ch 261
Became a Swordsmanship Instructor at the Academy
Chapter 261
Misfortune doesn't come alone
Light began to appear in the pitch-black darkness.
As I moved toward the light, my vision changed instantly.
The first thing that caught my eye was a familiar camping car.
I had returned to the portal alone.
Would Master really be able to come back?
I know better than anyone how strong Master is.
It was the same when we sparred before, but the energy I felt from Master after he reached a new level was comparable to the Primordial Heavenly Honored One.
But even that Primordial Heavenly Honored One said there was no way to deal with the Demon God.
Even if he dealt with that guy in the dimensional rift, if the dimensional rift itself disappeared, Master would also...
No, even if Master miraculously escaped, the Primordial Heavenly Honored One warned me.
If Master interfered with this world, he would have no choice but to take him to the heavenly realm.
The thought that I might never see him again filled me with anxiety and helplessness.
Despite having discarded my emotions, my eyes stung.
Was it incomplete?
To me, Master wasn't simply someone who taught and learned martial arts from, but was no different from a parent.
Always caring for me while pretending not to, showing me the way and providing direction on how to live.
Such a Master... No, let me trust Master.
If not me, who would trust our Master?
Our Master is absolutely not someone who makes empty promises.
He said he would return, so no matter what method he uses, he will return.
That's right. Master said that negative thoughts create negative reality...
I will trust Master and wait.
Shaking off my anxiety, I looked around but couldn't see Luciel.
Even when I spread my energy, I couldn't sense her, so it seemed she wasn't in the portal.
It was Luciel who conveyed to Master that I would be fighting the Demon God. Master also said that when he returned, Luciel would be waiting, so what's this about?
Did she return to where the Demon Realm Tree was, thinking I would be angry?
I immediately used subspace magic to take out my phone and wallet.
I tore the Demon Realm Tree leaf that was in my wallet.
Huh?
Normally, my vision should change and I should be transported to Luciel's world, but nothing happened.
It shouldn't be that the leaf's effect disappeared because I stored the wallet in subspace.
I had stored the wallet in subspace several times before, but there was no problem then.
Did something happen by any chance?
But the Demon God was being held by me, so that couldn't be it.
I also saw Master split space and send the Demon God to the space-time rift before returning here.
Anxiety began to creep up again.
I thought I should go out and ask the others, so I exited the portal.
The surroundings were completely covered in white snow, and heavy snow was pouring down from the sky.
What's this?
Although I've reduced my external activities a lot and have almost no sense of days, I haven't forgotten the month.
It's September now.
No matter how much it snows in Gangwon Province, it shouldn't snow like this at this time.
I've been coming and going here for years.
Is it abnormal temperature due to global warming?
It's a bit confusing, but I should go home first... No, New York first.
I used teleportation magic.
My vision changed and it was familiar... Huh?
No matter where I looked around, there was only blackened earth everywhere.
I definitely moved to the airspace above the Statue of Liberty.
Thinking I might have made a mistake, I used magic once more, but it was the same place.
Is this really New York?
I had told Se-jin and Eunseo to evacuate the people in New York, but they wouldn't have evacuated the buildings as well.
I walked around and looked, but I couldn't find even a single blade of grass, let alone people.
Just how fiercely did they fight for New York to become such a wasteland...
Fortunately, I don't sense any monsters or demonic energy, but are the kids okay?
BUZZ! BUZZ!
I felt a vibration from my pants pocket and took out my phone.
For a moment, I couldn't help but doubt my eyes.
It wasn't because of the vibration.
Originally, when I came out of the portal, missed contacts would flood in all at once, causing such vibrations.
Of course, this isn't Korea, but my phone is a smartphone that can communicate in remote areas through satellites rather than base stations.
As I traveled around the world dealing with demons, regular phones often couldn't connect, so I had it specially made... No, this isn't what's important right now.
The reason I was surprised was because of the date displayed on my phone screen.
[October 24, 2027 18:25]
I don't remember the exact date, but it was definitely September, so about a month has passed?
I wonder if my phone is broken, but if it were broken, it wouldn't turn on at all.
