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The group spread out across the city, searching for clues about the whereabouts of the Hwarang.

The Awakened One’s transcendent translation perfectly interpreted even the language used by the Demon Race, leaving no room for miscommunication.

However, there wasn’t a single demon who kindly responded to the human race.

The attitude of the demons was so poor that it was easy to guess why Jeong Gyeoul acted so recklessly.

‘Racist bastards… Now I get why they throw punches first.’

Sometimes through conversation, sometimes through fists.

They didn’t hesitate to engage in physical dialogue, moving busily until—

*Boom—*

Jeong Gyeoul’s magic projectile exploded above Asmodeus’s castle.

“…What the hell is that?”

A powerful magic wave, a noise loud enough to shake the entire city—everyone had no choice but to look at the signal Jeong Gyeoul had set off.

The characters created by magic continued to glow, resembling a neon sign.

However, the content was a bit absurd.

“Everyone, assemble under me!”

Though the group was dumbfounded by the message, they headed toward Asmodeus’s castle, thinking it was very much like Jeong Gyeoul.

‘Has she been this obsessed with military play since her Academy teaching days?’

It was good that Jeong Gyeoul, who was always bored, found something to immerse herself in… though the fact that it was military play was a bit concerning.

Soon, the entire expedition team gathered after seeing Jeong Gyeoul’s signal.

“Suddenly a signal flare? Did you find something?”

“I got some info after slightly threatening Asmodeus…”

No one believed the “slightly” part.

They all seemed to urge her to spill the details quickly, clearly fed up with the behavior of the demons they’d briefly encountered in the city.

“Dantalian led troops to the border and attacked Belarus four days ago.”

“…Didn’t he say he’d stay put to protect the city or something?”

“Right, there was no reason for him to lie, so we believed him… But there’s also info that Satan’s army has captured Belphegor’s territory. Now we can’t even trust Satan’s words.”

While Lee Ha-yoon tilted her head, confused about why they couldn’t trust Satan’s words, she wasn’t tactless enough to ask such a question in this situation.

The rest of the expedition team seemed to understand what Jeong Gyeoul was talking about.

“Those demons under you… Heukgu and Heukrang, right? Satan might have captured them.”

“Exactly. I don’t know when Satan started liking such tricks… Let’s head to the border, check the traces of battle, and then think again.”

They didn’t believe Master Kim Yu-shin would fall to someone like Dantalian.

He might have let himself be captured for Belarus’s safety or could be hiding somewhere after shaking off Dantalian.

Whatever the case, they needed to go to the battlefield to find clues before they could act.

“The master asked me to deliver this map to you.”

“…Tell him thank you.”

Asmodeus’s butler hurriedly handed Jeong Gyeoul a piece of paper and left.

It was a rough map of the border area where the battle had taken place.

But such a map was useless to Jeong Gyeoul, who was notoriously bad with directions.

“Are they mocking me?”

“I think I know roughly where it is. Let’s go.”

Fortunately, Lee Ha-yoon stepped forward, claiming she could figure out the location on the map.

“…How do you know?”

“The map is pretty detailed. I can figure it out too.”

Lin Hazel also stepped forward, saying she knew where it was.

“If you don’t know the way, we’ll lead. Just follow.”

“…Okay.”

By the time Park Seol-hwa told Jeong Gyeoul to follow, Jeong Ha-yul had already set off.

Everyone except Jeong Gyeoul knew the location on the map.

‘…Isn’t there an academy for people bad with directions?’

Feeling awkward, Jeong Gyeoul set her first goal upon returning to Korea: overcoming her poor sense of direction, no matter the cost.

With determination burning, she followed the others.

Unlike before, when they walked for days, the group used magic to move quickly.

Within an hour, they arrived at the border where the battle had supposedly taken place.

“…Is this the place?”

“But why is it so clean?”

“Did we come to the wrong place?”

“No, it’s the place marked on the map.”

