The Novel's Extra - chapter-374

Kim Suho reacted calmly to the New Evils’ attack.
In fact, there was no need to overreact. No demon could withstand the
Authority of the Sword Saint. All he had to do was swing his sword and
cut them apart.

Every time the Misteltein flashed, dozens of enemies met their end.

“Oi, Kim Sukho, did you call these guys too?”

“No, it’s not me!”

Heynckes and Kim Sukho’s voice rang out from the middle of the
battlefield. Kim Suho glanced at them as he swung his sword.

“If it isn’t you, then who called them?”

“You idiot! Both the time and place of the party were recorded in the
invitation. I’m sure they figured out when and how to attack by
themselves!”

Kim Sukho roared, but Heynckes looked doubtful.

“Mmm…. Well, it doesn’t matter. You’ll end up taking the blame
anyways.”

“W-Wh, what did you say?!”

It was a scene of poetic justice.
Kim Suho took his gaze off them and looked out front again. There were
still many enemies left. A demon with multiple arms and legs shot towards
him.
The demon released several thin, sharp strings of magic power. Like a
spider, it tried to bind its target, but Kim Suho unleashed his magic
power and incinerated the strings. He then pierced the demon’s heart
with his sword.

“Oi.”

As the demon’s black blood splashed on his forehead, Jin Sahyuk called
his name. She looked completely at ease.

“What?”

Kim Suho shouted back as he sent sword strikes flying. Jin Sahyuk chased
Kim Suho’s lightning-speed Misteltein with her eyes. He brandished his
sword to the right and calmly reacted to a sudden attack from the left by
a member of the New Evils.
But Jin Sahyuk’s attention wasn’t on his swordsmanship but on his
‘sword’ itself.

“That sword, who gave it to you?”

“What do you mean… huup!”

With a short spirited shout, a fierce gale shot out from his sword. The
demons encircling him were blown away in an instant.
Kim Suho immediately shot towards the closest demon. After destroying
their formation with the gale, he was taking care of them one by one.

Jin Sahyuk asked.

“You didn’t receive it from someone? Then did you obtain it alone?”

“…Why are you asking me that!?”

Kim Suho shouted as he swung his sword to the front.

“Because I just don’t think this is right.”

Rubbing her chin, Jin Sahyuk stared at the back of Kim Suho’s head. She
seemed to be thinking, ‘Just what the hell is inside his brain?’

“What!?”

“…No, never mind. It looks like you won’t remember for the rest of
your life.”

But I should try just in case…. Jin Sahyuk murmured and transformed
into a cluster of energy. Then, she flowed into Kim Suho’s body. She
had been making good use of this ‘inner body infiltration’ technique
ever since she developed it.

“Wait, you….”

Kim Suho didn’t have the time to resist. Taken off guard by Jin
Sahyuk’s sudden infiltration, Kim Suho stopped. He felt like something
sharp was rummaging through his head.

“Jin Sahyuk, what are you doing—!”

He wanted to scream at her to get out, but the fight wasn’t over yet.

“Auuk!”

A demon appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Kim Suho’s head.

KWANG—!

The demon smashed Kim Suho’s head into the ground. A powerful shock
struck his brain.
And this shock allowed Jin Sahyuk to explore Kim Suho’s brain more
easily.

**

“Ee, eek—!”

Kim Sukho screamed as he was being taken into custody by Heynckes.
He released his magic power desperately. His aged, worn-out magic power
pushed Heynckes away, and Kim Sukho took this opportunity to escape.

“Kua, kuaaa.”

He ran as if his life depended on it. He seemed to think his safety was
guaranteed if he could just escape the party hall.

“Tsk.”

Heynckes simply watched Kim Sukho run. He didn’t even consider chasing
after him. Rather, he sent the frantically-escaping Kim Sukho a look of
pity.

“Hua, hua, hua….”

As a result, Kim Sukho left the party hall without any hindrance and ran
through the hallway.

“Uek!”

But at one point, he tripped on something. Kim Sukho flew up in the air
before disgracefully falling down.
As most people subconsciously did, he turned around to see what had
tripped him up.

“…?”

His face became dazed.

“Uh… uh… you….”

Strange sounds escaped his mouth as if his tongue were paralyzed. His
head hurt, and he couldn’t continue his thoughts.
It was because someone who shouldn’t be here, no, someone who
couldn’t be here was standing in front of him.

“It’s been a while, President.”

