episode_0029

“Father, please rest well.”

“Hmm. Are you really okay? It’s not that I don’t trust you, but sudden enemies could attack.”

“You can trust me and have a good time with that female.”

Agni’s eyes turn towards Isoeun.

Startled, she grabs Kim Shin’s hand and hides behind him. Kim Shin tightly embraces her.

“Thank you. I’ll be back. Listen to Agni, all of you!”

The soldiers who came to see them off nod their heads and chuckle.

Kim Shin and Isoeun walk down the hill.

Agni’s gaze shifts towards the building where the women are.

“Eek! Ouch! Don’t push me!”

“Oh, what should we do… Unni, that man is not here.”

“Sobbing. He has a sword. He must be trying to kill us…”

All the women are gathered in the spacious hall.

Terrified, they cling to each other, trembling with fear. The samurai wielding a sword around them is ready to strike at any moment.

“Big-bosomed female, come forward.”

The women look at each other’s bosoms.

The most likely candidate, Baek Cho-a, trembles uncontrollably, unable to move.

But the woman Agni points to is none other than Kim A-yeong.

She crawls on all fours and kneels before Agni, bowing her head.

“The big-breasted female just left with Father.”

“Breasts…? Oh, now that you mention it, Soeun unni is missing. Could it be…”

The women look at each other, discussing Isoeun’s whereabouts.

“She has become free by being loyal to Father and behaving like a female. Chuckles.”

Agni, who is behind the scenes, slowly circles around Kim A-yeong. Then he presses the knife against her face.

“Compared to her, you only try to deceive. You have abilities but are useless to Father.”

Sizzle.

Blue flames rise from the blade Agni holds, and Kim A-yeong’s pupils focus in the center of the flickering flames in front of her nose.

“I’ve thought about it, but indeed, you are a useless woman.”

“Sob… P-please spare me. I was wrong…”

“Do you want to live?”

Kim A-yeong nods tearfully.

Abandoning pride and everything else, she pleads desperately.

Her waist curves into an S-shape from her slender figure.

“Then use your ability. Look up.”

When Kim A-yeong looks up, a monster the size of an elementary school student stands before her. Standing in the middle like a judge, Agni instructs her again.

“I understand your ability is to enhance strength or elevate latent abilities. Isn’t that right?”

Terrified and shocked, Kim A-yeong closes her eyes tightly and nods.

“Use that ability on these soldiers. Then you will survive and be free.”

“R-really?”

“Chuckles. Promise.”

Agni’s wide smile sends shivers down the spine.

“I-I’m not sure about the activation conditions… Just when I get angry or…”

“Hush. Do whatever it takes if you want to live.”

“Yes! Oh, I understand.”

Raising her hand, Kim A-yeong aims at the monster glaring menacingly at her.

Strange patterns are engraved on its arms, and seven more stand behind it.

Crack!

“Gasp, gasp…”

“Again.”

The monster’s jaw snaps back from the slap.

It glares at Kim A-yeong, growling.

Thud! Crack! Thud!

“Sob… I-I don’t think it’s working.”

“Keep going until it works, even if your throat gets slit.”

After being slapped several times, the monster clenches its fist and takes a step forward.

Seemingly filled with rage, it is about to charge.

Thwack!

“It’s for your own good. Stay still.”

“Grrr…”

As Agni intervenes and strikes its head, the monster simply glares and does not move further.

Trembling, Kim A-yeong sheds tears without saying a word.

Since I had never tried using my abilities as I wished, it was truly a moment of life and death.

If I make a mistake, I feel like I might really die. Compared to Agni, Kim Shin seemed like an angel; he was so wicked.

“Not doing anything, just because you’re a big-ass woman?”

Skillfully gaslighting while thrusting the knife.

Staring at me with eyes more human than human, it felt like I might faint from the chills.

“Hoo, hoo… Please! Huh!”

Slash!

Kim A-yeong struck the monster’s cheek with all her might.

The sound echoed so loudly in the temple.

The guy who slumped down didn’t seem right.

“Cough. Kkuueeek.”

Thud.

The guy opened his mouth and spat out blood.

Then his body began to transform.

Starting with the eerie sound of bones twisting, his body gradually grew larger.

“Oh. This is amazing. I think I know why your father was obsessed with you. Hehe.”

Agni couldn’t hide his surprise.

The guy had transformed into a bulky body over two meters tall, surpassing that of an adult man.

Watching the evolved creature in front of her, Kim A-yeong felt a similar atmosphere to the monster she had fought with her sister before. She couldn’t even lift her head due to the suffocating pressure.

The evolved monster also seemed incredulous, looking around its own body. It stretched its neck from side to side, showing sharp teeth and seeming pleased.

“What are you doing?”

“Me?”

“You’re doing the same thing to the seven people behind you.”

In the direction Agni pointed, monsters resembling the just-evolved guy were lined up.

Kim A-yeong used her ability dozens of times, swinging her arms, and when she struck the last guy’s cheek, his nose burst.

She fainted on the spot.

“Take this woman back to the room.”

Following Agni’s orders, the women supported Kim A-yeong and left the temple.

Thud, thud.

“Krrrr…”

“Kisit. Kikkekruck.”

“Kkkegeok.”

The over two-meter-tall figures gathered in a circle, glaring at each other.

Especially the Samael wearing a golden cloak growled with a fierce expression.

