Chapter 89
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Translator: MJK
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: Quietly Flowing Strength
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The man in the mask.
A man dressed in an ordinary shirt stood there casually, but to Rio—the S-rank healer—something far more was visible.
'How... How can a human possess an aura like this?'
There was some entity rooted deep within Rio's body.
It was something close to chaos, beyond human comprehension.
An overwhelming terror that made her soul feel like it would crumble just from facing it.
For the past three years, it had dominated everything in Rio's world.
But what about the person standing before her now?
The curse within his body.
She couldn't identify it precisely.
But if it was the crystallization of disaster, then this man seemed like a vast abyss capable of swallowing even that disaster in one gulp.
A depth without end.
An infinite sense of space that would drive her mad if she dared try to fathom its extent.
It was a far more fundamental and absolute power than what she had faced three years ago.
'...What kind of emotion is this, exactly?'
Rio shuddered instinctively.
Fear?
No, that word wasn't enough.
It was a warning from her survival instincts.
The trembling upon encountering a superior predator.
But ironically, the power gap was so overwhelming that the terror brought relief instead.
'With this level of strength...'
No matter what lurked inside her,
compared to this power, the monster within her was nothing.
Even if she were devoured by this force,
the mere fact that an even greater existence stood before her provided a strange comfort.
"Rio! Snap out of it!"
Xiao Lin shook Rio's shoulders desperately from the side, but Rio's gaze remained fixed solely on Kang-hyun.
His presence was so immense that Lin's voice barely registered.
"...You."
Rio forced open her cracked voice with great effort.
Kang-hyun placed a hand on her forehead.
"Hold on a moment. Your energy is still unstable."
A warm gentleness.
The energy flowing from Kang-hyun's palm swept from Rio's head to her toes.
'!'
An incredibly soft, refined energy.
Only then could Rio breathe properly.
"Feeling better now?"
A calm voice came from behind the mask.
As if reviving an S-rank hunter was no more than helping a child who'd tripped on the roadside.
"...Yes. Thanks to you."
Rio steadied her trembling body and sat upright on the bed.
She bowed deeply toward Kang-hyun.
"Thank you for saving me. I never imagined I'd return like this..."
Her best effort to avoid being fully consumed by the disaster had been to hide her consciousness in the deepest recesses.
It wouldn't have been strange if she'd never awakened for the rest of her life.
Even she, an S-rank, had no better method.
'Gorani-man... That's what she called him.'
The name Xiao Lin had used.
Rio engraved it deep in her heart, sending a gaze filled with profound respect.
Toward the most overwhelming and warm terror that had saved her.
Rio, having just awakened, darted her anxious eyes around, quickly trying to grasp the situation.
'Impressive.'
I checked her pulse, inwardly admiring her.
Her emaciated body and pale complexion.
She looked like a patient who might collapse at any moment, but peering inside with internal energy revealed a remarkably resilient core.
'To harbor this much energy without her mana core shattering...'
A typical hunter would have died from mana overload the instant the seed took root.
Even if they survived, the seed would drain their life force completely within days.
But Rio was different.
She had frozen her own mana core to suppress the seed's growth, binding it with pure healing power as a shield.
For the past three years.
Even in unconsciousness, Rio had ceaselessly wrestled with the seed, fighting a desperate survival struggle.
Though she might not have been fully aware, her body and subconscious never gave up the fight.
'A genius healer worthy of the title.'
With this level of mental fortitude and mana control,
perhaps there was room for hope.
"Your condition is better than expected. You held on remarkably well."
"...I'm relieved to hear that."
"But it's not over yet. The real challenge starts now."
Rio looked at me with tense eyes.
"You know what's inside you, right?"
Her shoulders twitched as she slowly nodded.
"What... exactly is this?"
Rio asked in a trembling voice.
"I know it's some massive, ominous power. But with my knowledge, I can't identify it."
I answered shortly and clearly.
"It's a seed."
"A seed..."
"Now you have to choose. How to deal with it."
A heavy silence filled the room.
I pulled a chair beside the bed and sat facing her. Rio drooped her head weakly.
"Why... did you wake me?"
Rio placed a hand near her heart.
"You should have left me be. While I was asleep, at least its growth was very slow. It might have been better for the world if I'd stayed asleep forever... or died."
It was the insight of an S-rank hunter.
Rio feared the catastrophe this seed would unleash upon the world more than her own well-being.
"Now that I'm awake, its time has started flowing again. I've already passed the point where I can suppress it with my will."
Rio bit her lip.
Blood seeped from her pale lips unnoticed.
"Is that all you sense?"
"I'm a healer. Changes in my body, the flow of life force... I sense them more acutely than anyone."
Even now, feeling the unnatural energy stirring within, Rio spoke in an uneasy voice.
"There's no way. Forcing it out would shatter my mana core, and leaving it means it'll devour me."
