episode_0231

The woman with the gentle smile was adorned with a flowing dress and accessories. Her out-of-place, flashy appearance made her look like a nightclub singer.

“Tsk, where the hell have you been and what have you been doing that you only came now.”

Baek Il-yong soon got up, staggering. Then, he nervously attacked the woman who appeared, freezing the wounded area.

“He must have given orders to assassinate the military leaders. But why are they still alive and well and oppressing us!”

“Oh my, it’s noisy… ”

The woman covered her ears tightly like a child listening to an annoying nagging.

“This side had its own circumstances. Alpha was overloaded, so we were also affected… Ah, that was a secret.”

She shook her head hesitantly.

“And can you speak clearly? This is a request, not an order.”

“This is… ”

“But honey, why doesn’t the situation look so good?”

Then he changed the subject, sticking his tongue out recklessly.

“The encirclement is closing in, and I am injured… ”

“There’s still plenty of time. If you do your job properly even now.”

The man cut her off abruptly, responding coldly.

He looked down at Seoyeon, who was sitting a few steps ahead of him, barely holding herself up.

With the appearance of a strange woman, the two’s positions were instantly reversed.

“And we just caught the culprit who had been disrupting the chain of command.”

“Hmm… ”

The woman who appeared looked at Seo-yeon with a strange gaze.

She looked as dangerous as a dying torch. Even in the midst of all this, she was pouring hatred at Baek Il-yong with her eyes, but it was clear that even that wouldn’t last long.

“… I admit it. Your magical skills are unparalleled. The evaluation that you are the only talent that will surpass Haewolhwa in the future is not an exaggeration. ”

He looked down at her, panting dangerously for breath, and opened his mouth coldly.

“I always felt bad about my overly obedient attitude toward my father, but even that was to keep the dagger hidden inside me from being revealed.”

“Haa, haa… !”

“That’s why I was expecting it for a moment. If you wanted to be defeated yourself, I would have gladly given up my life. A fierce desire for power. And the ability to support it. Isn’t this the embodiment of the Iron Man that I have been longing for?”

“Ha, shut up… ! Who… Who would want something like that… !”

Seo-yeon got up, gushing blood, but soon lost her posture and fell back to the floor.

The man staring at Seoyeon sighed in pity.

“But I’m so disappointed. Was the reason you pointed a knife at your father just because of your past tantrum? Even though I saw you again for a moment… ”

He immediately turned around.

And he just nodded at the woman.

“Now I will go to the front myself. You must fulfill your promise. Kill the real power holders in the military and cause confusion in the chain of command there. ”

“Yay, yay.”

“Ah, there’s one more thing to do before that.”

Then he turned his head and gave Seoyeon an indifferent look that seemed to be nothing but affection.

“Kill that thing.”

“Hmm… Are you sure it’s okay? I know it’s embarrassing for me to say this, but after all, she’s your daughter… ”

“I don’t have a daughter. Let’s deal with this quickly.”

The man immediately turned around, cutting off the woman who was continuing to talk teasingly.

“… Huh.”

At this, the woman lightly pursed her lips and shrugged her shoulders.

Then, without even writing down any magic formula, he instantly forged dozens of sharp particle blades and floated them into the air.

“Well, that’s what happened.”

And then he spoke to Seoyeon, who had collapsed miserably.

“I’m sorry. I have my own circumstances, you know. But you don’t have to worry too much.”

“Haa, haa… ”

“I’ll finish this right away. I don’t have a hobby of harassing people. But I’m an anthropologist, so I can’t go around doing that.”

It was such an excessive kindness that it almost felt like mockery.

He sharpens dozens of blades at once without any warning, and even shows strange movements that cannot be explained even by magic.

The being before Seoyeon’s eyes was closer to a living disaster than a wizard.

There was no way to know the woman’s identity. However, the fact that she was attached to Baek Il-yong without anyone knowing was painfully painful.

Because of that, even her final resolution collapsed in vain.

Seo-yeon ended up in a situation where she couldn’t even atone properly. She thought that perhaps this situation itself was a punishment.

A divine punishment that fell on her, who instead of understanding someone’s heart, only left deep scars on them.

In that case, perhaps it would be more appropriate to humbly accept death.

“Then… goodbye?”

The woman in front of me snapped her fingers.

Soon, dozens of particle crystal blades floating in the air rushed towards her.

The sound of the wind cutting through her body was so fierce that it seemed as if it would tear her body apart. However, instead of responding, Seo-yeon just closed her eyes in silence.

Perhaps because of the blood pouring out, her consciousness was becoming increasingly blurred. In a moment that felt like an eternity, she was soon on a hill with a cool breeze blowing.

The sun was warm, white flowers were in full bloom all around, and the girl from her childhood was lying across from someone, talking about eternal happiness.

