04. Uncomfortable Cohabitation (4)

As soon as Baek Ji-soo came to his senses and removed his hand from my chest, the chains that bound me were released.

“Kim… Binary?”

Baek Ji-soo opens her mouth with a trembling voice.

She staggered for a moment, as if dizzy, then swung back to her floor.

“Jisoo!”

I urgently received her shoulder as she collapsed.

Because of her small body, she had a delicate body that barely felt the weight.

“You’re back. Thank god.”

“Oh, thank you. But is it time to worry about me? Are you okay?”

Baek Ji-soo’s pale complexion did not look good. Cold sweat ran down her forehead and the nape of her neck, clinging to her hair, and her eyelids trembled as if she were about to close them again.

“It’s okay. Because it’s just a little dizzy. If you are doing this… You’ll be fine soon.”

Saying that, Baek Ji-soo closed her eyes and leaned her head on my shoulder.

She seemed to have become more comfortable, her breathing gradually becoming more even.

At first, you hated being touched, but are you okay now?

Anyway, it was thanks to her that I was able to get her body back from Kertatus.

I thought that after I was discharged, I should make anything I really wanted. Galbijjim won’t be bad either. Kim Yi-jin’s special galbi-jjim sauce is always popular with her grandfather.

“What did you do?”

“I absorbed my unique energy into you. Fortunately, it seems to have worked.”

To say it works is a very humble statement.

It’s not just that it’s effective, it’s to the point where I can feel that my magic power has increased considerably.

In particular, the purity of magic has improved noticeably. If my magic power used to be ordinary tap water, now it feels like first-class pure water.

In a car, the higher the quality of the fuel, the better the fuel efficiency. If the purity of mana is high, the skill can be activated with less mana than before, and there were various benefits.

That’s why I was even more worried. There’s no way you can do something like this for free.

What did Baek Ji-soo sacrifice?

She slowly lifted her eyelids. Red eyes look up at me helplessly.

“Don’t make that face. Because I’m fine.”

“… What is my expression like?”

Baek Ji-soo’s hand rested on my cheek.

Maybe it was because it had been in contact with my bare skin for a long time, and the body temperature had become similar, so it was a rare lukewarm hand.

“Are you sorry or thankful… It’s a very stupid face.”

“… Hey, you.”

No matter what I say, do you do that?

In the middle of a person feeling guilty.

Looking at her with her trembling eyes, Baek Ji-soo stared clearly into her eyes with her straight gaze.

“This is nothing compared to what you have done. So don’t be sorry.”

I could feel the sincerity in her words.

I let out a short sigh. I can’t even apologize in front of that face anymore.

“Okay. Then….”

So, she decided to express her sincere thanks.

“Thank you, Baek Ji-soo. I live thanks to you.”

Baek Ji-soo closed her mouth tightly with her eyes wide open at my words.

“It would have been terrible if I had been taken over by the devil like this. Even if it wasn’t for that, I would have been carrying a three-person sword in my hand for the rest of my life.”

No matter how much I love knives, that means making them, and I don’t want to carry them around all the time.

“So thank you. It’s all thanks to you.”

He bowed his head lightly and expressed sincere gratitude.

And then I raise my head again….

‘Huh?’

Baek Ji-soo’s eyes were trembling slightly.

She was barely suppressing her feelings of guilt.

Why… Why are you looking like that?

“That… I mean….”

She pursed her lips as if she was about to say something, but she pursed her lips untidy.

The silence continued for a long time. Baek Ji-soo, for some reason, shut her mouth, and I couldn’t say anything because I didn’t understand the intention of this silence.

Tick tock tock. Only the sound of the ticking of the clock’s second hand filled the room.

Around the time the silence felt increasingly awkward, Baek Ji-su, who was leaning on my shoulder, lifted her head with difficulty.

“Binary. Let go now.”

“Uh, already?”

I lightly squeezed her shoulders to suggest that she lie down a little longer, but Baek Ji-soo shook her head quietly and raised her body up.

“… How is that devil? Are you quiet now?”

It was a rather sudden change of topic. Could it be her own attempt to change her mood?

I nodded and opened my mouth.

“No. It’s still making a lot of noise.”

When I focused my consciousness on a corner inside, I could still feel Kertatus swearing at me.

If I leave here, I won’t leave it alone, or if I recover my strength, I’ll tear everything to death….

‘This guy is completely unrelatable.’

Well, it’s not like they’re called demons for nothing.

But now it is completely under my control. It wasn’t too much of an annoyance if you didn’t pay attention to the voice you heard.

“Now that your power is stronger, it will be fine, but that is also a temporary measure.”

“I guess so. As soon as I regain my strength, I will be thinking of taking my body right away.”

“Right. So there are three ways.”

There are three?

Looking at her with her surprised expression, Baek Ji-soo stretched out her palm and folded her fingers one by one.

“The first is that you become stronger. No matter how strong the devil becomes, your control needs to be stronger than that.”

“Ummm… Would that be easier said than done?”

There is a limit to receiving a novelty from Baek Ji-soo like today.

Then I have to train like a kid in combat….

No matter how much I think about it, it seems that it will be faster for the demon to recover its strength than for me to become stronger.

“Right. It’s not easy. Because there are limits to human strength. So we have to use the second method together.”

