episode_0601

Hoyeon Lee sent an emergency call to the Iris Guild and headed straight home.

Originally, they had planned to destroy the black pillar until evening, but if the attack had already started, the black pillar was not important.

“This isn’t real. It’s not real.”

After returning home, Lee Ho-yeon hid her nervousness and immediately turned on her smart watch.

Then I made a video call with Irene in France.

[huh. I received a call. what’s the matter?]

Seeing Irene’s face for the first time in a few days.

Looking at his gaunt face, he must have been very busy over there too.

I wanted to ask how he was doing and make a joke, but now wasn’t the time.

[long time no see. Mr. Irene. I don’t have time, so I’ll get to the point first. The gates of hell are constantly monitored, right?]

[of course. We are still expanding our scope.]

[Have you finished analyzing how long it will take to reach the continent?]

[I originally expected it to take more than a month… The rate at which the darkness is increasing is accelerating? At this rate, I expect it to take about a week.]

[one week… .]

The moment the continent and hell meet is the beginning of hell.

Tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people will die every day.

But what if that week doesn’t even exist?

[That monster I saw last time was flying in the air. Didn’t that guy come out of the area and wander around?]

[huh. I don’t see anything like that yet. I was keeping my distance, and even though I was looking in this direction, there was no sign of me trying to attack.]

[I’m really glad. Please monitor properly and tell us immediately if you see any movement.]

thank god.

They haven’t moved yet.

This means that we need more time to adapt to the Earth.

[okay. If anything unusual happens, please let me know right away.]

[yes. Mr. Irene. i love you. Please say hello to Ellis too.]

[What is he saying now. … I’ll give you my regards.]

Pop-

I chuckled as I looked at the blank screen.

Irene’s embarrassment at the end was quite nice to see.

“Whew.”

Hoyeon Lee looked down at the glowing red magic sphere with a confused expression.

The fact that it shines means that Earth and Hell are completely connected.

“Fuck. Even if it’s fast, it’s too fast.”

The good mood I felt thanks to Irene quickly fell into the abyss.

It is very fortunate that the monsters did not attack right away, but the fact that it was assimilated into hell several years earlier than in the original does not disappear.

Even in the original work, for which preparations had been completed, enormous damage occurred. As it is now, it can never be stopped.

‘The process was very different from the original.’

Although the Earth was assimilated faster than the original, there were many differences from the phenomenon that occurred in the original.

In the original work, the dungeon overflow phenomenon was more important.

The runaway phenomenon in the dungeon released the magic power of hell and gradually assimilated the magic power of the Earth with hell.

If a few years pass in that state, the Earth turns into an environment filled with the magic of hell.

Humans also become more accustomed to the magic of hell.

But now it wasn’t like that at all.

The Earth was not filled with the magic of hell like in the original.

“I’m connected to hell, but I haven’t gotten used to it yet.”

In other words, it was an imperfect assimilation phenomenon.

It was just that Earth and Hell were connected, and the environment could not keep up.

In that case, even the monsters of hell cannot exert proper power.

“… No. That’s strange. Then there’s no need to assimilate.”

Hoyeon Lee shook his head.

[Earth and Hell have been assimilated, but it is not perfect, and the monsters are weak because they do not have the magic power of Hell.]

It’s not wrong.

However, it was a too convenient interpretation.

Why the assimilation of Earth and Hell happened so quickly.

We need to find out why those monsters are already flying around the Earth.

“Let’s think about it slowly. The monsters of hell need the magical power of hell to use their power. That was the reason Chiron and Albedo couldn’t use their power properly. That concept wouldn’t have changed.”

Just as humans are not used to the magic of Hell, they are also not used to the magic of Earth.

If the monsters cannot use their power properly, humans can band together to stop them.

But why has the Earth already assimilated?

The opponent is the god of this world.

There is no way to proceed with work stupidly.

“….”

Hoyeon Lee bit her lip and pinched the area between her eyebrows with her thumb and index finger.

You have to think.

In this world, you are the only one who knows the information about the original work.

As long as there is a god of betting, betting is fair.

It wouldn’t be a fair bet if the monsters of hell killed all humans overnight.

No, if he had that much power, Hoyeon Lee wouldn’t be alive right now.

