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“…?”

“It’s not just a railgun… What should we call that magic?”

“Machine railgun? Multi-barrel railgun? Multi-shot rail cannon?”

Lee Ha-yoon’s magic was something I had never seen before.

To be precise, it was the first time I had seen a railgun that fired continuously.

The power was significantly reduced compared to a single shot, but a single-shot railgun itself was a deadly technique powerful enough to pose a serious threat even to an S-Class Awakened One.

Just because the power was reduced doesn’t mean it’s a weak spell.

You can tell just by looking at the buff guys exploding left and right.

From what I’ve experienced, demons generally have greater physical durability than humans.

If B-Class demons are at that level, it means their bodies are on par with A-Class Awakened Ones, and they still can’t withstand it.

But…

“That’s way too lethal… It’s not a spell a 14-year-old kid should be using.”

“…You’re also 14, Gyeoul.”

“Honestly, it does seem a bit much for Hayan to use… Even if she’s a hero-in-training, there’s no need for her to commit such slaughter already.”

“There does seem to be a problem. The fact that she hummed a tune while creating that spell is concerning.”

Everyone seemed to notice that Lee Ha-yoon had gone dark and expressed their worries.

Of course, the expedition team members weren’t strangers to killing villains.

When the Satan Church attacked the academy and my sister Chae Song died, I went berserk and slaughtered almost all the Satan Church followers present.

‘That incident gave me nightmares for a while.’

But… does Hayan really need to go through that?

Those experiences aren’t useless or entirely harmful.

They might come as nightmares or bring immense guilt, but…

They will eventually help Hayan in her life as a hero.

And…

My hands aren’t clean either, so I wondered if it was right for me to stop her.

‘Not yet.’

If she were a hero, I wouldn’t stop her.

But Hayan is still just a trainee.

She doesn’t need to live with blood on her hands already.

Call it hypocritical or double standards, but…

It’s something a real hero would have to endure endlessly throughout their life, not a lazy hero like me.

I concluded that it would be better for her not to bear the weight of a hero so soon.

I got up and approached Hayan.

*Whoosh—*

Since we had been sitting still, she must have thought all the approaching presences were demons.

It wasn’t a single-shot railgun, so I could deflect it with my hand.

I deflected the high-speed conductive magic projectile into the dense area where the buff guys were gathered.

“Gyeoul! Are you okay?”

“It’s nothing. By the way, you don’t need to get blood on your hands so soon… How about just knocking them out or breaking their bones?”

“…?”

She looked at me as if wondering why I was suddenly saying this now.

Honestly, even I thought it was a bit ridiculous.

“I’ll finish this, so go take a rest.”

“I don’t know why you’re acting like this all of a sudden, but… okay.”

I reversed the rails Hayan had laid down, dispelled them, and sent her back to the group.

“Wow, what a mess.”

There were bloodstains and chunks of flesh scattered everywhere.

If you gathered the severed body parts, you could probably make a few new demons.

It was literally a scene of carnage.

To think I’ve become so desensitized to such sights… I guess I’ve fully adapted to this world.

I still don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing.

I’m just living.

***

In the dark alleyways of the valley, three organizations maintained a precarious balance of tension.

Among them, the organization called Blood Fang was struck by an unexpected disaster.

Twice, no less.

“B-boss! More than half of us have already been taken down. That human is way stronger than the guy who came last time!”

“…Why does this keep happening only in our territory?!”

“I don’t know why, but it might be best to slip away while the humans are switching places!”

“There’s no paradise to run to. Whether we become zombies or ghouls, we have to solve this here.”

The demon named Blandiya, who was called the boss, seemed to have given up on running.

“…But there’s no way. The power gap is too severe. And those humans aren’t even fully serious yet.”

“There is a way. One way.”

“…!”

“Boss, you’re amazing!”

“Damn right! I knew I could count on you!”

The demons, hearing that Blandiya had a plan, were moved, believing in him.

Even though there were five humans, each of whom seemed like they could take on multiple demons alone.

But their boss, Blandiya, said he had a way, so they thought joining this organization was the right choice… until…

“Please, just this once!”

