141 – Jin… Jeon? (3)
Duran, the leader of the Eastern Union Clan and the Lord of the hologram territory, had a perplexed expression as he asked, “The demon guys, they self-destructed?”
“Yes.”
“…I didn’t lose to Seong-guk, did I?”
Asked with a very puzzled expression, the informant lowered his head and spoke.
“It is true that I was falling behind Seong-guk, but it wasn’t due to losing to them. It was due to the internal strife among the demons, which led to their self-destruction.”
“…That can’t be true, though?”
Duran-dor, looking utterly puzzled.
However, knowing that the informant’s words were not false, he pondered for a while.
“For now, make sure to monitor the territory of Lartania with that understanding.”
“Understood.”
As soon as Duran-dor finished speaking, the informant, who vanished immediately, left him stroking his chin with a very subtle expression.
‘No matter how much I think about it, it doesn’t make sense…’
At least, to Duran-dor, the idea of demons with the same goals as them self-destructing in this manner was always an unreasonable story from the start, so he sighed deeply, looking uncomfortable with his head tilted in bewilderment.
“If the demons self-destruct, we’ll have to rearrange the board, that’s for sure.”
Duran-dor sincerely expressed regret over the demons’ self-destruction.
At least in his carefully laid out plans, the demons were always needed beyond a certain point.
‘…I never thought they wouldn’t even reach half of what was expected.’
Clicking his tongue with a sense of regret, Duran-dor seemed to ponder something for a while before inevitably raising his head as if there was no other choice.
Since the foolish demons had self-destructed, it had become difficult to include them in his plans any longer.
“…There’s no other way.”
Thus, muttering quietly, Duran-dor lifted the blue orb resting on his office desk.
Looking at the orb emitting a clearly sacred light, Duran-dor immediately lifted it, infused it with magic, and at that moment, the orb shone brightly, revealing an angelic figure before him.
[Great Angel of the Grand Chamber, what is the matter?]
At the sight of the angelic figure, one couldn’t help but kneel involuntarily in reverence.
“O Justiciar, a problem has arisen.”
In that manner, Duran-dor, bowing lightly, began his tale.
[What seems to be the issue?]
“The demons have self-destructed even faster than originally planned.”
＜p class=”a”＞From Noble mtl dot com[That is indeed unexpected.]
“Yes. O Justiciar, thus, I believe I need to take separate actions.”
[You seek permission, I presume.]
“Yes. How can I lead the heavenly army without seeking your permission, O Justiciar?”
Duran-dor’s words.
The Justiciar gazed intently at him, then said,
[Great Angel of the Grand Chamber, according to your request, I shall grant permission. Lead the heavenly army and lay the foundation necessary for ‘His’ resurrection.]
With that said, the angel disappeared in a bright light shortly after speaking.
Finally, when the bright light emanating from the blue orb naturally dimmed,
“…Now that I have obtained permission, it’s time to act in earnest.”
With a smile, the Great Angel of the Grand Chamber, Duran-dor, rose from his seat.
####
Right after the teleportation scroll was activated, Merilda found herself in a barren wasteland, and despite there being nothing around, she quickly discerned where she was.
‘The Borders of the Kallan Kingdom.’
Far enough from the Larvania Territory that even if Merilda were to give up her stamina and run right now, it would take at least five hours to reach the place where she had fallen, she stood there in silence, dazed.
“Th-th-th-this-!!”
With a face flushed in anger, she began sprinting towards the Larvania Territory with all her might.
Of course, she knew.
No matter how hard she ran right now, she couldn’t reach there when she was being fooled by the Lord of Darkness.
But still, she ran because blood was rushing backwards, forming teardrops in her crimson eyes.
‘That bastard…!!’
Kwakakakak-!!
Although everything around her was warping due to the impact of Merilda running, she was in a situation where she couldn’t care less about it.
All that occupied her mind right now was that scene she witnessed trying to teleport because of the teleportation scroll, a scene where Lin and Kim Hyunwoo were passionately kissing.
Thud!
Thinking about it, Merilda unknowingly gritted her teeth.
She bit so hard that blood oozed out, tears streaming down her engorged eyes.
Along with that, Merilda regretted.
‘If I had regained my resolve a bit faster…!’
Sure, the best time for Liyu to catch her was now, but if she had regained her resolve a bit faster, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.
5 days?
No. Just one day… no, even just one hour earlier, if she had regained her resolve and jumped in, this situation would never have occurred.
Merilda was angry at herself.
She was so furious at herself for always doing things that led to regrets.
To the point that she wanted to slap her own face.
But Merilda knew very well that now was not the time to do such a thing.
She may have lost the lead, but she wasn’t going to give up completely.
That’s why she put all her strength into running towards the Larvania Territory as if she were insane.
About four hours later.
“Huff-! Huff-!”
Merilda, with all her might, managed to arrive near the Larvania Territory after a strenuous sprint.
However, by the time she arrived, the sunlight was already shining over the hill.
“…Ha.”
Seeing that, along with regret, Merilda let out a hollow laugh as she arrived at the outskirts of the Larvania Territory.
“?”
Merilda could see Lin.
She was sitting in the forest near Larvania as if everything was futile.
Even her eyes were swollen like a rabbit’s, tears still flowing down.
The moment Merilda saw that sight, she instinctively realized.
That things weren’t going well between Lin and Kim Hyunwoo…!
The moment she realized that, Merilda felt a refreshing sensation spreading throughout her body, like the heat that had risen all over her body had suddenly subsided, and she didn’t hesitate to praise herself, unlike five hours ago.
Waiting was the right call after all. Listening to Liyu and holding back was the right move. Staying calm was the right thing to do!! With thoughts like these, Merilda, wearing a determined expression, reached Lin and let out a sly laugh as she began to talk.
“Didn’t go well, did it?”
Confidently, with a swaggering smile, Merilda spoke.
But Lynn didn’t react.
Just stared blankly at the ground.
“?”
Looking at her like that, Merilda felt a slight doubt, but quickly opened her mouth again to cheer up the girl she had sent far away with a teleport scroll.
“Your owner really doesn’t like you, huh? I knew it, right? So who goes in so boldly and gets scolded like that? Huh?”
Already forgotten if she had thought of doing so five hours ago, Merilda chuckled heartily in front of Lynn, who was now shedding tears.
Lynn just blankly stared at Merilda.
There was nothing in her eyes.
Not annoyed by Merilda’s teasing, not angry, nor considering any other consequences.
She just blankly looked at Merilda.
And then.
Drip-
Tears fell.
“Uh, uh?”
Seeing Lynn’s unfamiliar expression, Merilda, who had been smiling moments ago, now looked more puzzled than amused.
“Hey… hey?”
With a slightly perplexed expression, she called out to Lynn, who was now crying silently with a deeply sorrowful look, resting her head on her knees.
“…”
Seeing Lynn cry quietly without making a sound, Merilda, who had just been smiling mockingly moments ago, now wore a very bewildered expression.
Thinking that maybe she should be the one crying right now, she watched Lynn cry silently, then let out a small sigh.
“Come on, cheer up…”
She murmured softly.
In truth, no matter how much Merilda and Lynn tore each other apart when they met, the truth was that there was only one bond older than her, which was the lord.
That’s why after uttering those words, Merilda scratched her head and headed back to where she should be.
…In a corner of her heart, she thought she had indeed endured very well.