A calm voice echoed out. The memories he had forgotten about surfaced
from the deepest corner of his mind.
It was Jin Younghwan. He hadn’t aged a single bit and looked just like
he did in the past.

“You, you….”

Kim Sukho pointed at Jin Younghwan with his finger. His body was shaking
as if he were experiencing an earthquake.
Jin Younghwan spoke with a grin.

“It’s nice seeing you again. You thought I was dead, right? Ah, I
might have been. Who knows… maybe I am an illusion created by your
guilt. Well, then again, I doubt you have any feelings of guilt left in
you. That must mean I am real.”

Kim Sukho’s face was dyed with shock and astonishment. Cold sweat
dripped down, wetting his disheveled hair.
Kim Sukho stared at Jin Younghwan with a dazed face.

“Now then, why don’t the two of us have a little talk?”

Jin Younghwan still had things to say, but Kim Sukho was completely out
of it.

“Eeeek….”

He eked out a strange screech before collapsing with his eyes rolled
back. He even foamed from his mouth.
Looking at this scene with a dumbfounded expression, Jin Younghwan raised
his eyebrows.

“What a coward.”

How could someone who killed so many people be such a coward? Did he kill
people without fearing the act coming back to bite him?

Jain kicked the fainted Kim Sukho’s stomach before turning around.
Then, she jumped slightly in a startle.

“Oh, you were watching?”

Jin Seyeon was standing there, staring at her father with bitter eyes.
Even though she knew he was just Jain in disguise, sadness and
reminiscence filled her heart.
Jin Seyeon spoke.

“…Please cancel that disguise now.”

“Hm? Oh, okay.”

When Jain undid her disguise, Jin Seyeon continued with a deep breath.

“Yun Seung-Ah is looking for you.”

“Oh, yeah~ I’m sure she is~”

“…Are you not going to see her?”

“Nope, of course not.”

Jain smiled brightly. Jin Seyeon glared at her dumbfoundedly.
Jain slicked her hair back and added.

“She probably knew I wasn’t going to come back when she let me go~
Mm, I guess you can call our relationship a MacGuffin. Besides~ I still
have important things to do~”

Just as Jin Seyeon was about to criticize her with the words, ‘That’s
an excuse’…
Dudududu—
The sound of helicopters resounded above.
Wiing— Wiing— The sound of sirens also became clear.

“Mm, hear that~? It’s time for us to run~”

Jain spoke with a bright smile.
Without any other choice, Jin Seyeon sighed.

About 10 minutes after the start of the New Evils’ attack, outside
reinforcements had finally arrived.

**

—This is an unprecedented exposé of corruption. The fact that the
chairman of the Hero Association and the former president of Korea
colluded with Djinns is taking the world by storm. Yoo Jinwoong and Chae
Joochul’s confession and whistle-blowing has led to the confirmation of
the Association’s executives having secret trades with the Djinns.
Naturally, the Hero Association has fallen into chaos. A retired Hero,
Yoo Jangwon, also stood out in this incident as a whistle-blower….

Pantheon, a subsidiary group of the Temple of Justice, was normally a
resting place for the Temple of Justice’s Heroes. But starting from
today, it was given the role of an investigative agency and headquarters.

Due to the sheer scale of this scandal involving countless Heroes,
governments around the world realized a thorough investigation was needed
and designated the Temple of Justice to be the investigators.

Although the Temple of Justice was also a part of the Association, the
public did not oppose the choice. It was because their leader, Aileen,
was far from the image of corruption in their eyes.

“…Hm.”

On the other hand, Chae Nayun was sitting on a couch in the Temple of
Justice’s lobby, fiddling with her necklace.
The New Evils had been suppressed, and the corrupt members of the
Association, including Kim Sukho and Yi Yukho, had all been arrested. All
this had only taken half a day.

Yoo Yeonha had told them, “Finish this without dragging it on. If we
don’t end things within 24 hours, they will launch a counterattack.”

The plan had succeeded.

…But for some reason, Chae Nayun didn’t feel refreshed.
If anything, she felt stuffy.
It wasn’t because the Chae family was involved in the corruption. She
was resolved to this fate the moment she found out about what really
happened with Chae Jinyoon.

The thing was, she felt like she had forgotten about something important.
And every time she felt this way, she subconsciously fiddled with her
necklace.
However, this sense of disharmony only grew stronger as she touched the
necklace.
Someone had given this necklace to her. She had to give it back, but she
just couldn’t remember who she had to return it to. Every time she felt
like she was going to remember, an unpleasant forgetfulness swept through
her mind.

