Ch.48Chapter 48. Damn Bitch

Yes, looking back, I was practically sexually impotent until recently.

Of course, the priests’ amazing miracle completely healed my injuries, but the problem was that the memories from that time remained, causing a psychological aversion to sexual function.

Not only did any occasional lewd thoughts vanish as if dead, but even the morning physiological response that should happen regularly didn’t occur at all.

“Haa, haa…”

But despite my days of frustration over that psychological castration, those symptoms recovered the moment I faced the sight before me.

The massive flesh that couldn’t be fully grasped even with both arms, and the deep valley formed where the two met…

As the remaining moisture followed gravity, dripping into the darkness, I felt saliva pooling in my mouth and stimulating my uvula as my eyes followed it.

“Ah, th-that. Tachia-ssi, this, what happened was…”

But ironically, when I reacted to such an attractive body, the first thought that came to mind was that I was “screwed.”

No matter how unintentional it was, whether the other person would forgive me was another matter entirely.

Considering that in my homeland, this kind of situation would result in at least three years in prison, it wasn’t something a law-abiding citizen could view positively.

Moreover, even if the important parts were covered, it would be practically impossible to suppress the hardening below after seeing a body like this.

“…S-sorry.”

To hide it from showing externally, I decided to bow my head first.

I would offer the best apology I could here, and before committing seppuku in atonement, I’d first thrust a spear into Dukhun Oh’s belly.

That despicable bastard. Here I am contemplating suicide in this situation, while that jerk is probably enjoying himself without a care in the world.

“I’m sorry…”

“Haa, haa.”

But even as I tried to apologize, she just stood there blankly, without any scolding or screaming.

Noticing her body swaying, my gaze finally moved from her body to her face.

“…Tachia-ssi?”

Unfocused eyes looking downward.

With her shoulders slumped, anyone would guess something was wrong with her.

“Ah, ugh, aah…”

Yes.

She looked like she could collapse at any moment.

-Thud.

As if proving my thoughts weren’t mistaken, Tachia’s body fell.

My frozen body moved when I realized she couldn’t get up on her own.

“Tachia-ssi! Wake up, Tachia-ssi!”

“Haa, haa…”

Tachia only moaned even as I held her body and called to her.

She seemed to have lost consciousness, but what concerned me more was that her body temperature in my arms was abnormal.

“…She’s cold.”

Isn’t that strange?

Steam was still leaking from what I assumed was the bathroom she came from, yet her skin felt as cold as ice, with no warmth at all.

“I-I’ll take you to your room first.”

No, I’ll think about it later.

Whatever the case, I couldn’t leave her here. I immediately put her cold body on my back and stepped onto the stairs leading up.

Fortunately, I vaguely remembered from my previous visit that the workshop and living quarters were together.

So I decided to take her to the bedroom first, climbing the stairs one step at a time, clearly feeling the sensation of her body repeatedly pressing against my back as it swayed.

The soft, squishy feeling was distinct.

“Haa, ugh, haa…”

But more serious than that stimulation were the weak moans near my ear.

The contrast with her sharp and resolute attitude from our first meeting created a sense of impropriety that threatened to cut the thread of my patience.

The thought that someone so composed and proud could look so disheveled and vulnerable…

“Ugh, kkeuk!”

I bit my lip to suppress the fantasies sprouting from that realization, and after finally emerging above ground, I deliberately put strength into each step as I moved toward her room.

Yes, endure, Hyoseong Woo. Though mental fortitude is my only strength, if that’s not enough, recall Buddha’s teachings.

Mahaprajnaparamita Heart Sutra, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, practicing profound Prajna… what came next?

No, this isn’t enough.

Think of something more stimulating to drive away these worldly thoughts. Like that Heart Sutra remix version I once saw through YouTube’s algorithm.

A fusion style respecting both Eastern and Western cultures in political correctness, right? You know, the one with the wooden fish making that dull sound that actually fits the beat well…

-Squish.

Fuck, Eminem Buddha, please!

I’ll pray three times a day at Buddha statues and faithfully donate money, so please!

“Puha…!”

After stringing together such random thoughts to castrate my reason, I finally reached the bedroom.

Though the surroundings were somewhat cluttered with tools and materials, I somehow managed to lay her body on the bed and cover her with a blanket.

But no matter how much time passed, the cold sweat on her face showed no signs of disappearing…

“Ah, ugh…”

Damn, could this be a serious illness?

I can’t leave her like this, so I should call someone, I thought, preparing to turn and leave.

To find a priest, doctor, or at least someone familiar with her symptoms.

“Don’t… go.”

But at that moment, a faint murmur reached me.

