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“Yo, is this the Demon Realm?!”

The Cult Leader, who had arrived in the Demon Realm, looked around with a face full of emotion.

The lighting, temperature, humidity—it was exactly as the Cult Leader had always imagined the Demon Realm to be.

While walking and enjoying the nature of the Demon Realm, the Cult Leader spotted some demons chatting in the distance.

“Winter is Coming is insane… Is Jeong Gyeoul really coming back? My chest feels so grand.”

“Was the author’s name Heukgu? How does someone write a novel like this? It’s a hit, I want to reread it from the omniscient Heukgu perspective.”

“I heard there’s also a novel written by Heukrang called Winter’s Return. It’s been doing well lately, right?”

Winter is Coming? Omniscient Heukgu Perspective? Winter’s Return?

Strange words, but the Cult Leader ignored them and went to ask what they were curious about.

It didn’t matter if the other side was armed or not.

It was the kind of leisure only an S-Class Villain could afford.

“Let me ask you something.”

“Y-you, human! Are you a descendant of Jeong Gyeoul? Ask anything!”

The demons, each holding a copy of Winter is Coming, looked shocked when they saw the Cult Leader.

The Cult Leader knew demons were aggressive.

They thought there might be some trouble.

But the demons were oddly submissive.

“…Jeong Gyeoul, huh? That name sounds familiar.”

They didn’t think it could really be *that* Jeong Gyeoul.

Even if it was Jeong Gyeoul, they thought she wouldn’t be able to use her powers properly in the Demon Realm where Satan resides.

“I need to see Satan. Do you know where he is?”

“…You want to see Satan?”

The demons started to look at the Cult Leader strangely.

A human looking for Satan, who was already dead.

What kind of idiot is this? their expressions seemed to say.

Seeing their expressions, the Cult Leader realized their mistake.

As far as the Cult Leader knew, Satan was the ruler of the Demon Realm.

If a random human suddenly popped up wanting to meet the Demon King, the highest authority in the Demon Realm, it wouldn’t look good.

“If Satan’s busy, I’ll see Mammon for now.”

“…! You’re definitely that human! We’ll bring him to you right away!”

They thought the human couldn’t be related to Jeong Gyeoul since they didn’t know Satan was dead.

But the way they casually called out the Demon King’s name was exactly like Jeong Gyeoul.

The demons quickly bowed their heads, and the Cult Leader felt pleased.

There were ancient documents saying humans were enslaved, but it seemed human rights in the Demon Realm had improved so much.

Thinking they made the right choice coming to the Demon Realm, the Cult Leader went to find Mammon.

“What’s your name?”

“Anton LaVey, Lord Mammon.”

“Capture that guy immediately! I’ll personally torture him!”

“…W-what are you talking about?!”

Seeing Mammon angry for the first time in a while, the guards moved swiftly.

‘…So Jeong Gyeoul was telling the truth.’

There was a prophecy that one day, a crazy human named Anton LaVey, who worshipped Satan, might come to the Demon Realm.

If left alone, the Demon Realm would be destroyed.

It was a famous prophecy, even written in the final chapter of Winter is Coming.

The day they scoffed and asked how that human could possibly destroy the Demon Realm came to mind.

“How could he destroy the Demon Realm? He’s a joke.”

“…?”

“If I hear he’s living well in the Demon Realm, I’ll invade it myself.”

“…!”

Hearing that they would personally carry out the prophecy, Mammon had nightmares for a while.

The name Anton LaVey was unforgettable.

***

Jeong Gyeoul’s expression was unusually bright upon returning to the Association.

They kept giving her work, so why did she look so happy?

Jeong Ho-min started to feel uneasy.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that Jeong Gyeoul had caused some trouble.

He rushed over and asked what she had done this time…

“Again? ‘Again’? You make it sound like I’m always up to something.”

“…N-no, Gyeoul.”

“Maybe I should start causing some real trouble? I haven’t even had a proper meal since morning, running around catching Fox Masks, Apostles, Lee Cheol-jin, and Cult Leaders. And the person who assigned all this work is interrogating me about what I’ve done ‘again.’ I’m so miserable! Maybe I should just emigrate to another country!”

Jeong Ho-min realized that no matter what he said, it wouldn’t help.

“Chairman, stop bothering Gyeoul.”

“Sister, you’re here?”

Jeong Gyeoul almost shed tears of gratitude when Jeong Ha-yul took her side.

“Don’t stress her out more, she’s already going bald from stress.”