I think I should contact Se-jin first, so I pressed 1 and the call button.
The signal goes through but it doesn't connect.
Anxiety washed over me again.
Since Se-jin's phone is the same as mine, I should be able to contact her anywhere in the world...
I ended the call and called Eunseo.
Similarly, the signal goes through but... Huh? She answered.
—... Brother? Is it really you, Brother?
Hearing Eunseo's voice, the anxiety that was washing over me disappeared instantly.
It seems Se-jin couldn't answer because she's busy.
"Yeah, Eunseo. It's me. I'm in New York right now, where are you? I'll come to you."
—I'll go home now. Let's meet at home.
I said okay and hung up.
I immediately used teleportation magic to arrive in the house yard.
Since I can't sense Eunseo's energy, she hasn't come yet?
It's not like I haven't been here in a long time, but it feels strange.
Of course, the exterior is fine and there are no traces of monster invasion.
All kinds of defensive magic are still in place.
But somehow it feels a little different.
The magic cast on the house was originally installed by Luciel, but the energy felt from the current magic is like Eunseo's internal energy...
Suddenly, I felt magic fluctuating from the living room, so I also headed to the entrance.
From the entrance, the door opened and Eunseo came out.
"Brother? Is it really brother!"
"Then is there a fake brother too?"
I thought she would run to me and hug me as soon as she saw me, but Eunseo suddenly started crying and sobbing.
"Eunseo? What's wrong...?"
At first, I thought she was so moved.
Eunseo is originally an emotionally rich kid.
But no matter how I look at it, it doesn't feel like that.
I approached and hugged Eunseo.
Fortunately, she didn't reject or push me away, but she continued crying while held in my arms.
"Why are you like this..."
"Huh?"
"You came back late..."
...So my phone wasn't broken after all.
Is it because where the Demon God was located was far away from Earth in distant space?
But with the Primordial Heavenly Honored One's help, there shouldn't have been such a big difference.
Could it be because I returned through the space-time rift rather than with the Heavenly Honored One's help?
It didn't take very long, but like Luciel's world, the time ratio here must have been different.
"Sorry. There were circumstances. I'll explain everything. By the way, is Se-jin still very busy? I called earlier but she didn't answer."
In the original story, after dealing with the Demon King, peace comes to the world.
The existing portals don't disappear, but no new portals are created.
Moreover, most monsters have already poured out from the portals, so only fixed portals remain.
Of course, damage recovery work needs to be done, but if a month has passed, it shouldn't be to the extent that she can't even answer the phone...
Huh? Eunseo is crying much more pitifully than before.
The anxiety I had shaken off by meeting Eunseo began to envelop me again.
"Sister is..."
Eunseo doesn't speak properly and just keeps shedding tears.
"Hey... Eunseo? No, right? No matter what, if you joke around about this..."
It can't be.
There's no way.
But there's no way Eunseo would play such a prank...
"Sister Se-jin, sister is... sob..."
"Yes, about Se-jin. Don't cry, just...!"
"Sob, Sister is... no longer in this world..."
***
Do-hyun, who had faced the Demon King's magic together, flew toward the building.
CRASH! THUD!
Whether it was because of the shock of the unresolved magic colliding with Do-hyun, the building that seemed to be dozens of stories high collapsed.
"Do-hyun!"
With Lee Ji-sung's short hair behind me, I sent my sword toward the Demon King, filled with mental focus and internal energy.
Toward the giant horn on the Demon King's head that Sister Luciel had said was a weak point.
The Demon King raised his giant hand to block it, but I pierced through his hand and reached the horn.
There was definitely damage, but the horn was still intact.
I tried again using the mystery of Yigieogeum, but the sword was blocked by the Demon King's other arm and fell helplessly.
At the same time, a giant magic bullet flew toward me.
This is bad.
Since all my attention was focused on retrieving the sword, there wasn't enough time to use Blink.
I had no choice but to hastily raise my protective energy, but fortunately Eunseo appeared in front and blocked the magic bullet.
—Sister, are you okay?
—No problem.
I retrieved my sword and answered through telepathy while moving, but it was actually a lie.
