The Protagonists Are Murdered By Me Chapter 34: 171-175, a 13 tzameti fanfic

After expelling Baek So-hwi and disbanding the Cheonma Sect, Yoo Seodam and his party headed straight for Kunlun Mountain Range.

Kunlun Mountain Range, which was called the pillar of the world's roof, was also known as the 'root of dragon veins' since ancient times, and was the cleanest and most sacred place in the whole continent.

4000m above the sea level, In the 'Jade Mountain' of Kunlun mountain range, which was also called the wildest but most beautiful peak in the world,

"Die! Die!"

"You idiots who use dirty magic dare to talk about martial arts?"

"HAHA! Do you think we don't know that you guys also came here seeking for those dirty magic?"

Humans, who were nothing but insignificant creatures, were shoving their swords at their opponents, defiling the holiness of the jade mountain.

Even the night sky above was drenched in blood red as tens of thousands Murim warriors gathered with their own goal in mind. Even though they were once colleagues and friends, hesitation was the least thing they were concerned about as they wielded their swords aiming for each other's throats.

Hundreds of Murim warriors had already lost their lives. But no one cared about such things. They only care about procuring the divine object of Kunlun Sect which could make their own sect and themselves grow even more stronger. Warriors of Murim was originally like this. Once you expose their internal nature, you'll instantly see just how disgusting they truly are regardless of their Sect or Faction.

"The war has grown bigger than I thought." Yoo Seodam spoke. On his side Seol Jungyeon nodded in agreement.

"Do all the wars in Murim look like this?" Taylor said with a frown on her face. She clearly didn't like the situation before her.

"No." Seol Jungyeon shook her head. "Murim also has its own rules and manners. At the very least, when they meet the strong, they will respect each other… The warriors here don't even ask each other's names."

Yoo Seodam frowned at the bloodbath before him. It was true that he was the one who incited this war. But he had only aimed to create a small conflict to serve as a smokescreen for his purpose of coming here, retrieving the Magic Orb. After all, from what he knew, no matter how violent Murim warriors are, they wouldn't wage war as violent as this.

There's a chance that all of this violence stem from other demons who had also come to Murim.

"Should we stop them?" Seol Jungyeon asked. Her eyes were looking at Yoo Seodam.

"Yes Noonim."

They only need this war as a smokescreen. Now that they had already arrived at Jade Mountain, the war could end for all he cares.

"I see." Seol Jungyeon said as she unsheathed her sword from her waist.

And then with a knowing smile, Yoo Seodam said to Taylor. "Hey. You are in charge of directing."

"What are you talking about?"

However, no further explanation was necessary. Because right away, things happened.

With just one leap, a thunderous roar echoed through the battlefield. All the warriors stopped fighting and focused their eyes on a woman with a small stature who just arrived. Her platinum hair flutters like a sunset as her eyes staring at the battlefield.

Where the hell did she come from?

What the hell is that presence?

Before anyone even ask the question out loud, someone in the crowd shouted.

"Th..the Supreme Cheonma… Seol Jungyeon!!!"

A Supreme being who had reached the realm of Hyunkyung as well as the woman who once ruled the world. The strongest being in the whole Murim had appeared in front of them.

In an instant, the swords of all Murim warriors, regardless of their affiliation, turned towards her. But even though she received their attention, she silently raised her head toward where the Kunlun Sect's palace was located.

"Open the way."

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At her words, tens of thousands of Murim warriors were shaken. The thoughts of continuing the war or fighting against her had completely vanished from their head.

Seeing such a scene, Yoo Seodam's expression hardened. 'In case they still have the guts to fight, we are going to be in trouble, right?'

Seol Jungyeon had indeed reached the realm of Hyunkyung but in the end she was only one person. There's no way she could win against tens of thousands Murim warriors who had reached at least the realm of Peak-Rank Expert. That's why, some kind of 'impact' was needed.

From somewhere high in the sky.

A 'pillar of light' suddenly fell down.

Thud!!

"Ugh?!"

"What, what!"

The pillar of light didn't only strike once. It kept falling wherever people were gathered and separated them.

Meanwhile, Seol Jungyeon silently walked between the pillars of light, and the terrified Murim warriors all made way for her.

It was all possible because Yoo Seodam had taken advantage of the victim's psychology.

Let's say there are thirty adult men who were taken hostage by a terrorist with only seven bullets in his gun. If all of them attacked the terrorists at once, at least 23 people could survive. But the hostages wouldn't do that. No, to be exact they couldn't. Because they knew if they go first, they'll die.

With an overwhelming impact and a psychological horror, the Murim warriors all scurried away from Seol Jungyeon's path as if they were recreating the miracle of Moses separating the Red Sea. None of them stopped her. None of them dare to stand in the way of the Supreme Cheoma who walked leisurely towards Kunlun's palace.

This was 'fear'. A true Expert's fear which suppresses even the anger created by a demon's power.

The war seemed to end for now, and Yoo Seodam and Taylor hurriedly ran towards Seol Jungyeon.

After reaching the peak of Jade Mountain. Yoo Seodam and his party could finally see an octagonal pavilion. In front of it, someone was waiting for Yoo Seodam and his party just below the statue carved from a rock.

"What a grand entrance, Oh the great Supreme Cheonma." Do Cheol-ho, the oldest member of the Kunlun Sect said.

Seol Jungyeon nodded her head to greet him because they had known each other.

"You are also good at showing that shameless face of you."

At Seol Jungyeon's words, Do Cheol-ho smiled as his white hair fluttered.

"I just realized that the world was infinitely meaningless when I let go of all of my anguish."

"Is that why you join hands with a demon?"

"…!"

Do Cheol-ho's eyes widened for a moment before a smile once again bloomed on his face.

Yoo Seodam felt that his smile was different from earlier. It was as if it was a smile of something else, not a human.

'Is that the possessed body of this world?' Yoo Seodam thought. A demon had to possess someone in order to manifest. Perhaps, Do Cheol-ho had given himself to the demon. But is it possible for a sage who was drunk with power to be corrupted to such a degree?

"…Now that I see it, I see. You came from that world, 'Earth'."

Yoo Seodam was right. Do Cheol-ho's tone and atmosphere had completely changed. Without being taken aback, Yoo Seodam answered. "You are correct."

"Did you come here knowing that I was the one who opened the 'door' you were using? HAHAHAHA. Interesting, But I'm sorry, it would not work."

"Sorry? What are you talking about?"

"Earth is a clean world. It's a world hardly ever been invaded by a 'demon'. It seems like in the distant past, your people had driven demons away from your world, though back then demons still couldn't use their power properly." Do Cheol-ho said as if he was genuinely sorry.

It was a story unknown to Yoo Seodam. He also didn't believe it was true. So, he decided to not maintain his silence.

"Thousands of years since then. Earth still doesn't have any demons. However, not anymore. A demon, this me, has left footprints on Earth. Do you know what will happen next?" Do Cheol-ho showed off his pure white teeth. He's wickedly smiling.

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"Even if you dig the heart of this body and break the Magic Orb, the demons of Murim will eventually visit your Earth! The smell of this demon is so venomous, those jealous bastards can't stand not going to the world I've been to!"

At the same time, Do Cheol-ho pointed to the back of Yoo Seodam and his party.

Kuoooonngg!!

In the distance, beyond the mountain range, a huge figure resembling a shadow arose. It was as if the entire mountain peak was moving…. It sharply revealed its sharp teeth and bit the warriors of Murim. They collapsed to the ground, but no wounds could be seen on their body. However, they weren't fine either because what the demon had bit was their soul.

In another place, a huge cow pounded the mountain. The demon, whose feet were the only visible part of his body, had turned the entire terrain upside down and disappeared somewhere.

And up in the sky, as the sky darkened, an enormous pupil appeared. A face resembling a demon appeared from among the clouds, it giggled as it looked at the world, before disappearing.

That's right. This world had already been polluted by the existence of 'demons' long before the people of Earth set their foot here. They were always looking for an opportunity to devour the world, and they finally revealed themselves as the demon of Kunlun Sect started a war.

