episode_0073

23. Those who leave and those who stay (3)

The lycanthrope grabbed the man’s head and pressed Yeonwoo with one hand, extending its claws out, as it reached for the man’s neck.

As she slowly began to dig her nails into the man’s neck with a vicious expression on her face, blood began to spurt out drop by drop.

Yeonwoo bit her lips hard at Masoo’s actions and began to clench her fists so hard that they turned white.

And the rest of the demons who had been watching the situation slowly approached, surrounding the two.

” Cowardly…! Now you’re even touching someone who’s just sitting there doing nothing…! ”

” Yeonwoo, Yeonseo will be coming. ”

Jinseok whispered quietly into Yeonwoo’s ear, who was furious at the demon’s actions.

After hearing that, Yeon-woo slowly released the hand she had been clenching tightly and began to think about how she could keep the man who was held hostage, herself, and Jin-seok safe until Yeon-seo arrived.

In my heart, I hope Yeonseo comes soon.

*****

” Hey, brother, did you find something? ”

In response to Yeonseo’s question, who put her arm through Heo Seojin’s as they walked side by side, Seojin slightly raised his other arm.

At that action, a bird’s cry is heard in the sky, and a falcon flaps its wings and lands on his arm.

” For now, there doesn’t seem to be any demons around the settlement. And we’re still looking for that man’s wife. ”

” Really? Hmm~ Then since we have some time left, why don’t we take a walk around the lake? I want to talk to my brother, whom I haven’t seen in a long time, about things I haven’t been able to talk about~ ”

Yeonseo speaks to Seojin with such an adorable voice and expression that Charlotte would have looked incredulous if she had seen it.

At that sight, Seojin let go of her arms that were holding him, patted her head, and walked forward.

To someone who didn’t know, that action might have seemed like a simple rejection, but to Yeonseo, who was dating him, that action was an unspoken permission.

” Alright~ Let’s go! ”

Yeonseo’s expression looked happy as she slowly headed toward the lake in the center and told stories of her time outside the settlement.

Seo Jin, who was listening to that story, also had the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

” So you’re saying that? The bracelet my brother gave me before rang and in the future, Charlotte was seen with her nose buried in Hyunseok’s stomach? ”

The story of when I first met Charlotte.

Yeonseo says that during their first meeting, there was a misunderstanding due to the artifact Seojin gave her as a gift, but they slowly became close as they talked about each other.

Seojin decided to thank Charlotte for letting her see a side of her that she had never seen before.

But at that moment.

” Oh. Dude. Who were you thinking of just now? Huh? ”

As they chat happily, the ground around her suddenly becomes cold, and frost slowly begins to form, and the surface of the nearby lake begins to freeze.

” I was just thinking about Charlotte, who let me see a side of your face I’d never seen before. ”

” Ha! That damn girl… Now… Even my brother…! So? What was my expression like? ”

Seojin slowly hugged her as she spoke sharply, as if she was angry, and said.

” You looked happy. I’m glad you finally made a friend. ”

” Oh my… Oppa, you too…! Tch… You already had friends…! ”

” I remember being alone all the time, though?”

” Really! In times like this, just… let it go! So… kiss me to say sorry…! ”

As Yeonseo finished speaking, Seojin’s device rang as their faces slowly got closer.

” Tsk! The atmosphere was so good… Who is it? ”

” It’s Jinseok. There’s no reason to contact me like this… ”

” Haa, it’s okay, just take it. You never know, it might be a call about my sister. ”

Yeonseo was waiting, puffing out her cheeks and tapping the frozen lake, when Seojin, who had just checked the text message on her device, approached her.

” What’s going on? ”

” They say a demon came out of the exhibition hall where people were gathered. ”

” What? Sister?! Are you there too? ”

Yeonseo asks about her sister, thinking that she might know, since the news was delivered by Jinseok who was with her sister.

Seojin quickly approached her and grabbed her arm that was shaking his shoulder, calming her down.

” Calm down. Yeonwoo is in the library with Jinseok. And it looks like the devil is out there too. ”

” So, where are you going, oppa? ”

The question had another meaning.

It contained the meaning of asking him to go with her to where her older sister was, and although Seo-jin was blunt, he was not stupid enough not to know the meaning behind the words of the woman he loved.

Seojin caressed her trembling shoulders and pulled her deeper into his arms.

” Of course I’ll go with you. Your friends Charlotte and Hyunseok went to the exhibition hall, so there won’t be a problem. ”

” Really? Thanks, Oppa. ”

As they quickly headed towards the museum building, the two of them moved faster when they saw people coming out as if they were being chased by something.

At the library where they arrived, one demon was holding a man hostage while the rest of the demons surrounded Yeon-woo and Jin-seok.

” Get away from my sister!!! ”

With a ‘whoosh’ sound, dozens of sharp ice spears rained down on the lycanthrope.

At the same time, a flying squirrel flew out of Seojin’s arms and rushed at the lycanthrope who was holding the man hostage.

Because of Yeonseo’s sudden attack, he didn’t notice the flying squirrel flying towards him, so he covered his eyes.

Yeonwoo, who did not miss the gap, used the vines to save the captured man, and the flying squirrel quickly climbed the vines and ran to Yeonwoo.

” Thank you! It must have been dangerous, but you did a good job! ”

Yeonwoo, who gently caressed the flying squirrel that approached her, then went to Yeonseo’s side with Jinseok, supporting the man.

” Sister, are you okay? ”

” Yeah, but can you defeat the demons here? ”

” Of course. I can do this on my own now. ”

Yeonseo smiled confidently, saying it was simple, and stroked Yeonwoo’s head. Yeonwoo and Jinseok went outside, supporting the unconscious man.

