Expelled Hero Is Too Strong

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Chapter 249. Temporary Contract

“There’s nothing left for me there anyway.”

Desa gave up on the secret passage built within the mine that employed space distortion techniques, meant to keep it hidden from anyone.

It wouldn’t be entirely honest to say it didn’t sadden him, considering the time and effort he’d put into it.

But he had already completed all the necessary preparations for the future.

‘I’ve already sent out any useful chaos.’

Monsters created by combining various animal body parts, Chaos.

Placing them near Kabuum was part of his plan.

After discovering Yoon Do-ha, many of his plans had fallen apart, though.

However, by utilizing Yoon Do-ha now, the success of his plans seemed much closer.

“I can’t believe this is only 30% of his power.”

The maximum power Yoon Do-ha could exert through the dolls made so far was only 30% of his original strength.

It was merely less than half of his power, but with that alone, Desa could surpass the heroes of Earth.

Defeating Team 2, including Park Jae-kyung, was proof of that.

Yet, he couldn’t be satisfied with that.

“I’ll raise it to 70%.”

It was impossible to draw out 100% because the spirit guarding the main body had disappeared somewhere.

But 70%, just shy of that!

Desa was convinced he would get one step closer to the destruction of Leron he so desired.

*

“Mumu. Are you ready?”

“Mm-mmm!”

Thump, thump, thump……

Park Jae-kyung and Team 2’s heroes lay neatly on the ground, moving like a conveyor belt.

Yoo Ji-han’s party rushed toward the area where they parted ways with Watanabe Yosuke.

‘They must be safe?’

The earthquake magically triggered by seven fake Yoon Do-has shaking the ground simultaneously had a power so immense it felt like the whole earth was being blended in a mixer.

Even after witnessing that, the thought of having left Watanabe behind left a lingering anxiety in Yoo Ji-han.

“There they are!”

As they approached the area where the battle had occurred, the terrain changed little by little.

The ground was in far more disarray than before parting with Watanabe.

What used to be flat land had risen dramatically like a thorny bush, littered with large craters and slashes as if the earth was hacked with a sword.

“Oh, you’ve come.”

“You made it safely.”

“Of course.”

Watanabe, with a long blade of grass in his mouth, raised his hand to greet Yoo Ji-han.

Despite holding no injuries, his kimono looked remarkably neat, showing no signs of having been crumpled.

While he looked relaxed, his party members were seated, taking a break.

“I left these guys alive.”

At Watanabe’s feet lay seven unconscious humans.

They were humans who had regained their original forms after being Yoon Do-ha’s dolls.

“But isn’t that Mumu?”

“Correct.”

“Then why is there only a spirit? Where’s Yoon Do-ha?”

“It seems the contract has been canceled.”

“……Was the contract forcibly canceled?”

Watanabe’s expression turned serious.

There had been no cases of external interference resulting in the cancellation of a contract with a spirit until now.

However, the fact that Yoon Do-ha, a Rank 1 Hero and Spirit Master, had his contract forcibly canceled might send ripples throughout the spirit masters of Earth.

Yet, Yoo Ji-han shook his head and spoke.

“It’s possible that Mr. Yoon Do-ha voluntarily broke the contract.”

“Why?”

“To protect Team 2.”

A spirit free from a contract would no longer face restrictions in movement.

If Yoon Do-ha, bound by Desa, had realized that the heroes of Earth had reached Kallem, it could be surmised he chose to free Mumu to protect them from Desa.

Mumu tilted its head and remarked.

“Really?”

“Really.”

Unless a contractor exists, there are limits to the power a spirit can display in reality.

However, given Mumu’s ample experience and strength, he would have unquestionably earned Yoon Do-ha’s trust.

‘He must be the type who can calculate that kind of thing.’

Yoo Ji-han believed that the Yoon Do-ha he remembered would have predicted this sort of flow.

He probably knew his guild members had arrived as well.

“But now the real problem arises.”

Watanabe looked down at the fallen humans with a frustrated expression.

Like Team 2, they too were afflicted by Magic Discoloration Syndrome.

It had become exceedingly difficult to gather even the smallest bits of information.

“Oh, don’t worry about that.”

“Hmm?”

“I’ve figured out almost everything.”

“……?”

Watanabe blinked at the calm expression on Yoo Ji-han’s face.

He wasn’t the type to tell lies in such situations.

“Is that really true?”

“Yep.”

“How did you find out?”

“It’s a trade secret.”

“……Hehe, haha! I’m glad I sent you!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Watanabe beamed, slapping Yoo Ji-han on the back.

*

The majority of the rugged space distortion area was composed of farmland.

It was quite expansive, yet the things within it were extremely simple.

The only tall building that existed in the place where Desa hid while using it as a doll laboratory was the one where Desa stayed.

“Chirp! There are white bones piled up over there!”

“I can’t see that bastard Desa anywhere.”

Inside the building where a simple living base had been set up, there were various animal corpses and pools of blood.

But Desa was nowhere to be found there.

If he could share vision with the dolls, he likely left the mine entirely.

“Do-ha. He was over there.”

Mumu pointed out the prison where Yoon Do-ha was held.

Watching Mumu search for Yoon Do-ha while moving underground, Yoo Ji-han asked.

“Mumu, why was Yoon Do-ha captured?”

“That’s what I’m curious about too. He’s not someone who’d easily fall for traps.”

It was utterly unreasonable to subdue Yoon Do-ha with the abilities of runaway agents.

Even Watanabe had doubts; there had to be another reason he was captured by Desa.

“Hostage.”

“Hostage?”

