Chapter 33
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Unchanging Love-5
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Left alone, I picked up my phone.
"Black Warden's marriage... Ah, this must be her."
For starters, I figured I'd meet Eugene's wife. That meant I at least needed to know who she was beforehand.
"Kim Yoon-seul... Pureline the hero."
She was pretty well-known in her own right. Not on Black Warden's level, of course.
A hero with outstanding healing and purification abilities. She mostly healed injured heroes at Hero Association headquarters, but she'd teamed up with others plenty of times to wipe out villain organizations too.
But Pureline was famous for more than just her powers and achievements.
"She really is pretty."
A gentle, soft smile. Plump, yielding breasts. Hips so large they looked like they'd sink right in if you grabbed them.
Some male heroes even treated her like a half-saint. She had fans everywhere.
When Black Warden and Pureline got married, countless people showered them with blessings. A handsome man everyone admired and a beauty everyone envied tying the knot—it was perfect.
The picture-perfect couple. Their wedding was apparently kept secret, so there weren't many photos, but afterward, plenty of shots surfaced of the two holding hands.
'Haa...'
I barely managed to suppress my excitement and desire.
"Even so, messing with a married woman isn't right."
The whole reason I'd planned to turn down Black Warden's offer from the start was moral. I didn't want to violate a woman loved by another man, a woman who loved another man, just to satisfy my own lust.
But if I went to him now and said something like, "I looked her up, and your wife's pretty hot. Like you said, now I kinda wanna fuck her," I'd hate myself. I'd look too ugly to stand.
"Haa..."
I looked at a photo of the two together. They were beautiful.
Black Warden seemed to truly love Pureline. And she looked at him with eyes full of love.
So beautiful. They were gorgeous individually—a handsome man and a stunning woman—but together, there was something more.
Love.
I felt a pang of longing. I wasn't sure if I could ever love someone that deeply. Sure, I loved Ha-seon and Se-ra, but I couldn't say it was to that extent.
Beautiful. Just knowing there were people out there cherishing and loving each other like that warmed my heart. It made the world feel worth protecting. I wanted that scene in the photo to last forever.
Which made it all the more bizarre.
I couldn't fathom why Black Warden, who loved her that much, would say something like that to me.
I'd find out soon enough.
I got in the car. Black Warden, masked up, bowed his head to me.
"Thank you for coming out like this."
"I'm just here to check the situation. I haven't agreed to do anything yet."
"Still, thank you."
Black Warden's wife, Pureline Kim Yoon-seul, was in a lab inside Hero Association headquarters. With tight security, there wouldn't be any commotion like last time.
"I'll explain the situation briefly on the way."
"Sure, go ahead."
"My wife is under a curse. She's enduring constant pain in... a horrific state."
"Can't it be treated?"
"Not by the Hero Association."
I tilted my head.
"So there's a way outside?"
"A major villain organization once approached us, offering to heal her."
"Really?"
"Of course I refused. She wouldn't have wanted me to become a villain organization's dog, and there was no guarantee they'd keep their word."
"Wise choice."
"I've seen too many victims fall for those lies. Both she and I swore we'd never become one of them. No reason to trust them."
Heroic words.
"Can't Humanity's Shield save her?"
"I don't know. But even if they could, they wouldn't."
"Why not?"
"No need."
He answered calmly, as if it were the most natural thing.
"Even if my wife dies, the world won't end."
I'd forgotten for a moment.
Humanity's Shield exists to ensure humanity's survival. Their relief efforts, villain crackdowns, monster hunts—they're all for humanity as a whole.
They prioritize. That's the organization they are.
To them, what bothers me is crucial. Something they must stop at all costs. Even if it means committing crimes or sacrificing human dignity—they'd do it without hesitation. Because it's important.
Someone might suffer. Someone might die. But that's not a big deal to Humanity's Shield.
As Ha-seon said, they'd do their best to prevent variables, to stop others' misfortune and pain. But realistically, Humanity's Shield alone can't block every pain in the world.
Pureline—Kim Yoon-seul's death—isn't that important to them. They won't sacrifice too much for it.
"..."
"Could I ask one favor?"
"What?"
"Please don't be too shocked when you see my wife."
"Is it that bad?"
