Tick. Tock. Tick.
At the top floor of a building in Petenburg.
The sound of someone nervously biting their nails echoed in the dark office.
“Is it really… this serious…?”
Jill sighed, pressing her hands against her cluttered desk.
All the information gathered from every corner of Petenburg.
Everything that various countries kept confidential was now all in her hands.
“It all started in Cologne…”
Thud.
Jill’s finger pointed to the city of Cologne in the center of the Southern Continent.
The mysterious death of Mayor Lawrence Briam of Cologne had left everyone questioning.
Officially, he was said to have lost his life to a monster in a dungeon.
However, the church’s autopsy revealed that ‘some being’ had dwelled within Briam’s body.
Not his own, but traces of potent demonic energy were found.
The unprecedented emergence of a powerful demon.
It seemed the church referred to this mysterious being as the Great Demon.
And the man who killed the demon-possessed Briam.
It was definitely Yoo Jin.
It appeared even the church had no clue who Yoo Jin was, but just from the descriptions of his appearance, Jill was quickly assured.
“Next is Elvenguard…”
Next, Jill pointed to the lush forest of the Southern Continent.
Her hometown, a place she never wanted to return to.
The second anomaly occurred right here.
A Spider Monster that aimed to control the World Tree.
Highly intelligent, it hunted every Swordmaster and Great Mage that entered its territory, and yet this terrifying foe was suddenly slain in a single day.
Coincidentally, right around the time Yoo Jin had visited.
“Finally, back to Cologne…”
The third anomaly.
It happened shortly after Elvenguard lost the corpse of the Spider Monster.
A necromancer who took the corpse of Cardinal Nicholas and posed as him resurrected the Spider Monster, wreaking havoc in Cologne.
It happened while the main force of the Sacred Knights was absent.
However, due to the vice commander’s efforts, it was said they were able to suppress it without major casualties.
But the strange part was that the vice commander had been out of contact for about 20 minutes from the time of the incident.
In that amount of time, the Spider Monster could have killed hundreds, so how could the damage be so minimal?
Such questions were resolved when it was revealed that Yoo Jin was involved in this incident as well.
“There’s no way Yoo Jin was just coincidentally present at all three places…”
Once or twice might have been coincidence, but three times, definitely not.
Jill was finally able to draw a conclusion.
Yoo Jin’s frantic activity wasn’t about a formless existence.
He wasn’t roaming through dungeons just because he was desperate to die.
A being that others don’t know about.
Only Yoo Jin was facing the tangible threat from the otherworldly foe.
Thinking like that sent goosebumps up her spine.
“Well, so all this time he’s been avoiding me because…”
In previous cycles, Yoo Jin hadn’t exhibited behaviors like this.
He probably hadn’t been aware of the existence of the otherworldly foe back then.
He only entered dungeons occasionally, when working as a mercenary.
But as he kept regressing, Yoo Jin must have sensed something.
He realized a great threat was looming over this world.
That’s why he began to distance himself from people.
The closer they were to him, the more he kept his distance.
That was the only way he could protect them.
To save his loved ones from the clutches of a terrifying enemy.
“Ugh…”
Her emotions surged.
Jill stifled her sobs, tightly covering her mouth.
She had no idea he was keeping his distance for such a reason.
She suddenly felt guilty for doubting his relationship with Mia.
Of course, his affair with the Priestess and the Frost Duchess was indeed true.
But that was something in the past, something she had to let go of.
“Then it seems… it’s time…”
As Jill rolled up the map, various tools for spells were revealed underneath.
Jill squeezed her eyes shut.
She had to accept it.
Now was not the time to be selfish.
While Yoo Jin was fighting a lonely battle, sacrificing himself, she couldn’t just let her childish feelings collide with that.
If she truly cared for Yoo Jin…
If she wanted to look out for him, she had to help him.
Even if it meant, though she really didn’t want to…
“It’s time to face my love rivals…”
It seemed that she’d have to team up with her most despised enemies.
.
.
.
A few days later.
The train arrived at the Petenburg platform.
A blue-haired woman in a fur coat stood up, folding a magical tome in her hands.
Following her closely was a pale-skinned Blood Ghoul gripping a longsword, acting like her bodyguard.
“What kind of magical tome is that? I’ve never seen it before.”
“It’s nothing special. Just a spell that helps suppress my frenzy, so I’m studying it.”
“Why suppress your natural talent?”
“It was given by my dear little brother… so stop backseat driving and fasten your gown! Do you have a exhibitionism problem?”
“Unlike the Frost Duchess, I have a rather presentable body—”
“Shut up.”
The two women bickered as they entered the platform.
In an instant, all eyes were on them.
Both the Frost Duchess and the Murderer were among the most famous on the continent.
Before the rumors of their meeting spread, Yerina and Transylvania quickly left the platform.
Having just arrived from another place, they had no escort and only wished for a quiet stay before leaving.
“I can’t believe this. I’m so busy, why would they call for me…”
“If you dislike it so much, you could just refuse.”
“If it were anyone else, I would’ve done that. But it’s the invitation of the Witch of Petenburg.”
