ch 263
Became a Swordsmanship Instructor at the Academy
Chapter 263
It's been a really long time since I've come here.
During this time, when I went to Luciel's world, I easily traveled back and forth using the Demon Realm Tree's leaves, but now Luciel has entered the Demon Realm Tree for treatment, so tearing the leaves doesn't allow for movement.
That's why I came here.
Security facilities like CCTV are still there, but the soldiers seem to have been greatly reduced.
That makes sense since reconstruction work is currently underway in all countries around the world, so the Self-Defense Forces would have been mobilized there too.
It's also a portal that has already been conquered.
Anyway, thanks to that, I easily entered the interior using invisibility magic together with Eunseo.
Of course, if Eunseo requested cooperation, we could pass through easily, but it might take some time and there's also the possibility that the Japanese government might take interest and watch us, making things troublesome.
Crucially, I have some problems moving publicly right now.
My image right now is quite bad.
Even though I warned about the appearance of the Demon King and made many contributions by sharing internal energy cultivation methods, when the Demon King finally descended, I disappeared without a trace like a coward.
This is the image that most people around the world have of me right now.
Eunseo said she only learned about this fact recently.
She was deeply saddened by Se-jin's and her friends' deaths, and even Luciel had entered the Demon Realm Tree for recovery, she had to take over the Ares Guild where most of the executives had died, and she was so busy with post-war processing that she couldn't even blink.
Still, as soon as she learned this fact, she said there were two Demon Kings and that I went to face one alone, but it was useless.
The United States, which suffered the most damage this time, used satellites to survey the entire world and announced that there was only one Demon King on Earth.
It's not impossible to clear up the misunderstanding, and honestly I was angry, but such things aren't important right now.
I crossed the sand desert and arrived at the Black Temple in an instant.
"What if it doesn't work here either?"
"That won't happen. Even if it does, there's nothing to worry about."
I was a bit flustered when I first tore the leaf and couldn't move, but since the Primordial Heavenly Honored One said I could heal her directly, if it doesn't work here either, he would at least take me there.
I knocked out the Self-Defense Force members standing guard by pressing their pressure points and came up to the 3rd floor.
Holding Eunseo's hand, I cut the statue with the familiar explanation attached using mental focus.
BAANG!
The statue shattered into pieces at once and the view began to change.
The blue grassland spread under the purple sun, the giant Demon Realm Tree, and the small camping car next to it.
At first glance, nothing seemed different from when I came last time, but the atmosphere was quite different.
It was quiet and silent.
Kainakan, who used to lie by the camping car or the Demon Realm Tree and greet with 'Did you come?' is no longer here.
I heard the story from Eunseo.
Kainakan asked Eunseo to kill him in order to summon Luciel, and Eunseo cut down Kainakan.
"Are you okay?"
Eunseo's face darkened as if she was thinking of Kainakan too.
"I'm okay...."
Her expression didn't look okay at all.
I also didn't think we were that close since all I did was bring some jerky and exchange a few greetings each time I came.
But I can't help feeling a little lonely.
I held Eunseo's hand once and came to stand near the Demon Realm Tree.
Next to it, I could see a small grave.
[Kainakan's Grave]
"Did you make this, Eunseo?"
"Sister Luciel made it and I just wrote the letters...."
"I see. Thank you and I'm sorry, Kainakan."
If you hadn't sacrificed yourself, the damage would have been much greater.
Maybe even Eunseo could have been in danger.
I bowed my head to pay my respects and stood in front of the Demon Realm Tree.
Even without touching it, I could feel Luciel's energy from the Demon Realm Tree.
Along with the damp and sticky demonic energy.
Looking closely, perhaps because of the demonic energy, it felt like it had returned somewhat to its previous appearance.
Originally, when Luciel awakened, no more demonic energy could be found in the Demon Realm Tree.
It seems the Demon Realm Tree is absorbing demonic energy to heal Luciel, but I was relieved as soon as I saw it.
I became confident that I could heal Luciel as the Primordial Heavenly Honored One said.
I made Eunseo step back a little and placed my hand on the Demon Realm Tree.
Actually, there's no need to touch it, but the Demon King's demonic energy might scatter into the atmosphere and have a bad effect on Eunseo.
I began to extract the demonic energies existing in the Demon Realm Tree using the Absorption Technique.
It was much more vicious than when I first met her, but my current self is also incomparable to when I first met Luciel.
The demonic energy sucked into my body disappeared in an instant.
After about 5 minutes passed and I could no longer feel demonic energy from the Demon Realm Tree, a hole formed in the center of the tree and Luciel came out.
Time here flows 30 times faster.
She should be seeing me after 900 days, but instead of hugging me like Eunseo did, she has an expression as if she's about to cry.
I healed her wounds perfectly... what's wrong?
"What's wrong? Is your body still not normal?"
Luciel still shook her head with a sad expression and slowly opened her mouth.
"I'm sorry...."
"What are you sorry for?"
I scolded her and pulled Luciel into my arms.
Luciel, held in my embrace, began to shed tears profusely just like Eunseo did at first.
"What's wrong?"
"It's all my fault...."
"Fault?"
"I'm the one who asked Master to save you, Shin-hyeok. I should have sent Master and helped the kids. Because I was waiting for you at the portal, I couldn't even save Se-jin...."
This was a fact I already knew from Master.
I patted Luciel, who was crying and blaming herself, and said.
"How is that your fault? It's not your fault."
"No, it's all my fault...."
"If you hadn't sent Master, I wouldn't have been able to return here."
I would have wandered through space with the Demon God until my breath ran out....
Master saved me, and so did Luciel who sent Master.
"Let's trust Master. Master will return."
