24-Hour Friendly Market, Specializing in Dimensional Items - Chapter 245

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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24-Hour Friendly Market Specializing in Dimensional Items Episode 245

Episode 245. The Barrier (4)

Park Ji-woon stared down at the slumped Seo Jae-hyuk and contemplated the matter.
Seo Jae-hyuk was dead.
…Seo Jae-hyuk was dead.
Even rolling the fact over twice in his mind, no accompanying emotion surfaced.
They had crossed paths frequently, but their relationship was neither more nor less than a professional one.
To Park Ji-woon, Seo Jae-hyuk existed solely as the Guild Master of Aegis and the number one ranked Hunter.
If he were to inject any emotional interpretation into the person called Seo Jae-hyuk….
‘He was a grateful man.’
A man who possessed power beyond any single organization’s control, yet acknowledged the Babel Management Bureau’s reason for existence and willingly submitted to its governance.
The early chaos of Babel society had stabilized as Seo Jae-hyuk, the number one ranked Hunter, complied with the Babel Management Bureau’s control.
Even after his mind became severely corrupted by the Tower of Babel’s influence, becoming a nuisance, his role in South Korea had been unmistakable.
He seemed like someone who would always be capable of fulfilling that same role.
Perhaps that’s why it felt so incomprehensible that such a man had grown cold in this manner.
…Was that why it felt so unsettling?
After a brief moment of unease, practical concerns came flooding in relentlessly.
‘I’ll need to reorganize the personnel ascending the Tower. As for the whereabouts of those who’ve already entered the Tower…should I ask Lee Hae-won? Come to think of it, who will take over as Guild Master of Aegis? Ah, I’ll need to reach an agreement between Aegis and Baekdan as well….’
Once he witnessed reality, reality came crashing down endlessly.
He recognized that his thoughts were far too dry in the face of Seo Jae-hyuk’s death.
Yet as the Director of the Hunter Management Office of the Babel Management Bureau, Park Ji-woon had far more pressing matters than mourning Seo Jae-hyuk.
“Ah… hey.”
Park Ji-woon lifted his head at the small voice coming from behind.
Nam Pu-reum was fumbling about with a furrowed brow.
The sound of him struggling to support his dangling arm with a crude splint sounded strangely unreal.
Still, he seemed to be in somewhat better condition than himself, who had exhausted all his strength enduring Asmodeus’s power.
‘And Park Bo-bae.’
Park Bo-bae, who had directly blocked the spear of light hurled at him.
An A-rank Hunter blocking an S-rank power was not something that could be expressed merely as “difficult.”
Sure enough, Park Bo-bae, who lay collapsed in the back, showed no sign of movement.
A shattered bracelet lay scattered near the exhausted Park Bo-bae.
His wrist skin was flushed red, and his face was so pale that it seemed he needed an ambulance called immediately.
It was some time before Park Ji-woon, who had been staring blankly at Park Bo-bae, came to his senses.
“Director.”
Nam Pu-reum, who had been standing at a distance, had somehow drawn close and thrust his face forward.
After what seemed like considerable effort, he had managed to fashion a makeshift splint that looked reasonably convincing.