“…?”

Blandiya ran up to Jeong Gyeoul, knelt down, and pressed his forehead to the ground.

“T-that’s the only method? Surrender? Blood Fang surrendering to five human women…”

“Actually, it’s just one human woman. The first one who came out slaughtered everyone…”

Seeing their boss pressing his forehead to the ground, the demons resigned themselves and knelt down.

They followed their boss and began pressing their foreheads to the ground.

The Blood Fang members could endure the humiliation of kneeling and pressing their foreheads to the ground before a young human girl if it meant survival.

The expedition team members each had different expressions.

They hadn’t expected them to switch their stance so quickly and surrender, so it was understandable to be taken aback.

Jeong Gyeoul was the quickest to adapt to this absurd and ridiculous situation.

“…You made the right choice. Why did you have to make such a fuss? You could’ve just asked for help.”

“Well, we’re just street thugs wandering the back alleys… We didn’t expect people we didn’t know or recognize to come all the way to the heart of our territory, so we naturally thought enemies had invaded… We apologize.”

Blandiya, who had decided to surrender, was quite impressive.

He showed more respect than a subordinate would to their superior at work.

In fact…

“If you need anything, just say the word, ladies!”

“…Ladies?”

“I, Blandiya, have led Blood Fang in the dark valley for decades. I’ve never seen anyone as powerful as you ladies. From now on, I will serve you as our great ladies!”

“…We don’t need that. We’ll leave once our objective is achieved, so don’t overdo it.”

“Yes!”

Although they had lost many of their elite members, the organization itself hadn’t collapsed.

The expedition team said they would leave after answering a few questions, so Blandiya’s happiness circuit started running.

As if we had never fought, he smirked and approached Jeong Gyeoul.

“What can we do for you?”

“We’re looking for a human. A middle-aged man in his 40s, carrying a sword at his waist and a bow on his back… It seems there was some conflict with your organization.”

“…May I ask what your relationship is?”

Depending on the relationship, he had to adjust his response.

It was more like the demeanor of a subordinate than the leader of an organization.

“He’s my master.”

“Oh, I see. Conflict? It was more like a one-sided beating. That’s why I’m missing an arm now. His hands were so fast I didn’t even see the sword coming…”

Blandiya reminded me of Heukrang from his younger days.

A chatterbox.

He had the kind of talkativeness that reminded me of a baseball player who went to LA.

“That’s not important… We need to find him.”

“Haha. I know where he is.”

“…?”

It was a moment to see how small Jeong Gyeoul usually kept her eyes.

The fact that he knew Kim Yu-shin’s whereabouts was that surprising.

The rest of the team felt the same.

They had thought of using the local gangs since they couldn’t search the entire dark valley themselves…

It was an unexpected windfall.

“…I don’t know how you know, but that’s a relief. So, where is he now?”

“He’s at my house.”

“…?”

The expedition team’s eyes, which couldn’t get any wider, widened a bit more.

Blandiya’s subordinates were the same.

“Wait, wasn’t he the one who got beaten by that human and even issued a human extermination order?”

“Yeah, that’s right. So why is that human at your house…?”

The demons, who were transporting their injured comrades and cleaning up the scene, stopped in their tracks.

The expedition team couldn’t say a word.

Blandiya, who had surprised everyone, scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly.

“Hahaha… Surprising, right? I’m surprised too.”

“Why is my master at your house…?”

“There was a young demon he was taking care of who got injured. I, Blandiya, couldn’t just stand by as a kind and honest demon. I offered my house and even provided a healer. I worked day and night for them…”

Whether Blandiya kept talking or not, Jeong Gyeoul, who had been discussing with the expedition team, came to a conclusion.

“That bastard got blackmailed by my master.”

“Blackmailed? What blackmail?”

“Belarus got injured, and while looking for a place to treat him, they stumbled upon this fool… But why did they come here instead of going to Asmodeus’s territory?”

“We’ll ask when we meet him. Let’s move.”

The team headed toward the one person who could answer all their questions.

 

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