Chapter 253 – Epilogue (1) – Don’t Even Look at a Tree You Can’t Climb

Episode 253

“Hehehe…!”

A low chuckle, suspicious to anyone listening, echoed through the Demon God Dantalian’s subspace.

He was scribbling furiously on a document with a quill, muttering to himself.

“I’ve never had so much fun since I met this contractor! Hehehe…!”

A smile never left his face as he wrote.

Suddenly, he stopped.

“…Hmm? Who’s there?”

He looked up, sensing someone’s presence, and his eyes widened.

“…Huh? Baal?”

A sturdy man who perfectly fit the description of a ‘black knight’.

It was Baal, the leader of the Demon Gods and ruler of the Demon Realm, in his human form.

“You’ve never visited my subspace before, not since I was born.”

“Can I sit here?”

Baal ignored him completely and strode towards the sofa.

He sat down on the main seat, and

“…Well, I’ll be damned.”

Dantalian chuckled, bewildered.

Moments later,

they were both sitting on the sofa, a cup of coffee on the table before them.

“It’s black coffee made with Colombian Supremo beans. Quite good for a Middle Realm beverage.”

“It’s just bitter.”

“Tsk tsk tsk. You have such a boring palate…”

“As far as I know, you didn’t like Middle Realm food either.”

“Ah, that was until recently.”

Baal immediately understood what he meant by ‘recently’.

“Kim Jinsung introduced you to it?”

“Well…”

He didn’t deny it.

Baal’s gaze shifted to the table where he was working.

“I assume your contractor is Kim Jinsung. What’s so amusing?”

“Ah, he’s been bringing me information about other Middle Realm dimensions.”

Dantalian’s face brightened as he mentioned Kim Jinsung.

“He brings very detailed information. Appearance, physical abilities, unique abilities, terrain, as well as language, favorite food, hobbies, skills, preferred items, and so on.

As a scholar, how can I not be excited about this constant influx of fascinating information? Hmm?”

“Wasn’t your contract with Kim Jinsung over?”

“It is. He just visits occasionally and brings me information.

I can’t stop him from visiting, can I? We can’t do anything about a Middle Realm creature becoming that strong.”

Baal remained silent, lost in thought.

Dantalian, trying to figure out the reason for his unprecedented visit, finally realized.

“You’re here because of Kim Jinsung, aren’t you?”

Baal, instead of answering, picked up his coffee cup.

“…It’s bitter.”

“But you’re still drinking it? Hehehe.”

“A messenger from the Heavenly Realm visited me earlier.”

Dantalian’s eyes widened.

“A messenger?”

“They were looking for Kim Jinsung.”

“Why?”

“They said they’re going to eliminate him, no matter what.”

His eyebrows twitched.

“What…?”

“They said he’s a threat to both the Heavenly Realm and the Demon Realm. So they have to eliminate him, even if it means joining forces.”

“Pfft!”

He burst out laughing, hearing Baal’s words.

“They must be traumatized by the day Kim Jinsung wiped out all the angels, including Seraphim.

They should have just negotiated with him and signed a non-aggression pact instead of trying to suppress him with force. Hahaha!”

“It’s a serious matter, Dantalian.”

Baal’s cold, emotionless expression made him stop laughing and answer seriously.

“Don’t worry. The Heavenly Realm won’t be able to directly intervene in the Middle Realm for a while.

Most of their core forces, including Seraphim, are on the verge of destruction.

It’ll take them at least ten years to fully recover.”

He looked directly at Baal and continued,

“In other words, they won’t dare to interfere in the Middle Realm for ten years, for fear of another Heavenly-Demonic War.

If another war breaks out now, the Heavenly Realm will definitely lose. I guarantee it.”

“…Are you sure?”

“Of course! I witnessed Kim Jinsung’s performance with my own eyes!”

He said confidently.

“What about the god of the Middle Realm?”

He answered immediately,

“Seraphim was defeated miserably. How can the god of the Middle Realm defeat Kim Jinsung?

Don’t worry about it. Tell the next messenger to sign a non-aggression pact or a contract.

I’m saying this for the sake of the Heavenly Realm, not Kim Jinsung.”

He continued in a serious tone,

“Kim Jinsung is that strong. If they make him their enemy, no dimension will be safe, not even the Heavenly Realm or the Demon Realm.”

Baal remained silent, looking at him.

Dantalian looked away and then suddenly snapped his fingers.

“Ah! There is one. If he’s reincarnated in the Middle Realm, he might be able to threaten Kim Jinsung.”

“Who is it?”

He answered,

“Megarapora.”

* * *

A red portal near the G-17 Zone.

