episode_0074

074.

“Huh, what?”

Seong Yura looked at me with a bewildered expression.

She swallowed dry saliva and wore a look of dismay.

Her appearance reminded me of a high school girl who had encountered a ghost while walking alone in a dark alley at night.

But why was she still alive?

She never died in the first place.

“Wait, could it have been someone else? No, that’s impossible. It’s not common to come across a young man with that kind of skill. What on earth is going on…”

Seong Yura muttered to herself in confusion.

Thinking back on Seong Yura’s words, it seemed like she already knew I was a dead person.

Why? The thought briefly crossed my mind.

But now, it was more important to grab Seong Yura in front of me than to solve every little curiosity.

If I could just hold Seong Yura hostage, almost everything would be over. So, I quickly shouted.

Hurry and subdue Seong Yura.

“Everyone, now!”

“!”

With my shout, Lee Siwoon’s bodyguards rushed in.

Having protected Lee Siwoon at SL Group for a long time, they were skilled enough to handle Seong Yura.

Seong Yura was certainly above the level of an ordinary student, but in other words, she was only beyond the level of a student. As a boss-type character, her limits of power were clearer compared to other Rebellion members.

“Tch!”

Seong Yura pulled out a whip rolled around her waist and swung it forcefully.

The whip, swiftly cracking, looked very threatening.

The whip, an artifact possessed by Seong Yura, had the ability to emit a tremendous flame when struck.

If hit head-on, even active heroes could be in danger.

But.

“Why, why isn’t it hitting…!”

Despite the threatening whip, the bodyguards dodged the attacks and quickly approached Seong Yura.

Seong Yura’s whip only struck the empty wall repeatedly.

Crash!

With the sound of breaking decorations and walls, flames shot up vigorously.

The blue flames burned the walls, gradually expanding in size. Hey, hey. What if you use fire indoors? It’ll spread everywhere.

“Hey, you guys! You still haven’t subdued that woman…?!”

“Hmm! You have an interesting toy.”

As Seong Yura screamed and the whip moved swiftly, someone grabbed the whip and held it tightly.

It was none other than Seong Doha, the leader of Lee Siwoon’s bodyguard team.

He grabbed Seong Yura’s whip as if it were nothing.

“It seems to be some kind of artifact, interesting.”

Eventually, the whip tightened.

Seong Yura smiled calmly, as if things were going well.

“Hah. If you keep holding onto it like that, I can easily set it on fire!”

In an instant, blue flames spewed from the whip.

The burning chloride engulfed Seong Doha’s body.

Seong Doha’s body was engulfed in blue flames, but he remained calm as if nothing had happened.

“Phew. If the firepower was higher, it might have been dangerous.”

Seong Doha’s special ability was Iron Wall.

He could create special biological armor all over his body, boasting considerable durability and even having a slight damage adaptation effect.

It was truly a sturdy ability like an iron wall.

Unless it was a significant attack, he wouldn’t be easily knocked down.

“I’ll hold onto the whip, so hurry and subdue her.”

“Yes!”

At Seong Doha’s command, the bodyguards moved towards Seong Yura once again.

Seong Yura seemed to let go of the whip as if she couldn’t do anything.

But then.

“Wait! Everyone, be careful!”

“Huh?!”

Upon Seong Doha’s warning, the bodyguards hesitated.

Seong Doha looked through Seong Yura’s back, which was wide open.

From the dark hallway far away, something unknown was swiftly approaching.

Soon, a figure emerged from the shadows.

A man with sharp eyes. Just by quietly staring, it felt like feathers were trembling.

“James!”

“Yes.”

Everyone instinctively realized that the man named James was not an easy opponent.

Although he seemed slightly injured, he was still a formidable figure.

Furthermore, the two villains who followed James also seemed to be strong. They seemed to possess skills equivalent to high-ranking soldiers.

“Alright, James. Take care of them!”

“It seems like we should avoid them for now.”

“What?”

“I’ve confirmed multiple intruders. They seem to be from Gaon Nuri.”

“Gaon Nuri? Why are they here? Could it be Yuseolhyun? No, it doesn’t seem like his personality to act this aggressively…”

While they were having a brief conversation, we quickly regrouped.

“…Seong Doha, what do you think? Can you handle this man named James and his men?”

“Well, it seems like that man is slightly injured, but it might be difficult for our security personnel alone. Of course, with the help of the church members, we might be able to apprehend them somehow.”

