At first, it was just a subtle discomfort.
The first thing I felt uncomfortable was the moment I was trying to get the party out of the influence of the barrier.
The moment I was concentrating on spreading the occupied area as wide as possible along with the smoke flowing from my body, I suddenly felt my heart sinking and falling.
I was very wary at the thought that Yuno might have done something, but nothing happened even after so much time that it was embarrassing that I was vigilant.
In the end, I was so nervous that I dismissed it as a mistake and started to focus on what I was doing again.
In order to prepare for an unexpected surprise or situation, he had not loosened his vigilance.
However, it was at an unexpected moment, literally without any sign, that a notification window that would make even such a thing faded came to mind.
[You have completed the quest ‘The Sixth Evil’.]
“What?”
The notification window came to mind while Lee Ye-eun and Lee Ye-eun were growing the world tree so that she could use her last ability without any problems.
“Wait, what is this… .”
[One of the Seven Evils has died.]
[The sins of the Seven Devils who died will be covered by the person with the highest contribution among those involved in the death of the Seven Devils… … .]
[Contribution 1st place: U-Know]
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One after another, unacceptable notification windows started popping up one after another.
The fact that the Seven Devils were not killed, but died.
The content of the notification window is clearly different from that of Venus.
Death of oneself, not murder, contribution, not contribution.
And the name of Yuno that appeared at the end.
What these few lines of sentences meant was short and clear, but utterly unbelievable.
The Seven Evils, Yuno, is dead.
In a way I never expected to end up taking my own life too.
“Jihyuk?”
I heard someone next to me calling me, but I didn’t even have time to respond.
This is because another notification window popped up one after another as if he would not even give him time to think.
[warning!]
[The system has detected a fatal error.]
[Attempt to sync.]
[An error has been detected.]
[Finding a workaround… .]
[The status window including the notification window is not temporarily updated.]
[Please note.]
Slowly, I carefully read the notification window that came up again.
I don’t know why, but my whole body was so stiff that I couldn’t even move a single finger.
After a while, I took a deep breath and was able to sit down slowly.
It was only then that I realized that everyone was looking at me.
“Ji-hyuk.”
Han Soo-young, who was sitting right next to me, quietly called my name.
It wasn’t until she put her hand on my shoulder and carefully placed her hand on my cheek that I realized I was soaked in cold sweat.
“what’s the matter?”
She just quietly asked.
After thinking for a long time about how to say it, I thought it would be better to just say it as it is.
“… The guy is dead.”
“What?”
“Yuno. that guy is dead Are you sure.”
For a moment, silence fell.
In that situation, Sharisna was the first to speak.
“Is that true? No, even if it were true, how could you know that in this place?”
“I know.”
Sooyoung answered with a firm voice.
“If anyone else doesn’t know, if it’s Ji-hyuk, you can.”
“right.”
Immediately, Ye Seul nodded and said.
“Ji-hyuk has caught and killed several Chilak Bells up to this point.”
At her words, Charisna trembled and asked, trembling her wings.
“What does that matter?”
“There is a saying that even if you kill a wight called a goblin, that person will feel the energy of the dead, right? Not to mention, it’s a seven-evil bell. No one knows what will happen to the person who killed the Seven Evil Bells, except the person involved.”
As she spoke up to that point, she looked at Garuda with sharp eyes again.
“Because Ji-hyuk is not the kind of kid who can talk nonsense about things like this.”
“… Yes, at least something big happened.”
Then Yeeun also quietly opened her mouth.
She murmured one glance at the already grown world tree.
“The world tree is fluctuating. Ivan and Belluna-san probably felt it too.”
Ivan nodded at her words, and Belluna also nodded with a confused expression.
“Can I be honest?”
Belluna said, shivering and trembling.
“I can feel this kind of energy, but if Yuno wasn’t dead, wouldn’t it be more of a problem?”
Yuna, who has the best ability to sense something among us, also nodded with a serious expression, apparently feeling something absurd.
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On the other hand, Sharisna, Tritolki, Kwakal, and Shuricherishu were skeptical, even if they did not express it openly.
Leto, who was caught in the middle, rolled his big eyes back and forth as if he had done something wrong and shrugged.
Hyeonu, who had been silent until this point, opened his mouth at their appearance.
“I don’t think you believe it, but then you can go and check it out. Shurikerish? If we just check the condition of the seal together with me, we can tell if Jihyuk is talking nonsense or not.”
A hobgoblin dressed in a neat hobgoblin coughed in embarrassment at his words, which were filled with slight anger.
“… I looked ugly. My suspicions are correct, but it was about Juno’s death, not the suspicion that Gina’s brother was lying. So don’t be so angry. On behalf of the party, I sincerely apologize.”
With those words, the hobgoblin took off his hat and bowed his head broadly once.
Even after receiving his apology, Hyeonu still had a hardened expression as if his mood had not been resolved.
