𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟔
Upper Chamber
I stared at Seo Tae-hu in surprise, knowing full well what it meant.
「. . .𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡, 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙞𝙛 𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬.」
Seo Tae-hu, who had also passed through that place and transcended time, would have had enough ability to grasp the situation, given his level of power.
Seo Do-yoon, who had heard the meaningful statement, immediately asked a question.
“Upper Chamber? What is the Upper Chamber?”
“What do you think the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons originated from?”
Of course, he wouldn’t know. Seo Tae-hu, seeing such a reaction, continued to speak.
“There’s something called the Scapula Chamber. And right now, yokai are flowing out of there.”
Seo Ji-an and Seo Do-yoon’s expressions turned serious at words they had never heard before.
And Seo Tae-hu, with an indifferent attitude, soon revealed a grave secret.
“Until now, the entrance to the box has been opened twice. The lower chamber and the middle chamber. And now, only the upper chamber remains.”
The meaning of those words was simple. It referred to the 1st Night Parade of a Hundred Demons and the 2nd Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.
Seo Ji-an, who noticed this, asked in bewilderment.
“. . .So, right now, the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons is happening because of that one box?”
“It’s not just a box. It’s a divine object. How dare you assess it as if it were a mere object?”
And what Seo Tae-hu was trying to say now was not that.
“The upper chamber is different. It’s filled with despair. You can’t do anything about it if you’re struggling with just my level of power.”
“Are you saying that the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons will happen again? And on an even larger scale?”
“It won’t be just that. If we can’t stop it, all humans will die.”
Indeed, those words were true.
The upper chamber of the Scapula Chamber was filled with yokai that could destroy an entire country single-handedly.
The 1st Night Parade of a Hundred Demons and the 2nd Night Parade of a Hundred Demons were, in fact, just aftershocks.
If we couldn’t stop the 3rd Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, everything would go awry anyway.
“. . .How do you know that?”
“I, too, was once trapped in the Scapula Chamber for a long time. And it was there that I came out and met your mother.”
At that point, Seo Ji-an could no longer deny Seo Tae-hu’s words as false.
With a look of utter confusion, Seo Tae-hu continued to speak.
“As I’ve been in this place, I’ve met many humans. Among them, there were certainly some who were stronger than me. However, to put it bluntly, that’s not enough.”
That was Seo Tae-hu’s conclusion.
“Hurry up and finish it. And gain strength. Then you’ll be able to struggle a little.”
“. . .What are you talking about?”
“My clansmen kill their old brethren at a certain age to take their strength and return them to the soil. If you have inherited my blood, you should be able to exert the same trait.”
In other words, Seo Tae-hu was telling her to kill him and use his power to prepare for the crisis that was to come.
Seo Ji-an’s expression distorted at those words.
“. . .Don’t be ridiculous. You’re acting like a great person now? You don’t deserve to do that.”
“You still don’t know me. I don’t care about you.”
Seo Tae-hu, who had been silent for a moment, turned his body again and looked up at the sky through the huge window, finishing his words.
“It’s just. . . . . .I’m just tired now.”
He had shown an indifferent attitude until now, but oddly enough, his current appearance felt more human than anyone else’s.
Seo Ji-an, seeing this, created a few water spears and slowly moved her feet towards his back.
“. . .If you wish to die, I won’t stop you.”
The words were filled with coldness, yet Seo Tae-hu’s attitude did not change a bit.
“Good. If you can’t do that much, you’ll just be swept away by the times.”
The sight was somewhat regrettable, but it wasn’t a problem for me, an outsider, to interfere with.
In the end, Seo Ji-an, who had raised her hand, quickly closed her eyes and shot the water spears she had created at Seo Tae-hu.
Thud.
Squeak!
Bang!
Boom!
The spears pierced his flesh, and Seo Tae-hu coughed up blood.
And finally, he turned around again and stared at Seo Ji-an.
“. . .I don’t feel as much regret or resentment as I thought I would,”
It was a very calm attitude for someone facing death. However, Seo Tae-hu’s eyes soon filled with a bit of emotion.
“Protect the humans. That’s what she wanted.”
Soon, Seo Tae-hu’s flesh turned to dust, and a vast power began to be released into the void.
Some of it was directed towards Seo Do-yoon, but most of it seeped directly into the body of Seo Ji-an, who was standing right next to him.
I, watching it from one side of the conference room, quietly scanned Seo Ji-an’s information.
【Seo Ji-an】
▶Level 57
▶Ability Scores
【Stamina: B】
【Spiritual Power: S-】
【Spellcraft: A】
【Mental Strength: B】
▶Trait(7/10)
【Water God(S)】
【Geomancer(S-)】
【Mutation(B+)】
【Growth Acceleration(B)】
【Daughter of the Wind(B-)】
【Wealthy(B-)】
【Hawk Eye(C+)】
A gust of wind blew from Seo Ji-an’s eyes, which seemed to be half-filled with sadness and resentment.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
The Dae-jin Industries succession race ended like that.
As promised from the beginning, everything went to Seo Ji-an, and her brother, Seo Do-yoon, received a fair price and further expanded the company he had built himself.
