Chapter 120
Chapter 120
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: No Pity for the Pitiless
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Han U-sol headed straight to the hospital.
He had definitely planned to visit right after the interrogation was over, but things had been so hectic that he completely forgot.
She had insisted he come see her today without fail, so she would probably be furious if she knew he had forgotten.
When he arrived at her room, he saw her propped up in bed.
Sure enough, she looked visibly displeased.
"How's your body feeling? You okay?"
"Why are you only coming now?"
The clock's hour hand had already passed 7 and was nearing 8.
Was it because he was too late? Her response was quite sharp.
"...Sorry. I had some things to take care of."
".........."
Han U-sol glanced at Yoon Na-rin's expression.
It wasn't just anger from the late visit; her face held something more complex. She seemed angry, but also depressed.
Sensing the atmosphere was off, Han U-sol straightened up and sat in the chair.
"Anis."
Suddenly, the name that had tormented him all day slipped from her lips.
Han U-sol immediately understood what she wanted to say.
She heard.
That Anis was alive.
And that she had already sided with the demons.
"I heard. She's alive. You know something, don't you?"
".........."
"Tell me everything you know."
Yoon Na-rin's eyes, which had been fixed downward, finally turned toward Han U-sol for the first time.
He flinched for a moment.
After a brief silence, Han U-sol began to speak.
"Actually..."
Han U-sol told Yoon Na-rin everything.
From Anis's origins, to Yeriel's purpose and the trigger for summoning her.
The fact that Yeriel had injected demonic energy into Anis for that purpose, causing her severe aftereffects.
And even that all of this stemmed from his own mother fleeing her duty to give birth to him.
This was top-secret information that only a few upper echelons knew, and it should never be revealed to anyone else.
It wasn't something that should spill out just because she prodded a little.
Yet, for some reason, the words flowed out surprisingly smoothly.
Even Han U-sol was inwardly shocked.
Was it because they had known each other for so long and built up enough trust that he could confide without resistance?
Or because she was the person closest to Anis, making it easier to talk about?
No, perhaps Han U-sol, crushed by hidden guilt and responsibility, had finally reached his limit.
Maybe he just needed someone reliable to lean on after spilling it all.
Like a confession in church, Han U-sol laid bare everything he knew in front of Yoon Na-rin.
It felt refreshing.
As if he were washing away the burdens he had carried alone without properly telling anyone.
But it was even more frightening.
Yoon Na-rin hated the magic beasts that killed her brother.
Anis technically fell into that category too, so Han U-sol feared she might turn away like the others, insisting Anis had to die.
At the same time,
he dreaded her blaming him, saying it was all his fault the world had come to this,
that it wouldn't have happened if he hadn't been born.
Before he knew it, Han U-sol's vision was filled with the hospital room's white floor.
The more he spoke, the longer the story grew, the lower his head drooped.
And it stayed that way even after he finished.
However, after a long silence, the words from Yoon Na-rin's mouth were different from his fears.
"...I see. You must have been through a lot too. Why didn't you say something sooner?"
Empathy, comfort, and a touch of sincere joking.
Han U-sol lifted his lowered head and met Yoon Na-rin's eyes.
The faintly reddish eyes held no blame toward him or sense of betrayal toward Anis.
What they contained was a vague certainty.
"Still, there's a way to save her, right? If we can just figure out how to break the contract and remove the demonic energy for sure."
"...Yeah."
For Yoon Na-rin, knowing her friend—whom she thought was dead—was alive and that there was a way to save her was enough. Her origins didn't matter.
"...Then that's fine."
Even if there was a way, it wasn't as easy as it sounded.
But it wasn't impossible either.
"...I suddenly want to go to that cafe we used to visit with Anis all the time."
"The one we went to every morning?"
"Yeah."
Yoon Na-rin told Han U-sol.
It's not too late yet.
We can turn it around.
Han U-sol smiled with a sense of relief.
He was right to tell Yoon Na-rin.
She steadied him when he was wavering from all sorts of stories and instilled certainty.
As Ronel said, Han U-sol wasn't some protagonist.
It was too much for him to shoulder everything alone.
But if he wasn't alone...
Maybe he could handle it.
Maybe he could be certain about saving Anis.
Even if he wavered countless times in the process.
"I'll help too, so let's do our best."
As if bolstering him, Yoon Na-rin said clearly once more.
"Let's save Anis together."
"...Yeah."