‘Blood is still dripping, but….’
Park Ji-woon answered calmly.
“Yes, Nam Pu-reum.”
“It’s over. Aren’t you leaving?”
“…I will.”
Nam Pu-reum straightened his back and groaned once more.
Having been seized by Legato and hurled about, it seemed there wasn’t a single unblemished spot on his body.
It was only after several minutes of twisting about, searching for a position that didn’t hurt, that Nam Pu-reum finally spoke.
“That’s strange.”
“What is, sir?”
“Seo Jae-hyuk lying there.”
“….”
Nam Pu-reum was staring down at Seo Jae-hyuk intently.
Only then did Park Ji-woon carefully lay Seo Jae-hyuk down on the ground.
With his eyes closed, Seo Jae-hyuk wore a serene expression that suited the sudden silence that had descended perfectly.
“I thought Seo Jae-hyuk would live forever.”
“Is that so?”
“That he was immortal.”
The words sounded playful, yet Nam Pu-reum’s gaze had dimmed in a way unlike his usual demeanor.
The two of them sat in silence for a long while, contemplating Seo Jae-hyuk’s death.
Then, suddenly, Park Ji-woon opened his mouth.
“Asmodeus?”
“Yeah, Ji-woon.”
A cold hand gently wrapped around Park Ji-woon’s neck.
“I was waiting for you. I didn’t know you could do something like mourn?”
Asmodeus murmured while tapping his chin against the crown of Park Ji-woon’s head.
At the indifferent words, as though unconcerned with the dimension’s continuance, Park Ji-woon found himself exhaling a sigh without realizing it.
‘If anyone’s being playful, it’s this one.’
Park Ji-woon turned his head to gaze at the contractor who had helped him and also caused him such anguish.
A pristine face unmarred by a single drop of blood smiled languidly.
In those relaxed eyes, as though anger had never existed, Park Ji-woon’s reflection appeared utterly exhausted and faint.
And.
“It was fun. It’s been a while since I stretched my body. Thanks to our Ji-woon.”
He wanted to say something in response but couldn’t bring himself to open his mouth.
As though the aftermath of battle hadn’t yet dissipated, murderous mana shimmered like heat haze from Asmodeus’s body.
But the problem was that Asmodeus.
‘…The heart.’
Was holding a heart dripping with fresh blood like a trophy.
Even Park Ji-woon, who never wavered, felt a chill as Asmodeus wore a smile of such contentment.
“I want to take it with me.”
What emanated from Asmodeus, who was muttering like a petulant child, was unmistakable desire.
Though we had been together for a very long time and he had found me endearing, Park Ji-woon was undeniably a contractor borrowing Asmodeus’s power.
Bound by contract on both sides, it had been possible to guide him in whatever direction I wished until now.
‘But in this state, it’s difficult.’
I had never considered an Asmodeus freed from the contract, pursuing only desire and pleasure—the very essence of his existence.
Park Ji-woon had never attempted to persuade this liberated Asmodeus.
He surely wouldn’t attack me, yet merely being in his presence made my skin tingle with unease.
It was at that very moment when Park Ji-woon was carefully choosing his words to avoid offending Asmodeus.
“Time’s up.”
Asmodeus’s expression twisted sharply, and he clicked his tongue briefly.
Simultaneously, the sound of chains clashing echoed through the empty air.

