The smoke from the destroyed demonic beasts hung heavy over the Lorenzio Grand Square, smelling of ozone and scorched earth.
Jin Sahyuk was still on the ground, her royal dignity currently being traded for hysterical gasps of air as she looked at the "Supreme Janitor."
However, the laughter died instantly as a bone-chilling cold swept through the area.
Bell, the host of Baal, stood in the center of the square.
His golden hair seemed to absorb the light of the violet sky, and his eyes—normally playful—were currently narrow slits of intense concentration.
Veins of obsidian demonic energy pulsed beneath his skin, as if a monster was trying to punch its way out of his ribcage.
"Control yourselves," Bell whispered, his voice vibrating with a dual-tone that didn't belong to a human. "We don't have much time."
His tone was abnormaly serious to Jin Sahyuk's surprise.
He looked at Yoo Joonghyuk, then at the sky.
"This world... this 'Arunheim' within the gate... it is the world where Baal was first born. It is the root of his narrative. Right now, I am suppressing him, but the strain is literal poison. I can only hold the leash until the beginning of the Transnational Peace Conference Banquet. Maybe for four or three days."
Bell coughed, a splatter of black blood hitting the cobblestones.
"Kim... Black Lotus he dealt a catastrophic blow to Baal in the Demon Realm. He destroyed the original castle. But Baal is an existence close to a God. In this reconstructed world of his birth, his castle still exists conceptually. He planned to use it to connect the original castle and his powers to our world... But now It is like the backup server for his divinity."
Bell's gaze turned sharp.
"If you do not destroy him and his castle inside this gate, he will use this world as a bridge to regain his full power. He will invade Earth."
Jin Sahyuk stood up, her face turning solemn.
"You're saying I have to kill you."
"Only you can," Bell smiled sadly. "Do it before Baal himself occupies this body entirely. If his ego fully manifests, the 'Bell' you know will be erased, and the barrier will become absolute."
Suddenly, the air behind Bell fractured.
A rift of pure white light opened.
"Guards!" Bell roared, his royal authority returning. "Help the citizens! Purge the remaining demons!"
He grabbed Jin Sahyuk's arm.
"We're leaving. Be near me. The final stage is being set."
Before Joonghyuk could move, the two disappeared into the spatial distortion, leaving the square in a state of stunned silence.
[The Hidden Scenario – 'The Grand Magician's Specimen' has been completed!]
[The Grand Magician Shimurin is highly impressed by your 'Bridge'!]
A heavy, obsidian-colored blade materialized in the air, falling into Joonghyuk's hand.
The cold, familiar weight of the sword sent a shiver of power through his suppressed stats.
[The Sub-Scenario – 'City Siege' has been cleared!]
[You have earned 20,000 coins.]
[Your 'Janitor' role is evolving through the 'Exorcism' attribute!]
[Attribute Gained: 'Sanitary Exorcist of the Abyss'.]
Effect: Your strikes 'Clean' the target of demonic protection. Your 'Mop' skills can now be applied to your sword.
Joonghyuk ignored the absurd attribute name.
His eyes were fixed on a small, flickering icon in the corner of his vision.
A message has arrived via 'Midday Tryst'.
Joonghyuk's breath hitched.
He opened the window.
■■: [Yoo Joonghyuk, you're still mopping floors, I see.]
"Kim Dokja," Joonghyuk growled, his voice a low vibration of murderous intent.
Han Sooyoung: [DOKJA?! You bastard, where have you been?! I've been stuck in this Victorian nightmare for a week... AND WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED WITH THE WORLD?.. where were you?!]
■■: [It's complicated. I just got back to the Star Stream. The Bureau is a mess. Only constellations or through their sponsored incarnations who entered the Gate can directly affect your current stage, and since I'm... well, busy, I can't even help through Shin Yoosung right now.]
Han Sooyoung: [She's your only sponsored incarnation! You should at least send her a snack! What do you mean you're busy?]
■■: [Don't worry about her. My companion has taken care of it. I've sent her...]
At that moment, everyone in the city square felt it.
A sudden, explosive surge of killing intent radiated from the man in the burlap tunic.
The cobblestones beneath Joonghyuk's feet pulverized into dust.