There is clearly a gap that Ho-yeon Lee is not aware of.

“The reason why monsters appeared even though there is no magic power from hell. Those bastards need the magic power of hell to regain their strength. For example, near the gates of hell….”

There is a limit to the extent to which the gates of hell can expand.

Assimilation is the connection between hell and earth. Hell does not swallow the earth.

Perhaps the limit is to cover the Pacific Ocean like the original.

“If it’s not the gates of hell, then it’s a black pillar full of hell’s magic… Wait a minute. A black pillar?”

Lee Ho-yeon, who narrowed her eyebrows, opened her eyes wide.

black pillar.

The world now is clearly different from the original.

The god of this world is possessed by the Demon King, and the assimilation phenomenon of Earth and Hell has occurred even though it is not yet ready.

And, unlike the original, there was a structure that spread hell’s magic throughout the Earth.

“… It’s the magic power of hell flowing from the black pillar.”

Black pillars rising all over the world.

If they receive the magic power of hell from the black pillar, those monsters can become active.

*

Inside the quiet Hunter Association conference room.

Surin Moon attended as a representative of Victoria Academy instead of the chairman.

Even at a young age, she led the meeting as if proving her qualifications to represent the Academy.

And now…

“…Do you think that makes sense now?”

Su-rin Moon managed to calm down the anger rising to the top of her head and spoke.

I spoke as calmly as possible, but I couldn’t help but tremble at the end of my words.

“Student President. Isn’t it strange? Look at the gates of hell expanding their territory in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The monsters there are so strong, and they are not confined to a space called a dungeon. We never know when the monsters will strike in front of our homes. Until now. “There was no such phenomenon.”

As the association president continued speaking, he lightly caught Moon Su-rin’s gaze and looked around to ask for agreement.

It was a meeting where most of Korea’s large guild leaders or important figures in the industry gathered.

Every statement made here had tremendous weight.

“When the Gates of Hell appeared, what happened to become a worldwide issue? Yes, Cadet Ho-yeon Lee destroyed the black pillar.”

There, too, the representative of Victoria Academy, who had the strongest influence, and the representative of the Hunter Association were in conflict, so no one spoke directly.

If Baek Ah-young had been there, she would have stood by Lee Ho-yeon without hesitation, but today she did not attend the meeting.

However, even in the silence, a positive atmosphere could be felt towards the association president.

No matter how much she was the representative of Victoria Academy, student council president Su-rin Moon was still a girl in her 20s.

I thought to myself, ‘What the president of the association said is probably right.’ Most people thought so.

“… The two incidents are completely unrelated. The association president’s claims lack any basis.”

“As soon as Cadet Lee Ho-yeon broke the black pillar, the gates of hell appeared. And the black pillars and the gates of hell are unleashing the same hellish magic power. Are you saying there is no causal relationship between this?”

Moon Su-rin’s patience was already running out.

The claim made by the president of the association is a nonsensical sophistry that cleverly mixes truth and lies.

Black Pillar and Gates of Hell.

It is true that the two structures have something in common: the magic power of hell flows out, but the claim that the gates of hell appeared by destroying the black pillar is a ridiculous leap of logic.

What makes Moon Su-rin even more angry is that there are people who accept such claims not only in this conference room but all over the world.

“So what do you want to say? The Gates of Hell have already appeared, so wouldn’t the priority be to establish a global response as the Iris Guild said?”

“It means that Cadet Lee Ho-yeon’s atrocities must be stopped first. The expansion of the Hell’s Gate’s area may be related to destroying the black pillar.”

“… This point is written in the information provided by the Iris Guild. In fact, Cadet Lee Ho-yeon took on the permission of the French government and removed most of the black pillars in France.”

“Do you mean information that a terrorist group is leading abnormal phenomena around the world?”

The president of the association looked around.

People who made direct eye contact had no choice but to add at least a word.

And most of the words were positive for the association president.

“Hmm. The student council president has a point, but I think we need to be suspicious of what the president said.”

“Wizard Lee Ho-yeon destroyed Korea’s black pillar again today. Just because it’s not regulated by law, you can’t go around doing something like that….”

Anger boils in Moon Su-rin’s heart.