Seol Jungyeon's eyes captured the sight of the Murim people kneeling in despair at those overwhelming sight while Yoo Seodam looked at the scene without saying a word, and then met Do Cheol-ho's eyes again.

"That's right, you guys somehow have the means to resist my power. Killing me and destroying the Magic Orb will be an easy thing to do for you guys." Do Cheol-ho grinned. "But you see, humans cannot stop demons no matter what they try. After all, We, who are born from the negative emotions of humans, and grow up eating their souls, will never disappear from the humans' side."

Yoo Seodam maintained his silence. What the demon said was correct. Demons couldn't be destroyed unless a 'demon hunter' appears. But not just anyone could be a demon hunter.

In many worlds, when a demon appeared, the world's beloved 'protagonist' had no choice but to solve it. But as we all know, it was not a perfect solution. Protagonist might be able to prevent the world from being destroyed by the demon, but in the end, the world would still be destroyed because they consumed too much probability.

Of course, there are some exceptions here and there just like Aracelli who was destined for greatness and able to fight demons without being a protagonist.

But in Murim, was there someone like her?

Yoo Seodam didn't know. Probably, he wouldn't know until the very end. The only thing he could do right now was to get rid of the demon in front of him and break the magic ball.

But what if the demon's words were true?

Afterall, his plan to close the portal was just a temporary measure. If other demons come from another world, what should he do?

Knowing Yoo Seodam's complicated mind, Do Cheol-ho laughed.

"Do you understand now? So, stop doing meaningless things and go back to your world!"

The moment Do Cheol-ho shouted those words, the flow of the world suddenly began to gather somewhere.

"…"

It was 'probability' which no one could feel, so there were only two people in this place who were surprised at the phenomenon. It was Yoo Seodam and Do Cheol-ho. However, the phenomenon each of them felt wasn't the same.

Yoo Seodam sensed the 'birth of a story' while Do Cheol-ho sensed the 'death of the demon'.

"…this is, what…?" Do Cheol-ho stuttered. Demons never die. But they are not immortal. Even though it may seem impossible for humans to kill a demon, it doesn't mean there is no way at all. On the contrary, there were many ways to do it.

But, how? Who knows the way to 'kill' a demon which a demon itself didn't know?

When Do Cheol-ho looked into the air with bewildered eyes, Yoo Seodam smiled as if he wasn't surprised.

"Haha, it looks like you don't have to worry too much about what will happen after you are dead."

A message had popped up in front of Yoo Seodam's eyes.

['Baek So-Hwi' a level 219 character has been reborn as the Protagonist of 'Murim World'.]

[A new story begins to be written in this world.]

『The Tip of My Sword Pierces The Hearts of Demons』

#fusion_martial_arts #exhaustion #mental_growth

#grimdark #hero #gore

And as soon as he saw the message, a brilliant idea came to Yoo Se-dam's mind. It was an idea that could possibly prevent Murim from destruction

"So, just die quietly." Yoo Seodam said as Do Cheol-ho's expression distorted miserably.

(T/N my god… The POV is confusing… Let's just assume it's the POV of god.)

The symbol colour of the Cheonma Sect was always different from every generation. In the distant past, red was their colour, but in the Gal Hyuk-jun era, he used black as his symbol, and Seol Jungyeon, the former Cheonma, preferred red, but she threw away the red robes and changed it into pink.

Baek So-hwi, who loved Seol Jungyeon, chose the colour red to follow her master. But now, she decided not to use that colour any more since she had been excommunicated from the sect.

Baek So-hwi decided to use white as her current symbol colour. There was no reason behind her choice, but If she really had to give it a reason, maybe it was because white was a colour which didn't suit her even though her name also means white.

Her life had always been covered with black stains, and it was safe to say it was still like that until today. She felt her current life was the loneliest and most painful than it had ever been. Even more so after she realized it was she herself who was responsible for it.

How could she possibly apologize? Was an apology even possible? If she was in Seol Jungyeon's position, would she be able to forgive the person who tried to harm her beloved ones?

It was already close to a miracle that Seol Jungyeon forgave her and only excommunicated her from the sect without killing her. Had she been the one in Seol Jungyeon's shoes, she would have never forgiven her, ripped her limbs to shreds, and tossed her as prey for wild dogs.

'At the end of the day, I'm leaving after being taken care of by my Master until the very end.'

She was so devastated by the fact that she couldn't repay her master for every favour she had given her.

Why the hell was I born? What is the reason for my existence? Was I born just to live this kind of life? One that was miserable till the end? In that case, wouldn't it have been better not to be born? Just why do I exist in this cursed world?

Even if she tried to act fine, she couldn't do it.

As she walked through the quiet forest with such negative thoughts in her mind, 3 or 4 families were walking behind her.

Although her messy hair, dark circle under her eyes and tattered uniform made her look like a beggar, those who could feel how strong she was were still following her at a reasonable distance for their own safety.

Baek So-hwi didn't care about what they did and left them alone. Occasionally, when she caught the pregnant woman in the group sweating and struggling, Baek So-hwi would sit down by the roadside and rest. There was no meaning behind her stop, she just rested because she wanted to rest. Then they would follow her example from a distance of about 20 steps from her.

"Excuse me… You can have this…" A little boy cautiously approached her and handed her a water and rice cake piled up on top of a leaf. As Baek So-hwi silently stared at it, the kid opened his eyes and hurriedly approached her. Before he could get closer though, his parents immediately ran out and snatched the little boy on his neck.

"For…forgive us!"

"…."

Just like that, three days passed.

Swoooshhh!!

In a sudden shower, Baek So-hwi leaned against a pavilion on the side of the road. With its roof intact, the pavilion was a perfect place to hide from the rain. However, because the group was so afraid of her, they didn't come and were directly hit by the rain.

Looking at them, Baek So-hwi got up and spoke to them before heading to the corner. "Come on in, a pregnant lady should take good care of herself…"

No matter how frightening warriors of Murim were, they too were born from a womb. A pregnant woman could affect her baby's health if she keeps standing under the rain.

And when they entered the pavilion, all of them rested in silence while looking at Baek So-hwi's face from time to time. And after a few minutes passed, an old man, who became frustrated with the silence, broke the silence and tried his luck.

"…Excuse me. Are you a warrior of Murim?"

Baek So-hwi turned her head to meet his eyes as she heard his question. Then, without speaking even a word, she nodded.

"As expected! Your martial arts skills are no joke!"

Such blatant flattery was not good at all in the ear of Baek So-hwi, so she asked a question without even answering.

"……This road is dangerous because of bandits. For what reason do you cross this place?"

"That, that…"

The man hesitated for a moment.

"Our village has been attacked by bandits, and we don't have anywhere to go."

Baek So-hwi nodded. Now she understood why more than one family was following her.

'Was I like them in the past?'

Baek So-hwi vaguely recalled her parents. Probably, their situation was the same as her and her parents.

She could still remember it, in the night where lightning struck without stopping. Her father suddenly woke her up from her sleep and pushed her through the back door while telling her to run towards the west.

Without knowing English language, she ran through the road and saw a burning village on her back.

Those people were people who killed others for fun. They didn't hesitate to commit atrocities to the point it was hard to believe they were human just like her.

As the scoundrels gathered the women in the centre of the village and stabbed them with their swords, and crushed their heads, their immobile husbands could only scream in agony. They use that scream as a snack for drinking alcohol, and violating virgins. There were no words that could explain that sight except hell.

Baek So-hwi only managed to escape thanks to other children and wives who were unluckily caught.

And her parents? She knew how her parents would end up, but she decided not to think about it.

"…give the name of your village."

"Yes? Yes… the name is 'Green Forest'…"

It wasn't a very helpful answer. There were so many villages using such common names, they wouldn't even be written on the map.

"Tell me the location."

"It's a village a week walking distance to the west of here. You can find the village after crossing through 3 peaks and 1 valley. But, why…"

Now that she had heard the answer, she stopped talking to the old man.

