episode_0267

Yeonminha’s tongue swirls around in my mouth. I am dumbfounded by the sudden action.

“Choo-up.”

Beyond the falling, a pink tongue flickered. A transparent thread briefly connected us and then broke off.

Even after removing her compassionate lips, she was still looking at me.

“… Go.”

“Senior?”

“Go away, I’ll block this place.”

A complex array of emotions that could not be expressed in a single word were swirling around in those two eyes.

“I still don’t like it. What kind of strategy is that… ”

Yeonmin-ha glared at me with a sharp gaze and muttered.

“Senior.”

“I told you to go.”

-Woojikkeun!

Behind Yeonminha, a fire giant was seen wreaking havoc on the area. It was a type of magic I had never seen before when I dueled her.

She had been at the top of the students from the beginning, but she was still growing. If I had known at the beginning of the semester that Yeonmin-ha could handle such magic, would I have been able to subdue her without power?

It’s not easy to predict.

“Don’t worry. I’ll sort it out and follow you soon.”

Yeonmin-ha bit her lips.

“But promise me one thing. You will never…die.”

“… ”

Her mouth didn’t open easily. But before she could hear a sympathetic answer, she quickly turned her head away. Now she was facing Yeon-i.

“You get out too, Baek Seo-yeon. You’ll only be a nuisance if you stay.”

And the vagueness from just now melted away without a trace.

“And… take good care of my boyfriend?”

“… Ha.”

Yeon-i, who had barely recovered from the shock, glared at Yeon-min-ha as if she would not give up. On the other hand, Yeon-min-ha’s attitude of claiming to be left behind made her feel a complex emotion that she had never felt before, as if there was a change in her feelings.

She turned away without saying a word to me, who was feeling sorry for me. I remembered her eyes shaking violently for a split second.

“Let’s go, HyunA.”

“… Yeah.”

I turned around at Yeon-i’s urging. My compassionate heart was now completely absorbed in controlling the burning giant.

“Die, die, die, die!!”

“There’s no such thing as a crazy bitch, really… !!”

-Bwaang! Bwaang!!

The angry scolding disappears in a blast. I check Yeonminha’s appearance one last time before leaving the ruins. Her long white hair is fluttering against the bright red background of bursting fireworks.

“… ”

But soon, I turned around and started walking reluctantly.

***

We moved along a long tunnel that connected to the city center. I had no idea where it would end. I just followed the feeling that called me.

The tunnel, which had been abandoned for decades, was in shambles. There was no sign of life except the sound of our footsteps lapping at the water on the floor.

I asked Yeon-i, who was running silently a step behind me.

“Witches, how many of them are left now?”

“… ”

“Yeon-ah?”

“Huh, huh?”

Yeon-i, who had been absorbed in something, was startled and only then woke up from her thoughts.

She shook her head and answered belatedly.

“You clearly said there were 15. You killed one of them, two of them were killed by Haewolhwa, one was Spica… Yena, one was Sua… ”

“There were four witches who stopped us earlier. So now there are six left? It won’t be easy.”

“I’m not sure. Maybe less. There might be other plots besides defending the nest… ”

“Well, that’s fortunate, but… ”

“… ”

The conversation stopped again. I could tell without even looking at her expression that Yeon-i was terribly distressed about something.

And the reason is probably…

“Huh? There’s an exit ahead… ”

And finally, the end of the darkness began to appear with a bright light. The place where the tunnel led was an old residential area with only old buildings left.

It doesn’t feel very good. It reminds me of the village we used to live in. Even the collapsed appearance here and there was the same.

“I… Hyuna.”

“Why?”

I turned to the voice calling me. Yeon-i was watching me with her fingers crossed as if she was holding back something.

“Can I ask you one favor?”

“Please?”

“Uh, yeah… ”

Yeon-i shook her head up and down timidly yet passionately. I was curious about what she was asking for.

“There is, there is… ”

“I’m listening.”

“That, that means… When this operation is over… To me too… !”

However, Yeon-i, who had been desperately reciting with her eyes tightly shut, stopped talking on her own. Her expression changed to a look of caution in an instant, and she looked around while placing her hand on the particle array.

Now that I haven’t applied the magic formula of the prediction, Yeon-i’s senses are far superior to mine. She was looking at something beyond my sight.

“… Hyuna, come behind me.”

I stood back to back with Yeon-i and watched the surroundings closely. Soon, I could see what she was watching out for.

“Two people?”

A woman wearing a long dress and holding a pipe in one hand came out of the shadows and spoke. A satisfied smile appeared on her lips as she looked at us.

“I guess the other kids are doing pretty well?”

And there was more than one sound.

“Well done. But you missed the most important target.”

“It’s a big deal.”

“Against lower creatures… ”

In an instant, we were surrounded by a crowd of more than ten people. The sight of them all with identical faces and muttering in the same voice was eerily resonant.

They don’t feel like the twin witches I encountered outside the city. If so… do they have the power of a clone?

“Well, if I just kill him here, that’ll be the end of it.”

The first woman who appeared spoke, still smiling. Dozens of giant particle missiles appeared in the air behind her, like giant needles, and rushed toward us.

Of course, that means dozens per person.

-Wedge!!

An unpleasant sound like nails scraping against a wall rang in my ears. Hundreds of missiles were suffocating us from all directions. And there was no room to escape.

