Chapter 380

Chapter 380

Eat The World Tree.

Episode 380: A Person Who Missed Someone’s Embrace

A world where no one died.

A dreamlike world where you didn’t have to endure the death of a lover, friend, or parent.

The founder of the Cornus family yearned to overcome death throughout his life. To avoid losing what he had built, to protect his family, and to witness the end of his growing children.

The man was a talent who transcended eras. No matter who emerged after him, he was so strong that the saying “old is gold” couldn’t be avoided. He lost his parents when he could barely fend for himself, and he hated the excruciating grief of losing a loved one. He loved so deeply that he would give everything, but he lost that love. That one thought became the family’s motto, passed down through generations.

To never lose anyone. To prevent someone he loved from leaving his side.

A story that seemed straight out of a fairy tale became a family motto, and the Cornus family devoted themselves to following it over time.

Eternal Immortality. The creation of an undying tree person.

A phrase lasted longer than one person’s heartfelt emotions, and no one could stop the motto from becoming distorted. The conviction grew with each generation. Children were brainwashed by the motto. Those who risked their own lives to grasp the tail of ‘immortality’ were clearly deviating from the founder’s original thought.

Many kings who feared death aided the Cornus family. Their size grew to the point of swallowing the world, and they sometimes became a threat, but the Cornus family lacked any desire for power.

Only one dream. They ran with that single vision.

The Cornus family’s dream, carried into the modern era, seemed attainable but was merely a fleeting foam stretching into the distance.

“San Hyukwon.”

A middle-aged man, leaning against the wall and gazing at the ceiling, slowly lowered his head.

A white sword blade was thrust in front of his nose.

“Inquisitorial execution of San Hyukwon, head of the Cornus family, is now being carried out.”

San Hyukwon didn’t respond to the Inquisitor’s low voice. His hollow eyes scanned the surroundings, as if searching for a sliver of hope.

Sunken eyes, a lost right eye. Black spots clung to his entire body, relentlessly urging his death.

The corpses of researchers who had already died were piled up around him. Not a single family member survived.

‘In the end.’

He muttered to himself.

‘I poured everything into it, yet…’

He tried to clench his powerless hand into a fist. The image of the old head of the family from his childhood flashed through his mind.

-San Hyukwon.

-Your father.

-I have something to tell you, who will lead the family in the future.

From childhood, he showed genius with the sword, expanded his business to the point where the nation kept him in check, and monopolized the materials for some elixirs by becoming a hunter himself.

-We must complete the elixir within this generation. This world is heading towards destruction. Unintentionally, this medicine could save the world.

He even obtained the corpse of a dragon, thought to be absolutely impossible, and the body of a Cheonma.

-Even if the family is annihilated.

A terrible sense of defeat made his whole body tremble. For hundreds, over a thousand years, for a single purpose. Without love, having even abandoned his own flesh and blood, having pushed away everything around him to avoid forming attachments, he had reached this place.

Not just his own life, but the entire Cornus family’s time. The clue that thousands of family members had clung to for over a thousand years.

“…….”

Lost.

The Inquisitor’s sword rose and swiftly struck San Hyukwon’s neck.

-Thwack!

If he hadn’t been trapped in the path of the family motto, he would have been in a higher position than anyone present.

-Thump, roll.

The genius of the previous generation, who stood taller than any star. Mugung and Baekdo, standing side by side in the same generation, slowly turned their heads towards San Hyukwon’s neck.

“Amazing. To make the head of the Cornus family like this and to kidnap San Hyukwon’s eldest daughter….”

Black spots on his face.

“To think he was your disciple.”

“…Shut up.”

Baekdo’s brow furrowed at Mugung’s deliberate words. Her hands tightened with force.

It seemed the next heretic had been decided. This type of power, easily recognizable at a glance, caught the attention of many.

At that moment, a bright yellow woman rushed towards Mugung.

“Association President!”

“Yes.”

“Are you, are you alright? Your injuries look quite severe.”

-Drip, drip.

Byeol’s eyes widened in surprise at the blood flowing from his arms, shoulders, and back. Mugung. A man who enjoys precarious fights, and though aged, he was a being who had transcended realms. There weren’t many monsters who could wound his sacred body.

“Don’t make a fuss, child.”

“…How can I not when you’re injured?”

“Ah, these wounds, you mean?”

Mugung hid his wounds inside his clothes and chuckled.

“I was bitten by a rare beast.”

Lee Shiheon was an idiot.

“…….”

The distinct mana that was felt around him. Baekdo covered her face with both hands, unable to even choose what to say.

‘…What are you thinking, really?’

Was he planning to turn the world against him? No matter that he was a candidate for the World Tree’s husband he was, this kind of behavior was unforgivable. Moreover, not many people knew that Lee Shiheon was a husband candidate.

He’s not particularly close to any World Tree, and while kidnapping one member of the Cornus family might be possible, the target was Sansuyu. She was the core of the experiment.

