The Scent of Lavender and the Edge of Oblivion

As Ilwol drew closer and finally stepped into the domain of Iriscas, Lee Yeonhee was curled up in the corner of the bathroom, endlessly shedding tears.

She was so mortified she wanted to die. At the same time, she felt a surge of resentment toward Ilwol. All she had done was tease him a little yesterday, and this was how he repaid her?

Even as she sobbed uncontrollably, Yeonhee unconsciously replayed the moment from earlier. The way she had clung to him. The way his leg had pressed firmly between her thighs. His seemingly indifferent yet gentle gaze, his straight nose, the unfamiliar line of his neck—they all hovered before her eyes.

Her body had grown hotter and hotter until an overwhelming pleasure she had never felt before surged through her. She had desperately tried to fight it, but in the end...

It was something she had only vaguely heard about during sex education at school. To experience it herself for the first time was truly...

Just recalling it made her breath quicken again.

She felt like she could have kept going for hours. The fact that she had overcome it with superhuman willpower and fled the room filled her with a strange sense of pride.

Yeonhee finally stopped sniffling and shook her head vigorously. She felt pathetic for letting her mind wander back to those thoughts again and again. It was just a momentary slip. Today was simply a weird day for her body. She tried to comfort herself that way, but then realized she was putting off something she needed to do.

She had to change her underwear and pants first.

'It's this wet?!'

The sticky sensation was completely different from simply being soaked with water. The thought that some of it might have gotten on Ilwol made her head spin. She prayed desperately that he hadn’t noticed her shameful state.

With that fleeting wish, she stripped off her drenched clothes. After a moment of hesitation in front of the drying rack, she chose the one with the nicest scent. She was especially careful when picking out new underwear. She didn’t want to smell musty from damp clothes.

Even though she had stormed out in anger, she knew she would have to face him again soon. Realizing she was carefully debating which outfit to wear made her freeze in shock. Am I losing my mind?

After finally changing and tossing the sheets into the laundry basket beside the washing machine, a sudden scream rang out from the room.

Her body moved before her mind could catch up. She burst into the room like a bullet and found Ilwol in terrible condition. His mouth hung open, but what truly terrified her were his eyes—completely stained blood-red with no distinction between pupil and sclera.

Yeonhee screamed at the top of her lungs, ordering him to wake up, to rise, calling his name over and over. Fortunately, he seemed to hear her. Not long after, he regained consciousness.

'Aaaaa...'

For a moment, it felt like the world was collapsing. The terror of losing Ilwol had been excruciating. Her hands and feet trembled belatedly, and fresh tears streamed down her cheeks.

'Why did you do that?! Why?!'

She had no hesitation in blaming herself. Filled with resentment and fear, she had given him an order. And Ilwol had nearly vanished because of it.

Because she was the one who had summoned him, she could tell. If she had been even a second slower, Ilwol would have ceased to exist. This was completely different from the feeling of one of his [95 Lives] trait being consumed.

'No...'

The endless sinking feeling into the abyss vanished the moment Ilwol shook his head. In his human male form, he rubbed his face dry. He still looked exhausted. She had to do something—anything, no matter how small.

*

I could see that Yeonhee was just as shaken as I was. As I tried to tell the flustered girl that I was okay, she beat me to it.

Yeonhee clapped her hands together in a panic and tried again.

I stared at the water she pulled from her inventory for a moment before downing it in one go.

"······."

"······."

'Well, nothing spe—'

'What good does strengthening the connection with that Iriscas thing do?'

Since Irmana’s water had strengthened the link, it probably wasn’t a bad thing. But the fragment of that existence I had felt earlier was more intense and dangerous than anything I had ever experienced. Compared to that being, Jo Giman was less than dust.

'Fuck... so this is what "beyond the heavens" feels like...'

In a fit of frustration, I pulled a kettle from my inventory and chugged as much water as I could, but the connection didn’t strengthen any further.

'Ugh, what the hell. Only one boost?'

'Only seven minutes have passed...'

After connecting with that Iriscas thing, all my strength suddenly drained away. I collapsed to the floor as if melting. Yeonhee looked down at me with worried eyes, her hands twitching restlessly. It looked like her body and mind were fighting over whether to reach out or not… Was she trying to stroke my head?

I let out a small sigh, then mustered all my strength to grab her hand. It was small, delicate, and pure white. Soft and warm.

I placed her hand on top of my head. Yeonhee quickly covered her mouth with her free hand and remained frozen for a long while, unsure what to do.

'You can do whatever you want...'

When I looked at her with that thought in my eyes, she gave a tiny nod and slowly approached. She scooted closer on her knees and sat beside my head, then gently lifted it and rested it on her lap.