"But... if I had listened to you, Shin-hyeok, and stayed here again, Se-jin would have...."
"You did that to save me, didn't you?"
"Still, if I had told Master and returned here immediately, I could have saved Se-jin too. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry...."
My chest is getting wetter and wetter.
"That's not your fault either, it's mine. Because I misjudged the Demon King's power."
If I had judged properly from the beginning and told you to catch him together with Luciel, this result wouldn't have happened.
"But...."
"Luciel, as I said before, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here right now. And thanks to you, countless people saved their lives. You did well."
As I patted Luciel and looked at Eunseo, she had her back turned.
Seeing her shoulders shaking, she seemed to be crying, probably overcome with emotion.
"Why are you being so pathetic there by yourself?"
I pulled Eunseo with mental focus and hugged her together with Luciel.
Eunseo's face was also covered in tears.
"Brother... Sister...."
I patted both of their backs with my hands and slowly opened my mouth.
"I have something I want both of you to listen to. It's not over yet."
"What?"
"You mean another being like the Demon King will appear?"
"Is another Demon God coming?"
"It doesn't mean that."
"Then what...."
"There's a way. To reverse everything."
Se-jin and my students, acquaintances, all the people who were sacrificed can be revived and maybe even Master can be saved.
Eunseo's eyes became very wide as if she was excited.
But Luciel looked at me with calm, sad eyes.
She seemed to have guessed what I was going to talk about.
When the Primordial Heavenly Honored One said that I already knew the method, at first I couldn't understand what nonsense he was talking about.
But this morning, after returning from Se-jin's grave and putting Eunseo to sleep, I realized.
Trial of Origin.
Those who pass this trial are given the Origin Orb that grants any wish.
I already have one.
It's a really small orb I received after passing a trial with the difficulty lowered to the minimum, so even if I can't save everyone, I thought maybe I could at least revive Se-jin.
So I immediately used subspace magic and took out the orb to make a wish.
I asked to revive Se-jin.
The orb was dyed with golden light and began to move at tremendous speed.
I followed the orb with hope.
I crossed mountains and seas.
The orb that had been flying for a long time suddenly stopped and shattered into pieces.
But Se-jin wasn't where the orb stopped.
The place where the orb disappeared was the Grand Canyon.
It was the entrance to Hell's Gate.
"Brother?"
"I'm going to challenge the Trial of Origin."
***
I entered Hell's Gate.
I heard that Luciel had stopped by several times to see Lumiel, but I hadn't visited this place even once since I first received the trial.
The moment I meet Lumiel, I'm forced to challenge the Trial of Origin.
At first, I thought the two might oppose it.
In the original work, it took Do-hyun 3 years to overcome the Trial of Origin and return?
It took quite a long time.
Of course, I think my mental strength is stronger than Do-hyun's now, so it would be much shorter, but I can't be certain.
The wish I want is incomparably more difficult than the wish Do-hyun had.
But if I can save Se-jin, Master, and everyone, no matter how long it takes, I have no choice but to try.
That's why I thought about not saying anything, but that would be really wrong to do to them.
Fortunately, Luciel and Eunseo didn't oppose it.
Especially Eunseo, without even thinking about it....
"Even if I had died instead of sister Se-jin, brother would have made the same choice. I believe in brother."
She answered immediately like this.
Luciel thought about it a little, but gave her permission and is still by my side now.
Only one person can enter, but since Luciel is an angel, she's not included in the count.
"Um... Shin-hyeok, didn't you see Eunseo's expression at the end?"
How could I not see what Luciel saw....
"I saw it."
Eunseo, who we parted with at the entrance a little while ago, saw us off very brightly and disappeared using teleportation magic, saying she had a lot of work to do.
But in that brief moment of disappearance, she....
No, actually I knew much earlier.
Her voice was bright, but tears were welling up in her eyes.
There's not much left to where Lumiel is, but Luciel grabs my arm.
"Do you have to go so urgently like this? A little later...."
Luciel's face also has tears welling up like Eunseo did earlier.
It's not that I don't understand Luciel's feelings.
It hasn't even been 24 hours since I met Eunseo, and from Luciel's perspective, she came here almost immediately after waking up.
I thought about spending some time with them before challenging too, but I just couldn't do it.
My heart might weaken and I might forget Se-jin and Master.
"Luciel, don't you trust me? When I challenged it before, I overcame it in just one week."
"That was the lowest difficulty...."
Despite her words trying to hold me back, Luciel released the hand that was holding my arm.
But this time, I pulled Luciel into my arms.
"Trust me. I'll return as quickly as possible."
Before long, Luciel pushed me away first.
Unable to hold back any longer, transparent tears were flowing down Luciel's cheeks.
She had an expression as if she had many more things to say, but Luciel kept her mouth tightly shut and gestured for me to go.
"I'll really be back soon, so please wait just a little. Please take care of Eunseo too."
After finishing my words, I turned around and ran.
If I looked any longer, I felt like I wouldn't be able to leave.
Before long, I could see the giant door I had seen once before.
As soon as I sent out my internal energy, Lumiel appeared with light.
"Huh? Did you make a mistake again? You can't challenge the lowest difficulty anymore... are you crying?"
I quickly wiped my eyes with my hand.
"It's not a mistake. This time I really came to challenge it. Sister-in-law, please set it to the highest difficulty."
"High... highest difficulty? Then what about our sister?"
"Of course I got permission. I'll be back soon anyway."
"You feel different from when I saw you last time, but the highest difficulty is absolutely not easy. Didn't sister tell you?"
No matter what trauma the Trial of Origin shows me, it can't be more serious than now.
Even if it's as difficult as now, it doesn't matter.
I made a promise to the kids.
For my people, I'm not afraid of anything.