"Yes. And even if you are shocked, please don't say anything too insulting. She was... truly beautiful once."
I had no choice but to nod.
We arrived at Hero Association headquarters.
"You can come inside."
The facility had ironclad security.
'This is...'
It didn't look like living quarters. No one lived around here.
Closed doors stretched on endlessly. I didn't want to know what was inside.
"Please don't be startled."
If she was confined here, it definitely wasn't normal.
The door opened. I stepped inside.
"Ah?"
My first impression upon seeing the sight was simple.
'Did I walk into the wrong place?'
But Black Warden took a step forward.
My next thought was singular.
'Am I this strong now?'
Pre-awakening me would've collapsed in terror just from seeing this. It was that horrific and gruesome.
Flesh.
Writhing flesh pulsed. Grotesque life squirmed.
Black sludge covered the floor like pus oozing out.
Flesh clinging to the ceiling and walls sprouted tentacles creepily. It felt like they were gouging out my eyes.
Wrong. This shouldn't exist.
Beneath the flesh, something vein-like hid, bubbling with unknown liquid. I didn't want to know what it was.
Terrifying. The door was open. I wanted to run now. But my feet wouldn't move.
A voice came.
"Who's that?"
Horrific.
Like a monster clumsily mimicking a human voice. Not the sound from human lungs and proper vocal cords.
But I knew the source. More precisely, whose voice this grotesque lifeform was trying to imitate.
"It's Seong-ha. He can help you."
Kim Yoon-seul.
Unbelievable. I didn't want to believe it. But the monster before me was Kim Yoon-seul.
A tentacle she extended stroked Black Warden's shoulder and back naturally.
"Really?"
"Of course."
For a moment, the lifeform—no, Kim Yoon-seul—faltered.
'Gasp...'
She held her breath tight and closed her eyes. I felt the air vibrate.
"What do I need to do?"
"Use that man's ability. You'll earn points."
"For real? Points..."
"Swear to become that man's sex slave and make the oath."
The mood grew heavy. I inwardly cursed Black Warden.
'You didn't mention this beforehand? Are you insane?'
Thankfully, I wasn't the only one resenting him.
"What the hell are you saying right now?"
"Even if you pick a lewd penalty form, it won't apply to anyone but Seong-ha. Use those points to pick a trait that restores your body to its former state—"
Not all traits are permanent. Some are one-time use, vanishing after.
The downside is wasting precious points, but the effects are tremendous.
"What does that even mean?!"
The flesh roiled. She screamed. Something scattered.
'Kuh!'
Something stuck to my shoulder. I didn't want to know what.
"You're handing me over to another man? And then I'll go back to normal? What kind of sense does that make?!"
Anger and frustration poured out. Flesh chunks I didn't want to identify rained down.
"But to save you, this is the way..."
"Do you really think that's saving me?"
"You can go back to how you were!"
"By becoming another man's sex slave!"
I kept my eyes shut. But I could feel it.
The ceiling flesh writhed horrifically. Forming something.
"Hey."
She called to me. The voice came from above. I instinctively opened my eyes and looked up.
A massive orb. A crude pupil-like thing stared down at me.
"Did you suggest this?"
"...No."
Good, she still had her reason even in that state. Her huge pupil turned to Black Warden.
"I refuse. I won't love anyone but you. Even if I have to live like this forever!"
"Time's running out! Didn't the research team tell you?"
"I know. Three months? But still..."
Yoon-seul was dripping something.
Clearer than anything I'd seen so far.
I thought it might be tears.
"I'll die as your wife."
Black Warden shouted.
"This is our last hope! The last hope to save you!"
"This is hope? This?"
She shook her flesh tentacles as if she couldn't comprehend.
"If the condition is giving myself to someone other than you from the start... we never needed Seong-ha at all."
"What?"
"Whether it's Seong-ha or some random other guys, what's the difference? It's someone else. Not you, my husband Lee Yu-jin—it's letting some other man have my body!"
She was right. No countering that.
Ha-seon and Se-ra had no lovers. They served me as master, but could treat me like a lover casually.
This woman was different.
She already had someone she loved. She didn't want anyone else.
You couldn't force someone like that.
"...Let's go back."
I bowed my head weakly.