Chapter 28: Seol Yu-wol
by Meher“I heard she disappeared, but…”
The martial artist in the pure white uniform before me was poised for a fight, her sword held at the ready. Then, in a trembling voice, she spoke to Ja Hwa-yeon.
A feverish heat burned in her blue eyes.
“I knew someone like you… wouldn’t disappear so easily.”
She readjusted her grip on her sword.
It was a hair-trigger situation.
Of course, a confrontation like this was always a possibility. Outsiders were, by their very nature, unpredictable. That was why the Association had an official manual for such occasions.
‘What should you do if an Outsider immediately assumes a hostile stance?’
The answer was…
‘Subdue them with force.’
As if she had memorized that manual to the letter, Elice’s eyes began to burn crimson, like a predator’s. But I immediately placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her.
I had a feeling it wouldn’t be necessary.
[???]
[Main Stance]
[It appears to be the Demonic Cult’s young mistress… and her remnants, in my private training sanctuary. They must be eliminated at once.]
[Suitable Response] [Satisfaction Probability: 95%]
[Don’t you want to know the whereabouts of the Martial Alliance Leader?]
The woman before me seemed to have some connection to the Martial Alliance Leader. And right now, the Martial Alliance Leader had been Transferred to this world.
I spoke at once. There was no time to hesitate.
“Don’t you want to know the whereabouts of the Martial Alliance Leader?”
The woman’s eyes shot wide open. Her blue pupils trembled with an unnerving intensity.
“What does that—?”
She began to speak cautiously, but her words were cut short.
Thwack!
CRASH!
Ja Hwa-yeon, who had been standing beside me, shot her arm out like a black flash and struck the martial artist’s abdomen. The surprise attack sent the woman in the white uniform flying across the cave, where she slammed into the far wall.
“…Guh.”
Instead of a scream, a sound like air being forced from her lungs wheezed out.
“……”
I stared at Ja Hwa-yeon, aghast.
But the one who had just embedded her opponent in a wall looked just as bewildered as I did.
“Heavenly Demon… what in the world…”
“W-Wait, it’s not like that, Physician. I didn’t mean to go that far…”
She glanced back and forth between her own hand and the woman crumpled in the distance, then muttered in genuine confusion, “…Why has she become so frail?”
While I was staring at Ja Hwa-yeon, Elice trotted over like a rabbit to check on the fallen martial artist.
She reported back calmly. “She’s out cold. But… she wasn’t in good shape to begin with.”
She gently lifted the white uniform of the collapsed woman. Underneath, her abdomen was wrapped in multiple layers of bandages.
So she’d just struck an injured person…
I looked at Ja Hwa-yeon in silence.
“Ahem…”
She let out a low, dry cough.
In the meantime, Elice had effortlessly hoisted the martial artist onto her back.
“Well… mission accomplished, anyway. Should we head out for now, Teacher?”
I nodded. The most important thing now was to get out of this space quickly. Since we’d knocked her out, we had to leave before she woke up. Although, judging by what just happened, she’d probably be subdued just as easily even if she did regain consciousness.
At my agreement, Elice adjusted the woman on her back and took the lead. And so, we began to retrace our steps.
I cautiously asked Ja Hwa-yeon, who was walking leisurely beside me, “Heavenly Demon, do you happen to know who she is?”
I voiced the question that had been on my mind. From the moment Ja Hwa-yeon had appeared, she’d acted as if she knew this person.
Ja Hwa-yeon replied, “She’s a wooden doll.”
“A wooden doll… you say?”
The corners of her lips curled up into a slow, mocking smile. “A pathetic doll that only listens to its master’s commands, without a single shred of self.”
I couldn’t understand what she meant just yet.
A wooden doll.
That’s what she’d called her. For now, I committed those words to memory. Then I pressed a step further.
“In that case, what is her relationship to you, Heavenly Demon?”
“Relationship?” Ja Hwa-yeon scoffed. “There’s nothing to call a relationship. She was merely a toy I used to play with. She was so fun to tease, wandering around lost after losing her master.”
“Sounds like you two were close~”
“What was that?”
Elice had muttered the comment, but Ja Hwa-yeon silenced her with a sharp glare.
After walking for another few dozen minutes…
“I think… we’re almost there…”
As we continued our descent down the mountain range, the world around us suddenly began to waver violently. The unfamiliar landscape of Jungwon shimmered like a heat haze. Before long, the scenery of Seoul Forest came into view.
