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Chronos was flying towards Jeong Gyeoul from afar.

The phrase “disheveled, tangled hair” fit perfectly.

His clothes were almost torn or melted, revealing his grotesque appearance.

He looked like a complete mess.

The S-Class heroes who joined Jeong Ha-yul quickly subdued Hermes.

Leaving the unconscious Hermes behind, they stood next to Jeong Gyeoul, watching the scene.

“Huh… Is it even possible to be fine looking like that?”

“Cover Hayan and Gyeoul’s eyes, they shouldn’t see something like that.”

“…Now you say that?”

A human with limbs severed to the point of dismemberment.

A human whose face was blown apart by merciless violence.

A human dying with their guts spilling out.

They had seen it all since childhood.

The two children had been closer to dead humans and monsters than toys.

Now, seeing a severed leg didn’t faze them.

Unless they were witnessing it being cut off in real-time, this was nothing.

“Is it because he’s a foreigner? He’s big.”

“Gyeoul!”

“Ah, why? By middle school, you should know everything.”

In her past life, she had carried such things around, so seeing it was no big deal.

Jeong Gyeoul remained indifferent, but the people around her were horrified.

Sex education seemed urgent.

“But… what did you eat to become so strong alone? If you have something good, share it with Master. My shoulders, knees, and back are killing me.”

“I’ll get it for you when I have the chance. But… why is everyone so tense? Step aside. Don’t get stabbed for no reason.”

To Jeong Gyeoul, who had awakened her spiritual power, Chronos was just another weakling.

But to the other heroes, it was different.

If the timeline got scratched and aging progressed, it would surely be heartbreaking.

“You all saw how strong I am, right? Don’t worry, step aside.”

“Yeah, we’d just get in the way. Take care, Gyeoul.”

The other heroes hesitated, not wanting to leave her alone.

But Kim Yu-shin quickly pulled everyone far away.

Only Son Goku remained by Jeong Gyeoul’s side.

Chronos slowed down as he approached, and it seemed like it would take a few dozen seconds to reach Jeong Gyeoul.

Even that time bored Jeong Gyeoul, who spoke to Son Goku.

“Why so quiet? Are you sulking?”

[Such a lowly person in a noble place, I can’t speak.]

“Come on, it was a mistake. Don’t be such a baby.”

Even though she had to maintain appearances, with her awakened spiritual power, the relationship between Jeong Gyeoul and Son Goku wasn’t the same as before.

She decided not to bend too much.

‘That’s part of my charm.’

There was time to tease Son Goku, but no time to soothe his sulking.

Because Chronos was right in front.

It wasn’t that she only knew how to tease.

Probably.

“Why don’t you just run away instead of wobbling back so disgustingly?”

“I can’t just leave!”

Jeong Gyeoul’s attack wasn’t ineffective.

The blood vessels in his eyes burst, making them look red from the start.

“Ugh, what’s with your eyes? So gross. You’re not even a demon.”

She frowned as if she hadn’t expected to see such a scene from the demon realm here.

Of course, it was just to tease Chronos.

Jeong Gyeoul wouldn’t bat an eye even if someone’s eyeballs burst in front of her.

She had been through too much to be fazed by burst blood vessels.

Chronos used time again to draw his sword.

She sighed, seemingly fed up.

“Can’t you see it’s useless now? I’m practically invincible.”

“Immortal heroes have died like that.”

Of course, if cut by the time sword, the timeline would be severed.

And rapid aging would follow.

Jeong Gyeoul could go from a teenager to middle-aged in an instant.

But with her awakened spiritual power, such an attack wouldn’t be allowed.

“Come at me! Come at me, you bastard!”

She shouted a line from an old movie, waving her hand.

But Chronos didn’t attack.

He swung the time sword wildly, as if he had lost his mind.

“…Is he crazy?”

At first, it was amusing, but it was getting boring.

She approached to finish him off, but…

Something started glowing in his chest.

“What the…?”

Something started glowing in his chest.

Jeong Gyeoul, sensing something was wrong, tried to turn and run…

But Chronos had already controlled the surrounding time.

Even with her spiritual power, she was slower than usual.

“Too late!”

“You bastard!”

From past experiences, she could tell just by the light.

A forced teleportation by the Dimensional Stone.

Another unfair moment had arrived.

Sccccrrrr—

With a much louder noise than usual, a tremendous light burst forth.

And then.

No one was there.

“…!”

“Gyeoul!”

“…This is getting old. Are you guys acting or something?”

“Haha… But I’m still a little worried, you know?”

Park Seol-hwa scratched her head awkwardly as she answered.

Jeong Ha-yul also turned her gaze and brushed her hair.

“Sure. If you were really worried, you’d still be researching to make the Dimensional Stone.”

“Sisters… When Gyeoul comes back this time, listen to her story. She’s still sulking about it.”

