Chapter 220: School Swimsuits and Bunny Girls
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 220: School Swimsuits and Bunny Girls
This guy.
Why is he making a face like he hates it too?
— How mortifying. If I had your body, I wouldn't have to suffer this humiliation...
Does that mean he's not wearing that outfit because he wants to?
Then again, what kind of Spinosaurus would go around wearing something like that?
I think I might have misunderstood my Heart Demon all this time.
— If it were that fluttering garment, I might have understood, but...
So a maid outfit is okay?
Maybe I wasn't misunderstanding him after all.
— Your memories are truly bizarre.
Hey, what are you doing, peeking at my memories again?
I know you're a Heart Demon, but looking at the stuff on my 'hard drive' is extremely dangerous.
You might end up with a Heart Demon of your own.
— Hmph... Well, fine. I suppose I'll get used to this eventually.
You're not supposed to get used to it, you bastard.
Just what is this guy's true identity?
There's a mountain of things I don't know about this world, but among them, there are what I'd call the three great mysteries.
One is the status window, another was that thing pretending to be 'tail severing,' and the last one is this Heart Demon.
I've seen the status window so often that I've just come to accept it. And I just found out the true nature of the 'tail severing' ability.
It was a skill called 'Fate Severing,' something worthy of a reincarnation perk.
So naturally, the thing I understand least right now is this guy standing in front of me.
A Heart Demon in the form of a red dinosaur.
A Heart Demon that shows up wearing bizarre outfits, no less.
I may not know much about wuxia novels, but I know for a fact that Heart Demons don't dress like this.
— ...Let's get to the point.
The Heart Demon tried to set a serious tone.
— It should have been an unchanging future, yet you managed to twist fate. Honestly, I was a little surprised.
But no matter how hard he tried, the mood just wasn't there.
That skin-tight...
Gaaah!
Just when I thought I'd gotten used to the maid outfit, he brings this.
What a vicious, vicious bastard.
— Surely you don't think it's over with just this.
What?
This isn't the final form?
There's something even more dangerous?
— I'm talking about your fate.
Phew.
For a second there...
I almost imagined something terrible.
— Severing fate was a good move. But in the process, you've essentially annihilated one of the Nine Factions. It's only natural that the balance of power would be shattered, and a new future, one that even your Priestess cannot see, will be created.
That's bound to happen.
Red Dragon may have been the one to fight him, but the one who died was none other than the Sect Leader of Mount Hua.
With someone that important dead, things are bound to change.
But that doesn't mean I regret killing him.
If I hadn't, the lives of my precious ones would have been lost.
— I can already picture it. The Murim Alliance gathering, claiming an evil dragon has appeared in the 100,000 Great Mountains. You'll be branded the Public Enemy of Murim, and the Orthodox and Unorthodox Factions will join forces to subjugate you.
It's not like I hadn't considered that.
Regardless of the reason, if you only look at the result of this battle, it looks like an unknown force from the 100,000 Great Mountains wiped out the Mount Hua Sect.
— They'll be hesitant to approach, since it's the territory of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. But it's not like there aren't any masters on par with your teacher. If they join forces, even she won't be able to protect you.
I can't keep relying on my master.
She may dote on me, but I'm not her everything.
If a situation arises where she has to choose between me and the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, she will give me up.
There's no need to be upset about it.
That's just how it is.
— Of course, that's only if the Murim Alliance decides to subjugate you.
— You're quite resourceful. You've formed a connection with Shaolin, so you'll benefit from that.
Right.
I have a connection with Shaolin.
After all, I took in Shaolin's Arhat, Iron Head Dragon.
Considering the relationship between the Shaolin Abbot and Iron Head Dragon, it's highly likely that Grand Master Hyemyeong will pull some strings after hearing the report.
Even Ak Bulhwi brought up Grand Master Hyemyeong the moment he saw Iron Head Dragon, so it's certain he'll intervene this time as well.
— But that won't last long either.
— Because of Namgung Yeon.
Namgung Yeon.
No, I should call him Al-Yu now.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he's the source of all this.
— He's the kind of person who can sweet-talk the Mount Hua Sect Leader and is acquainted with Gongbok, one of the Nine Sons of the Dragon. The Murim Alliance will be formed one way or another.
— All Shaolin can do is delay it as much as possible.
If that man Namgung Yeon puts his mind to it, another invasion will happen.
Now that he has information that the Mount Hua Sect was annihilated, he'll likely attack on a scale incomparable to this time.
— If you had just handed over your flesh to me, I could have beaten him to death before he pulled any tricks.
The Heart Demon licked its lips.
It seems like he's giving me information, but he's really just doing this for his own purposes.
The Heart Demon's goal is my body.
In other words, since his goal is to take over my body, he doesn't want me to die.
He just wants me to hand over control of my body in an extreme situation.
This means he doesn't welcome an all-out attack from the Murim Alliance either.
Because if the attack is that powerful, there would be no point in taking my body.
— What you must do is clear.
— The best option is to take care of Namgung Yeon first. But that ship has already sailed.
...Does that mean if he had my body, he could have killed Namgung Yeon?
But how?
The guy didn't even show up on the scene.
— So, you must choose the next best option.
— Delay the formation of the Murim Alliance as much as possible and strengthen your forces.
Easier said than done.
I had already thought of that much, even without the Heart Demon telling me.
— The best way to do that... is to listen to the one trapped in that artifact.
I knew instantly who the Heart Demon was referring to.
Gongbok, the Son of the Dragon trapped inside the fox marble.
If I can use the information he has and the power of the Dragon Gate, I can become much stronger.
