Chapter 28
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Seol Yu-wol
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"I heard she disappeared, but..."
The martial artist in the pure white martial robes before my eyes forcibly pushed back the blocked sword.
Then, in a trembling voice, she spoke to Jahwa-yeon.
Heat burned in her blue eyes.
"I knew someone like you... couldn't just vanish so easily."
She readjusted her grip on her sword.
A tense standoff on the brink of violence.
Of course, situations like this could happen.
Otherworlders were such unpredictable beings, after all.
That's why the Association's official manual had protocols for this exact scenario.
"What do I do if an Otherworlder immediately shows aggressive intent?"
The answer was...
"Subdue them with force."
Elise, fully versed in the manual as a bodyguard, had her eyes ignite red like a beast's.
But I stepped in front of her shoulder to block her.
I had a feeling it wouldn't be necessary.
[???]
Main Stance:In your secluded training cave... with the Demonic Cult's young lady... and what looks like her remnants. Eliminate them immediately.
Suitable Response [Satisfaction Fit: 95%]
"Don't you want to know the Murim Alliance Leader's whereabouts?"
The woman before me seemed connected to the Murim Alliance Leader somehow.
And right now, the Murim Alliance Leader had been transferred to this world.
I opened my mouth immediately.
No time to hesitate.
"Don't you want to know the Murim Alliance Leader's whereabouts?"
The woman's eyes widened in shock.
Her blue pupils trembled.
"Wha..."
She cautiously began to speak, but the words didn't continue.
- Thwack!
- Boom!
Jahwa-yeon's arm, standing beside me, shot out like a black flash and struck the martial artist's abdomen.
Caught off guard by the sudden attack, the woman in white robes flew back, slamming into the cave wall.
"...Gah."
From her mouth came not a scream of agony, but a sound like deflating air.
"......"
I stared at Jahwa-yeon in stunned disbelief.
But even she, who had just pinned her opponent to the wall, wore a look of equal surprise.
"Heavenly Demon... what in the world..."
"W-Wait, Physician, it's not like that. I didn't mean to go this far..."
She glanced back and forth between her hand and the woman embedded far away, then muttered in genuine confusion.
"...Why is she so fragile...?"
While I stared at Jahwa-yeon, Elise scampered over like a rabbit to check on the fallen martial artist.
And reported calmly.
"She's out cold. But... she wasn't in great shape to begin with."
Elise slightly lifted the hem of the downed martial artist's pristine white robes.
Beneath, her abdomen was wrapped multiple times in bandages.
So she punched an injured patient...
I silently, wordlessly stared at Jahwa-yeon.
"Ahem..."
She cleared her throat lowly.
In the meantime, Elise had effortlessly hoisted the martial artist onto her back.
"Anyway... mission success. Teacher, shall we head out?"
I nodded.
Getting out of this space quickly seemed priority now.
Since we'd knocked her out, we needed to leave before she woke.
Though judging by earlier, even if she did, she'd probably get subdued again in seconds.
At my agreement, Elise readjusted the woman on her back and took the lead.
And so we began retracing our steps.
I cautiously asked Jahwa-yeon, walking leisurely beside me.
"Heavenly Demon, do you happen to know who she is?"
I voiced the curiosity gnawing at me.
From Jahwa-yeon's presence here alone, she seemed to know this woman.
Jahwa-yeon answered.
"A wooden puppet."
"A wooden puppet... you say?"
The corner of her mouth curled up in a mocking sneer.
"One that only obeys its master's commands, without even a speck of self. A pathetic doll like that."
I couldn't make sense of it yet.
"Wooden puppet."
That's what she called her.
I etched the words deep into my mind for now.
Then, taking it a step further, I asked.
"Then, what relation does she have to you, Heavenly Demon...?"
"Relation?"
Jahwa-yeon scoffed.
"No real relation. Just a toy I used to play with. It was amusing watching her wander lost without her master."
"Sounds like you two get along great~"
"What was that?"
Elise muttered, but Jahwa-yeon shot back with sharp eyes.
How many more tens of minutes did we walk?
"We're... almost there..."
As we ceaselessly descended the mountain range, the surroundings suddenly rippled violently.