For some reason, he felt like he wouldn't have nightmares tonight.
After Han U-sol left and Yoon Na-rin was alone in the room, she quietly sank into thought.
'...Anis is a magic beast?'
Yoon Na-rin hated magic beasts and demons.
That fact hadn't changed.
But that didn't mean her hatred was so indiscriminate that she'd lump in the unrelated Anis.
"...Hah."
Being classified as a magic beast just because she came from another world—Yoon Na-rin snorted involuntarily.
Anis was human.
She could be certain because she had been closer to her than anyone and known her well.
The first thought when hearing Han U-sol's story was anger toward Yeriel.
Thinking of Anis being summoned without consent, enduring unknown pain, only fueled it.
She wanted to storm over and unleash her rage right then, but she couldn't just do that.
Her choice had ultimately been to protect humanity, and humanity's survival so far stemmed from her sacrifices—that much was true.
Even accounting for that, she deserved a beating, but obsessing over the past wouldn't undo spilled water.
Condemning her now wouldn't help save Anis and might even backfire.
Yoon Na-rin thought of others instead of Yeriel.
The two traitors said to be with Anis.
Betty and Han.
People Yoon Na-rin had met once or twice.
They were the types who killed without batting an eye.
Just knowing Anis was with them worried her deeply.
Han U-sol had said Anis was bound by some contract, hesitating to return despite wanting to.
And that her mental state seemed even more unstable.
".........."
Yoon Na-rin's lightly clenched hand trembled.
Those guys must have ruined Anis.
She had to save her.
Anis, who was suffering even now.
It wasn't too late yet.
Wait, Anis.
I'll come save you soon.
Morning came, and as we went outside, several villains had vanished.
Wondering if they had escaped, we checked the surroundings and found half-eaten corpses where the magic beasts gathered near the entrance.
They had tried to escape and gotten eaten by the magic beasts.
"Oh dear. I should have warned them beforehand."
Han muttered as if it were regrettable.
"Anis, do you feel sorry for them?"
Han asked me.
"No. Not really."
"Is that so."
As I shook my head in response, Han's red eyes stared straight at me.
"I told you not to stare because it creeps me out, and that was just yesterday. Did you think I was joking?"
"It's discrimination based on ability."
It was unfortunate, but I didn't pity their deaths.
Villains from A-rank to C-rank.
They made killing children and raping women a daily routine amid the city's crumbling security.
I didn't respect them.
Because I didn't respect them, I gave them palm-sized bread for meals and let them drink from rain barrels.
I hated criminals.
My father was a domestic abuser who tormented me, and those around me were people who didn't respect me and only hurt me.
I hated those who harmed others.
Because I knew better than anyone what it meant to be hurt and suffer.
They were selfish.
When they committed wrongs, they blamed the environment, others, even the neighbor's dog, spinning tales of woe.
Strict with others, endlessly lenient with themselves.
That's why I didn't respect them.
The only ones I could respect and be lenient with were Betty and Han.
It was contradictory, but ultimately down to whether they had hurt me or were meaningful connections in my life.
Selfishly so.
Maybe it was self-loathing.
Because I wasn't all that different from them.
Before coming to this world, maybe, but now my hands weren't clean either.
I was just another criminal who had killed people.
Yet I was endlessly lenient toward myself and those around me, selfishly.
"...Let's head back."
Han withdrew his gaze from me and said so.
Returning to where the villains were, a few dissatisfied ones banded together and attacked us.
Han drew his sword without hesitation.
Betty and I stepped back and watched.
"Betty. In my world, there's a saying: love, respect, and cherish the pitiful."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. So it means we deserve to be loved, respected, and cherished."
"I see!"
―Keuugh!
―Kyaak!
Han's sword flashed several times, and blood sprayed.
Beneath that blood, we quietly whispered respect and love.
The commotion died down quickly.
Once the heads of the ringleaders fell cleanly in seconds, the villains trembled in fear and submitted to Han.
As an example, Han beheaded three more villains, shook the blood from his sword, and approached Betty and me.
"Maybe because it's the first day, more came at us with defiance than expected. Numbers dropped unavoidably, but it'll get better from now on. Newcomers will get warned by the seniors."
"Yes. But you fight well with just one arm."
"Form is temporary, but class is eternal, right?"
"Without an arm, isn't it no longer temporary?"
A lame joke floated through the bloody silence.
Where to go today?
Hopefully catch a lot of A-rank villains.