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Ragna’s charge caused the altar with the Dimensional Stone to break.

Right after Jeong Gyeoul cursed.

*Poof—*

The new method of the judges disappeared.

The judges who disappeared from the Base Camp appeared on the monitor.

Among them, Jeong Gyeoul caught the Dimensional Stone that was falling to the floor and lifted it.

“Almost messed up!”

“…Jeong Gyeoul Hero? And the other heroes too?”

The participants were shocked, seeing the judges appear as if they had teleported, before they could even sense anything.

“Even if they’re S-Class… is this even possible?”

“I couldn’t sense any presence or magic power at all?”

Ragna was even more shocked.

‘If it had been an attack… I wouldn’t have been able to block it.’

If Jeong Gyeoul had aimed for Ragna’s neck instead of picking up the stone.

He wouldn’t have even known how or by whom he would have died.

For the first time in his life, Ragna felt fear.

“What, what is this?”

“Do you even know what this is before smashing it? You almost caused a disaster! Seriously.”

“…?”

Ragna hadn’t received any warnings from the production team.

It was unfair to be scolded by Jeong Gyeoul, who appeared out of nowhere, but he couldn’t say anything.

“What is that?”

The blue and red teams stopped fighting and gathered around the stone.

Cha Seo-rin, who had at least some conversation with Jeong Gyeoul, stepped forward to resolve everyone’s curiosity.

However, Jeong Gyeoul looked at the other judges and kept her mouth shut.

“Hmm… I’m not sure if I can say. I’ll ask the Association later and let you know.”

“…Does that mean it’s something dangerous enough to require security?”

“Not necessarily, but depending on how it’s used, it could be extremely dangerous.”

Jeong Gyeoul briefly recalled the situation where the Awakened Ones were suddenly transported to the Demon Realm.

Adding her own experience, she continued her imagination…

The first time she met Heukgu and Heukrang in the desolate desert and the human trafficking village.

She was certain that all the Awakened Ones here would be dealt with at that point.

Forget about meeting Dantalion or the lords, fighting them, obtaining the Dimensional Stone, and returning.

There was no future where they would be captured by a slightly stronger demon and raised as human slaves.

‘How bleak…’

Jeong Gyeoul’s Demon Realm Expedition Team ended the war in the Demon Realm with a small number of people.

They even crushed, plundered, and killed the lords.

But that was only possible because S-Class heroes and even Transcendent-level beings were mixed in.

After Earth’s other heroes and Awakened Ones crossed over to the Demon Realm.

The probability of returning alive was almost zero.

‘If it were the Queen, she might return alive even alone.’

Even for Jeong Gyeoul, who had reached the Transcendent level, the Queen’s abilities were still an unknown realm.

She couldn’t even guess what the Queen’s abilities were or where her limits lay.

Perhaps she might be weaker than Jeong Gyeoul, or perhaps incomparably stronger—an unknown Awakened One.

Excluding the Queen, the Jeong sisters, and a few S-Class heroes with special abilities…

Earth is significantly weaker than the Demon Realm.

‘…Now that I think about it, there’s no need to worry about the Demon Realm anymore.’

With the dimensional contract with Mammon, Earth’s invasion was made impossible.

Jeong Gyeoul’s worries were in vain.

But suddenly, strange thoughts began to arise.

It could be considered delusional, but it felt like a realistic anxiety.

“Taoist Girl. Do those divine spirits, the Heavenly and Earthly Deities, reside in this intermediate realm?”

Cha Seo-rin was about to get annoyed again at being called Taoist Girl, but Jeong Gyeoul’s expression was unusual.

“…I didn’t expect you to know the term ‘intermediate realm.’ The divine spirits reside in the Realm of Immortals.”

“Damn it…”

“…?”

In a way, it was an obvious story.

If the intermediate realm and the Demon Realm exist, wouldn’t there be another dimension like the Realm of Immortals or the Heavenly Realm?

“Just asking, but can those divine spirits interfere with the intermediate realm to some extent?”

“Unless they possess a shaman’s body, they can hardly do anything. Why do you ask suddenly…?”

“What about earlier when you used talismans to touch my body?”

“Oh, just about that level. Like ghosts playing pranks? It’s said that if they possess a shaman, they can cause natural disaster-level power, but there’s no shaman who can withstand that unless they’re prepared to die.”

Jeong Gyeoul seemed to have found the cause of her anxiety.

The level of interference that can move and control tools like talismans.

The interest the Heavenly and Earthly Deities showed in Jeong Gyeoul earlier.

The fate of Jeong Gyeoul being oppressed by the world, gods, and the universe.

And the recent quiet oppression pattern.

“Block the stone!”

“…?”

The participants watching the conversation between Cha Seo-rin and Jeong Gyeoul didn’t understand why Jeong Gyeoul suddenly went crazy.

But the expedition team members were different.

Park Seol-hwa took out a potion and sprayed it on Lee Ha-yoon.

