They saved Abis and even Evelyn after she was revived as a human. Moreover, they extinguished a great demon who stood at the top of the Demon Empire. Based on the results alone, the expedition was a resounding success, so much so that Chi-Woo was shocked when he confirmed the amount of merit points he’d received on his way back.
Even though Chi-Woo would have normally fallen asleep in a good mood after making such a big achievement, he had a hard time doing so. He didn’t even know how he finally fell asleep. He turned on his device as soon as he opened his eyes, but he didn’t see any message from his brother. For a brief moment, he thought his brother was acting unfairly, but he soon made a bitter smile. Who was he to insult his brother? His brother probably felt the same way when he found Chi-Woo gone. Chi-Woo lay down with a blank stare and soon got up from his bed and left the room. Then Chi-Woo saw a spirit lying prone on the wooden porch as if he were dead.
“…Mr. Philip?” Chi-Woo doubted his eyes. “What happened? Why are you like that?” Philip seemed to be in an extremely bad condition; his spirit was not only faint, but wavering, like he was about to disappear.
–Uh…
Philip spoke with a weak voice.
–I almost got exorcized.
“What? By who?”
–By that lady…
There was only one person who could currently be called ‘lady’ in this house. Chi-Woo asked, “Lady Evelyn? Why…no. Did you perhaps…” Chi-Woo’s eyes blinked a few times and then narrowed. Considering Philip’s lustful behavior, he could roughly guess what had happened last night.
–No, I can fully understand why you’re doubting me, but it was truly a misunderstanding this time.
Philip furiously protested as if he was greatly wronged.
–I really didn’t do anything. I didn’t even touch a strain of her hair.
“Really?”
–Yeah. I just lay quietly next to her. All I wanted was to be in the same bed as her like a loving couple.
“…” Even though Philip said it was all a misunderstanding, it awfully didn’t sound like it.
–So that’s the only thing I did, but as soon as she opened her eyes, she looked at me and shot divinity at me…
Philip sobbed, saying how cruel she was.
[What a crazy bastard.]
Chi-Woo agreed with his assistant for the first time in a long while.
–Damn it. How did she see me? Since she was resurrected, she’s not the witch of the Abyss anymore. Then shouldn’t it be normal for her to not be able to see me…
Philip lamented while hitting the ground before he suddenly stopped moving and raised his head. At the same time, Chi-Woo heard the door open.
“Hm…why is it so noisy…” Evelyn walked out while rubbing her sleepy eyes. Philip screamed and ran away.
Chi-Woo asked, “Have you woken up?”
“Yuh…” Evelyn yawned till her small mouth stretched to its limit and leaned her head on Chi-Woo’s shoulder as soon as she sat next to him.
He asked, “Are you all right?”
“About what…?”
“I heard something happened last night.’
“…Ah, that pervert?” Evelyn smirked after lowering her hand from her mouth. “He must have thought I wouldn’t be able to see him. He sneaked into my room and tried to lie down next to me, how dare he…”
“Are you able to see spirits?”
“Oh my. You’re stating the obvious.” Evelyn smiled brightly. “You also seem able to see spirits, but I’m someone who actually lived as a spirit for a long time. Can you not see the difference?”
Chi-Woo realized his mistake. Evelyn hadn’t almost died; she literally died and came back to life. Since she had directly experienced the world after death, it would have been stranger if her spirit eye didn’t awaken.
Chi-Woo replied, “On second thought, that makes sense.”
Evelyn, who had been closely watching Chi-Woo with a smile, tilted her head. “You don’t look too good. Were you not able to sleep?”
“…”
“Is it because you don’t feel comfortable staying with me?”
After Chi-Hyun took Noel, Evelyn followed Chi-Woo to his house. She explored the place for a while before she decided she liked it here and picked a room to stay, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Of course not.” Chi-Woo shook his head.
“Right? You’re living in the same house with a beautiful woman like me. You don’t have to force yourself to act like you’re not overjoyed. You can look a bit happier than you already are.”
Chi-Woo made a flat smile at Evelyn’s words.