Baek So-hwi was aware that what she was about to do was really meaningless. It's not worth it, and it's just a matter of venting her anger. No matter how many bandits she catches and burns, she wouldn't be able to get rid of all of them, so it won't do much to the world…

'But if I don't do this, I won't find any reason to live anymore.'

And so,

Baek So-hwi decided to draw her sword, just like what she normally did.

"Please… Please spare my life… I won't show myself in front of the warriors of Murim ever again!"

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Most of the bandits she had killed said the same things just before her sword reaped their life. Even though she could not speak any advanced vocabulary, Baek So-hwi found their words to be very boring.

"You bandits really have no pride. Tell me where your boss is."

"Th…then, i…if I tell you…"

"I'll kill you painlessly."

Naturally, she had no choice but to return similar answers to their similar words. By the time she felt déjà vu creeping in, Baek So-hwi realized the bandit's eyes were gazing not on her but to a different place.

He's waiting for someone.

'Let's she who's the bastard is.'

Thinking that it could save her from the trouble of visiting the man in person, Baek So-hwi decided to wait.

Then suddenly, with a rumble, the forest parted. A group of hundreds of bandits appeared from within. Among them, one giant man who was almost 3m tall walked towards Baek So-hwi with an earth-shaking gait and stood in front of her. On his shoulder was an enormous ax which should be too heavy for even 3 adults to carry.

"Are you the head of these filthy bastards?"

"…a cheeky bitch blabbering her snout. I'm the lord of these guys, Mount Tae Severing Axe, Do Jung-hyeok, a member of the seventy-two clans of Nokrim."

"Lord" Baek So-hwi let out a soft smile. He dares to use the term 'Lord' in front of someone who used to be Lord of Cheonma sect? Arrogant!

The greatest axe to cut a mountain. It's not a baseless confidence. Afterall, people who belonged to seventy-two clans of Nokrim which were also called the elite in the Green Forest, are known for their strong martial arts which rivalled even a Peak-Rank Expert. So, what about their heads? At the very least, he should be at the level of High-Peak Rank Expert.

(T/N Nokrim~ Tell me on discord guys, I'll change it if anyone knows about it.)

It wouldn't be enough to make his name widely known in the vast Murim, but it would have been difficult for him to find a suitable match.

However,

Swooosh!!

"Keeaaaaaaaaak!"

His rank wasn't uncommon in Murim. And not recognizing the strong when he was clearly the weak one is a serious sin.

"Kuuuuhhh…"

As the entirety of his right arm was cut off in an instant, Do Jung-hyeok looked at Baek So-hwi with trembling eyes. Her pure white sword looks ordinary, he thought he could simply cut it off with his axe.

'Why is it so hard…!'

His heavy axe was strong enough to tear through many weapons. However, when he struck that thin sword, he couldn't even move as if he had struck some kind of diamond.

Unbelievable supernatural power and the strength of the sword… After thinking that far, Do Jung-hyeok finally realized the woman in front of him was a higher rank Expert than himself.

'It can't be…'

Murim is a wide world and there are so many Experts scattered throughout the continent, but how can the woman in front of him, who looks only in her twenties, be more advanced than himself? He couldn't believe it, but it was real.

"The strength of that axe isn't suitable for carrying such a grand title. Where did the axe that cuts even Mount Tai go?"

"This bitch! You dare…"

Even so, something was odd.

'…why doesn't the secret technique work?'

His inner strength contained a unique power obtained through a special divine object. It was a very powerful force that elicited negative emotions, especially despair, from his opponent.

With that power, he was able to overcome any strong man he had ever encountered. Even an Expert would be easily engulfed in despair and would be powerless against his axe.

However, before his question even got resolved. Baek So-hwi pushed Do Jung-hyeok aside and cut his knee off, ripped his ear, and gouged his eyeball. His subordinates had long fled at the horrific sight, as if they were retreating to avenge him in the future.

"Keukk…."

Seeing Do Jung-hyeok falling to the ground as he bled, Baek So-hwi raised her sword with indifferent eyes. Afterall, killing a bandit was meaningless, the vacancy of the head seat after the guy's death would certainly be filled within a week.

The moment when she struck Do Jung-hyeok on the head.

Woonngg!!

Do Jong-hyeok's flesh and skin began to twist. A 'mouth' appeared on his body, biting Baek So-hwi's sword.

'What is that?'

As she quickly pulled out the sword because of the creeping uneasiness, Do Jung-hyeok's body began to clump together like clay.

"Ahhh, Ahhh! No, no! stop! Aaaaaaah!!"

His intestines protrude and cover his entire skin. His bones shattered to pieces before forming a different shape. Eventually, his body became something resembling a 'face'. It looked so disgusting that even Baek So-hwi, who was immune to gory things, frowned.

"What a wonderful human being! You have no feelings!"

"What is your identity?"

"I asked first! Answer me!"

"What a waste of breath."

Baek So-hwi pushed her sword towards the face, and then she slashed it with all his might.

Human's fragile skin wouldn't dare to take her sword, and so it split into two before returning to its original shape in less than 3 seconds.

"What a foolish human! You are dangerous!"

Then, it slowly inflated its own body. 3m…5m… In the end, it grew close to 20m and looked down at Baek So-hwi.

Now that Baek So-hwi took a closer look at it, it wasn't made of just a single corpse. Dozens or perhaps hundreds of corpses were mashed together in there.

"…I don't know what you are, but I know you are a mysterious creature that shouldn't exist in this world. It would be better to kill you now."

"Puahahahahaha! That's impossible! You can't kill me! I am a being made of human emotions! Are you capable of killing emotions?"

When the creature's voice resounded, all the roots of the nearby trees were uprooted and flew away. The mountains were peeled off and the rocks were cracked, but in the midst of them, Baek So-hwi was alone and still felt peaceful.

"There is nothing in this world that cannot be killed."

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Cheonma's heart law. (T/N Cheonma Singong.)

Cheonma's Sword of Destruction

White Plum Blossom

A thunderbolt that once split the sky in two was unfolding at the tip of Baek So-hwi's fingers. The thunder, burning even the cloud, rose into the shape of flowers reminiscent of white plum blossoms.

It was a technique which could make any onlooker shudder because of its beauty…

[No one has survived after seeing this technique.]

'What is that?'

Suddenly, Baek So-hwi felt a sense of discomfort. She could feel some kind of unknown energy was surrounding her. But since she was using her secret technique, she didn't have time to pay attention to it.

Baek So-hwi took a deep breath as the white plum blossom lightning shattered the creatures, covering the whole world with pure white colour.

However, something is strange. The reason was unknown, but a strong sense of incongruity covered Baek So-hwi's mind.

"Didn't I tell you? You can't kill me!"

The creatures which were hit directly by her lightning were revived and began to regenerate in a form that was no different from before.

Baek So-hwi found herself in a pinch. White Plum Blossom was a technique that burns her inner strength rapidly, so even Baek So-hwi would be exhausted after using it once. However, the creature before her didn't even blink an eye after being hit by the technique.

"…what is your identity?"

"Despair!"

"Despair?"

"Yes! I am your despair! Have you ever cut through despair? That is just impossible!" Saying that, the creature slammed its fist.

Rumble!!!

The ground caved with just one punch. A crater with a diameter of 50 m was created, and a massive landslide, which swept away all the wild plants under the mountain peak, occurred.

Baek So-hwi broke out in a cold sweat.

'I can't win.'

It was the first time she felt this way after meeting Seol Jungyeon. There were always weaknesses and gaps in any opponent. However, there was no gap in 'emotion'.

Reluctantly, Baek So-hwi used her footwork to widen the distance between her and the creature.

Responding to her, the creature bent down like a monkey and instantly moved tens of meters to catch her with a single leap.

Thud! Rumble!!

The creature ripped off a cliff and wielded it like a sword. pulled a peak out of the mountain and threw it like a javelin. It also hurled a tree just like shooting an arrow.

Baek So-Hwi realized she couldn't fight it. Her only option was running away.

Tuk!

"Ugh!"

Then, suddenly the place she set her feet on collapsed, throwing Baek So-hwi into a huge cave underneath.

On top of the cave, the creature stood with a smirk plastered on its face.

