Chapter 106
Chapter 106
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: Unable to Move
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#106.
My body wouldn't move.
I thought maybe I was bound, but surprisingly, there was no pressure weighing down on me.
That meant my flesh itself was restrained.
Seo Woo-jin circulated his mana without panicking.
Fortunately, his mana circuits were intact.
Vast mana flowed through the circuits, coursing around his body.
But the restraint on his body remained.
He couldn't even twitch a finger.
Grit—Grrrrrit—!
He twisted his body with all his might.
But his muscles only screamed in protest.
"Don't strain yourself so much. At your current level, it's impossible."
Right then, Reina's voice came from right beside him.
He tried to open his eyes, but even that was impossible.
"You're wasting your effort, I said."
It sounded like she was sneering.
"I didn't expect to snag you this easily. I'm pretty lucky, huh? The day we arrive at the imperial capital, and you just happen to step outside... Feels like fate."
*Kidnapped.*
For some reason, Reina had abducted him and was dragging him somewhere.
"Honestly, it wasn't a mission I was thrilled about. Hanging around places like the academy is a hassle if I get caught. I wasn't in a great mood about it, but hey, problem solved nice and easy."
Reina talked a lot.
Almost as much as Lee Ji-ah.
Even with Seo Woo-jin unable to respond at all, she kept chattering nonstop.
Thanks to that, he picked up a few key pieces of information.
Reina was a follower of the Demon King, just like Gerald.
This kidnapping was to uncover how Gerald had died.
And finally, there was someone who gave them missions—orders in the form of tasks.
*We're screwed.*
He couldn't confirm if it was true, but according to Reina, she and Gerald were equals in strength.
That meant he had no chance of escaping alone.
*What if I use Celestial Wing?*
It wouldn't change anything.
Even at max output, it lasted three minutes; if he rationed it, maybe ten at best.
He didn't think he could kill Reina in that time.
Gerald had proven that much.
*No, if she thought it was a threat, she'd have taken the bracelet first.*
Reina hadn't taken anything from Seo Woo-jin's body.
*Celestial Wing*, *Aegis*, *Rune Dea*.
Not even the clothes Grand Duke Briana had gifted him.
She'd left them all there, confident they posed no danger.
*I should have used Aegis.*
Barsik had said this ring summoned a shield that blocked all attacks.
If he'd activated *Aegis* the moment he sensed something off, he wouldn't have been kidnapped so pathetically.
*It's an unfamiliar item, so it didn't cross my mind.*
He'd never used the gift since receiving it.
So it was no wonder the name *Aegis* had been buried in the back of his mind.
"I can practically hear the gears turning in your head from here, kid."
Just then, Reina, who had been rambling to herself, addressed Seo Woo-jin directly.
"The sooner you give up, the easier it'll be. Holding onto false hope only makes the despair hit harder—and that's more painful for you. Though, that has its own fun, I suppose...."
Reina trailed off as she spoke with a laugh.
"Hey, kid. Mind if I ask a favor?"
Seo Woo-jin was caught off guard by the sudden request.
A favor? From him, who couldn't move?
As he wondered if she was sane.
"Can I have a little taste of your blood? I was gonna hold out till we arrived, but I can't anymore. That okay?"
If he could, Seo Woo-jin would have bolted from his seat and run.
*Vampire!*
The nobles who ruled the darkness.
Beings who elevated their own rank by drinking blood brimming with life force, gaining immense power.
Among the Demon King's followers, vampires were the most unique bloodline.
Her excited breathing sounded right by his ear.
"Just a little, not enough to kill you. That's fine, right?"
*Stop, you crazy bitch!*
He screamed it in his mind, but it didn't reach his mouth.
He felt Reina's face drawing closer.
Her breathing grew louder, until her breath brushed his skin.
*No!*
If those fangs sank in, it was over.
She said just a little, but trusting that was laughable.
He had to find a way.
As he racked his brain desperately, something flashed in Seo Woo-jin's mind.
*Will this work?*
Action came before doubt.
*Supreme Flame!*
Fwoooooosh—!!!
The supremely exalted [Supreme] flames [Fire] manifested in the world, fueled by Seo Woo-jin's mana.
"Aa, aaaaaaah!"
Reina's scream pierced his ears.
At the same time, he felt the mysterious energy binding his body vanish.
Seo Woo-jin sprang up as if ejected from his seat and drew *Rune Dea*.
But he couldn't swing it.
Pure white, holy flames were melting Reina's body.
*That's....*
*Supreme Flame*.
It was a skill even Seo Woo-jin was using for the first time.
He'd only meant it to stop the bloodsucking.
If it dealt some damage in the process, all the better.
But *Supreme Flame* was beyond that.
It burned and melted relentlessly, as if determined to erase Reina from existence entirely.
"—!!"
Had her vocal cords been damaged?
