Archbishop Kelaout and Returnee Boy Han Hee-jun were still trapped in the Isolated Space.
This was because the party that used the ability could not eliminate this space due to the demon’s prohibition.
“I’m actually the eighth Korean Returnee. Right before the Pope… that was my order.”
Kelaout listened attentively, analyzing the boy’s mind with Sacred Power.
“You know, back in the day, I left a nasty comment on a webtoon called [Upside Down City] because it was so boring? And then I got possessed. Do you know what that is?”
“I grasp it, so continue.”
“Yeah. So I ended up struggling to live in a strange world overnight. It was a really disgusting place. It had a modern society, but the history was completely different from here, making it a whole different game.”
While analyzing the boy’s body and chatting, Kelaout was also having other thoughts.
‘What a peculiar phenomenon.’
From what he heard, a Returnee referred to someone who lived in a world based on a specific creative work and then returned.
Pope, I heard Eluke is also a Returnee.
Then there must be some creative work that underpins the original world somewhere in this place.
And he might just be a character from some work.
The devout archbishop did not feel disheartened or discouraged by that fact.
There was no reason to. The Sun still shone its warm rays on this world.
The influence of the gentle Sun remained powerful and brilliant here as well.
In other words, the original world wasn’t necessarily subordinate to this one.
It could even be on an equal footing or higher. They say that there are no real gods in this world, after all.
“Anyway, that’s when I became ‘Han Hee-jun.’”
Finally, Hee-jun complained in a gloomy voice.
“At first, I couldn’t adjust, but now I’ve at least gotten used to it. I mean, I’ve been living like this for five years now, so it’s only natural.”
“You were someone entirely different before you became Han Hee-jun.”
“You could say that. From what I know, the Pope was also a possessor like me.”
“Hmm….”
Living completely as someone else – possession.
If Eluke also experienced possession, she probably lived from childhood holding onto the memories of her past life.
Moreover, it could be deduced that she had comprehensive knowledge of the creative work that underpinned the world.
Just knowing these facts resolved all the questions he had witnessed or heard until now.
It felt so tidy that he could finally breathe easy.
‘No wonder she was so knowledgeable for someone from the countryside….’
Eluke, who was born in a village located at the most rural corner of the countryside, strangely sometimes knew things that no one else seemed to know.
The locations and uses of Ancient Artifacts, ancient myths long forgotten, the existence of forgotten gods, etc.
Whenever she laid out various knowledge that could only be found in ancient texts or ruins, Kelaout forgot about his dignity and was utterly astonished.
Until now, he thought it was because she’d been studying diligently when no one was watching.
But knowing the truth, it seemed she was merely recalling memories from the past. Even that was impressive, to be fair.
“I really hate this body.”
While Kelaout was digging into Eluke’s secrets, Hee-jun’s grumbling continued.
“Ugh… do you know what I thought when I first became like this?”
“What was your feeling?”
“Why is it a guy in a game with a lot of female characters? That’s what I thought.”
So did this boy want to be a girl?
Lost in thought for a moment, Hee-jun suddenly playfully clasped his chest.
“Oh, by the way. I was actually a girl originally. Just not anymore.”
“…I see.”
Was it possible for possession to change genders?
The newly acquired information made Kelaout nod, but he fell into a new question.
‘Was the Pope originally a woman?’
In reality, it didn’t matter whether they were originally male or female. Ultimately, the current appearance was what mattered.
Even so, he’d like to know more.
Not out of curiosity, but simply out of interest. The more he knew about the Pope, the more effectively he could assist.
Determined to ask casually later, Kelaout lightly tapped the boy’s head.
The analysis they had been doing had just ended.
“All done.”
“Really? How is it? Can you break it?”
“Yeah. Fortunately, the structure of the prohibition isn’t complicated.”
The prohibition made of the demon’s strange energy had a simpler form than expected.
It was simply a structure that seized and oppressed a part of the mind.
Compared to the language correction placed on Eluke, it felt rather trivial.
After all, designing a spell that only restricted speech so intricately would be abnormal.
Originally, they hadn’t planned to apply such a strong correction.
It was just supposed to guide her to speak gently, but the person concerned had asked for it to be done flawlessly, thus it was designed at the highest level.
As a result, when the correction was just applied, every time Eluke opened her mouth, it made people smile.
-Then I’ll ask you. No… how can such polite speech come out? It’s like the tongue and the speech are dancing separately.
It was so amusing to see the usually rough Pope suddenly become an extremely courteous lady overnight.
Recalling that memory, Kelaout smiled gently and patted the boy’s back.
“What are you doing? Let’s get out of this space already.”
“…But how strong is this old man?”
Noticing his hesitation, the seasoned archbishop immediately figured out what Hee-jun was thinking.
“So you’re afraid of that demon.”
“Yes! That bastard is a total lunatic! The moment I returned, he showed up and threatened my family, relatives, and friends as hostages!”
“Did you perhaps confront him?”
“…I’m nothing without my space isolation ability. I had no chance of winning from the start.”
Too strong to confront, he had to become a subordinate, and due to that, he had amassed a lot of stress, which he tried to release by insulting Kelaout.
Hee-jun, having made such excuses, awkwardly stared at the wall, avoiding his gaze. He seemed to be aware of his faults.
‘But still, there’s some potential.’
With a character like Liam, and his Guardian Dragon, it seemed they could instill some decent manners. At least three sessions of education would be necessary.
