CH 81

Sung-Hoon asked in a panic, “D-did you say Lucifer?!” 

Suk-Woo looked rigid, while the rest of the confused players took several steps back. With a kind smile, Lucifer murmured, “I think I scared your friends, Gi-Gyu.”

“...” Gi-Gyu didn’t say a word. Even though Jung Soo-Jung greeted him in a friendly manner, he couldn’t help becoming even tenser. 

‘I couldn’t feel her presence at all.’ Had Lucifer been an enemy, he would’ve died since he failed to notice how close she was before she revealed herself. 

Noticing Gi-Gyu’s stiff countenance, Jung Soo-Jung scratched her cheek and murmured, “I meant to surprise you, but I guess you don't like it. Umm, well… Whatever! I’ll talk to you about it later.”

Jung Soo-Jung turned toward Lee Sun-Ho and asked, “So I heard you need the elixir?”

“That’s right.”

“I can see why.” Lucifer’s violet eyes glowed eerily as she continued, “Your ‘shell’ is too damaged.”

“...” Lee Sun-Ho didn’t respond. 

The violet glow in her eyes subsided a bit as Jung Soo-Jung added, “But you know…” 

As Jung Soo-Jung’s aura relaxed, an uncomfortable silence fell, but Jung Soo-Jung and Lee Sun-Ho’s presences were louder than ever. Only the players around the two could see their magic storms roaring and clashing. 

Plop.

The insidious magic began suffocating all the players in the area. The weakest ones collapsed first: the Morningstar Guild members, the Child Guild members, the Cain guild members, Sun-Pil, and Dong-Hae last. Only Jung Soo-Jung, Baal, Lee Sun-Ho, Sung-Hoon, Suk-Woo, and Gi-Gyu were left standing.

Finally, Jung Soo-Jung said, “Are we friends? Why would I give you my elixir?”

Lee Sun-Ho replied, “I would like to make a deal with you.”

“A deal…” Jung Soo-Jung scratched her cheek again as if bored. Meanwhile, Baal, the man in glasses, stood quietly and glared at Lee Sun-Ho. 

Jung Soo-Jung continued with a smile, “I don’t wanna make a deal with you. After all, the elixir will only be wasted on you. It’s not like it can heal your shell; it’ll only slow down the corruption.” 

Suddenly, Lee Sun-Ho’s figure began to distort; in the blink of an eye, a snow-white full-plated armor covered him, and a sword appeared in each of his hands. 

‘The sword of purity?’ Watching Lee Sun-Ho’s swords, Gi-Gyu noticed something odd. Lou muttered,

-Yes, those are holy swords too.

Tinged with bitterness, El added.

-But they are stronger than the current me.

***

“You think you can handle a battle right now?” Jung Soo-Jung vanished and reappeared much closer to Lee Sun-Ho. She caressed his cheek, but Lee Sun-Ho remained stoic. Usually, Jung Soo-Jung seemed tomboyish; now, she looked impossibly seductive.

She continued, “You may be powerful, but beating both Baal and I won’t be easy.”

Jung Soo-Jung suddenly dissipated into violet smoke before reappearing beside Gi-Gyu. “This whole place will burn to the ground… I thought you didn’t like to kill. Am I wrong?”

Lee Sun-Ho finally opened his mouth. “I don’t get to pick and choose now.”

“Hehehe, yeah. I can see that you’ve got nothing to lose now.” Jung Soo-Jung giggled before calling her minion’s name, “Baal.”

Baal silently took out the elixir from his bag, drawing the eyes of even those kneeling. This magical purple liquid was truly a treasure one couldn’t buy even with all the money in the world. Gi-Gyu, who had recently benefited from it, knew its value better than anyone. 

Jung Soo-Jung asked coldly, “And if I agree to this deal, what will you offer me?”

Gi-Gyu realized he could never fully figure Lucifer out: Seconds before, she was preparing for war; now, she was negotiating. Gi-Gyu watched quietly without making any attempt to get involved. His instinct told him this was the best thing he could do right now. In fact, it was the only thing he could do under that enormous pressure.