She screamed silently.
It was astonishing she was still alive in that state.
He slowly drew up his aura.
He extracted the maximum mana *Rune Dea* could handle and poured it all in.
A colossal aura unlike any he'd seen before took form, brimming with terrifying destructive power.
If she were unharmed, maybe not—but in her current state, he could bisect her.
*Rune Dea* swung toward Reina's neck, her body turning to ash as if purified.
Vwoooom—
The space warped under the immense mana.
*Good.*
The destructive power was sufficient.
If he just severed her head....
The blade was about to touch her neck.
He saw Reina's lips move.
*Dark... Command?*
He had no idea what it meant.
But he soon realized it was the activation phrase for her bloodline ability.
Darkness erupted.
The supreme flames, the barely formed figure of Reina, *Rune Dea*.
Nothing was visible.
Silence swallowed even sound.
It felt like his eyes and ears had gone deaf.
*No. She's definitely right in front of me!*
He just couldn't see her.
With that conviction, Seo Woo-jin vowed not to be deceived and twisted his body anyway.
The rotation started at his waist, passing through his chest, shoulders, and arms, finally reaching *Rune Dea*.
Slash—!
He cut.
He felt it at his fingertips.
Something had definitely been sliced.
But....
The darkness didn't lift.
*Damn, did I miss?*
It was because of the sudden darkness—he'd hesitated for a split second.
That moment of pause had given Reina time to evade.
Seo Woo-jin steadied his stance and spread out his mana.
To guard against any potential attack.
But it was quiet.
No attack came—no presence at all.
*Where are you?*
Seo Woo-jin kept his mental blade sharp.
He honed it even keener, staying vigilant.
The rulers of pitch-black were cunning by nature.
Complacency was forbidden.
...How much time passed?
An hour? Two? Maybe days.
In this world of numbness where he saw and heard nothing, he couldn't gauge the flow of time.
He felt sweat slowly trickling down his forehead.
Slowly, slowly.
It traced his cheek, gathered at his jaw, and finally—*plink*—dropped free from his skin.
Then Reina's voice rang out.
[-I am impressed by that unbreakable spirit of yours.]
Incomparably aloof.
Gone was the childish tone.
It was loftier and more transcendent than any noble's.
It even reminded him of Sword Sage Martes for a moment.
The overwhelming pressure made his body shrink instinctively.
Without his honed endurance, he would have knelt and bowed right there.
[I called it luck, but it was mere delusion. This misjudgment today will haunt me for a thousand years.]
The voice hammered into his mind, not his ears.
It was calm, but the regret within was palpable.
[I affirm that today's scheme is the failure of this Dark Command. Thus, I permit your departure—go freely.]
*She's letting me go?*
The shift in Reina's aura was crushing, enough to pulverize Seo Woo-jin's entire body.
Even stronger than Gerald's, it seemed.
He'd steeled himself, thinking he might really die here today.
And now... she's letting him go?
[I shall await the day we meet again. Expect inevitability in the immediate future.]
That was the end.
The darkness that had blocked all senses lifted, and light and sound returned.
Seo Woo-jin slowly opened his eyes, which he'd unconsciously closed.
"...Reina."
Before him lay Reina's corpse—nothing but bones and debris.
*No, that's not her real body.*
Aside from the voice he'd just heard, he had reason to be sure.
"No level up."
She was a monster on par with Gerald—no, given her later dignified demeanor, she'd surpassed him.
And Seo Woo-jin had killed her alone.
Burned by *Supreme Flame*, melted down to nothing but ash and bone fragments.
Yet not even a single level gained?
Absurd.
So that corpse was just a decoy.
Only now did his legs give out, trembling.
The tension and fear drained away all at once, bringing light exhaustion.
He hadn't noticed until now, but his whole body was soaked in sweat.
"Where... am I?"
He forced strength into his legs to keep from collapsing and looked around.
Antique, luxurious interior.
Everything arranged in pairs—it seemed like a two-person room.
A place familiar to Seo Woo-jin.
"First class?"
It was the first-class cabin of the train he'd boarded with Ailin.
"I've been here the whole time?"
The moment he realized where he was, the cabin outside grew noisy.
People were gathering.
Knock knock—.
"Sir, are you all right?"
A concerned crew member's voice came with the knock.
"May I open the door to check if something's wrong?"
Their battle must have leaked out.
Or perhaps fragments of demonic energy.
Seo Woo-jin opened his mouth to reply.
But no words came.
Suddenly, dizziness hit—*ping*—and his body tilted to one side.
"Isn't that a burnt smell?"
"Smells like something's on fire!"
They must have caught the scent of the ashen decoy; the knocking grew frantic.
Bang bang bang—!
"We're coming in!"
The door was forced open, and upon seeing them, Seo Woo-jin blacked out.
He'd fainted.