I stopped and turned around to see her hand, which had slipped out from under the blanket, waving in the air.

“Don’t… leave. If you just… wait a little…”

She wasn’t conscious.

It was merely delirious muttering or sleep-talking.

But the trembling in her voice showed a great difference from the brusque attitude I’d seen at our first meeting.

As if teaching me that it wasn’t just random babbling, but had a definite basis.

“I’ll… soon… follow you.”

And with that, her hand, flailing as if in a nightmare, began to reach toward where I was.

Even though she was asleep.

As if instinctively sensing my presence.

“…Alright, I understand.”

After hesitating briefly, I pulled over a chair that had been left nearby and placed it beside her bed.

I know her condition is serious, and all I can do is pray for her to get better.

But I can’t just leave someone calling out so desperately.

“I’ll stay with you until you feel a little better.”

If her life isn’t in immediate danger, then staying by her side until her mind eases should be the priority.

Having reached that conclusion, I took the hand stretched toward me and remained there quietly for some time.

The trembling gradually subsided and her complexion improved.

It wasn’t just my imagination; I could feel her cold body temperature gradually returning to normal.

***

And much later, when night had fallen.

-Rustle.

As she raised her body, which had gradually regained vitality, the declining dragon felt the sensation of stroking her skin and looked around.

The dark room reflected in her blurry vision. And the blanket covering her body laid on the bed.

‘I collapsed again.’

Only then did Tashian Pailoi trace her memories from before losing consciousness, clutching her head and sighing deeply.

It couldn’t be helped, however pathetic it was.

Her physical body had long exceeded its lifespan limit, and it was only due to her innate existential power that she maintained even a semblance of form in a body that had turned to ash and crumbled.

Even that came with the side effect of suppressing the final power she had reserved for when she would rampage one last time, causing the heat in her body to escape every moment, leaving her to suffer from chills.

But more troublesome than soaking her body in boiling water every day was that the dream she always had while sleeping remained in her mind even now that she was awake.

‘Tashian. If I die after this battle, I have a request for you.’

A vulgar brat with nothing but brute strength. A foolish idiot who cared for others without regard for herself.

And the last words left by a human woman once called a Hero.

‘Give them a chance. Let me, whom you protected, protect all those I want to protect in the future.’

“…Damn woman.”

Isn’t it ridiculous?

That a supreme being now only remaining in legend would feel irritation toward a human who, from her perspective, was no different from an insect.

“Ungrateful damn woman.”

But dragons are beings with such immense power that they’re considered part of the world from birth.

Each word they utter carries that much weight, and thus they’re bound by the constraint that even carelessly spoken words must be kept.

So regardless of importance, if a spoken word takes the form of a promise, it must be kept absolutely.

Even if the reason for the promise was due to changing whims.

‘Well, I’ve endured enough by now.’

Today would be the last of such promises made on whims.

As she confirmed that the sun had set and was about to leave her place, Tashian suddenly felt her hand fixed to something and moved her gaze downward.

The man who had taken a seat beside her and fallen asleep had been holding her hand since before she woke up.

“…Huh, what’s this?”

She let out a small laugh upon seeing him and began to stare at the still-sleeping man.

It’s not that she had forgotten who he was.

The ability that forced even an unawakened Ego Weapon to remember his name was thoroughly imprinted even on a being called the pinnacle of all creation.

But no matter how well she remembered, she hadn’t expected this man to bring her here after she collapsed.

Nor that he would bring back the weapon she had lent him.

‘So he came back after all.’

None other than an Ego Weapon made of mythril.

Among humans, it’s considered the greatest treasure, so he could have carried it around.

Or he might have relied on that weapon with confidence, only to lose his life to merciless dangers.

Yet the fact that he overcame all that and came here meant he was among the extraordinary ones among humans.

“…Damn it.”

And regardless of her expectations, the current result was something the declining dragon did not want to welcome.

If the human who made a contract with her broke the promise, she would bring about the destruction she had planned with her own hands.

Under such a contract, she had been holding back, and the time to release that restraint was approaching, but now that time had been pushed back because this man had returned to her.

“If you were already dead, you should have stayed quiet. You left first but still dragged things out till the end.”

But seeing the armor she had casually made for him in shambles, she could easily guess that this guy had gone through considerable hardship.

Nevertheless, she thought his survival was surely the result of the will of the weapon she had given him, and she grabbed the spear leaning against the wall and spoke in an angry voice.

“Damn daughter.”

Toward a being she couldn’t simply hate despite feeling resentment.

-Woooong.

As if responding to her voice.

The weapon made by refining the soul of a woman once called a Hero in ancient times began to quietly wail in place.