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The people who had been looking at Jeong Gyeoul with worried faces let out sighs of relief.

“Wanna take a Satan Punch?” Jeong Gyeoul’s response made it clear that she wasn’t Satan or some demon, but Jeong Gyeoul herself.

Even the Cult Leader was stunned to see Jeong Gyeoul return unharmed.

“…How on earth?!”

They were so shocked by her return that the three heroes couldn’t even resist when they grabbed her.

Eventually, she was almost perfectly subdued as Park Seol-hwa’s sealing orbs filled her limbs.

No one expected Jeong Gyeoul to disappear with a burst of light, but seeing the summoning circle react, it was clear the ritual had succeeded.

It was certain she had been offered as a sacrifice to Satan, and for some reason, she had been dragged to the Demon Realm, leaving the Cult Leader in a daze.

“What the hell happened in those 20 minutes?” Park Seol-hwa, who had almost been hit by a Satan Punch, asked Jeong Gyeoul.

It had taken about 20 minutes for Jeong Gyeoul to return after disappearing with the light.

Had she been dragged to a hellish place by Satan? Would she disappear forever?

Jeong Gyeoul’s return was a joyous situation, but returning after just 20 minutes amidst all the worry was honestly baffling.

But Jeong Gyeoul was just as baffled.

“…Only 20 minutes have passed? That can’t be.”

What they didn’t know was that it had taken Jeong Gyeoul about 20 days to return.

The epic journey Jeong Gyeoul undertook to return.

Her first autobiography, which would later be published under the title “Demon Realm Travelogue.”

It all began when the disappeared Jeong Gyeoul opened her eyes somewhere in the Demon Realm.

***

“…Where am I now?”

The intense light that seemed to steal her vision forced her to close her eyes.

After a brief moment, the light seemed to calm, and she opened her eyes…

A reddened sky and barren ground greeted her.

The heat radiating from all directions made her feel as if she had landed in a desert.

She wondered if she had been possessed again, but the magic power and strength she felt within her body seemed to prove she was still Jeong Gyeoul.

“Ha-yul unnie! Hayan! Even you, Cult Leader brat, answer me! Is there really no one here?”

Her desperate call was met with silence.

‘Damn it!’

Being stranded in an unknown place, alone like this, made her crave alcohol and cigarettes.

Even though she hadn’t touched alcohol or cigarettes since being possessed, she craved them now.

The power of nicotine and alcohol might surpass her magic power.

As she resisted the temptation, all she felt was hunger.

Whatever the case, it was time to move.

She glanced up at the strangely red sky, devoid of sun or moon, but no answers came.

Of course, she didn’t know where she was or where to go.

But finding drinking water first seemed essential to surviving in this unknown land.

In times like these…

‘Is there no other way?’

She closed her eyes and bent over.

Holding her nose with one hand, she inserted the other arm into the space created.

Then, she spun a hundred times.

Yes.

The elephant trunk.

She wanted to stop after ten spins, but her developed physical abilities wouldn’t allow it.

Leaving her fate to destiny, spinning the elephant trunk ten times would surely leave her in the same spot.

She spun a hundred times without caring about balance.

By the end, dust was gently rising from the speed of her spinning.

After completing the hundred spins, she began walking the path fate had chosen.

Where would it end? How far would she have to walk? Would she encounter enemies?

There were many worries, but the biggest problem now was that her body, with its terrible fuel efficiency, was starting to feel hungry.

She had no choice but to walk at a pace that wasn’t too strenuous.

Thirty minutes, an hour, two hours.

The wilderness seemed endless.

All she could see were bones of beasts or monsters and dying plants.

She even had to consider whether they were edible.

‘…Should I eat that?’

If she were in Korea, she might have tried eating anything, but this was an unknown land.

If she carelessly ate something and her abilities couldn’t detoxify it, it might be her last meal…

Eventually, she walked for four hours without eating anything.

Her throat was dry, and her stomach kept growling.

Would she starve to death just walking like this?

She had entered the summoning circle determined to die in place of Jeong Ha-yul, but she had never imagined she might starve to death while walking.

‘I’d rather die fighting Satan than this.’

