Chapter 34
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Unchanging Love-6
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The next day.
Lee Yoo-jin visited his wife again.
"I'm here."
"You've come?"
Her voice, tinged with a hint of sadness, weighed heavily on his chest.
"I brought a gift."
"A gift?"
"Platinum Cherry Juice. You used to love this, right?"
"Really?"
Yoo-jin smiled softly.
The flesh pulsed. The black mud and blood-tinged pus on the floor carefully receded, and fresh pink flesh rose up like a circular basin.
He opened the bottle cap with practiced ease and poured the juice inside into the basin.
With a gurgling sound, the juice seeped into the flesh.
"I've always wondered... does that taste good?"
"Are you curious about the taste of the juice?"
"No, I'm curious about how you're feeling right now."
"I don't feel anything. I can't help it. I don't have taste buds."
But her voice carried a happy smile. An ordinary person might not have noticed her emotions, but Lee Yoo-jin could sense them.
"Still, it feels like something is filling me up. The juice is becoming one with me. Beyond that... I can feel your heart. It's the same as before."
"Isn't it?"
The two gazed at each other and smiled.
"It reminds me of the old days. Even when I was a healer affiliated with the Hero Association, you gave me this."
"Yeah. Though I did hand out a bottle to everyone else too."
"You gave me two bottles. When I received them, I thought it meant you liked me. From that moment... I loved you."
Yoo-jin let out an embarrassed chuckle.
"It was just because you were working harder than anyone else. I thought you deserved some reward, even if it was something small."
Not every Awakened affiliated with the Hero Association is a hero. More precisely, not all of them have a hero's heart.
It couldn't be helped. Members of the Hero Association were more like office workers. They healed heroes or hunters injured in horrific accidents and received a salary in return. They rarely became famous, and there weren't many situations that instilled a sense of mission in them.
Among them, Kim Yoon-seul was different.
She gave her all. If a hero was injured or collapsed, she endured until the end, even at the cost of exhausting her own stamina.
That sight was undoubtedly beautiful. It sparkled like radiant light.
"Maybe that's when I started loving you."
"I knew it! I thought your eyes looked unusual back then! You're finally admitting it!"
Even now, in her horrific form, that love hadn't changed.
"I love you now. And forever."
"..."
"Even if you stop loving me, I'll still love you."
The happy moment ended.
"Are you still going to talk about that? I told you. I'll die as your wife."
Flesh tentacles crept up and wrapped around Lee Yoo-jin.
"If you die, we'll be separated. But if you just stay alive, we can be together."
The tentacles began to constrict his body. Pressure filled his entire form.
"Even if you become that man's sex slave, not all your emotions will disappear."
"So?"
"You'll just be unable to resist his sexual demands and unable to feel desire for anyone else. That's all."
"..."
"We can remain friends forever. He won't make any weird demands of you either. And living like that will be happy enough. More than now—"
Lee Yoo-jin desperately tried to persuade her.
He couldn't bear the loss. Time was running out.
"But I won't be your wife anymore, will I?"
"You are my wife! Still!"
"I won't love only you."
The flesh tightened around Yoo-jin even more fiercely. Yoon-seul, missing one arm, had to endure the pressure with her ribs.
"Even if I'm gasping in another man's arms—not yours—could you still love me like you do now?"
"Of course."
Lee Yoo-jin answered firmly. He was confident he could.
In the first place, the mere fact of her being embraced by someone else wasn't that significant compared to what Yoon-seul looked like now.
"You wouldn't feel sad? That someone other than you is entering my life. That the person I value most might become someone else!"
"..."
"I can't believe you."
"Believe me. No matter what happens to you, I'll love you."
"Ah, that I believe."
Yoon-seul seemed to smile. Yoo-jin felt it.
"But I can't believe you won't feel sad."
"..."
"We vowed at our wedding, remember? No matter what happens, we'll face it together."
"We did."
"I'll never betray you. You can be happy. But at least until the moment I die... let me remain your wife. That's all I ask."
"Is that how it is."
"Yes. So please don't force me."
Lee Yoo-jin lowered his head.
He felt like he now knew what he had to do.
'If I betray you first, then you can live, right?'
His eyes gleamed.
"Ha..."
It was a complicated situation.
Black Warden wanted Pure Line to survive. He wanted her to become my sex slave.
But Pure Line didn't want that. She wanted to die in that body.
