35. Yang-ui-sim-gong?
35. Yang-ui-sim-gong?
Does he know whose arms he's in, sleeping so peacefully like this...
Of course, he put himself to sleep, but that wasn't Cheon Hwa-ryeong's business.
She'd just been imagining ways to break this guy, but seeing Ryu-o covered in blood like this...
[Nu... nu...? Me...?]
"...Heh, what a weird guy."
"Cheon... Heavenly Demon!"
"Ryu-o-nim... rescue... ah..."
Hearing those defeated soldiers babbling over there didn't put Cheon Hwa-ryeong in a bad mood at all.
She had long surpassed the weak realm vulnerable to Seophonsul.
Even observing her own body, nothing seemed particularly different, but just holding this guy made stray thoughts vanish.
That's when a pink head came rolling tumble-tumble right to Cheon Hwa-ryeong's feet and plopped to a stop.
"Ooh... What's the deal with this Jang Ryu-o guy? Even the Heavenly Demon? Some nation-toppling beauty or what? Damn, I want him..."
Cheon Hwa-ryeong, who'd seen it all, was seeing a scene like this for the first time.
Come to think of it, she must have burst the body of that bitch who dared covet what was hers...
"No blood?"
"Correct! But do you know how long it took to make this~?"
"..."
"That kid? I saved him! Because..."
For a split second, that bitch from Eon-ga flashed in Cheon Hwa-ryeong's mind...
-Peok!
"Eeek!"
But right now, that wasn't her problem. She just burst the remaining head too.
As she tensed her legs to leap, someone called out to stop Cheon Hwa-ryeong.
"Heavenly Demon! First time seeing you run away! Is that boy your target?"
Glancing over, the Duchy knights and the Labyrinth City Knight Commander were tending to the defeated soldiers.
The Knight Commander eyeing her prize with an intrigued look.
Normally, she'd have charged to snap that stiff neck...
But holding Ryu-o, Cheon Hwa-ryeong just smirked and turned away.
Because she wasn't really pissed.
She didn't even know why she wasn't pissed.
The Knight Commander gawked, eyes bulging as Cheon Hwa-ryeong vanished in an instant.
"Not fighting? The Heavenly Demon? Smirking? Heh? Ha ha!"
The Knight Commander turned to look at the reserve raid members receiving treatment.
"Hmm... They're all usable enough..."
Turning back, he gazed up at the Orc Hero's corpse.
Back sliced straight open! Heart area ripped apart.
A glint sparked in the Knight Commander's eyes.
"Not enough to take that down, and not the Heavenly Demon's fist strike either... So the boy?"
The Knight Commander shuddered examining the Orc Hero's corpse.
The sword path of a total newbie who'd just been tested for the 10th floor.
Not clean, but desperate...
"Pretty damn cool, huh?"
He just wondered how he'd shredded all that tough muscle.
While happily sketching mental images...
"Knight Commander! Help! Save Jang Ryu-o!"
He whipped around at the desperate cry from the pint-sized Gongnyeo-nim.
Bellatus 2nd Princess, face pale as she pleaded earnestly.
But the Knight Commander's main duty wasn't that.
"The 1st Princess's orders were to protect the 2nd Princess."
"He's my comrade!"
"We have to protect you no matter what, 2nd Princess."
The Knight Commander nodded at the Orc Hero.
"What if another one of those shows up?"
"Then... then what about Jang Ryu-o!"
The Knight Commander grinned brightly.
"Don't worry! Seeing the Heavenly Demon's face, she definitely won't kill him?"
The Knight Commander chuckled gleefully, recalling the Heavenly Demon's dopey expression.
"Puhahaha! The mighty Heavenly Demon going all lovey-dovey! I'm dying of curiosity!"
"Hey! Why are you laughing! Jang Ryu-o!"
"Ehehe, I said he won't die, right? Let's hurry once treatment's done, little Gongnyeo-nim!"
"I'm an adult!!!"
"Sure sure~"
The Knight Commander smoothly brushed it off, as the reserve raid members' treatments wrapped up.
Traversing the dungeon was a breeze.
With Duchy knights and the Knight Commander, the 10th floor was nothing...
Emerging outside, they spotted Silvia slumped dejectedly.
"Silvia-ssi?"
"The... Heavenly Demon took Ryu-o-nim!!"
Ryu-o here, Ryu-o there.
"What a sinful guy!"
Silvia muttered in her panic.
"Ah... Tell Arin-nim... Uh? I don't know where Arin-nim lives...? How... how do I relay this..."
"Arin?"
What the hell? Why's Arin coming up now?
"Silvia-ssi...? Arin as in the eastern..."
