I Will Bring Him Back
The gazes of the three kings gathered in the strategy room turned to one place at the same time.
“The King has been found.”
Serca, the First King, standing at the door, did not repeat the same words. She had no need to.
The excitement still burning in her crimson eyes was enough to prove that the report from moments ago was neither a mistake nor a hopeful guess.
The first to react was Barkan, the Second King.
He pushed himself up from the wide table.
“Confirmed?”
“I saw it directly through my imprint.”
“Where?”
“This is the world where humans live. Not the human world.”
Serca placed her hand on the table.
As the red imprint spread along the back of her hand, faint figures rose in the middle of the room—towering buildings blocking the sky, glowing signs, humans in clothes she had never seen running for their lives.
And in the center of that chaos stood a black-haired man.
The image was not clear. It was close to the afterimage of the beast just before the imprint cut off.
But there was no problem recognizing the face.
Barkan’s eyes narrowed.
“So he was alive after all.”
It was closer to confirmation than joy.
On the opposite side of the table, Merdion, the Third King, examined the back of Serca’s hand more than the figures floating in the air.
“How much time is left?”
“I caught him before he disappeared.”
“That’s not an answer.”
Merdion stood up and approached Serca.
His thin fingers stopped near the red imprint. Without touching it directly, a slender thread of magic wove itself along his fingertips.
Soon wrinkles formed on his forehead.
“The condition isn’t good.”
“Can you cross over?”
“It depends on what you send.”
“I.”
Merdion’s hand stopped.
Barkan spoke first.
“I’ll go.”
Serca slowly turned to him.
“I found the King.”
“So there’s no law that you have to go.”
“It’s the path my imprint found.”
“As long as the path is open, anyone can pass.”
Barkan’s hand gripped the hilt of the greatsword at his waist.
“I will personally bring Sihyuk back.”
Serca’s gaze turned cold.
“Do not casually call the King’s honor.”
“I have no intention of competing for the throne from an empty seat.”
Barkan removed his hand from the sword hilt.
“When Sihyuk returns, I can restore the throne to its proper place. I will hand over the throne to you and rebuild the Demon Realm.”
“Are you saying you will command the King?”
“If necessary.”
Low magic swept across the floor of the strategy room.
Several reports stacked on the table crumpled at the edges, unable to withstand the force.
Serca’s hand also reached for the sword hilt.
“Watch your words, Barkan.”
“You should watch reality.”
Barkan did not step back even an inch.
“The border barriers are weakening, and the throne has no new owner. It doesn’t matter where Sihyuk is or what he’s doing. He must return.”
The magic of the two kings clashed head-on.
Just before a crack appeared on the crystal lamp in the middle of the table.
Thud.
Merdion snapped his fingers.
The two forces pressing on the floor were blocked by a thin membrane. The membrane shook like paper, but in that moment Merdion calmly pushed aside the crumpled report on the table.
“Whichever of you two is stronger, we’ll check later.”
He smoothed the corner of the crumpled paper with his hand.
“This is a document that hasn’t even finished approval yet.”
Barkan’s gaze turned to Merdion.
“Get to the point.”
“Barkan cannot cross over.”
The strategy room fell silent.
Merdion spread the line of magic he had pulled from Serca’s imprint on the table. The thinner-than-thread lines gathered in one place and trembled irregularly, as if they would snap if shaken even a little.
“The one currently caught is not a completed coordinate. It’s close to a forced path connecting Serca’s imprint and the traces left in the other world.”
“If it’s Serca, it should be possible.”
“If Serca can cross, I should be able to too.”
Merdion touched one of the red lines with his fingertip.
The intertwined lines all reacted toward Serca’s hand.
“That’s because the path itself was created following her magic. Other kings would need to realign the route to pass. In that process there’s a high chance of losing the remaining traces.”
“You can just hold on with strength.”
“If the path collapses, there won’t be any space to hold on with strength.”
Merdion’s answer was without hesitation.
Barkan’s jaw tightened.
“Reopen it?”
“If you do that, you’ll almost exhaust the remaining magic reserves of the Demon King’s Castle in one go. After failure, there won’t be any strength left to try again.”
At that moment Orzen, the Fourth King, who had been listening silently until then, set down his teacup.
“It seems there are not many options.”
His quiet voice seeped into the tense air.
“Serca will cross over and check on the King’s condition. She will leave her imprint at the arrival point, and we will prepare the second gate following that mark.”
Orzen’s gaze turned to Barkan.
“Until then, Barkan must remain in the Demon Realm. Since the Demon King is absent, we can’t even leave the border troops in place.”
As if waiting for those words, the outside of the strategy room became noisy.
The door opened, and a messenger in armor with parts broken entered. His breathing was rough, as if he had run hurriedly.
“Urgent report from the northern border.”
Barkan turned his body.
“Speak.”
“Two barriers collapsed. Fighting broke out with the troops that came from the human world, and nearby lords requested reinforcements.”
“Casualties?”
“Over a hundred confirmed dead.”
Serca’s fingers gripped the sword hilt tightly.
The price for the Demon King’s absence had already begun.
Barkan closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them. The emotion that had been pressing on Serca moments ago was gone, and only the face of the king commanding the battlefield remained.
“I will redirect the 7th Legion to the north. Set up a defense line inside the collapsed barriers, and capture all who come over. First, check if the human world moved intentionally.”