Now that the experiment might succeed, the World Tree might search for Lee Shiheon with bloodshot eyes.

[Th, that, little brother? Did little brother hit that bad man…?]

Hwangdo, who doted on her little brother, was speechless.

She thought he would somehow save Sansuyu, but she never imagined he would do it in such a crazy way. Baekdo shouted at Hwangdo in a nervous voice.

‘If only you had brought him then…’

She should have imprisoned him, even if it meant breaking his limbs. Her trembling hands were uncontrollable.

Hwangdo, at a loss for words, remained silent, and Baekdo glanced at Cheondo.

[…….]

Cheondo, who said nothing. The emotions shared were worry, a bit of anger, grief, and affection. Baekdo asked her in a faint voice.

‘What are you going to do?’

[….]

Cheondo’s drooping voice flowed out sadly.

[…I don’t know if I’m worthy to meet my disciple.]

‘She’ll die if we leave her like this.’

She regretted saying something she shouldn’t have. Cheondo, who had been so dignified, had been subdued for some time now. It was the first time she had shown such a demeanor.

“No, there was that one time I was so depressed the world seemed to end, but… who was it because of again?” The thick fog in her mind stopped the thought from continuing.

Baekdo made a resolution. Now that Cheondo was like this, she had to do something. She glared at Mugung once, then slowly moved away, clenching her fist.

“Where are you going?”

“Don’t talk to me.”

“Heh heh heh.”

The pace of change in the era was accelerating. Whether she could ride that current, or die before, she didn’t know her own future. Baekdo thought. She had to save her disciple, no matter what.

-…Aori, please.

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-Please forgive me with my life.

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-King, I’m busy right now… please.

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-Don’t go.

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In a near-death state, trying to grab the opponent’s ankle at all costs, there were traces of her being kicked away. Numerous broken roots and branches. The remaining roots of the tree, still alive and wriggling on the ground, were scattered, cut by sword strikes.

Thump, thump, thump. Her pounding heart felt like it would burst. A gaping hole in her chest. Both arms and legs. Cleanly severed limbs.

Like when young Aori met Taeyang long ago, Taeyang approached and sat beside Aori.

Her condition was a mess. Of course. She had fought against Mugung, not run away. Aori’s body could hardly be described as a living creature.

“Hey.”

Her narrowed pupils shook as if they would burst.

“You idiot.”

Taeyang’s usually cold and playful voice cracked. It was enough to make anyone who heard it shudder.

His hand trembled. The expression hidden behind his bangs was distorted beyond words.

“……Taeyang.”

Aori’s expression was also barely visible.

“I… did it.”

Reaching the limit of her regenerative power, the flesh wouldn’t regenerate. Aori twisted her lips into a triumphant smile.

“…….”

Blood continued to flow.

As if she didn’t care much about the pain, Aori lowered her stiff, cold head. Her red hair covered the bridge of her nose.

“I… tried hard.”

A little over twenty years old. A girl who had been oppressed for being the king’s great-granddaughter for a long time. A girl who was abused by everyone who passed by, endured unspeakable tortures, and took the place of others’ anger.

A person who longed for someone’s embrace. Happier than in the arms of an old man, she was happiest holding the hand of a peer.

A victim crushed in an unknown corner, born from a twisted world.

“Will the king praise me?”

Coughing up blood, Aori still craved someone’s affection in this moment.

Her body, where physical interaction had become violence, had always sought a mental anchor. A body full of scars. She would look around absentmindedly, and even when she wanted something, she would turn away. She hated her own dirty body more than anyone.

“The king will like it, right?”

“Shut up. You crazy bitch… you can live.”

The last connection left for Taeyang. His blank eyes were filled with anger, and the veins on his face stood out as if he would burst out at any moment.

“Taeyang, are you crying?”

“…….”

“You said your ‘thing’ would fall off if you cried.”

The light in Aori’s empty pupils began to fade.

They were two people who wanted nothing from the world. They lived through discrimination and oppression, putting moldy things in their mouths. Even though they had found a place, their lives were pointless. They met someone they could rely on for life, following incomprehensible orders to serve someone.

Many things happened. Before they met that person.

They wandered through a red-light district, met a friend they liked, and then lost them. They fought to the death over a single meal. They argued petty things, biting each other, insisting they were right.

However, knowing the feeling of longing, they had lived together, subtly yielding to each other, for almost half their lives.

-Drip.

The blood wouldn’t stop. There was still a way to live.

Even though her arms and legs had been severed quite a while ago, the blood was still gushing out vividly, which meant her regenerative power was working. Taeyang poured the potion in his arms onto Aori, pleading.

“…….”

Aori’s eyes looked at Taeyang’s expression, and then she gave a meaningful smile.

“Taeyang.”

“……What.”

A feeling of something fulfilling in her heart, beyond words.

“I’m… hungry.”

Aori slowly lowered her eyelids.