“Huh? Are you smiling? I wasn’t kidding.” Evelyn spoke coyly and then shot Chi-Woo a thoughtful gaze when he sighed in response. She asked, “…Is it because of that woman yesterday?”
“Rather than that…”
“Then—” Evelyn slightly raised her head and said, “Is it because of that man who looked intently at you yesterday?”
Chi-Woo stared back at her without realizing it.
“It seems I’ve guessed correctly.” Evelyn smiled. “I’m suddenly curious. What’s your relationship with him?”
“It’s just…” Chi-Woo mumbled.
Evelyn softly curved her eyes and said, “Hm, I guess you don’t want to tell me. I understand. It’s alright if you don’t.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize. Everyone has a secret.” Evelyn stretched as hard as she could and took a deep breath. “But still—be careful.”
“Sorry?”
“I’m saying this just in case.” Evelyn’s expression turned downcast like she was recalling yesterday’s events. “His eyes…”
“His eyes?”
“Yeah. How do I say it? Even I have never seen eyes like his.” Words like ‘frightening’ and ‘terrifying’ didn’t even begin to describe Chi-Hyun’s eyes. Evelyn felt something she had never experienced before when she saw Chi-Hyun. “Even at the edge of hell or the Abyss…I’ve never seen anyone with such eyes.” Evelyn didn’t know exactly how to put what she felt into words. If she had to make a comparison, she would say Chi-Hyun’s eyes looked like those of a serial killer; not even an ordinary one, but an absolute being who could easily control and destroy the lives of millions.
Evelyn continued, “You…shouldn’t consider him as a human being like you. He’s already a monster who stepped outside of the boundaries of a human—a monster in the shell of a man.”
“But you also said I wasn’t human.”
“Ah.” Evelyln flinched and turned to Chi-Woo. She looked at him for a while before raising a hand to slap his shoulder lightly.
“What’s that for?”
“I don’t know. I’m going to sleep.” Evelyn turned away like a sulky girl and lay down on the wooden porch.
Chi-Woo said, “You should sleep inside.”
“No, I’m going to sleep here.” She curled up like a cat and closed her eyes. “The fatigue you feel before falling asleep…and the refreshing feeling you get when you just wake up… Ah, it’s so thrilling. How long has it been since I felt this…” Evelyn seemed very pleased to fully enjoy the experiences that only a living human being could experience. The gentle wind seemed to have made her sleepy as her breathing slowly turned rhythmic. Chi-Woo watched Evelyn sleep for a while and suddenly stood up—as if he had made a grim resolve.
* * *
After leaving his house, Chi-Woo headed to the palace. The capital city was quiet, but bustling with activity. While there weren’t many people in sight, every person he saw was busily moving around, organizing and packing their belongings like they were planning to leave. Chi-Woo became curious about the reason as he reached the palace. He went on to find the room where his brother usually resided. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. There was no reply even after waiting for a few moments. In the end, Chi-Woo had no choice but to carefully open the door.
He saw his brother inside, sitting at his desk with a look of focus. Chi-Woo was about to enter and carefully close the door behind him when—
“I never told you to come in.”
His brother’s cold voice made Chi-Woo falter. He glanced at Chi-Hyun and said, “Uh…I want to talk to you.”
“Talk?” Chi-Hyun smiled thinly without even glancing at Chi-Woo. Instead, he focused only on the documents in his hand. “About what? Didn’t you relay everything you wanted in your message?”
Chi-Woo replied, “…I’m also curious about Ms. Noel’s condition.”
“She’s alive,” Chi-Hyun spoke flatly and continued, “But she’s still in a coma. If she opens her eyes, I’ll let you know.”
“…”
“If you have nothing more to say, get out.” Chi-Hyun closed his mouth; he made it clear that he had no intentions to talk more.
Chi-Woo sighed inside. Since he had done something wrong, he thought he should apologize first. “Sorry.”
Chi-Hyun’s finger stopped while he was flipping over a page.