The Knight Commander tried asking Silvia...
"The Bellatus 1st Princess is entering!"
"Eeek! Sis!"
-Thud thud thud!
Bellatus 1st Princess entered with steps a beat faster than usual.
The Knight Commander had never seen her so anxious.
The ever-dignified 1st Princess scanned the 2nd Princess top to bottom.
"You're safe."
"Sorry..."
"The Heavenly Demon was an external factor. Don't apologize as a daughter of Bellatus if you did nothing wrong."
"Sis..."
"Young lady!"
"Young, young lady-nim!"
What a dishonest person.
Her worry was plain as day...
The Knight Commander pretended not to notice and approached the 1st Princess.
"Your request is complete."
The 1st Princess glanced around and said.
"Where's Jang Ryu-o?"
Jang Ryu-o again? Really?
As the Knight Commander regretted not rescuing him somehow, the 2nd Princess wailed from behind.
"Little Duchess-nim! The Heavenly Demon took him!! And a Dungeon Break happen... sooo!"
"Selana, with dignity, again."
"So..."
Hearing the neatly organized explanation, the 1st Princess's brow furrowed.
That's...
"Form a rescue team immediately and inspect every Duchy member."
The furious Gongnyeo pulled paper from her Subspace, scribbled something, and handed it to a nearby knight.
-Krik!
"How dare she..."
The 1st Princess's icy rage descended on the peaceful Labyrinth City.
'Jang Ryu-o... Just wanted to chat a bit...?'
The center of the incident... only the Heavenly Demon knew where he was now.
Cheon Hwa-ryeong arrived home in a flash.
All external forces tracking her had entered the Labyrinth anyway.
She wasn't at a level those left outside could catch.
Entering the quiet, lifeless house, Cheon Hwa-ryeong laid Ryu-o on the bed.
"..."
She'd brought him along, but...
"..."
Cheon Hwa-ryeong, who'd harbored all sorts of wicked thoughts, just stared at Ryu-o.
At Ryu-o, drenched in blood, covered in ugly bruises.
At the utterly helpless Ryu-o who couldn't resist at all.
"...Even fed him Godokdan, but can't even earn his keep."
-Pfft
Cheon Hwa-ryeong stroked Ryu-o's hair, crusted with stubborn dried blood.
Outside was filthy blood flaking off, but inside felt sticky in a way that should disgust her...
"Hoo..."
A feeling totally different from watching her followers.
For some reason, that merchant's words brushed her mind.
[You won't win her heart.]
More incomprehensible than those hard-to-grasp words was herself.
She'd lusted after him to claim him, but visions of Ryu-o broken and wilting blocked her.
Then a pained groan escaped Ryu-o's lips.
"Kuh..."
Cheon Hwa-ryeong sighed once and placed her hand on his Dantian.
Just a natural reaction to his groaning making her frown.
As she channeled qi through her hand...
"Huh...?"
Her internal energy flowed in smoothly without blockage?
Cheon Hwa-ryeong ramped up the output of her scant remaining internal energy.
Even that amount was too much for weaklings to handle.
But Ryu-o's body left the Heavenly Demon flustered.
No meridians, yet internal energy raced through his whole body, defying all reason.
"Crazy..."
If Woo Ho-beop were here, it'd freak out and fall over.
Seeing Ryu-o breathe easier accepting her internal energy stirred dark urges in Cheon Hwa-ryeong.
She desperately wanted to see this guy use her martial arts.
That pure, clear energy dyed black in filthy desire.
She yearned to teach this once-in-a-millennium—no, irreplaceable—body.
Unlike her usual vague emotions, this greed was crystal clear.
Her eyes rolled back as Cheon Hwa-ryeong poured sticky qi into his Dantian...
-Swish
"????????"
The sticky qi was repelled by the 'Dantian' and wandered the body.
"Uh...?"
A dumb sound she'd never uttered in her life.
She couldn't even imagine herself making such a stupid noise.
As the impossible happened, Cheon Hwa-ryeong forgot delicate control and just jammed in more internal energy.
Then the internal energy scattered through his body converged...
-Hummm
Another Dantian formed.
Cheon Hwa-ryeong's fluster turned to terror.
Not even the legendary Yangui-simgong... what the hell...?
Her remaining internal energy got sucked dry in an instant, strength draining from her body...
-Thud!
"Ha... haha... crazy bastard..."
Already exhausted, now insomnia piled on.
All Cheon Hwa-ryeong could do was collapse beside Ryu-o and spew curses...
"Crazy fucker..."
Cheon Hwa-ryeong laughed hollowly like that, staring wide-eyed through the night.