Chapter 127: Temporary Joining
Chapter 127: Temporary Joining
“That was the look of someone deep in thought. You… I've noticed you seem to be wrestling with something whenever you look at me.”
“……”
Wrestling with something, she said. I narrowed my eyes. I tried to hold it in, but a smile kept threatening to break through. I took a deep breath, trying my best to stay quiet as I composed myself.
Ko Yeonju slowly pulled away from me. Then she subtly increased the distance between us. I felt a strange sense of unease watching her back away in a straight line. But as if not to give me time to figure it out, Ko Yeonju immediately continued speaking.
“But I couldn't just ignore that look. It seemed like too dangerous a thought to simply let slide… Do you know? Every time I see that look in your eyes, I get goosebumps all over. It's enough to make me shudder.”
“Hm.”
The cigarette in my mouth had gone cold. The one she was holding was also extinguished. I spat out the cigarette and caught it in my hand. Rolling the butt between my fingers, I realized I'd been too complacent. I thought I'd been watching her, but she had been observing me even more intently.
Ko Yeonju also flicked her cigarette butt away and quietly opened her mouth.
“What could that thought be? What on earth are you contemplating that gives me the chills like this? I was so curious, and then, by a stroke of luck, I figured it out.”
“When was that?”
“When I was messing with you, using information as bait. Back then, User Kim Soohyun, you talked about SSUN and the general city, Hale. It was only then that I finally realized. The true nature of your contemplation was…”
“Was…?”
Ko Yeonju gave a faint smile at my question and paused for dramatic effect. And in that moment, I finally understood the source of my unease. I was about to turn my head, but before I could, her words reached my ears.
“Killing intent.”
Shit. The moment I heard her answer, I instantly calculated her position and the distance between us. Then, I immediately glanced toward my sword, which I had left leaning against the table. But the sword I had definitely placed there was gone.
“Looking for this?”
I looked up at the sound of her voice, only to swallow hard. The first thing I saw were her slender fingers. She was dangling my sword by its hilt, swinging it gently, though I had no idea when she'd snatched it. I immediately grabbed a chopstick that was rolling on the table and lunged at her.
“Hoho, a chopstick?”
Despite my swift movement, Ko Yeonju let out a relaxed laugh. Then, her form vanished as if she'd sunk right into the ground. I instantly activated my Third Eye and flooded my entire body with magic power.
I knew every technique Ko Yeonju had just used. She had probably activated Presence Concealment and Black Shade at the same time. Third Eye could counter both, so with my Unique Ability active, I rapidly searched the shadows around me.
Third Eye isn't reacting to the shaded area under the table. In that case….
“Yah! I was behind you~”
At that moment, I saw a figure shoot up from my own shadow on the floor. From behind me, I heard Ko Yeonju's mocking voice, followed by the sharp sound of something slicing through the air. It was a split-second, but I remained calm. I felt a little bad for her, but I'd experienced these techniques to death in the first run and had no intention of falling for them so easily.
I executed the ability I had prepared.
Sssk. Chak.
“…Oh my.”
“Not behind, but in front. Right, Miss Shadow Queen?”
I aimed the chopstick at her slender neck and whispered softly in her ear.
To summarize, Ko Yeonju had tried to take the position behind me through the shadows, but my Ability countered her. More than merely failing, she had let me take the position behind her instead. By revealing a hidden Ability, I had turned the tables on her.
Ko Yeonju stood perfectly still, as if she couldn't believe this had happened. It seemed she hadn't intended to harm me, as her dagger had stopped a safe distance away. I had no intention of killing her just yet either, so I didn't press the chopstick any further.
Finally, Ko Yeonju spoke, her voice faltering.
“N-No way… Is this… Positional Exchange?”
“Oho. So you know it? Correct.”
“This is definitely… Right. That guy from the Istantel Low Clan… No. I heard this technique was still under development. How do you know it…?”
Ah. She must mean him. That's right. I learned it from him during the first run. I figured I needed at least one life-saving trump card. I wanted to say that, but I kept my mouth shut.
When I poked her slightly with the chopstick, I could feel a faint tremor run through her neck. She seemed to be in shock at being subdued so easily.
Honestly, luck played a part in what just happened. Ko Yeonju wasn't using her full strength, but the most important factor was that I was already familiar with her combat style and techniques. In the first run, I'd faced her on the battlefield several times. As one of the Ten Strong, her combat patterns were thoroughly analyzed by my clan. Thanks to that analysis, we were able to understand her fighting style, and in the end, the ‘Shadow Queen’ was executed by the ‘Princess of Execution’ under Han Soyoung.
In short, she wasn't going all out, my skills surpassed hers, I knew all of the ‘Shadow Queen's’ techniques, and I was prepared with my Third Eye just in case. It was the perfect harmony of these four factors that allowed me to subdue her in an instant. If she had come at me with everything she had, I was confident I could win, but it wouldn't have been this easy. After all, her special ability, ‘Abyssal Host,’ is incredibly difficult to deal with.
Of course, the female User before me had no way of knowing any of this. On the surface, a Year 5 User had just been subdued by a Year 0 User. Even if I possessed an absurd level of strength, for the ‘Shadow Queen’—a powerhouse who was one of the Ten Strong—to be defeated so easily by a Year 0 User was something that even Ko Yeonju would find hard to accept…
“I surrender.”