Clink—

Black chains, appearing from nowhere, began to constrict Asmodeus.
Chains wound around his wrists and ankles, shoulders and neck, waist—binding him with tremendous force.
It happened so instantaneously that neither Nam Pu-reum nor Park Ji-woon could perceive it.
Only then did Park Ji-woon recall what Lee Hae-won had said.
“…Babel’s Judgment Seat.”
Park Ji-woon, muttering blankly, looked up at Asmodeus, bound by an inescapable force.
A face that seemed to say: you understand well.
“You’re frightened, Ji-woon.”
Asmodeus murmured gently, softening his gaze.
As though it were nothing, treating it as trivial, Asmodeus smiled faintly and added:
“I’ll be back?”
With those words, Asmodeus dissipated like smoke, drawn by the chains.
Park Ji-woon’s hand, instinctively reaching to grasp Asmodeus, grasped only empty air.
And then.

Thud.

The heart that Asmodeus had been clutching, unwilling to release, fell to the ground.
A duller sound than expected.
In the silence that returned, Nam Pu-reum murmured.
“…Is it really over?”
The emptiness that the word “over” carried was beyond imagination.
What would become of South Korea now, of Earth?
My mind, aided by the silence, grew only more tangled.
At that moment.

Ding!

Park Ji-woon’s eyes widened as he read the message blocking his view.
“…What?”
“What’s wrong?”
“…No, it’s Lee Hae-won…”
“Your sister?”
Nam Pu-reum immediately showed interest and approached.
Park Ji-woon, his lips trembling, muttered in bewilderment.
“She asked me to bring the heart… Please.”

[> New Message
– Bring Seo Jae-hyuk’s heart. Ι Lee Hae-won (Dimension-Earth)]

No matter how many times I read it, the message made no sense.
Now… she… was asking me to bring the heart?
She needed that heart, the one discolored to a sickly ochre hue…?
‘Why?’
Surely she wasn’t planning to sell it?
Even for someone as unpredictable as her, asking him to bring Seo Jae-hyuk’s heart to sell it somewhere didn’t make sense….
‘…Could she really be?’
I couldn’t fathom why Lee Hae-won needed this heart.
No matter how hard I tried to make sense of this incomprehensible request, my mind grew dizzy.
Then Nam Pu-reum limped toward where the heart lay.
With her injured arm pressed against her side, Nam Pu-reum barely managed to bend at the waist, her expression contorting in pain.
“Ow.”
Then, without hesitation, she picked up the heart.
Nam Pu-reum cradled the gruesome thing—blood dripping steadily—in her arms as though it were nothing, then turned to look at Park Ji-woon.
Without question, Park Ji-woon had never been more at a loss for words in his entire life.
Nam Pu-reum, who had been staring at him intently, asked as if something were strange.
“You’ve never touched a heart before?”
“….”
Park Ji-woon couldn’t answer and closed his mouth.
Naturally enough, Park Ji-woon had never touched a heart before.

* * *

Thirty minutes earlier.
Crouched beneath the 1st Floor Information Desk, I did my best to ignore the deafening roar.
“Well, I believe in them.”
Speaking the words aloud seemed to lift my spirits, at least a little.
“I believe, I do believe.”
…Though it somehow makes me even more anxious?
Worrying wouldn’t change anything anyway, and in situations like this, there’s nothing to do but trust blindly.
I opened my Inventory, ignoring the roar that grew louder by the second.
If I’m going to truly ignore this noise, I might as well read something….
The Observation Record of Destruction.
I fingered the cover for a moment before finally turning the pages.
Reading a book in the middle of chaos—it’s an absurd choice, but I haven’t finished it yet anyway.
‘I need information about how a Dimension survives after the strongest being in it is killed.’
Seo Jae-hyuk will likely die here today.
After that, what happens to the Tower of Babel, what happens to the Sudden Gate, what happens to the one-year grace period—nothing is certain.
Starting from the next page after the third method’s case study, I found myself concentrating with unexpected intensity.
It’s almost funny—I never managed this kind of focus even during exam season.
“…Huh?”
And when I turned the third page, my eyes went wide.

[If the strongest being in a Dimension—designated as the cause of that Dimension’s destruction—is killed, the destruction of that Dimension is indefinitely postponed.]

Indefinitely postponed.
Isn’t that… somewhat hopeful?!
But I couldn’t simply rejoice.
‘Postponed’ couldn’t be ignored.
I frantically checked the next page.

[Here, indefinite postponement is equivalent to conclusion.]

My heart is pounding too fast.
I’m certain it’s not from being startled by the roar.
Below that, Biwet Fobinum gave a lengthy explanation of this meaning, but that wasn’t what I was looking for.
I turned the pages frantically.
And when I found what I was searching for in the final passage on the very next page, I couldn’t help but cry out.
“This is insane—!”

[Babel considers a Dimension already destroyed if its strongest being has fallen into corruption, and does not verify whether the cause of destruction has been eliminated.]

Brother really did leave me a clue to save the Dimension.
Ah, of course.
“They’re already… fighting?”
I muttered hollowly.
A fierce battle so violent that my ears rang from the deafening roars.
Above, a battle was already underway to kill the strongest being of the fallen Dimension.
Of course, none of them knew this was a project to save the Dimension…

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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