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Soul magic. It is a branch of magic which exclusively deals with souls. And because of its nature, soul magic isn’t the perfect countermeasure against the threat of a demon.

However, even though we knew about it, Yekaterina had made an announcement regarding Another League official standing.

[We are researching ways to combat the existence called ‘Demon’, and things are going smoothly.]

It wasn’t some sort of political move or something they did to raise the stock price of Another League. It was just that we were aware that a demon could only appear when someone summoned it, and there was a high possibility that the demon currently possessed someone. Another League’s move was aiming to keep the demon in check.

But despite all these efforts, three nights later, in San Francisco, a horrific event dubbed as ‘insanity contagion’ occurred. Out of nowhere, on a normal mundane day, people went crazy and ran rampant. They suddenly killed each other. And among them was an S rank hunter, So, the scene of the incident was very disastrous.

“It’s serious…”

When I arrived at the scene, I frowned when I saw the tattered corpses that looked like they had been bitten by a wild dog. I thought I’d been through a lot of unusual things, but the very scene in front of me was really unique in a terrible way. Every corpse had completely been minced from scratching whoever their target was. Their teeth were also completely gone for probably the same reason. it seems like they didn’t feel any pain nor care about their own body being torn apart.

<It seems that a very powerful demon had hid in society.>

And then, on the fifth day after the demon first appeared, China was struck by the demon’s power. Numerous people broke down in despair as they weep and scream non-stop like crazy. It was ordinary compared to the ‘insanity contagion’ several days prior, but the event was enough to instill fear in the world about the unknown existence called ‘Demon’.

The media was a great outlet to spread fear quickly, and the demon had used it very well.

Around that time, Yekaterina finally got some decent research results. Using those results as the base, she developed a ‘meditation’ to combat the Demon’s influence. When she heard that many people were getting hurt and dying because of the demon, she hurriedly spread the meditation through her own YTube channel. The title was simply [How to Protect and Control Your Emotions From The Power of the Demon]. The video instantly garnered a lot of interest from the masses, but at the same time it also garnered a lot of malicious comments.

Most of the malicious comments were saying ‘Are you trying to take advantage of the incident to get views?’ or ‘It’s very disappointing to use the demon to get attention’. The mass media too, criticized Yekaterina severely, and there was nothing she could do. Afterall, Yekaterina suddenly uploaded a video with a keyword ‘demon’ where nothing aside from its existence had been published.

After receiving criticism from numerous media, three days passed.

Another ‘insanity contagion’ occurred in the United States. But… this time, things went a little differently. Most of the people gathered at the scene were infected with madness, but, an A rank hunter who was by chance present at the scene did not become infected. As the only sane person, he used his power, telekinesis, and suppressed the crazed civilian. Thanks to that, the incident was concluded without any major damage.

Then, in an interview, he made a shocking statement.

-The video posted by Miss Yekaterina of Another League was really helpful.

Of course, it was. The meditation method Yekaterina had posted was the only way for people to protect themselves from ‘madness’. It couldn’t be used by ordinary people, though. But still, because the level of the ‘insanity contagion’ phenomenon itself was very low, when a hunter with an A rank or higher learns how to protect their own soul, the contagion rate drops sharply.

As soon as the interview was released, Another League made an additional announcement.

-We are looking for the ‘Demon’ host, and we have almost reached the crux of the issue.

Of course, the statement was also a lie.

“I will be honest. With the soul magic we have right now, even if we encounter a demon, it will be impossible to immediately recognize it. It may be possible to pinpoint a suspicious person and track them using a special spell, but it is impossible to search all 7 billion people around the world.”

Yekaterina sighed, and I agreed with her opinion. It has only been less than two weeks since she started researching soul magic. It means that stopping such a weak ‘Insanity Contagion’ that was only at best C rank ability was some sort of miracle.

All the magicians belonging to the Another League—which were said to be the best geniuses in the whole world—were all asked to suspend any of their research and told to prioritize researching soul magic. If it’s not because of them, Yekaterina said that things would be different in a bad way.

“The demon….” Yekaterina chewed her nails, anxiety was palpable on her face. “In the past, when I was still being held in the Morian Guild, I saw such a book a few times. A book about demons.”

“What? There’s nothing like that in the ‘Library of The White Witch’.”

There should be no special contact between demon and witch. Their nature was too different, one deals with soul while the other one deals with natural energy. Even if they meet, it’s almost impossible for them to inflict damage on each other. It was only natural that they weren’t connected at all.

“It was probably because the ‘Library of The White Witch’ belongs to a normal witch. As you know, the witches of Earth didn’t even know their origin, and their magic is well….weak.”

“So, are you saying that the witch on Earth was also seeking the demon’s power?”

“It’s just a guess.”

However, it was a very plausible guess since in order to summon a demon, one needed a very special method and medium or had to take a special route. Such knowledge was non-existent on Earth. It was only natural to suspect the witches who had knowledge of it on Earth.

“First of all, after the official announcement that we could uncover the demon, things have become a little quieter. That means that the other person is cowardly enough to fall for such nonsense, or it could be that they are in a position where they can be easily caught, so they are being extremely careful about the smallest things…”

As I checked Yekaterina’s opinion through our conversation, I found out that people who posted malicious comments on Yekaterina’s video had become the object of scorn from the masses instead of her. They were in a hurry to delete their malicious comments either in Yekaterina’s SNS or video. And conversely, Another League’s ‘Demon Hunt’ had climbed through the internet popular search rankings.

Although it is nothing but a lie, I intend to make it true.

“Do you have any way, Seodam-nim?”

Currently I don’t. But from what I know, demons don’t just appear with all their power in many worlds, unlike what had happened on Earth. They had to be stopped before their power became fully developed and become completely on par with humans and start a war.