“Because of me, Ms. Noel…”
When Chi-Woo didn’t finish his sentence, Chi-Hyun went to the next page and opened his mouth again. “Not really…don’t worry about that.”
“What?”
“That’s why I sent Noel to you anyway.”
Chi-Woo couldn’t comprehend his brother’s words for a moment. What did he mean?
Chi-Hyun continued, “The situation must have been dangerous enough for her to bet everything she had and accept a foreign god from a different planet,” Chi-Hyun continued calmly. “As a result of Noel’s sacrifice, the threat to you must have been reduced accordingly. Wasn’t it thanks to her sacrifice that you returned safely?”
Chi-Woo’s brows gradually furrowed as he listened.
Chi-Hyun continued, “Noel did an excellent job fulfilling the role I wanted her to fulfill. She will be satisfied by the result as I do.”
Chi-Woo couldn’t believe his ears. He thought he was hearing his brother wrong.
“Since this is the reason why I introduced you to her in the first place.”
It sounded like Chi-Hyun was treating Noel as an extra life for him. Chi-Woo couldn’t take it anymore. “Are you insane?”
“?”
“She’s your subordinate. Someone who followed you.”
“Didn’t I already tell you? I’m also disappointed.” Chi-Hyun continued while reading the document in front of him, “Noel was a very valuable asset. She was a clear candidate to be one of the seven saintesses needed for Liber’s salvation in the future.”
“Seven saintesses…?”
“She’s now disqualified, but you’ve found a replacement on your own. The Saintess of the Babylon Church. You’ve found a great substitute.”
Chi-Woo gaped. He was extremely bothered by how Chi-Hyun used the word asset and substitute. “Are you really…my brother?” he managed to ask in an incredulous tone after a stunned moment.
“What did you expect?” Chi-Hyun responded with another question like he thought Chi-Woo was the strange one instead. “Why do you think I introduced you to Noel, going so far as to reveal your identity?”
“That’s…how can you say that…?” Chi-Woo shook his head with a shocked face.
Chi-Hyun was silent for a moment and then repeated what Chi-Woo said, “How can you say that…” After a brief pause, he laughed and said, “Are you in any place to ask such a question?”
Chi-Woo immediately became speechless.
“It’s because of you that Noel became like that.” Chi-Hyun continued, “If it weren’t for you, Noel wouldn’t have ended up this way—did you want me to tell you that?”
Chi-Hyun’s sarcastic voice continued as Chi-Woo looked at the ground. “You don’t even feel apologetic to me, but only to Noel.”
“?”
“Otherwise your first apology wouldn’t have been about her,” Chi-Hyun continued. “If you had at least a little bit of conscience, shouldn’t you apologize to me first for breaking your promise to me?”
“That’s—”
“I had no idea that you would ignore my words and disrespect me that much.”
“I wasn’t disrespecting you.” Chi-Woo managed to open his mouth. “There was…a situation.”
Chi-Hyun snorted. “Situation. You and your situations.”
“…”
“Chi-Woo.” Only then did Chi-Hyun’s gaze land on Chi-Woo again. His emotionless eyes stared at Chi-Woo as he said, “Do you remember the conversation we had at your house?”
“…Yeah.”
“You said, and I quote, ‘How would I have known that? Since I didn’t know, what else should I have done?’” Chi-Hyun clasped his hands. “I tried to understand you.”
“…”
“Of course I was extremely angry, but…I tried to care and understand you—to the extent that even I thought I wasn’t behaving like myself. It was all because you told me you didn’t know. And yes, I thought you could have acted as you did since you didn’t know anything.” Chi-Hyun couldn’t empathize with Chi-Woo no matter how hard he thought about it, but he could understand why Chi-Woo had acted like he did. “But that’s not the case this time. You knew. You knew all too well.”
This situation was completely different from last time. “You still acted like that even though you knew how I would react.” Even though Chi-Woo knew his brother would get angry, he still chose to leave. Chi-Hyun continued, “Do you seriously still expect me to go like oh, I see, I guess it couldn’t be helped after you told me there was a situation?”