As they left, Seojin approached Yeonseo and looked at her with an apologetic expression.

” Sorry, I guess I can’t be of much help anymore. ”

Unfortunately, the ability that Seojin possesses is the ability to tame animals. Just a moment ago, he sent a flying squirrel to block his vision, but this was also possible because the circumstances were quite right.

In normal times, a flying squirrel would rather be a flying rat.

But Yeonseo told him that it was okay.

” Oppa, you said that, right? Everyone can do different things. So don’t make such an apologetic face. Oppa does the information gathering and exploration that I can’t do, and I protect people from the devil. ”

After saying that, Yeonseo opened her mouth again with her ears slightly red.

” That…and I like just watching my brother… ”

At the same time, Yeonseo’s summoned creatures were summoned and began to protect Seojin and Yeonseo.

” And don’t worry, I got pretty strong during this trip! ”

After that, as Yeonseo said, there was no need to worry.

Even though it was a fast-moving Lycan Slope, it had quite a hard time moving on the slippery ice and was quickly subdued by the attacks of [ Kaus Series – Borealis – ].

The Lycan Slope, who thought the ice rink was impossible, moved using the bookshelves of the library, but Yeonseo’s summoned beast, [Big Dipper], in the form of a bear, blocked their path with a shield.

As Borealis rapidly fired her crossbow, the demons in the library were no longer present.

” Phew, it’s over. Oppa! Are you okay? ”

” Thanks, but these guys… they’re a little different from the guys who came into our settlement this time. ”

Seojin, who was checking the Lycan Slope that had been knocked down by Yeonseo by turning it over and touching it, opened his mouth after examining several more demons.

” Sure, it looks like a lycanthrope from the outside… but if you check the inside, it’s not a demonic beast… it has ‘human’ organs. And it seems to have already rotted away. ”

” Maybe it’s the person I mentioned before who became the devil. Didn’t Jinseok oppa say the same thing earlier? ”

” The person in front of me had a seizure and turned into a demon… I couldn’t believe it, but now that it’s come to this, I guess I have no choice but to believe it. ”

The word ‘seizure’ coming out of Seojin’s mouth reminded Yeonseo of what happened in Mokdong.

‘ Of course… Charlotte said it too. People had seizures… and then they turned into the zombies’ hands…! ‘

” But, bro. What do you mean by corrupt? It was moving so actively just a moment ago, so there’s no way it’s corrupt already. ”

” I think so too, but look here. The organs inside are already rotting and melting. ”

” Rotten… Wait? Do you remember Oppa? ”

Seojin, not knowing what Yeonseo was asking, just tilted his head and looked at her.

” Charlotte said earlier, right? When I was working at Mokdong’s clinic, the arm of the suspicious person they called ‘the saint’ was ‘rotten.’ ”

As if he realized something at those words, Seojin started touching his chin.

” Indeed, it seems that all of those who have turned into demons… may be connected to that ‘suspicious person’. ”

” Maybe… For now, let’s go back to my sister. I think we’ve found out everything we can here. ”

” Okay, let’s go back. ”

Yeonseo and Seojin left the library together and headed to the center of the building where Yeonwoo was.

And there, Charlotte and her group were, looking like they came straight out of the exhibition hall.

*****

Not long after the demon in the exhibition hall was knocked down and everyone was sent out, Yeonseo and her boyfriend, Seojin, showed up.

” Judging by the appearance, it looks like the exhibition hall is all taken care of? ”

Yeonseo asked me, seeing me wearing the protective gear through Rosario.

” Yeah, I finished it a little while ago. But since you’re saying that, it looks like something happened to you too? ”

” Right. But first… I think it would be better to talk with my sister instead of just talking between us. By the way, have you seen my sister? ”

” No? I didn’t see Yeonwoo unnie. Weren’t we together? ”

” Okay… Wait a minute! ”

Yeonseo looked anxious as she quickly used the device to contact her older sister Yeonwoo.

As Yeonseo became more and more anxious due to the continuous phone calls, she put her hand to her mouth to bite her nails, but Seojin was there to stop her.

” Calm down. Yeonwoo is with Jinseok and seeing as my flying squirrel ‘Walter’ is still with Yeonwoo, it can’t be that bad. ”

” Oppa… Yeah, thank you. ”

After connecting with Yeonwoo, Yeonseo’s expression brightened and Seojin was stroking Yeonseo’s head.

‘Wow… He seemed like a very blunt person, but he was actually a very warm person to Yeonseo!’

I was envious of the two of them supporting each other, so I gently pulled on the sleeve of Hyunseok’s shirt inside his coat.

As if he noticed my signal, Hyunseok slowly put his hand on my shoulder and pulled me closer.

” Seojin hyung. Did you find that lady? ”

” That man’s wife… I haven’t found her yet. Now I have to wait for Seok-Hyeon to contact her. ”

” Then let’s not stay like this and go to where Yeonwoo noona is, or go back to that room. People’s eyes… ”

As Hyunseok said, the number of people looking at us has increased significantly.

Of course, since it was the settlement where Hyunseok and Yeonseo lived, there were people who recognized them, Seojin, and Jinhee, but the gazes they felt now were not those ordinary gazes.

Something… a ferocious gaze that seemed to be hunting for prey, a gaze full of fear, and a gaze mixed with hatred, all coming together to create a complex emotion.

” Okay, let’s get out of here for now. ”

” Yes. ”

The two men who said that hugged Charlotte and Yeonseo a little closer and then started to move.

And Jinhee, who was watching it… sighed deeply and said.

” Yeah, so the solo here is just supposed to stay with a sore side?! ”