Lee Ha-yoon used magic to protect the entire space-time around the stone.

Jeong Gyeoul also spread her telekinesis, trying to control the situation.

“…What are you doing now?”

“Just shut up and watch. If you troll, I’ll kill you.”

Only Jang Gil-yong, the program participants, and the production team, who hadn’t participated in the Demon Realm expedition, didn’t understand the situation.

“Gyeoul, is it a dangerous situation?”

“From what I feel, yes.”

“The Demon Realm? Didn’t we end that with the contract with Mammon?”

“Something worse than that seems to be messing around.”

“…?”

Lee Ha-yoon didn’t understand, but the others did.

The Realm of Immortals mentioned in the conversation with Cha Seo-rin.

At the Base Camp, they laughed it off when Jeong Gyeoul was teased by the talismans.

But in a situation like this, interference from another dimension couldn’t be ignored.

Jeong Gyeoul looked at the expedition team members with a serious expression and said.

“If something happens, take everyone here and escape. I’ll go alone.”

“Will you be okay?”

“Being alone is easier, I’ll just find the Dimensional Stone and come back quickly.”

“But… Gyeoul, you’re bad with directions.”

“…Even in this situation, you’re hitting me where it hurts.”

It wasn’t like Jeong Ha-yul and Park Seol-hwa, who used to overprotect Jeong Gyeoul.

The mature appearance they showed in the Demon Realm Expedition Team… well, not exactly reliable, but still mature.

And the strength and abilities of Jeong Gyeoul, which they knew better than anyone.

All of that combined to form a perfect sentence of trust.

They prepared to escape according to Jeong Gyeoul’s words if necessary.

“Still, it’s a relief we caught it before it broke…”

*Crack—*

“…”

The expedition team members formed a circle and placed the stone in the center, protecting it.

But the cracking sound just now came from the center.

Even with Lee Ha-yoon defending the space-time and all the heroes’ magic power enveloping it, the stone was breaking.

“Scatter!”

Jeong Gyeoul released her telekinesis and sent the participants flying.

The expedition team members spread out and gathered the production team and the remaining participants.

Soon, a burst of light erupted from the stone.

“Wh-what is this?”

“You, what are you doing! Why aren’t you leaving and staying here!”

Something seemed to be happening, and Shin Hyeon-joo, who was right next to her, and Cha Seo-rin, who had attached magic-blocking talismans to herself, were in a hurry.

The talismans they attached while enduring Jeong Gyeoul’s telekinesis were torn, but Cha Seo-rin, as a capable Awakened One, took out all the talismans she could to protect, hide, block, reduce perception, and shield themselves.

Perhaps because of the urgent situation, even the S-Class heroes’ eyes were avoided.

Even Jeong Gyeoul didn’t notice.

Until Cha Seo-rin’s voice was heard.

*Whoosh—*

It was already too late to send them away.

You can’t send people flying faster than light.

There might be an accident where only part of the body passes through if they’re caught in the boundary.

Jeong Gyeoul had no choice but to include Cha Seo-rin and Shin Hyeon-joo in the range of her telekinesis.

She had never seen an Awakened One below S-Class perform dimensional travel.

It was to protect them from any unforeseen events.

“…Both of you, be prepared.”

“Wh-what is this!”

“When we return, you two will be in the Room of Spirit and Time, so to speak.”

Even in a serious and urgent situation, like a hero trained to reassure citizens.

Jeong Gyeoul still threw in a joke.

At the same time.

The three of them disappeared.

The light disappeared, and the expedition team members returned to the scene.

“Sisters… at this rate, isn’t Gyeoul’s awakened ability causing incidents?”

“Right, I thought things were quiet lately, but another big accident happened. Should’ve given her a few potions to take along.”

“Gyeoul will be fine, but what about the two who went with her? They’re still at the level of Academy students.”

“If I had known this would happen, I would’ve gone along. It would’ve been easier if there was one more Transcendent-level person.”

Jang Gil-yong, who was watching, couldn’t follow the flow of the conversation.

“…What on earth are you all talking about? Is the Demon Realm not the end?”

“Jang Gil-yong, you often hear that you’re not very perceptive, right?”

“…?”

Jang Gil-yong felt a little unfair.

He knew he was being subtly ostracized because of the incident where he oppressed Jeong Gyeoul related to the Satan Church, but he was being excluded more than he thought.

Even the instigators were saying he was not perceptive, so it was only natural to feel unfair.

Be that as it may.

The expedition team members began to scatter.

“I’ll meet the cult leader and ask if there are more Dimensional Stones. Just in case.”

“We need to research a way to create Dimensional Stones. I was happy we didn’t make potions, but…”

“I should contact Helena unnie. Maybe she knows something.”

It was a different reaction than before.

In a way, it could be seen as a safety insensitivity…

But the thought of Jeong Gyeoul being defeated and not returning didn’t even cross anyone’s mind.

 

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