episode_0190

“…Cough.”

Aside from my phone dying, what I needed to focus on now wasn’t the well-being of a mere object.

Cheon Soyul, who appeared to have used power beyond her limits.

“You…”

“…Mm, I’m fine.”

Because dark red blood was trickling from her lips.

My expression, as well as Baek Ayun’s, who was watching her, hardened.

“I told you not to overdo it.”

I spoke with a deep frown, but Cheon Soyul, seeming amused by something, chuckled faintly and gradually began to retract the thunder qi she had spread.

“The presence I felt… it’s not nothing. It’s not clear since there isn’t just one huge energy, but if Elder Gwon Hwang is here, hmm. It seems to be somewhere to the west.”

Judging by her wiping the blood away with her sleeve as she spoke, it didn’t seem like there was no immediate result.

Even if it wasn’t definite, just establishing a direction should be considered a great achievement.

Still, her demeanor wasn’t particularly graceful, so I continued to gaze at Cheon Soyul with a persistent, disapproving look.

“Ahem.”

Was it because she felt a bit awkward herself? Cheon Soyul let out an uncomfortable cough and turned around, attempting to appear natural.

“Anyway, I’ll lead the way, so let’s go. It would be troublesome if the location information I just pinpointed became blurry in my memory…”

Saying so, she tried to walk ahead, but Cheon Soyul swayed slightly after only a few steps.

Startled, I grabbed her shoulder. If my reaction had been any slower, she probably would have fallen.

Cheon Soyul leaned comfortably against my chest and mumbled in a languid voice.

“Ah, I’m dizzy…”

“…You drew on so much magical power, how could you be fine?”

“Heh.”

I chided her with utter exasperation, but Cheon Soyul merely looked at me and quirked the corners of her lips.

Should I give her a flick on the forehead? I considered it for a moment but decided against it, as she was injured.

Instead, I channeled magical power into my fingertips and formed a thought in my mind. After all, if she was bleeding, her condition might be terrible.

There was only one thing I could do for her with my power at this moment.

The moment my eyes glowed with a faint blue light, a translucent window appeared before me.

*Ding!*

[Unique ability ‘Super Regeneration’ is granted to Cheon Soyul.]

“…Huh?”

In a way, it was the most powerful and cheat-like passive ability I possessed. In other words, a characteristic.

A power that allowed me to bestow characteristics I possessed, or abilities I had copied, onto others.

Cheon Soyul, probably having seen the same holographic window as me, let out a voice tinged with momentary bewilderment, but then her body twitched greatly.

“Wh-what is this?”

Her reaction was as if she’d been electrocuted. Since someone with lightning resistance wouldn’t react like that, it was probably a similar sensation.

“My energy…”

In any case, its performance was beyond doubt. Wasn’t it the core foundation that allowed Violet to exert such power in close combat?

Cheon Soyul trembled for a moment, but then looked down at her body, seemingly feeling the surge of vitality.

And soon, she looked back at me with a very dazed expression.

I spoke with a very smug expression.

“I’m quite versatile in many ways.”

“What woman’s ability is this one?”

“…”

I’d tried to show off in front of her, but it backfired completely. How awkward.

Cheon Soyul already knew about Violet, but at this moment, the answer she wanted probably wasn’t the factual one.

I offered a stiff smile and gently massaged Cheon Soyul’s shoulder.

“Are you feeling a bit better, my wife-nim?”

“Hmph…”

Cheon Soyul scoffed dismissively, as if it were obvious, and turned her head coquettishly.

Still, her reaction seemed to imply she’d let it slide, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

“That’s enough. Just follow me.”

In any case, Cheon Soyul roughly brushed my hand away and began to walk ahead.

Once we left the airport, it would be the city center. Furthermore, Atatürk Airport was a facility located in the western part of Istanbul.

If the owner of the ‘huge energy’ Cheon Soyul detected was indeed the Elder…

‘We might achieve our goal much sooner than expected.’

Given that a Gate Break had just occurred, the possibility that the source of the energy was some large monster couldn’t be ruled out.

Hadn’t a means to widely explore the city been provided?

So, it wouldn’t be bad to go to the most probable location first, and if it turned out to be a wild goose chase, try again.

It was a thought only possible because of the ‘Super Regeneration’ safety net, but anyway.

Cheon Soyul walked towards the airport building with a haughty stride. Baek Ayun and I naturally followed close behind her.

“…By the way, Hyunjin-ssi.”

I secretly wanted to correct her title, but for now, I decided to ask her to repeat herself.

“Why?”

“That just now… what was that?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I mean the recovery ability.”

Baek Ayun whispered, sticking close to my side.

She seemed to be talking about Super Regeneration.

