At that single command, the previously sluggish team members simultaneously assumed combat stances. Having fought countless battles together, their camaraderie had reached its peak, and now, each one of them was as sharp as a finely honed blade.
“This won’t be easy. Deputy Lee Eunha.”
“Excuse me?”
“This is just a possibility, but if the situation turns against us, take the team and move to another sector.”
“Team leader…”
Before Lee Eunha could say anything further, Taesan firmly cut her off.
“That’s an order.”
Taesan’s presence had changed many things. The swarming yokai that had been everywhere hesitated to approach due to his sheer presence, and those powerful enough to ignore it were swiftly sent to the afterlife by his fists.
He was someone who embodied hope just by being there.
Fearing that his team members might feel uneasy, he constantly cracked jokes and made conversation with each of them during breaks.
‘If it weren’t for the team leader, we wouldn’t have survived this long in the first place. We would have just wasted away in that cave.’
This place was a Demon Realm. It wasn’t somewhere Delta-rank administrators could endure. There were thousands, if not tens of thousands, of creatures estimated to be Delta rank. Moreover, there were at least a few hundred presumed Gamma-rank entities.
‘Even Beta-rank administrators are dying here…’
And if Taesan was speaking like this now, it meant that even he was facing an entity that required him to risk his life.
‘Is this the end for us…?’
Lee Eunha knew how strong Taesan was. But there was no way he could be compared to a Beta-rank administrator. That was her cold, objective assessment of Taesan.
Moreover, the Beta-rank administrator who had died this time wasn’t just any Beta-rank—it was Yukina, the head of management from the Japanese branch, considered one of their strongest forces.
In administrator slang, Yukina was ‘Beta++,’ while Taesan, at best, was ‘Beta—.’
That meant there was an entity roaming the Jukai Forest that could kill even someone like Yukina. If they were to encounter it, the chances of survival were 0%.
‘…If it comes down to it, I’ll abandon the mission and burn through my entire lifespan to escape.’
That was an option, although an extreme one. With Lee Eunha’s ability, she could at least leap across space. Of course, the problem was that she alone would bear the burden of that risk.
Another issue was whether the Tree would let administrators who abandoned their mission go unpunished.
From the administrators’ perspective, choosing survival over certain death seemed like an better decision.
But that was only from their perspective.
From the Tree’s viewpoint, if administrators started refusing missions they deemed too dangerous, it would be an unacceptable situation. There was no way the Tree would allow such a precedent. If it did happen, the Tree might even resort to far more unethical measures than it did now.
At least, that was the kind of organization Lee Eunha understood the Tree to be.
The real solution was to never accept a mission like this in the first place. Though, even that wasn’t always within her control.
And if she wanted to go even further back, the real answer was probably never joining this organization in the first place.
‘Then again, what’s the point in thinking about that now?’
Everyone fell silent as they stared at the man who had appeared before them.
“……”
“……”
Thankfully, it wasn’t a yokai. However, the killing intent radiating from the man was stronger than anything they had ever faced. The pressure was so immense that even the team members instinctively recognized him as a monster.
The narrow-eyed man spotted them and smiled, waving a hand.
A suffocating stench of blood filled the air.
“You’re all still alive?”
Fortunately, it was a familiar face.
Xiao Yun, a Beta-rank administrator dispatched from China.
He had appeared alongside the main division’s administrators.
Lee Eunha cautiously spoke up, while Oh Haeyoung waved his hands excitedly like a puppy greeting its owner.
“…Administrator Xiao Yun?”
“Administrator Xiao Yun! You’re safe!”
Taesan silently observed the man.
As someone from the martial world, Taesan could immediately gauge Xiao Yun’s level.
‘He has reached the state of Reversing Old Age to Return to Youth (Rejuvenation).’
At that moment—
A voice directly resonated in Taesan’s mind.
(Heavenly Light Mind Transmission).
Taesan involuntarily tensed up.
—Are you a returnee from the martial world? You must be the man Lee Taeseong mentioned.
Taesan had already recognized Xiao Yun as a master, but he hadn’t expected him to use Heavenly Light Mind Transmission instead of mere sound transmission.
Sound transmission projected one’s voice through internal energy, but Heavenly Light Mind Transmission conveyed one’s will itself. It was on an entirely different level.
—Does the esteemed master know Administrator Lee Taeseong?
—Of course. That damn fool caused me quite a bit of trouble. I’ve been meaning to meet you at least once, but I never expected it to happen like this.
—I see…
Xiao Yun’s expression remained composed, but the administrators standing beside him were visibly haggard.
Among them was Abe no Seimei’s descendant, Ashiya Doman, another Beta-rank administrator. The entire main division had clearly been through hell. Their faces were haggard, and their numbers had diminished significantly.
At some point, Xiao Yun had disappeared.
He reappeared right in front of Oh Haeyoung, gently ruffling his hair.
“You’ve been holding up well?”
“Y-Yes! I’ve been doing my best to endure. What about you, Administrator Xiao Yun?”
Xiao Yun cast a sidelong glance at the remnants of the main division, then gave a bitter smile.
“…As you can see.”
The group led by Lee Eunha, having joined the main force, set up a temporary camp in the vicinity.
Due to the numerous battles, the administrators were utterly exhausted, making rest an unavoidable choice.