“…Really? I should practice my reactions then.”

As always, it was clear she’d be back in a few weeks, or maybe just a few days.

She had even surpassed transcendence multiple times.

The punches she showed earlier were rushed, but if she took her time, she could wipe out a continent. If focused narrowly, she could pierce the Earth.

Worrying was pointless now.

***

A month passed, but Jeong Gyeoul didn’t return.

They knew she wasn’t worried.

Maybe she wanted to travel in a beautiful dimension.

If they just waited and did their work, she’d come back on her own.

If anything, the danger was greater for them in the middle realm.

The thought of Jeong Gyeoul getting hurt was unthinkable.

Three months passed.

Jeong Ha-yul, starting to worry, requested the Association’s cooperation.

Hoping there was at least one Dimensional Stone somewhere in the world, she began searching.

Park Seol-hwa also stopped making potions and started delving into Dimensional Stones and dimensional travel.

Lee Ha-yoon through Taebaek.

Kim Yu-shin through Hwarang.

Their methods differed, but their concern for Jeong Gyeoul was the same.

‘Where are you, Gyeoul…?’

A year passed.

Even with IHD’s direct involvement, no Dimensional Stone was found.

Around the six-month mark, Jeong Ha-yul traveled the world daily.

Every time she returned home for a break, she looked visibly thinner.

She barely ate, only searching for the Dimensional Stone.

Park Seol-hwa was no different.

Once she entered the lab, she wouldn’t come out for days.

Her secretary and childhood friend, Kim Soo-jung, had medical staff on standby daily.

Since stopping her was futile, this was the only way to cope.

Then one day.

“I did it! I did it! I made it!”

“What?! Really?!”

Park Seol-hwa, who had gone to the Demon King’s place, jumped around like a madwoman.

It happened to be the one day a month Jeong Ha-yul rested at home.

Without delay, the two went to an open ground and activated the Dimensional Stone, arriving in the demon realm.

But no matter how much they searched the demon realm, Jeong Gyeoul was nowhere to be found.

They sought Mammon’s cooperation, but Jeong Gyeoul was nowhere to be found.

In the demon realm, Jeong Gyeoul was treated like a legend or a myth.

She wasn’t there.

Disheartened, the two returned to the middle realm after recreating the Dimensional Stone.

After that, Jeong Ha-yul gathered the necessary materials.

Park Seol-hwa researched and created the Dimensional Stone, repeating the process dozens of times.

But the only dimension they could reach was the demon realm.

“Damn it!”

The 32nd trip to the demon realm.

Jeong Ha-yul couldn’t hold back her curse.

“…I’m sorry.”

“What do you have to be sorry for…?”

The two looked at each other, tears welling up.

They felt a foreboding that they might never see Jeong Gyeoul again.

With the 312th Dimensional Stone, they reached the realm of immortals.

The realm of immortals, which Jeong Gyeoul and Son Goku had destroyed, had fully recovered.

Exhausted in body and mind, they hoped Jeong Gyeoul was here.

But…

[We’re also looking for them, but we can’t find them.]

The Queen Mother of the West, sensing a similar energy to Jeong Gyeoul, came but left disappointed.

Jeong Gyeoul wasn’t in the realm of immortals either.

Jeong Ha-yul and Park Seol-hwa didn’t give up.

Lee Ha-yoon reached transcendence with Queen Helena’s help.

From then on, she received Dimensional Stones from Park Seol-hwa and began searching for Jeong Gyeoul with Kim Yu-shin.

They split into two teams, traveling through dimensions.

But there was no significant gain.

They only figured out the time flow of the demon realm and the realm of immortals.

They decided to hold regular meetings once a month.

They devised all sorts of plans and methods to find Jeong Gyeoul.

They tried countless times to cross into the monster realm they had heard about from the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

But it seemed only the demon realm and the realm of immortals were accessible to them.

They couldn’t reach other dimensions.

Three years passed.

“…Stop it, you’ll die before her.”

Jeong Ho-min tried to dissuade them at every meeting, but it was futile.

“Don’t talk nonsense. We’ll find her to the end.”

“What would Gyeoul say if she saw us like this?”

“She’d tease us. Saying there are others to worry about, not her.”

“Is that all? She’d say we’re weak and make us exercise.”

Lee Ha-yoon, now mature, participated in the meetings.

She seemed quite natural at moving through space.

“…I miss Gyeoul. How much has she grown? If she’s in another dimension, she must have grown a lot.”

Frequent trips to the demon realm and the realm of immortals had aged their bodies.

They didn’t look 19 anymore.

“You’re about 24 now, right? What if Gyeoul is older? We’ll have to call her unnie.”

“No way! Show me your ID.”

They tried to keep the conversation light, but there was a sense of emptiness.

 

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