The unfamiliar Central Plains landscape shimmered like a heat haze.
Soon after, the scenery of Seoul Forest came into view.
Looking back, a cluster of blue energy wavered there.
We'd emerged from within it.
This was what they called transfer erosion—spaces like this manifesting.
Beyond it, past the barrier surrounding us, the Association's support team waited anxiously.
- Zzzt-zzzt-zzzt.
Right then, static burst from my earpiece.
- Yu... Counselor...
- Yoo Seon-woo Counselor! You're safe!
Communications reconnected.
Relief filled the staffer's voice on the other end.
"The Otherworlder is unconscious. She showed strong aggression upon first contact. Get ready."
I reported the Otherworlder's status, slung on Elise's back.
Then I turned to check her again.
[Seol Yu-wol]
Main Stance:Gah.
Eh?
Her name, previously [???], was now visible.
Seems like leaving the transfer erosion's influence let my ability finally kick in properly.
The Main Stance... plainly showed her unconscious state.
- Yes, we'll transfer her immediately to the Association's Otherworlder isolation and adaptation facility...
"Hold on a second."
I cut off the staffer.
Suitable Response [Satisfaction Fit: 90%]
I recommend laying her in a warm, fluffy bed first.
"Please prepare a fluffy bed too."
She was, after all, my client I'd be responsible for in the meantime.
A palace-like tiled mansion stood silently in the heart of Seoul.
This was the heart of the righteous sects, whose will endured even as the world changed.
The headquarters of the Murim Alliance.
The Azure Heaven Alliance.
In its deepest library.
A woman sat by the window, brush in hand.
Unlike her seemingly youthful face, the aura she exuded was seductive, carrying the depth of years.
She, clad in ornate jade-green robes, was the master of this vast righteous alliance.
The Azure Heaven Alliance Leader.
Just as she was about to complete the final leaf of the orchid on the rice paper...
A martial artist rushed in and knelt before her.
"Azure Heaven Alliance Leader."
"Shadow Division Leader... what is it?"
She set aside her gaze from the paper and looked at him.
"The orchid was just about to bloom."
The Leader smiled benevolently with a hint of regret, adding.
The man called Shadow Division Leader bowed his head deeper.
"My apologies, Leader. But there's something urgent you must see."
The man held out a tablet before her.
It live-streamed three figures whose very presence felt alien in one place.
The first.
The Leader's eyes caught a familiar face.
"Jahwa-yeon..."
She'd seen her as an unripe seed.
So she hadn't touched her.
She figured internal strife and rebellion in the cult would break her on its own soon enough.
Yet recently, Jahwa-yeon seemed to have purged the rebels within.
And the second.
A rather handsome man.
His white attire hinted at his role as a physician.
And the last.
A gray-haired rabbit beastkin hunter.
The Leader's interest lay not in such beastkin.
Her gaze shifted to the figure slung powerless on Elise's back.
One woman...
The hair color differed slightly, but she was certain.
Confirming that face, the brush in the Azure Heaven Alliance Leader's hand dropped onto the paper with a soft clack.
Black ink slowly spread over the final leaf of the orchid, just shy of completion.
A very small, trembling voice escaped her lips.
"...You've come."
With those words, the Leader gripped the brush tightly once more.
- Crack... crunch...
The brush shattered sharply, unable to withstand her strength.
The one she had searched so desperately for.
"My daughter."
Her only daughter.
The Shadow Division Leader watched, then bowed his head and spoke lowly.
"What shall we do, Leader?"
"What else is there to do?"
She set down the broken brush handle and smiled.
"It's only natural for a mother to bring her lost child back into her arms."
The Leader looked at the tablet again.
Her gaze now shifted from her daughter to those around her.
The physician could be overlooked.
"A demon and a beast..."
On one side of her daughter Seol Yu-wol stood the Heavenly Demon.
On the other, a lowly beastkin bitch carried her.
"Always associate with those of dignity. I taught you that."
That was the comportment befitting the Leader's daughter and sole heir, as she had instructed.
While mother was away briefly.
It seemed she had forgotten every lesson.
That's fine.
She could teach her again.
"To the Association."
This mother would teach her everything.