[Story 'Life and Death Companions' roars!]
Yoo Joonghyuk: [COMPANION?]
The text in the chat room seemed to vibrate with Joonghyuk's rage.
■■: [Anyway, moving on. My companion told me that Baal will isolate the space of his castle. Once he retreats there, he'll form a barrier that is logically impossible to break from the inside.]
Yoo Joonghyuk: [I do not trust untrusted sources. Who is this 'Companion'?]
■■: [Joonghyuk, stay focused. Before the banquet begins, you need to find Lee Gilyoung. He's also inside the gate. He's been 'acting' as the second Prince, brother of Prince Terhun(Bell). You need to contact his sponsor. If you provoke him with the stories of 'Ancient Evil' being suppressed for too long, his sponsor will provide the help and probability needed to breach the castle walls.]
■■: [Han Sooyoung, I trust you to manage it.]
■■: [One last thing. As I mentioned, I sponsored a special item to Shin Yoosung. A ring. Joonghyuk, if anything goes wrong break that ring. It was crafted by my companion. It'll help. At least it should.]
Joonghyuk's forehead was covered in bulging veins.
The grip on his sword was so tight the metal was groaning.
[The Constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' is biting her handkerchief!]
[The Constellation 'Abyssal Black Flame Dragon' is cackling at the drama!]
Joonghyuk slammed the chat window shut.
He didn't say another word.
He picked up his bucket and began to angrily mop the blood of a dead demon off a nearby statue. Every stroke of the mop carried enough force to level a small building.
Han Sooyoung watched him, chuckling as she typed back into the private channel.
Han Sooyoung: [He's going to kill you, Dokja. Truly. Anyway, how are you? Really?]
■■: [We returned to Earth. We got caught in a battle with Outer Deities. And then... a guy called Amon attacked us.]
Han Sooyoung: [Amon? You mean Mr. Error? I know him from the rumors. The guy with the monocle who helped against Organizations that worship Outer Deities. He's supposed to be a hero.]
■■: [My other companion... Other one... told me Amon is a 'Dual God' now. He's extremely fast, and he's looking for something we have. We had to escape. We're currently hiding.]
Han Sooyoung: [Where could you possibly hide from a Dual-Pathway God?]
She waited for an answer for more than ten seconds.
When she was about to close Midday Tryst...
■■: [Have you ever heard of The Tower of Miracles?]
***
Back on Earth, Kim Hajin stood in the center of the clearing, his heart still racing as Evandel sobbed into his chest.
Ah Hae-In, the 9-star magician, stood atop her giant turtle, her eyes wide as she looked at Kim Hajin who had just sniped a Sequence 3 Sea King with a shower of falling stars.
Beside her, Yoo Sangah—her elegant Buddhist robe fluttering in the toxic wind—closed her eyes muttering a budhist mantra. Her staff glowed softly.
"Who are you?" Yoo Sangah asked, her voice cautious but grateful.
Hajin looked up, gently stroking Evandel's hair.
He felt a lump in his throat.
Evandel.
She was still wearing the same equipment he had meticulously crafted for her long ago. The [Ceremonial Magic Hat]—a low-intermediate rank item—sat slightly tilted on her head, its enchantments pulsing to stabilize her spirit-wielding.
In her small hand, she gripped the [Ceremonial Ritual Wand].
He looked at Yoo Sangah.
She had become an Incarnation of Shakyamuni, a living vessel for the Buddha's essence. She didn't possess the Wall that Decides Samsara, but the weight of her "Status" was unmistakable—she was a beacon of tranquility in a land of madness.
Hajin reached into his inventory, his fingers brushing against a cold, shimmering object. It was a beautiful necklace, a Level 13 Artifact he had acquired through high-level synthesis and his craftsmanship.
Originally, he had intended to give it to Chae Nayun.
It was designed to enhance the wearer's internal mana circulation and provide a passive shield against mental interference—something she desperately needed.
But his hand hesitated.
'Nayun...' He remembered the look in her eyes before the convergence. Their relationship was more than just tense; it was a minefield of unspoken grief and mutual avoidance. Giving her this now felt... wrong.
Or perhaps, he was just afraid of the conversation that would follow.
