episode_0238

A trickle of blood gushed up and flowed down through the cracks in my lips. Looking at the dark, dead blood, it wasn’t a very pleasant feeling.

But it was certainly an unavoidable recoil. I had used magic of such a large scale. My head throbbed and my mana circuits were severely twisted, but shouldn’t I be satisfied with the clear result I had achieved? Even with a rough glance, most of the giants across the seven continents had been annihilated. This was because such a powerful spell had erupted, to the point of surprising even me, the caster—and this was because I had suddenly become the strongest being in this world…….

‘No, that’s not it.’ Naturally, the reason I was able to confidently annihilate them was elsewhere. It was the role Haru had taken on for me since the fusion magic was manifested.

-“The power of the attack magic itself is superior for you, isn’t it?” -“Then Hyunjin-kun will be the main one. I’ll take on the support.”

It was none other than carving multiple layers of amplification magic circles into the spatial rifts connected to the continents. This was the result of the power being doubled, the range being doubled, and even the duration being doubled. I merely passed the sphere of Ice Lightning through it, so in a way, isn’t the credit for this annihilation operation being realized hers?

‘I should praise her.’ I thought about patting her head, but then the thought that she would probably get angry came first.

I let out a hollow laugh for no reason, then quickly turned my head to look at one of the rifts.

“……You really are.” “Hmm?”

There, a girl with light brown hair was slumped weakly. More precisely, she was floating in the air, and it seemed like maintaining that floating state alone was overwhelming for her. It goes without saying, but the girl was someone I couldn’t help but recognize.

“You, why in such a state…….” I had felt her presence even before casting the Ice Lightning, but only now did I realize her identity.

Feeling extreme bewilderment, I hurriedly stepped inside the rift.

The space I had crossed into had towering skyscrapers in the distance, familiar signs written with familiar characters, a blue seashore, a beach. And above all, her reddish hair, which told me where this place was.

“Yeonhwa……?” “O-Oppa.”

The girl, Hong Yeonhwa, who had flown up with a considerably tired face, turned to look at me while supporting Cheon Soyul. There was a lot of confusion in her expression, but the way she looked at me was undeniably bright.

As if relieved, she regulated her rapid breathing and then took Cheon Soyul’s pulse. And after a brief moment, her complexion turned ghostly pale.

“O-Oh, what do we do, Oppa. Unnie, Unnie is…” “……Yeonhwa, I’m still fine, so could you please not treat me like I’m already gone?”

“N-No, this is not the time for jokes. Do you know how bad Unnie’s condition is right now?” “It’s fine, it’s fine. I won’t die…….”

Cheon Soyul grasped Yeonhwa’s hand with her pale face. She looked so dazed that, truly, it wouldn’t be strange if she passed out at any moment—.

“……Hey, what are you doing?” “?” “Treatment……. Aren’t you going to do it? Seriously.” “……Ah.”

I also approached her with a seriously stiff expression, then belatedly flinched. Now that I thought about it, it wasn’t a problem that needed to be taken so seriously. I had healing methods too.

Immediately, I placed my hand on Cheon Soyul’s forehead and activated the holy, platinum-white magic power. Lucretia’s divine power had effective anti-magic power against monsters, but in reality, the essence of that power was ‘healing’ rather than ‘destruction.’

A brilliant flash! A brilliant halo of light flashed once, and the blood Cheon Soyul had shed faded and dispersed. Following that, the horribly torn bare skin beneath her ripped clothes regenerated one by one.

I allocated as much magic power as possible to wield the divine power, projecting a healing ability so vast it seemed almost excessive onto her. This was because I would regret being so dazed just moments before if even a single scar were to remain.

“……Huu……” It felt as if the mana within my body was being converted into divine power and rapidly draining out. It wasn’t a very pleasant feeling, but I endured it and finished the treatment.

“……Ah, I feel refreshed.” On the other hand, Cheon Soyul got up looking completely different from how she had been groaning just moments before. She was truly in perfect condition, and lightning began to crackle around her entire body once more.

She wore a fierce smile, as if contemplating how she would ‘cook’ the giants that would soon revive.

“Soyul-nim, please calm down and stay seated.” “……Huh?” “There’s no need for you to step forward.”

A rumble……. It was right after I muttered meaningfully. Just then, a giant began to stir.

Crack! [……!] A flash of blue light that bloomed in the air once again ripped through its colossal body.

