Chapter 349. Choice

Chi-Woo conversed with Purupuru about various topics even after that. To sum up their conversation, the Demon Empire was currently reorganizing their ranks and settling their internal strife to recover and bounce back from their tremendous loss. The important part was that Purupuru received a relocation notice. Even though it was the decision of the General Assembly of Great Demons, she was also a great demon. Semi-forcing Purupuru to relocate was inconsistent with the culture of the Demon Empire, which advocated a feudal system.

Thus, this could mean that the Demon Empire was preparing something momentous that they would even break the rules they had been upholding for. Considering Shersha’s fall and the fact that the few great demons who supported her hadn’t been called to the General Assembly recently, it would be naive to believe that it would benefit humanity. Moreover, Chi-Woo got a bit of information about the Abyss as well.

Purupuru said, “I don’t know how they’re doing these days. But during the last General Assembly I was called to, I heard that the King’s faction had succeeded in gaining control of the Abyss. Since this information came from the higher-ups, I’m sure of its legitimacy.”

Chi-Woo clearly saw Evelyn's left hand clench on her thigh. Although she still had her usual calm smile on, her gaze was intense.

Since it was obvious that she wanted to ask more about the situation but was holding it in, Chi-Woo asked for her instead, “That’s surprising. May I ask for more details about how this occurred?”

“I only heard it from others, so I don’t know the exact details, but it’s something that’s been predetermined to a certain extent. Since the Moon Witch went missing after a war against us, the balance of power had been disrupted.”

The Abyss had a joint alliance, the Two Monarchs Three-Six Alliance. While the Demon Empire led their faction with 66 demons, the Abyss led their faction with the Two Monarchs Three-Six Alliance, which consisted of the queen and king, as well as the three and six figureheads who followed them respectively. Evelyn was originally on the Queen’s side, but her disappearance had decreased the Queen’s followers from three to two. With the King’s side retaining all six of his subordinates, it was only natural that the power would lean further toward his side.

Evelyn sighed quietly and gave Chi-Woo a look of appreciation, like she was content with this much information. Chi-Woo nodded. He was able to get much more than expected, and if he relayed this to his brother, he might be able to get a sense of where they should go. However, his thoughts became more conflicted after gaining a few pieces of information; in the end, he and his brother had been right. Something was about to happen—something terrible that they couldn’t even imagine at the moment.

All the forces fighting for Liber’s hegemony were quiet as mice and reorganizing their internal structures as if they had all met up and come to an agreement beforehand. The reason why they were reorganizing was to enact a certain plan. Given that the different factions were dealing with serious opposition internally, the scale of the plan must be considerable; actually, it would be more likely to be monumental. Therefore, they needed to prepare before this unidentified crisis came to reality—whatever it was.

‘But it’s not the worst case scenario yet.’ It would be a lie if Chi-Woo said he wasn’t anxious, but he saw a silver lining. Moreover, these weren’t the only pieces of information that Chi-Woo obtained tonight. Chi-Woo saw the Demon Empire with a slightly different perspective today, or to be more exact, the great demon Purupuru. It was the same as Earth. Even those who harbored hatred for a country couldn’t possibly say that all its citizens were bad. It was a great achievement just to confirm that there was a great demon with whom they could communicate and cooperate among the Demon Empire.

Chi-Woo decided to get up for now. Could he really trust her? He still didn’t have complete faith, but there was no other choice. But above all, the fact that Purupuru said “we” intermittently made a deep impression on him. All the great demons he met so far only sought personal gain, but she wasn’t like them. It was the first time he saw a great demon who emphasized a sense of community. It was worth putting his expectation on her for just being different.

Chi-Woo said, “Then, may I…”

“Ah, yes! I’ve been holding all of you for too long.”

* * *

After receiving permission to move freely in Purupuru’s fortress, the expedition members headed to their destination as soon as they left the citadel.

“It’s here. It should be around here.” They set up an altar in the area Hawa pointed out, and a ritual was held. Soon, mysterious light particles fluttered wildly, revealing a huge mirage-like tower. It was now the second time Chi-Woo saw the Narsha Haram.

“We’re going in.” Led by Hawa, the expedition team opened the door and entered the tower. The first floor was the same as last time, but one difference was that there were no enemies attacking them at every opportunity. In the back of their mind, they hoped a little bit that the rewards would be reset, but naturally, there was nothing of the sort either.