Although he was trying to remain calm, it seemed like the world was determined to get in his way and get in Ho-yeon Lee’s way.

You doubt the information provided by the Iris Guild, the world’s best information guild.

It was as if we had been collectively hypnotized.

‘… ‘I will protect Hoyeon.’

Moon Su-rin soon stood up.

“I understand everyone’s opinions. However, Victoria Academy’s position is that it will protect Cadet Lee Ho-yeon until the end. … I will go first today for an internal meeting.”

I realized that if I continued the meeting any further than this, I would not be able to persuade the other attendees.

In this case, it is better to express your opinion strongly, show your anger, and break up the meeting.

They won’t be able to ignore Victoria Academy’s influence and put pressure on Lee Ho-yeon.

After slightly nodding, Moon Su-rin gathered the documents and left the conference room.

The other attendees watched in silence as Moon Su-rin left, taking notice of the association president.

“Sigh… I’m sorry. I showed you something I shouldn’t have shown you. I will end the meeting here. The agenda regarding the Gates of Hell will be reconvened in a few days.”

At the association president’s words, the attendees looked at each other and left the room one by one.

As Moon Su-rin had intended, the matter regarding Lee Ho-yeon ended in disarray.

They probably won’t take sides yet.

The president of the association was left alone in the empty conference room after everyone had left.

He sat at the table and looked into space.

‘… ‘What was I doing just now?’

After a while.

The eyes of the association president, who was left alone, turned blank.

*

Ho-yeon Lee left home and headed to the academy.

The place to go now is the student council room where Surin is.

I had already planned to see Sister Surin’s face as soon as her schedule was over, but as soon as I finished worrying about the black pillar, I received this message.

– Sister Surin: Hoyeon. Can you come to the student council room right now?

Lee Ho-yeon left the house at the same time as he responded.

Humans must cooperate and unite to reduce the damage from monster attacks that will emerge from the gates of hell.

In the original, the process was relatively quick.

This is because the global emergency has already lasted for a long time due to the dungeon overflow phenomenon.

Therefore, the world was able to cooperate as soon as the monster of hell appeared.

But not now.

A state of emergency must be declared globally as soon as possible. Otherwise, you will suffer irreparable damage.

For that purpose, we will receive cooperation from the Wizards Association and the Iris Guild. Of course, we will need help from Victoria Academy.

Hoyeon Lee entered the elevator of the club building.

Lucy and Rumi said they were resting in the dormitory, so I plan to have a long conversation with Surin today.

Tiring-

When the door opened, an empty student council room was seen.

I couldn’t see the student council seniors, but it didn’t matter. Hoyeon Lee smiled as she saw a familiar face sitting inside.

I saw Surin looking down at the desk and narrowing her eyebrows.

I was even more happy to see him after two weeks.

“Sister Surin. I’m here.”

Hoyeon Lee said hello and opened the door.

“Hoyeon!”

At the same time, Moon Su-rin, who had pushed away the documents she was working on, jumped up from her seat.

As soon as she saw Hoyeon Lee’s face, she felt like the stress that had been weighing her down until now had become lighter.

“It’s been 2 weeks since I last saw you, but you look prettier.”

“Hoyeon…. Heh, haaa….”

Su-rin Moon hugged Ho-yeon Lee, who was smiling faintly, and let out a trembling breath.

I needed to find peace of mind and body in his arms.

I remember the looks I received in the conference hall just now.

Although she was the head of the Victoria Academy, she was only a woman.

Even though I was trying not to break down, sometimes I wanted to rely on Lee Ho-yeon.

Besides, since I was worried about him, I had to tell him the news quickly.

“…Surin. What happened?”

Fortunately, Ho-yeon Lee was able to immediately notice the change in Su-rin Moon.

Even before checking the status window, I could see that her condition was strange.

★ Heroine status window

[Moon Su-rin]

– [Likeability: 100] (+ 0.9)

– [Liberty: 70]

– [Appetite: 45]

– [Fatigue: 80]

Current status: I have to protect Hoyeon. You have to protect it until the end.

[When the favorability rating reaches 100, dependence on Lee Ho-yeon becomes more severe.]

‘As expected, something has happened.’

Ho-yeon Lee patted Su-rin Moon’s back and calmed her down.

And I listened to the story slowly.