Chapter 56 : A Class Gate : Spring and Autumn (9)

Annoyance flared up.

“When on earth is Seolhyang coming?”

Grumbling, I continuously fired the gun, again and again.
To lessen Caspar’s burden even slightly.

I had fired the Magic Bullet so many times that I ended up creating guns in the form of dual pistols, which I normally didn’t use.

I didn’t forget to time the 7th Magic Bullet to hit when Caspar was safe.
Because if the Magic Bullet flew during combat, it might distract Caspar.

“Uahaha! To think there were so many strong ones in such a remote place! Understandable why my army was annihilated!”

-Kaang! Claang!

A Great Demon with a body like a huge mountain swung its greatsword, confronting Caspar.
Caspar’s greatsword was certainly of considerable size, but this one seemed almost three times larger.

Grit.

I bit my tongue.

‘Caspar is being pushed back. Why, why isn’t Seolhyang coming to support yet?’

“Ahaha! Nice!”

I saw Caspar, eyes half-open like the Great Demon’s, throwing himself into the vortex of violence.
My husband, whose fighting spirit ignited the stronger the enemy, seemed to enjoy being pushed back, but…

‘I wish he’d think about his wife a little. Does he want to make me a widow twice?’

The only fortunate point, perhaps, was that the demon was rather… chivalrous.
Though completely unconcerned about surrounding civilians getting caught up, conversely, it didn’t actively try to take hostages either.

Zamiel, the only demon I knew, would have surely taken hostages.
And in a very malicious way that tears at people’s hearts.

“Come! Come and face me! With all your strength. To the death! I am the demon of destruction and war, show me the pinnacle of strife!!”

-Uwaaaaaaah!

The Great Demon, charging with a battle cry, was incredibly simple and straightforward, befitting its name.

-Craaaack!

Each time the greatsword swept across the battlefield, shattered fragments of the earth flew, causing casualties.
Gritting my teeth, I had to intercept those fragments.

Wasting Magic Bullets on such things was incredibly inefficient.
But Caspar lacked the leeway as he was directly engaged, and Seolhyang hadn’t joined the battle yet, so it couldn’t be helped.

As the engagement continued for a while, and Caspar slowly began to ‘adapt’ to the fight against the Great Demon.

Seolhyang finally opened her eyes and slowly walked out.
Drawing her chilling sword.

“Seolhyang!”

I looked at Seolhyang with urgent eyes.
She seemed too engrossed to maintain the light refraction.
Thanks to that, Seolhyang suffered the shame of her naked body being exposed to everyone, but that was none of my concern.

More importantly. I needed her help right now.

Just then. Seolhyang’s small mouth opened.

“In the name of justice…”

Instantaneously, I felt her body blur.
And simultaneously, two opposing energies emanated from her sword tip.

“I will not forgive you. Demon.”

And. There was nothing.

Extreme nothingness existed for a fleeting moment.
No, since what was not there existed, perhaps it’s right to say there was simply nothing.

Time flowed slowly, and within the sensation slowed by thousands of times, I could barely identify Seolhyang.

A completely blurring physique.
Her body returning to nature, and the process of re-condensing a body from crumbled dust.
‘This is…!’

Something came to mind, but now was not the time for such contemplation.

.
.
.

And. Nothingness receded again, and the world of existence returned.
All too naturally, it was like a fleeting dream, so practically, nothing changed.

In an instant, a world of pure white exploded centered on her.
The supreme heat of Hell slowly receded around Seolhyang.
The Archduke of Hell, the Great Demon of Destruction, rusted in the cold ice and slowly solidified.

If even the Great Demon was like that.
How much worse for the other demons?
In that fleeting moment, all demons died in a single blow.

What remained were only frozen, crumbling corpses.

The battle ended like that.

Snow falls.

Snow was falling in the desert.

“…”

I blankly watched the pouring snowflakes.
It was quite pretty.
Natural, since it was the first snow I’d seen in decades.

Pure white snowflakes formed round droplets upon touching my skin.
A bone-chilling cold was felt.
Though surely a sensation I couldn’t feel, the snow-turned-water droplets trembled on my body, making me ache.

-Click.

Seolhyang sheathed her sword, looking at me with a faint smile.
A proud gaze, and a hint of mischief was felt.