[An unbearable amount of magic is pressuring your body.]

[Your stamina will suffer continuous exertion.]

Lee Sun-Ho offered, “I will let everyone here live, including your heir.”

“And you won’t touch him for a whole year. Agreed?” When Jung Soo-Jung suggested, Lee Sun-Ho nodded and replied, “Agreed.”

“Done.” Jung Soo-Jung took the bottle of elixir from Baal and threw it toward Lee Sun-Ho. Lee Sun-Ho caught it easily, and his outfit quickly turned into his normal outfit. He was about to turn around and leave when Jung Soo-Jung demanded, “Now, swear it on your god.” 

Lee Sun-Ho paused and mouthed something silently. Only Jung Soo-Jung seemed to have heard it since she nodded with a satisfied look. Then, Lee Sun-Ho, the subversive emperor, left without acknowledging anyone.

Psssh!

The area where Jung Soo-Jung and Lee Sun-Ho stood began to crumble down. Even the surrounding buildings turned to dust, failing to withstand the two players’ aura tempest.

Plop.  

Finally, the still-standing players caved and plopped to the ground; Gi-Gyu was no exception. 

Shaking his head, Sung-Hoon muttered, “By the way, that woman is Lucifer—” Sung-Hoon abruptly stopped talking when he saw Lucifer walking up to Gi-Gyu. 

Lucifer said to Sung-Hoon and Suk-Woo, “You can take care of the cleanup, right?”

“...?” Sung-Hoon remained speechless, but Suk-Woo nodded quietly. 

“Then you know what, my pupil?” When Soo-Jung turned toward Gi-Gyu, he asked, “Yes…?”

“You’re coming with me.” Jung Soo-Jung touched Gi-Gyu’s shoulder and disappeared. The battleground was now missing Lucifer, Gi-Gyu, and Baal.

***

“So he opened the evil eye all on his own? What a ridiculous child.” Soo-Jung murmured. 

“This just proves that you chose the right man. He is worthy of your attention,” Baal replied. Listening to their conversation, Gi-Gyu finally opened his eyes. 

Turning toward Gi-Gyu, Jung Soo-Jung asked, “Oh, you’re awake?” She was holding a teacup in her hand. 

Gi-Gyu asked in confusion, “Where are we?” He had no idea how long he had been unconscious. He looked around before answering his own question in awe, “Isn’t this my basement?” Indeed, the trio was in Gi-Gyu’s renovated basement; his family was upstairs. Despite knowing Lucifer wouldn’t harm his family, he couldn’t help but feel anxious. 

‘She had to give up her elixir again because of me.’ Gi-Gyu thought. Perhaps the elixir held no sway over her, but she still did give away the greatest treasure in the world for him. It was clear that Gi-Gyu was indispensable to her, so it wouldn’t have made sense for her to harm his family.

Jung Soo-Jung took a sip of her tea and looked at Gi-Gyu. She asked, “Is there anything you want to say to me?”

“Have you been watching me this entire time?” Gi-Gyu touched his violet right eye. Many factors like her quick arrival on the battlefield, her presence in his basement, and so on brought him to a conclusion. Lucifer could watch him through his violet eye, the evil eye. 

“Yup.” When Jung Soo-Jung answered without hesitation, Gi-Gyu didn’t know what to feel. Sitting up on the sofa, he murmured, “You really need to respect my privacy.”

His whole body ached; sadly, potions couldn’t fix this kind of pain. 

With a playful grin, Jung Soo-Jung asked, “Are you feeling shy right now? You are so cute!” 

Gi-Gyu should have gotten angry, but his debt to Lucifer didn’t let him. Thanks to Jung Soo-Jung, his mother was alive, and he became stronger much faster. On top of that, she protected him from Lee Sun-Ho just now. 