When I looked back, a mass of blue energy was shimmering where we had just been. We had emerged from within it.
The creation of such a virtual space is called Transfer Erosion.
Beyond it, on the other side of the shimmering barrier surrounding us, the Association’s support team was waiting with anxious faces.
—Chzzzzzt.
Just then, a burst of static erupted from my earpiece.
—Mr. Yoo… Coun…
—Counselor Yoo Seon-woo! You’re safe!
The connection was restored. The voice of the staff member on the other end was filled with relief.
“The Outsider is currently unconscious. She displayed strong aggression upon initial contact. Please be prepared.”
I reported the condition of the Outsider on Elice’s back. Then I turned my head to check her status again.
[Seol Yu-wol]
[Main Stance]
[Guh.]
Huh?
Her name, which had been displayed as [???], was now visible. It seemed my ability was finally working properly now that we were out of the Transfer Erosion’s influence. Her main stance… clearly showed she was unconscious.
—Yes, we will immediately transport her to the Association’s Outsider isolation and adaptation facility—
“Ah, wait a moment.”
I cut the staff member off.
[Suitable Response] [Satisfaction Probability: 90%]
[I recommend putting her in a warm, soft bed first.]
“And a soft bed, please. I insist.”
After all, she was now my client, and I would be responsible for her for the time being.
*
A palace-like traditional house sat silently in the heart of Seoul. This was the heart of the righteous faction, whose will had not faded even as the world changed.
The general headquarters of the Martial Alliance.
The Azure Sky Alliance.
In a study in its deepest sanctum, a woman sat by the window, holding a brush. Though her face looked youthful at a glance, the aura she exuded was captivating, as if it held the depth of ages. Dressed in a splendid jade-colored robe, she was the master of this great righteous coalition.
The Leader of the Azure Sky Alliance.
Just as she was about to complete the final leaf of an orchid on the rice paper…
A martial artist rushed in, dropping to his knees before her.
“Azure Sky Alliance Leader.”
“Lord Ammyeong… What is it?”
She looked up from the paper to face him.
“The orchid was just about to bloom, you see,” the Alliance Leader added with a benevolent smile that hinted at her disappointment.
The man called Lord Ammyeong bowed his head even lower. “My deepest apologies, Alliance Leader. But there is something you must see urgently.”
The man held out a tablet in front of her. On it, a live feed showed three figures whose presence together was jarring.
The first to catch the Alliance Leader’s eye was a familiar face.
Ja Hwa-yeon…
She had considered her a small, unripe seed. And so, she had left her alone. She was certain the girl would be broken by the Demonic Cult’s internal strife and infighting, and that she would be assassinated before long. But recently, it seemed Ja Hwa-yeon had succeeded in purging the rebellious factions within her cult.
And the second. A rather handsome man. His white attire suggested he was a physician.
And the last. A gray-furred hunter of the rabbit tribe.
The Alliance Leader’s interest was not on some beast-human. Her gaze shifted to what was on Elice’s back. To the single woman being carried helplessly there.
Her hair color was a little different, but there was no doubt.
The moment she recognized that face, the brush in the Azure Sky Alliance Leader’s hand fell onto the rice paper with a soft thud. Black ink slowly bled across the final leaf of the nearly completed orchid.
A very small, trembling voice escaped her lips.
“…You’ve come.”
With those words, the Alliance Leader clenched her fist, gripping the brush again.
Crrrack… splinter…
Unable to withstand her strength, the brush handle shattered into sharp fragments.
The one she had searched for so desperately.
My daughter.
Her one and only daughter.
Lord Ammyeong watched this, then bowed his head and spoke in a low voice. “What are your orders, Alliance Leader?”
“What is there to be done?”
She set down the broken brush and smiled. “It is the natural way of the heavens for a mother to bring her lost, young daughter back into her arms.”
The Alliance Leader looked at the tablet again. Her gaze was no longer on her daughter, but on those around her.
The man who appeared to be a physician was one thing.
A demon and a beast…
On one side of her daughter, Seol Yu-wol, stood the Heavenly Demon. On the other, a lowly beast-human girl was carrying her.
‘Always associate with those of high standing. I told you so.’
That was the proper conduct for the Alliance Leader’s daughter and sole heir. That is what she had been taught.
It seems that in the short time your mother was away… you’ve forgotten all my teachings.
It’s alright.
I just have to teach you again.
“We’re going to the Association.”
This mother will teach you everything all over again.
Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)
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