Rio coldly diagnosed her own state.
Her knowledge as an S-rank healer instilled a hopeless certainty.
After a moment of deep thought, she opened her mouth as if resolved.
"...There is one method."
"What is it?"
Rio paused briefly, then looked me straight in the eye.
"I self-destruct."
"!"
It was shocking she'd reached the conclusion of suicide, but even more surprising was her expression.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes."
There wasn't a trace of fear of death on her face.
'China would discard a person like this?'
Wise to an excessive degree, yet foolishly innocent in another.
Someone willing to throw away her life for the world's sake.
'For a nation to harbor such talent is the greatest fortune imaginable.'
A noble spirit of sacrifice that made the title of saintess feel understated.
And the bold capacity befitting an S-rank hunter unafraid of it.
That was Rio.
Behind Kang-hyun's rural home, in the remote upper reaches of a valley where few people ventured.
Atop a flat rock bathed in sunlight.
A peculiar gathering was unfolding.
"Kkiyot!"
"Kkokkio!"
Down in the clearing below, Gorani and the chicken screeched as they shattered rocks and splintered trees in intense training.
But atop this rock, all was peaceful.
"Ossot."
The tanuki pulled a piece of scorched rice from its honeybee outfit pocket—snack Kang-hyun had packed—and carefully split it in half.
[Item: Golden Rice Infused with Solar Energy]
[Description: Rice grown in the sunniest spot of the Absolute's field. It releases a nutty sweetness the more you chew, warming a chilled body and restoring depleted stamina upon consumption.]
Special rice cultivated by the master.
A custom tonic snack for the joints of us old beasts, scraped from the pot's bottom.
Slither—
Then, from the forest shadows, the massive White Snake glided into view.
A living history of the mountain, enduring centuries alone, appearing with the dignity of a lofty spirit beast.
"O, ossot!"
The tanuki jumped up and wiped the prime seat on the rock with its honeybee sleeve.
It prepared a spot spotless of dust and politely extended a paw to invite her.
"Sseu..."
The White Snake nodded and coiled onto the prime seat.
The tanuki placed the larger, crispier half of the scorched rice reverently before her.
Crunch, crunch!
The White Snake chewed the scorched rice contentedly.
The tanuki seized the moment.
Using a large burdock leaf from who-knows-where, it presented clear water collected solely from morning dew.
"Ossot, osososot?"
The tanuki pleaded beside the White Snake with sparkling eyes.
Like a grandchild nagging grandpa for an old tale.
The White Snake snorted as if annoyed, but a faint smile played on her mouth.
"Sseu? Shuk..."
Giving in to the tanuki's persistence, the White Snake subtly adjusted her posture.
She cleared her throat and began a long story.
"Ssussu..."
From heroic tales of the days when tigers smoked on this mountain centuries ago,
to laments that the moonlight these days paled compared to the olden times.
Stories that could easily bore.
But the tanuki's reactions were national-team level.
"Sseuuu, shuk."
"Ososot!"
'Back when I was young, even the imugi couldn't meet my gaze.'
'Wow, you're incredible, sis! As expected of your caliber!'
It was as if such a conversation flowed between them.
The tanuki exclaimed admirably at the right moments and, when the White Snake seemed thirsty, offered clear valley water in a leaf cup beforehand.
Head tilted at 45 degrees, eyes brimming with respect.
"Sseut..."
The tanuki knew exactly what it was doing.
The White Snake's eyes narrowed.
Beasts like Gorani or the chicken were all brawn, no depth for such conversation.
But this old tanuki?
A perfect companion easing her loneliness.
The yard felt comfortable thanks to the excellent master, but also this sensible tanuki.
The White Snake felt exceptionally pleased.
"Sseu."
Finishing her tale, the White Snake pondered briefly, then opened her mouth wide.
She drew something up from deep in her belly.
Plop—
Before the tanuki fell a small, round bead glowing with faint moonlight.
Not a fox orb, but a snake orb!
The [Moon Spirit Stone] condensed within her body each molt.
[Item: Small Moon Spirit Stone]
[Description: A mystical stone formed from the White Snake's vital essence. Carrying it prevents stamina loss and infuses vitality into an aging body, aiding rejuvenation.]
"O, ossot?!"
The tanuki's eyes widened in shock.
To give such a treasure to a lowly creature like itself?
Swish—
The White Snake flicked her tail coolly as if it were nothing and vanished back into the forest.
But her retreating figure brimmed with intent to return tomorrow for more chatter.
"Osaooo..."
Overwhelmed with emotion, the tanuki tucked the Moon Spirit Stone safely into its honeybee pocket.
Indeed, the moment it did, its stiff back straightened right up.
"Ossot!"
This was how you did social life.
The tanuki gazed down leisurely at the sweating, tumbling chicken and Gorani below, munching scorched rice.
A victory of seasoned maturity lost on the young brutes living by brute force alone.