Chapter 99: Soohyun’s Madness
Chapter 99: Soohyun’s Madness
“Hraaaaa….”
The moment the creature opened its mouth, a chilling killing intent prickled across my entire body. But I didn’t stop running. All the monsters we had encountered on the second floor so far had been nothing but fakes. Even this Knight of Ruined Souls was clearly using some kind of trick, so I was able to remain composed. There’s a world of difference between the real deal and an imitation. Ah, except for Gigas, of course.
Sensing that my charge was anything but ordinary, the knight firmly raised its shield and swung its sword. Once again, a dark blue sword aura blossomed, flying toward me with a ghastly energy. But such a simple attack was never going to work on me in the first place.
If I had intended for this to be a learning experience, I would have called Ahn Hyun forward. I felt a little bad for Yoojung, but I had already decided to end this fight quickly.
Shing! Ssshhh….
Using the authority of a Sword Specialist, I sliced through the sword aura in one clean motion. I could see the light within the knight’s helmet flare up even more fiercely.
The knight and I clashed head-on. My plan was simply to smash right through its firmly planted shield, but I frowned when I saw a dark energy coalesce and seep into it.
Just then, I heard Jung Hayeon chanting a spell from behind me.
“───. Ice Cannon!”
Ice Cannon was a high-level water spell. It seemed she’d cast it to at least get the shield out of the way before I moved in. A long, icy tunnel of magic formed and shot forward in a straight line, striking the knight’s shield directly. And then…
Fzzt! Fzzzzzt!
“Ah…?”
The dark energy swirling on the Knight of Ruined Souls’ shield and Jung Hayeon’s Ice Cannon sparked as they battled for dominance, but only for a moment. After a brief tug-of-war, the Ice Cannon was completely consumed by the shield. The knight’s shield had absorbed her magic.
Tsk. Those bastards from the laboratory really cooked up all sorts of weird shit. I heard Jung Hayeon’s confused voice, but I just kicked my foot up powerfully. It didn’t matter what tricks the knight had up its sleeve; all I had to do was get rid of the shield.
Crack!
I put some real force into it this time, and the Knight of Ruined Souls couldn’t withstand my strength, dropping its shield. The knight had no expression, but I got the distinct feeling it was flustered. A triumphant smile spread across my face as I saw the shield, now flying through the air, fire the Ice Cannon at the ceiling. So, it was planning to reflect that back at me. Annoyed by its audacity, I filled my sword with magic power and slammed it into the knight’s chest.
“Hraaaaa…!”
Its chest plate caved in, and the knight was sent sliding backward. Seizing the opportunity, Yoojung ducked in front of me and chased after the retreating Knight of Ruined Souls.
“Haat!”
Tch. She didn’t let out a weirdly seductive battle cry this time. No, that’s not the point. Anyway, the Knight of Ruined Souls, which had been sliding back, slammed the back of its head hard against the wall. Having lost its shield, its guard was partially open, so Yoojung immediately swung her daggers. It was that drum-roll dagger style she had shown before.
“Hat, hat, hat, hat, hat, hat, hat, hat, hat, hat!”
Letting out a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a battle cry, Yoojung swung her daggers like a storm. To be honest, it wasn’t like Ahn Hyun’s style of taking a proper stance and landing a single deep thrust; it was more of a wild flurry. But against a disarmed opponent, there was nothing better.
After confirming the knight’s condition, I sheathed my sword and turned around. The rest of the party, who had been watching quietly, all stared at me with wide eyes. Even Vivian, who had been in the middle of casting another spell, tilted her head in confusion.
“H-Hyung.”
“What.”
“That… I mean… the monster is still….”
“Hm? It should be over, though?”
I muttered nonchalantly and turned my head back. Just in time, I saw the Knight of Ruined Souls let out a mournful scream before its body crumbled to dust. During our first clash, I had destroyed the core that made up its insides and delivered a massive shock that rattled its very being.
