noveldrama
Chapter 198
Chapter 198
Seol Hayeon’s expression turned grave.
She had only been probing Paimon to extract the secret of the elixir of youth.
But the answer she received instead? A prophecy about gates opening in the sky.
It wasn’t something she could easily brush off.
‘This has to be a lie. It’s only logical.’
Her initial reaction was to dismiss it as bluffing.
After all, what? Gates opening? Even Nobel laureate Dr. Brooks, who spent his life researching them, admitted they were unpredictable.
And now, this demon was casually claiming that gates would open soon?
There was no reason to believe her.
The idea of monsters immune to all attacks falling from the skies was absurd on its face. It sounded more like the ramblings of a desperate prisoner trying to sow confusion and escape.
Even Yujin, who had firsthand experience dealing with her, had ignored her claims without hesitation.
‘But…’
- Tingling.
‘Why is my intuition reacting so strongly?’
Despite the rational doubts, Seol Hayeon couldn’t dismiss her claims outright.
Her intuition—an extraordinary sense that had never betrayed her—was screaming at her. It was warning her that this moment was critically important.
In short, she stood at a crossroads.
Should she trust the 40 years of experience she had accumulated? Or should she act on her intuition?
It didn’t take long for her to decide.
“Explain what you mean. In as much detail as possible. I’ll listen.”
“...Do you actually believe me? Even I find it too absurd for humans to accept.”
“Well, your very existence is absurd. How could I dismiss it?”
Paimon couldn’t help but be impressed.
Her scornful thoughts about Seol Hayeon’s flat chest started to shift into genuine respect.
Her expression grew serious.
“First of all, I can’t tell you everything.”
“Why not?”
“It’s because of the ‘Law.’ Discussing ‘it’ with mere humans is a violation of this world’s order.”
“The ‘Law’? ‘It’? Your words are cryptic.”
“It can’t be helped. Only those who have shattered their limits and achieved transcendence can understand such concepts… Ugh, this is so frustrating.”
Despite her exasperation, Paimon held back her complaints. She wanted nothing more than to be upfront, but she couldn’t even utter certain words without consequences.
Trying to convince Seol Hayeon with such limitations felt hopeless.
“Transcendence, you say? Hmm.”
- A quick glance.
?Intuition (S Rank) – Surpasses human limits in sensory perception.?
‘Could it be?’
Seol Hayeon didn’t grow angry. Instead, her eyes lingered on the word ‘transcendence’ in her status window, reflecting on its significance.
This couldn’t simply be a coincidence, she thought.
“Continue. What does transcendence mean?”
“When someone surpasses the natural limits of their species, the demon realm calls them transcendent.”
“Details, please.”
“That’s all there is to it. If I were to put it in your terms, it’s like breaking past the stat limit of 10.”
“Breaking the stat limit of 10, huh?”
Both their gazes instinctively turned in the same direction.
Toward the one whose stats were rumored to be far beyond ordinary limits.
- Squeeze. Squish.
“Mmmh? Yujin~? Do you have something you’d like to tell your master?”
“...Master, aren’t you ashamed? Letting a man touch you like this?”
“It’s fine since it’s you?.”
“......”
‘She doesn’t even see me as a man despite this!?’
The sight of Aika, moaning under her disciple’s touch during a rather inappropriate massage, filled the air with an odd tension.
Seol Hayeon and Paimon exchanged glances, the gravity of their discussion momentarily disrupted.
“Could she be... transcendent?”
“She’s close but not quite there. Though it’s troubling that someone so shameless is even nearing transcendence.”
“...I see.”
The thought crossed Seol Hayeon’s mind briefly: is transcendence even a good thing?
But she quickly dismissed the notion.
Now wasn’t the time to be distracted by such trivial thoughts.
“Then, are you a transcendent yourself?”
“Hardly. I’m only halfway there, and that’s thanks to my bloodline.”
“Right. If you were strong enough to reach full transcendence, you wouldn’t have lost to them.”
“...Tch. Anyway, that’s not the important part right now.”
Paimon pointed a finger toward Yujin.
“That man, Seo Yujin. The problem is that he is being ‘transcended upon.’”
“...What?”
“By someone, or rather something, far beyond even transcendence.”
Paimon clenched her teeth, recalling the hypnotic force within Yujin’s soul and the ominous presence she had glimpsed in the barred cell.
“———A celestial. The ruler of this world sleeps within him.”
She spat the words as if they were poison, revealing the truth about the being sealed inside Yujin.
Immediately after, Paimon coughed up blood.
