The Final Battle -2

“…What is going on..”

Shin Hyun muttered as he put his phone back in his pocket. Beside him, Noah stood with a worried expression.

“Ahjussi. Yul and unnie are at the big hospital they always go to.”

Shin Hyun’s face darkened with concern.

Seeing Shin Hyun’s reaction, Noah hurriedly hailed a taxi.

During the taxi ride, they didn’t speak a word. Their minds were too complex.

The only fortunate thing was that they had been prepared for something major to happen soon.

Yet when it actually happened, their minds went blank.

Arriving at the hospital, Shin Hyun and Noah were guided inside by Mr. Yu.

The VIP room was located on the top floor.

The place where Seo Jin-ah was hospitalized was in the most secure central area.

“…Huh?”

While passing by the lounge on the way there, Noah made a sound.

“Ahjussi, over there…”

Instead of answering, Shin Hyun narrowed his eyes.

Yul was there.

“Yul…”

Noah watched Yul while holding her breath.

Like someone who had lost her mind, she paced back and forth for a while, staring blankly at the ceiling… then pacing again.

Eventually, with a sigh, she returned to her room.

She was clearly not in a normal state.

‘I heard Yul got off relatively lightly.’

Though her physical injuries might be less severe, the psychological shock seemed enormous.

Of course, “relatively lightly” was only in comparison to Jin-ah; Yul’s condition didn’t look good either.

‘I hope it’s not a serious injury.’

Why was there a bandage over her eyes?

Anxiety took precedence.

“…Let’s go see.”

“Yes.”

The two moved forward with heavy expressions.

Knock knock.

Despite the knocking, there was no answer from inside.

Taking this as silent permission, Shin Hyun opened the door and entered.

“Yul, we’re here. Are you feeling alright?”

He tried to keep his voice as light as possible, but given the situation, it wasn’t easy.

The one who answered was Yul, sitting on the bed with a pained expression.

Her once proud twin tails were now disheveled hair. Having lost even her confident expression, she simply nodded vacantly in response.

They didn’t bother to ask questions like “Where is Jin-ah?”

“…Ahjussi, there.”

That’s…

His expression almost twisted, but Shin Hyun managed to stop it.

‘I heard Jin-ah was the most severely injured…’

Seo Jin-ah lay powerlessly on the bed, with numerous IV lines attached to her.

While Yul ended up with bandages, Jin-ah had to undergo surgery. From what they heard, she had narrowly escaped a critical condition and her life was not in danger, but…

“…Who was it? Who did this?”

This debt must be paid.

Shin Hyun ultimately couldn’t prevent his face from twisting.

“Yul, it might be painful to recall, but can you tell us?”

“…”

“We need to know exactly what happened to figure out what to do next.”

Yul made a hesitant expression, then nodded.

“I’m sorry.”

“…No, it’s okay.”

For a young girl, these must be painful memories to recall. Her close unnie ended up in that state, her younger sister disappeared, and she herself was badly injured.

But despite that, there was a need to hear about what happened.

“…Alright. I’ll tell you.”

“Please do.”

Only then could they prepare for what was ahead.

Yul settled herself, resting her chin on her hand.

“…Wait, I’ll tell you.”

+++++

Her breath was completely blocked.

Her expression contorted sharply.

It was because of the thought that all she had accomplished was only this much, that all her efforts had amounted to only this.

Despite fighting and struggling for so long, she was showing only a weak appearance against an old man.

“Kuhuk…”

The rough hand gripping her throat, a blue color began to rise over Yul’s face.

Her eyes rolled toward the figure on the ground.

There was a painful appearance and red blood, but fortunately, she wasn’t dead.

The one collapsed on the ground was Magical Girl Natalia.

“You’re quite good, but still weak.”

“Shut… up…”

“This young lady too. Her skills are good, but she seems to lack real combat experience.”

“I said… shut up!”

Slash!

Black Heart, who had barely escaped by swinging her sword, gasped for breath.

How long had it been since she felt this powerless?

‘What on earth is this monster…!’

When she was beaten by Iris for the first time.

A fear several times greater than that came over her.

“Now, let’s continue.”

A slash was applied.

As heavy as a mountain and as fast as a gale.

Black Heart’s sword standing before it was as precarious as a candle in the wind.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The harsh metallic sound hammered her ears.

The old man smiled at the girl blocking his sword and spoke.

“If I pound a little more, something might come out…”

“What are you saying, old man…!”

“Something big might come out… hmm…”

Continued muttering. Black Heart openly expressed her displeasure at this.

“That relaxed attitude is annoying!”

What kind of attitude is that?

Black Heart felt frustration building inside her, but at the same time, she felt a kind of fear towards him.

…I don’t have confidence to defeat that playful old man. As her heart weakened, she felt like she kept hearing hallucinations.