Crackle crackle crackle!! The Ice Lightning, which had stabbed through the giant, traveling back and forth dozens of times in an instant with lightning-fast momentum, only stopped after reducing the creature to ashes. Even then, it hadn’t completely vanished.

“If any other ones get up, they won’t even be able to recover in that state.” “……Oh…….”

Cheon Soyul and Hong Yeonhwa blinked their eyes with expressions of pure bewilderment. They looked shocked at having witnessed the scene of a giant’s demise.

“……Wh-What was that? It doesn’t seem like, uh, the skill I knew?” “It just got a *little* stronger.” “‘A little’……? A little……??”

Cheon Soyul wore a perplexed expression, as if she truly couldn’t understand. She seemed to ponder for a moment, then suddenly lifted her head with an “Ah!” and quickly grabbed me by the collar.

Grab! “……Huh?” “You…….” “Uh, th-that, Wife-nim?”

“Tell me honestly, you bastard. Which woman did you fool around with this time, and what ability did you get to become this ridiculously strong?”

I flinched and pressed my lips into a straight line. Come to think of it, hadn’t I revealed that part yet? However, since my union with Haru wasn’t planned, I couldn’t help but feel a bit wronged at simply being scolded, but…….

“……You remember the Moonlight Cult Leader, right?” “…….” “With that woman, um, yes. Yes.”

Putting aside such thoughts, I decided to tell her honestly. I confessed the truth with a somber, sunken face. I thought that in some cases, I would have nothing to say even if I got a severe beating, but…….

Flinch! “Ugh…….” “……?” “Hmph, tsk. Haa…….” “……Soyul-nim?”

The reaction I got back was truly, truly completely different from what I had expected from the start. Far from getting angry or cold, Cheon Soyul simply flushed and her lips twitched. Then she subtly put her index finger in her mouth and mumbled, looking at me with a blush and a perverse smile whose meaning was hard to discern.

“……Haa……” “……Hey, you.” I couldn’t hide my bewilderment and called out to her, but Cheon Soyul merely started in surprise and waved her hand, as if telling me not to take it seriously.

“Ah, that, no, sorry. It’s just that, thinking my husband-to-be secretly mingled bodies with the world’s worst female villain…….” “?” “How should I put it, my legs feel a bit tingly. Yeah.” “???”

“……Did you feel good too?”

Cheon Soyul, who had been grinning with a consistent expression while continuing to speak, cautiously asked. I couldn’t understand her intention, but somehow I felt I could grasp her psychology. If I were to say something like, ‘My relationship with Haru was truly amazing’ here.

If that happened, wouldn’t Cheon Soyul actually have a light climax right here?

“You, really…….” It was a possibility I didn’t want to seriously consider. But it was hard to ignore…….

I covered my face with both hands and cautiously observed Hong Yeonhwa’s expression. She already had a dozen question marks floating above her head. Yeonhwa, who had been listening to the conversation beside us, wore an expression that genuinely wondered what nonsense her Unnie was talking about.

“Don’t look at me so strangely. It’s not like I wanted to have this kind of fetish, you know? This is all his fault.” “……Yes, eh?”

Cheon Soyul was simply earnestly pushing her argument that she was not at fault. She pointed at me with a glance, and Hong Yeonhwa’s bewildered gaze returned to me.

‘Is this real?’ ‘…….’

Certainly, if one were to consider the cause and effect, the responsibility for Cheon Soyul becoming like this was……. ‘Damn it.’ It must be mine. Naturally, there was no way anyone else could be the cause.

What on earth should I do about this thick and dark karma? “I’m sorry, Soyul-ah……. I’m truly sorry…….”

Even that seemed not to fully reach Cheon Soyul, but rather to bewilder her.

“……Hey, hey. If you react like that, it makes me feel like I’m a really weird woman.” “…….” “N-Netorare is actually a fairly major fetish, you know? It’s just that you guys don’t know much about it, that, um, the subtle sense of moral corruption you feel when you’re betrayed—.”

“Soyul-ah.” Did she know what she was saying, or not? I cut off her line mid-sentence, then looked up at her.

“……Huh?” Cheon Soyul responded to my call with trembling eyes. Carrying a complex embarrassment that was hard to define, I uttered a single word.

“I’m sorry, truly.” “…….”

Soon, she looked like she was about to cry and glared at me.