He sighed, the sound lost in the wind, and turned toward Evandel.
He used Setting Intervention and one single sentence costed him 500 SP: "Greatly improves Witch's Authority and spirit-wielding abilities."
"Evandel," he called out.
The girl turned her head up, and as Hajin smiled, he pressed the necklace into her hand. The Level 13 artifact flared with a soft light as it recognized a compatible soul.
"Wear this," Hajin whispered. "It'll keep the bad thoughts away."
"Excuse me," a calm, melodic voice interrupted.
Evandel pulled back, wiping her eyes.
Hajin looked up.
Yoo Sangah was observing him with eyes that seemed to see the threads of fate.
She repeated her question.
"Who are you? To possess such weapons and artifacts in this zone... you aren't an ordinary hero."
Hajin pulled his hood back slightly, the mask of Fenrir still partially obscuring his face.
"I am Jeronimo's Fenrir," he introduced himself, using the name that had once echoed through the underworld. "I was trapped in the Demon Realm like many others. I've finally clawed my way back."
Yoo Sangah's eyes widened.
"Fenrir... the infamous mercenary of Jeronimo. I had heard many stories about you."
Hajin didn't dwell on the recognition.
He turned toward Ah Hae-In, who was still catching her breath atop her turtle.
"Duchess Ah Hae-In," Hajin said, his voice turning professional. "Yoo Yeonha... Have you come across any data on 'Dimensional Entropy'?."
Ah Hae-In blinked, her scholarly instincts momentarily overriding her shock.
"Entropy? How'd you know about..."
Hajin waved a hand dismissively before she could finish.
His knowledge as an Author was still useful.
It was enough.
"Never mind. It doesn't matter for now. I'll figure it out."
He looked back at Evandel, his expression softening instantly.
"Evandel, are you hungry? Have you ever tried Desi Pie? A friend of mine told me that I should definitely try it. Or maybe some Murim Dumplings?"
Evandel's eyes practically turned into stars.
The "Beast Queen" persona shattered as she hopped up and down.
"Dumplings! I want dumplings!"
"Spartan," Hajin commanded.
Creeee—!
The black hawk dove from the clouds.
Hajin grabbed Evandel, and they blinked through space, appearing on Spartan's back.
Evandel immediately buried her face in the bird's soft, obsidian feathers.
"Spartan! I missed you!"
"We're leaving," Hajin called out to the two women below. "Eat something and get some rest."
With a sudden warp of probability, Hajin, Evandel, and Spartan vanished into thin air.
Silence returned to the North Hamgyeong coast.
Well, a very brief silence.
Ah Hae-In and Yoo Sangah stood on the Great Turtle, staring at the empty space where the "Mercenary" and the child had just been.
Suddenly, the ocean began to boil, stormy clouds covering the stars.
GROOOOAR!
Three more Sea King Serpents—smaller than the first, but no less hungry—emerged from the waves, their eyes fixed on the remaining two targets. Behind them, lv. 12 Imugi began to crawl out of the cracks in the bottom of the ocean.
Numerous sea monsters roared as they prepared to attack the coast.
Ah Hae-In looked at her empty hands, then at the horizon.
"Did... did he just leave us?"
She started summoning three other Legendary Guardian Beasts.
Yoo Sangah, the dignified Incarnation of Shakyamuni, gripped her walking stick.
A vein actually throbbed in her temple.
"He said 'get some rest'..." Sangah muttered, her golden aura flickering as she prepared a high-level Buddhist mantra. "Does he think we can nap while being eaten?"
Ah Hae-In sighed, raising her wand.
A Giant Dragon, Guardian of Korean Peninsula bit into Imugi's tale.
[Constellation 'Maritime War God' enters the channel!]
Suddenly, ghost fleet covered both the sky and the sea.
And in the lead of all of it appeared a flying battleship.
[Stigma 'Song of the Sword' is activated!]
[Today I am prepared to die. I pray to God in Heaven, may I destroy the enemy.]
At the top of Turtle Dragon battleship stood a girl with arched eyebrows and black hair, worn up in a ponytail.
Her skin was pale, expression exhausted.
Lee Jihye aimed her [Twin Dragon Sword] at the Sequence 3 Serpents.
She was smiling.