Eunseo split the magic bullet with her sword infused with blue sword energy, but she was grazed by several fragments of the decomposed magic bullet.
I moved my internal energy to quickly dispel the demonic energy, but I felt my insides churning and blood flowing backward.
But Eunseo, who had blocked the magic bullet, was in much worse condition than me, so I couldn't show it.
As my honey said, the Demon King descended in the middle of New York two days later.
My honey said that if there were four of us, we could handle it without difficulty, and Sister Luciel also said that if Eunseo and I were together, we couldn't guarantee victory but we wouldn't be pushed back.
But it wasn't okay at all.
Unless it was sword energy, nothing worked at all, and even when attacking with Yigieogeum and mental focus, all I could do was make shallow scratches.
I tried to hold on somehow until my honey returned, but the situation was too desperate.
There was no summoning of demons or monsters, which was what I was most worried about, but not long after the battle began, the Demon King burst into maniacal laughter and stretched his hand toward the sky, causing black fog to emerge and engulf the surroundings.
At first, I judged it to be a type of curse that weakened physical abilities and raised my protective energy to prepare, but surprisingly nothing changed.
The black fog that still surrounds us isn't a curse or anything like that.
We all fought our best just now, but everyone was too exhausted and seriously injured, so it seemed impossible with just the four of us, so we decided to retreat from this place.
We planned to join the waiting hunters, buy some time, and engage in rotating battles, but none of us could succeed in teleportation magic.
The black fog created by the Demon King wasn't a curse but a barrier created to prevent us from escaping.
We had no choice but to keep fighting, but now everyone has reached their limit.
Lee Ji-sung approaches the Demon King and creates sword energy to charge forward, but at that speed...
CRASH!
As expected, one arm was cut off by the Demon King's claws.
Eunseo had one hand blown off by the magic bullet earlier and is using regeneration magic.
Do-hyun seems to be alive since I can sense his energy, but he still hasn't come out of the broken debris.
Thinking there would be no answer if we continued like this, I moved to Eunseo's side.
"Sister, black blood is coming from your mouth..."
"It's nothing. I'm fine, so listen carefully to what I say."
"Yes? Yes."
"Right now, tear the leaf and go to Sister Luciel."
Since we could go to Luciel world by tearing the leaf even in the portal, there should be no problem even in the Demon King's barrier.
"What do you mean? How can I run away alone..."
"I'm not telling you to run away. Request support from sister Luciel."
When I went yesterday, I couldn't meet my sister, but fortunately I met Kainakan, who is my sister's subordinate.
I heard that she didn't follow my honey but went out briefly, so she should have returned.
Even if she hasn't returned, if she goes there, Eunseo can at least live.
I thought about going together, but if I go there now, Do-hyun and Ji-sung won't be able to hold on for even... no, not even a few minutes.
Not just those two, but all the hunters on the outskirts will die and the world will be destroyed.
After all my honey’s efforts...
The difference isn't huge, but among us, I'm the strongest.
Moreover, my honey trusted me and entrusted this to me.
"But brother said that another, more powerful Demon King is targeting sister Luciel, so we shouldn't go..."
"He's probably fighting right now, so it'll be okay. Even if it's a little not okay, if we continue like this, we'll all die. Do you think my honey would want that?"
"N... No."
"Right. Go quickly and request help from sister."
"Um, then wouldn't it be better if sister goes..."
"Are you still afraid of sister Luciel?"
"It's not that..."
"Then are you ignoring me? The person with more leeway should stay to hold on a little longer."
"Sister..."
"Go quickly."
"I'll be back soon."
Eunseo, at least you should live.
That way my honey will be less sad and won't make foolish choices.
***
My heart felt uncomfortable, but at sister Se-jin's urging, I took out the leaf and tore it.
My vision began to change instantly.
I was worried about what would happen if it didn't work, but I'm really relieved.
I immediately ran to the Demon Realm Tree and called for sister Luciel.
"Luciel! Sister!"
There was no answer.
I met Kainakan, but only heard that she had gone out, and I couldn't find sister Luciel anywhere.