type in this event?”

“…”

“…”

“Anyway, if you want, I’ll contact her, but… there is no guarantee that it will have a positive impact. How…”

‘Is it impossible to contact Ronove?’

“No. I don’t think you need to contact her yet.”

Considering that Lucifer really cherished Ronove, direct contact would be dangerous.

‘I would cherish her too. Fuck.’

Who wouldn’t be fond of a talent who climbed through the ranks at high speeds, reaching Corps commander from Corps member?

Given that such a case was unusual no matter the place, it wasn’t strange that she liked Ronove.

The simplest hypothesis that could be inferred was…

‘Is there any chance that Lucifer is behind it?’

It would be impossible for her to get involved directly, but I couldn’t reject the possibility of her meddling indirectly.

Of course, that was only considering the relationship of Ronove and Lucifer. It might not have anything to do with Jihye.

In fact, I couldn’t imagine that Lee Jihye could be used by Lucifer. I didn’t know what Lucifer wanted, but it was likely that their interests simply coincided.

If the two actually met, then they might be preparing to backstab each other.

‘Maybe she knows the content of our bet. I don’t think Lucifer persuaded her, but…’

When did she plan to move?

She didn’t have enough time to say it was long, but it wasn’t so short that it was impossible to do a build-up at all. If Lee Jihye were really planning something, she would have enough time to lay the groundwork to some extent.

About six months had passed, making me wonder if I could say that something was starting to happen.

‘If you ask if the continent is ready, then, no…’

They were in a hectic situation dealing with the post-war mess. It was too short to heal the wounds, and above all, they didn’t know about the new threat.

Jung Hayan was busy collecting divinity by making the old men and novice wizards in the magic tower idolize her.

-I-I-I am the Goddess of Magic. I-I mean… I think I’ve become the Goddess of Magic.

-Jung Hayan?

-L-Listen to me! I am the Goddess of Magic!

‘I don’t think that’s the way to do it.’

-You have to pray. You h-have to pray to me. S-Sora is an angel that serves me, okay?

-Jung Hayan… Suddenly…

-Do you understand?

-Yes… Hahaha. Yes, we understand, Jung Hayan.

-You have to pray to me every time you use magic. The same goes for S-Sora. F-First, please follow me. I’ll show you what kind of magic the Goddess of Magic uses. Oh… Before that, you have to pray first. Pray.

-Um… how…

-I don’t know but pray for now. Deliver a true, sincere prayer.

The old men at the magic tower who looked at Jung Hayan with warm eyes were praying as she told them, but it was hard to accumulate divinity.

Of course, it would work to some extent, but I could assure anyone that it wouldn’t be enough to get up here.

However, Jung Hayan kept giggling from the small effect.

Sora, who was next to her, couldn’t figure out what was going on.

-W-What do you think, Sora?

-Ah… Yes. I… Yeah…

-If you don’t like the title magic angel, would you like to be called something else?

-Ah… Yes. I’ll think about it.

Cha Hee-ra was busy drinking and sleeping all day long.

Those who participated in the war went into a long break thinking that the battle was finally over, and in Kim Hyunsung’s case, he spent most of the time in front of the statue.

He seemed to be snooping around, thinking that there would be some other way, but none appeared.

Honestly, he had been living a pretty hard life.

He thought he would get a hint after building a temple and a statue, but he felt frustrated upon seeing the results because nothing changed.

-I’m thinking of going into the Mirror Lake, Kiyoung. I might find a way to revive you inside the waves of dimensions.

“…”

It became a habit for him to return to the statue and talk to himself early in the morning or after work.

It was hard to explain, but he seemed to be having a mental problem. If I hadn’t corrected him to some extent using the Regressor Instruction Manual, he might have become disabled.

“Junior Kiyoung. W-why don’t we ask the god of sunset light for help? You can explain the situation here to him. Your abilities are limited, but you can convey your voice. Tell him that the continent is in danger. Tell him… to bring you back to life…”

“No, that’s stupid. He can’t say that because of the disgusting things he’s done so far. What’s he going to say?”