When Seong Doha glanced at Roxanne, she nodded quietly as if she understood.

“Yes. We will do our best to help as well.”

“Alright. Then, Seong Yura…”

“We will apprehend her.”

I replied, patting Ishiwoon’s shoulder.

“Ishiwoon, let’s quickly capture Seong Yura and rescue Soyeoni.”

“Okay.”

Ishiwoon seemed to have the same thought as me.

“Soyeoni is probably in that room… tied up and unconscious?”

I glanced briefly at the room where Seong Yura had come out.

I had to make sure she didn’t escape into that room and take Soyeoni as a hostage.

“But, isn’t that room a bit noisy? Could it be that Soyeoni woke up and is causing a commotion?”

If that was the case, I had to go quickly and help.

“Alright. Then let’s leave it to these two. Be careful with that whip.”

“Of course.”

I nodded briefly and tightly gripped the bowstring.

“I, I’ll go too.”

“Huh?”

“Since I won’t be of much help here against those villains, I want to help catch Seong Yura.”

Roxanne urgently raised her hands, clenching them tightly.

I looked quietly at Roxanne and nodded.

Her barrier ability could be useful.

“Okay, then.”

“Oh, yes!”

I turned around with the security guards and the believers.

“Alright, then I’ll leave it to you to restrain those villains.”

“Sir. And everyone… don’t push yourselves too hard.”

“Believers, be careful too.”

Ishiwoon and Roxanne also prepared for battle with brief words.

“The fire is spreading. Are you using that whip?”

“Oh, it wasn’t meant to be used outside the mansion.”

“I’ll buy you some time, so please leave.”

“No, if she takes Jin Soyeon hostage in the room… huh?”

Creak.

The tightly closed door began to slowly open.

There was a girl walking out, dragging a sword dripping with blood on the ground.

Her jet-black hair cascaded down to her waist as she stared at Seong Yura with a piercing gaze full of vitality.

The cold, sunken eyes and dry expression momentarily made it seem like it wasn’t Jin Soyeon.

“Haa, haa, haa… Seong Yura, I’ve been waiting for you for a long time…?”

“Are you crazy? Did you take down all the guards in the room?”

“Haa, haa… Why? Are you scared now that you’ve come here…?”

Flinch.

For a moment, Soyeon’s body froze.

She slowly parted her lips, looking towards me.

Her cold, sunken pupils began to widen.

As if witnessing something unbelievable, she widened her eyes and shrugged her shoulders.

“….Huh? Huh?”

“Soyeon, you’re safe.”

“J-Jin Hyuk… Jin Hyuk… Right? You, you…!”

Wait, why is her reaction like this?

“You’re alive, I’m…!”

“Soyeon?”

“Ugh, I-I’m alive…”

Soyeon started to sob uncontrollably.

“Ah, after all, that was a fake video by Seong Yura…”

“For now, Soyeon, calm down. Come over here, quickly!”

Whoosh!

In a split second, the whip that had been waiting for an opportunity tightly wrapped around Soyeon’s body.

Seong Yura pulled Soyeon towards her in a flash.

“Hah… You guys should just stay still, right? If you don’t want Soyeon to get burned alive.”

“Seong Yura, you!”

“Ah, Roksanu… Did you bring these guys here? Quite impressive. In the end, you made things difficult for me.”

“Stop it now, Seong Yura!”

“What should I stop? You guys think you can get away with this? Whether it’s Isiwoon or Yuseolhyun, I won’t let it slide.”

As long as Soyeon is held hostage, I can’t move recklessly.

“James, take care of those guys.”

“….”

“If you even twitch a finger after my warning, this guy’s life is over, got it?!”

“…Seong Yura.”

Soyeon quietly called out to Seong Yura in the situation where she was tied up with a whip.

“…You truly are a villain, Seong Yura.”

“Hah! Of course I am. There’s no need to be surprised now, right?”

“…Yeah, there’s no need to be surprised. I won’t hesitate either.”

“What are you talking about?!”

Whoosh!

In an instant, Seong Yura’s arm was engulfed in blue flames.

It was like the flames that appeared when she used the whip.

‘What? Seong Yura wouldn’t make a mistake out of the blue, so did Soyeon do that? Could it be that Soyeon awakened…’

Seong Yura, whose arm was suddenly engulfed in flames, was surprised and had no choice but to release Soyeon.

