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In the office of the Korean Hero Association.

People commonly seen around Jeong Gyeoul, but legendary heroes like Legendary PokéXmon, who are absolutely not common, began to gather in one place.

Association Head Jeong Ho-min, Jeong Ha-yul, Jeong Gyeoul, Park Seol-hwa, Lee Ha-yoon, and Serena Olson.

Officially, there are four S-Class heroes. If we count the unofficial ones, there are two Transcendent-level and two S-Class heroes.

Even the Prophet Serena Olson is here.

It was a lineup that would be hard to gather in any country.

‘No matter when you look at it, it’s an impressive network. The problem is they don’t hang out with me.’

Jeong Gyeoul still hadn’t forgotten the memory of being scolded by everyone after returning from the uninhabited island during his unemployed days.

“Kyaaa~ Long time no see, Gyeoul.”

Lee Ha-yoon, who was at the Academy, arrived last after skipping class to respond to the Association’s summons.

To be precise, Ha-yoon is still an Awakened One, not a hero.

She doesn’t belong to the Hero Association or a Guild, but to the Hero Academy.

The Association needed to request cooperation to summon her.

“How have you been? Just because you left the Academy, it’s become hard to see our Ha-yoon.”

“You could have visited sometimes. You even went to Daehyun and even visited our sister. Chaerin misses you a lot.”

“It’s okay to disturb work, but disturbing studies is a bit…”

“…Shouldn’t it usually be the opposite?”

On weekdays, she genuinely didn’t want to disturb studies.

On weekends, it was just bothersome to go all the way to the Academy, but she had to make a white lie for Ha-yoon.

If she didn’t coax her like this, there might be another Dark Ha-yoon. She had to handle her delicately to prevent her from turning into a blackened version.

“Anyway. Let’s save the reunion for later. I’ll explain why we gathered here.”

“Hoho… Reunion? Isn’t that a word kids shouldn’t use?”

Jeong Ho-min, who was watching the touching reunion between Ha-yoon and me, laughed incredulously.

“Wow, we’re about to talk about something important, and the Association Head is already going off-topic?”

“…Off-topic isn’t a word you guys should use either.”

“Since when have you been so interested in my vocabulary?”

Jeong Gyeoul glared at Jeong Ho-min with dagger eyes, making him turn his head and avoid eye contact.

“Sorry. Let’s talk about why we’re here.”

Thanks to Jeong Gyeoul’s timely intervention, everyone got back on track and started discussing the future Serena Olson had seen.

“So… the Demon Race Satan that Gyeoul always talks about is going to invade?”

Jeong Ha-yul asked Serena for confirmation, as if she couldn’t believe what she heard.

But Serena shook her head, looking unsure.

“It’s not certain. I’m not sure if it’s the Middle Realm or the Demon Realm.”

“Like Gyeoul said, my ability is lacking, so I could see the characters but the background was blurry…”

Serena blamed her lack of ability and looked gloomy.

“You haven’t been Awakened for long. Besides, knowing this much in advance is already a great power.”

Perhaps because Serena, who is usually different, was here, Jeong Ho-min spoke in a tone befitting the Association Head.

“What’s with the tone? Did you turn into an old man just because you put on a hat?”

“…You don’t seem much different when you’re with Daehyun’s Guild members.”

“Ugh… Are you trying to include me in the ranks of the backroom power brokers? I don’t want to join yet.”

No one here is unaware of the seriousness of the situation.

But being tense and scared won’t solve anything.

Rather, it’s a place to relax and discuss countermeasures.

In that regard, Jeong Ho-min and Park Seol-hwa’s back-and-forth was excellent.

It could be seen as political prowess. A true leader’s demeanor.

It showed that they didn’t buy their positions as Guild Head and Association Head.

The only one tense and scared was Serena.

The rest were just calmly listening.

“So… we don’t know the exact time or place. But it’s certain that Satan will invade, right?”

Feeling like the topic was drifting again, Lee Ha-yoon reiterated the reason they gathered.

“That’s right, the future of our Association is very bright.”

“Just like Gyeoul’s friend, you’re smart. You hit the nail on the head.”

“Um… I still can’t fully trust my ability, so I’m not that confident…”

Even though she couldn’t trust herself, others believed in her and continued the conversation, leaving Serena bewildered.

