Chapter 207: Reinvasion (4)
Chapter 207: Reinvasion (4)
His face still flushed whenever he remembered it. Not long ago, he had mentioned that he was becoming too lazy and needed to start training again—only to end up spending an excessively long time with Grace and Sitri right after their session.
In truth, Kang Yujin and Laysia had only given him looks for a brief moment, and even then, it was mostly out of envy and jealousy toward Grace and Sitri.
However, Han Shin had taken it upon himself to reflect on his behavior. He repeatedly told himself to exercise self-restraint and tried his best to remain disciplined.
As Han Shin devoted himself more to his training, the other women followed his lead and took time to reorganize themselves.
While Sitri was busy properly preparing her equipment, the other three spent their time training in their own ways or re-checking their gear. They sought out tasks that would be helpful to Han Shin.
Kang Yujin, who didn't have a specific method for training her psychokinesis, reached out to the Korean Branch of the Awakener Association as "Wolyeong" for the first time in a while.
There were limits to what Han Shin’s group could do alone when it came to tracking the movements of demonic humans and demons. To respond more quickly, they ultimately needed the help of others.
Korea was in a relatively good position because Park Min-woo, the head of the Korean Branch, trusted Wolyeong and appreciated everything she had done. The problem lay with other regions.
When London was invaded previously, they had only managed to arrive just in time because they had detected the movement in advance and set out early at the UK's request. No, in truth, they had been late. Many lives had already been lost, and the Black Spire had been operational for several hours.
According to Sitri’s explanation, the Black Spire was indeed a device designed to weaken the dimensional barrier surrounding Nippur. The fact that the spire had been active for about two hours last time meant the barrier had been weakened to some extent. It was because of the cracks in the dimensional barrier caused by that spire that Sitri had been able to attempt her crossing to Earth.
Therefore, a more agile response was necessary.
Through the Korean Branch of the Awakener Association, Kang Yujin arranged meetings with the associations of other nations. For other countries that had clearly seen the power of the Moon Shadow Party in Japan and London, this was a more than welcome proposal.
Until now, only the Korean Branch had been able to contact Wolyeong directly.
Countries like the USA had long wanted to recruit Wolyeong to their side. However, at the time, Wolyeong had no intention of leaving Korea; she planned to disappear as soon as she earned enough money and Han Shin’s treatment was finished. Thus, she had intentionally hidden her identity and avoided contact with other nations.
Because of this, all communication had to go through the Korean Branch.
But now, with Wolyeong herself reaching out to help various countries and proposing a joint response network, it was incredibly welcome news.
It was agreed that the Korean Branch would serve as the hub for gathering information and summarizing global trends to pass on to the Moon Shadow Party. They also established a direct communication line for emergencies.
Of course, Kang Yujin issued a stern warning: if they contacted her for trivial matters unrelated to fighting demonic humans or demons—such as trying to scout her—she would cut off contact immediately. She had no intention of letting bothersome proposals interfere with her time with Han Shin.
Given the sense of crisis following the tragedy in London, the other nations all swore they would not do so. There was nothing worse than offending Wolyeong and losing her help.
*
Meanwhile, Sitri was fully immersed in crafting her weapon.
She practically lived in Laysia’s sanctuary. She was creating a new whip sword, but until now, no follower had ever used the workshop within the sanctuary. Since neither Grace nor Laysia could offer her advice, Sitri had to figure everything out and craft it on her own.
Fortunately, Tiamat had not left them entirely empty-handed; there was a manual in the sanctuary’s library explaining how to use the workshop. Using this, Sitri operated various devices to forge a weapon imbued with Tiamat’s divine power.
Anticipating a time when she might not be able to provide direct attention, Tiamat had prepared metals infused with her divine power in advance, allowing for the creation of weapons and armor through the workshop.
A hologram-like illusion floated before Sitri, and she could transform the metal by drawing out the divine power of Tiamat from within her own body into the hologram.
On the surface, it looked like a very simple task.
However, Sitri was drenched in sweat. She couldn't just blindly blast the divine power from her hands; she had to maintain a perfectly uniform flow while manipulating it. If she failed, the weapon would not take shape properly and would be forged with a jagged, uneven surface.
Furthermore, the whip sword Sitri was making was a weapon with an incredibly complex structure. If it had been a standard sword, spear, or axe, it would have required far less effort and time.
Just as few people used whip swords, few understood their intricate mechanics. Sitri, however, had crafted her own whip sword back when she was a demon under Asmodeus. She knew the structure better than anyone.
‘I should take this chance to improve on the things I found lacking before.’
Sitri had used the whip sword she made during her time as a demon for a long time, but she had postponed making a new one because the conditions weren't right. She couldn't find the necessary materials in Nippur, and she couldn't afford to waste her dark mana on forging a new weapon.
Sitri knew all too well that not all of Asmodeus’s demons were truly loyal to her. Especially the executives. She knew that the demons ranked directly below her would never be satisfied staying beneath her. She herself had risen to her position by surpassing those above her.
Aware that she could be betrayed by her subordinates at any time, she could never afford to show even the slightest opening.
When Sitri didn't even come home, practically living in the sanctuary after announcing she would make her weapon, Han Shin couldn't help but feel a bit worried amidst his training.
He already knew from Grace and Laysia that followers didn't strictly need to eat. However, seeing her skip meals and stay away from home just to focus on her weapon made it impossible for him not to worry.
"I’m keeping an eye on her, so please don't worry too much."
"Right. Thanks, Laysia. Please look after her."
"I will."
Sensing Han Shin’s concern, Laysia assured him that she would take care of Sitri. Han Shin wanted to look after her himself, but he feared he might be a distraction. The fact that she wasn't coming home despite being able to meant she needed to maintain constant focus on the forging process.
If he, knowing nothing about the process, went there and caused a mistake, all her hard work would go down the drain. Han Shin decided to wait.
This lifestyle continued for a full two weeks.
Finally, Sitri, who had been the object of everyone's concern, completed her whip sword.
Because she had sweated so much during the process, Sitri was wearing only a black tank top and denim hot pants, with her hair pinned up. A few thin strands of hair had escaped, clinging to her sweat-slicked cheeks.
"It's finally finished!"
She had poured her heart and soul into the weapon for a very long time. With a heart full of emotion, Sitri gazed at the silver metal whip sword floating in the air above a circular white stone table.
She hadn't expected it to take this long. However, her desire to make it perfect was strong, and the complex structure of the whip sword required different processes for each segment, making the long duration inevitable. It was a deeply meaningful weapon, forged even while she suppressed her longing to see her beloved Han Shin.
Stepping forward, Sitri grasped the whip sword floating in the air. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary broadsword with a wide blade.
Sitri immediately ran to the training ground within Laysia’s sanctuary to test it.
Though it was a weapon she had just created and held for the first time, it felt familiar, fitting perfectly in her hand. She instinctively knew there would be no major issues, but she had to use it herself to be sure.
Her body was exhausted from the crafting process and she had consumed much of Tiamat’s divine power, but she still had enough strength to test the weapon.