Hearing Yoo Ji-han’s question, Mumu climbed back up to the ground.

“A dwarf who became friends with Do-ha. He was captured by a mage.”

When Yoon Do-ha and Mumu fell near Maz at the time of being sent to Kallem, they realized that this place was vastly different from Earth upon seeing the three moons rising in the sky.

Even a leader of a large guild would find another dimension or world incredibly unfamiliar.

With no immediate way back to Earth, Yoon Do-ha had to secretly hide in the nearby Maz for survival.

“There was nothing to eat. I was hungry.”

The environment of Maz offered no fruits or edible plants, completely devoid of sustenance.

Yoon Do-ha, having arrived barehanded, began searching for food.

At that time, he encountered a young dwarf.

“He shared bread. Even though he had nothing to eat himself.”

The dwarf, working in the mine and receiving food rations, shared the hard bread he had with Yoon Do-ha.

In Yoon Do-ha’s eyes, it felt like he had gained a significant debt.

“Since then, I’ve been in the mine.”

Yoon Do-ha stayed in the mine, growing closer to the dwarf as they talked.

He began to help with digging gems and ores while also keeping an eye on Kallem.

But while he produced results through his assistance, the young dwarf gradually gained attention.

Then suddenly, a mage named Desa appeared and kidnapped the dwarf.

“He exploited the relationship between Do-ha and the dwarf.”

The dwarf had already become a puppet acting according to Desa’s desires.

Killing Desa would have been quite simple, but rescuing the dwarf, now a hostage, posed a significant challenge.

Unable to find a suitable solution, Yoon Do-ha ultimately decided to follow Desa’s wishes and be captured.

“Yoon Do-ha was quite the sentimental giant.”

“Perhaps he had some confidence.”

He likely let himself get captured, waiting for a chance to turn the tables against Desa.

With his abilities and confidence, it wasn’t an entirely implausible scenario.

But the current situation was unfolding a bit differently than expected.

“More trash than I thought!”

“Chirp! I’ll smack it with my shield!”

“Stop it. The shield will get dirty.”

Whack! Whack!

Chilla, seemingly angry, struck the ground with the edge of his shield.

While Min Yu-ri tried to stop him, Lee Mi-a turned her gaze toward the prison.

“……?”

That’s when she noticed something in her line of sight.

Creeeak!

Forcibly widening the sturdy iron bars, she stepped into the prison and picked something up from where Yoon Do-ha was presumed to have been tied.

“What’s this?”

“Oh? That’s….”

Yoo Ji-han received a strand of hair from Lee Mi-a.

Thick hair typical of an East Asian person.

It was Yoon Do-ha’s hair.

—Ah! Let me see that!

Snap!

The Sylph snatched the hair from Yoo Ji-han’s hand.

Sucking it in like ramen, the Sylph began to glow brightly.

“Wow, you can do something like this?”

—Hehe!

Multiple strands of the Thread of Truth extended out from the hair.

They slightly overlapped one another, resembling what Yoo Ji-han had seen before arriving at Maz.

‘It doesn’t connect to Mumu.’

The hair did not have any intersection with Mumu.

It was likely the reason Yoon Do-ha had broken the contract.

“Mm-mmm? What do you see?”

“I see something.”

Mumu reacted as Yoo Ji-han seemed to discover something.

“I want to see too.”

“This isn’t something I can show you separately….”

The Thread of Truth was treated as a derivative ability of sampling.

It was an object that only Yoo Ji-han, the owner of a unique skill, and his spirit, Sylph, could see.

After briefly explaining the situation, Mumu replied.

“Then let’s form a contract.”

“What?”

—What?!

“If we contract, I can also see it.”

Mumu’s suggestion to form a contract caught Yoo Ji-han somewhat off-guard.

Sylph reacted similarly.

Yoo Ji-han was already bound to one spirit.

And even though it was said that Yoon Do-ha’s contract had been canceled, contracting with a spirit close to his mentor as a spirit master would still be a rude act.

“I’ll only contract until Do-ha returns.”

“Uh… Well, in that case, it might be alright.”

Maintaining a contract just until Yoon Do-ha returns feels like it could work out alright.

The suggestion to temporarily form a contract didn’t sound so bad.

With an existing contractor, Mumu would have the ability to fully demonstrate his powers in reality.

Yoo Ji-han glanced at Sylph before speaking.

“Sylph. Are you okay with this?”

—Kyaaaah!! No way! Absolutely not!

For some reason, Sylph screeched loudly, strongly opposing.

Yoo Ji-han spoke, adopting a persuasive tone as he swayed his round body back and forth.

“When Do-ha returns, I’ll break the contract with Mumu.”

—I don’t want to! No way!

“Don’t outright refuse. You’ve heard the situation.”

—……Ugh!

Floating in mid-air, Sylph spun around, lost in thought.

Having a single spirit master contract with two spirits was practically unprecedented.

Unless a very special situation existed, Mumu likely wouldn’t have suggested forming a contract now.

“What’s your answer?”

—When Yoon Do-ha returns, will the contract be nullified immediately?!

“Yep. It’s a promise.”

—Promise! Stamp, bang bang! If you break it, you’ll die!

Convinced by his persuasion, Sylph ultimately allowed the temporary contract between Yoo Ji-han and Mumu.

Listening quietly to their conversation, Min Yu-ri remarked to Kim Si-hu.

“Doesn’t it feel just like a quarrel between a pair of good siblings?”

“Do spirits even have genders…?”

It was a scene that was challenging to explain solely based on Kim Si-hu’s research on spirits.