“Gahk!!”
- Drip.
“...!? Are you okay?”
“Tch. The ‘Law’ is strict, as always.”
“...I see.”
Seol Hayeon quickly understood.
The ‘Law’ Paimon mentioned was why she couldn’t fully reveal the truth.
It was also why Yujin’s hypnosis couldn’t be used to interrogate her.
And yet, the term Paimon had forced out—‘celestial’—clearly carried significant weight.
Her expression darkened further.
“Don’t push yourself too hard from now on.”
“Hah… I don’t plan to. Any more of this, and I might actually die.”
“Understood. Then, one last question. Why is ‘it’ inside Yujin?”
“I don’t know.”
“If you’re bound by the ‘Law,’ just say so.”
“No. I genuinely don’t know. I can’t fathom why it’s there.”
Paimon shook her head weakly, her gaze softening as she looked at Yujin.
“I don’t know the cause or the process, but I can tell you the outcome.”
“And that is?”
“If nothing changes, his fate is sealed. He’ll lose ‘it’ and be destroyed—by the monsters that will pour through the gates.”
Gates.
The conversation circled back to where it began.
But neither of them felt the frustration they had before. Now, they shared the same sense of urgency.
“Why will these gates open?”
“Because ‘it’ resides in him. Its absence elsewhere is a beacon. Those monsters will come for him.”
“And these monsters?”
“I can’t say. All I can tell you is that you won’t be able to stop them. Not with your powers.”
“...I see.”
Seol Hayeon sighed, her gaze drifting to Yujin again.
“Then one last thing. Does Yujin know any of this?”
“Not a chance. ‘It’ is making sure of that.”
Paimon’s voice grew desperate, her eyes betraying her frustration.
“Which is why, Seol Hayeon, you must flee. Take him and as many as you can, and escape through the gates before it’s too late.”
“Escape?”
Seol Hayeon’s expression hardened.
“Say something that makes sense.”
“...What?”
“Leave billions to die while we survive? Unacceptable.”
“They’ll die anyway! Better to preserve at least a fragment of humanity!”
“Denied.”
Her gaze returned to Yujin and Aika, still entangled in their “massage.”
She smiled faintly.
“Well, Yujin will figure it out somehow.”
“...What?”
“That kid always finds a way. Why do you think I chose him as my successor? The rascal.”
Her eyes shone with a mix of pride and exasperation.
- Slip. Squeeze.
“Oops, my hand slipped again.”
“Mmmh~? Yujin~? Did you really want to touch me that badly?”
“Not really. I just wish you’d feel a bit more embarrassed.”
“......”
‘These brats…’
Suppressing her irritation, Seol Hayeon stood and grabbed Paimon by the wrist.
[Hey, Yujin. We’re heading out.]
[Wait, just a bit longer. Master still isn’t embarrassed yet—]
[Rub your dick on her if you’re so desperate, moron.]
[W-What the hell, you crazy hag!?]
[Anyways, we’re off. I’ve got things to do.]
“Paimon. Follow me.”
“But the escape—”
- Tug.
Together, they headed back to the director’s office.
“What about telling Yujin the truth?”
“If I, a half-transcendent, nearly died, then you telling him would be instant death.”
“Figured as much. Then let me ask one more thing. Are you familiar with something called the ‘Saintess’?”
“The Saintess? What is that supposed to mean…?”
In that moment, two more people joined the grim and secretive effort to prepare for an impending apocalypse.
***
Meanwhile, that night...
“I’m fine, but are you sure about this? I can sleep on the couch.”
“Just lie down already, Yujin!”
“Honestly, Ninomiya, you could sleep in your own room. At your age, you should start thinking about your joints.”
“Y-you brat!!”
“...”
‘I haven’t even confessed to my teacher yet, so how did it come to this?’
In the living room of Yujin’s dorm, four people had gathered in their pajamas.
Ding!
[Hypnosis-chan is bouncing around in excitement!]
[Finally, the day has come, she squeals....]
[‘???’ gently calms the overly excited Hypnosis-chan.]
[I understand how much you’ve endured, but don’t jump the gun just yet.]
[A trip isn’t over until you’re home. Hold on a little longer.]
[Alright, but....]
Squeak.
[First, we’ll unlock Stage One of the seal. Let’s take it step by step.]
[Hypnosis-chan salutes enthusiastically!]
[She grabs a condom in each hand and charges full speed ahead....]
Those who had been quietly preparing for impending doom were now beginning to act.
The Saintess and Hypnosis-chan had made their first move.