Chapter 390: Heaven and Hell
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 390: Heaven and Hell
It wasn't a deep sleep, but I was able to close my eyes for a bit. Truthfully, I didn't need to sleep, but my mind was such a mess that I just shut them. It was because I still couldn't answer the question of whether I truly hated the Sword Saint, Ha Yuri.
The fact that she was a villain hadn't changed. And I didn't think she was paying nearly enough for her sins. And yet, the reason I was even having these thoughts was likely because her situation with Jeong Jiyoung was so similar to my own with Choi Seulgi.
‘What if someone had reached out to help us?’
It wasn't a thought I'd never had before.
Choi Seulgi and I had lived our own desperate lives, but not to this extent. It's only natural that hard work should be rewarded. But in situations like ours back then, and theirs now, there was no reward to be had.
It was a hopeless pit where common sense held no sway.
No matter how desperately you struggled, nothing changed.
It wasn't because Ha Yuri had said she and I were similar. I was truly seeing my past self in her.
“You’re… up early.”
Looking to my side, I saw Ha Yuri opening her eyes. After grabbing her sword and shield, she was already preparing to leave.
“We’re leaving early.”
“He’ll worry if I’m too late. I want to be back by today.”
“Yes.”
As I sat up slightly, I saw something like a note fall. It had clearly been placed on my body. With a sense of unease, I glanced at it. The handwriting was sharp and agitated.
- Just you wait until you get back, Kim Taesung. You looked so happy with that married woman.
‘Ha…’
There was no need to explain the situation.
‘Choi Seulgi was here.’
“Shit…”
“What is it?”
“It’s nothing.”
It seemed she had activated her unique ability while I was sleeping, left the note, and disappeared. I was grateful that she left quickly so as not to disturb us, but the fact that she left a note was naturally unsettling.
Ha Yuri and I hadn't slept embracing each other, but it was an undeniable fact that we had leaned against one another. To a third party, it could have looked quite affectionate.
Of course, there was the unspoken purpose of maintaining body heat, but I, who could protect my body with magic, had no need for it. I had only done it for Ha Yuri's sake, but if Choi Seulgi saw this and didn't get angry, she wouldn't be Choi Seulgi. Frankly, I wanted to praise her for not slitting Ha Yuri's throat in her sleep before leaving. Now that I had a reason to return quickly myself, I got up and started following Ha Yuri.
“Their territory starts around that area. We'll lie in wait near here, catch just one, and head straight back. Got it? From now on, we keep talking to a minimum.”
I nodded without answering, and Ha Yuri muttered.
“Good, you’re quick on the uptake.”
Her gear had changed. Before, she hadn't needed a shield. It was only natural, since wounds themselves had been meaningless to her. Now, she carried a shield like the other holy knights. The only weapon I had was a cheap steel sword. Fiddling with it, I thought of the old days and let out a small smirk.
“You’re smiling.”
“No, I’m not.”
The surroundings were incredibly quiet. I could hear the sound of magical beasts treading the ground, but they were much farther away. I shifted my feet slightly.
Rustle.
Ha Yuri frowned slightly at the sound, but I could feel a magical beast approaching, having heard that same noise.
As if she were the one who had discovered it, I heard Ha Yuri's voice mutter.
“It's coming. Get ready. You don't have to do anything. Just stand in front.”
I nodded and stepped forward. Before long, I saw a human-sized magical beast charging toward us. It was a primate-type beast, the kind with very little edible meat.
“Uwooooargh!”
Seeing me flinch at the beast's roar, Ha Yuri quietly muttered.
“Trust me.”
Just as the beast leaped out, the hidden Ha Yuri revealed herself. She drew her sword, timing it with its lunge. Her target was its neck, a fact the clever beast also knew.
It instinctively covered its neck, but it couldn't reverse its charge.
With a squelch, the sword plunged in, but because it wasn't imbued with magic, the wound was shallow.
“Uwooooaaaargh!”
Still, the wound was deep enough to be fatal. She knocked the beast off balance with her shield, drove her sword deeper into its neck, and then spoke to me.
“Not bad. Run. More will be here soon.”
“Yes.”
I hadn't expected her to take it down so quickly. It seemed she really was talented. The attack was incredibly clean—sharper, even, than before.
After tying the beast to herself with a vine she'd brought, Ha Yuri started to run, a look of satisfaction on her face. It's impossible not to feel good about a hard-earned result.
“You’ve got more guts than I thought.”
“That’s high praise.”
“Much better than those guys who can't even stand straight without magic. You exceeded my expectations. I didn't think we'd finish this quickly. I was expecting you to do something stupid… but this is good.”
The thought of being praised by that Ha Yuri was quite amusing.
Soon, I could hear a commotion, but we were already outside their territory.
I already knew the sound it made as it died was a call to its pack. Despite feeling her physical limits, she kept running, likely to shake off any pursuers.
“Huu… huu… Maybe we should do this together more often?”
“No. I think I'll have to move to another city soon.”
“It's the same wherever you go around here.”
“…”
We ran for quite a long time. Not only could we no longer hear the beasts' agitated cries, but we had completely left the forest. It was then that I sensed them—the ones I'd seen when we first left the city.
‘Those motherfuckers.’