—Kieeeeek!

“Ah, geez!”

At that moment, a shriek rang out. Startled, Chae Nayun raised her
lowered head. Rachel, who was sitting in the same room as her as a
testifier, made a shocked expression.
The shriek had come from Spartan who was sleeping on her lap.

—Kieeeek! Kieeeek!

“S, Spartan? W-What’s wrong all of a sudden…?”

—Kieeeek! Kieeeeek!

He was almost having a seizure.

“H-Hey! Do something about him!”

The other Heroes, who were also present as testifiers, furrowed their
brows. Yoo Sihyuk, who was a close friend with Yoo Jinwoong, scowled
especially hard.

“Spartan- Spartan-!”

—Kiee….

When Rachel grabbed his wings and whispered, Spartan stopped. But then,
he began to peck Rachel’s smartwatch. What first started out as tk- tk-
tk- quickly transformed into tududududududu-!
It was as if a woodpecker had evolved into a power drill.

“W-What now?”

Taken aback, Rachel turned on her smartwatch, wondering if she was
missing something.
But she couldn’t find anything unusual – only a message from a
connection who was set as a VVIP friend.
Right, the message was from Yoo Yeonha.

Chae Nayun, who was watching curiously, asked.

“…What is it?”

“I don’t know.”

“It looks like that woodpecker wants you to check your smartwatch. Did
you get something?”

“I received a message from Yeonha, but that’s it….”

“…Yo, can you choose between polite speech and casual speech instead
of mixing the two together?”

Rachel blinked her eyes as she often did and stared at Chae Nayun. Then,
she lowered her gaze without a reply and read Yoo Yeonha’s message.
In the next instant, her face stiffened. It wasn’t just her face,
though. Her body became as hard as a rock, almost as if she fell into
deep thought.
Chae Nayun perked up her eyebrows and asked.

“What? What is it? Did something happen?”

“…”

Rachel didn’t answer.

“Hello? Can you hear me?”

She ignored Chae Nayun no matter how many times Chae Nayun asked.
Slightly offended, Chae Nayun furrowed her brows and turned on her
smartwatch.
She had countless new messages.
Among them, Yoo Yeonha’s message stood out.
Chae Nayun clicked on it without much thought.

Immediately afterwards, Chae Nayun made the same shocked expression
Rachel had.
Her thoughts stopped, and so did her body.
Only her eyes slowly moved up and down, reading a ‘certain word’.

“….”

The ‘certain word’ was an ordinary name.
But at the same time, it wasn’t so ordinary.

The text message Yoo Yeonha sent had someone’s name on it.

Chae Nayun didn’t remember this name.
However, it felt familiar to her eyes.

Chae Nayun subconsciously clutched her necklace. Then, she slowly raised
her head. Rachel, who seemingly received the same message as her, was
staring back.

When their eyes met, Rachel asked.

“…This Kim Hajin… who is he?”

Chae Nayun couldn’t answer.
They both needed time for deep reflection.

**

—A month has passed, yet the trial is still ongoing. Kim Sukho and Yi
Yukho are still claiming to be innocent, receiving criticisms from the
public. On the other hand, Yoo Jinwoong has admitted his wrongs and has
been convicted of multiple charges. Chae Joochul stands at a slightly
unique position. Taking into account how he was one of the
whistle-blowers in this case, the contributions he made during the war
against Orden, and his worsening physical health due to his age and
participation in the Great Devil War….

“…Things sure are changing quickly.”

I was still staying in my cabin by the Alps’ cliffside, watching TV as
I munched on some cereal.
The month-old [Hero Association Corruption Gate] had yet to die down in
the news cycle.

“Huu.”

In any case, it didn’t feel so bad looking at a world progressing
towards a ‘story that shouldn’t have existed’.
In fact, I was quite happy. Not only did this world escape from the
adversity known as Baal, but it was also on the brink of eliminating the
cancerous tumor that was the Hero Association.
But this setting that the Association’s executives colluded with Djinns
to maintain their authority….
No.
I should stop referring to things as ‘settings’. I shouldn’t even
use that word.
After all, it only made me sad.

Tok, tok—

At that moment, someone knocked on my door.
A guest?
I turned the smartwatch off and got up from my chair.
Although the world was turning rather rapidly, I was still living a life
of leisure.

