Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Shattered Necklace
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The underground space of the Sejong Cultural Center, which had nearly turned into the worst powder keg.
I was barely pulling myself together in the middle of it all.
My hands trembled from mana depletion.
My side throbbed with agony every time I breathed, after being struck against the pipes.
Even though it was a demon vicious enough to have caused hundreds of casualties if left alone...
The unpleasant feeling of having killed someone with my own hands wouldn't fade, like a midwinter fever.
It was a miracle I hadn't collapsed physically or mentally.
The reason was probably this.
[Trait, Resilient Recovery activates.]
The power of the trait that had started activating at some point, and the faint voices of people beginning to be heard.
The text I sent to So I-hyeon right before heading here.
It was the result of requesting a search team, mentioning the secondary terror attack.
"Hurry!"
"Over here!"
Leaving the cleanup to them, I grabbed the box and slipped away.
I went up to the first floor and headed to the small hill behind.
All the citizens had evacuated, so I didn't run into anyone.
I found a spot not far away and opened the box first.
Lorelei Necklace.
A gift made by Cheon Seo-yoon's father for her.
But now it had become a lethal weapon, something that absolutely had to be destroyed.
The only solution I knew was for the bomb demon to disarm it personally...
After meeting the bastard, I was even more certain.
Disarming it had been impossible from the start.
It wasn't a poor judgment.
Even if entrusted to the National Forensic Service or the Awakener Association, it would have been the same.
Fundamentally, demonic energy and mana are polar opposites, like positive and negative.
Since they repel each other, it was nearly impossible for a non-demon to expel demonic energy...
I'd said it all: demonic energy that hadn't even manifested greed couldn't be absorbed.
So, the guilt eased a bit.
Either way, destruction was the only method.
And it was the right thing for me to do.
After all, wasn't it a side effect created because of me?
I asked Greed.
"Can you use [Subsidiary Authority 1]?"
['Greed' says that the amount it can absorb per day is fixed, separate from discharge.]
The answer was vague, so I asked again.
"So, no?"
The result.
['Greed' says it's touch and go.]
[If an explosion exceeds the limit, the damage will be on the host, it says.]
I got the answer I wanted.
It meant it was possible, after all.
In a state where I desperately needed rest, I didn't hesitate.
I reached out and gripped the necklace.
[[Subsidiary Authority 1] activates.]
The necklace in my grasp emitted a blindingly dark red light.
A searing pain hit instantly, along with the smell of burning flesh.
But it was bearable.
The ominous glow threatening the green forest soon faded.
Crack—
And the crack that formed.
The Lorelei mana stone, about the size of a thumbnail embedded in the necklace, lost its distinctive purple hue and shattered into pieces.
The ornate golden chain, which must have been crafted with a master's careful touch, met the same fate. It blackened and crumbled.
Suddenly, a breeze blew from somewhere.
The scattering fragments rose into the sky.
"It's really over."
All I could do was open my hand to let them fly more freely.
Once even the last fragments had flown away, I turned back with a complex mix of emotions.
"...What the hell did you just do?"
The voice that shouldn't have been heard reached me at that moment.
* * *
While wandering in search of Park Ha-yul, Cheon Seo-yoon harbored a small hope.
They were both Taehak students, after all.
They hadn't known each other long, but they'd seen each other's faces, and recently they'd even synergized well, so if she honestly confessed her situation—the personal circumstances she hadn't told anyone...
She thought repurchasing it might not be impossible if she asked for understanding.
But then.
Rumble—
A powerful wave of demonic energy suddenly shook the venue.
Sensing something ominous, Cheon Seo-yoon ran toward it.
Not long after, she spotted the person she'd been desperately searching for.
...Park Ha-yul.
He was heading somewhere, covered in wounds no less severe than hers.
"Park Ha..."
She was about to call out, but the distance didn't close easily.
So she hurriedly followed behind.
Her body felt heavy from continued bleeding, her mouth parched with burning thirst, but she gritted her teeth and tailed him.
How much longer did she walk like that?
What she finally caught up to and faced was... the remnants of the necklace, already crumbling and scattering.
"Why..."
She gaped in shock, but no voice came out.
The world turned white, then plunged into suffocating silence. It felt like her brain had twisted into a knot and frozen.
Cheon Seo-yoon stood there dazed, then began trembling.
She wanted to rush over and demand answers, but the fact that she had no right to do so weighed heavily on her heart.
After all, Park Ha-yul was the one officially recognized as the owner.
So she swallowed it down, spitting out each word as if chewing on them.
"...What the hell did you just do?"
Perhaps sensing her suppressed emotions.
Park Ha-yul flinched his shoulders for a moment, then turned his head.
Their eyes met.
His face somehow looked calm, and his unusually firm lips parted, letting out incomprehensible words.
"...Disarmed the bomb."
"What?"
Bomb?
Cheon Seo-yoon let out an involuntary hollow laugh. His answer was that absurd.
In the end, she couldn't hold back and shouted.
"No, why would a normal necklace be a bomb... Why!"
She knew Park Ha-yul didn't know the circumstances, but the emotions contained in the necklace.
The longing for her father was too deep to be rationally severed.