“Understood.”
The messenger retreated.
Barkan stared at the closed door for a while, then turned his head toward Serca.
“How long will it take?”
Merdion answered.
“You need to start before the path becomes even more blurred. It will take three days for preparation.”
“By tomorrow.”
“If you do that, the gate might close after only half of Serca’s passage.”
“Two days.”
Merdion let out a short sigh.
“I’ll try without killing the sorcerers.”
After the meeting ended, Barkan remained in the strategy room.
When Serca tried to leave the room, his voice caught her from behind.
“Serca.”
She stopped in her tracks.
“Bring Sihyuk back no matter what.”
“I will bring him even if you don’t say so.”
“Even if he says he won’t return.”
Serca turned her body.
There was no joke or provocation in Barkan’s face.
“The King would never make such a choice.”
Barkan looked down at the fractured northern map.
“I can’t protect the Demon Realm with the belief that it can’t happen.”
Serca asked coldly.
“How long has it been since you found the King’s whereabouts, and you’re already thinking of drawing your sword?”
“Since I know he’s alive, I have to hurry more.”
“It’s best to return. If I hand over the throne to you, the current chaos will end.”
“What then?”
“Then I will take responsibility.”
It was a short answer.
However, Serca understood what was mixed in those words.
The responsibility to protect the Demon Realm.
And the conviction of someone who had believed for a long time that they would become the next king.
The two were not different desires for Barkan.
Serca opened the door.
“I will convey your words as is to the King.”
“All right.”
“I can even say that you should give up the throne in front of him too.”
The door closed.
Barkan, left alone, did not answer.
Serca was heading to the teleport room when she stopped in front of the King’s office.
A seal preventing entry had been placed on the door since the day the final war began. When Serca touched it, the seal recognized her magic and released.
The office was just as it was, as if the owner had briefly left.
On the table, approved reports and unfinished reports were mixed. Next to a dried pen, a cup with dried tea was placed.
Serca recalled the voice from long ago in front of it.
“Is this something that needs to be done today?”
“This is a report on the western army’s urgent salary.”
“Then I have to do it.”
The man, with a face of annoyance, picked up the pen again.
At that time I always thought he would be there.
Serca neatly arranged the report on the table. She had no intention of approving it in the owner’s place or throwing it away.
“Return and do it yourself.”
The answer didn’t come.
She cleaned the dried tea marks in the cup and placed it back in its place. No matter when it would be, she didn’t want the owner to see even the first bit of dust when he returned.
Serca came out of the office and sealed the door again.
This time she didn’t intend to leave it empty for long.
For two days the magic storage below the Demon King’s Castle was opened one by one.
The magic accumulated for a long time flowed into the teleport room along the giant tunnel. Every time a sorcerer that filled the floor lit up, the entire castle vibrated at a low frequency.
Merdion was calculating formulas without rest.
Every time the trace pulled from Serca’s imprint faded, he added a new line and readjusted the width the gate could withstand.
Orzen was sorting the formulas used in the ancient dimensional gate from the opposite side.
They exchanged only a few short words.
“Is this part unnecessary?”
Merdion pointed to one side of the formula.
Orzen examined that place and shook his head.
“If only thinking about sending one king, yes.”
“Are there other reasons?”
“You need to open the next gate, don’t you?”
Orzen drew one more line.
“As soon as Serca’s imprint settles on the other side, this formula will remember the path. The returning gate will be much more stable than now.”
Even if Merdion rechecked the calculation from the beginning, he couldn’t find any wrong place.
It was even more efficient than the method he had originally created.
“I’ll use it as is.”
Orzen smiled faintly.
“All right.”
The second night.
Serca stood in the middle of the completed formula.
Silver hair flowed down over her black armor, and only one sword was hung at her waist.
With only one king-level, there was no room to bring soldiers or servants.
Outside the formula, the three kings stood.
Merdion gave the final warning.
“After crossing, leave the gate mark first. You have to do it before the path completely closes.”
“What then?”
“After finding the King, send a signal through the mark. You can only check the condition roughly.”
“When will the return gate open?”
“As soon as the reserve magic recovers.”
“However, there is no guarantee that the time flows at the same speed between the two worlds. How long it will take for the return gate to be ready...”
Serca’s eyes narrowed.
Barkan said.
“Anyway, as long as you leave the mark properly, I will somehow open it.”
“It has to be a gate that can bring the King back.”
“I know.”
Serca didn’t ask further.
Orzen extended his hand over the formula.
“Let’s start.”
The magic pulled from the storage surged all at once.
Dozens of magic circles intertwined and rotated, and the space in the center of the teleport room split long. At first it was a gap thinner than hair.
Every time that gap widened, black lightning flashed in all directions.
Moans flowed from the mouths of the sorcerers.
Merdion held the formula with both hands.
“Connecting the path.”
A strange light passed beyond the split space.
Countless lights that never go out even in the dark.
Buildings towering high into the sky.
It was the same world as the scene the beast had seen last.
Serca took a step forward.
Barkan’s voice came from behind her.
“Bring him back no matter what.”
She didn’t look back.
“Don’t command me.”
Black lightning brushed against Serca’s armor and bounced off.
In her crimson eyes, only the world beyond the split gate was contained.
“I will bring the King back.”
Serca stepped into the gate.
At that moment the gap between the two worlds swallowed her.