As Seong Yura struggled with the flames, we ran towards her.

While they were fighting each other, we ran towards Seong Yura.

Now was the perfect opportunity, with one arm engulfed in flames and struggling.

“Roksanu!”

“Yes!”

Roksanu quickly used his barrier ability.

He created a binding barrier to block Seong Yura’s right arm, the one holding the whip.

Seong Yura, who couldn’t resist properly due to the pain, gritted her teeth.

“Kuk! Roksanu, you!”

“Isiwoon!”

“I know.”

Seong Yura endured the pain and tried to use magic with her left hand.

A tremendous amount of magic power was concentrated in her left hand, but Isiwoon, who had reached Seong Yura’s close range using the high-speed movement skill, swung his sword.

Clang!

“Ugh, ugh, ugh?!”

I cut open the abdomen.

As the magic was canceled, she staggered.

The wound wasn’t deep enough to be life-threatening, but a significant gash was carved into Seong Yura’s body.

“You, how dare you!”

Seong Yura swayed, blood dripping from her.

“How dare you! I’ll kill you all!”

Seong Yura, gathering her strength as if to make a final stand, but I quietly took out a sedative arrow.

She was a tough one, capable of knocking out an elephant with one shot.

Under normal circumstances, Seong Yura would never be hit, but in the current situation, I was sure she wouldn’t be able to avoid it.

I immediately nocked the arrow and shot it towards Seong Yura.

Seong Yura, unable to dodge properly due to the burns, wounds, and barriers, took the hit head-on.

The arrow pierced deeply, causing Seong Yura to tremble for a moment.

“Wha…what is this…?”

“Phew. Luckily, it hit well. Sleep well, Seong Yura, you’ll be in prison next time.”

“Haha, funny…I’m…going to prison…James, kill this…guy…right away…”

Before finishing her sentence, she collapsed suddenly.

It seemed like the sedative had worked well.

“…!”

James also noticed that Seong Yura had fallen.

He tried to move towards her, but Seong Doha’s persistent restraint made it difficult.

Seong Doha was among the top heroes in the upper ranks.

Moreover, his defense was unmatched, so it must have been quite frustrating for James, who was injured.

“Seong Yura has fallen, isn’t it time to stop?”

“…”

I held onto Seong Yura, not threatening but coaxing.

“Cough, cough, the fire seems to be spreading too much.”

“…”

“Anyway, our goal is not you guys. We’re not the police. Just let us have Seong Yura, how about stepping aside? It looks like you’re getting more injured because of all the movement. Aren’t you running out of stamina?”

“…”

James remained silent.

He must have been well aware that blood was flowing from his wounds due to the intense movement.

That wound, I don’t know who caused it, but it was really fortunate.

It must be quite difficult for James to keep fighting with the wound in his abdomen.

“Everyone, let’s retreat for now.”

“Are you sure? What about the young lady…?”

“For now.”

“Yes, understood.”

James and his companions looked at us for a moment and then disappeared.

Phew. It seemed like they didn’t intend to settle the matter of life and death.

Well, they wouldn’t risk their lives to save Seong Yura.

After all, they were just small-time criminals who roamed the alleys.

“Cough, the smoke is too much, right? We should leave the mansion for now.”

“Jinhyuk, Jinhyuk…”

Suddenly, Soyeon, with tears streaming down her face, approached me.

“Soyeon, are you okay?”

“I…I thought you were dead…”

“Wait, Soyeon? You…”

“I thought you were dead, you fool…”

“Hey, hey! No, this is…”

Ignoring the people around her, Soyeon cried and hugged me gently.

Her tears seeped into my heart.

“…”

“No, Isiwoon, this is…”

“No, it’s okay.”

“Isiwoon?”

Isiwoon looked at us with a complicated expression, then sighed deeply. It was a gaze filled with various emotions, but he didn’t say anything.

“Well, since we’ve safely rescued Soyeon, let’s be satisfied.”

“Siwoon, you’ve grown up too. Normally, one-sided love doesn’t work out well…”

“Sir, please stop saying strange things and let’s just go out. The fire is too strong.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

We took Seongyura and went outside.

Before we knew it, the flames were uncontrollably growing, engulfing the mansion.

“Anyway, did we succeed in taking down Seongyura…?”

Luckily, we managed to capture the villain Seongyura without anyone dying.

…But I wonder if Yuseolhyun can handle the aftermath of this.