Though they didn’t know how many troops Dantalian had brought, the group agreed that Kim Yu-shin wouldn’t have been captured without a fight.

Naturally, they expected traces of battle, but the area was cleaner than they thought.

“A battlefield with lingering magic traces is this clean? Something definitely happened here. They must have deliberately erased the traces.”

After hearing Lin Hazel’s words, Park Seol-hwa created an alchemy workstation using magic.

Though Park Seol-hwa had a dedicated workstation at the guild for making potions, a magic-made one was sufficient for quick use outside.

“…Are you making a potion?”

“What kind? Is there something that can help in this situation?”

“There’s something called luminol that police use to find invisible bloodstains at crime scenes. A potion like that.”

The group was stunned by Park Seol-hwa’s response.

“That’s possible? No wonder they say a good supporter is worth ten dealers.”

“It’s been a while since I used a magic workstation, so I’m not sure if it’ll work.”

Despite her words, her actions were confident.

In less than 30 seconds, a potion was completed.

When she poured it on the ground, invisible bloodstains glowed fluorescently, even showing the path of movement.

“Amazing…”

“With this, do we even need forensic teams?”

“We provide it to them for free.”

“Sis… you’re amazing.”

Though she often whined about not wanting to work and annoyed Jeong Gyeoul whenever she could, this was the first time Jeong Gyeoul saw Park Seol-hwa’s professional side as the Daehyun Guild leader and alchemist.

Only Jeong Ha-yul, who had seen Park Seol-hwa make potions many times before, showed no reaction.

“The liquid will trace the bloodstains until it runs out, so let’s follow it.”

“But… they wouldn’t keep bleeding all the way, right? They’d try to stop the bleeding, so it’d only drip occasionally.”

“If there’s nothing within ten meters of the last bloodstain, the potion’s effect ends there. Conversely, even one drop every ten meters would be enough to trace.”

“This is amazing… Let’s go.”

Satisfied with the capable supporter’s performance, Jeong Gyeoul moved forward.

Though their speed was like a snail compared to running with magic, the group was grateful for any clue after finding nothing at the battlefield.

‘We don’t know whose blood this is, but following it should lead us somewhere.’

The expedition team followed the path revealed by Park Seol-hwa’s potion.

When the potion ran out midway, she set up the alchemy workstation again to make more and continued the search.

“…By the way, you’re making it without materials?”

“With this level of function, magic alone is enough.”

Park Seol-hwa’s potions required various materials for the first successful creation to register the recipe.

After that, the quantity and quality of materials were adjusted based on efficacy and value.

Since her Awakening, Park Seol-hwa’s alchemy recipes had grown to thousands, including innovative ones like the luminol potion.

It was the result of her relentless effort.

But she spoke of it casually, as if it were nothing.

Still, no one could overlook her hard work.

As fellow Awakened Ones, they knew reaching such a level required effort, regardless of individual abilities.

“You’re amazing…”

“…Why the sudden mood?”

Embarrassed by the praise, Park Seol-hwa told the group to focus.

Though pouring potion on the ground didn’t seem to require much concentration, given the situation, they decided to stop making a fuss.

After moving for a while longer, the group had to stop at Lin Hazel’s words.

“Isn’t this leading to the Dark Valley?”

The bloodstains traced back the path Kim Yu-shin’s group had taken, heading toward the Dark Valley.

“The Dark Valley? That’d take over a week to reach. How could the wound last that long? It’d heal in a day…”

Normally, they’d hope for the bleeding to stop, but this situation was different.

They ironically hoped the blood would keep flowing, but a week of continuous bleeding was impossible.

“Yu-shin knows about this potion too. The blood trail will hold.”

“Master will endure any situation, but Satan is too big a variable. The battle here happened four days ago. A week is too long. Anything could happen.”

Though Park Seol-hwa’s potion was a great help, it wasn’t a cure-all.

After some thought, Expedition Leader Jeong Gyeoul asked Park Seol-hwa:

“If we save about half our magic, how many of those potions can you make?”

 

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