Chapter 188: Union (2)

“This was something I didn’t expect.”

I looked at Baek Ji-yeon. She appeared flustered, but she didn’t show it. She probably didn’t know that Seo Ga-yeon had been promoted.

“Can we add one more person?”

“One person? Honestly, given the uncertainty of the organization, isn’t that too much of an investment?”

“It’s overinvestment, but to achieve what we want, this much is necessary.”

“…Alright. Many guilds were just showing off this time. I’ll support you.”

Baek Ji-yeon smiled warmly.

“And one more thing. I want to connect with the place where the two people are.”

“Who are they?”

“One is Seong Han-byul, and the other is Ershil.”

“Both are students. Pretty women, huh. Well, the guild master is still in his prime.”

“…It’s not because of that, but just because of familiarity.”

“I see.”

Ershil wasn’t as strong as Seo Ga-yeon in a fight against the Nazi Empire, but she could perform comparably. Her latent abilities were beginning to bloom. If necessary, Melanie could save us.

“But if those two refuse, there’s nothing I can do.”

“No, they won’t.”

“Let’s leave it at that.”

Ridiculous.

But I wasn’t uninterested in the two, so I kept quiet.

Baek Ji-yeon closed her eyes.

“Can I ask you a personal question?”

“Is it public or private?”

“Private. Just out of curiosity.”

Baek Ji-yeon looked at me.

“Are you the Savior?”

“……”

“Never mind.”

I didn’t say anything, but Baek Ji-yeon seemed satisfied.

“Then I’ll be off. Don’t worry, I won’t mention this to anyone else.”

“I’m not worried. You’re one of the consciences of the association.”

“A bit too high an expectation?”

Baek Ji-yeon laughed bitterly and stood up.

Her magic power was somewhat unusual.

Seo Ga-yeon felt it every time she explored her magic power. Or whenever she faced beings related to magic.

Even if others used ten times the power, they would struggle to win, but Seo Ga-yeon could easily defeat her opponents with less power. It was nearly annihilation. Her power was almost invincible against the Mines.

Starlight magic.

Lee Seo-ha called her magic that. And he gave it another name.

Magic that affirms the death of magic.

When she told Celestial that, he nodded.

-That makes sense. But the magic of affirmation… it’s the exact opposite of the Energy of Defying Heaven that Lee Seo-ha has.

Seo Ga-yeon nodded at those words but didn’t quite understand.

Whenever she saw Lee Seo-ha,

She could feel his heart. She could read his thoughts. Not for any other reason. Her magic synchronized with the Energy of Defying Heaven that Lee Seo-ha possessed.

‘I liked it.’

Reading the thoughts of the person she liked in real-time was an incredible pleasure.

But it wasn’t without problems. Sometimes, when she saw Lee Seo-ha flinch, it meant her own heart was exposed to him.

‘I rather liked it.’

An honest relationship.

Lee Seo-ha and she could have that kind of relationship. A relationship where they could rely on each other. Not even family could break their bond.

Whoooo!

Starlight magic grew. No, it was closer to a rampage. It didn’t follow her will. More than that. Her magic grew as if bound by some law.

And Seo Ga-yeon knew what this phenomenon was.

‘It’s following.’

Starlight magic was following.

It was reacting to the Energy of Defying Heaven that Lee Seo-ha possessed and forcibly following his realm. It was some kind of law. Her power grew forcibly.

She instinctively felt that this wasn’t good.

Forcibly ingesting nutrients to grow bigger, she realized that it lowered her limit.

It was a faint feeling, but if she grew this way, she realized she would someday hit a ceiling.

While adjusting her magic,

She felt a presence.

A very familiar presence. One that seemed to negate everything, like a shadow darkening its surroundings.

It was Lee Seo-ha.

[I missed you.]

“……”

I was speechless as soon as I arrived. I could immediately feel Seo Ga-yeon’s heart. It tickled me automatically.

The starlight magic paired with the Energy of Defying Heaven wasn’t good for this.

Being able to feel the other’s heart instantly was one thing, but the problem was my heart going straight to the other person as well.

While calming my mind with “Eternal Existence (S+)”, I looked at Seo Ga-yeon.

[I missed you.]

…Embarrassing.

I spoke to Seo Ga-yeon, trying to appear as calm as possible.

“Did you get promoted?”

“Yeah, thanks to you, Seo-ha.”

“Because of me?”

“I’m not sure why, but Starlight Magic forcibly urged me to keep up with your level.”

“…Really?”

That was new information. The Starlight Magic used by the Creator God and the Energy of Defying Heaven were a pair, but this was the first time someone was using both powers.

