Translator: Rainbow Turtle
It had been five days since they entered the first floor of the Dark Castle. Lee Jihye ran down a corridor of the Dark Castle with the injured Lee Gilyoung on her back and Shin Yoosung.
[The 5th grade demon species, Dark Tracker is chasing you.]
“Jump!”
Lee Jihye avoided the scythe that appeared from the dark tracker and used Demon Slaying. Magic power scattered through the air as Lee Jihye took the children and ran with all her strength.
“Damn, Taming doesn’t work on them?”
“…I can only tame monster species.”
“Damn!” Lee Jihye kept cursing as she ran.
There were roughly 10 demon species following her. The 5th grade demon species were stronger than other monster species. Her skills weren’t enough and she couldn’t use her stigma in this environment.
‘I shouldn’t have come in.’
After Kim Dokja’s death, the morale of Kim Dokja’s party was completely disturbed. They lost focus and started acting individually. To make matters worse, Yoo Jonghyuk mysteriously went missing while the ninth scenario, Dark Castle appeared.
The dokkaebi had told them when the scenario first started,
[This scenario… Um. Haha, maybe you’ll fail.]
Lee Jihye’s reaction had been disbelief. They were going to fail? The scenarios always seemed impossible but they always won. Thus, they could do well this time.
At least, that’s what Lee Jihye had thought thought.
‘Go right now. Smash all these scum!’
She didn’t know why she had been so hasty. Maybe it was because of guilt, rather than confidence. She felt guilt for someone’s death and pushed herself to the limit to wipe out the monsters.
Maybe it wasn’t just Lee Jihye. Jung Heewon, Lee Hyunsung and the other members felt a similar sense of urgency. Thus, they prematurely rushed to the scenario area to get rid of their insecurities.
After all, they were the strongest rankers in Seoul and the strongest incarnations. However, Lee Jihye soon realized that it was a mistake.
‘Shit, this is ridiculous… ridiculous.’
Lee Jihye’s power didn’t work in Dark Castle. The trajectory of Kendo, which reached level 7, rarely hit and the power of Demon Slaying only provoked the demons. Her sword had broken a long time ago.
“JIhye unni!”
Lee Jihye moved at Shin Yoosung’s cry and she avoided a dark tracker’s blade. She picked up a weapon dropped by an incarnation and used Sword Training and Ghost Walk.
“Unni! Behind you!”
Dark liquid from the dark trackers scattered through the air. Lee Gilyoung’s small insects came from somewhere and were hit by the liquid instead of Lee Jihye.
The insects hit by the black liquid experienced bizarre cell deformation and exploded. Thanks to the time bought by the insects, Lee Jihye was able to deal a bit more damage to the dark trackers.
“Aaaaaaack!”
The armour around the neck of a dark tracker broke and it fled. However, there were still nine remaining. Besides, the dark trackers were just a joke. The really scary thing was the guy on the other side of the dark trackers.
[Demon Viscount Noslocke.]
He had a human body with a rhinoceros head. Lee Jihye’s body shook every time he approached. She had never seen such a monster before.
In terms of individual strength, he wasn’t as strong as the Flood of Disasters. If the Disaster of Floods had her power suppressed, the demons had no such thing.
Moreover, Lee Jihye’s higher strength had become a poison to her. She knew the opponent’s strength and this only raised her fear. Lee Jihye raised the blade and bit her lips. Thus, here…
[On the first floor of the Dark Castle, the ‘Ancient Magic Power Barrier’ has been formed.]
“Unni, over there!”
A blue room was created at the end of the hallway. It was the only resting place in this Dark Castle.
Lee Jihye and the children rushed to the room with all their might and barely escaped from the pursuit of the dark trackers. It was a small space that was less than two square metres but the three of them barely managed to fit in.
[You have entered the Ancient Magic Power Barrier. The special barrier will be activated for 30 minutes.]
If it wasn’t for this safe zone being activated three times a day, Lee Jihye and the children might’ve been killed already.
The dark trackers groaned as they touched the barrier and retreated. They tried to enter several times before giving up. However, that guy was different.
“Why isn’t he leaving?”
The demon resembling a rhinoceros. The Demon Viscount Noslocke sat on the gorund a few metres away, as if it knew the principles of this barrier.
“…It is waiting.”
The demon’s long tongue swept over his lips. Like a gourmet waiting for delicious food, he watched Lee Jihye and Shin Yoosung. Shin Yoosung shivered at those terrible eyes.
“Now what? There are no more monsters to summon.”
“There are still 30 minutes. Let me think.”
At the edge of the barrier, Lee Jihye was able to see the outside world through the windows of the castle. They couldn’t leave through the window because of a special enchantment but they could see the outside anyway.
Demon species poured from the entrance of Dark Castle that Li Jihye and her companions had opened.
