---

Chapter 148

“Oh, you’ve arrived.”

“You look great, Riley. Are you all settled in?”

“Yup. They say everything’s fine on the Magic Tower side too.”

Riley, dressed in a neat white robe over a sharp suit, greeted Yeon-woo as she walked down the corridor. Yeon-woo returned the greeting.

The Harmony City Public Library had ample space, primarily reserved for future collections. However, amusingly, one corner of that remaining space now housed a laboratory affiliated with the Magic Tower.

Of course, the library director allowed such an ill-suited facility for the building since it was ultimately for Relin’s Archive, a gate-like library… according to the director’s claims, to accommodate a gate-type library, so there were no significant issues, but still.

“Let’s set aside the crazy book enthusiast’s ramblings for now.”

Yeon-woo stood next to Riley and looked out the window she was gazing through. Pulsating crimson flesh was visible. The stone golem, which had lost its limbs, was now wandering around the lab with all its limbs intact.

“How long do you think it will take?”

“Well, regarding the research on the succession ceremony of the Divine Position, there aren’t any records in the archive or even in this world, so I can’t give you a definite answer.”

“That’s something. We need to hurry up so I can ask about this pesky Stigmata…”

Yeon-woo recalled the lizard-shaped Stigmata on their left forearm. Perhaps because the deity linked to the Stigmata was absent, even asking Shar didn’t yield any information on its functions.

Fortunately, as long as they were diligently producing divinity, it was a blessing in disguise; if that weren’t the case, they’d end up feeling even more miserable than unable to use a public bath.

“As long as the divinity is steadily increasing, if it’s just the emergence of a ritual, it shouldn’t take too long.”

“That’s a relief to hear. So, um… is our golem friend satisfied?”

“Are you talking about Antoinette? Yeah, it was aggressive initially, but it’s stabilizing.”

“Uh, is there any way we could change that name?”

“What’s wrong with it? Does it make you uneasy to hear that the administrator cut off Antoinette’s limbs?”

You know it! If they had decapitated it, it would have been an absolute disaster.

As Yeon-woo nearly shouted, their lips curled slightly. Riley, who was observing them emotionlessly, let out a small smile.

“What can we do if it likes the name? Once everything settles down, I plan to replace its body too. For now, I’m gathering consent on the design.”

“That sounds like a scary thing to hear.”

It was as if it was planning to switch to a doll that actually suited the name Antoinette. They sincerely hoped it wouldn’t have blonde drill hair.

“Well, I’m just glad that Riley seems to be adjusting well, regardless of Antoinette’s self-actualization.”

Yeon-woo glanced at the coffee cup on Riley’s desk and the donut box beside it. At that remark, Riley smiled subtly. Although not comparable to before the regression, it was a far more natural smile than before.

“Thank you for your consideration.”

“Don’t mention it. If you get any reaction from the deity, please feel free to contact me.”

“I will.”

Surrounded by floating magical books fluttering around, Riley composed herself like a proper researcher. Yeon-woo then exited the library.

*

“No matter how I look at it, monitoring the entire city is a stretch.”

Tae-oh’s observational range was vast, but with all the twists and turns of the city, it was impossible to monitor every single one of them.

Moreover, with tens of thousands of people visiting Harmony City for the competition, it was reasonable to believe that it would be impossible to pinpoint a specific individual with personal abilities alone.

But then again, what if rather than searching, they could lure them out?

Before the regression, the Gloomy Monster did not come to Harmony City during this period. That fact was certain. The past encounters of characters like Yuri and Kim Hyun-soo with the Gloomy Monster only confirmed this truth.

Yet, true to its nature, for some unknown reason, the Gloomy Monster had committed two murders already within three days of its visit.

If it had visited before the regression, it surely would have committed murder. If so, it was strange that it hadn’t encountered Kim Hyun-soo.

So, what was the difference between the time before the regression and now? Thinking that way, the key clue was that the Demon King worshipped by the Order of Melancholy was the Moryo’s Demon King.

“Jealousy suits this brat more than melancholy.”

Perhaps it stemmed from the fact that the Moryo’s Demon King showed little interest in the demon cult that followed him, but when word was out that he had his eye on someone, he’d lose his wits and send assassins after them.

How did he know? If the High Priest of Melancholy noticed that Kai Hros had come searching for him and sent the Gloomy Monster to kill him, it all adds up perfectly.

In essence, to lure the Gloomy Monster out, they would have to be the bait. Yeon-woo felt the divine energy flowing into the lizard-shaped Stigmata on their back. Damn it. They really didn’t want to do this.

Of course, it was dangerous to do this alone, so Alyssa Valdia, the high-ranking magician, followed closely from a distance, even though it was her day off.

Though she had initially wanted to argue why she had to do such a thing on her day off, she accepted when Yuri made the request, treating it as a Hunter mission.

When Yeon-woo glanced aside, a girl dressed in shabby training clothes and a black hat, her long red ponytail bobbing impressively, was seen chomping on squid legs.

With only the hair color missing, she reminded him of Yoo Ha-yeon.