In a subtly awkward atmosphere, I let out a breath again and opened my mouth.
“There is no need to go and check the status of the seal.”
Hyeonu paused at my words and asked.
“why?”
“Because there is a way to be more certain than that.”
Before I could finish speaking, something black and long jumped out of the shadows hanging at my feet.
It was none other than a coffin made by the blacksmith of Yado.
“ah!”
Seeing this, Sooyoung and Leto let out a short moan.
Because they both knew that Gina’s body was put in this coffin.
“… … .”
Gina, my younger brother, obviously lost a fight against the fragments of Juno, and ended up being trapped inside the lens.
There was only one way to take it out completely from within the lens, and there was no other way than to annihilate Yuno’s core and kill him.
I exhaled slowly and opened the tube.
and… .
“… … .”
“Oh, oh… !”
“Ahh… .”
Leto, Charisna, Kritolki, Kwakal, and Shrikerish.
Everyone, no matter who or what, began to show that they were either moved or overwhelmed with emotions.
They were completely different from what they had seen before, just like children, without saying anything and just crying.
And I couldn’t even say anything.
Gina was in my arms.
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Out of the lens.
while still breathing.
It was only then that everyone present could accept the fact that Juno was dead.
* * *
“I came to check.”
Shuricherichu, who came to check Yuno’s seal, quietly opened his mouth even though he said he didn’t want to go.
In the bed, Yoo Ji-na, longing to see her so much, was lying quietly exhaling.
Around her, there were colleagues who, like herself, had spent more than a hundred years with a single desire to see her again.
“Brother… No, Jihyuk was right. The seal was broken, and the pillars that filled the surroundings had all disappeared.”
He sighed and took off his coat.
“I found a huge piece of ice that looked like Yuno’s body. All the power had already drained away, and it was nothing more than a piece of ice. Of course, I found some that looked like fragments of Yuno, but… It literally just existed. Even I, who was weakened by the power of the barrier that has not yet disappeared, was able to handle it all by myself.”
“You are really dead.”
Charisna, who was wiping Eugene’s body with a warm towel with a meticulous and careful hand, nodded her head.
Shu Rikerisch, who turned his head slightly, answered, looking at Leto, Kritolki, and Kwakal, who were looking at the wall just like himself, with pitiful eyes.
“You should see that. The barrier is still there, but I can feel its power and influence disappearing. They’ll probably all be gone within a week, so you’ll have to look them all over.”
“To agree.”
“Well, it’s better to definitely remove the hindsight.”
Kwakal and Kritolki nodded in response, respectively.
When Sharisna said that she could turn her head now, the three turned around as if they had waited.
“How is Gina?”
“He’s healthy.”
The troll wizard muttered, unable to reach out his hand and touch it.
“I’ve checked it over and over again, just in case you don’t know. No curses or aftereffects were left behind. I’m in very good health. Enough to wake up with my eyes open right now.”
“But you can’t get up.”
“That’s because it has been sealed for over a hundred years. Get enough rest and you’ll wake up soon.”
“… But where did the others go?”
Leto answered Shurikerish’s question.
“The old man was with the master for only a short time, and then he left us because he had something to do.”
At that, the hobgoblin tilted his head as if in surprise.
“Surprisingly. I thought it would be enough for a few days.”
“I think it was very important.”
“Anyone else?”
“There were people who prepared food for the owner… .”
Before he could finish his words, he heard a clever knock on the door.
Then, Lee Yu-na holding a tray with a thin taste and Jin Ye-seul looking restless for some reason opened the door and entered.
“Hey, I’ve been making some Mieum.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Lee Yu-na carefully put down the tray she was holding and stared at Yoo Ji-na, who was lying on the bed, and muttered involuntarily.
“He really looks like Jihyuk.”
Without realizing it, Lee Yu-na stretched out her hand and pulled it back.
She smiled shyly and turned her head to the fact that she had almost done something wrong.
“Yeseul, but really with Jihyuk… yes? Why are you so far away?”
Jin Ye-seul was stuck in front of the door.
Again and again she took a deep breath and muttered in pain.
“wait. Ah, my heart is not ready yet… .”
Putting her hand on her shaking chest, she closed her eyes and began to catch her breath again and again.
The Shadow Walker, whom she had dreamed of, the only person she admired, was lying in front of her.
Even Yoo Ji-hyuk’s one and only family and younger sister.
At first glance, I felt it, but the fact that she resembled him literally felt like my heart would burst.
“Oh, no.”
Jin Ye-seul muttered in a low voice.
“Even saying that he resembles Jihyuk? Then you’ll die of a heart attack as soon as you see it!”
Lee Yuna let out a small sigh at her words, which were once again serious.
“Jihyuk looked at you and me and said that he was asking for a younger sister. Ye-seul said you don’t have to worry either.”
“It’s not that I won’t, I’m just mentally ready… Ouch!”