"Bittersweet."
Even with Lee Ha-seon's power, some things couldn't be done. He hadn't expected to feel that so keenly.
In truth, it made sense when he thought about it. The things he could do with Lee Ha-seon weren't much different from what she was already doing.
Even when the strongest hero, Lee Ha-seon, gave her all, people still died. Hunters entering dungeons died, and ordinary people and heroes caught in villain attacks died.
Pure Line—Kim Yoon-seul—was just one of them. This time, she had simply entered my sight.
There was a knock at the door.
"May I come in for a moment?"
It was a woman's voice.
"Yes, come in."
The door opened, revealing someone I'd never seen before.
Neat bob haircut, impressively large breasts. A beauty who suited her suit perfectly.
"What brings you h—"
"It's about my wife."
"Pardon?"
Until now, I'd assumed she was an employee of Humanity's Shield. She wasn't.
I was seeing this woman for the first time. Yet she looked familiar. I definitely knew who she was.
"Wait a second, you're..."
"Lee Yoo-jin."
"What?"
No matter how I looked at her, she was a woman. But traces of Lee Yoo-jin remained in her face. Her eyes held a conviction unbroken by the world's hardships.
"You've become a woman?"
Both her arms were perfectly intact, as if they'd never been severed.
"It might be hard to say I've become a woman..."
"What do you mean?"
"Originally... I was born a woman."
"Please explain in more detail."
"My ability is Body Reconstruction. There are limits, but it's the power to create the body in the form I desire."
"Ah."
I'd heard about that. I'd suggested Black Warden heal his arm, and he'd mentioned his ability and said it was fine.
"When I first became a hero, I chose a man's body."
"Why?"
"Because it was a bit stronger. There wasn't a huge difference from a woman's body, but back then, even that small gap mattered."
Just listening to her voice, it sounded like no big deal.
Many people had abilities that affected the body. But almost none chose a man's body over a woman's just for that slight edge in strength.
The reason was simple: it was unpleasant. A male Awakened having a woman's body, or a female Awakened having a man's body, instinctively repulsed people.
She had endured that.
"Then your wife also—"
"She already knew. In the first place, I didn't marry her because of physical attraction."
I took a deep breath. It was hard to grasp the situation.
"Then why choose a woman's body now?"
"I thought it was necessary."
She looked at me.
"Will you take me as your sex slave?"
It was something I hadn't even imagined.
"What? Why?"
"It's necessary to save my wife."
She didn't hesitate at all.
"You love your wife."
"Yes. That's why I'm doing this."
"Are you in your right mind?"
"Yes. It's a decision I made after much thought."
I couldn't understand.
"Why does that connect?"
"My wife loves me. And yet... she's so selfless it makes me angry. That's what made me fall for her from the start."
She lifted her head with effort.
"She sees becoming your sex slave as a betrayal of me. She thinks I'll be sad if you take her away."
It couldn't be helped.
The fact that Lee Yoo-jin was a woman was surprising, but it didn't change much. She had married Kim Yoon-seul. She loved her.
'...'
It was so obvious that I wondered why I hadn't thought of it until now.
Lee Yoo-jin had offered his wife to me. I hadn't realized it because it was the start of our conversation.
But Lee Yoo-jin loved Kim Yoon-seul. It would make her sad. It would hurt. She'd resent it.
Even so, she had chosen it. To save her wife.
"If I become your sex slave first, my wife can be at ease. She won't have to go through the pain of my betrayal, and she won't have a reason to give up her life because of me."
"So..."
"Yes. I'm sorry for the sudden proposal, but please take me as your sex slave."
I bit my lip hard.
"Why go that far? You have your own life."
"That doesn't matter."
"Even if that's fine for you, would Yoon-seul think the same?"
"I have to do it anyway."
"Why on earth..."
She put force into her eyes.
'...'
It was killing intent.
No matter how beautiful a woman she'd become, Lee Yoo-jin was still Black Warden. The iron-willed hero who had felled countless villains.
Enduring the genuine killing intent from a top hero wasn't easy.
"She's become like that because of me! My wife!"
She could no longer hold back and shouted.
"It was all my fault, my curse to bear! So, so!"
Lee Yoo-jin approached me.
"No matter what it takes, no matter the price, I have to resolve it! For her!"
Desperation, pain, anger, regret.
All of it filled her eyes.