"Hahaha! stop running away and just give up! [Because, there are already dozens of 'demons' like me in this world! This world now belongs to us demons!]"

"What did you say?"

Even her, a Hwakyung Expert, was helpless against it. But there are a dozen more creatures like this in this world? It was an unbelievable piece of news. However, without despairing, Baek So-hwi grinded her teeth.

"Hmm! [But you are special! Why don't you despair when you see me?] Oh, I can feel the energy of other demons. It's finally starting!"

The creature spit those words out. It didn't seem to even care about what it had said, but Baek So-hwi couldn't stand the awful sense of incongruity she had felt before.

It was an energy which felt like she was being artificially manipulated by someone. She was forced to move according to the world's will.

A certain 'fate' kept using this reality at will.

'How!'

Tuk!

Then, as she reached out her hand, she could feel she had grabbed something heavy. Taking a peek, it was a box. Without thinking much, Baek So-hwi popped it open, and on the inside, an old sword, a technique book, and finally, a brown pill. In other words, it was an 'elixir'.

It was then Baek So-hwi became aware of the identity behind her sense of incongruity. She didn't know who it was, but 'something' was certainly helping her.

Baek So-hwi scowled as she was thankful yet resentful at that fact. 'I don't need any help', she wanted to shout that, but without the help of this 'something' she wouldn't be able to defeat the monster in front of her. And if there were dozens of such beings… Murim would never be safe.

Baek So-hwi gritted her teeth and held her sword once again. She could see the monster eyeing her.

"[Wa…wait! That's a soul-cleaving sword? How did she…]"

Judging from what she heard from the monster, It looks like the sword in her hand was something special.

[Ha, unless she completely abandoned her emotions, she could never use it!]

"So that's the requirement? It fits me just fine, then."

Kuuooooooooo!!

Then, in the distance, the figures of 'demons' began to howl.

When Baek So-hwi turned her head towards them, she could see numerous shadow-like creatures. There was one which resembled a giant, then a creature with dozens of eyes, and there's a goblin-like creature with clouds and stars hanging from its eyes.

As the cheeky monster in front of him had said, it was true that there were dozens of monsters, not just him, in this world.

She tightly grabbed the sword. Just like what the creature in front of her said, only those who had abandoned their emotions could wield it.

Whose intention was this to come into her hands? Why is it helping her?

Right now, it doesn't really matter.

She had something more important to do.

It was to cut the creature in front of her.

It turns out, killing the self-proclaimed 'Demon of Despair' wasn't a difficult thing to do. Baek So-hwi flicked her sword and immediately checked the technique book and the elixir which was included in the same box as the Soul-cleaving Sword.

[Demon Killing Swordsmanship]

Just by reading the title written on the cover, Baek So-hwi could know what was written on the book. It was a book which teaches swordsmanship specialized in exterminating demons. Maybe that's why the techniques of the swordsmanship itself were completely focused on how to effectively and powerfully strike the target while removing all unnecessary movements such as the 4 basic techniques of martial arts used for dealing with humans.

[Dragon Elixir]

The name of the brown elixir was Dragon Elixir. And although it wouldn't improve the internal strength, it was written that it had the effect of strengthening the user's soul. Baek So-hwi did not know what it meant, but she knew that it had a very great effect in 'demon hunting'.

'An elixir, huh?'

Since elixirs were an exclusive property of the Shaolin Temple, Baek So-hwi was not familiar with it. As someone from the Cheonma Sect, it had little to no effect for her, therefore, she had never come into contact with it. And the fact that it had no effect on the internal strength only made Baek So-hwi completely lose interest in it.

-Nuuu uuhhh don't be like that! Hurry up, eat the elixir and learn the swordsmanship!

"Who's there!?!?"

-It's me~ Look at your hand!

"You are the one who just talked? A sword?"

-Eung! My name is Liang Hon! Please take care of me!

Baek So-hwi looked at the sword in her hand with incredulous eyes. A talking sword…something she had never heard before.

-Although I am cold (with a warm heart), it would still be good to have one cute mascot like me next to the protagonist!

"What a load of bullcrap."

-Bullcrap? That's too much! [Come on, just open the technique book and let me give you a special swordsmanship instruction!]"

At those words, Baek So-hwi almost unknowingly opened the technique book. But she successfully endured this unknown urge with her superhuman mental strength. She didn't know who was helping her, and it was nice of them. But at the same time, it was very unpleasant to be forced into taking action.

-Are you just going to leave like this?

"…"

Without answering Liang Hon's words. Baek So-hwi left the collapsed cave. The sky above was blue. And because all the clouds had been burned by her technique, there was not a speck of cloud hanging in the sky.

"I heard that there are many 'spirits' like that one in this world."

-Are you talking about the demon? That's right. And there will be many more in the future. There's no way they're going to leave humans in this world alone when they know the humans here are vulnerable to their power. And… There is only one person in this world who can stop it. That is you.

Baek So-hwi had never felt this kind of sense of duty in her entire life. However, for some reason, she was able to vaguely realize that this path was the path she had to follow. It was not something the unknown 'fate' had forced her to do. Rather, she decided on her own because she was aware that she was the only one who could do it.

"Can you tell me where the other demons are?"

-Uh… For now, I can feel that there's a lot of them in the east.

Baek So-hwi nodded. If it's the east, it should be in the Kunlun mountain range.

"I'm going to go check it out."

-Wa..wait! Didn't I tell you there's a lot of them there? Your current strength is not enough!

"Does not matter."

-Ugh… Why is my current owner so selfish? (Ughhhhhhhh.)

Baek So-hwi ignored Liang Hon's grumble and started to move.

That was how the journey of a strange companionship between a sword, who possessed a soul and a Murim warrior, who was once a Cheonma Lord, began.

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Since Kunlun Mountain Range of the Kunlun Sect was in direct contact with the Tianshan Mountain Range of the Cheonma Sect, the two had no choice but to bump into each other quite often.

Even when the position of the Lord of the Cheonma Sect had changed from Seol Jungyeon to Baek So-hwi, the Kunlun Sect was still one-sidedly arguing with them.

Baek So-hwi never had any good feelings for them. However, since Kunlun Sect was a huge sect with tremendous power, she couldn't do anything to them. Even more so when the Kunlun Sect Lord was someone who was stronger than her even though they're the same rank.

However, when Baek So-hwi finally arrived at the Kunlun Mountain range, she had no choice but to frown at the horrific sight she saw.

"What the hell is this?"

Corpses of countless members of the Murim Alliance and Kunlun Sect were scattered throughout the mountain. The topography itself had become a complete mess as if a natural disaster had occurred.

All of their pavilions, which normally wouldn't be accessible for outsiders, were also destroyed. There were no troops on patrol either, making Baek So-hwi's journey to Kunlun Mountain an easy one.

And when she finally climbed to the peak of Jade Mountain, Baek So-hwi saw a corpse of a giant creature made of bones crushed to death by an octagonal structure.

-That's a demon corpse. But because they can't be killed easily, it is still not completely dead. It seems that whoever faced this demon didn't have the power to kill a soul.

-However, to have driven a demon to this extent… Just who is it?

At the moment Liang Hon let those words out, a man appeared next to the demon's head.

"Yoo Seodam!" Baek So-hwi frowned as soon as she saw him.

"Oh? You are not drawing your sword right away like last time?"

"…."

Of course, she wouldn't do it. After all, even though her hatred towards men was still there, she was currently regretting her past actions towards him. However, she would not ask him for forgiveness, because at this point, it didn't actually mean anything.

"I was waiting for you. I knew you would come." Yoo Seodam said.

"What?"

"You have come across an 'elixir', haven't you? You probably got it while fighting against a very powerful enemy such as a large snake which turned out to be a nine hundred-year-old snake with a very powerful inner strength. Or you came across it in a secluded place hidden deep inside a forest…." Yoo Seodam kept going. He listed out every possible 'Cliché' used in Martial Arts novels.

"How did you know?" Baek So-hwi asked.