More of them were lesser demons but they were too much for ordinary incarnations. The demons of Dark Castle devoured and infected the incarnations of Seoul.
Thanks to this, many of the demon species outside the fortress were people she originally knew.
Min Jiwon and the Hwarang. The members of Nirvana’s Salvation Church. The people she knew were walking down the streets and tearing people apart. All of this was the result of her impatience. If she had been a bit more careful…
[Didn’t I tell you? The difficulty of this scenario is on a completely different dimension.]
Lee Jihye heard the voice of the dokkaebi in the air and realized. It wasn’t because she was strong that she could survive until now. It was because she was lucky.
‘Damn! Damn! Foolish girl!’ She blamed her own impatience too late. The people who entered without preparation scattered in the maze of darkness and she met these children. What happened to the other party members? She didn’t know. Maybe they were all dead.
‘If only Master was here. No… not Master…’
“I wish Dokja hyung…” Lee Gilyoung’s voice was heard from behind her and Lee Jihye frowned.
“Don’t speak useless things, fool. You are hurt so go to sleep.”
Lee Gilyoung, who was hit in the back of the head, fell silent again but unfortunately, there was one other person.
“Ahjussi isn’t dead. I don’t know why but I feel that way.”
She didn’t know why these children kept on bringing up a dead person.
“That person is in hell. Quickly forget that ugly face.”
Shin Yoosung showed an unexpected response to her harsh words. “I really don’t understand. Everyone says he is ugly but how is he ugly?”
The question was a bit embarrassing. In the meantime, she had pushed ‘Kim Dokja is ugly’ like a slogan (the constellations sometimes gave her coins) and she never really questioned why Kim Dokja was ugly.
“I mean, the shape of his eyes and nose… the whole harmony…”
The more she talked, the most confused Lee Jihye became. She couldn’t understand where Kim Dokja was ugly. No, Kim Dokja’s face didn’t come out clearly. It was as if it was obscured by something hazy…
Or like a face that hadn’t been created yet…
Why? Why couldn’t his face appear clearly?
Lee Jihye told Shin Yoosung, “I-It just isn’t to my taste.”
“…You cried so much at the funeral.”
“I was acting, you idiot. The constellations gave me a lot of coins at the time.”
[Some constellations ask Lee Jihye if it was really acting.]
Lee Jihye bit her lips.
“Unni is still a long way off. People aren’t all about faces.”
“You really…” Lee Jihye watched Shin Yoosung for a moment and sighed. “…I know that much.”
She spoke in a small voice. Just because she knew it didn’t mean she could admit it. At least for Lee Jihye, who was still immature.
She owed a lot to Kim Dokja. She survived because of him. She knew. She knew it well but she didn’t want to admit it. She wanted to repay her debt while still looking good.
In fact, he… was a pretty helpful person. Now that opportunity had vanished forever.
[There is one minute left for the duration of the Ancient Magic Power Barrier.]
Lee JIhye came to her senses as the darkness in front of the barrier shook. The demon’s smile widened. Lee Jihye realized it was time.
“Yoosung. Can you pull Gilyoung up? Take him away at my signal.”
“Huh?”
“Listen to me.”
It wasn’t appropriate to sacrifice her life for a friend to live. Even so, she wanted to live like this. It was because of the teachings of the dead.
“Quickly! Run away and ask someone for help! Do it before I go to hell!”
“…Understood. Hang in there Unni.”
Perhaps there wouldn’t be anyone else. Still, she had to say this. Otherwise the child wouldn’t leave.
Lee Jihye rushed forward the moment the barrier disappeared. The surprised demon jumped but that was it. The demon species surrounding her aimed for her body. Blood flowed from her white thighs and arms.
If only there was a lake nearby. No, if only she could get in touch with her sponsor whose link had been disconnected a few days ago.
“…I don’t want to die.”
The trajectory of Kendo was gradually disturbed and she weakened. The demon’s smile became bigger. There was a big hit to the back of her head and her vision shook for a moment.
Lee Jihye muttered to herself. “I want to live…”
It seemed that something similar happened before. What had happened at the time?
At this moment, light appeared in front of her. The bodies of the dark trackers were split into two. It was as if the Messiah had descended and waves were splitting in two.
Lee Jihye watched in a spellbound manner.
The confused Demon Viscount Noslocke turned his head and a powerful electric current appeared around it. There was a man in the path of light created by the electric current.
Ah, ah…
Lee Jihye stuttered but she couldn’t make a sound. He was the one whose face she couldn’t remember. He was saying something but she couldn’t hear it. The next moment, the fog covering his face disappeared.
The demon viscount roared angrily. For what? She didn’t know. However, one thing was certain…
This time, the man’s face was visible.
‘…Ahjussi, is this your face?’
[The constellation who doesn’t yet have a name is looking at you.]
Lee Jihye listened to the message and smiled as she fell forward.