“How was it? This, quite useful, right? Aah. This is… the state of Nature Realm? Heh. At this level, I could claim to be the best under heaven, past and present.”

I didn’t say that the Martial World of her world was all fabricated history, and therefore she had been the best in her world for quite some time.
Because that applied to Caspar and me too.

Merely. I also responded playfully.

“Rather than Nature Realm… Seems closer to Domain Expansion.”

Innate fields or domain expansions, aren’t there things like that?

Forcing one’s own rules, giving special effects within a certain range.
Anyway, things like that.

“Isn’t that just a Gate?”

…Come to think of it, yes.

Ha. The world truly works in mysterious ways.
To think such childish fantasies blatantly exist in reality.

“Haa… This. Is a bit anticlimactic. Something. Something’s something.”

I blankly watched Caspar looking up at the sky with a look of futility.

Slightly. Absurd.
I knew he was like this, but.

…What? What’s anticlimactic? The fact that the life-or-death duel was thwarted is anticlimactic?

“Caspar. Yes… I. Don’t have the right to say anything.”

Pouting, I grabbed Caspar’s hand and tapped my belly with his finger.

“Daddy-to-be. Our… baby, too, please think about it.”

‘Didn’t really think about it before. But after getting pregnant, my thoughts seem to have changed a bit.’

‘Because I felt I absolutely must give birth to and raise this child. Enough to defy Caspar’s wishes.’

Well. Caspar was probably just momentarily excited.
Besides, if Caspar was the type to prioritize his fights over human lives, I wouldn’t have fallen for him in the first place.

Indeed. Caspar looked guilty, straightened his posture, and apologized to me.

“Sorry. Agathe. I was only thinking about myself.”

“No. Rather, I’m more sorry. How much… must have built up for you to be like that. If only I could have relieved that side for you too.”

Unfortunately, I can no longer be Caspar’s hunting partner.
Thanks to that, Caspar, whose actions are restricted by me sticking to him all day, is constantly fired up with the desire for battle.

Though not intended, thanks to Seolhyang clearing away all the corpses with her ability, the land we stood on surprisingly boasted a quite dreamlike atmosphere.

Pure white, fluffy snowflakes flutter.
Stars distort above the white-dyed desert, and between them, night darker than pitch, fragmented like stained glass, adorned the sky.

Thud. Thud.

“…”

We walked slowly.
When the rhythm of the footsteps became an unbearable, cliché melody, I spoke first.

“…Enhen. What will she think of me?”

A question I hated thinking about, pushed aside.
Like a child procrastinating on summer homework.

But the reunion with Enhen was proceeding slightly faster than my expectations.
It seemed I had grown afraid of the reunion suddenly looming before me.

“Scared?”

With difficulty, I nodded.

“…Yes.”

And. Ashamed of being scared.

Isn’t it practically admitting it?
That I value Caspar far more than Enhen.
That I’m postponing my sister’s salvation because I don’t want to shatter my happiness with Caspar.

I endured without dying solely with the determination to save Enhen.
Yet, after meeting Caspar, that resolve has already loosened this much.

…This is why. I couldn’t trust myself at all and entrusted my moral judgment to Caspar.
Though it’s shifting responsibility, at least my mind could be at ease.

“Even if you don’t want to go see Enhen, I won’t say you can do that. Enhen is precious to me too. But… I will always take your side. That, I can swear.”

Caspar said so, stroking me.

“Yes…, thank you. Dear husband.”

I saw Seolhyang gesturing from afar.
Meaning, it’s time to go.

Having captured the Great Demon of Destruction and completely cleared Hell’s influence, this place had reverted to its former A-rank Gate state.

And that meant… The method to return to Earth from the Gate had also returned.

-Zzzzt.

No sooner had that thought finished than communication with Earth was restored.
Smiling faintly, I sent Yulha a message.

The end of the battle, and the beginning of the war.

Sender: S-rank Hunter Agathe.

Recipient: Lee Yulha, Hunter Association Temporary Strategy Compilation Department.

A-rank Gate. Chunqiu Zhanguo (Spring and Autumn Warring States) Subjugation Complete.

Casualties: None.

Returning. Soon.