"You see, I'm a very smart man." Yoo Seodam said. One corner of his lips was curved upwards. "And you will come across a lot more 'elixirs' in the future."

At his words, Baek So-hwi recalled something which had happened on her way here. A girl she had accidentally saved turns out to be the daughter of the head of the strongest intelligence group in Murim. And when they stopped by Shaolin Temple, she suddenly said to Baek So-hwi 'You, I like your eyes!' and promised her that she would help her without any reason and handed her an elixir.

"But you have to reject them all. I can't explain the reason in detail, but for now…"

"Is it because the 'world' is helping me?"

When she said that, it was now Yoo Seodam's turn to be baffled. After all, amongst all the protagonists he had met so far, none had ever realized they were a protagonist. Even the sexy guy from the destroyed world was only able to understand because Aracelli had explained it to him.

"That's right. So, please, don't you ever accept it. It is a straight route to world's destruction. It is true, the elixirs would be a great help for hunting demons… But after you destroy all the demons, and when your story reaches its end, the world will end with you."

If Baek So-hwi was still Baek So-hwi from before, she would never believe his words. However, she indeed could feel the energy of fate surrounding her body, so she had no choice but to believe in his words.

"Then… what should I do?" Baek So-hwi asked. If she kills the demons, the world will be destroyed. If she does not kill the demons, they would destroy the world. It's so complicated.

"That's why you should reject the elixirs. Every time you take them, the world will move little by little towards destruction."

Of course, simply refusing wouldn't completely prevent the world from heading towards destruction. However, she would be able to minimize the use of 'probability' as the protagonist.

"You should only use the elixirs you cherish so much once you finally leave this world." As Yoo Seodam said as he threw a dark red marble at Baek So-hwi.

"If you go straight west about 1,700 li from here, you will see a cave. Later, when you have destroyed all the demons, you can use that marble in that cave."

Baek So-hwi's case was slightly different from Lee Yeon-jun, who was the protagonist of a certain world inside a dungeon which appeared in modern Earth. No probability was consumed for entering and exiting the dungeon, therefore, even if he returns to Earth, he would be able to maintain his power as the protagonist. (N: Reminder, Lee Yeon-jun is the guy that gets stronger the more attention he has from others)

However, Earth and Murim were connected in an unnatural way. It was impossible to cross between the two as easily as crossing through a dungeon gate.

In order to go to one of the two, Yoo Seodam had to use his 'life force' which was harnessed from probability, and because Baek So-hwi also had the power of probability, she would be able to go to Earth by using the probability.

But in the end, doing so would mean giving up everything she had accomplished in Murim. Because of that Baek So-hwi frowned because of the conflicting thoughts in her mind. It was also the same for Yoo Seodam.

Leaving all the prizes they should've got after the hunt ended?

Who would do that?

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At least Yoo Seodam was certain it wouldn't be him.

However, Yoo Seodam was not a protagonist but just a selfish hunter, and Baek So-hwi, who was the real 'protagonist', had a different mindset than him.

"I understand. I'll listen to your advice for now. Once I experience it myself, I will be able to judge whether what you say is true or not. At least, someone who was chosen by my Master wouldn't say any nonsense."

Saying that, Baek So-hwi drew her sword. The demon's corpse still remained, but Baek So-hwi knew Yoo Seodam was forcibly holding it.

"Why did you wait for me by the way? Do you want me to give a 'complete death' to that demon?"

"That's right."

"That's a rather cheap price for all the advice you gave me." Baek So-hwi said as she swung her sword towards the head of the already powerless demon. Moments later, the corpse burned and scattered into the air.

Yoo Seodam, who watched it silently, said to her one last time. "Keep in mind, never take any elixir which comes your way! Only believe in your own strength and the bonds you have created by yourself."

After saying that, Yoo Seodam disappeared from the place he stood as Baek So-hwi silently watched the traces he left for a while before turning around.

'Believe in my own strength and bonds I have created, huh?'

Bonds? Do I have something like that? Baek So-hwi scoffed. His last advice was very useless for Baek So-hwi.

Thinking so, she turned her head before finding a certain cat.

"Huh?"

It was a familiar cat

"Heuk Joo-hee?"

As she unknowingly called the familiar name, the forest split open and an expressionless woman with black hair took the cat into her arms. She was Heuk Joo-hee, a loyal follower who had been following Baek So-hwi ever since she re-established the Cheonma Sect, and her cat pet.

"What are you doing here?" Baek So-hwi asked.

Then, as if she failed to comprehend her question, Haek Joo-hee raised her eyebrows. "Of course, I came here to find you. Do I need any other reason?"

"However, I am not the Lord anymore."

"You're right. You are no longer the Cheonma Sect's Lord. You have taken off that red uniform which didn't suit you, haven't you?"

At those words, Baek So-hwi felt a certain emotion swelling in her heart. However, she swiftly brushed those feelings aside as felt she didn't deserve to feel that way when she had tried to rob someone else's source of happiness.

However, without minding Baek So-hwi's conflicting mind, Heuk Joo-hee walked closer towards her.

"The person I swore my allegiance to was you, Baek So-hwi, not the Cheonma. That's why I came all the way here."

As Heuk Joo-hee said those words while walking closer towards her, Baek So-hwi's lips trembled.

She was aware she shouldn't welcome her. If she welcomed her, she would betray Seol Jungyeon's last consideration towards her. She must pay for her sins by abandoning everything she knows and roam the world to hunt demons.

"Cheonma Sect has been disbanded, and we have to go our own separate way."

"Didn't we already go our separate ways?"

"!!!"

Baek So-hwi heard another voice from behind.

"Lena, Cheong-ryang…."

"Yes, my lord. It's us. Do you think it would be better for you to throw us away? So, are we doing a meaningless thing by coming to this… Ugh… hellish place?"

Sensing the presence, she felt from afar, it's not just one or two people who had come to her but at least hundreds. They seemed to be here because they had predicted Baek So-hwi would appear in the midst of the chaos on Kunlun Mountain Range.

Baek So-hwi stared at the ground. She was trying hard to hide her trembling heart and not to show them her embarrassed expression.

"What is the reason for the former lord to disband the sect and set us free?"

"My lord, no matter how much we think about it, we could only conclude this is her reason."

At their words, Baek So-hwi finally bit her lips and smiled. It was only then she could understand Yoo Seodam's last words.

She believed those words were not Yoo Seodam's but Seol Jungyeon's. Even though she had decided she didn't want Baek So-hwi to appear in front of her ever again, she still generously forgave her and gave her some advice.

So. If it was her master's will…

"I see. If that is so, please take care of me again in the future."

Baek So-hwi promised. For the rest of her life, she would desperately live with them.

Meanwhile on Earth, the commotion caused by the appearance of a mysterious existence called 'demon' was still on-going. It was mainly due to the fact that the power of the demon which targets 'emotion' was working well against body-strengthening type superhuman and any shield made of the latest technology was proven to be useless against it. And even though the 'Emotion Protection Technique' announced by Another League had spread widely around the world, it could only be used by a superhuman with strong mental power, not common people, making the general public more anxious than ever.

The appearance of the demon had become a greater emergency than an epidemic. It was severe to the point it would be difficult to find people on the streets. And those who could still be found on the street were always carrying a stun gun or pepper spray for self-defense to protect themselves and were wary of each other.

In addition, the situation forced many companies to close their offices and instructed their employees to work from home while many self-employed people closed their businesses because of the bad economy.

However, it was unavoidable. In a situation where people did not even know when and where the demon would attack, wandering around would mean exposing themselves to danger. They could be the one who got their emotion manipulated or they could become the victim of others who had lost themselves in their emotions.

Meanwhile, Yekaterina had learned several things about the demon. First, in order for the demon to use its power in a certain area, the 'possessed body' must also be present in the same area.

Second, the movement of the possessed body was very careful. There's a high possibility that the possessed body was someone well known to the public.

Just who amongst 7 billion people in the world made a contract with a demon?

Although it's hard to determine at first, Yekaterina went into the hot pursuit focusing on the fact that the 'witch' had something to do with the demon, since she remembered reading books about demons back in the Morian guild.

