Chapter 325
Chapter 325
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 325
Chapter Title: Side Story 9. In the New Continent (3)
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"Hold on, what are you doing right now?"
Ronan sat up from the sofa where he'd been reading a book. The room was so vast that his voice echoed. He had left the capital and was staying at the mansion he'd built on his own territory.
Sunlight streamed through the windows, crossing the living room. Adeshan, who had been about to descend the stairs to the basement, froze in place.
"Huh? I was thinking of checking out the storage room for the first time in ages."
"What's with all the dust cloths and rags?"
"I figured I'd do a little cleaning too. What's wrong?"
She shrugged. It had been three months since her trip to Nim Button, and Adeshan's belly was now noticeably swollen. Ronan shook his head.
"Don't do anything unnecessary. Just sit down. What if you get hurt?"
"Come on, I barely go out because my body feels so heavy. At least let me do some housework."
Adeshan whined playfully. She appreciated his concern, but Ronan's overprotectiveness was getting a bit much. Ronan, who had been like a wild wolf, had turned into a worrywart on par with Schlieffen ever since she got pregnant. He strode over and scooped her up like a princess.
"I get how you feel, but not right now. Up you go."
"Kyaa!"
Adeshan let out a short scream. Of course, it wasn't from fear or dislike—it stemmed from pure, concentrated happiness.
Ronan turned on his heel and laid her down on the sofa where he'd been sitting. She placed a hand on her belly and giggled.
"You've got to know how much your daddy loves you."
"I'm the one who loves you, Adeshan."
"Don't say that. We haven't even had the first one yet, and now you want to make a second?"
Adeshan smiled with her eyes. They said pregnancy made women gain weight and left their hair dry and frizzy, but Adeshan was still as beautiful as ever. Was it true that women became prettier when they were in love?
If he went with the mood now, he might just give in. Silently kissing her forehead, Ronan pointed out the window.
"If you're really bored, go for a walk. I put a lot of effort into making it nice."
Beyond the glass stretched a vast garden. Valture's barren land, harsh through winter, was now dyed in light green under the summer sun. Wildflowers Adeshan had sown bloomed here and there.
"Yeah, I will. Thanks."
"I'll be out soon too."
Adeshan nodded. Only after handing her a parasol did Ronan head to the basement with peace of mind. The dim space, which doubled as storage, was covered in white dust just as he'd expected.
'Well dried, at least.'
He'd banned the servants from cleaning because of his personal belongings. Ronan brushed off dust and cobwebs as he looked around the storage. While examining a shelf,
"This is..."
Ronan narrowed his eyes at something he spotted. Five watermelon-sized statues lay shattered in a row. Among the fragments, scraps of paper with red letters on yellow backgrounds were scattered on the floor.
They were definitely the seal stones from the New Continent that Citta had brought back before. All but one were horribly broken, and he had no idea why.
As Ronan reached for the sole surviving statue, puzzled,
Crack!
A thick fissure suddenly appeared, and the statue crumbled.
As if the being whose power it had sealed had just died. Frowning, he spat out a curse.
"What the fuck."
****
The white moon was beautiful. Beneath the still indigo evening sky loomed a massive lake. Dense broadleaf forests encircled its shores.
It was Qingya Lake, one of the demonic realms of the New Continent. Once a scenic resort drawing crowds a century ago for its views and abundant fish, it had been utterly abandoned since the Bokmajeon began flexing its power.
"Ah, if you won't come out, there's nothing I can do."
Asel hovered above the lake. Muttering to himself, he extended a hand toward the moon's reflection rippling on the surface. The moment he pulled as if reeling it in,
"Graaaah—!"
A bone-chilling roar echoed from the lake's depths. Countless fish leaped from the water. Splash! Soon, the surface tore open, revealing the head of a gigantic salamander.
"How dare you—how dare you do this to me, one of the Bokmajeon's Four Heavenly Kings!"
The salamander bellowed. Purple poison mist poured from its gaping maw. Deadly enough to kill a human with one whiff, but not a single particle breached Asel's barrier.
Ignoring the mist, Asel continued the extraction. With a short incantation, the salamander's body hidden underwater was uprooted entirely. Splash! Seeing its absurdly massive form, Asel gasped.
"Eek...! S-s-sorry!"
"Graaah! I'll remember your face, you wench!"
Its tail alone rivaled a whale's length. The amphibian's slimy skin glistened under the moonlight. The salamander thrashed desperately to return to the water, but it couldn't escape Asel's telekinesis. From the lakeshore, Marya spoke up as she watched.
"The real one's inside."
"Yeah."
Asel nodded. With a flick of his finger, an invisible fist slammed into the salamander's belly. Thud! As it retched, a lump shot from its open mouth.
"Gaaaah!"
