Chapter 384: The Light (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 384: The Light (3)
Ju-yeon administered first aid to Baek Hyeon-a, who was lying in the back seat of the car.
A pure white light pushed back the dark night.
As the light slowly faded, a faint touch of color returned to Baek Hyeon-a's deathly pale face.
Having finished the treatment, Ju-yeon, looking quite drained, wiped the sweat from her brow and spoke.
“I've maximized her regenerative abilities. Now we just need to get her to a hospital, lower her body temperature, and give her regular blood transfusions.”
It sounded positive.
But she wasn't finished.
“But… this is just a temporary fix. Unless we resolve the constraint on her body, she might hold on a little longer, but the end will inevitably come.”
Right.
That's why it was just first aid.
No matter what we did, to drive away her pain and death, we had to solve the root problem.
Removing the constraint she received for breaking her vow.
“…How long can she last?”
“I can't say for sure. A month at most, maybe two weeks at the least.”
That was a pretty wide range.
If I didn't want to gamble, I had to resolve her constraint within two weeks, no matter what.
“Let's get to the hospital first.”
“Right.”
We drove to Korea University Hospital.
The best hospital in the country, with the most healing-type Awakened Beings on staff.
Baek Hyeon-a was admitted to a VIP room that happened to be available.
The middle-aged doctor assigned as her physician approached and spoke to us.
“We've completed the treatment as you instructed, Hunter Han Ju-yeon.”
“Thank you so much.”
“Don't mention it.”
Listening to them, I learned that Ju-yeon had helped with some research at this hospital.
Apparently, her contributions had been crucial to the success of those studies.
That was why Baek Hyeon-a was able to get the last remaining VIP room without any review, bypassing high-ranking government officials and chaebol heads who were also waiting.
“We will follow your instructions and also look for a cure on our end.”
“Yes, please do.”
After speaking with the doctor, I went to her room and looked down at her, lying in a transparent, glass-tube-like bed, breathing through an oxygen mask.
“……”
Cold air was periodically pumped into the glass tube to keep her body temperature down.
Regular transfusions replenished the blood she was losing.
And finally, the oxygen mask to help her breathe more easily.
Seeing her hooked up to all those things inside the transparent tube made my chest ache.
As I clenched my fists in anger at the sight, Ju-yeon came up beside me and hugged my arm.
“Can I ask… what happened?”
What happened.
“The professor lying here threw her life away to save me.”
“…I see.”
Ju-yeon's arm wrapped around my neck and shoulder.
A comforting touch.
“You've incurred a life debt, the hardest kind to repay.”
Yeah.
She threw her life away to save mine.
Even if it was a moment I could have survived without her help, that fact doesn't change.
On top of that.
“I also broke a promise.”
Unlike her, who kept hers.
“I promised I would protect her, no matter what, but I failed.”
“It's not too late for that.”
“I don't know.”
Now that the immediate crisis was over and I could assess the situation calmly, my confidence plummeted.
Why do people use written vows for difficult agreements?
Because the constraint you receive for breaking the terms of a vow is absolute.
It can't be weakened or erased by any modern technology or artifact.
From such a constraint…
“Can I really remove it?”
Can I keep my promise to her?
As I unwittingly showed a moment of weakness, a sharp pain flared in my side.
“Ugh.”
I turned my head to see Ju-yeon's thumb and forefinger pinching the little flesh on my side.
For this body to feel that much pain, I couldn't imagine how hard she must have pinched.
With a stern expression, as if scolding a child, she chided me.
“You don't show weakness in front of someone who risked their life for you.”
“…You're right.”
Ever since I got this body, life has been so easy that my mind seems to have gone soft.
For me, the one whose tenacity and grit were second to none, to think of backing down before even trying…
I need to reflect on this. Seriously.
As I steeled my weakened resolve, Ju-yeon approached with her arms open and hugged me.
“Don't worry. I'll help you.”
My heart feeling much lighter, I reached out and hugged her back.
It was warm and comforting.
* * *
After launching a full-scale preemptive strike on Hexagram, there were two urgent matters Kim Do-jin had to deal with.
The first was to remove the constraint on Baek Hyeon-a.
Even with the facilities of Korea University Hospital, one of the best not just in the country but in the world, they could only delay her constraint for two weeks to a month at most.
Before then, I had to find a clue to remove the constraint and save her life.
“The constraint…”
Thanks to Han Ju-yeon, I realized one thing.
A constraint wasn't a disease or an injury, but a power infinitely close to a curse or a binding spell.
I thought I could just call an exorcist to remove the curse, but that wasn't easy either.
I met with the most readily available exorcist, who told me that constraints from vows or prohibitions from an Awakened's traits tend to settle in highly sensitive areas like the brain or the heart.
He said that in Baek Hyeon-a's case, the strongest energy of the constraint was concentrated in her heart.
