Ch.11238. Soso and the Hell Blood Demon (1)

Instead of answering, Soso burrowed into my arms.

Usually, Soso often sought physical contact with me, but this time was different. As she nestled against me, she was clearly afraid of something.

I wrapped my arms around her back. Just as I was trying to comfort her trembling form, she spoke with a voice filled with fear.

“Hell Blood Demon… that man…”

I briefly moved under a tree to escape the intensifying rain. Soso followed but didn’t leave my embrace.

“I know. You told me about him when you were at Aince.”

At those words, Soso buried her face in my chest. I used my flame attribute mana to dry her body.

And I recalled the bitter connection between the Hell Blood Demon and Soso.

‘When the Hell Blood Demon betrayed the Heavenly Demon Sect and fled, Soso’s mother was seriously injured.’

The incident when Hell Blood Demon Lee Seon-woo harmed disciples of the Heavenly Demon Sect and stole sacred artifacts. The legendary sword of the Heavenly Demon Sect, “Payeong Sword,” is now in the Hell Blood Demon’s possession.

Soso’s mother confronted Lee Seon-woo to protect that sword. Despite being a renowned master of the Heavenly Demon Sect, she couldn’t defeat Lee Seon-woo who had turned villain.

‘They said Soso’s mother eventually died from those injuries.’

It happened when Soso was very young. That’s why Yeon Se-hwi didn’t raise the motherless Soso with strict discipline.

Rather, he tried to keep her as far away from the world of swordsmanship as possible. But Soso’s fate, the plausibility of the novel, made her encounter that Hell Blood Demon again.

“Mother died protecting me from the Hell Blood Demon… If only I hadn’t fallen for Seon-woo’s trick back then…”

Lee Seon-woo was sworn brothers with Yeon Se-hwi, making him like an uncle to Soso. Luring her with her favorite snacks, Lee Seon-woo took Soso hostage.

Soso’s mother fortunately rescued her, but was injured in the process.

‘That incident was Soso’s severe trauma.’

I’d heard from Elder Yeon Moon-woo that she used to be a very bright and energetic child. The gloomy Soso I remembered from Aince had completely changed her personality after that incident.

I spoke to her, stroking her back and head to comfort her.

“But you don’t need to be so afraid. If I couldn’t catch the Hell Blood Demon, I wouldn’t have planned to enter this island in the first place.”

“Yes… because it’s you… I know you would have thought that way.”

Soso’s trembling subsided. I continued.

“Still, if you’re afraid of the Hell Blood Demon, you can leave the island temporarily and call for backup. If we’re dealing with Lee Seon-woo, even the Heavenly Demon Sect’s help…”

“No, I can’t do that! The longer we delay, the more civilians on this island will suffer… and Flame’s plans will be delayed too…”

As expected, Soso wasn’t completely weak.

Unlike her extremely timid days at Aince, she had worked hard to live up to her position as the young sect leader, the young Heavenly Demon.

Yeon Soso was an S-rank hunter and Flame’s raid team leader. She knew this herself.

“I… I’m an S-rank hunter. I can handle Lee Seon-woo.”

I affirmed her words.

“I know. You can do it, Soso.”

She hugged me tighter.

“Yes… as long as you’re by my side, Minsu… I can do anything.”

Soso’s warmth and scent, her words, left a lingering impression in my heart.

Her absolute trust in me. Her unchanging feelings. Soso’s heart probably hadn’t changed since we became friends at Aince.

And now that I was aware of all her feelings, now that I was constantly with her in Busan like this.

It was becoming increasingly difficult to completely ignore those feelings.

‘I’ll make sure Soso never gets hurt.’

And I had to unconsciously deny that thought. No, I had to hide those true feelings.

The emotions stirring for Soso. I had to convince myself that my determination to protect her wasn’t because of those feelings, but because she was a main character in the original story.

I felt that if I didn’t hide those emotions, I might find myself wanting Soso, who was now in my arms, even more.

At that moment, Soso, who had buried her face in my chest, looked up. As our black eyes met, she closed hers.

Her lips were trembling.

In that moment, I couldn’t think of anything else. I pressed my lips against hers.

***

After some time had passed, two people who had been hunting monsters nearby joined us.

“Young Sect Leader! We’ve dealt with all the monsters in the nearby urban area!”

Pyo Seong-hoon addressed Soso. She replied to him.

“Well done. And Team Leader Jung as well.”

For a moment, Jung Yu-ha, whose eyes met Soso’s, blushed.

“I-it was nothing! I was just doing my job!”

Though Jung Yu-ha reacted dramatically to an ordinary remark, Soso paid no mind. Instead, she mulled over the conversation she had with Yu-ha before coming to Yeongdo.

‘Team Leader Jung asked me if Minsu and I were dating.’

For a moment, she almost became wary, wondering if Jung Yu-ha was also interested in Minsu. But she could rest easy if it was Jung Yu-ha.

Known as the “Iron Wall Lady” among the Alliance hunters, she had a decent appearance that attracted many male hunters.

But the Jung Yu-ha that Soso knew was a swordswoman completely immersed in swordsmanship, particularly the Heavenly Demon Sect’s techniques. It was natural that she, obsessed with swordsmanship, had no time to be interested in men.

‘And even to someone like Team Leader Jung… do Minsu and I look like a couple?’

So she ended up giving an ambiguous answer: “We might be dating.” In reality, Soso’s heart already thought of Minsu as her boyfriend.

But the two weren’t actually dating. In the three months she had monopolized Minsu, their relationship had certainly grown closer.

