Chapter 97
Chapter 97
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: Departure
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Five days had passed, and Raysi had finally ditched the wheelchair, though she wasn't fully recovered. She still couldn't move her body vigorously.
So Raysi greeted Yuri without getting out of bed. She could have gotten up, but she wanted to milk the sick act a bit more.
It was because of the memory of the last time she'd seen him—spewing her guts out mindlessly in front of that man.
"You're leaving today, right?"
Raysi deliberately softened her gaze and made her voice thin and reedy. The acting was so over-the-top that she looked like she could drop dead any second.
"Why are you like that?"
But it didn't land with Yuri that way. He narrowed his eyes on purpose and looked at the raspy-voiced Raysi with utter pity.
"...Ahem."
Raysi caught the subtle emotion in his gaze, and her ears flushed red. She cleared her throat a few times, then squared her previously slumped shoulders. She put strength back into her eyes and stared at Yuri.
"You're leaving today, right?"
She went back to the original question as if nothing had happened. Her effort was admirable enough that Yuri didn't call her out on it.
"Yes."
"That must be nice. I think I'll need a few more days to rest. And I have business in the city."
"Business? Didn't you come for the fair?"
They were preparing a new venue for the exploded fairground, so it seemed like there'd be one next year too, but this year's was over.
"The fair was part of it, but I also had dealings with the mages who gather this season. They don't come together without events like this."
"Ah, that thing with..."
Yuri almost blurted out "old hag" without thinking and clamped his mouth shut.
"With Fabian?"
"Among others. Yuri, you might enjoy it if you came along."
"A possessor meetup?"
Raysi frowned at the abrupt question.
"No."
Fabian was a possessor, but not everyone in Raysi's mage circle was.
"Are you a possessor, Yuri?"
"No."
"How long do you plan to stay that way?"
"Not sure, but I plan to stay that way with you forever, Raysi."
If his guess was right, Raysi was THOR123. Honestly, Yuri was glad about that. The wholesome exchanges with Thor had always been fun.
But had it been fun for Thor? In Yuri's memory, he'd never lost to Thor once. He didn't think it was wrong. But even in wholesome exchanges, getting one-sidedly pummeled and losing could spark some 'frustration.'
The problem lay with Thor, who was obsessed with orthodox Derusia-style lightning magic yet stuck his nose everywhere pretending to know better. The issue was with the guy who acted like he knew shit he didn't, not with Yuri correcting him.
If those feelings had built up resentment? It was less wariness than a desire to tease Thor—er, Raysi. Real-life Thor made for a pretty fun punching bag too.
"Why not with me?"
"Because you're not."
"What does that even mean...?"
"Anyway, you're not."
A letter suddenly appeared before Raysi, whose shoulders were trembling with indignation. She stared at it blankly, then flicked her gaze up to Yuri.
"Sorry."
"Huh?"
"I admire your courage, Yuri. But... we don't really know each other that well, do we?"
"What are you—"
"I'm grateful for your bold confession, but... we need more time to get to know each other. Starting with you admitting you're a possessor..."
"Are you crazy?"
Yuri shook the letter with a horrified look.
"This isn't a love letter."
"Huh?"
"And it's not for you either, Raysi."
Raysi's face turned red as she blinked. She shivered, then hastily schooled her expression.
"American joke."
"A... merican? What's that?"
Even in this situation? Raysi glared at Yuri in disbelief, then sighed deeply and took the letter.
"So what's this letter then?"
"Please deliver it to Elena."
He'd written it almost all night, but the envelope wasn't thick. He'd written most of it, crumpled it up, and thrown it away.
No matter what he wrote, it always boiled down to excuses and justifications. He tried to keep it straightforward, just the facts... but it never satisfied him, so in the end, he just wrote what he really wanted to say.
"..."
Raysi alternated between the letter and Yuri's face. Deliver it to Elena. Such a simple request weighed heavy on her chest. This letter would definitely affect Elena somehow, but predicting how was hard.
Elena was that unstable right now. Raysi would have to return to Lutran right away and make 'excuses' to her.
That meeting with Yuri in Alderan was pure coincidence, and there was no personal relationship at all. If she didn't make those excuses, Elena might harbor all sorts of misunderstandings. Especially if they involved possessors—
She didn't even want to think about it.
"Got it."
After agonizing, Raysi could only nod. She didn't know what emotional shift Elena would go through from this letter. That depended entirely on its contents. She had no intention of asking, much less peeking at it.
"Anything else to pass on besides the letter?"
"I wrote everything I wanted to say."
Yuri gave a wry smile.
"But please tell her I'll wait."
Wait for what? A reply? Looking at the shameless guy's forced smile, she couldn't bring herself to ask.
"Yeah."
Raysi finally answered that way. She set the letter aside and let out a short sigh.
"I don't know when we'll meet again, but stay safe until then."
"You too, Raysi. Get well."
"Over mountains and rivers."
"Why do this?"
Her sneak attack failed spectacularly.
*
Alderan airship port.