They were bound to each other by a contract. But even without this, Gi-Gyu had no choice but to do as Soo-Jung asked. She was much more powerful than him, and Gi-Gyu knew it wouldn’t take much on her part to destroy him if he protested. 

Many thoughts crossed his mind when he suddenly heard Jung Soo-Jung’s voice. She ordered, “Don’t overthink it.”

She finished her tea and continued, “I’ll explain everything to you in time.” She threw the teacup in the air; Baal caught it, and put it inside his bag as if this happened all the time. Jung Soo-Jung stood up and asked, “Aren’t you going to introduce them to me?”

“...?”

She smiled and offered her hand. When Gi-Gyu took it and stood up, she explained, “You need to introduce me to your family.”

***

Gi-Gyu couldn’t hide his discomfort. Although he felt certain Lucifer wouldn’t harm his family, he couldn’t gather why this meeting was necessary.

Upon asking, she gave him a surprising reason. After what happened earlier, many players and groups would be looking for her. It was unwanted attention, so she needed a place to stay. 

Also, she wanted to spend more time with Gi-Gyu, so his house became the perfect spot. After promising not to harm his family or use any skills or magic, Gi-Gyu finally allowed her upstairs. He knew that even if she broke her promise and tried to harm his family, there would be nothing he could do to stop her. But the promise still made him feel better. 

‘By the way, what happened to the association's promise of protecting my family? I guess even the association is helpless against Lucifer.’ Gi-Gyu thought worriedly. Oh Tae-Gu reassured him that the association would protect his family to its best ability. But someone like Lucifer couldn't be stopped. Gi-Gyu suspected that the association probably didn’t even know that Lucifer was in his home right now.

Gi-Gyu made a quick call to Tae-Shik. Lucifer brought him back home without his permission, but this still was not a good excuse for him to leave without cleaning up the mess he had made in Yeoksam city. He needed to know how things were going back in Yeoksam city. 

“Yes, I’m fine. Yeah,” Gi-Gyu replied on the phone. Thankfully, the cleanup in Yeoksam was going swimmingly. Gi-Gyu murmured, “I’m glad to hear that.”

In the 24 hours Gi-Gyu wasn’t there, things took an unexpected turn; Lee Sun-Ho actually helped with the cleanup. Gi-Gyu couldn’t help feeling like things had gotten much more complicated. He scratched his head in worry, but there was nothing he could do about it at the moment. 

Tae-Shik said to Gi-Gyu on the phone.

-Just keep an eye on her. If anything happens, call me. Just focus on your situation right now, and don't worry about here.

“Thanks, Hyung.” 

Their call ended quickly. Gi-Gyu felt guilty for having others take care of the Yeoksam city cleanup, but Tae-Shik was right. He needed to concentrate on his current situation. Because right at this very moment, Jung Soo-Jung was in his living room eating dinner with his family.

“Haa…” Gi-Gyu sighed as he shook his head. To his surprise, Gi-Gyu felt rather peaceful considering everything that had happened so far. Was it because his situation had become so complicated that his brain stopped processing it all? Or could it be that he only felt this way even though his situation hadn’t changed at all?

-I can’t believe there is magic I am not aware of.

Lou grumbled in annoyance since he also failed to sense Lucifer. Gi-Gyu didn’t know if it was because Lou had lost his memories or for another reason. Like how Lou didn’t know much about the evil eye even though it stemmed from magic. But Gi-Gyu didn’t blame Lou for anything. He murmured, “We’ll just have to do more research.”

Anyway, Lucifer was going to stay with him for a while now. 

“Hahaha, Mrs. Lee! Look at your skin! I thought you were in your 20s!” Soo-Jung exclaimed.

“Oh my! Soo-Jung, you’re such a kind girl!” Gi-Gyu’s mother replied with a giggle.

“And did you say your name is Yoo-Jung? You have amazing skin too!” When Soo-Jung complimented Gi-Gyu’s sister, Yoo-Jung exclaimed, “Oh! You’re so nice!”

Gi-Gyu watched the three women in his living room and shook his head.