— Every time I watch from in here, I can't help but lament. How can you possess such immense power, yet only use it in such a limited way?
Look at this guy.
— To have the power of Wood, yet be satisfied with merely controlling plants.
He's making such an obvious provocation.
If you have the power of Wood, controlling plants is common sense, isn't it?
The character for 'Wood' (木) literally means tree, doesn't it?
— Your realm is pathetic compared to the internal energy you possess. Well, I suppose it can't be helped for a wastrel who keeps memories of such garments in his head.
Why are you bringing that up now?
— Your victory over Gongbok was the result of one coincidence piled on another. Don't think such luck will last forever. If you were to fight him again, you would lose, nine times out of ten.
I have to admit, he has a point.
In that final moment, if Red Dragon hadn't broken through his defense, I would have been the one to fall, not Gongbok.
— Go and find Chodo, just as he said. That one also wields the power of Wood, so it will be a great help.
Chodo.
Wasn't he another master of the volcano?
He said it was a turtle with a plant on its back, right?
...Then doesn't this guy control plants too?
— If you receive teachings from two of the Nine Sons of the Dragon, you might be able to reach a higher realm. Do you even realize you're still a mere Peak-level nobody?
A Peak-level nobody?
What does that make Baek Woon, then?
— The power you possess is comparable to the Supreme Peak... no, the Transformation Realm, but your enlightenment remains at the Peak Realm.
— It's unbalanced. It might not be a problem for now, but the more you use your power, the wider that gap will become.
— Using Sword Flux with the body of a Peak master. If it weren't for your blessed physique and all the elixirs you've consumed, it wouldn't have been strange for your body to explode on the spot.
That was certainly true.
Just manifesting the Sword Flux and swinging it once made my heart pound like it was about to burst.
If I hadn't reached the stage of a Mid-tier Dragon, I would have collapsed before I could even swing the sword.
Talking with the Heart Demon really helped me understand my problems.
Why is this guy being so unnecessarily helpful?
His tone is a bit harsh, but everything he says is valuable advice.
— ...Hmph, I'm just taking care of the body I'll eventually possess.
A classic line.
But it didn't suit the Heart Demon's appearance at all.
The gap between his appearance and his words is probably bigger than the gap between my realm and my internal energy.
Still, it's true that he was helpful, so I should express my gratitude.
— Kuuuh...
Just then, the Heart Demon let out a pained groan.
Has the Heart Demon ever acted like this before?
— It's already time...
The water of the lake began to churn violently.
— Get out of here, quickly!
What on earth is happening?
I don't know what it is, but I have to see.
This lake is my mindscape, so something might be happening to my body.
My vision started to blur, but I held onto my consciousness.
I had to see what was happening in this space.
Just as long ears, like a rabbit's, began to sprout from the Heart Demon's head...
Gyaaaaaaaah!
*
I escaped from that dreadful Heart Demon.
It was a horrifying sight.
Why on earth does it keep showing me things like that?
It should at least give me some time to adjust.
Phew...
Still, I was well compensated for witnessing that horror.
I now have a vague idea of what I need to do next.
A familiar ceiling came into view.
This was the place the Gakisu called the Love Palace, which could be considered the nest of the Gaegaek Cult.
It seems they moved me here so I could rest comfortably.
More time seems to have passed than I thought.
I yawned and stretched.
Crack.
My back felt a little sore for some reason.
After a battle like that, it's only natural for my back to hurt a bit.
“You awake?”
I couldn't quite accept the fact that what I thought was a blanket was actually Baek Rang, and what I thought was a pillow was the Snake Queen.
“Gek?”
Why is everyone here?
...They must be here to protect me, right?
There's fur, spiderwebs, and scales scattered everywhere, but let's not think about that anymore.
“Ufufufu... I have received my reward.”
What?
What kind of reward did you take?
The Snake Queen's scales were gleaming.
“I wonder what the princess will say when I return...”
Hearing those chilling words, I clutched the necklace tightly.
...It was working properly, right?
“Hehehe... one husband, ten wives... one husband, a hundred wives... one husband, ten thousand wiiiives...”
The Gakisu, wrapped in bandages, were making the same cry as always.
Of course, I was lying in the nest of the Gaegaek Cult.
It's a place where any follower of Gaegaek can come to rest.
But... why are there only females here?
“Hehehe...”
Iron Head Dragon, Argentavis, and the unicorn were nowhere to be seen.
“One husband... hehe...”
I realized why they were gone.
I could see the Gakisu blocking the entrance.
They must have used their massive bodies to chase away the other males.
“One husbaaaand...”
I could faintly hear the sorrowful cry of the unicorn.
The unicorn is stronger than the Gakisu, but for some reason, it didn't seem to be using its strength.
It was sobbing its heart out, as if something sad had happened.
“...It's nothing, so don't worry.”
Snake Queen, Parsil.
I owed her so much that I had no choice but to believe whatever she said.
But under these circumstances, I couldn't believe her words at all.
Last time, she said she would just hold my tail while sleeping, but I caught her trying her best to pull out a different 'tail'.
Her attempt failed because of the artifact around my neck, but it still gives me chills just thinking about it.
“Kiooong...”
The spiders also hugged my tail with shy faces.
Red Dragon was sleeping while biting my neck.
And Tang Soyeong was secretly picking up the scales and fur I'd shed.
“Geeeek...”
[Achievement Unlocked: A Feat to Make a Spinosaurus Blush!]
I feel uneasy.
I unlocked an achievement in this situation?
And what's with that name?
[Title Acquired: The Legend of 14 vs. 1!]
...Huh?