“What happens then?”

“Hmm? Maybe she’ll go completely bald?”

That girl is the worst.

Jeong Ho-min got smacked on the back of the head by Jeong Ha-yul again.

He slumped into his chair.

At least Jeong Gyeoul’s torment was over.

The only named villain left was Chronos.

Jeong Ha-yul’s return meant she had captured all the villains in her assigned area.

Other heroes would start returning one by one.

There was nothing left to torment Jeong Ho-min…

Or so he thought.

One of the operators shouted urgently.

“Hero Jang Gil-yong’s magic power has suddenly disappeared!”

“What? Put it on the main screen!”

Jeong Ho-min, the staff, Jeong Ha-yul, and Jeong Gyeoul all looked at the screen with serious expressions.

The sudden disappearance of magic power meant it had all been drained.

In other words…

“Jang Gil-yong is dead?”

“How could a hero with immortality…?”

While the control room staff was in shock, the MZ operator acted quickly.

“I’ve downloaded the body cam footage of the hero who was with Jang Gil-yong. Playing it now!”

In any other situation, Jeong Ho-min would have given them a special bonus and a vacation for such quick thinking.

But now wasn’t the time for that.

The footage the MZ operator put on the main screen was shocking.

The moment Chronos appeared, the body cam fell to the ground.

It was clear that the owner of the body cam had been instantly defeated by Chronos, and the lack of movement suggested they were dead.

“You! What have you done?!”

“…How boring. Too boring. No one’s fun except that kid.”

The angry voice of Jang Gil-yong and the bored voice of Chronos were heard.

Soon after, the body cam, which had been pointing at the ground, showed Jang Gil-yong kneeling.

“Kk…kkk!”

“I heard you’re immortal. I wonder how immortal you really are.”

“Kkkk!”

Jang Gil-yong screamed.

Something seemed to be draining from his body in real-time, making him thinner.

Some operators vomited at the shocking footage, while others covered their eyes, unable to watch.

Jang Gil-yong.

The fact that an S-Class hero from Korea had been defeated was shocking enough.

But the so-called immortal hero was dying in real-time.

“Kkkk…”

As his body grew thinner, his voice aged.

It was clear that his time was being stolen.

After a while of suffering, the sound stopped.

Thud—

Jang Gil-yong, now skeletal, collapsed to the ground.

“Huh? What’s this camera?”

Crunch—

Chronos crushed the body cam on the ground, and the footage ended.

Silence filled the control room.

***

“We need to go now! What’s the point of a strategy meeting?!”

It was true that Jang Gil-yong wasn’t well-liked.

But he didn’t deserve to die like this.

We need to go for revenge.

If we kill that time thief, maybe Jang Gil-yong’s time will return.

But Jeong Ho-min stopped me.

Other S-Class heroes who had finished their tasks joined in, blocking my way.

“Wait, wait, listen to me, Gyeoul.”

I couldn’t just knock them all out and go.

“…Another S-Class was defeated instantly without even putting up a fight. We don’t even know what his ability is or how he was defeated. We can’t just send you in blindly.”

“It’s probably some time-cutting thing! Just don’t get close. You don’t seem to realize how strong I am now. Even if all the S-Class heroes here ganged up on me, they wouldn’t win.”

An S-Class hero was taken out in an instant, so it’s only right that I go.

If we leave that guy alone, who knows how many lives will be lost.

Communications from Gangwon Province are already starting to drop.

The magic power of heroes in the area is disappearing.

Heroes in Gangwon Province are dying in real-time.

The civilian casualties are unimaginable.

“We should’ve killed him when he crossed the East Sea!”

If he was as strong as he was back then, he wouldn’t have been able to defeat Jang Gil-yong so easily.

That means he let himself be captured.

The prison break was part of his plan.

If we had just killed him in the East Sea, none of this would’ve happened!

“Let’s all go together. With an S-Class dead, what’s the point of a strategy meeting? It’s meaningless. The best plan is for all of us to go and take him down quickly.”

Park Seol-hwa stepped forward.

“That’s right, Ho-min. If we stay here, the damage will become uncontrollable. We need to move fast.”

Kim Yu-shin stepped forward.

“…I agree.”

“Uncle! Let me go!”

Jeong Ha-yul and Lee Ha-yoon stepped forward, and Jeong Ho-min reluctantly nodded.

“…I’m going ahead!”

“Hey! Wait!”

Forget the expensive roof.

I just flew straight up.

 

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