And as a result, she was able to narrow down the suspect to just one person.

'Avon of the Morian Guild…….'

She was someone who had imprisoned Yekaterina while pretending to take care of her, the first magician to ever appear in the world as well as the guild master of Russia's largest guild, Morian.

In Yekaterina's eyes, Avon had done well in erasing her trail by using many backdoor means such as smuggling herself while entering and leaving the country. However, it seems like Avon had overlooked the intelligence power of Another League and New Murim Alliance which had reached a level that had exceeded her imagination, so in the end Yekaterina could still detect Avon's trail. And her trail matched well with the areas where 'Emotion Contagions' happened.

Yekaterina was almost certain that Avon was the one who was possessed by the demon or at least she had a close relationship with it. If she could only use her soul magic on her, she could reveal her identity to the whole world.

'But how?'

Asking the guild master of Russia's top guild to be scanned with soul magic would be perceived as a huge insult, and it's obvious Avon would reject it with the excuse of 'defamation'. And when Avon comes to know that Yekaterina had a way to find out about the demon, she would try to refuse any meeting with Another League as much as possible.

Yekaterina couldn't find any possible way.

'Would it be possible if I used something other than the demon's matter to lure her out?'

The bait would be none other than 'magic'.

Yekaterina, who could be said to be an expert in terms of handling Earth's magic, had virtually uncompromising power and authority regarding magic. In this field, her words were the law.

So, Yekaterina decided to hold what she called the 'Magician Assembly'. Speaking of groups of magicians, right now there were only the Morian Guild and Another League in the world… However, who would object when the best magician said she would do it?

Yekaterina also invited a large number of important figures from all over the world such as superstars, world-famous actors and actresses, politicians, CEO of large companies and of course guild masters of many big guilds, to suppress the backlash from her selfish desire. Another League had grown to a level where they could make those things possible.

Although the original purpose of this meeting was to attract Avon, Yekaterina could not hide her excitement because she could feel the authority Another League held.

"Fyuuhh…." Yekaterina exhaled as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Contrary to how beautiful and confident she looked wrapped in a white suit that resembled her own hair, she was quite nervous deep down. How couldn't she? Even though it was her who had called the people to attend this event, everyone present was someone who was important and held a certain amount of authority all over the world.

"Are you ready, President Yekaterina?" When a Korean female staff member came and asked her, Yekaterina simply nodded her head as the answer.

The Magician Assembly was held in Korea, the nation where Another League's HQ was located. Therefore, Avon was forced to come to Korea thinking of how prestigious the assembly is. Currently, there were only two guilds which have magicians in their ranks, but it would change in the future as many more magicians would appear and join the assembly. And Avon and Morian Guild had no choice but to participate in the historic first meeting because they had lived their life with pride which was coming from the fact that they were magicians.

'My job is very important.' Yekaterina thought so and calmed her frantic heart. Yoo Seodam had asked her to capture the demon's possessed body on Earth while he left for another world to directly confront the demon on the other side. Compared to his job, Yekaterina thought her job was practically nothing.

It was just meeting a lot of people.

"Let's go." Yekaterina straightened her shoulders, lifted her head and walked towards the conference hall. Even though she had no sight, she tried to look at everyone with her clearest eyes.

As soon as she entered the hall, dozens of cameras labelled with the logo of their respective broadcast station from around the world simultaneously illuminated Yekaterina's face.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Yekaterina, magician of Another League." Yekaterina said. As always on the outside, she kept her cold countenance on.

After glancing around the crowd, she sets her gaze on Avon, who was seated at the far end of her. She was smiling faintly as if she took a liking to her seat that was positioned faraway.

"The reason why I am here today is to spread 'magic' more actively to the world. To this day, humanity lacks the strength to fight against monsters, resulting in numerous casualties every single day. Could it have been because humanity are stupid and could never learned magic? The answer is no. It is simply because there was no opportunity for the public to come into contact with the ability known as magic."

Currently, magic was only 'partially' disclosed through the internet and portal sites. But that also meant that magic was not accessible in countries where the internet couldn't reach.

"That's why, I intend to create a place where everyone could learn magic. First of all, we in Another League are planning to build a 'magic tower', a place where magic could be officially recognized and a place where they could showcase their talents. The second one we were preparing for was 'magic academy'. It would be a place where students can pursue their dream of magic."

In fact, the magic tower was currently already in the process of being established, however, there's still no concrete plan for the magic academy as of yet. It was just an excuse for Yekaterina to gather all these people today. Afterall, to establish a magic academy, the number of students which could be admitted would be limited while the applicants would surely overflow, so choosing which applicant should be admitted would be a big hurdle.

"A magic academy?"

"Finally!!"

"To officially recognize 'magician' as a job…"

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People began to murmur at her declaration. For them, no matter how transparently magic had been publicized, in the end there was a limit to self-learning, and in order to learn properly, they had no choice but to join Another League.

But, what if a 'magic academy' is established? The situation would surely become different. Even if they didn't belong to the Another League, they could still learn magic. Of course, unbeknownst to them, there would be a condition attached to the graduating students which stated they would have to work at 'Another League Magic Tower', 'Another League Research Institute' or 'Another League Agency' for a few years…

'But this is just a bait…'

When people reacted violently to the topic she threw without much thought, Yekaterina was slightly perplexed. She was only going to give a brief explanation about it, but it became rather difficult when more and more attention was focused on the topic than expected.

So, Yekaterina decided she had to bring up a topic which everyone couldn't help but focus on right now.

"…and I'm sure you all know about the fact that magic can counteract the power of 'demons' to some extent."

Demon. It was an unidentified monster which was currently considered to be the worst monster on Earth. It had no form, and had no clear attack method, making it difficult to hatch a countermeasure against it other than the 'Emotion Protection Technique' disclosed by Another League, so the people had no choice but to listen to Yekaterina intensively.

In fact, 'Emotion Protection Technique' was far from magic, but modern people had no way of knowing such a fact, so they couldn't help but be deceived.

"Another reason for making magic universal is the existence of demons. We will need magic to fight against the 'demon'."

"I have one question. What makes you think that magic is the only power that can repel 'Demons'?"

"That's…because only magicians can summon a demon."

The truth is, magicians and demons had absolutely nothing to do with each other. The two had no contact point and were technically opposite to each other. But Yekaterina still told such a lie, and the crowd began to roar. Much more chaotic than when Yekaterina brought up the magic academy.

"A magician could do that?"

"…that does make sense. If magicians are the only ones who can summon demons, it explains why we need magic to fight them."

"But who, and why the hell did they do something like that?"

Slowly, the atmosphere began to flow towards the direction Yekaterina wanted. And Avon, who realized Yekaterina's intentions, frowned.

"Maybe…it was to show the world the importance of magic."

At those words, all murmur died down. The hall became completely silent.

Everyone's present could draw a story from those words alone.

Magic was definitely a great science, and it was receiving a lot of attention from the world. For example, the Another League, where the best magician on the planet Yekaterina belonged, was always on the lips of people every day. But there was another magician guild which didn't share the same fate as them.

The Morian Guild.

They were also a guild with many magicians on their ranks, but due to the difference in technique, they didn't enjoy attention as big as Another League. Every day the spotlight only shined on the magic of Another League, and the Morian Guild had no choice but to be anxious. Due to that, the Morian Guild summoned a demon hoping they would get the spotlight they wished for as they made modern people depend on them because they were the only ones who know how to fight it.

But before that could happen, their plan went awry because Another League revealed the countermeasure…

Of course, it's all nothing but a made-up story in everyone's head. There's no evidence which proves it's authenticity. However, Yekaterina herself had revealed only a 'magician' can summon a demon. That alone was enough.

"There is no other group in the world aside from Another League and Morian Guild, are you trying to put the blame on us?"

"No. I have no intention of doing so."

"If so, then isn't Another League also suspicious? You could be the one who summoned the demon then manipulated the public opinion to bury us."

"Yes. It's possible." Yekaterina meekly nodded. "Therefore, from now on, I plan to use a new magic called 'Soul Projection' to all magicians on the planet. Of course, including myself."