Fortunately, among the main force’s administrators, a significant number possessed useful abilities, allowing them to establish a makeshift yet well-structured base.
“This should be enough to keep the lesser yokai at bay.”
“Do not, under any circumstances, touch the objects that serve as the axis of the barrier. Keep that in mind.”
The location chosen for the temporary camp was the safest place in the area. This was because Xiao Yun and Doman had already wiped out all the nearby yokai.
The number of yokai the two had slain in this mission alone exceeded twenty thousand. The martial prowess of the Beta-ranked administrators, when they unleashed their full strength, was enough to leave onlookers in shock.
Of course, despite such accomplishments, the majority of the administrators had perished.
Now, fewer than fifty administrators remained in the main force. It was only with the inclusion of Eunha Lee’s group that they barely reached fifty.
‘Even the main force suffered this much damage…’
Eunha Lee and Taesan stepped into the tent where the squad leader meeting was being held.
Inside, Xiao Yun, Doman, and two Gamma-ranked administrators were seated.
Ashiya Doman spoke in a commanding tone.
“Xiao Yun. Why did you bring in a mere Delta-ranked woman?”
“Old man. Do you really have time to bicker about Delta and Gamma ranks in this urgent situation? The fact that the squad she led has survived until now is reason enough for her to be here.”
“…Tsk.”
Anyone who still picked fights in this situation could hardly be called human. Fortunately, Doman was human, so he did not stir up any further unnecessary quarrels.
The conversation progressed quickly. They first shared the information each of them had.
“We’ve concluded that escaping this place on our own is impossible. The entire forest can essentially be considered a single entity. Unless we eliminate its master, escape is meaningless.”
“I agree with the old man. It seems that whatever rules this forest has deliberately gathered us here. It’s trying to slowly wear us down and kill us. Either that, or it’s just stalling for time.”
“Stalling for time? Why would it do that?”
“If it were to clash with us head-on, it might also be at risk. As much as I hate to say it, if the old man or I were to fight with the resolve to die, we could drag the master of this forest down to the underworld with us, no matter what it is.”
“That’s true…”
“From what I’ve seen, not all the yokai here serve the same master. If even administrators are constantly at each other’s throats, why would yokai be any different? They’re probably fighting over territory among themselves.”
Eunha Lee, who had been silently listening, quickly accelerated her thoughts.
“If stalling for time is its goal, isn’t there another reason behind it?”
“Another reason? Like what?”
“As Administrator Xiao Yun said, for now, it finds fighting us troublesome. But perhaps it believes that after a certain amount of time, it will have the means to kill us for sure, so it’s stalling?”
…A heavy silence fell.
Everyone present felt a chill run down their spine at Eunha Lee’s words.
The one to break the silence was Xiao Yun.
“That’s a plausible hypothesis. Then what do you think we should do?”
“……”
Eunha Lee carefully chose her words before answering.
“No matter how much time passes, only we will be at a disadvantage. So, I believe we must launch a full-scale offensive as soon as we recover our strength.”
Again, no one immediately responded. Everyone here knew she was right. But their forces had already been severely depleted.
Proposing an all-out attack in this situation was essentially suggesting they charge in, prepared to die.
Ashiya Doman let out a deep sigh.
“Damn yokai bastards.”
“Aren’t you the last person who should be saying that? After all, the things you control are also yokai.”
“…Shikigami and yokai are different!”
To Xiao Yun, they were one and the same, but he didn’t bother arguing. After all, if it weren’t for Ashiya Doman, their situation would have been even worse.
As an onmyoji (Sorcerer) with extraordinary talent, Ashiya Doman’s abilities shone the brightest in dire situations like this. Since he could turn dead yokai into his shikigami, it helped maintain some balance.
Being specialized in defense, he became even more formidable when the odds were against them.
The discussion continued.
The next topic was the death of the Beta-ranked administrator, Yukina.
“So, to summarize… Neither of you witnessed the moment it happened?”
Xiao Yun and Doman both nodded.
“Yeah. That crazy woman walked off on her own so confidently that I figured she had a plan. Who would’ve thought she’d just die like that?”
“…It doesn’t make sense. She had been here before, hadn’t she? The reason you and I allowed her to act independently was because of that. She should have known this place better than anyone. Even if something unexpected happened, we assumed she could at least take care of herself.”
“The information was wrong from the start. Nothing that crazy woman told us matches what we’ve seen here.”
From their conversation, it was clear that Yukina had previously been to this place. That must have been why she confidently ventured alone and ended up dead…
‘Something’s off.’
Among the unidentified entities observed so far, the two most powerful yokai were:
The “Monster of Unmatched Strength,” a leader of the Hundred Demons Night Parade and the likely master of the forest, and
“Tanjin,” a three-headed serpent, the offspring of Orochi.
Both were estimated to be Beta-ranked. Yukina would have known this information.
She was likely the one who brought it to them.
And yet…
Why did she act like that? A Beta-ranked administrator misjudging an enemy’s power?
‘A variable.’
A variable significant enough to bring about the death of a high-tier Beta-ranked administrator.
‘Ah…!’
Realizing the truth, Eunha Lee’s face turned pale with despair.
“Shit. We’re seriously screwed.”
‘There’s something in this forest that we don’t know about. Its estimated rank is at least Beta…’
Ah.
She had been so shocked that she ended up speaking her thoughts out loud.