“… ”

A faint smile appeared on Seo-yeon’s lips. The last one was a pleasant flashback. She stroked the cheap ring on her left finger and recalled its feel. As if she would never forget it.

I prepared for the pain that was to come.

“… ?”

But soon she tilted her head in confusion. Several seconds had already passed, but she felt no pain tearing at her body. Instead, she felt as if a warm light was enveloping her body.

And what I heard was the voice of someone I had longed for so long.

“It still takes a lot of work.”

“Huh… ?”

Her eyes, which had closed without her knowing, opened, and she let out a soft exclamation on her own.

Beyond the blurry vision, sparkling powders of light were fluttering in the sky like snow. There was no trace of the sharp, sharp particle blades. It was as if they had been turned back into particles for a moment by something.

Then, exhausted, she collapsed to the side. However, what she felt was not the cold ground, but someone’s firm and warm arms.

“Nothing has changed.”

Soon after, the voice she longed for came again, as if comforting her.

“When I was young, or now… ”

“Hyun… Lee… ?”

And in that hazy border between dreams and reality.

Seoyeon finally lost consciousness completely, intoxicated by the warmth that enveloped her body.

***

How long has it been since I’ve seen this child up close?

But I didn’t feel like it was particularly unfamiliar or anything.

Long, fluttering eyelashes, elegantly slanted eyes, and sharp, precise facial features.

Because all those appearances were still vivid in my memory.

When I saw Yeon-i collapse as if she had fainted, I felt a mixture of emotions. Without any of the hatred or resentment I had harbored, I could only think of how fortunate she was.

“Oh my… ”

And then I raised my head at the exclamation I heard. There was a woman in fancy attire covering her mouth and making a fuss. It was as if I had seen a prince from a fairy tale.

I could tell what it was right away without even asking. Aside from the strangeness, that peculiar, familiar feeling was already enveloping my body.

And it wasn’t that hard to spot the man in the back who looked like a mess.

“You… !”

And unlike the woman, the man’s face was distorted in anger.

◦ ◦ Dare

It’s a world of difference from the gentlemanly demeanor he displayed at the hearing a few weeks ago. Does that mean he no longer needs to hide his true nature?

First, I checked on Yeon-i’s safety.

Although they managed to save him just in time, it is by no means a good situation.

Although he was wounded, he had already lost too much blood. With the wizard’s strong body, recovery would not be difficult, but it was still a critical situation.

In this situation, a 2-on-1 is absolutely impossible. Even my condition is at rock bottom.

I already felt like I was overdoing it just by strengthening my body to get here.

That Baek Il-yong is a human being who deserves to die, but his and Pae-cheon’s destruction is already self-evident.

Witches are also creatures that must be eliminated, but their annihilation never takes priority over Yeon-i’s survival.

I was able to make a quick decision. Then there is only one answer.

First of all, get out of this place.

I carefully laid the kite down on my outer garment. Then I turned around and thrust the blade at them.

Then Baek Il-yong laughed as if it wasn’t funny.

“Huh, that did one thing right. You were talking about charming the successor of the Black Lotus or something… but it looks like you fell for that skirt?”

“… ”

Did Yeon-i say that?

I’m really curious as to what his intentions were, but… that’s for later.

Instead, I took a step forward and gained momentum, as if I was going to rush at them at any moment.

If you try to blatantly escape this place, you will only exploit their weakness. In that case, you have no choice but to find an opening and confront them in some way. Or you can buy time until the rescue force arrives.

Baek Il-yong also looked wary of me and took a step back. He gestured to the witch next to him.

“What are you doing? Why don’t you just kill those things quickly?”

“Huh? I don’t like it.”

But for some reason, the woman shook her head in disgust. Baek Il-yong asked back, as if he was shocked by her sudden behavior.

“What?”

“A human with our powers. Even Alpha lost, so how can I beat that? I want to live long. It’s a bit much to die in a place like this… ”

“This, this is… !”

She still refused to fight me. She’s quite an odd individual for a witch.

It seems that my existence being known actually helped them. Polaris’s power was acting as an overwhelming advantage to them as well.

Well then… I’ll just make the most of this situation.

“You know what I mean. Your leader ran away like a dog, waddling his tail.”

But he was just walking forward, pretending to be intimidated.

“Just wait a little bit, I’ll make it exactly like that… Knock knock, knock… !”

Suddenly, a violent cough burst out and severe pain burst through my entire body. I spat out several clots of blood from my mouth. The power and magic that had filled the space around me also flickered out and disappeared again.

“Coolook, keuk… !”

I cursed inwardly. That damned body. It was so useless. All I had to do was hold on a little longer, just a little longer.

I managed to control my cough and regain my posture, but the situation had already changed a long time ago.

The woman in front of me was now looking at me with the gaze of a fierce predator.

“Hmm… ”

Then he muttered, his tongue flickering eerily.

“Then… isn’t that a little different?”