Thanks to this, Hawa passed through the maze easily while looking at the ceiling, and Yunael expressed her admiration, “It’s an interesting place, but why is it so quiet?”

“We swept the place clean the last time we visited, and we should be happy that it’s so quiet.”

“Ah, why? I wanted to warm up before we move on.”

“They’re difficult to handle once they start showing up. Remembering how everyone was forced to go on with serious injuries…” When Chi-Woo visibly shivered, Yunael’s expression also changed. If Chi-Woo was showing such a visible reaction, she thought she shouldn’t judge this place lightly. After some time, the expedition team arrived at the seventh room. This was the end of the previous expedition. Chi-Woo paused for a moment in front of the stairs leading to the upper floor. Then he stared at the slightly dented iron door.

The last time he was here, he thought he heard it open just before they left, but now that he saw it again, it was firmly shut. Chi-Woo remembered how he had felt an unknown sense of foreboding and had quickly escaped. However, he wasn’t afraid this time, since he was different from back then. With his current team members and as he was now, Chi-Woo was confident that they would be able to get through the first floor relatively safer than before. Of course, he shouldn’t let down his guard even so. After all, his destination was also different this time. He needed to go to the second floor, not the first floor, and the difficulty must have increased accordingly.

“Everyone, be prepared.” Chi-Woo’s tone changed, and all members of the team tensed up in response. Yunael, who had gotten good gloves during her time in Ho Lactea, took the lead. She inhaled and exhaled deeply while glancing sideways. When Chi-Woo nodded, she exhaled again and opened the door. Just as when she was about to lift her spear—

“Uh?” She blinked, a shrill sound escaping from her lips.

The surrounding environment changed rapidly as soon as the door was opened, like when meeting a god alone in their divine space whenever they raised a tier. They thought they would be entering a maze-like space like the first floor, but the place had transformed into an indescribable metaphysical space where everything was white. Chi-Woo was also taken aback, but he tried to remain calm and quickly looked around.

—You’re here.

Then a soft and mysterious voice rang in everyone’s ears; it was a familiar voice—Mamiya’s voice.

—This is not the second floor. Although it’s inside the tower, it’s just a space I created temporarily.

Chi-Woo understood the situation after hearing Mamiya’s explanation; at the same time, a question arose. Dalgil had to go through numerous hardships and trials to get what he wanted here; naturally, Chi-Woo also thought he needed to go through the same process, like when he used the Kobalos’ magic fire pit. Since Mamiya valued courage, adventure, and harmony, Chi-Woo thought he needed to show these values by overcoming corresponding ordeals. However, his prediction seemed wrong judging by how Mamiya created a space temporarily and invited them. But he couldn’t be happy about it because no matter what, he needed to pay the price in some way.

“Thank you for listening to my request, God Mamiya.” Chi-Woo organized his thoughts and bowed. “I heard there’s a door somewhere on the second floor of Narsha Haram that lets one go anywhere. We wish to use that door to go to our destination and come back.”

—I’ve heard your story.

Mamiya answered calmly, and then a long silence followed. Chi-Woo tilted his head as the silence continued. First, there was no doubt that the door existed. There must be a reason Mamiya sent a divine command and called them here; no god would be bored enough to pull such a prank on them. However, Mamiya remained quiet as if he was feeling conflicted and troubled.

“We wish to use that door. No, we have to use it. No matter what the ordeal is, at any cost…” Chi-Woo couldn’t wait any longer and opened his mouth first.

—I understand. Your justification is excellent, and I’m not against it either…

Chi-Woo didn’t miss the way Mamiya trailed off. It felt like he was going to add ‘but’ or ‘however’ at the end. But Mamiya did not. After a brief pause, he continued.

—You don’t have to overcome trials like on the first floor.

Chi-Woo, who had been secretly nervous, widened his eyes.

—You don’t need to pay a price either.

He doubted his ears and then—

Whoooosh!

There was a loud noise and a brilliant light. The dazzling light formed an oval shape in the air, and the interior of the space was colored with a brilliant luster. The wavering glow of light looked like the dimension portal that had appeared when they used Kobalos’ magic fire pit. Chi-Woo closed his eyes tightly and opened them. Only then did reality hit him. Mamiya really opened the door for them.