'Ha... is this heaven...?'

The faint scent of lavender drifted from her body. She had already changed clothes. The way her fingers carefully brushed through my thick hair was incredibly gentle.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

It seemed someone would finally be able to tell Jua and Arin that I wasn’t bald after all.

I let out a small chuckle.

I shook my head slightly and asked her to keep going. The look in her eyes as she stroked my hair was completely different from when we had been lying together earlier. Her sparkling purple eyes were filled with affection and love as they gazed down at me.

I wondered what she was thinking. But I felt too languid to speak, so I simply looked up at her in silence.

It feels so good… I like it.

The words slipped out unintentionally, and she broke into a bright, radiant smile. It was an incredibly pure smile. If someone told me that smile carried a ‘Purification’ effect, I wouldn’t doubt it for a second.

After hesitating for a long time, the only thing she managed to say was ‘I also.’ Well, that was enough for now. They say the beginning is half the battle.

She looked far happier now than when we had been lying together. Perhaps the stimulation from before and the happiness she felt now were two different things. I wasn’t sure. Could anything really surpass sexual pleasure? Well, even if I transformed into her form again, that was something I would never truly understand.

Every time I answered, she smiled as if she owned the whole world. She would also look down at my face and gently bite her lower lip. She had developed a strange habit lately…

Anyway, we spent the remaining few minutes like that. My head, resting on her lap, gradually began to droop.

When I slightly turned my head, Yeonhee’s head tilted a little too. The corners of her mouth were lifted so high they couldn’t possibly go any higher. What was so good about this? Tsk… When I was a skeleton, I could never see her make an expression like this.

Even though it was completely natural, I felt a strange twinge of jealousy toward ‘Yun Han-gyeol.’ Damn it, being unnecessarily handsome. A face I barely got to use, and now I’m reaping the benefits after death.

'I don’t particularly want to stay in a human-like form, though.'

Still, maybe I should narrow the gap between this face and my skeletal appearance. Next time I change classes, I’d like them to at least fix this damn mouth first. Even without clinging to that particular identity, I’m plenty skeletal already. A mouth that stretches like mozzarella cheese…? Ridiculous.

Since I hadn’t checked the messages yet, I simply shrugged. Her shoulders drooped slightly. She still seemed bothered by the fact that I had blocked my senses earlier. Hmm… It was good to make her rely on me, but I didn’t like the idea of making her feel indebted.

Instead of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠answering, I waved my hand with a smile. Yeonhee pouted her lips as if she had no choice, but she waved back anyway.

'How long will it take… We’re both such worriers.'

Leaving behind a visibly reluctant Yeonhee, I coolly exited the room without looking back. If there were villains in this neighborhood again today, I’d have to start planning a move—dungeon or no dungeon.

'Alright. Let’s see what kind of bastard got caught today. For some reason, I’m nervous.'

The third perk of [Mimicry]. I was already tense before even checking it. I had succeeded three times in a row, which only made me more anxious.

'...Got one. Let’s see— that’s pretty far. Around that intersection...'

The moment I confirmed the target, [Mimicry] was released. It was rapidly moving away from a position roughly three kilometers distant. It seemed to be using some kind of vehicle; catching it now was already too late.

'Looks like today’s a bust.'

Just as I was thinking it was a rest day, I sensed a trace of mana that hadn’t registered before.

'Hm? That wasn’t there before I used Mimicry.'

I had always kept a close watch on my surroundings while at home, so I was able to detect the change. Something emitting a faint trace of mana was located about 370 meters away, underground. It wasn’t human—it looked like some kind of long, thorn-like object.

And it was positioned in exactly the same line as the direction the villain I had just detected was moving. Which meant that bastard had left it there.

Ha… this insane neighborhood. Time to get out of here.

I leaped outside with practiced ease. I really didn’t want to go into the sewer… What if the smell stuck to me? At least the sewer near our house had a much wider space than the others.

Tap—

'What? It was here?'

The place I arrived at was right in front of the church closest ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to our house. Of all places, a church.

These were the existing religious organizations that had seen their followers drastically decline and were now walking the path of decay. In a world where awakened beings connected to actual divine entities displayed miracles, there was no place left for them.

Some stubborn believers had held on, claiming their god would soon grant them power, but they were an extreme minority. However, newly emerging religions had risen to prominence, and it was said that the overall proportion of religious people hadn’t changed much from before.

Reflecting the sharp drop in followers, the church’s exterior looked utterly desolate. It didn’t seem like anyone had maintained it at all.

I walked inside anyway. Since there were no living beings present, I boldly entered through the front door.

Creeeeak—

Just listen to that door. Goodness gracious.