‘Right. Belial is right. To ask that I want to come back to life is a bit… I’ve already said all of those things down there too. It’ll feel weird… and more than anything…’

It would be difficult for Kim Hyunsung to find another way. I was thinking based on it in the first place, so I didn’t give Kim Hyunsung any other explanation.

I was having a hard time figuring out what was going on, exactly what to do, and how I could go back. I expected that part of the bet with Lucifer was taking an important place, but everything else was shrouded in fog.

There was no guarantee that it would be beneficial to Kim Hyunsung to know the situation here.

No, I could bet I would have many things to lose.

He wasn’t a completely unrelated third party. He was the subject and the principal agent of the bet. When I instructed Kim Hyunsung to do something, strictly speaking, it could fix the match between Lucifer and me.

‘That’s why it’s not possible to know what the penalty is.’

In fact, besides that, there was a small reason that didn’t need to be explained.

“T-Then, should I send an oracle? I-I can’t afford it right now, though…”

‘I don’t know…’

Since things haven’t happened yet, I couldn’t figure out what to say.

In fact, Jihye’s aspirations weren’t weak enough to be put a stop to with just a simple oracle.

‘Will it be ready by sending an oracle to make everyone prepare?’

No matter what Benignore did, she wouldn’t be able to manage it.

The oracle to prepare for the invasion of the outer god was convincing since it was an external threat. How would I explain the kind of invasion stemming from someone like Lee Jihye?

It was the same as ordering them to prepare for a growing disease inside.

They could be careful, but they wouldn’t know what kind of disease they were preparing for, and I could bet that it would win before they could fully counter it in that sense.

‘How do I stop her?’

I needed hands and feet.

It seemed I needed a way to influence the continent.

‘I have to stop the masked trash, who is burning with revenge.’

I didn’t think I could stop Lee Jihye in this state. If sending a few oracles was all I would do to intervene, I could never stop her. I didn’t know if we could even fight, and it was like playing a game of chess without the knights and the pawns.

If Jihye were just any random villain, I wouldn’t care much, but I was nervous since she was the masked trash. Belial’s voice reached me as I tapped my thighs.

“Isn’t that the point?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Don’t you have to find a human who will be your limbs?”

“Well, it’s similar.”

‘Originally, that was going to be Jihye. Fuck.’

“It will be easier to talk to them if you did.”

‘How does that make it easier?’

“It’s going to have to be a bit of an investment, but it’s going to be more profitable than fixing it after things happen.”

“How can it be done?”

Benignore and Belial made eye contact. Benignore, confused at first, began agreeing with him with a bright smile soon after.

“Oh… Right! There’s a way!”

‘What is it? Why are only you guys having fun? Fuck, let me have some fun too.’

“Tell me, please.”

“You’ve still got a long way ahead of you, considering you don’t even know something so basic…”

‘You couldn’t even remember it until just a little while ago.”

“Think. What are the ways we can influence humans?”

“Through quests? Oracles?”

“Too much. In this space right now, it’s impossible to send quests… It’s hard to constantly look after things like oracles or advents. It doesn’t fit into our budget too… Both are correct answers, but not exactly the answer that you need. What is the way to continuously take care of the continent? Think again, junior Lee Kiyoung.”

Pretending to be my senior, she looked confident, but unfortunately, it was impossible to respond to that riddle. Benignore urgently spoke as she looked at Belial as if asking for a quick answer.

“I’ll tell you!”

“…”

“A warrior.”

“Ah…”

“We have to send a holy sword. It’s about setting up a representative of the gods.”

Just in time, I saw a person walking in front of the statue.

“…”

“…”

“In her case, she would be our Holy Lance.”

-How are you, Vice Guild Master? No…

“…”

-Kiyoung.

With this, I could see Cho Hyejin speaking quietly.