The telekinetically seized lump screamed pitifully. It was an old man, easily over a hundred years old.
A black robe—the symbol of the Bokmajeon—draped his slender frame. The moment the old man emerged, the turbidity clouding the salamander's eyes cleared.
"Eeeek!"
"Don't miss now."
Asel released the salamander while holding the old man. It plummeted, creating a massive splash before vanishing. The immobilized old man sputtered in shock.
"H-how...!"
"Obvious. You brainwash spirit beasts to do your dirty work—that's your MO."
Marya laughed. After three months battling the Bokmajeon, she and Asel were getting used to their tricks. The villains controlled powerful beasts called spirit creatures through mind control.
Looking back, the past three months had been eventful. After accepting an offer from the renowned New Continent group, Yeongwolrim, they'd set aside merchant work to focus on exterminating the Bokmajeon.
Of course, it wasn't charity—it was to expand their influence in the New Continent. Nothing advertised better than helping the desperate. The purge was nearly complete.
'Four Heavenly Kings means we're almost done.'
At this rate, the Karabel Merchant Group could become the New Continent's new powerhouse. It was all thanks to Asel. As Marya gazed up at him affectionately,
"You think I'll go down like this?!"
"Huh?"
The old man suddenly pointed at Marya. A lump of mana—what they called ki here—shot straight at her.
"Ugh...!"
Marya realized her mistake and drew her greatsword just as the projectile hit nearby and exploded. Boom! A massive water column, dozens of meters wide, shot skyward. Asel's eyes widened.
"Marya!"
"Kuhahaha! You let your guard down. Focus only on your own safety, and this is what happens!"
The old man cackled. A huge crater gaped where the ki had struck. Splash... The towering waterspout collapsed, raining black droplets. Despair crossed Asel's face.
"Ow, that scared me. Thought I was done for."
Marya's voice suddenly rang out. She emerged from behind a massive tree. Thankfully, she'd dodged the blast.
"M-Marya...! Are you okay?!"
"Yeah. Totally fine."
Asel teared up. Marya flashed a V-sign and grinned cheerfully. Aside from dirtied clothes and face, she seemed unharmed. The old man's face hardened at the sight.
"What?!"
It was impossible. As Marya was about to tease Asel for crying like a man,
"...You."
Asel's expression turned icy as he turned to the old man.
"W-what?"
The old man shrank back. The atmosphere had completely shifted. Sensing danger, he sought escape, but the force constricting him intensified.
"Gack!"
Blood sprayed from the old man's mouth. Bones snapped sporadically throughout his body. Marya felt the ground quake and yelped in panic.
"Whoa, what's that!?"
It felt like an earthquake. A translucent barrier enveloped her—Asel's protective shield for when he cast large-scale spells. Glancing between him and the old man, she chuckled dryly.
"You're dead."
"Gaaaah! Let—let go!"
The old man screamed until his vocal cords tore. His rising body halted near the clouds. Finishing his incantation, Asel raised both palms upward. Crunch! Nearby trees and earth ripped from the ground and floated up.
"What...!"
The old man gaped. He'd never seen or heard of such martial arts. The terrain itself was inverting.
Asel stared silently at the old man. No mercy intended. In the Eastern Continent, elemental affinities mattered: fire beaten by water, water by earth, earth by wood, wood by metal, metal by fire.
The old man's primary element was clearly water or earth. Calculations done, Asel clapped his palms like forming a snowball. The floating earth and trees hurtled toward the old man.
"St-stop—!"
The old man wailed. Asel didn't respond. Boom! A mountain's worth of dirt and trees smashed into him like a target.
"......!"
The roar swallowed his screams. It was like a new star forming. Soon, a massive sphere materialized under the moon.
"Eternal Floating."
Asel incanted next, imbuing the sphere with semi-permanent levitation. Whoosh! Mana from his fingertips enveloped it.
Barring catastrophe, the prison sphere would float here forever, gleaming black in the backlight—a spectacle in its own right. Landing before Marya, Asel finished.
"Marya! R-really okay? Not hurt!?"
"I said I'm fine. See? Perfect."
Asel teared up again, checking her over. Marya silently pulled him into a hug. His trembling shoulders made him seem like a different person from the one who'd crushed the old man.
The gap in his expressions was maddening. His teary eyelashes were beautiful. Gazing down, Marya laughed in disbelief.
"God, you're turning me on."
"Huh?... Mmph!"
Suddenly, Marya grabbed his collar and yanked him roughly. Before he could speak, their lips met. After a long tangle of tongues, they parted.
"Pha, w-wait. Not here...!"
"Shut up."
Marya wiped her mouth with her sleeve and shoved Asel down. His protests drowned in the lake's lapping waves. The New Continent's night deepened.