But Yeon-i, who was blocking my path, didn’t move at all. She stood there, drawing a magic formula in the air with her fingers.

“Don’t you dare touch Hyun-i!!”

In an instant, the particle missiles flying towards the endless ice pillars rising from the ground collided with each other and changed their angles. The explosion and dust caused by the missiles losing their direction and hitting the surrounding ground obscured the view.

“Hoo… ”

There was steam at the corners of her mouth. The frost that spread out for tens of meters along Yeon-i’s feet dyed the ground a pale color.

Snowflakes were fluttering in the dark clouds in the sky. Before we knew it, we were in the middle of winter.

“Hyun-ah! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did you get hit by a piece of debris or something…!”

Yeon-i once again obsessively checked my condition. Her eyes were now shining the exact same color as the snow on the ground.

“It’s okay. It’s okay… ”

“Thank goodness… ”

Only after hearing the answer did Yeon-i let out a sigh of relief.

As the dust cleared, the devastation around us was revealed in its entirety. The women who had surrounded us lay motionless, impaled by the shrapnel they had thrown themselves.

Soon they crumble into dust with a cracking sound.

And then, immediately, exactly the same number of women as had fallen appeared from beyond the shadows and began to fill the place again.

“It’s okay.”

“Kill as much as you want.”

“Kill and kill again.”

“We… will stop if we show up again.”

A squeaky, unpleasant laugh rang in my ears. Yeon-i, who was blocking the way, stared at them again with a cold expression.

Now the witches’ eyes were turned towards Yeon-i.

“I’ve heard of it. Are you that guy?”

“The next generation’s strongest.”

“Following Haewolhwa.”

“An irregular like that girl… ”

“But it’s not ripe yet.”

“We can’t just watch the birth of an irregular who will block the great undertaking.”

“Then… ”

“Kill me here.”

The same voices chanted from all directions like a chorus. Yeon-i clenched her teeth so that the sound could be heard.

“, Hyuna.”

Yeon-i turned her head and said.

“These. They’re not just clones. I feel the same sensation from all of them. As if they’re all the originals. If I don’t kill them all at once, they’ll just regenerate like they just did. ”

“Then… ”

“Absolutely not.”

And Yeon-i spoke as if she had seen through my inner thoughts.

“You want to fight together? Absolutely not.”

“He’s a difficult opponent. He’s not as compatible as Min-ha.”

“If you start using magic now, the strain on your body will increase. And when that happens… ”

Yeon-i swallowed the last word. But I could easily guess what she was trying to say.

‘Your chances of dying will also increase.’

I gritted my teeth. I felt bad.

The people I care about are risking their lives for me right now, and all I can do is conserve my energy and run away.

What makes it even more painful is that their words are undeniable orthodoxy.

“It’s okay. You know what my unique magic is.”

Yeon-i seemed to be able to guess what I was thinking just by looking at my expression. She smiled bitterly and held my hand as if to comfort me.

“This area is my territory now. I may not be able to win, but at least I can tie it up without any problems.”

“Yeon-ah… ”

“I’m so happy right now.”

Yeon-i smiled crookedly. Her eyes were already red.

“I can finally protect you… I can finally pay the price for my betrayal.”

“The price! I told you. That’s… !”

“I know. You showed me mercy. But I still can’t forgive myself. So this is…my foolishness.”

“… ”

“So go. Go… and win coolly.”

Tears fell from her golden eyes. She had already made up her mind.

I exchanged glances with Yeon-i with heavy, sinking eyes. Then I lowered my head and spoke softly.

“… I’m sorry.”

Instead of answering, Yeon-i smiled faintly. Then, she turned around to face her enemies with eyes filled with determination.

I ran without hesitation, with my back to her. Then, fierce attacks began pouring in from all sides again.

-Bam!! Kwaang!!

Even as the explosion and smoke engulfed me, not a single scratch was left on my body. I ran with all my might, but then I encountered something and stopped in my tracks. Three identical clones were blocking my path.

“Where are you going?”

“He who has the power of the king… ”

“Die here… Keeek!!”

And just as I was about to pull out my blade, a giant ice pick shot out of the ground and pierced the women’s chests.

The struggling women gradually lost their strength and fell to the ground. Soon, their bodies turned into shards of light and scattered into pieces.

Yeon-i looked at me and shouted.

“Go ahead!!”

It was a strange expression. Tears were flowing from her eyes, but a smile was on her lips.

I gritted my teeth and turned around to run, towards the end that was gradually getting closer.

***

The ancient settlement was a complex maze of twisted paths. I led my body aimlessly, relying only on my senses as landmarks.

I had moved quite a distance, so that I could faintly hear gunfire and screams. The feeling of being called out to me had also become stronger, to the point where it sounded like a voice.

I could tell instinctively that the nest was now right in front of me.

As I was running towards the end of the alley, I suddenly heard someone running next to me and pulled out my blade.

I moved before the square was visible. I lunged at the creature as if I was going to stab its neck.

-Kaang!!

But a brisk sound stops my movement. What’s blocking my blade is another blade. And I can tell what it is.

This is the blade I won as a prize at the last social tournament. It was something I gave to someone as a gift.

“Huh?”

A panicked voice burst out from the other person’s lips. Only then did I make eye contact with the other person. She, too, was looking at me with a surprised expression.

“Jin Ye-seo?”

At the end of the maze, golden hair fluttered.