Maybeld's airship was already prepped for departure.
Not being a merchant or passenger liner, Maybeld's ship was much smaller than the others. Of course, "small" still meant bigger than the budget airline planes Yuri had flown in Korea.
As expected of a Maybeld vessel, the interior was luxurious. Touring the fully equipped space, Yuri couldn't help thinking money was the best.
"You had quite the chat with the Sword Dragon kid."
Eleia already had booze in hand before takeoff. She set down her greatsword and plopped onto the lounge's massive sofa, uncorking the bottle.
"Now that I think about it, wasn't this the first time you two properly talked?"
She gulped down the liquor straight from the bottle, her gaze shifting to Yuri and Ha-ryeong.
"To Guangxi, it's a generous week. Better to chat than waste time doing nothing, right? Or don't you want to get friendly with a possessor?"
Yuri shrugged at her mischievous smile and sat across from her.
"An honor to befriend the Peerless Sovereign, the Brutal Uproar."
"Cheeky bastard. You met Full Moon Reveler before, right?"
"Yes."
"I don't like that guy. We're both possessors, but his antics get me lumped in as weird too."
Rumble. The airship began to move with vibrations. Eleia grumbled as she sank deeper into the sofa against the shake.
"Not just him. Radiant Extreme Heaven and Slaughter Light—those two are nuts too. I get bundling them as Sa-kyung suspects since they might be possessors, but compared to those three, I'm perfectly sane."
"Are Radiant Extreme Heaven and Slaughter Light possessors too?"
"Who knows. Unless you're a lunatic like Full Moon Reveler, you don't go around announcing it. They deny it if asked... but Radiant Extreme Heaven probably is."
Eleia drained over half the bottle in seconds and looked out the window. The city was receding. Ha-ryeong, who'd ridden an airship once before, was glued to the window, as was Estor.
"From what I know, after your life-or-death duel with the Demonic Cult's Blood Demon General, you vanished, Lady Eleia. What brings you to the Maybeld family?"
"Maybeld's my birth family."
Yuri, Ha-ryeong, and even Estor whipped their heads around in shock. But Eleia just blandly emptied the rest of the bottle.
"More precisely, this body's birth family."
"What does that—"
"This body is Alnair Maybeld's half-sibling."
Yuri recalled Alnair, whom he'd greeted before leaving the estate. Sharp features, lean build, tanned skin. Honestly, Eleia didn't resemble him much—
"Green eyes."
Eleia chuckled at Yuri's speechless face.
"The previous family head—this body's father—was a total womanizer. He turned the annex into a lavish palace for dozens of concubines. This body's mother was one of them."
Ha-ryeong, who'd been peering out the window, returned and sat by Yuri. A glance showed her face rigid as stone.
"Well, the old head was careful with contraception, apparently. But this body's mother got overly ambitious."
If she bore a child, maybe she'd stand out from the other concubines.
"The previous head and his wife drew a clear line there. Pregnant concubines couldn't stay in the annex. As you know, Maybeld has money to burn. This body's mother got a massive fortune and ongoing support in exchange for leaving."
Concubines' children weren't allowed the Maybeld name or to live in the estate.
"Before possession, this body had no real hardships. Couldn't live in the Maybeld estate, but got enough money to live lavishly forever, with monthly stipends that never stopped. Once grown, this body's only 'problem' was her innate superhuman strength. A pampered lady doesn't need that."
The mother, once ambitious to get close to Maybeld's core, eventually faced reality. No matter how well she raised her daughter, they couldn't return. Pushing it might mean losing the fortune, support—or even their lives.
She wished for her healthy daughter's happiness. Marry a good man, have grandkids. The ordinary future most people had.
That ordinary future never came.
Her only kin, her daughter's body, got someone else inside it.
"Couldn't hide it long."
A fresh bottle floated up to Eleia.
"I suck at acting. Tried, but by day three, I had no choice. Eleia's mother... the way she looked at me stopped being a mother's gaze."
She must've thought it impossible. But realization dawned. That was definitely her daughter's body, but the soul inside wasn't her daughter's. Speech changed. Behavior changed. Everything felt off.
Might fool others. But not the mother who'd birthed and raised her all her life.
"On day six, she came to my room. With a knife."
The obvious questions followed.
Who are you?
Why are you mimicking my daughter?
Where'd you hide my daughter?
Eleia's mother knew about possessors. But she couldn't accept it. Admitting that meant her daughter's soul was dead. So she said that—someone hid her daughter and was impersonating her.
"Did you kill her?"
Ha-ryeong spoke up. Her face—Yuri had never seen it like this. Surface was her usual blank, but her eyes churned with unfathomable emotions.
"I'm not that much of a monster."
Eleia replied after draining the second bottle.
"She wanted me dead. But I couldn't do it. You know about possessors? When you possess, memories flood in."
She tittered, tapping her temple: *tap, tap*.
"Not mine—this body's memories. Wild feeling. No emotions, just memories... but memories connect to yours, and then... emotions attach on their own."
"..."