"I don't know the details. I just heard from the host."
But Park Ha-yul continued in a calmer voice than ever.
"The precious item you mentioned... If it was this necklace, I'm sorry. But I had no choice. Once I knew, I had to remove it."
"You right now..."
"No more to say. I'm going."
As Park Ha-yul turned away without lingering, Cheon Seo-yoon immediately followed.
"Wait. I still have things to say..."
"If you don't believe me, ask the captured demons."
But his cold retort came back.
"Verify if what I said is true first. Don't cling to someone in bad shape."
It was all true, so Cheon Seo-yoon couldn't retort and stopped in her tracks.
Her vision blurred misty-white in an instant, distorting the receding figure of Park Ha-yul.
Cheon Seo-yoon felt frustrated with her powerless self.
She wanted to scream and cry to keep from losing her mind.
But she couldn't.
She didn't want to seem any more pathetic.
So, as she forcefully swallowed her tears, that's when she noticed.
A twinkling purple gem fragment at her feet.
As the stand collapsed, Cheon Seo-yoon crumpled to the ground.
* * *
Sometimes, the truth is like wielding a blade—both the wielder and the one slashed are wounded.
After parting with Cheon Seo-yoon, I returned to Taehak alone.
I collapsed into bed at the dorm the moment I arrived.
A full sleep, forgetting even the anxiety of remaining time.
When I opened my eyes again, darkness had fallen everywhere, and my condition had improved from the deep rest.
Right at 8 PM sharp, I turned on the TV.
The news I'd been waiting for was playing.
The perpetrators of this foiled terror incident have been identified as demons affiliated with the recently rising Demon Subjugation Society.
The demons aimed to steal the Death Sword in order to...
Their plan was revealed in detail through the mouths of the captured demons.
And the parts where I intervened...
Authorities view the smoke rising at a timing only an insider could know, and the murder traces on the bomb demon's corpse identified as demonic energy, as evidence that internal conflict within the Demon Subjugation Society has reignited—
Fortunately, it was perceived as a power struggle within the Demon Subjugation Society.
[Subsidiary Authority 2] as the final move had unexpectedly become a shield.
"At least there's no law saying I have to die."
The necklace crumbling in my hand suddenly came to mind, leaving a bitter taste.
Just as I was about to turn off the TV.
That's when two familiar faces appeared.
Baek Sa-young and Joo Ah-rin, students. I heard you made a big contribution again this time.
It was a key segment leading into the next development—I almost missed it.
Suddenly, I recalled what Yoo So-young had said at this point.
Heroes and villains are only a paper-thin apart.
When I asked what nonsense that was, I remember her answering like this.
A hero's life is tumultuous because to someone, they are a villain...
Baek Sa-young and Joo Ah-rin would be examples going forward.
From the demons' perspective, they'd seem like insolent upstarts meddling where they didn't belong.
Anyway, with the epilogue of this episode—and prologue to the next—I turned off the TV.
Having rested well, there was much to do.
First, I checked the messages I hadn't seen.
[Main Quest #5: Prevent the Auction House Terror Incident]
[Reward: Remaining time extended by 20 days.]
[Remaining Time: 7 days 20 hours 4 minutes]
[Reward: Acquired 35 SP.]
[Current SP: 95]
The main quest was cleared, at least.
[Achievement -88: Nameless Hero]
[You prevented the bomb demon's terror through outstanding efforts and saved the citizens.]
[Reward: 1 day added.]
[Reward: 15 SP acquired for satisfactory development.]
I got generous achievement rewards too. Total remaining time and SP.
[Remaining Time: 25 days 10 hours 15 minutes]
[SP: 110]
Time had been running critically low, so this was a relief.
Moreover, SP had surpassed 100 points.
Next reward at 200, right?
I wondered what reward I'd get this time.
Exciting, yet worrying if it'd drag me into another incident.
I also reconfirmed the newly acquired [Subsidiary Authority 2]'s function.
[Subsidiary Authority 2] Discharge
-Can discharge the demonic energy swallowed by Subsidiary Authority 1.
-Limited to 12 hours after absorption; unusable afterward.
It was a set with [Subsidiary Authority 1], which I'd used so usefully before.
Borrowing Greed's explanation, there was no limit on uses.
But note that it can't be used if all charged demonic energy is depleted.
Also, avoid reckless use.
If word got out that a direct descendant of the brew clan was using demonic energy?
Just thinking about it was horrifying.
I'd be branded a demon on the spot, potentially shaking not just me but the entire brew clan.
"As expected..."
The best thing about operating as Park Ha-yul was brew arts, hands down.
If even that failed, secretly activating armament manifestation was the next best...
However, today's battle was, well.
Honestly, lacking.
Unlike the smooth previous fights, it exposed my overreliance on meager experience and armaments?
Enemies would only get stronger ahead...
I couldn't count on luck like [Subsidiary Authority 2] conveniently unlocking at the perfect moment next time.
"I need to find a way."
I judged now, having properly realized it, was the right time.
The optimal moment to inspect my arsenal and set the next step.
Plus, when my mind was restless, nothing beat immersing in something. So I shouted.
"Character window."