In other words, to perform the exorcism, he would have to touch her heart. But not only was even attempting to remove the curse impossible for an exorcist of his caliber, but even if he tried, she would die of a heart attack nine times out of ten.
“…This is a problem.”
The person who explained this was one of the top five exorcists in South Korea.
Yet even he said that, heart attack aside, just attempting to remove the curse was impossible.
He added that finding an exorcist in this country who could do it would be impossible.
After hearing that, Kim Do-jin thought.
‘Who is the most skilled exorcist in the world?’
The answer came easily.
‘The Saintess of the Vatican.’
The one known, along with the Pope, as one of the two pillars of the Orthodox Church.
Unlike Han Ju-yeon, who was skilled in both buffs and healing, the Saintess was a pure-blooded healer whose abilities were focused solely on healing.
The saying "As long as you're not dead, she can save you" was no exaggeration for her.
“…She could probably do it.”
No.
If she couldn't do it, then no one in this world could save Baek Hyeon-a.
So, should I just go find her and ask for her help?
Unfortunately, that was impossible.
‘Even the leader of a nation has to wait a long time to meet her.’
The number of people who wanted to see her was overwhelming.
And every single one of them was a head of state, an S-rank Hunter, or the chairman of a major corporation—people in unimaginably high positions.
No matter that he was considered a divine prodigy, there was no way he could cut in line ahead of them to meet her.
‘If it were Son Si-woo… could he have done it?’
The chances were slim, but not zero.
Son Si-woo's meticulously managed image was an inspiration even to the people of the Vatican's Orthodox Church.
If he had bowed his head to the contacts he occasionally kept in touch with, he might have at least been able to start a conversation.
As his thoughts reached this point, a bitter smile spread across Kim Do-jin's face.
“…To think a day would come when I'd desperately miss my original body.”
This is why they say you never know what life will bring.
Kim Do-jin agonized.
‘What should I do?’
Should I find a way to ask the Saintess of the Vatican for help?
Or should I wander around searching for another cure?
Either way, the odds were slim.
After much deliberation, he chose the former.
“The Saintess is the only answer.”
With both options having a low probability of success, Kim Do-jin saw a better chance with the first one.
Unlike the latter, where he had no idea where to even begin, he at least had a vague idea of a starting point for the former.
It was a very difficult, complicated, and dangerous method, but he decided he would gladly endure it.
Just as Baek Hyeon-a had.
* * *
The press conference hall at the Hunter Association.
Reporters who had arrived early and filled the seats were chattering amongst themselves.
“What on earth is going on? Why call an emergency press conference?”
“They said it was important… I wonder what it is.”
The Association had called for an emergency press conference.
The reporters gathered here were all present to cover it.
As soon as the scheduled time arrived, the closed doors of the press conference hall opened, and I stepped inside.
I was immediately met with a barrage of camera flashes.
I stood before the cluster of microphones and spoke in a calm voice.
“Good morning. I am the A-rank Hunter, Kim Do-jin.”
That's me.
I was the one who asked the Association to call this emergency press conference.
“The reason I've gathered all you busy reporters here today is to share some very important information and to ask for your help in making it widely known.”
With a composed expression and a calm tone, but with words that couldn't help but build anticipation, I drew the focused gazes of the reporters.
“While carrying out a mission at the request of the Association, I discovered the existence of a certain secret organization.”
As I got straight to the point, a stir went through the reporters.
“You might think it's just another organization formed by a group of villains, but it is not.”
I held up a file I had brought with me and continued.
“This is a secret ledger I obtained from the home of one of the organization's members. It is filled with the names of high-ranking politicians, corporate executives, and Hunters who have been consistently receiving bribes from this secret organization.”
The atmosphere grew tense.
In time with it, I began to slowly release my suppressed emotions.
“There are over a hundred names. They took enormous sums of money and, in return, provided conveniences to help the organization operate. From the shadows, they sat atop the heads of those who run this country on behalf of its people, trying to rule this nation, to rule us…!”
I shuddered every time I turned a page of the secret ledger I'd found in Lee Yoon-seok's house.
At the number of people they had co-opted in various fields, at the amount of money they had paid them, and at the demands they made in return.
Only then did I understand.
How they had managed to operate until now without a single whisper of their name getting out.
And I realized.
As long as they remained in the shadows, there was no way to fight them.
That was why I had requested this press conference.
“I decided that to check them, even now, their existence must first be imprinted upon every citizen. That is why I have arranged this meeting.”
In the brief silence, a reporter raised their hand and asked.
“What is the name of this organization?”
I answered.
“The organization's name is Hexagram. They are a sinister group with a dark dream of ruling the world from the shadows. Please, everyone, do not forget their name!”
If the shadows were their home ground, then I had no choice but to drag them into the light to fight.
Click! Click!
Flash—!
My resolute expression amidst the storm of camera flashes would serve as my declaration of war against them.