Chapter 174. Return (2)
“Daji, has Ha Mina told you anything?”
When Kang Yujin poked his head into the room, Daji shook her head.
“I’ve never met anyone this stubborn. Her resistance is so strong that even my spells don’t work.”
“She hasn’t said anything at all?”
“As you can see.”
"..."
Just as Daji said, Ha Mina was slumped inside the room with her lips tightly shut.
She was bound by countless restraining items.
“For now, I think it would be better to take her back to Korea like this and interrogate her again there.”
“Yeah...”
Kang Yujin and Daji were currently aboard the Nautilus.
Even though Asmodeus and Sabnock had been defeated, northeastern China was still under Pandemonium’s control.
That meant they needed to return to Korea by sea.
Once they arrived, Ha Mina would be handed over to the Eight Guardians.
Ha Mina...
Kang Yujin had finally succeeded in capturing the woman he had searched for so relentlessly.
Yet now that he was standing in front of her...
he couldn’t think of anything to say.
Perhaps that was because he hadn’t captured Ha Mina himself.
“How is it going?”
At that moment, a calm voice came from behind Kang Yujin.
Daji smiled and bowed.
“Ah, Lord Kim Nameless. Did you greet the captain?”
“Yes.”
The man who entered the room with a cold expression was none other than Kim Nameless.
Right now, I had descended using [Avatar Descent] and boarded the Nautilus.
This is my first time riding a submarine.
Whenever I used [Avatar Descent], the thing I paid the most attention to was avoiding the eyes of other Constellations.
If they checked me through an Observer, they would immediately realize I wasn’t a Contractor.
Then it wouldn’t take long for them to discover that the S-rank Constellation ‘Nameless King’ was personally descending to the Material Realm through a Skill like [Avatar Descent] and operating behind the scenes.
To prevent that, I had mainly moved through places that couldn’t be observed.
The Nautilus was currently traveling deep beneath the sea.
Constellations couldn’t observe this place either.
I should get everything handled before we reach Korea.
With that thought, I looked at Kang Yujin.
“Kang Yujin, did you talk to Ha Mina too?”
“Not really.”
Kang Yujin answered curtly.
Then, as if he intended to leave, he turned his back on me.
“Where are you going?”
“What does it matter to you where I go?”
With that reply, Kang Yujin walked away alone.
I stared blankly after him.
Daji smiled.
“You two don’t seem to get along very well, Lord Kim Nameless.”
“Well... I did deceive him a little.”
I hadn’t told Kang Yujin that many people would have to sacrifice themselves during the battle against Asmodeus.
In the end, Kang Yujin trained inside the cave without knowing anything.
And while he did...
the Three Venerables died.
From Kang Yujin’s perspective, it was natural to feel deeply betrayed.
“I don’t think that’s the only reason, though.”
“What do you mean?”
“Who knows? Hehe.”
For reference...
Daji didn’t know that I was the Nameless King.
As far as she knew, I was merely a Contractor named Kim Nameless.
Still...
she might already have realized that I wasn’t an ordinary human.
“Come to think of it.”
“What?”
“That’s a cute pen, Lord Kim Nameless.”
Daji looked meaningfully at the rod tucked into the breast pocket of my shirt.
Did she notice?
It looked like a pen.
But it certainly wasn’t one.
It was the divine artifact I had obtained after getting information from Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
The Ruyi Jingu Bang.
I had used it to buy time during the battle against Asmodeus.
And afterward...
I had simply kept it.
I never really had a proper weapon when operating in the human world.
Now I possessed one of the top one or two blunt weapons in the entire world.
It would be extremely useful for self-defense if something unexpected happened.
Of course...
if Sun Wukong demanded to know why I hadn’t returned it to its original place, I would probably have to give it back.
It’ll probably be fine.
Sun Wukong seems to be in a good mood lately.
As promised, I had emphasized Sun Wukong’s cooperation on Constellation Tube.
His Origin Power had probably risen considerably.
But from Sun Wukong’s perspective...
he was probably even happier that he now had a steady supply of high-quality peaches.
We had established a good relationship this time.
If I handled him properly, he would probably cooperate again in the future.
“Anyway, Ha Mina really isn’t saying anything.”
Daji looked toward her.
“I have a grudge against her too, so I tortured her rather harshly.”
“But she didn’t react at all.”
“I’ve never seen a woman this stubborn.”
"..."
Ha Mina remained completely still, her lips tightly closed.
She clearly had no intention of speaking.
“Daji, step outside for a moment.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“I’ll try talking to her.”
“Hmm... all right.”
Daji studied me briefly, then smiled and nodded.
“I’ve completely neutralized her, so I don’t think anything will happen.”
“But if something does, call out loudly.”
Daji stepped outside and closed the door.
Now...
only Ha Mina and I remained in the room.
“All right, then.”
I dropped down in front of Ha Mina.
“Why don’t we talk openly, Ha Mina?”
"..."
For the first time...
Ha Mina reacted.
She glared at me with frightening eyes.
“You hate me, don’t you?”
"..."
“Well, of course you do.”
“I captured you, after all.”
I paused.
Then immediately corrected myself.
“Actually, that probably isn’t what bothers you most.”
“You’re probably angrier that I dared to put a fake version of ‘him’ in front of you and deceive you.”
"..."
“I understand how you feel.”
Ha Mina’s gaze became even sharper.
It was as though she were saying, What could you possibly understand?
“Ha Mina.”
“Lucifer is already dead.”
“Shut up.”
For the first time, Ha Mina spoke.
“Lucifer will never appear before you again.”
“Even if you create substitutes, that won’t change.”
“I told you to shut up.”
“You will never meet Lucifer again.”
“I said... shut up!”
Her voice was rough and emotional.
Nothing like the compassionate cult leader Ha Mina usually presented herself as.
“No matter what anyone says, I will meet him again!”
“No matter what I have to do...!”
"..."
No matter how many substitutes Ha Mina created...
none of them would actually be Lucifer.
It was obvious.
Anyone could understand that.
But logic like that didn’t work on Ha Mina.
In the end...
this woman was simply insane.
“Listen, Ha Mina.”
Keeping that in mind, I spoke gently.
“Don’t you think your method is wrong?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m saying that instead of trying to recreate Lucifer... wouldn’t it be better to meet Lucifer himself?”
“What?”
“Actually, showing you a fake Lucifer earlier was also a kind of shock therapy.”
"...?"
“You were extremely happy then.”
“So happy that you lost your reason and came running.”
That was how I had trapped her.
“From your perspective, wouldn’t meeting Lucifer himself be far better than creating some substitute?”
“What are you...”
“Listen, Ha Mina.”