In order to do that, we need to find out about its origin as soon as possible…

While I was reviewing the plan in my head, my phone suddenly rang. When I checked, it was Seol Jungyeon noonim who called. I hurriedly answered her call, and she spoke to me at once before I could say hello.

– Can you come here now? There is someone who wants to meet you.

* * *

“It’s been a long time. It’s hard to see your face.”

Noonim said to me as she ruffled her platinum coloured hair. Her newly designed pure white uniform fluttered as she walked.

With an apologetic expression on my face, I said awkwardly to her, “The situation is a bit….”

“I can’t help it, then. It will not be too late to see your face once all is resolved.”

“Thank you. But why did you call me today?”

“There’s an expert who wants to see you.”

In the living room, someone was standing, probably waiting for me. He was an ordinary man with appearances of someone in mid to late 40s, and he was said to be a peak rank Expert.

“My name is Chang Baek-ju of Haomun (下午門).”

As soon as I heard his self-introduction, I could barely hold back my expression from crumbling.

Haomun. It was a name that anyone who enjoys reading martial arts novels is familiar with. It was an organization that was in charge of information on Murim along with the ‘opening’. They cry, laugh and move with gold, and although they don’t have a very good image in Murim, I know that they were known as a very free-spirited clan.

I’d been told that even Seol Jungyeon noonim did not know why someone from Haomun—which was once a dark force that controlled the Black City and had suddenly disappeared one day— came to modern Murim.

“My name is Yoo Seodam of Another League. Have a seat.”

Contrary to his infamous origin, Chang Baek-ju had an innocent first impression to my eyes. After confirming that he was seated, I sat across from him while Noonim sat next to me.

“….?”

I tried to ask her why she sat close to me, but when Noonim tilted her head with an expression that said she didn’t know anything, I just let it slide without saying anything.

“Yoo Seodam. How much do you know about Murim?”

“I haven’t been there personally, but I’ve heard a lot of stories.”

From the person sitting right next to me.

“Is that so?”

Chang Baek-ju pondered for a moment before opening his mouth.

“In our world, that is, in Murim, Haomen was destroyed once.”

“Yes. I know from the story I have heard that your clan had suddenly disappeared at some point, leaving many questions behind. What kind of Murim warrior did it to your clan?”

“It’s not the work of Murim warrior.”

Chang Baek-ju chided before continuing his word.

“It couldn’t even be considered as a human’s work.”

His story went back to an ordinary day just like any other about 7 years ago, before the Murim people were expelled to the modern day.

“It started with an ordinary stable master. As he spoke, he burst into laughter, then suddenly all joints in his body broke apart.”

It was a kind of fear that even Murim couldn’t stomach.

“Then, one of the Murim warriors who was trying to help him also burst into laughter before all his joints broke down, the other Murim warrior who tried to restrain him also had the same thing happen to them.”

The phenomenon of ‘contagion’ of bizarre emotions. It was very similar to what was currently happening on Earth.

“There was no end to it. ‘It’ was transmitted to everyone over and over again until the joints of everyone present were broken and they died. It was pure luck that I was able to survive… I had to go far away that day.”

He said that by the time he returned to his clan, most of the Haomen members had already been engulfed in madness. The sound of giggles resounding from all directions together with sounds of broken joints.

“Until now, I’ve been hiding it. No matter how poorly the Murim Alliance treats us, it was so shameful for Haomen to be destroyed that way. I came here today after hearing about the phenomenon of ‘insanity contagion’ which happened all around the world. No doubt, that was the doing of something that did it to my clan.”

“…”

In conclusion, the demon that had appeared on Earth was not the demon from the far world but from Murim.

Considering the genre of Murim, which might be a fusion martial art, it wasn’t so strange. There were also demons (succubus) that were taken advantage of by people who seek to play the mind of other people.

But, whatever it is, it had no relation to Earth’s current predicament.

<Seodam, it might be a good thing.>

‘How so?’

<Because it is now certain that the demon was from another world, not a native demon of Earth… Now, if you could close the door to that dimension altogether, the demon should return to its original world without any need to defeat it.>

‘Is that possible?’

<It’s possible. However, we should find and eliminate the ’cause’ that connect the Earth and Murim.>

‘….’

Thinking about it, her words make sense.

From the beginning, the boundary between Earth and Murim was very loose. To the point that Supreme Dharma, who had no knowledge of dimensions, could freely go back and forth with only one sword. And as of now, it could be said that in that very boundary, a hole had been made.

‘So, you were saying that if we just go into that hole and close it, the current situation will be resolved?’

<Yes. That’s right.>

Her affirmation made my head cool down considerably.

My head was full with complicated thoughts as I had no way to hunt the demon. Traveling to another dimension and removing something was far simpler than this demon hunting business.

If so, now what matters is where the portal is located at. But that’s an easy matter to resolve since I had someone who could sense the dimension more sensitively than anyone else.

“I think I have found a way.”

“Is that true?”

Chang Baek-ju was startled while Noonim looked at me with wide eyes. After nodding my head briefly, I suddenly made eye contact with Noonim, and a thought occurred to me.

If there was a hole in the dimension.. Wouldn’t it be better to bring an assistant? Even if it’s not me, isn’t it possible for anyone to move between dimensions? A low-level person may not be able to withstand the backlash of an unstable dimension shift through a hole, but if the person was strong enough to not worry about it… and if they were also familiar with Murim…

“Noonim…”

“What’s the matter?”

This was a very sensitive issue. Seol Jungyeon doesn’t have very good memories of Murim. But I was aware of the fact that she sometimes stayed up all night crying, remembering the loss of her clan.

“Will you go to Murim with me?”

At my words, Noonim’s pupil shook violently.