“…”
“And you didn’t even keep the promise that you’d break the rock if you wanted to go out.”
Chi-Woo had remained silent while Chi-Hyun spoke with an icy-cold voice. Finally, he responded softly, “You’re right. It’s totally my fault that I didn’t keep my side of the promise, but still…” Chi-Woo glanced at his brother and said, “The situation wasn’t an ordinary situation as you think.”
“…It wasn’t an ordinary situation?” Chi-Hyun’s eyes narrowed. “No ordinary reason…all right, let me hear it.” He rested his chin on the back of his hand.
Chi-Woo hesitated, but finally told Chi-Hyun about the World’s Milestone. Chi-Hyun looked a bit surprised; it was the first time he heard anything about the item.
Chi-Hyun said, “In short, as a result of throwing that die, a favorable event occurred for the Demon Empire, and an unfavorable event occurred for mankind?”
“Yep. Since I was the one who created that mess, I thought I needed to clean it up…”
“Why did you only tell me about the die now?”
“…I forgot.”
This was the first time Chi-Hyun heard about the World’s Milestone. He had seen many incomprehensible explanations written in Chi-Woo’s user information and merely thought it was something related to Chi-Woo’s unidentified ability, which was censored with question marks.
“Hmm…” Chi-Hyun rubbed his chin and suddenly reached out his hand. Chi-Woo blinked a few times and took the World’s Milestone from his pocket. Immediately, the die flew up and landed on Chi-Hyun’s hand.
“This is..” Chi-Hyun realized that the die was no ordinary object at first glance. It was a seven-sided die, but it was perfectly balanced—something that should have been impossible. Chi-Hyun touched it for a while and then suddenly rolled the die on his desk.
“Chi-Hyun?”
However, nothing happened. It seemed only Chi-Woo could use it. Then…
Smash! The desk split in half. Chi-Hyun had slammed his fist into the die out of the blue.
“…W-What are you doing?” Shocked, Chi-Woo responded after a beat. He hurriedly looked at the desk and found the die among the rubbles. Only the poor desk was broken, and the World’s Milestone was completely fine. Chi-Hyun picked up the die again and tried to crush it with his thumb and middle finger. It was clear how much force he was using given the way his hand tremored, but—
“Chi-Hyun?”
The die remained intact. Then Chi-Hyun began to exude mana; powerful mana wrapped around the die, and it almost looked as if the space around his hand was distorting.
Chi-Woo asked again, “Can’t you hear me? What are you doing?”
However, Chi-Woo didn’t need to worry. Despite Chi-Hyun’s efforts, the World’s Milestone was completely fine. There wasn’t even a scratch on its surface. Chi-Hyun clicked his tongue and said, “It won’t break. It certainly doesn’t seem like an ordinary object.”
“Give it back.” Chi-Woo reached out and tried to steady his rough breathing. His brother hadn’t been testing out the World’s Milestone; he really was going to crush it. However, Chi-Woo tried to suppress his anger since he did break his promise with his brother. “I told you to give it back.”
“I don’t want to.”
“What did you say?”
“This die has a high probability of putting you in a dangerous situation.”
“It’s fine, so just give it back to me!”
Regardless of Chi-Woo’s emotions or thoughts, Chi-Hyun seemed to have no intention of returning the World’s Milestone to Chi-Woo. “Risks shouldn’t be managed. You need to get rid of it.” In short, Chi-Hyun was saying that the die had a high-risk factor, and if Chi-Woo held onto it, he had a high chance of doing something dangerous again.
“…So.” Chi-Woo was incredulous. “You’re telling me you can’t give it back?”
“…”
“You’re confiscating—no, it’s not confiscation. Are you going to take it away by force? Like last time?”
“…No.” Surprisingly, Chi-Hyun gently lowered the hand holding the die. “I promised you that I wouldn’t use force anymore. I’m going to keep my promise with you, unlike someone else here.” Chi-Hyun put down the World’s Milestone on his desk and pushed it toward Chi-Woo as if he was urging Chi-Woo to take it back.
Then he said, “Listen carefully from now on.”