Numerous hunters were guarding it.

One of the hunters suddenly turned his head towards the portal.

He had detected a small ripple originating from the center of the red portal.

“Captain! The portal is rippling!”

The captain also looked at the portal and shouted,

“The raid team is returning! Everyone, to your escort positions!”

“To our positions!”

The hunters quickly lined up on both sides of the portal as the ripples intensified.

And then, figures started emerging from the portal.

“Salute!!”

The captain saluted the leader of the raid team.

He nodded in acknowledgment and took off his high-tech helmet.

Long black hair cascaded down, revealing the beautiful face of Hong Hyeonjin.

“……”

“Wow…”

Some of the rookie hunters stared at her in awe.

She ignored them and asked the captain,

“Everything alright?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Good work. We’re returning to headquarters.”

“Understood. Start the engines!”

He shouted towards the transport vehicles parked on the other side of the portal.

The vehicles, carrying Hong Hyeonjin and the Baekdu Clan’s elite raid team, started moving along the wide road in the Center Zone, escorted by the hunters.

“Wow! It’s Master Hyeonjin!”

“Master Hyeonjin!”

“She’s so beautiful…!”

“Kyaaa! Sister Hyeonjin!!”

The citizens walking on both sides of the road cheered, seeing her in the lead vehicle.

She smiled and waved back through the transparent window.

“Stop greeting them and get some rest.”

Son Dong-gun, the chief bodyguard, sitting in the passenger seat, chided her.

“You haven’t rested for 26 hours.”

“I’m fine. I’m not even tired, maybe because my power level has increased.”

“But still…”

She quickly changed the subject, seeing him about to continue his nagging.

“Don’t you think there are more ordinary people on the streets these days?”

He looked out the window.

Most of the people cheering for her were ordinary citizens, not hunters.

“I heard it was impossible to travel the streets of the New Continent without a car before, because of the monsters.”

“That’s right.”

“I’m glad things have changed. It’s good for the city.”

She smiled, looking at the cheering citizens.

After Kim Jinsung ‘persuaded’ the ruler of the Heavenly Realm,

the Trial Tower and the Demon World Dungeon, which had existed in the New Continent for over 500 years, vanished without a trace.

And the ordinary dungeon portals that had been appearing all over the world also started disappearing, and monsters no longer appeared on Earth.

The world without monsters and dungeons that Kim Jinsung had wished for had arrived.

‘…Unfortunately, it’s not a perfectly peaceful world.’

She thought to herself and then said to the driver,

“Stop by the Finder Clan headquarters before we go to ours.”

“Understood.”

The driver continued driving towards their headquarters.

The Finder Clan headquarters was right next to the Baekdu Clan headquarters.

* * *

Hong Hyeonjin and Son Dong-gun entered the Finder Clan headquarters and were escorted to the Master’s office.

“Well, well, well! Look who’s here! Hahaha!”

Park Do-joon greeted them with a bright smile.

“The future leader of the New Continent gracing my humble abode with her presence?”

“Humble abode? This place is filled with the latest equipment.”

“Do you think I bought all this because I wanted to? I had to, to process all the information we’re dealing with these days. Sigh, I spent a fortune on all this…”

“Are you complaining to me? I know better than anyone how much profit the Finder Clan makes each quarter.”

“Ah, right. Sorry. Haha.”

She chuckled, seeing his embarrassed expression.

“You’re still busy as ever, I see? Your hair is still the same length as last week.”

“Don’t even get me started. I hired so many employees two weeks ago, but we’re still short-staffed.”

He shook his head, looking exhausted.

The Finder Clan, now the top information organization in the New Continent, practically had a monopoly on all the latest information.

Requests for information were pouring in from all over the world, and he was overwhelmed.

“This isn’t what I had in mind when I founded the clan. My life motto was ‘work less, earn more’, but somehow…”

“It’s because the clan is still new. Things will settle down eventually.”

“I hope so. Sigh… Anyway, what brings you here? Judging by your attire, you must have…”

“That’s right.”

She gestured to Son Dong-gun, who handed Park Do-joon a subspace pocket.

“These are the spoils from the Gaur Planet raid. I’ve included a detailed manual, so please refer to it.”

“Ooh! Thank you.”

His eyes sparkled as he looked at the subspace pocket.

“I was just researching the source of the Gaurs’ power. This will be a great help!

Especially the Russians, who are obsessed with physical enhancement…”

She shook her head, seeing him muttering to himself excitedly.

Was he really that happy?

“Well, I’ll be going now. Contact me if anything comes up.”

“Ah, yes. Please go ahead.”

She turned to leave,

“Ah! Wait…”

He called out to her, and she turned back.