She continued walking across the red plain, facing the wind mixed with strange powder-like sand.

She had no idea how many hours had passed.

The reddened sky showed no change.

If the sun rose or the moon set, she could at least estimate the time, but there was no way to tell.

The concept of time seemed to fade.

Time continued to pass.

She kept walking, but nothing changed.

“Ugh! I can’t walk anymore! I’m hungry! I’m thirsty!”

Thud—

Finally, after using up most of her fuel, she collapsed in a big “X.”

Maybe she should have eaten those strange plants she saw earlier.

At this rate, she might go crazy and eat the powder-like sand.

‘At least it’s purple…’

If it were orange or red, she might have already eaten it.

At first, when she found the bones and plants, she thought the Elephant God had taken pity on her and guided her to survival.

Eventually, whether it was a beast or a monster, they needed water, and following the bones would lead to water!

But that thought was short-lived.

The bones and plants had long disappeared.

But she couldn’t turn back now.

It felt like she had been walking for more than a day or two.

It was better to keep moving forward into the unknown with a sliver of hope than to turn back for a few dying plant scraps.

‘A sliver of hope, my foot. I don’t even have the strength to walk anymore…’

If she had come here in perfect condition, she might have found something before reaching this state.

But the exhaustion from fighting four apostles earlier had taken its toll.

Rather than slowly and painfully dying from thirst and hunger, she considered using a magic bullet to pierce her brain.

Then, a strange sound came from afar.

It sounded like a beast growling or people talking.

The distance was still too great to make out exactly what it was.

‘That’s my only hope!’

Even a car running on fumes can make it to the gas station.

Even with my terrible fuel efficiency, I squeezed out the last bit of fuel and walked toward the sound.

The sound grew closer, and the faint noise became clearer.

Fortunately, as an Awakened One, I could hear, write, and see in any language.

‘Transcendent translation for the win!’

I had already realized this wasn’t the Earth I knew, but I believed transcendent translation wouldn’t betray me.

And that belief was correct.

“You said Adamant would be here!”

“That’s what I said! Have I been deceived all this time?”

I didn’t know what Adamant was, but hearing the conversation meant there were people.

In this strange world, an unknown place, the existence of intelligent beings was nothing short of luck.

“We’re going to die at this rate, the food we brought is almost gone. If we run out of water, how are we going to endure this scorching heat?”

“Just a little further, and we’ll reach a village I know!”

“That’s what you said two hours ago!”

As I walked toward them, hearing about the village, I picked up the pace.

“If we get there and the village isn’t there, I’m going to fight you.”

“Tsk… You’ve learned some strange things from those Black Orcs…”

“Fighting is tradition and history, you fool!”

They began to appear faintly in my vision.

I wondered if they were human, but their silhouettes were human-like.

A beast resembling a horse pulling a cargo cart and two people walking beside it.

“…Wait, what’s that coming over there?”

“What could possibly come in this desert! Stop messing around and walk straight! If the village doesn’t appear…”

“Shut up! Something’s really coming!”

“What, what is it? Is it a villager from the place you mentioned?”

“The villagers there never wander the desert alone…”

Their tone was fearful, but it was okay.

My greatest weapon is my pretty, cute, and lovely face.

Once they see my face, they’ll realize I’m harmless.

And just as I reached that point…

‘The Elephant God is dead.’

Black skin, horns on their foreheads, tails swishing violently on the ground.

From a distance, I thought they were human, but they weren’t, and upon seeing me, they looked ready to pounce.

“…Are you Asmodeus’s elite guard? Have they already advanced to this desolate desert?”

I don’t know what you’re talking about, but it’s just me here, guys.

“Uh, hi?”

“They might capture us to serve at night!”

Night service? Are they talking about sexual slavery?

What the hell are these crazy guys saying?

I don’t need that, and even if I did, you guys aren’t exactly the type to worry about that!

Before I could even rephrase that nicely, they drew their swords and charged.

And moments later…

“W-we’re sorry.”

“We really have nothing…”

A few teeth fell out, making their speech a bit slurred, but it was still understandable.

After sharing (stealing) the little water and food they had left, I convinced (threatened) them to guide (force) me to the village.

 

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