Tok, tok—

Today’s first guest seemed to be quite impatient.
I was about to open the door but paused for a moment. With my hand
tightly holding onto the doorknob, I let out a faint breath.
I couldn’t help but think, ‘Could it be?’ But soon, I laughed and
shook my head.
I was mocking myself.

For the past month, I had been anticipating something in the corner of my
mind.
That they would remember me and come find me — an empty hope.
But now I knew that wasn’t possible.

So, I opened the door, not expecting much.

Kiik—

The wooden door creaked open, revealing two people standing beyond it.
They were blonde, blue-eyed women. As expected, they were strangers.
The woman on the right gulped before opening her mouth.

“Ah… um… are you… the Cliff’s End Pharmacist?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

I spoke casually on purpose.
It didn’t seem realistic or charismatic for a mysterious pharmacist
living on the edge of a cliff in a rough mountain to speak politely.

“Ah, I see! Wow, really, we finally….”

The two women cried while hugging each other.

“I’ll chase you out if you keep crying.”

“N-No! We’ll stop crying!”

I led them inside as soon as they stopped crying and asked about the
symptoms of the patient.
They said it was poison from the venomous Albahara Snake.

Even in this world, where both scientific and magical knowledge of
medicine existed, the Albahara Snake’s venom was an untreatable poison
that led to unavoidable death.
Although the death wouldn’t be instantaneous, an afflicted victim would
suffer for 3 to 14 days before finally dying.
To my knowledge, there wasn’t an antidote.

“Do you have that snake’s venom or its tooth?”

“Ah, yes, just in case.”

The duo were well-prepared. From their bag, they took out the snake’s
venom, multiple teeth, and even its scales.

“We canceled our qi reinforcement after killing its mother and was
ambushed by the baby that was hiding nearby. We let our guard down.”

“I see.”

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“Yes. The Albahara Snake has weak teeth, so as long as you maintain
your qi reinforcement at all times—”

“Yeah, yeah. Alright, you can leave.”

“…Pardon?”

I retrieved the materials and sent them outside.

“I don’t like showing people the manufacturing process.”

“Ah, yes, understood!”

As soon as I saw the two women leave, I swallowed the Albahara Snake’s
venom.

In truth, detoxification happened automatically if I analyzed poison.
Detoxification was one of the simplest ways of utilizing the [Medicinal
Memory Physique].

“…Auu, it hurts.”

After about three minutes, the [Medicinal Memory Physique] stored the
Albahara poison’s antidote. I immediately materialized the antidote in
the form of a pill.
Holding the pill in my hand, I shouted loudly.

“Oi! Come in.”

The two women quickly came in, and I handed them the antidote.
They didn’t doubt my pill in the slightest. They simply cried and
handed me an expensive jewel – a blue diamond.

““Thank you!””

After bowing 90 degrees, they left my cabin.

“…Yeah, take care.”

After sending them off, I sat back down on my chair and turned on my
smartwatch.

—On the other hand, Essence of the Strait’s Chief Officer Yoo Yeonha
announced her retirement, but the guild’s Heroes’ fierce dissuasion
has made her retract her statement. Many people are sending Yoo Yeonha
and Yoo Jinwoong’s family words of encouragement and sympathy….

The watch had a TV projection functionality.
But the news wasn’t all that interesting.
I stared at Yoo Yeonha having a press conference before changing the
channel.

—The Kwang-Oh Incident is a key subject in this matter….

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“Ah.”

I immediately turned the watch off.
Kwang-Oh Incident.
To be honest, I was hoping that the Kwang-Oh Incident would help me.
Although the memories of me were wiped from everyone’s minds, I was
hopeful that someone would regain their memories once they heard the
Kwang-Oh Incident. But that didn’t happen.

A month passed, but no one came to see me.

But that goes without saying.
It was proper for false relationships built up through the power of the
author to disappear.
After all, this world wasn’t a novel anymore.
I was no longer the novelist Kim Hajin, but an insignificant Kim Hajin.

“…Ehew.”

Tok, tok—

As I sighed, another knock rang out.
It was already the second visitor.

“Lots of visitors today, huh.”

I got up from my chair and walked to the door.
The visitors this time seemed even more impatient than the last. Or
perhaps, they were more urgent than the last ones.

“Alright, alright…”

Thinking this, I opened the door without hesitation.

Whish—

Black hair fluttered in the Alps’ cold wind. A dazzling sunset shone
down, and one person was looking down at me from the orange-colored sky.
The scenery was truly beautiful.
It was so unbelievably beautiful that I couldn’t think about anything.