He hesitated for a moment, looking at her, and then said,

“…Never mind. I must have been mistaken. Please go ahead.”

She chuckled, confused, and left the office.

Son Dong-gun’s meaningful glance as he followed her out left a strong impression on him.

He stared at the closed door and muttered to himself,

“Sigh… Right, don’t even look at a tree you can’t climb.”

He sat down at his desk, his voice filled with regret.

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts, and then focused on his work, staring at the monitor.

* * *

Hong Hyeonjin’s current residence was the top floor of the building where Yong Hangil used to stay, at the former Korean Clan headquarters.

She walked into the living room, wearing only a bathrobe after a shower, and stared at the beautiful sunset outside the window.

She then picked up her phone from the table.

“Haa…”

She sighed softly, her face suddenly tense, and then searched for a number and pressed the call button.

After a few rings, the other person answered.

[Hello.]

Her face brightened at the sound of his voice.

“It’s me, Jinsung.”

[Ah, yes. Did the raid go well?]

“Yes. It was easier than I expected. But there was a slight problem. Some of the Gaurs were using physical enhancement drugs.”

[Those monsters were using drugs?]

“Yes. It was quite a struggle at first…”

She started chattering excitedly.

A relaxed smile, rarely seen on her face, spread across her lips.

“…That’s what happened.”

[You’ve worked hard. But you didn’t call just to brag about your achievements, did you?]

“Pfft, why? Is that not allowed?”

[It’s not that it’s not allowed, but you’ve never called just for that reason before, have you?]

She scratched her cheek, wondering if that was true.

“Hmm… I don’t remember.”

[So you have a reason for calling. And I assume it’s to ask for the coordinates of a new dimension, right?]

“…Can you read minds?”

[It’s a secret.]

“Oh my.”

[…You don’t actually believe that, do you?]

She did.

He was Kim Jinsung. She would believe anything he said about his abilities.

“I hope not. That would be scary.

I need the coordinates of the dimension where the Rhino tribe lives, the one you mentioned before. Some Rhinos crossed over to the Gaur Planet and caused trouble.”

[…That planet must be completely dominated by Demonic Energy.]

“It seems so.”

[Alright. I’ll send you the coordinates. And please send me yours, as usual.]

“The information we gathered from this raid, right?”

She continued, holding the phone to her ear.

“Okay. We’ll send the information through the Finder Clan. And we’ll include a bonus, so please use it well.”

[A bonus?]

“Yes. I think you’ll like it.”

[…I don’t know what it is, but thank you.]

“It’s nothing compared to what you’ve done for us.”

She meant it.

Thanks to Kim Jinsung, she had become the Master of the strongest clan in the world, not just Korea.

“I’m just disappointed that the peaceful world you wished for hasn’t come true.”

[Well, what can you do? It’s not anyone’s fault. It’s the greed of the existing alliance clans.]

“But still…”

Her face was filled with bitterness.

The dungeons and monsters had disappeared, as Kim Jinsung had wished.

She had expected peace to return, but there was a variable.

Portals to other Middle Realm dimensions, the ones the existing alliance clans had been using, started appearing where the dungeons had been.

And the alien races inside those portals, completely dominated by Demonic Energy, attacked indiscriminately, like monsters.

The Major Clans’ actions, turning the native alien races into ‘Polluted’, had backfired.

[At least they’re not coming out of the portals. Countries aren’t being overthrown like before.]

“That’s true. I guess it’s because they were trained by the Major Clan members?”

[That’s the most likely explanation.]

Most of those involved in creating the ‘Polluted’ had either disappeared or committed suicide.

They knew that they would face execution if they testified, with the entire world condemning them.

The Eclat Alliance had issued arrest warrants for all the missing individuals, but none of them had been caught yet. They were all skilled hunters who could easily hide their identities.

[It’s not a bad situation for you, is it? If those other Middle Realm dimension portals hadn’t appeared, you would have been stuck twiddling your thumbs in the New Continent.]

“…Well, I can’t deny that.”

She answered honestly, and she heard him chuckle over the phone.

[Well, good luck. I’ll visit the Finder Clan tomorrow around noon.]

“Okay. I’ll send you the information before then.”

[Okay. Then…]

“Wait a minute.”

She stopped him from hanging up and hesitated for a moment.

“…Never mind. I’ll talk to you later.”

[Okay.]

She looked out the window with a disappointed expression, hearing the call end.

The sun had set, and the night sky was dark.

“…Right. Don’t even look at a tree you can’t climb.”

She muttered to herself, looking at the western mountains where the sun had disappeared.

—

(To be continued in the next episode)