I was about to explain the three-stage evolution(?) of the characteristic, but then I paused, wondering if I could apply it to Baek Ayun as well.

If Hong Yeonhwa, Cheon Soyul, and Seeun all had something in common, it was probably that they had shared intimacy with me after a certain point, wasn’t it?

‘Then her too?’

It was a matter worth considering. Since we had exchanged such base affections within the Lightning Storm, perhaps even now?

I didn’t hesitate for a moment to put that sudden idea into action.

I imbued my will into the magical power and moved.

And then, immediately after.

*CRACKLE!!*

“Ah.”

Baek Ayun turned into an ice statue, Ver. Baek Ayun.

…Come to think of it, there was this side effect.

“Wh-what is it?”

“Hmm…”

Cheon Soyul, who was walking ahead, was also startled by the sudden loud noise and looked back, and I, at a loss for words, merely scratched my cheek.

And the thought that came to mind as I stared intently at Baek Ayun was none other than…

‘…She’s already small, but when she freezes, she really looks like a statue.’

I shouldn’t have such a bad thought as wanting to display her at home exactly like this, should I?

I decided not to voice it.

*****

Istanbul. The capital of Turkey. It was my first time visiting in person, but I’d heard it was a very beautiful city.

Indeed, among the cities of most countries nestled near Europe, where would you find a place that isn’t splendid and graceful?

In any case, its image was that of a bustling city.

“…It’s devastating.”

If only the Gate Break hadn’t occurred… perhaps it would still retain that appearance now.

I muttered bitterly, looking down at the panoramic view of the half-ruined city.

Baek Ayun, half-dangling from me as I used flight magic, also had an unsettled look in her eyes as she gazed below.

“…Grandfather…”

Judging by her faint murmur, her eyes probably held no small amount of worry and concern for her grandfather, who was likely missing somewhere in those ruins.

“The location, where exactly is it?”

There was no reason to delay further. I asked Cheon Soyul with a serious expression, and she responded in a low voice.

“See that Orthus over there? The one moving past the red building.”

I followed the direction of her pointing finger and turned my gaze. Indeed, a two-headed, half-human, half-beast monster was crawling past the red building.

By now, I could also grasp the flow of energy to some extent.

A strong wave of energy certainly seemed to emanate from somewhere nearby, so if there was ‘something,’ it was probably beneath those ruins.

“Hold onto her for a moment.”

“Eh.”

I entrusted Baek Ayun to Cheon Soyul and then formed a sharp icicle in one hand.

Its size was precisely that of the holy sword formed from the mop Yang Chan-ho-ssi used.

Of course, it couldn’t compare to its power, but it was more than enough to tear apart a low-grade B-class monster like that one.

“—Hup!”

Swallowing a short breath, I forcefully threw the icicle. The icicle cut through the air and fell to the ground, precisely piercing Orthus’s eyeball within a few seconds.

*CRUNCH! CRACKLE!*

And a bluish cold aura spread through its massive body.

It was annihilated without showing any notable reaction.

*Thud.*

I didn’t hesitate, immediately dispelled my flight magic, and landed near it.

The monster’s corpse wasn’t worth bothering with, so there was only one thing left.

“…”

Now that I approached so closely, I could feel it clearly. A presence emanating from somewhere underground, beneath this half-destroyed red building…

‘The Elder.’

It was Gwon Hwang. No doubt. I couldn’t possibly forget a presence I had once familiarized myself with.

I took a step forward, greatly relieved by the faint life force I felt from that presence.

“…!”

*Whoosh!!*

Immediately after, an incomparably fierce black sword energy grazed my cheek.

It was an angle that would have been a direct hit if I hadn’t skillfully dodged.

“…What.”

I couldn’t hide the deep bewilderment that surfaced within me. My expression hardened, and my eyes were probably trembling greatly.

…Forcibly turning my stiff neck, I looked to where a woman stood.

Even as I felt shock and disbelief, I instinctively conjured crimson flames at my fingertips.

“Why…”

And then, I spoke to the woman.

“…Why are you here?”

A black iron whip. Black hair cascading to her waist, and blood-red eyes.

It was an unmistakable appearance. I, struggling to hide my tension, twisted my lips into a grimace.

“Eileen Lewis.”

“…”

“First, I’d like to ask… Was it your doing that Elder Gwon Hwang, Baek Muyeom, is trapped down there?”

Eileen merely twitched her iron whip without a word. Her blood-red eyes, gazing at me with a strange allure, naturally aroused my caution.

I intensified the flames I had conjured in my hand, spitting out words as if chewing on them.

“Is this Haru’s command?”

Eileen Lewis, Bishop of the Moonlight Church, and the serial S-rank killer.

She lightly swayed her hair and aimed her iron whip at me.