I wasn't the only one who sensed them. Before long, Ha Yuri was also staring at the men before us with a foul expression.
“Shit… those fucking pigs. Ignore them and run.”
“Right.”
“If we lose them here, they won't be able to catch us. We'll circle around.”
“Right.”
Avoiding a fight was an excellent choice. Perhaps thinking ten men wouldn't be enough, a quick glance showed there were more than fifteen of them. From Ha Yuri's perspective, clashing with them would mean a high probability of death.
“Crazy bitch! Long time no see!” a voice called out from the distance.
“Ignore it.”
“Right.”
As we veered sharply to the side, I could hear them raising hell, but Ha Yuri probably couldn't hear them well. Seeing her raise her shield, it seemed she was preparing for incoming arrows. It seemed this sort of thing happened occasionally, though not often. But what came flying wasn't an arrow, but an unexpected spell.
“Hold!”
Apparently, there was a magician among them who had some residual mana. Ha Yuri, who had been running ahead, suddenly pitched forward, and I too froze in place for a moment. Arrows flew just then. I don't know when the spell broke, but I saw Ha Yuri deflecting them with her shield.
“Move! You should be able to move!”
“Understood.”
But there was no escape route. They had begun to surround us.
“That fucking pig…”
“See how much better it would've been if you'd just behaved? Huh? You can't just slip away like this. We even brought a precious magician with us.”
The man approaching us triumphantly was tapping his shoulder with an axe. At this sight, Ha Yuri slightly raised her hands and muttered.
“You can have the beast. How about you just let us go? There's no good in us shedding each other's blood, right?”
“Me? Why? I don't see why I should be satisfied with just one… when there are three pieces of tender meat right in front of me.”
“You…”
“Why are you glaring at me like that? It's not like this is anything new. Crazy bitch, I owe you for a few things, so I'll make sure to torture you as much as possible before I kill you. Sorry about this, to the guy over there.”
“…”
“And after that, it'll be your husband's turn, the one waiting so meekly in the city.”
“You! You son of a fucking bitch!”
In an instant, an enraged Ha Yuri charged at them. The magician, having used his spell once, seemed to be at his limit and couldn't cast another, but five men with shields stepped forward to block Ha Yuri.
It was obvious she didn't have the attack power to break through their defense. She fought desperately, but as the well-armed men relentlessly closed in, Ha Yuri's expression began to distort.
Any of them who got even slightly wounded immediately fell back. They were wearing down her stamina. For Ha Yuri, who had already run all this way, it was a fatal tactic.
“You mother… fucking… bastards…”
As the fight dragged on, the magician's spell struck Ha Yuri again, and she finally collapsed to the ground.
“If you touch my husband, I'll kill every last one of you. All of you. I'll kill you. I swear I'll kill you.”
“Shouldn't you be worrying about yourself right now? Huh?”
“Shut up, you pig!!!”
“My, what a virtuous wife we have here. A truly virtuous wife.”
It was then that the pig looked at me.
“Hey. You, the one standing there like an idiot.”
“…”
“You, come over here and have a taste of this bitch. I'm curious to hear how she screams.”
“Youuuuuu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“I know you’re probably scared. But still, before you die, huh? A man’s gotta, huh? Get it in at least once.”
They began to strip the bound Ha Yuri of her equipment and clothes one by one, revealing her body. I had seen it before when I tortured her, but this situation was different. She was, without a doubt, feeling ashamed now.
“Puhahahaha! This is the first time I've seen this bitch look ashamed, boss.”
“Why don't you give it a try?”
“If my body was in one piece, I'd have my way with her. It's a real shame, boss. Hey! You, the dumb-looking bastard, hurry up and fucking do it!”
“You motherfucking bastards! I'll kill you all! I'll kill every one of you! Sob…”
What I saw from Ha Yuri, pinned to the ground, was unmistakably tears. My heart was heavy. It wasn't that I pitied Ha Yuri. Not at all. But this feeling just kept getting fouler.
I slowly started to walk.
“That's right! A man's gotta have that much spirit!”
“Don't come here! You bastard! Don't come!”
Ha Yuri screamed desperately, and the sight of the pig poking and toying with her body was nauseating. For some reason, the image of Choi Seulgi and me being stabbed by the murderers' blades overlapped with this scene.
“This'll be fun.”
“This is exciting. It's our first time seeing a live show, isn't it, boss?”
The men surrounding me patted my shoulder, as if urging me to go to Ha Yuri. Rage boiled up to the crown of my head. It was absolutely, definitely not because I pitied her.
“Filthy bastards…”
“You… what did you just…”
The first one to register my presence was the old magician in the distance. He was trembling so hard he couldn't even speak. The others, not yet grasping the situation, were still touching and harassing Ha Yuri, but it didn't take long for their expressions to turn blank.
CRUNCH!
The body of the man who had touched me flew away, its form completely obliterated. I had swung my tail, but it was likely too fast for their eyes to see.
“You… you…”
Ha Yuri raised a hand toward me, and I swung my arm, smashing the head of the man standing beside her with his mouth agape.
“You pieces of trash. You don't deserve to live, even here.”
I extended my magic in all directions. In an instant, their bodies were slammed into the ground.