“Yes. You might not know, but the stronger you become, the more my capacity expands, and my magic power increases.”

“That’s not necessarily a good thing.”

“Right. Every time it happens, I feel my limit slightly decreasing. If the gap grows wider, it’ll probably get worse.”

“…”

In that case, only my growth might not be the answer. Seo Ga-yeon, at least, needed to grow.

‘Kim Seo-hyun and Ershil can grow on their own.’

Kim Ara too. Seolhwa Ryeon was growing well within the guild, and Hong Yu-hwa was somewhat ambiguous.

It’s not a bad ability, but towards the end, Hong Yu-hwa wouldn’t have much to do. The ability to steal from the Usurper had its limits.

“Anyway, congratulations. Should we throw a celebration party?”

“No, it’s fine. It’s not like I achieved it with my own strength.”

“Is there anything you want? As the guild master, I still want to give you something since you got promoted.”

[One day.]

One day?

“Anything is possible?”

“…I’ll try my best if it’s something I can do.”

“…Then just spend a day with me.”

“Sure. When would be a good time?”

I took out my phone and checked the schedule. The Electronic Witch updated it regularly, so I could check it right away.

‘Not much important stuff.’

Except for the mission given by Baek Ji-yeon.

“…A mission?”

“Yes, a mission. The association is creating a new organization. I’ll probably join and receive missions.”

“Is it like outsourcing? Can I join too?”

“I’d love that.”

I had hoped for that from the start.

Though still weak, if Seo Ga-yeon was promoted, she cpi;d join the missions immediately.

Defeating the Great Evil and the Apostles. And ultimately, banishing the Black Sun from this world.

My power was still too weak to reach them. I could barely hold out if I tried. After that, I would surely die.

But the moment Seo Ga-yeon joined, I would gain the power to kill them. The potential of Starlight Magic was that great.

‘If necessary, I could call the dragons…’

Honestly, summoning the dragons was not a wise decision.

They had a tremendous responsibility as the guardians of the middle world.

Rifts.

They constantly moved and fought to deal with the rifts that had formed across the globe due to the collapse of dimensions. In the past month, they had been teaching me and closing the rifts without taking a proper break.

“But what about the members?”

“The Elder, the Witch Maiden, and Dantalion.”

“The demon we kidnapped back then?”

“…Yes.”

So that’s how Seo Ga-yeon saw it.

“That’s what others were saying…”

“Is that so?”

To the guild members, it seemed I had kidnapped Dantalion for no reason.

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t shown Dantalion’s abilities properly.’

Dantalion’s abilities were more outstanding than I thought. Even I was momentarily captivated by those abilities.

The innate authority of demon species was far superior to what one might think.

“But won’t the guild be too empty with so few members?”

“Don’t worry. The snake we brought in this time is quite strong.”

“Oh, that Genbu?”

-Did you call for me?

As soon as I called, a snake-like figure jumped out of the shadows.

“…No, I was just saying that with you here, this place is safe.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

-Don’t worry. As long as I can eat salmon every day, I can do anything, boss.

“…Alright.”

Genbu’s greed for salmon was beyond imagination.

It was rather worrisome. If he kept eating like that, he’d surely get tired of it eventually. I’d need to get him accustomed to other fish to maintain his work efficiency…

-By the way, I heard a bank account was opened in my name.

“Yes, you’re a guild member. I’ll meet most of your demands, but there must be things you can’t tell the company, right?”

-It’s not that serious. It’s just that there’s someone with similar power to mine, so I thought of supporting that person.

“Support?”

There was only one person in our guild with power similar to water.

Seolhwa Ryeon.

It made sense for Seolhwa Ryeon. She preferred to store what she received rather than use it.

‘Now that I think about it, “Yin-Yang Divine Art (S)” would suit Seolhwa Ryeon.’

Along with Hong Yu-hwa.

Of course, this didn’t mean I was doing anything 19+ with Hong Yu-hwa and Seolhwa Ryeon.

It’s a power that could be used differently.

Yin-Yang Divine Art was about combining different powers to maximize them. It fit perfectly with the Conceptual Stat Alchemy.

So combining the powers of those two with me or Seo Ga-yeon in the middle would create a decent synergy.

…But then.

“Hurry up and choose. Her or me?”

“You’re talking nonsense. Elder, you are our family’s elder. Of course, you’ll choose me.”

Hong Yu-hwa emphasized her chest by crossing her arms, and Seolhwa Ryeon sidled up to me and spoke.

How did it come to this?