However, the aftermath of Seo Tae-hu’s words still remained.
“. . .For now, I’ve passed the word on to the exorcists at the headquarters who are connected to us. However, it seems they don’t fully believe it.”
“I suppose not.”
If the 2nd Night Parade of a Hundred Demons hadn’t happened recently, it probably would have been dismissed as nonsense and ignored.
「𝙊𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙅𝙞𝙣-𝙢𝙮𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜. . . . . . .」
Jin-myeong, who had been caught by me at that time, had retreated without having a chance to do anything, so the situation was not created.
It was something I had been worried about anyway, so Seo Tae-hu’s playing that role was like scratching an itch for me.
“Honestly, I don’t know either. Could all of that man’s words be true?”
He didn’t seem to be lying, but there could have been parts that he didn’t know about. Seo Ji-an seemed to be worried about that, as it was a serious matter.
I nodded my head and replied to Seo Ji-an.
“It’s probably true. I heard a similar story a while ago.”
“. . .Where?”
“From an exorcist who was active during the 1st Night Parade of a Hundred Demons. The information wasn’t perfect at the time, but it makes sense when you put it together like this.”
My words seemed to shake off some of Seo Ji-an’s hesitation.
“Then we can’t just sit still like this. We have to do everything we can to prepare.”
Seo Ji-an, who had been struggling with something for a long time, soon spoke to me with a bit of hesitation.
“. . .I think it’s time for me to leave this place.”
It was a bit of a sudden declaration, but it was also understandable.
As a student, her actions were restricted, and she was also short on time.
I nodded with a slightly bitter smile.
And so, this time, Seo Ji-an left the academy.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
“Hmm. So, Ji-an left too. . . . . . .”
Sophia, who had become very downcast, muttered to herself while twirling her hair in front of me.
She was a caring person by nature, so the current reality of her academy friends leaving one by one seemed very bitter.
“It’s not like you won’t see her again once you break up.”
“Ugh. I know that, but. . . . . . .”
Jung Han-sol, who had appeared at some point, joined in on Sophia’s grumbling.
“What am I supposed to do? Everyone is graduating early and leaving, so why don’t I have anything I want to do yet? Are you all going to become unemployed?”
It was a funny, age-appropriate worry, but Jung Han-sol’s attitude was very serious.
It seemed like he really felt a sense of alarm that he might become unemployed.
“Hmm. Han-sol, is there nowhere you’re interested in?”
“What would have to happen for me to be interested? It’s not like I have a ton of offers everywhere I go like you.”
“Hmm? That can’t be right. . . . . .?”
Sophia tilted her head in great doubt.
It was definitely true.
Jung Han-sol was not as good as Sophia or Hwang Ji-hak, but he was always one of the top five students in his grade. It made no sense that there were no offers for him.
“. . .Even if you say that, there isn’t. Look, look.”
Jung Han-sol took out his student terminal and soon opened his mailbox to show us the contents.
Sophia, who had been scrolling down quickly, let out a tired sigh.
“Han-sol. . . . . .You haven’t unlocked the external mail restriction, have you?”
“What’s that?”
“No. The professor has been talking about it since the first class. They must have emphasized it last week, too?”
“Oh, that check thing? I already knew about it.”
In the end, when Sophia quickly adjusted the settings and lifted the restriction, Jung Han-sol made a dumbfounded expression.
“So, I didn’t have any offers, but I blocked them all?”
“Yeah. You could have found out by asking the teacher or checking your mail personally, but it’s your own fault.”
That was certainly true, but it’s not easy to check like that when you have a convenient device.
Of course, that doesn’t change the fact that Jung Han-sol was careless.
“Then I’m screwed, aren’t I? They’re all going to think I didn’t reply and chewed them out. . . . . .?”
“. . .Probably?”
“Ugh.”
I quietly threw a word at Jung Han-sol, who had slumped to the floor.
“It might have worked out well. If there are places that are still sending you repeated emails, it means they really need you.”
“Oh, is that so?”
As expected of a simple mood-maker, Jung Han-sol quickly regained his spirits and began to grumble.
Such a sight felt somehow peaceful, and I had a truly relaxing time for the first time in a long time.
However, the moment I returned to my dorm room after finishing all my errands, such thoughts disappeared.
My head was filled with nothing but worries about the things to come.
「𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙄 𝙙𝙤 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚?」
In fact, there was no clear method. Even in games, there was a section where you would grow your character through countless repetitive grinding, and then calmly increase your specs before confronting the enemy.
However, as I have said many times, reality is not a game. It wasn’t as if you could unconditionally become stronger simply by repeating actions, and there was no way the enemy would wait that long for you.
In the end, I had to search for a fast and effective means of growth.
「𝙄𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙛 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 1𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩.」
I could be sure of it now. This was not the time to be concerned about such things.
If there was a way, I had to do it, even if it meant taking risks.
Tens of thousands of possibilities swirled in my head, and I began to pick out the ones that seemed usable.
By the time I had finished thinking and worrying, a new day had already dawned.
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