[What are you staring at, student?]

[I’m sorry….]

[Why are you apologizing? Did you do something wrong? Are you perhaps feeling guilty?]

Well, it was hard not to feel sympathetic. After all, being made to babysit on a golden holiday is something even an elementary school student would notice. They could bet on that.

[If you let it slide, how about we grab a meal afterwards? I’ll treat you.]

[I’ll eat something expensive.]

Why did she only respond properly during times like this?

Yeon-woo let out a big sigh internally.

And so, with the highly regarded magician of the red division from the Magic Tower, the Witch of Fire, Alyssa Valdia, as his escort, Yeon-woo sauntered down the streets at his leisure.

Their aim wasn’t so much to kill the Gloomy Monster immediately but rather to verify whether it was indeed targeting Yeon-woo.

The streets were filled with a festive atmosphere. In some shops, there was hardly any room to step. It was evident that most were tourists who had come to enjoy the festivities in Harmony City during the Competition.

With tourists arriving from all corners of the world, mobilizing security personnel to find a specific individual was practically an impossible challenge. The patrolling guards must have been exasperated.

But that didn’t mean Yeon-woo couldn’t find them. As a mana empath, he was in a position more favorable than anyone else for this search.

He could find them. He could preemptively analyze the monster approaching him. With that thought, Yeon-woo began to move towards a secluded area.

The Gloomy Monster didn’t fear people’s gazes. It didn’t hesitate to kill.

Roaming the bustling streets was merely to draw attention to itself; an actual confrontation had to happen where there were no people around.

Just as he was about to enter a narrow alleyway with few people, a purple flame zipped past right in front of him.

Boom! The sound reverberated through every sense in the body.

It was a warning from intuition, as well as the sound of a man charging forward, destroying all the buildings in the vicinity.

His body lifted off the ground. The only thing Yeon-woo could instinctively do faster than his moving body was to wrap his body in a Doppleganger Weapon.

His flying body crashed into the concrete wall. The wall cracked and came crashing down with a loud noise.

“—Cough.”

Blood seeped through his teeth. The metallic taste flooded his mouth, and the pain felt as if a steel rod had struck directly at his abdomen, making it difficult for air to flow into his lungs.

If he stayed like this, he would die. That intuitive thought flashed through his mind, but his body wouldn’t move. Before he could struggle to conjure a spell through his muddled head, a harsh heat exploded right in front of him, sending his body soaring through the air. Despite the explosion being so close, it was not hot at all.

The way the magic worked seemed solely aimed at lifting Yeon-woo into the air. It was then that Yeon-woo barely realized Alyssa’s presence.

“…What are you doing, bringing a magician….”

With his vision slowly clearing, he saw a blonde man draped in a ragged gray cloak. Aside from the vibrant golden hair that had yet to fade, nothing else about him seemed different from what Yeon-woo knew.

“How annoying…”

“Dammit, who the hell is that guy?!”

Alyssa, dressed in training clothes, soared in a ponytail, and clutching onto Yeon-woo with magical force, had just rescued him from a plummet while coughing.

To speak in defense of Alyssa’s honor, the Witch of Fire, Alyssa Valdia’s magic was in no way an insignificant skill.

In terms of power, it was one of the top ranks in the red division, and she had demonstrated excellent control of magic, as seen just now when she protected Yeon-woo.

In other words, that fiery pillar just now was both a protection towards Yeon-woo and an attack against that man.

Yet, that man walked through the powerful mid-tier magic attack, the ‘Fire Pillar,’ as if it were nothing.

“Yeon-woo, are you okay?!”

“Cough, yeah, I’m not dead….”

“…Why are you still alive…?”

The Gloomy Monster stared blankly at Yeon-woo, who coughed up blood, muttering in disbelief. And at that sight, they could feel the temperature around Alyssa rising.

[Teacher, you must withdraw for now. I hope you don’t plan to roast me with your magic too?]

“…Tch, fine…!!”

As if sensing the mood, the Gloomy Monster stomped the ground hard and leaped up towards the sky like a spring.

Boom!!

With the sound of air being split open, the Gloomy Monster appeared right before him in an instant.

Although it wasn’t someone specialized in high-altitude maneuvers like Yeon-woo, it shot up into the air in the blink of an eye and reached out to grab Alyssa’s ankle.

“What the, what?!”

Startled by the unexpected speed, Alyssa hurriedly waved her hand, causing a massive sphere of flames to explode right in front of her. As a result, although she lost control and some shock was transmitted to Yeon-woo, it succeeded in preventing her ankle from being caught.

No matter how much of a monster it was that defied common sense, one could not leap again while suspended in mid-air; that was only possible for those skilled in aerial maneuvers.

“…Ah.”

With a dry voice slightly tinged with disappointment, Alyssa turned her body around as she lowered her altitude. She thought it better to escape among the buildings cautiously than risk being spotted if she stayed too high.

The fallen man, Christopher, was looking on as he slammed his arm against the side of a building.

(To be continued)

 

---