“…”
Yerina grumbled and walked along.
Just a few days ago, she had been obsessively pursuing Yoo Jin.
After letting him slip away due to Transylvania’s blunder, she conducted a thorough search for clues, but it was impossible to catch the already elusive Yoo Jin.
Just then, an invitation from the Witch of Petenburg arrived.
A perfect excuse to give up the chase.
Yerina suppressed her anger and ceased her pursuit.
She was accepting the fact that she had lost Yoo Jin.
“If it’s nothing serious, I’ll cut off my investment…”
She chewed her lips angrily.
Yerina headed toward the meeting room.
The invitation stated there were urgent matters that needed discussing.
Besides holding a minority stake in the Petenburg Foundation, Palana had no deep connections.
It would be the first time she had a meeting one-on-one with the Witch, and it was a unique situation, so she couldn’t simply ignore it.
It was likely to be of great importance.
“Please come this way, Frost Duchess.”
“…?”
As soon as they arrived at the meeting room door, a frown crossed Yerina’s face.
Standing next to the door were Holy Knights.
Wondering what they were doing here since she was virtually at odds with the Holy Kingdom.
“Your escort must wait here. Please enter alone.”
“What am I supposed to find inside?”
“I promise you, only the parties involved in the meeting are inside. Apparently, Yulia wishes to minimize listening ears, so it would be greatly appreciated if you entered alone despite the rudeness.”
“…”
Going in alone without an escort.
It couldn’t be helped; she wasn’t in a position to question Transylvania’s presence. Still, it was impossible to shake off the unpleasant feeling.
Yerina took the rings that clinked on her fingers and poured them into Transylvania’s palm.
“I’ll be back. Don’t go far, just stay nearby.”
“I know you do blood magic from some distance, though.”
“Then starve. Just keep an eye on my sword and rings.”
“…”
Leaving a stern-faced Transylvania behind.
As Yerina stepped closer to the meeting room, the door automatically swung open.
After a short walk down the corridor, the door crashed shut behind her, and the front door opened, revealing the meeting room.
“Wow, you really came…”
“Huh?”
Yerina froze on the spot.
It wasn’t just because of the Witch fidgeting and unable to meet her gaze.
Of course, that was surprising in its own right, but what was even more bewildering was…
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m here because I was called.”
Priestess Jill Diner was present.
The Holy Knights were there, so they must have been her escort.
Yerina clicked her tongue, glaring at Jill, who wore a gentle smile.
“Why are you being so aggressive right from the start? Did I do something wrong?”
“Forget it. I’m just not in a good mood today, so don’t mind me.”
“…”
Yerina squeezed her eyes shut as she stepped further into the meeting room.
In the past, meaning before her regression.
At that time, Yoo Jin would go down to the Southern Continent frequently to deal with the Priestess.
She had stalked and surveilled them heavily but hadn’t found any evidence of infidelity from either.
In the end, they concluded he was innocent, but because they met so often, it was hard to completely shake off the suspicion.
Those feelings lingered all the way until her regression.
Although she knew this Jill had no such suspicions, Yerina couldn’t help but dislike her.
She just wasn’t likeable.
The cheerful smile and gentle tone felt like nothing more than a façade.
“We have three mismatched individuals here. Life is full of surprises. So how about we start revealing why we’re all here, Witch?”
“C-c-c-could you please not call me the Witch? I’m begging you…”
“Lord of Petenburg. But is there a particular reason you’re stuttering?”
“I-I-it’s just how I tend to be… even if you ask for the reason, I-I don’t know… I’m really sorry…”
“Aha! No, it’s okay. That was an unnecessary question. I thought you were doing it intentionally.”
The innocent question made Yulia lose her confidence, causing her shoulders to slouch.
Would this meeting even go properly?
From the very start, Yerina could feel her mind and body growing tired.
Every word Jill spoke made her want to slap her on the forehead, but she suppressed that urge.
“I-I gathered you here for a reason. It’s…”
Snap.
As Yulia snapped her fingers, the lights in the meeting room went out, and a magical crystal floated into the air, projecting a hologram.
In that moment, Yulia transformed back into the charismatic Witch of Petenburg.
But as soon as she opened her mouth again, that illusion would shatter.
“What is this…?”
“Isn’t that a spell?”
The images projected showed various marks of spells carved into a wall.
Both Yerina and Jill couldn’t say they were well-versed in spells.
But as leaders tasked with countering spells, they can confidently say they knew more than others.
Upon inspecting the pictures closely,
They were all scenes of attempted spellcraft via cursed dolls, totems, formations, and more.
The commonality? The locations were all the same.
“Hmm?”
Finally, one last photo appeared.
When a giant stone gate appeared, both Jill and Yerina’s eyes widened.
It was unmistakably the entrance to a dungeon.
The photos taken from afar captured all the marks of spells that appeared in each image.
The target of the spells? None other than the dungeon.
“I-I’ve discovered something new… you can apply spells in dungeons…”
“…”
“…”
Jill and Yerina’s mouths fell agape as Yulia spoke proudly with a slightly upsetting smile.
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