Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Azalea's Falling Blossoms (7)
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-Roar! Blaze!
A massive blaze swallowed the street whole. Cold ice clamped down on the ankles of the filthy heretics, and razor-sharp winds severed their necks.
-Tweet! Tweet!
The square filled with the piercing cry of the blood-red Azalea Bird.
The sidewalk, site of a recent slaughter, was slick with blood, and smoke rose from every corner.
-Boom!
A woman burst through the smoke, her eyes blazing as she muttered.
"......Lee Seong-han."
Her eyes were bloodshot red. Her protective suit was charred black.
Her fiercely glowing gaze fixed on one man alone.
"Lee Seong-han!!!!"
A desperate scream tore from her scraped-raw throat.
Two armed priests flew toward her.
"Lady Candidate Apostle, forgive our rudeness."
"Don't call me by that name!"
Her blackened, burned hand lashed out at the priest.
Four magic circles unfolded from her palm.
-Ziiing!
A surge of crimson waves engulfed the priest.
The priest ducked low to evade the spell and charged with a dagger gripped in reverse.
-Crunch!
The slender blade pierced straight through a layer of barrier.
Barrier shards scattered, and the icy sword tip closed in before her eyes.
Her crazed eyes wandered, then locked on the priest's face.
"Get lost."
-Greeek!
Five barriers enveloped her body.
"......!"
Behind Azalea, flames and ice coalesced into dozens of spears.
Pink petals bloomed around her, fluttering like dancers.
-Drip.
A trickle of nosebleed ran down.
Ignoring it, she swung her hand. The two priests, who had leaped back to create distance, were impaled by ice spears erupting from the ground and met their end.
'Just a little more. Just a bit longer!'
Her breathing grew ragged, her consciousness fading.
Someone grabbed her shoulder.
"Stop."
"......!"
It was a woman with blindingly bright yellow hair.
"Si-heon will hate it if you push too hard. Stay put, Pinky."
Si-heon.
......Si-heon?
The two syllables echoed in her ears before fading.
Her sanity flickered back. Her vision cleared, revealing the grim reality.
The black-robed fanatics she had slain.
The priests skewered on spits. And beyond the barriers, amid fleeing students, the man she had desperately ignored came into view.
Azalea's eyes widened.
"......Why."
Why that man of all people...
A whirlwind of thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant.
Her trembling voice was hoarse and ragged; even trying to continue yielded only a hiss of escaping air.
"Kuh, kuh."
She coughed up blood weakly.
Even then, Azalea was lost in turbulent thoughts.
-Boom!
Mana exploded, flesh was sliced away. Bleeding from his arm, the man pressed on with desperate combat.
Lee Si-heon was fighting there.
"......Help him."
"Huh?"
"Help that man, not me."
She squeezed out the words with all her strength, pointing at Lee Si-heon with her burned, curled fingers.
San Su-yu seemed to hesitate, then shook her head.
"No."
"......"
"I have my own role. And Si-heon is strong."
As she said, Lee Si-heon was strong.
He moved with skillful precision and seasoned restraint that begged the question of when he had grown so powerful.
If it weren't multiple opponents, he might have won.
But even his top ally, Jeong Si-woo, was surrounded by priests and couldn't fight at full strength.
This wouldn't do.
"And right now, I'm-"
-Slash.
"-plenty busy."
San Su-yu said as she decapitated a fanatic sneaking up behind Azalea. Blood dripped from her reverse-gripped blade.
"Isn't there a way?"
"Why?"
"This happened because of my stepfather. I have to do something."
"Impossible for me."
"......I see."
Azalea bowed her head. Shadows fell over her face.
Powerless as she was now.
If she did nothing, she might not only fail to reverse that day's tragedy but lose herself too.
Azalea whispered to her spirit.
The Azalea Bird alighted on her head in response. Its once-flaming red feathers had faded.
'What am I even...'
An idiot.
-Chirp, scree. Chirp.
The Azalea's Bird's mournful song filled the area.
The pink melody painted the world, taking form as scattering petals.
Bidding farewell to her current spirit,
Azalea donned the long, trailing melody.
「Liberation」 The scent of blood filled her nostrils.
*****
-Rumble!
I panted heavily. What the hell was happening? Keeping my guard up, I checked Lee Seong-han's complexion.
Lee Seong-han grinned with a twisted face.
"Oh! O God. Are you finally granting the oracle!"
Muttering prayers, he clasped his hands and looked behind me.
The air reeked of iron. Startled, I turned to see a massive tree sprouting where Azalea had stood.
'Lignification?'
Blood-red azaleas bloomed thickly atop branches extending from her shoulders.
Roots and stems clung grotesquely to her body, armored in bark-like scales for protection. Behind her stood a wooden doll cradling her form lovingly.
The doll embracing Azalea took the shape of a middle-aged man I had never seen.
"Si-heon, things went wrong."
"How'd it end up like that?"
San Su-yu shook her head at my question. She seemed just as baffled, standing right beside me.
"Ah."
Petals drifted down from the trees sprouting from Azalea's shoulders.
-Flutter.
The falling petals caught the wind, swaying gracefully before swarming the fanatics like moths to flame.
Where the petals touched, flames erupted.
-Roar! The fanatics' melting flesh screamed as they rolled on the ground.
"Oh!"
Even as his brethren died, Lee Seong-han's face beamed with smiles.
As if their victory was a given, he never lost his composure.
"Lee Seong-han."
Azalea's first icy words leaked out.
The air quivered; things were going south.
"Daughter. Come to me."
"Shut up."
Lee Seong-han slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out a massive crimson magic stone.
It pulsed with ominous light.
Right. Thinking about it, he just wanted Azalea stronger.
To feed on her as fertilizer, nurture her vengeance, and bring her to their side.
So they had the power to subdue her.
Brainwashing or whatever.
What mattered was that such power existed.
-Swoosh.
"......There."
Azalea glided to my side, looking at me with a complicated expression.
"Later, I have something to ask you."
"Sure."
"For now, please step back."
-Hum. Vrr!
The magic stone's irritating buzz had been nagging my ears.
The mana flow prickling my skin felt ominous too.
Who knew what might happen.
If Lee Seong-han's power was brainwashing, I might have to turn against Azalea.
Then I'd die from quest failure.
"Can't step back. Still a ton left to do."
"......What does that even mean?"
-Flash.
I pulled out the crystal I'd received yesterday.
"......Apostle Lee Si-heon. You're about to do something stupid."
He smirked at my action, but couldn't hide the agitation in his eyes.
I poured mana into the crystal. Target: Lee Seong-han before me.
"No idea what you're planning. But doesn't it end if the boss is gone?"
"Pardon?"
"......"
Azalea voiced confusion, but I ignored her and glared at Lee Seong-han. His leisure finally cracked.
"I get the idea. But you seem clueless about your own future."
Tortured or butchered, dying here or there was the same.
Better to bet on even a slim chance of survival.
-Whirr.
Teleport activated.
Prepped in a flash, it lifted me and Lee Seong-han into the sky.
Lee Seong-han bit his lower lip, looking troubled.
"Well, this is awkward."
"Sucks for you?"
"......Poor you."
Azalea's shout faded in my muffling ears.
"You! What the hell are you...!"
Hadn't said anything yet.
I meant to say one last thing before parting.
See you soon. Be right back. As I formed the words and parted my lips for the first syllable.
"See you-"
It cut off midway, and the scene changed.
Oh. This is bad.
I'd become the one heading to die alone.