“Hehe. Very good. From now on, Samael and you will determine the hierarchy. Fight until you fall.”

At Agni’s command, the nine Hop Goblins all left the temple, and with trembling vibrations, the melee began.

***

“Father.”

“Yes?”

Preparing for the upcoming war, Agni looked at me intently.

“How about taking a day off?”

“A break? Hmm. Just lying down like this feels like resting…”

“I mean not physical but mental rest.”

More human than humans, Agni.

Studying human civilization day and night, he had developed to the point of giving me advice.

Or maybe he was born with high intelligence.

“How about going out with a well-endowed female?”

“Well-endowed…? Haha. Who are you talking about? There should be only one well-endowed woman.”

“I mean a female who likes you.”

“Ah. Soeun noona…? It’s not love.”

Agni regarded women as mere creatures. It was amusing to address them by their physical features rather than names.

“Rest is necessary even in battle. You, our guiding father, seem a bit tired.”

His words were true.

Since gaining power, I hadn’t rested a day, constantly thinking and worrying.

I fought and faced death several times.

It was actually tough to suddenly live a different life after being stuck in a corner.

“Hmm… Maybe. I’ve never been on a date.”

“Leave it to me.”

“Thank you, Agni. You’re really reliable.”

So, they decided to have a sudden date. With Agni and the soldiers bidding farewell, I held Soeun noona’s hand and descended from the temple.

Isoeun keeps looking back.

Since she didn’t have any clothes, she wore a tracksuit, which was cute in its own way.

“Why are you like this, Nuna?”

“Where are we going? What about other people?”

“I’m going out because I want to date with Nuna.”

“Date…?”

With widened eyes, Isoeun holds my hand tighter without saying a word.

As we walked down, near the entrance of the mountain, a group dressed in uniforms had gathered.

They looked like soldiers going to the battlefield, carrying all sorts of equipment.

‘Those are the talented individuals we encountered at the City Hall…’

A mark attached to their arms on black uniforms.

It was the guild we met at the City Hall.

We quickly entered the subway, so there were no issues. But surely, if those people searched the mountain, they would also come to the temple.

My heart raced as the crisis approached right in front of our hideout.

I felt like something was bound to happen while I was away, and it became a reality.

“Sigh…”

“Are you okay? Is it because of those people earlier?”

“No. Let’s go buy clothes first, Nuna.”

Sitting next to me on the subway, she crossed her arms.

Soeun, who was worried about me, stared at Nuna’s face intently. Maybe it was because of the mood that her makeup seemed darker today. She, too, looked beautiful as she glanced at me and smiled slightly.

‘No way.’

Would she really like the man who cut her ex-boyfriend’s throat and raped her?

As if rape wasn’t enough, he even made her give birth.

She would probably be more grateful for fixing her eyes than for any feelings of affection.

We got off at Hongdae Station with her.

It was my first time going on a date with a woman, and I was quite excited. I was unsure of what to do, but Soeun led the way naturally.

Soeun, who seemed happy to be out after a long time, sang along and smiled broadly.

First, we went shopping, and she bought clothes and shoes.

Then we searched for a good restaurant and had a meal.

We sat side by side in a coffee shop, eating dessert and chatting. We held hands, walked, and even did some baby shopping.

While fierce battles of life and death were being fought elsewhere, this place was filled with young people leading ordinary lives.

Would they all know?

That soon, everything they enjoyed and cherished would be destroyed.

“Should we take a picture there?”

There was a four-cut photo booth in the direction she pointed. Hesitating, Soeun led me into the booth.

‘It’s my first time taking pictures…’

Feeling inexperienced, she kissed my cheek first.

We took pictures kissing, hugging each other, and smiling widely. Smiling Soeun made a half-heart sign with her hand.

“Shin-ah, try it like this. Okay?”

“Nuna…”

After taking all the photos, we checked the printed pictures.

Laughing at something, she cut the photos nicely and shared them with each other.

As the night streets darkened again, we walked.

I was troubled. The time to return to the hideout was approaching.

“Nuna.”

“Yes?”

“Do you want to go back home by any chance?”

The smiling expression on her face changed instantly.

Her face, which had been staring blankly at me, began to distort.

“What do you mean?”

“Just as I said. Don’t you want to see your family? Do you want to go home?”

“All of a sudden…?”

For some reason, Soeun wanted to send me back.

Perhaps there had been recent disputes among the women, as she even cried.

Maybe it was because only Soeun had been friendly to me that there had been no opposition from other females.

“Why do you want to send me away?”

“Is there no big reason. Just for Nuna’s sake…”

“Am I annoying you? Ah… Are you bringing a new woman? Kim A-young? Do you like that type?”

Soeun’s angry appearance, which I hadn’t seen in a long time.

It was frightening to see her transform from an angelic woman to an angry one. Her eyes, equipped with petrification abilities, were a bit scary, but I honestly told her everything.

“I just don’t have any special meaning. It’s because I want to treat her well since I like her. Why would I get tired of it? I heard her saying she misses her family.”

“Ha. Really… She’s doing as she pleases from the beginning…”

She, with her hands wrapped around her head, seemed to be thinking about something.

After a deep sigh, she looked up at the sky.

Then, as she turned her head, she stared intently at something… Following her gaze, I too ended up looking at the building next to the road where we were standing.

It was a motel.

She pointed at the motel with her hand and opened her mouth.

“Should we go in and talk?”