"Maybe a sensitivity thing. I knew she wasn't my mom, but I couldn't treat her as just an enemy trying to kill me. Maybe the body resisted, but I had to run."
"...Emotions."
Ha-ryeong murmured softly. Eleia stared at her a moment, then tossed the empty bottle aside.
"I don't think I sinned. I didn't choose possession. But that woman's face—coming at me with a knife—haunts me. So I fled far from Alderan."
She changed her name. "Eleia Yudel" was the new one she'd made here. She resolved to discard the old one.
"This body's 'issue' with super strength was a boon for me. Thought about magic, but with this strength innate, better to lean into it. So I picked up the greatsword."
After that, Eleia wandered the Western Continent, honing her power. She prowled rifts and earned coin to master the greatsword.
"Round when I hit 5th Tier? That's when it blew up."
Eleia Yudel is a possessor.
The rumor came from her body's mother.
"She melted down her entire fortune to find her runaway daughter. Unfortunately, I didn't learn face-changing magic or arts, so I got tailed. Even if I had, it'd probably out anyway. Blood-tracking spells and rituals exist."
When she learned her daughter lived as "Eleia Yudel," the mother had to face the truth she'd denied. Her daughter wasn't hidden. What she'd seen wasn't an impersonator—it was a possessor in her daughter's body.
"After that, real hell. I wasn't as strong then—and that era hated possessors more. Everyone swarmed to kill the possessor, plus War Church hunters on my tail."
So she fled to the Eastern Continent. The perilous mid-sea route deterred pursuers too.
"Lucky? Just as I hit the East, the Order Church got exiled from the Union. Their rampage half-wiped the War Church elites and crippled their main force."
The War Church pursuit didn't cross the mid-sea.
"But my possessor status was out, and changing names wouldn't hide it forever. So I owned it. Luckily, the Righteous Heavenly Alliance ruling the East doesn't auto-execute possessors, and opposing the Demonic Cult made us friendly."
Years later.
"Heard she killed herself."
Jerk.
Ha-ryeong, lips pressed tight, shot to her feet.
"...Sorry."
She sat back down with a small voice. Yuri didn't know why her shoulders trembled or why she chewed her lower lip.
But he knew not to ask.
"Weird feeling. The woman who outed me and made me hunted... hearing she died brought no relief. Nor was I super sad."
"Guilt?"
Yuri's murmur drew a short laugh from Eleia.
"Yeah, guilt. Felt it then. Started venting on Demonic Cult scum after. Lived that way, got the Brutal Uproar moniker, became Peerless Sovereign."
The floating sensation inside stopped. They'd reached cruising altitude. Eleia eyed Ha-ryeong as she continued.
"You asked why I'm with Maybeld? Took the long way, but Alnair reached out first."
Her duel with Blood Demon General didn't leave her unscathed. Healing fully amid Demonic Cult pursuit was tough. Then a Maybeld envoy arrived.
"Alnair knew long ago this 'body' was his half-sibling and saw my cornered state as opportunity. No reason for me to refuse."
Thus Eleia returned to Maybeld—the family her dead body's mother once coveted.
The body's father had died of illness over a decade ago.
Hard to accept the Pride family head dying sick, but under Alnair, Maybeld grew richer.
The annex housing dozens of concubines was demolished without trace for new buildings.
"Lady Eleia the possessor... do you feel sibling bond with your half-brother Alnair?"
"As if."
Eleia snorted.
"This body's owner never met Alnair. If raised as real siblings, maybe, but no related memories means no bond."
Half-sibling sense needs both sides.
"But when we first met, that sly bastard subtly pushed the 'same blood' angle. He doesn't really think it, but."
Alnair's a merchant. He'll use half-blood if useful. The kind to fabricate sibling bonds for a Peerless Sovereign.
"No sibling feelings for Alnair in my memories. Same blood means little without that. I got his help; in return, I'm Maybeld's muscle."
Eleia's gaze stayed on Ha-ryeong, likely due to her emotional turmoil.
[You...]
Ha-ryeong hastily composed herself at the telepathic message.
"Talk got too long."
Eleia yawned and stood.
"We've got a week, so your stories tomorrow. I drank, so gonna sleep."
Despite saying sleep, she grabbed a armful of bottles and left the lounge.
"...What now? I don't have a backstory like Lady Eleia's."
Estor muttered, glancing out the window.
"Tell a failed first love story or something."
Yuri said, looking at Ha-ryeong. She'd been mulling Eleia's telepathy and abruptly stood.
"Where are you going?"
"To train in my room."
"Ha-ryeong."
Yuri tried to stop her, but she slowly shook her head. In the end, only Yuri and Estor remained in the lounge.
"...Um."
Estor rubbed his fingers and glanced at Yuri.
"Spar?"
"Fall here and you're dead."
"Why fall?"
"You can't control your strength, might wreck the ship."
"Hmm..."
Before denying it, Estor looked out the window. The city was gone; clouds blanketed below.
"Nah, let's not."
Fall and you'd really die.
Estor shuddered as he replied.