“… Why are you doing that in front of the door?”
Choi Hyun-woo, who opened the door, looked at Jin Ye-seul as if there was no absurdity.
Jin Ye-seul, who wrapped her shoulders against the door, narrowed her eyes and glared at him.
“Hey, didn’t you apologize first?”
“ah. Yeah, sorry. No wonder Yesul didn’t know you were so groaning in front of the door.”
Choi Hyun-woo spit out an apology in a quiet voice.
Behind him, along with Ivan Hunt, was Belluna, who was constantly tilting her head as if curiously.
“But Jihyuk isn’t there? Weren’t you here?”
“… What, weren’t you and Han Soo-young together?”
Despite Jin Ye-seul’s venomous reaction, he just shrugged his shoulders.
“I came here because I didn’t know where either of them went.”
He looked around the room once and murmured.
“I don’t even see Lee Ye-eun.”
“The reason why the World Tree’s clan is not visible is obvious, well.”
Belluna murmured as she approached the bed with soft steps.
She let out an even breath and touched Eugene’s sleeping cheek with her finger.
“Oh my, is he really Yoo Ji-hyuk’s younger brother with bad eyes? Umm, it seems that the oddly sharp eyes are similar to each other.”
“Mom, isn’t the reason obvious?”
“yes?”
Belluna tilted her head and then nodded her head.
“Ah, what did you mean? That’s why you raised the world tree.”
She said as if curiously, gently stroking Eugene’s hair.
“I probably wouldn’t be able to live for a long time if I smoked it in a place like this, but the fight with Yuno, which was the purpose of the smoke, also crossed the water… … So, he must have apologized to the World Tree and went to comfort him. With that much blood, from the child’s point of view, it must have felt like he had killed his family with his own hands. In any case, it would be better not to interfere with the mourning.”
“Then who is Jihyuk?”
“First of all, Yoo Ji-hyuk has the power of the World Tree, right? Maybe he went to apologize in the same way… Since Yuno’s death was unclear, he may have gone to check on him… Um, I don’t even know this mother.”
She removed her hand from Eugene’s face and said.
“Anyway, wouldn’t your head be complicated?”
He’s the one who killed six of the seven evil bells.
She added in a sullen voice.
“I don’t know, maybe I’m thinking about how to kill the seventh one as well.”
* * *
“… Are you the one who called me?”
Yoo Ji-hyeok looked up at the tree that had already become beautiful.
As if in response to his words, the leaves flew in the wind from somewhere.
– Yes.
A voice that only he could hear resounded in his ears.
It was the voice of the world tree I had heard before.
― To have a conversation with you, I hugged and forcibly put a tired child to sleep after crying, so I hope that conversation with you will be constructive.
“What do you want to share? I’m really sorry if you’re dissatisfied with the place you smoked in a place like this… .”
– What I am trying to say is not that trivial.
The World Tree cut him off with a firm tone.
Yoo Ji-hyuk kept his mouth shut and waited for the world tree to say something, but it was just silent without saying anything.
“… So, what do you want to say?”
– wait.
What are you waiting for?
As if to cover Yoo Ji-hyuk’s mouth as he was about to say that, an alert popped up.
[Synchronization is complete.]
[Severe error has been observed and decision has been made by internal vote.]
[In relation to Juno’s death, a vote is made on how to hand over the guilt to the next-priority, not the first-priority… .]
[Voting is now complete.]
[Vote Results. Invalid 1. Absent 5. Agree 1.]
[Since the plan has been adopted, Yu-no’s sins are passed on to Yoo Ji-hyeok, the next-ranked person.]
[The penalty for killing the Seven Devils increases your karma by 100.]
[The penalty for killing the Seven Evils is negated due to the hidden attribute ‘Stranger’.]
[The shards of Yuno’s energy leave a mark deep inside your body, part of your soul.]
“What is this… .”
The impression that Yoo Ji-hyeok had when he looked at the notification window was simply ridiculous.
The World Tree opened his mouth as if he had been waiting while he was silent as if he didn’t know how to react to the contents of the notification window, which was half-forced.
– You’ve finally earned your qualifications.
“… Do you know what is happening to me now?”
– Well then, you know.
The World Tree exhaled quietly.
― Because it wasn’t just the Fire Spirit who made a contract with Ariman.
With those words, the roots of the world tree slowly extended toward Yoo Ji-hyuk.
Seeing him squinting his eyes for a moment and scattering bitter energy, the World Tree said as if he was at ease.
– Don’t worry.
The World Tree spoke with sincerity.
―Because I wouldn’t endanger the person my child deeply cares for, and the child who was finally recognized by me no matter what the beginning and the process.
“… … .”
―I am the world tree, a being who has taken root in numerous worlds and connects them.
Segye-soo wrapped around Yoo Ji-hyuk’s body with his roots and said as if he was wiping away old burdens.
– So I have an obligation to show you this.
– To you from another world.