"'Soul Projection'?"

"Yes. It is a more accurate identification method than the soul magic which confirmed the 'number of souls' that was revealed before. Like the name implies, it would project the soul which exists in the subject's body into reality."

If 'Soul Projection' was used on person A, a soul that resembles person A would be shown. It was such a simple technique, but what if I used it on a demonic possessive body?

Avon's expression grew more and more wrinkled. It's not a good development for her. If Yekaterina used that technique here…there was a high possibility her identity would be discovered.

'Hey, demon. Is there any way to block it?'

'….'

Her wrinkle only grew deeper as the 'demon', who always answered when she called, suddenly became silent.

"…are you telling us to trust such untested spells?"

"Untested? Don't you know our magic has been proven to be able to fight against demons?"

Avon tried her luck with that last argument. However, she didn't get the result she wanted. The atmosphere has completely shifted to Yekaterina's side. She had no doubt that everyone here was doubting her but couldn't point it out since there's no evidence.

Yekaterina stood up as if she would not delay it any longer, and Ye Sa-hye and another magician belonging to Another League who had been waiting behind her came out. They all stood on either side of Yekaterina and stretched out their hands, creating a strange magic circle which sank into Yekaterina's feet.

Wooooooonnnggg-!!

Before long, a translucent soul wrapped in a pure white dress came out from Yekaterina's body. With its eyes closed, the figure silently floats in the air. Naturally it was the figure of Yekaterina's 'soul', so sighs erupted here and there at the presentation.

"Next… I'll cast it on you, Avon of Morian Guild."

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"Ugh…"

Avon found herself in trouble, a really big trouble as she saw Ye Sa-hye and other magicians slowly heading towards her. She racked her brain to try to think of a way to somehow overcome the situation, but to no avail. In the first place, the media was on Yekaterina's side, so any excuses she said would be useless.

'At this rate …' Avon looked around. It seems impossible to escape from this place. She could see S-rank hunters and warriors of Murim dispatched from the New Murim Alliance all over the hall. However, the moment she let the 'Soul Projection' touch her, her life would be over.

Cold sweat appeared on from her entire body. She couldn't find a way to save herself from the predicament she was in.

'I can't get arrested here!'

With her head raised, Avon stretched out her hand toward the air. The S rank hunters were late to rush towards her as they were taken aback by her bizarre action.

CRACKLEE-!!

Avon's body swelled up, caving the ground beneath and destroying the ceiling above, and in an instant, she had transformed into a 'giant'.

"Ugh!"

"What, what!"

At the sudden turn of events, all hunters quickly retreated and protected the guest. However, they soon had to stop moving.

"That…that…"

"Demon!?!?"

The figure of Avon had changed into a giant skeleton with red bones. It had a large horn resembling a saw which looked so vicious attached to its head.

It was truly an overwhelming presence which literally provokes 'fear' to anyone who sees it.

Even the S rank hunters, who had learned soul magic to some extent had no choice but to kneel on the floor because of the sight before them. Yekaterina was no exception.

'How!!'

Yekaterina had concluded the 'demon' would not manifest for a while after analysing the huge amount of 'energy wave' which erupted when the devil appeared in South Africa. By her estimation, it would take at least a few years for the demon to gather that much energy again…

Thud!

When Avon lightly twisted her foot, the entire building was swept away. No one could move. No one was brave enough to raise their head in the face of the terrifyingly dense 'fear'.

As Avon opened her mouth, a voice came out. However, the voice which came out wasn't one but two voices overlapping each other.

-"You're still as arrogant as ever, Yekaterina. Yeah, you've always liked this kind of useless farce, don't you?"

"Eugh…"

-"But…don't you remember? Your plans have always been ruined because of me."

Yekaterina felt like nausea would come out as she heard Avon's words. Tears welled up on her eyes, her fingertips trembled, and her lips couldn't even move, so she was unable to use magic.

Even though a barrier was erected in place to protect her soul and emotions through soul magic, the moment the demon appeared, such a trick became completely useless.

-"It reminds me of the past, Yekaterina. You have always been ungrateful despite all the kindness and protection I gave to you. Shouldn't a bad girl be punished?'"

Those were the words which Yekaterina had been hearing for decades during her imprisonment. After that words fell, severe corporal punishment had always awaited her. At the words that stimulated her PTSD, Yekaterina eventually collapsed, losing even her will to resist.

-"Then, let's go back…"

As Avon reached towards Yekaterina with her red-blood hand.

-"Huh?"

Whooshh!!

Her body suddenly caught fire. The flame, which started from her toes and fingertips, began to swallow her body in an instant. And at first, some hunters, who thought it was a demon's skill, were shivering and fell to the ground… However, they soon felt strange and raised their heads.

The power of 'emotion' which had interfered with them had weakened!

-"Uh, huh?! what, what! What the hell! Hey demon! What happened! Answer me! Answer me!"

With her body on fire, Avon shuddered in agony and shrieked. But the demon still didn't answer. She felt the demon's presence which had lent her his power, and had discussed with her of putting the world under their feet, had completely vanished.

-"Ye…katerina! What the hell did you do…!"

However, Yekaterina was also confused about what was happening. In the first place, she didn't do anything.

Then, belatedly, she was able to recall something. She got up with all her might, and she cried out loudly. "The demon has been weakened! It can't do anything now, so please subdue her!"

Then, the hunters responded to Yekaterina's words fiercely.

"Oh, Magician Yekaterina has conquered the demon!"

"Let's smash its head while it is weakened!"

"Die, you motherfucker!"

In the place where luxurious vocabulary was circulating due to the gathering of high-ranking people, harsh words of the hunters had now filled the hall. So far, no physical blows had worked against it, but seeing the demon now had become helpless, Yekaterina's legs became weak and she plopped down to the floor.

Then, as she remembered someone who had saved everyone in this place by weakening the demon, Yekaterina smiled.

When Yoo Seodam and his party returned to Earth, everything seemed to be already over.

"Oh, my phone is going to explode." Taylor said as she held her smartphone high in the sky. Yoo Seodam didn't know why she did it. Nowadays, as satellites developed more and more, the internet was practically everywhere, except in a few special spaces such as dungeons and places where anomalies occurred. Thus, even in the Kalahari Desert, smartphones could normally function, but it seems to be a habit of hers.

"Yeah." Yoo Seodam also picked up his smartphone to check on his messengers and some news portal.

The headlines of all news portals were 'Magician Assembly held by Another League, and a huge demon which appeared there', And…

[Special Report! The guild master of the Morian Guild was the one who summoned the demon!]

[Another League President, Yekaterina successfully defeats the demon!!]

It wasn't difficult for Yoo Seodam to find the video which showed the event as there were a lot of videos going around. The video he clicked on showed a red-bone giant which appeared and threatened people, but then fell when Yekaterina resisted.

"What a good timing, it must have happened around the time Baek So-hwi beheaded him." Yoo Seodam said. Their original purpose for going to Murim was to close the 'dimension gate' and severing the connection between Earth and Murim since they had initially thought the demon would not be able to exert its power on Earth once it happened.

However, they became aware that it was pointless and eventually stopped pursuing the matter altogether because there could be another 'gateway' opened somewhere on Earth. Instead, they enlisted Baek So-hwi to cut the demon's neck, which sowed chaos on the Earth.

"If there's another door, it could be said that one day it would be found."

"That's so. Though, not just anyone could get through it… Perhaps, it would be better to say that it is almost impossible to pass through it."

Seol Jungyeon's expression became sullen at Yoo Seodam's words. He knew the reason. The place which used to be like home for her was now in a very chaotic situation due to the appearance of the demons. However, they couldn't do anything to help out. Because, the story of 'Fighting Against Demons' in the end was something that should be done by the protagonist of the story.

Yoo Seodam had experienced it when he was in the destroyed world. If someone like him, who was not the protagonist, fights against something only the protagonist could fight, there's a high possibility that it will literally disappear without anyone knowing. Therefore, it was better to let it finish naturally. It's something the protagonist needs to figure out anyway.