“It’s an A-Class hero’s ability, so we can’t just ignore it. In a world where intuition and prophecy are a thing, the fact that the prophecy ability activated is significant.”

Jeong Ha-yul spoke the truth.

Although it’s a unique ability, its base is still magic power, and the subject is an Awakened One.

The underlying mechanism seems similar to intuition.

It seemed the lessons at the Clock Tower weren’t in vain, as she explained it in a way Serena could understand.

“The prophecy showed Satan’s invasion, and I had a feeling it would happen within half a year… We should assume that situation and think of a plan. What do you think, Association Head?”

Although it seemed like 14-year-old middle schooler Jeong Gyeoul was leading the conversation, no one objected.

Rather, they accepted it as natural.

Serena, still not used to it, kept glancing at Jeong Ho-min and Park Seol-hwa.

She seemed to think they were the most influential people.

“Hmm… Do we know exactly how strong Satan is?”

“…First, let’s fix that old man’s tone. Isn’t it awkward for someone in their 30s to talk like that?”

Jeong Gyeoul glared at Jeong Ho-min with dagger eyes again, making him back down immediately.

Seeing this, Serena’s pupils began to shake.

‘Is… is Gyeoul the real power here? Have I been messing with such a scary kid?’

No one stopped Jeong Gyeoul from attacking Jeong Ho-min. Instead, they watched with interest.

In fact, those attacked by Jeong Gyeoul seemed to shrink every time.

It was hard to believe the charisma was coming from a 14-year-old.

Serena felt a chill without realizing it, but no one noticed.

“…The position makes the person. When new people come, I unconsciously become like this. Got it. I’ll act normally.”

“Now that the most annoying thing is resolved, let’s continue. First, Satan’s combat ability is comparable to Ha-yul unnie.”

“…Me? Seriously?”

Unintentionally becoming a combat power gauge, Jeong Ha-yul showed discomfort.

Having reached the Transcendent level, Jeong Ha-yul was filled with confidence that she wouldn’t fall behind anyone in single combat, so her reaction was natural.

If it were anyone else, they might have dragged her to the training ground to show their power.

“When I first went to the Demon Realm, only 20 minutes had passed here. But I spent about 20 days there. And you all heard about my recent trip to the Demon Realm during the uninhabited island filming? About 40 years had passed there. If Satan comes again this time… who knows how many decades will have passed.”

The room fell silent after Jeong Gyeoul’s words.

“The first time I went to the Demon Realm, Satan was already at the Transcendent level. But back then, I was confident I could win… This time, I thought, ‘Huh, this might be tough.’ I wasn’t confident I could win, but I wasn’t confident I could lose either. But… if decades pass again? If over a hundred years pass?”

“Whoa…”

“I wasn’t thinking much, but this is really serious…”

Even while listening to the prophecy, everyone had a thought in the back of their minds that with Jeong Gyeoul and Jeong Ha-yul here, there was nothing to worry about.

But for Jeong Gyeoul to say this much…

“Gathering all of Korea’s S-Class might not be enough… No, why were there only four in Serena’s prophecy? Where are the other S-Class heroes?”

“Sorry, I don’t know that much…”

Even though it wasn’t her fault, Serena kept blaming herself.

But there was no time to comfort her.

‘…Other S-Class heroes… Where did they really go? They couldn’t be dead, right?’

If Satan invades, his army would come too, so a state of emergency would be declared nationwide.

Assuming A-Class and lower heroes handle the army.

All S-Class heroes should be focused on Satan.

At that moment, something hit her brain, whether it was her usual delusions or a real hero’s intuition.

“Damn…”

“Gyeoul, watch your language.”

“Sorry unnie, I just thought of something. But this really calls for swearing.”

“What is it?”

“While Satan keeps getting stronger at the Transcendent level, are his subordinates just playing around? They must have been fighting and getting stronger while unifying the Demon Realm… If all of Satan’s generals became top-tier S-Class, and their subordinates became A-Class and B-Class…”

“…!”

“Crazy…”

“And the worst is yet to come.”

As if this wasn’t the end, Jeong Gyeoul continued.

“If Satan really unified the Demon Realm, he must have killed or subjugated the lords… Even if only a few joined Satan, there would be three Transcendent-level beings. If all of them joined Satan… there would be eight Transcendent-level beings.”

As if someone cast a silence spell in the bustling Association Head’s office.

Only silence remained.

 

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