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Jisoo Baek folded his index finger and said.

“The second is to weaken the demon itself. Either by sealing it or using some other method.”

“Like a three-person sword?”

“Yes. Of course, you can’t carry a knife every day. But among the items for sealing, there are also accessories.”

“Trinkets….”

“Son Wukong’s long orphan is the most famous example of a sealed ball.”

Ah. It.

I haven’t read Journey to the West, but since it’s so famous, I’ve heard of the item itself.

The owner of Yeouibong exists as a master piece hunter in China, so if you have a little interest in this side, you can’t help but know.

“Do you have anything right now?”

Does the returner’s secret storage contain sealed items that are useful in this situation?

I looked at her with a lot of anticipation, but Baek Ji-soo couldn’t meet her gaze and looked down at her.

“There is, but… can’t get it out My subspace skill has not recovered.”

“Ah….”

I can’t believe it.

” … Sorry. Because my strength is not enough.”

“No, no. Why is it your fault?”

Baek Ji-soo had most of his skills sealed due to the side effects of incomplete regression and the limitations of causality.

In the midst of recovering my strength, it must have been too late for me to regain my strength again because I was sharing my unique energy this time. So I had a little responsibility too.

“If it doesn’t work, I can’t help it. Then can you tell me the third way too?”

“… The third is to purify the demonic power itself with the attribute of conflict.”

“Purification?”

“Yes. If the demonic power is completely erased, there is no need to seal it.”

It was quite a hump.

The soul of Kertatus that exists within me. If this is completely eliminated, doesn’t it mean that there is no need to worry about this?

“Is there a way? Is it possible?”

If you expect a lot and say you can’t do it again, there’s nothing disappointing.

She rested her chin lazily, lost in her thoughts.

“It’s difficult with my current skills. But I know of a few possible forces. The Holy See or… Maybe my master can too. But.”

Baek Ji-soo paused for a while and then gently furrowed her brow.

“… In fact, I don’t really recommend this method.”

“Why? Sounds good to hear.”

“The devil’s soul has become completely one with your heart. It would be nice if only demons could be purified… In the worst case, the cleansing power may not be able to distinguish you from the devil.”

“Uh….”

If that’s the case then….

“You mean you can get rid of the devil and me entirely?”

Baek Ji-soo nodded slowly.

“The Vatican is pretty extreme this way, and they won’t care too much about your life if you can just get rid of the devil. Maybe they will consider you a demon and try to purify you.”

It was frightening just to hear it. It’s not even a devil, but it makes me want to avoid the cross.

“And Master… I do not know either. Because it’s such an unpredictable personality.”

Baek Ji-soo’s teacher.

Suddenly, I remembered the story of Kertatus talking about witches.

“What kind of person is Master?”

“He is a very spontaneous person. He always travels around the world, so it’s hard to see his face… Before returning, I only met around the beginning of destruction.”

Baek Ji-soo cautiously added, “I will try to contact you, but don’t expect too much.”

After the story, I crossed my arms and swallowed my saliva in a complicated state of mind.

“After all, there is no way to do this.”

It would be nice if it could be executed, but the means was the problem.

Because none of them were without problems.

Baek Ji-soo sat across from him and hung his head helplessly.

“… I’m so sorry.”

“Huh?”

At her sudden apology, I put on a puzzled expression without knowing why.

Baek Ji-su was biting his lower lip with his eyes on the floor.

“As for the cause… It is because of me that you were taken away by the devil.”

She doesn’t even know that the skirt of her school uniform is getting crumpled, and she rolls up her fist as hard as she can.

“Why is that your fault? That’s-“

I tried to deny that, but Ji-soo Baek shook his head and continued.

“No. It’s my fault. I asked for help first. Let us prevent destruction together.”

Baek Ji-soo slowly raised both of his hands and buried his face in his palms.

“When the gate boss first appeared, when a terrorist attack occurred at the fairgrounds… You always risked your life to help me. But even if destruction were to come, that wouldn’t be a reason for you to fight for your life.”

“That….”

If her few friends were in danger of her life, it was only natural to run.

If you didn’t know, you wouldn’t know, because I saw that scene in front of her, and I couldn’t stay still.

Even though I knew the world was going to end, I couldn’t help but do something.

Because he knew best that he would resent himself for not doing anything later when destruction really approached.

But Baek Ji-soo seemed to have a different idea.

“Aren’t you resentful of me?”

“What? Why me….”

“You always help me with good intentions, and I always get help from you… There is nothing I can properly repay.”

Her voice was gradually sinking into helplessness and despair.

“If I behaved properly, you wouldn’t have been taken over by the devil. One day this might put your life in danger, but you… Why do you say thank you Looking at you like that, I, I….”

Baek Ji-soo slowly raises her head and looks at me.

The red eyes were watery.

“Uh….”

My hair turned white at the tears of Baek Ji-soo, whom I had never seen before.

Did I, did I make the ring? Blank count?

“… Binary. You are really nice I consider myself truly fortunate to have met you after returning.”

Baek Ji-soo barely raised the corners of her trembling lips and smiled lightly.

Even though he was clearly smiling, he had a very sad expression.

“To you… Because the world is perishing, ask them to fight together, and ask them to endure even though they may die… How dare I say that?”

Clear tears flowed down my white cheeks.