‘Now, I’ll lend you power, so slash that old man.’

Shut up.

Black Heart, who had muttered that inwardly, grasped her sword again.

“…Well, can’t be helped.”

The old man said that, and then his sword flashed once more.

He drew his sword just a tiny bit from the scabbard and bent his body as if ready to rush forward at any moment.

Iaido.

‘Alright, you want to try?’

Seeing this, Black Heart also decided to respond.

Along the blade, a black snake crawled up ominously, flicking its tongue.

“Black Mamba!”

“A snake…”

“Yes! A very poisonous one!”

“If you want to cut me, bring a dragon, not a snake.”

“Well, we’ll see about that…!”

A moment of silence flowed, and then…

“Duel!”

“Duel!”

Black Heart surged forward with twisting movements. A snake as massive as a black mountain opened its jaws and rushed forward.

Unlike Black Heart, who could be described as flashy, the old man was calm.

With each step, calm and swift, there was no excess in his movements.

The raw power they possessed might be similar.

However.

Shrrk-

“…!”

There was a decisive difference between the two.

That was.

“The years we’ve lived are different, years.”

The difference in experience.

Desolately, the sound of the snake’s skin being cut echoed.

Cutting the snake in an instant, the old man moved in front of Black Heart.

“…Cut.”

And then the old man began to perform an elaborate sword dance.

“…Aaaaaaah!!!”

+++++

“…So Jin-ah, who was already in bad shape, took all those attacks?”

“…Yes, unnie took the hits for me just as I was about to be hit.”

Yul said this while fidgeting with her eye bandage.

“A few slashes got through though…”

“Your eyes…”

“They say there will be scars. Fortunately, my eyesight is fine, but…”

Shin Hyun gritted his teeth.

She’s a girl in her prime.

A scar would remain on such a girl’s face.

“…I’m sorry. We should have been there with you.”

“No. It happened because I was inadequate.”

“No, don’t think like that.”

“…And the Demon King too.”

“…Hmm.”

Come to think of it, the Demon King was there too.

“Kidnapped…”

This is the worst. Shin Hyun sighed, trying to alleviate his frustration.

“Ah… right.”

Yul took out a piece of paper from inside her clothes.

“He asked me to deliver this.”

Who? The question didn’t need to be asked.

The author of this letter was obvious to anyone.

“…Whew.”

Shin Hyun unfolded the letter to check its contents.

And at that moment.

[Nice to meet you.]

A very small rabbit doll popped out.

Shin Hyun quickly bound it with his tentacles, restraining its movements.

‘I don’t sense any magical power. It’s just a doll.’

It’s just a doll.

But he couldn’t let his guard down, so he continued to squeeze the doll.

[Stop it. If the doll bursts, we won’t be able to talk.]

“This bastard…”

[I want a conversation. Won’t you comply?]

Won’t I comply?

“…Tch, fine.”

[An excellent decision.]

The doll creaked as it stood up.

[I’ll get straight to the point. I’d like to propose a match to you all.]

“A match?”

[Yes, the procedure is simple. Come to the Demon Castle. Three rooms, three bosses. If you defeat them all and get the keys, I’ll let you come to my room.]

What is he talking about?

Though the words were incomprehensible, Shin Hyun quickly shook his head.

“How can we believe that?”

[Taking the Destroyer, reviving the Sword Saint—those are the proofs.]

“Destroyer? Sword Saint?”

[The Demon King and that old man.]

Shin Hyun’s eyes narrowed.

“…Why is that proof?”

[You’ve been digging up quite a bit of information about me… do you also know that I hate that child?]

“I know.”

[Why would I waste precious magic to order someone to bring back that damn girl’s revived corpse? I’m also preparing for a final battle… Consider that as proof.]

Final battle. That guy was also preparing for a final battle.

He thought it was rather fortunate.

To have him openly challenge them like this.

“I’ll make sure you pay for kidnapping the Demon King and for making Noah suffer.”

[Noah… yes, I acknowledge that matter, but the Destroyer’s case is a bit different.]

“What?”

[From the beginning, that child was my toy. Her breaking the contract on her own was surprising to me… but well, I’m not a fool. One leash isn’t enough for a dangerous dog. You need several safety measures to feel secure, don’t you?]

Grind.

The sound of teeth grinding was heard.

The source of the sound was Noah.

“The Demon King is not your dog or toy.”

[I still regret it. Na Noah, I should have put a leash on that one too. I unnecessarily experimented with raising her gently, and things got complicated.]

It was an infuriating statement.

Hearing those words, Noah gave an empty laugh.

They say people laugh when they’re too angry; it must be true.

“…Fine. You said the Demon Castle, right? I’ll come find you there. And…”

Noah’s eyes twitched and wavered.

“…I’m going to kill you.”