She accepted it. She casually dropped the dagger and the sword she was holding. Her swift reaction almost made me drop the chopstick, but I managed to hold on. I was inwardly dumbfounded, but in a way, I felt this was just like her.
At first glance, she seemed free-spirited and hard to control, but she was the kind of User who remained loyal to her side once she had chosen it. The Princess of Execution must have known that, which was why she tore Ko Yeonju apart without hesitation after she was incapacitated.
Pressing the chopstick against the nape of her neck, I fell into thought. Should I kill her, or not? Kill her, or not? Considering the first run, killing her would be the easier choice, but I'd be left with regrets. How could I possibly make this woman an ally? How did those bastards in the past manage to capture the heart of the free-spirited Ko Yeonju?
While I was lost in thought, I heard Ko Yeonju's dejected voice.
“Haaah… Yeah. This was exactly the feeling.”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“The killing intent I sometimes saw in your eyes felt just like this. It was as if you were debating whether to kill me or not.”
Her words hit the nail on the head, and I couldn't think of anything to say. A moment of silence passed. Finding the silence stifling, Ko Yeonju cleared her throat and continued.
“Can I turn around now?”
“…Slowly. With your hands up.”
Ko Yeonju followed my demand, raising both hands and slowly turning around. As she did, she glanced sidelong at the chopstick, silently urging me to lower it. I chuckled at the coy gesture and dropped it, while simultaneously kicking the dagger and sword far away. Neither of us was armed, but with Unity of Sword and Self at EX Rank, the situation favored me overwhelmingly.
“Well, you spared me in the end. But my arms are getting tired.”
“Yeah. Keep them up. It's a good look.”
“I knew you were a pervert.”
“Kgh.”
I snorted and personally lowered her arms for her. Ko Yeonju shot me a glare, walked past me, and threw herself onto the bed. She must have thrown herself down pretty hard, because the bed bounced. At this point, I felt like I could handle most of her unpredictable actions with composure.
Burying her face in my bed, she eventually mumbled in a listless voice.
“Ah… I'm exhausted. Today's just not my day. I had a near-death experience and got humiliated. Why is everything going wrong today?”
“Seems like it's just one of those days.”
She grumbled demurely at my response. She appeared composed on the outside, but it seemed her pride was quite wounded.
After rolling around on the bed for a while, she met my gaze and patted the empty space beside her. It wasn't that I didn't understand her intention. But instead of lying down next to her, I responded by simply perching on the edge of the bed.
There was no need to be wary of Ko Yeonju anymore. Her face clearly said, “I'm tired. I've lost the will to fight.”
Ko Yeonju scooted over and rested her head on my lap. Finding myself suddenly giving her a lap pillow, I gave a wry smile. Our clash had been brief, but it had left the atmosphere quite awkward. One thing was certain, though: by sparing her, I had put her in my debt. As a User who was one of the Ten Strong, she wouldn't be ignorant of such things.
After enjoying my lap for a moment, she let out a long sigh and began to speak.
“Huu~. Anyway, this makes things a little clearer.”
“What does?”
When I asked, she raised a hand and poked my nose with her fingertip.
“A moment ago, I thought I might actually die. But here I am, alive. You… you were definitely debating whether to kill me or spare me just now, weren't you?”
I didn't answer. But Ko Yeonju glared at me with a prim expression. It seemed she took my silence as a tacit admission. After staring at me for a long while, she smacked her lips and continued.
“But since you chose to spare me in the end… I can only assume you want something from me. So can you please just answer me now? We'd never even met before you joined Mule. So what on earth do you want from me, and why do you want to kill me?”
“……”
“Don't just stay silent. Tell me straight. Huh? I need to know the situation too, you know. Only then can I give you an answer.”
She continued pressing me, but I deliberately held my tongue. Ko Yeonju was different from Hayeon or Shin Sangyong. She was one of the Ten Strong and a proud User with a Secret Class. She would have her own convictions, and her pride as a User was self-evident.
Of course, the caravan I was leading was competent, and she had praised my plans, but it was a stretch to ask her to join my future clan based on that alone. Even I thought it was highly likely she would refuse. If she refused, I could just kill her, but a part of me would regret it. I couldn't even begin to imagine how much of an asset she would be if she joined our party, and later, our clan.
After pondering for a while, I finally made up my mind. The conclusion was, “I can't decide right now.” Ko Yeonju was interested in me, and I wanted to observe her a little longer. In that case, I needed to give her time to spend with me and my companions, which would also give me the opportunity to watch her more closely.
Having organized my thoughts, I calmly raised my hand and stroked Ko Yeonju's soft hair. She closed her eyes gently, as if savoring my touch.
“It seems to be getting quite late, don't you think?”
“Huh? Why the sudden formal speech?”
Quietly enjoying my touch, she opened her eyes slightly at my words and asked.
I wanted to say, ‘You're the one who dropped the formalities first,’ but I held it back. I was planning to propose a condition to her. And she wouldn't be able to refuse. Since she now owed me her life, I figured she would likely go along with it.
Above all… I calculated that having Ko Yeonju around would be a great help, since he appears at the end of the Cave of Screams. I moistened my lips and spoke before they could dry.
“It seems business hasn't been going so well for you lately. Since things have turned out this way, how about taking a little break?”
“Hng…?”
At my words, Ko Yeonju's hum turned flirtatious. After confirming her reaction, I slowly continued.