After quickly estimating, Kelaout smiled lightly.
“Don’t worry too much. That demon won’t lay a hand on you from today onward.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“You still don’t understand what kind of person you’re separated from.”
“Excuse me?”
Even as Hee-jun threw a puzzled glance, Kelaout didn’t give any more explanation.
He merely stroked his goatee and recalled a man’s face.
‘If he’s not kidnapped but rather just locked in an independent space… I wouldn’t even need to intervene.’
Currently, in this world, there was a destructively strong man living, far too powerful for a peaceful era.
*
As the night deepened, a man floated gracefully in the dark sky where the stars were particularly hard to see.
A young man with striking looks and bright yellow hair neatly slicked back.
Currently living under the name ‘Kim Yi-jeong,’ but really, he belonged to the Demon World.
The Great Demon of Trickery and Corruption, Regidro Reuenna, was soaring through the sky, simmering in anger.
“Damn these bastards….”
He was on the verge of breaking down due to the irritation and anger filling his head.
How on earth did things turn out like this?
It was definitely good at first.
He had drawn attention by making a strange donation that disrupted the Pope’s broadcast, and in the end, he delivered a significant warning.
Moreover, he used Han Hee-jun, who has the ability to isolate space, to trap the hero in advance.
Close to perfection in prediction and preparation.
Finally, he had even sent Whispering Leaf, a superhuman nearly at the level of a demigod, to the Pope.
So if everything had gone according to plan, the Pope should have been captured by now. The Pope is a superhuman, but specialized in helping others.
‘That dragon or that Chinese guy could have easily handled that single guy….’
Everything had been perfect. The operation had been prepared for months; there should have been no gaps.
The Great Demon had been watching for the right opportunity since the Pope first returned to this world.
It wouldn’t make sense to threaten the priests directly because of compatibility issues, and the hero, who had reached the level of a demigod, was also troublesome.
Hence he had embedded himself in the Church as the external affairs manager, constantly looking for the perfect timing. Today was that day.
It was the most opportune time for him to achieve his goals, and in reality, everything was progressing smoothly.
But….
“Why did it all get so tangled up like this?”
His carefully laid plans had completely collapsed.
Whispering Leaf, whom he had sent to capture the Pope, was caught up in the enemy’s trickery and was busy filming a movie.
Meanwhile, Han Hee-jun, who needed to keep the hero trapped, was effortlessly subdued by the archbishop.
He had assigned them the mission they were most suited for, but they couldn’t manage even that one properly. How pathetic could these Returnees be?
His frustration bubbled over, yet there was no one to vent that displeasure onto. It had been him who toyed around with competent Returnees but turned them all into heavy patients.
‘…Calm down.’
Like a true demon, Kim Yi-jeong soon composed himself and began to plan again.
His thoughts were chaotic, but he could straightforwardly recall and organize the checklist of what he needed to do next.
All the preparations and tricks to captivate the Pope.
Among them, there was something he could do immediately.
It was no big deal; he planned to brutally kill the sister that Whispering Leaf was trying so hard to save. It was pure venting.
‘I’ll chop off all her limbs and hang them up in front of that guy’s place.’
Then he would fall into despair, making it impossible for him to get back on his feet. The look of that pretty face being consumed by despair already flickered clearly in his mind.
Indeed, there was no feeling as good as despair.
Kim Yi-jeong burst into a big laugh, exposing all of this, and tried to fly towards the home of the Dark Elf’s sister.
At that moment.
Suss.
A line was suddenly drawn in front of the grinning demon. A brilliant silver light flashed through it.
Following that, the very space drawn with the line split apart, and a dazzling figure emitting light appeared before him.
“Nice to meet you, you son of a bitch.”
It was the hero.
“…What the?”
How did he appear here?
If it was a demigod’s ability, he could have easily escaped the isolated space, which was quite expected.
However, it didn’t make sense for him to come straight to this place.
He should have been completely unaware of how the situation was since he’d been locked away all this time.
There was no way to discern how that was achieved.
He had dozens of questions welling up, but he had no time to ponder.
“Don’t think about dying easily.”
With a voice stripped of all playfulness, Liam brandished both sword and shield in his hands.
And then, he was about to charge when Kim Yi-jeong held out his arms, puffing out his chest confidently.
“Do you want to kill me? But how? To kill me, you need to slay my soul… my real body is in the Demon World.”
“…….”
“Killing this body is just going to be the demise of a fragment. And I’m possessing this ‘Kim Yi-jeong’ dude, you see?”
Since there were many Returnees who experienced possession, he thought he might as well try it following that trend. Being a Great Demon, it was not a difficult task for him.
“It won’t kill me to slice this body. And this poor fellow suffers instead. You think you could still attack me? As a hero, could you kill an innocent human being?”
“…….”
Liam stared at Kim Yi-jeong for a moment, then made his sword and shield disappear.
The threat worked.
Just as he thought of smiling in victory, Liam was the first to break into laughter.
“Well then, that means I gotta beat you up really badly. I just can’t kill you, right?”
“…But this dude will get hurt!”
“I can heal him. My wife is quite experienced in healing.”
“…….”
At a loss for words, the Great Demon stood there blankly while Liam casually warmed up then suddenly dashed forward.
With both hands wrapped in bright sacred power mixing pink and silver.
‘…Dammit.’
The Great Demon foresaw the future where his possessed fragment was thoroughly beaten into nothingness.
A future he couldn’t escape.
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