I shrugged and turned back to the party, who were now staring at Yoojung and me with dumbfounded expressions. It couldn’t be helped. Now that I’d decided to speed up the pace of our conquest, I had to give up on some of the kids’ experience-gaining opportunities.
“Yahoo! I took it down! Did you see that, Ahn Hyun?”
Seemingly in a better mood, Yoojung cheered and jumped up and down. Jung Hayeon sighed, and Shin Sangyong sighed along with her. However, it seemed the two had come to some sort of agreement, as they didn’t do anything else. But Ahn Hyun was a different story.
“Th-This is ridiculous!”
“Hm?”
I looked at Ahn Hyun, who was suddenly complaining, with a surprised expression.
“Hyung!”
“What is it.”
When I asked back in a cold voice, Ahn Hyun yelled at me, his eyes blazing.
“Yoojung didn’t do that! You did all the work, and she just got the last hit in!”
“Hmm… and if that’s the case?”
At my question, Ahn Hyun’s face brightened considerably. He turned to Yoojung with an I-knew-it smile.
“See? Hyung said so too. Who are you to brag when all you did was steal the last hit?”
“……”
I guess I’d forgotten their true natures for a moment. That’s not the point, you dense idiots, I wanted to say, but since it wasn’t a bad thing for me, I just sighed in response. Jung Hayeon looked back and forth between the kids and me, her expression incredibly complex.
On one hand, she looked at me with disbelief, but on the other, there was a hint of pity in her eyes.
“Why are you looking at me so pitifully?”
“…It must be so hard for you, raising these kids.”
“Haha… haaah.”
Only when I let out a bitter smile did Jung Hayeon offer a faint smile of her own. All the while, Ahn Hyun and Yoojung’s argument continued.
“No, I didn’t! Didn’t you see my brilliant dagger skills?”
“Brilliant? My ass. You were just flailing around wildly.”
“Pfft. At least I don’t dance around while playing with my spear like someone I know.”
Was she talking about when he was supporting me during the fight with the giant on the first floor? Ahn Hyun had almost dropped his spear back then, and it seemed she was teasing him about it. Remembering the incident, Ahn Hyun’s face turned beet red.
The two started bickering back and forth again, nitpicking at every little thing. The occasional curse word made it quite the spectacle.
The atmosphere was turning needlessly hostile. Did my earlier words mean nothing to them? We’d been together for a long time, and I didn’t want them to lose face in front of the others. I frowned and was about to yell at them when…
“Stop it!”
At that moment, Ahn Sol stepped forward and shouted at the top of her lungs. At her cry, Ahn Hyun and Yoojung instantly clamped their mouths shut. Both were stunned by the angry shout from the usually quiet and gentle Ahn Sol. She seemed to be trying to make a fierce expression, but to me, the way she bit her lip just looked cute.
“What do Oppa and Unni think you’re doing? Don’t you remember what Soohyun-orabeoni said earlier?”
“That… that’s….”
As soon as she brought me up, the two of them glanced my way before hanging their heads low. They clearly had nothing to say. I decided to cross my arms and watch how things unfolded. They were kids who never listened no matter how many times I told them, but maybe being scolded by someone younger would make them feel differently.
“We’re in the middle of an expedition. If you keep ruining the mood, you make things difficult for me, for Orabeoni, and for the two Mages. Don’t you realize that the more Oppa and Unni act like this, the more you tarnish Soohyun-orabeoni’s reputation as the caravan leader?”
Well, well. Look at her go. She’s usually not this eloquent. Had she been waiting for an opportunity like this?
The two looked indignant, but every word Ahn Sol said was true. Yoojung, who had been fuming, couldn’t just back down and spoke in a sullen voice.
“Still… Ahn Hyun keeps picking fights with me. I fought hard, too….”
As if acknowledging her point, Sol gave a solemn nod. Wait. Who did she think she was, acknowledging that?