—By crossing the door, your hardships and trials will be substituted.

Mamiya’s voice continued.

—In addition, you will pay a suitable price.

They weren’t words that Chi-Woo could easily forget. Mamiya had just delivered a very important piece of information. To summarize, their reward and trial had merely switched places, and Mamiya was indirectly telling them that their journey to get what they wanted wouldn’t be easy. Therefore, nothing really changed in the end.

—You must understand what I mean.

Mamiya confirmed Chi-Woo’s thoughts. Chi-Woo was about to ask for more details, but he swallowed his words after recalling his time with Shersha. Leaking a cause and effect that would determine the fate of the world was one of the highest sins; even Mamiya probably couldn’t tell him more even if he wanted. However, this was unexpected. Chi-Woo didn’t think this event would be that important.

—Make your choice.

Would he endure the hardships and trials that were bound to come and run towards his goal, or calmly withdraw? Although his answer was already decided, Chi-Woo closed his eyes and focused on his intuition in case he sensed anything. However, it was quiet again. He just felt that he needed to do this for the future. Chi-Woo soon opened his eyes and said, “I’ll be back.”

—…You’ve made a choice, but you’ll have to choose again in the future.

—In a sense, that will be the real ordeal for you.

Mamiya said a few sentences with ambiguous meanings.

—I’ll allow it.

—However, I have two conditions.

—First, I’ll allow you to go and come back using that door, but I can’t wait long.

—I’ll give you a signal with the token. As soon as you receive the signal, you must get back without delay.

The door was not going to be there forever, and this meant that there would be a time limit. They needed to come back after achieving their goal while the door still existed. Otherwise they would be left stranded. Chi-Woo swallowed the question he was about to ask. Mamiya had told him he had two conditions; it wouldn’t be too late to ask his question after Mamiya finished talking.

—The second is…there are seven in total.

Chi-Woo belatedly realized that Mamiya was referring to the number of expedition members.

—This door is for the seven of you.

—Therefore, there should also be seven of you when you return.

—Every single one of you will have to safely get back without a single person missing.

—Only then will the door open.

Chi-Woo could understand the reason behind the first condition, but the second condition was puzzling. “May I ask why? Anything is fine, so would you give me a little more detail?” Chi-Woo asked politely, but no matter how long he waited, silence was Mamiya’s only answer; it meant that he couldn’t say anything about this. Chi-Woo had asked on the off chance that he could get more information, but as expected, he couldn’t. He was about to give up on hope when he heard Mamiya’s voice again.

—Originally, I didn’t want to suggest it.

—I didn’t want to issue a divine command either. But…

—If…if you can succeed.

—Although it should be impossible, if you can really bring about a result that everyone wants…

—After looking at the future that will open up…I can’t bring myself to stop you.

Flash, a glow appeared in front of Chi-Woo’s eyes.

—With respect, I’ll put my hope in you and make this request.

The glow fell into the palm of his hand, and Chi-Woo grasped the token tight. Mamiya’s words were enough to erase his doubts; his brother’s request hadn’t been wrong. This was definitely something that must be done—for the future that he desired and wanted.

“Thank you. I’ll do my best to meet your expectations.” After saying his greetings, he stood in front of the wavering cluster of lights for a moment. There was no need to falter anymore. Chi-Woo stepped forward without hesitation.

* * *

For a while, the feeling of being sucked into another place swept over them. Although Chi-Woo felt nauseous, he endured and waited, and this sensation soon came to an end. Once he got out of the light, someone hit him on the back.

“Ouch! I almost threw up. Hey, move out of the way. Ah, I feel so dizzy…” Yunael stumbled and took a few breaths before smirking. “Anyway, there are really all sorts of gods.”

“What? Are you talking about God Mamiya?”

“Yeah. He told us to come back without a single person missing. He’s telling us all to come back alive without anyone dyi—pwef.” Yunael stopped mid-sentence and took a sharp breath. With a frown, she hunched her shoulders. “Hmm, it’s a bit cold, isn’t it? Where are we…?” She looked around after finally coming to her senses. And soon enough, Chi-Woo and all the other expedition members became flustered.