Being a woman, Soso knew. She knew that Minsu wouldn’t open his heart beyond a certain point. And he had already told her the reason.

‘For Minsu, revenge takes top priority.’

She wanted to date Minsu. No, beyond dating, she wanted to spend her life with him. And to make that happen, she understood intellectually that eliminating the Red Lake had to come first.

Having watched Minsu for the past three months, Soso understood this with her head.

‘That’s how strong… Minsu’s desire for revenge is.’

But even if her head understood, her heart couldn’t help itself. Team Leader Jung had told her that Soso and Minsu made a very well-matched pair.

Even the hunters in Busan all mistook Minsu and Soso for a dating couple. And above all, Soso hadn’t been idle during these past three months.

– That kiss just now. You were unusually aggressive. Hehe.

Blood Demon spoke to Soso. And Soso had diligently followed Blood Demon’s advice to seduce him with her body over the past three months.

‘But with Lee Minsu’s personality, recklessly charging in with physical advances wouldn’t yield good results.’

Blood Demon was right. She knew she didn’t have the personality to be a seductress. So Soso received help from Blood Demon.

The timing for natural skinship. And even when asking for a kiss. At moments when she absolutely needed to be aggressive, she let Blood Demon take over her body slightly.

Unlike her, Blood Demon could definitely be a seductress. Since Minsu was a man too, she subtly seduced him. Sometimes aggressively. Sometimes cautiously flirting.

Blood Demon seduced Minsu subtly on Soso’s behalf. And Soso was most aware of the results brought by Blood Demon’s help.

‘Rather, with someone as stubborn as Lee Minsu, acting innocent like you while flirting might be more effective.’

Blood Demon’s words were true. It was working.

The kiss under the tree just now. Soso could tell. Minsu had changed from when he first entered Aince.

He had grown accustomed to skinship with Soso and now wanted more.

‘We’ve kissed often, but Minsu has never been as aggressive as today.’

Of course, facing a life-or-death battle, Minsu’s mind might be excited from tension.

But Soso couldn’t forget the sensation of that kiss. Minsu’s response as if he wanted her. The happiness she felt in his arms.

If Minsu wanted something from her as much as she wanted him, she could give him anything.

“Then let’s move. It seems this forest has already become a domain created by sorcery. Let’s maintain our formation carefully as we move.”

At that moment, Minsu’s voice brought her back to reality. The Hell Blood Demon was frightening, but thanks to Minsu, she could erase that fear.

‘Now is the time to wield my sword for Minsu.’

If Minsu wanted the Hell Blood Demon dead, she would kill him by any means necessary. He was also a member of the Red Lake.

‘If all of the Red Lake disappears, I can become Minsu’s lover.’

The group moved according to Minsu’s instructions. Soso glanced at Minsu once more without being noticed, hiding her true feelings.

The demonic energy and evil aura permeating the forest grew thicker.

***

The southeastern part of Yeongdo. The forest leading to the coast was a much more dangerous place than the urban area.

The sacrificial lamb’s domain. Where the demonic energy extracted by that devil’s sorcery was concentrated. The forest’s demonic energy was rising to the same level as places already contaminated by devils.

‘It’s fortunate that we haven’t used Parma’s Holy Fire since capturing the devil during the day.’

The current party consisted of three swordsmen and one mage. Of course, the group’s ultimate target wasn’t a monster or devil but a villain.

If that villain was a devil’s contractor, this party without a cleric would be in danger. And Parma’s Holy Fire could sufficiently fill that imbalance.

‘I’ve been observing Pyo Seong-hoon and Jung Yu-ha. With their mental strength, they can endure even if their MCI approaches the limit.’

Apart from their skills as hunters, both have upright and good personalities. So if I give them holy fire, their combat power won’t decrease even in this place spread with sorcery.

‘Then Soso…’

That’s right. Since I originally had no changes in MCI, the person to worry about in the party was Soso. And unfortunately, the opponent was the Hell Blood Demon, Soso’s trauma.

But she was definitely okay now. Her MCI, which I could check through the earpiece, was stable. Perhaps, before joining up with Pyo Seong-hoon and Jung Yu-ha.

Comforting and encouraging Soso seemed to have helped.

And moving together at the back of the group, I unconsciously recalled what had happened earlier.

‘It’s really dangerous these days. Whenever I’m alone with Soso…’

When our kiss ended, I was inwardly surprised.

If I hadn’t heard Pyo Seong-hoon and Jung Yu-ha’s voices, I might have continued kissing her with her back against the tree.

I know that the current Soso is beautiful, but strangely, my heart keeps wavering whenever we have physical contact.

It’s not like this was my first kiss with her. I’ve already experienced it with Arin and Yuri too. And with Yuri, though we didn’t cross the line.

We shared intense skinship just before that. I controlled myself well then, but just now, I couldn’t maintain my composure with just a kiss.

‘What am I thinking about when facing a Red Lake villain?’

Of course, Soso trembling in my arms was pitiful enough to shake any man, but it was still strange.

I tried to regain my composure and erase the lingering warmth of Soso, the sensation of our bodies touching.

‘Right. Once this matter is settled, I’ll return to headquarters. I should stay away from Soso for a while.’

The group continued to carefully traverse the forest. Although there was a paved road, not just a forest path, leading to the coastal cliff, a famous spot in Busan.

But if we took such a safe path, Dead Arms hunters would be openly waiting. As we entered the middle of the forest.

Suddenly, a smell like a mix of temple incense and something fishy brushed my nose. I shouted at that moment.

“Everyone, step back!”

Simultaneously, a loud explosion echoed through the forest.