“That’s right. That was definitely Ahn Hyun Oppa’s fault.”
“Hey! That’s only because she was bragging about something so pathetic.”
“That’s not it. You overreacted, Oppa. Is it so hard to just praise her and say she did a good job?”
At Sol’s words, Yoojung looked a little guilty. She had intended to tease him, but she couldn’t interrupt Sol while she was defending her. If she said, “No, I was trying to tease him…” it was obvious who the blame would fall on.
Ahn Hyun seemed to have taken a huge shock from the fact that his own sister wasn’t taking his side. He looked dazed for a moment, then whipped his head away.
“Hah. There has to be something to praise. I can’t do it. No, I won’t. What is there to praise when she did nothing?”
“Huu… Oppa. That’s not what I mean.”
Just as Yoojung was about to flare up, Sol stepped in front of her and moved forward once more.
“She’s doing all that because she wants you to praise her, Oppa. Oppa is always nagging Yoojung-unni, but you’ve never once praised her or said anything nice.”
“……”
Ahn Hyun remained silent. Sol, with a benevolent, almost motherly smile, approached Ahn Hyun and gently took his hand. He still didn’t turn his head, but he didn’t pull his hand away either. The scene looked like a mother placating her son. The atmosphere among the rest of us grew solemn as well.
With an endlessly gentle expression, Ahn Sol used her free hand to stroke his head.
“There’s a saying that even a whale will dance if you praise it. If you praise her, Oppa, Yoojung-unni will surely… wait, no.”
“?”
Sol stopped mid-sentence, a question mark appearing above her head. The way she tilted her head suggested she realized she’d said something wrong.
All of us, who had been focused on Ahn Sol’s actions, felt a strange sense of dissonance, and soon, we realized what it was.
“……”
“……”
A heavy silence instantly fell over the party. I had to close my eyes to stop an inexplicable burst of laughter from escaping. I tried my best to calm myself, but I couldn’t. It had been a long, long time since I’d struggled this hard with anything.
Grind. Grrrind.
I peeked my eyes open and saw Jung Hayeon pressing her lips together tightly. But the grinding sound coming from her mouth suggested she was clenching her teeth, trying her best to hold it in. Shin Sangyong was in the same situation, his mouth twitching. Only Vivian, who hadn’t lived on Earth, tilted her head in confusion. Yoojung, however, was not so patient.
“Pfft.”
“…Ahem. I seem to have mixed up my words.”
“Pff-kik!”
“Ahem, ahem. Anyway, Unni or…”
“Pffhahahaha!”
In the end, Yoojung couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. Ahn Sol tried to continue, but she kept stopping every time she heard Yoojung’s laughter. The rest of us were holding on, but Yoojung looked like she was about to die from laughter, slapping the floor and rolling around. Sol’s face turned bright red, and she shouted again in a stuttering voice.
“I-It was a mistake! S-Stop laughing!”
“Haha! A dance, ahaha! Praise, ahahaha!”
“I-I said, stop laughing!”
After clutching her stomach and laughing for a while, Yoojung shot up to her feet and grabbed her two daggers. She let them dangle loosely from her hands, then turned to me and began to wiggle her hips back and forth. It was a rather bizarre dance, but she giggled and opened her mouth.
“This isn’t a dance. I’m praising you, Oppa. Kahahahaha!”
That one line from Yoojung. And that… that was the signal for the laughter to erupt.
“Kyahahahahahaha!”
“Bwahahahahahaha!”
Even Jung Hayeon and Shin Sangyong couldn’t withstand that sight and finally burst out laughing. In the end, Ahn Hyun and I couldn’t help but laugh along. The way she had created such a solemn atmosphere only to ruin it in an instant with a single mistake was just too funny. Ahn Sol, her face flushed, tried desperately to get the situation under control, but when she saw no signs of it stopping, she finally burst into tears.
“Waaaaah!”