Yoo Seodam proceeded to explain to Seol Jungyeon that Murim would gradually become better in the future, including the existence of 'probability'. And asked her not to worry.

"If you say so, it's fine then. I have no more regrets there anyway. And from now on…" Seol Jungyeon looked at Yoo Seodam. "I can focus on Earth a little bit more."

After the demon died, the world seemed to return to its original state as the 'emotion contagion' which plunged the world into confusion had completely disappeared. In the process, there were countries and organizations which particularly became hot topics.

The Korean government, which succeeded in responding to national disasters in a timely manner, strengthened their status in the world, while China, which had become more chaotic in the midst of chaos, was criticized worldwide. And then, the leader of Japan withdrew from his position as he was aware of his incompetence this time, while the United States was criticized a little bit because of their selfish control.

However, because of the 'Great War' which occurred decades ago, most countries on Earth had learned how to actively respond to unknown emergencies. Therefore, there's no particular country which was completely destroyed.

[The fall of the Morian Guild… Will the first magician guild on earth disappear into history just like this?]

Avon, the strongest witch of the Morian Guild and the first human to ever reveal the existence of magic to the world, was currently imprisoned in the superhuman prison. And in order to prevent her from using her magical powers, she was detained with a very special restraint crafted by Another League.

On the flipside, the stock price of Another League skyrocketed thanks to Yekaterina, who was known by the public as the one who uncovered the identity of the demon and even took it down. That's why Yekaterina always hummed gleefully every time she watched the news.

"By the way, Seodam-nim." Yekaterina looked at the desk next to her. Even though the room was originally Yoo Seodam's office, he was often away from Earth while the Another League was managed by Yekaterina. Therefore, Yekaterina placed another desk in the room for his use for times when he's on Earth.

"Yeah? What's the matter?" Yoo Seodam asked.

"How did you kill the demon?"

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"Oh, that? I'm not the one who killed it. I asked a contract killer to do it for me."

"Yes?"

"Demon is a creature which cannot be killed by the power of ordinary humans."

"Is that so?"

Yekaterina pondered for a moment at his words before carefully asking another question. "Then… if demons appear again in the future… Are you saying that the same chaos will happen again?"

"Probably so." Yoo Seodam said.

Although the demon which dealt with fear and anger was now dead while the demons of Murim should be dwindling thanks to Baek So-hwi, there's a chance that demons from another world would come since the previous demon had already left its scent on Earth. And for Yoo Seodam, who became aware that dimensional travel was more common than he originally thought, it was quite worrying.

People all over the world believed Yekaterina had defeated the demon with her magic that was different from science, but in the end, it was not the truth since it was impossible to deal with the demon even with magic.

"Still, I think the whole world has realized the need for magic thanks to this event."

Just like the saying you must know your enemy and know yourself, there's a need to know about something in order to fight the unknown. In this case, the public became aware that there's a need for them to learn magic as a subject rather than a tool for war.

"That's why support for the establishment of the 'magic academy' is coming in. Well… the original plan was to make one at the level of a small middle school, but…"

Yoo Seodam looked at the popping file on his monitor which he believed was sent by Yekaterina from her monitor. He opened it and read all the content for a few moments before rolling his eyes.

"Now it is around the size of a university in Seoul?"

"Yes, and I think there will be about seven of them all over the world."

The name of the academy would be 'Another League Magic Academy'.

Starting with the Seoul campus, it would also be built in major cities around the world. The sheer scale of the project left Yoo Seodam completely gobsmacked.

"And because of this project, we will need to recruit more staff members. But I think it will take at least 5 to 10 years before a professor who can teach magic professionally appears… Until then, Seodam-nim and I have to teach."

"Me?"

"Yes. It couldn't be helped since there's not enough people."

"Hey, when will the school be established?"

"Ummm. Currently, we're still in the stage of drawing the blueprint. We're planning to have all the structures on our campuses to be the same as the other campuses. I will even match all the letters on the wall."

Yoo Seodam broke out in a cold sweat. He indeed possessed a vast amount of magical knowledge in his head, but it was not entirely his own knowledge as it was kept in the form of a 'library'. However, Yekaterina had misunderstood and took that as a sign that Yoo Seodam had learnt most of the magic available there.

'I'm going crazy…' Though he was glad he still had some time before it happened for real.

After that, Yekaterina turned quiet as she seemed to be focused on her work while Yoo Seodam looked at the monitor in front of him and thought about the guild.

Originally, he founded the guild without any intention to make it as big as it is now and he also didn't want to become attached to it. He just wants to use it as a means to recruit party members to enter the Hell Gate with him.

With those thoughts passing on his mind, the scene outside the window entered his eyes. He could see the used-to-be swordmasters of Earth who had become full-fledged warriors of Murim, flying by using their mugong.

In the far away laboratory, magic researchers were busy analyzing the unknown science of magic in a modern way, and the spirits in the garden were doing a kind of 'breeding' of plants in order to fully restore the energy of this world.

Another League was getting bigger and bigger.

If so, how close was him from his ultimate goal in life, 'Hell Gate'?

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In the future, will he be able to put all his members into a literal hell called Hell Gate?

'I don't know.'

In fact, from the beginning Yoo Seodam was aware it was only wishful thinking. He only dreamed the moment of reaching the final stage after digging into an unknown place called Hell Gate with colleagues who agree with him every day. He didn't think much of the process.

Though, who in their sane mind would accompany him into a place where even SS rank hunters were struggling for survival?

Right now, Yoo Seodam himself was only at the level of S Rank. To be safe in the Hell Gate, he would need strength comparable to Seol Jungyeon or Taylor Nine… but he never wanted to take them to such a dangerous place.

So, since the establishment of Another League.

'I would rather go alone.'

That's what he had been thinking.

The Hell Gate was always dim, and the space itself was always twisted to the point it was useless to map the interior of Hell Gate. But the scariest thing there was not the monster but rather their own emotions which were constantly being torn and worn out in a space without dreams and hopes.

He then recalled things which happened while he was stuck inside the Hell Gate.

He had encountered a human-faced figure which suddenly popped out of the wall and let out the most terrifying scream he had ever heard in his life. He also encountered a mysterious phenomenon where the whole sky was distorted and turned into a form of bizarre eyes which stared at him and his party all day long as if wondering how long they could stay sane.

In fact, more than half of the expedition members at that time chose to end their own life while the other half died because of murder. Only less than 20% of the fatalities were due to monsters. And the survivors who survived the ordeal simply survived because of luck.

Even beyond such a mental problem, the monster inside would eventually become a huge barrier to the entry of Hell Gate since it was monsters which never had appeared on Earth. They were really common-sense defying creatures, as if they were creatures from another world.

'Wait a moment.'

Come to think of it, didn't he have a creature which had bloomed from Hell Gate? Although it seems to be completely clueless about what Hell Gate is, the Flowerpot was born there.

By the way, there's another strange thing. It's the part he hadn't paid much attention to so far…

'Why was the information about the Flowerpot written in the Library of the White Witch?'

The name 'Silver Spirit Flower' was recorded in the Library of the White Witch. In other words, it means that the creature recorded by the 'witch of another world' could be found in the Hell Gate of Earth.

If so, then why?

'Something…'

Something was weird. In the first place, was the word 'Earth's Hell Gate' correct? The moment when such a question is about to enter his mind.

"That's right!" Yekaterina smiled softly and lifted her head.

"You surprised me. What happened?"

"Even though we can't build the academy right away, we still need to show the public how we teach, so a lot of students will enroll, don't you think?"

"Uh, maybe?"

"That's why I decided to rent a hotel temporarily for a month or two. So, Seodam-nim and I can actually invite some students in their teens to 20s to our lecture."

"Huh?" Yoo Seodam was baffled as he tried to give Yekaterina his opinion on the matter. But before he could do that, Yekaterina put some files on her hands and said.

"Seodam-nim is more adept at magic than me, so could you please make a temporary textbook for me? Oh, I have a meeting now, so I need to go."

"…"

He's screwed.

As Yoo Seodam thought like that, he let out a very long sigh.