Chapter 457: Ally or Enemy (11)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 457: Ally or Enemy (11)
The menacing aura of Angela, now an enemy, washed over us.
“Ah…”
Beside me, Seo-yeon’s face turned deathly pale.
It seemed she was being crushed, unable to withstand the overwhelming presence.
She clutched my arm with one hand and her chest with the other. I gently rubbed her back.
“Breathe calmly.”
“O-Okay…”
I manipulated the flow of energy around us to soften the aura, and only then did Seo-yeon’s breathing return to normal.
“I knew Angela was strong, but I never imagined she was this strong…”
Her presence, like that of a ferocious beast, made itself known to everyone.
But that only conveyed the surface of her power.
To truly know her, you had to rise to a level where you could at least glimpse her feet.
Or you had to face her as an enemy.
“So that’s a true Apostle.”
Was she despairing at the immense gap between them, despite both being Apostles?
Seo-yeon bit her lower lip, her expression grim, and lowered her head.
I offered her a sharp piece of advice.
“It would be truly unfair if there wasn't much of a skill gap between you and her, wouldn't it?”
“……”
She pouted, glaring at me through narrowed eyes.
Was she upset I wasn't taking her side?
But you should always hear someone out to the end.
“Don’t be impatient. By the time you’re Angela’s age, you’ll be stronger.”
“…Do you really think so?”
“I don’t lie about many things, but I never lie about skill.”
“Yeah, that’s true. You’re a blockhead when it comes to things like that, Do-jin.”
A smile spread across her lips.
But it was fleeting.
“But… what do we do now?”
“…I’m not sure.”
That’s what I was wondering, too.
How were we supposed to get through this?
I scrutinized Yoon Myung-ho, who was hiding behind Angela.
Unlike his composed exterior, his aura had diminished considerably.
Right.
Of course, it would have.
To brainwash Angela while she was wearing her headband, he must have used his trump card. It would be stranger if he wasn't exhausted from it.
I quickly mapped out the situation in my head.
Just as I was about to open my mouth to share this with Seo-yeon, she beat me to it.
“No need for a long explanation. Just tell me what I need to do.”
Her trust was so absolute it was almost a burden.
“…As you know from fighting him just now, your power is a natural counter to the Brain Washer’s.”
“Yeah, I felt that too.”
“So, I need you to face him again.”
Seo-yeon glanced at our opponents, her expression heavy as she asked, “And Angela…?”
“I’ll have to face her.”
“Will you be… okay?”
“No.”
I couldn’t say I’d be fine, not even as a joke.
She was that strong.
Strong enough to rival Lu Bu, the most powerful opponent I had ever faced.
“I can’t hold out for long. So you have to succeed, no matter what.”
There was only one way to break through this difficult situation.
“There’s only one way: put a sword to Yoon Myung-ho’s neck and force Angela to stop.”
Her role was no different from the others.
Even brainwashed, her priority was the cult leader’s life.
“As long as we have him by the throat, Angela won’t be able to act rashly.”
The responsibility was immense.
Seo-yeon, whose shoulders had been slumped, finally looked up with a resolute expression and nodded.
“I understand.”
“I won’t be able to help you this time.”
“I know.”
“…Even though that means your chances of dying are much higher?”
Death.
Unfazed by the word that sent a chill down the spine, Seo-yeon offered a faint smile.
“I won’t die.”
“Huh?”
“If I die… you die too, Do-jin. So I will absolutely not die. I’ll win.”
Right.
So that’s how it was.
“Okay, good.”
I could feel it.
The distance between us had grown—the distance between me, who couldn’t shake this parental feeling, and her.
It was liberating, yet sad.
So this is what it feels like to watch a child you once held in your arms finally grow up and walk away.
Letting out a laugh—whether from pleasure or emptiness, I couldn’t tell—I picked up a bloodstained sword lying on the ground.
“Sunbae.”
“Yeah.”
“The moment I charge Angela, you circle around.”
“Got it.”
“And one more thing.”
“What is it…?”
I left Seo-yeon, who was staring at me with wide eyes, with one final instruction.
“From now on, don’t ask about anything I’m about to show you.”
Because I didn't think I could afford to hold back against that woman.
* * *
Her heart pounded.
With every thump, which felt like it would burst from her chest, a pleasant vitality surged through her body.
Pressure? Responsibility?
She didn’t really feel any of that.
It was clearly a crisis, yet she felt good.
‘Do-jin’s life is in my hands.’
To put it another way, he had entrusted his life to her.
What did that mean?
‘He trusts me.’
When she was a child.
She had asked her mom and dad.
When did you feel love for each other?
As if they had rehearsed it, they both gave the same answer.
-“Hmm, let’s see. When I felt like I could entrust my life to him?”
-“When I thought, ‘I could entrust my life to this person.’”
She hadn’t understood what it meant back then.
Both her mom and dad just kept repeating that she would understand when she grew up.
‘Now I get it. I know what that feels like.’
They said the love between her parents, who had been merely colleagues, began to truly burn from that moment on.
Of course, not all colleagues who could entrust their lives to each other would fall in love.
But she felt it.
‘It doesn’t seem impossible.’
If she was determined, there was no reason she couldn’t succeed.
Gripping the hilt of her sword, which felt even lighter now, she repeated to herself.
‘Save him. I have to save him. Yes, no matter what.’
She would not betray that trust, even if it meant dying.
Just as her heart began to grow heavier with resolve…
Kwaang-!
Kim Do-jin, who had been standing beside her, shot forward with a deafening roar.
Son Seo-yeon’s eyes followed his retreating back in astonishment.
But he paid her no mind.
Closing the distance in an instant, Kim Do-jin swung his sword at the impregnable iron fortress.
Kaang!
His strike was easily blocked by the shield Angela raised.
At that, Kim Do-jin turned only his head to signal Son Seo-yeon.
“Ah…!”
His gaze snapped her back to her senses, and she immediately threw herself into motion.
‘The Brain Washer…!’
Locking onto the target she had momentarily forgotten, she charged in a wide arc.
“Damn it…!”
Because Kim Do-jin was blocking her line of sight, Angela noticed a beat too late. She tried to shove him aside and turn, but…
“Where do you think you’re going?”
…she was blocked by Kim Do-jin, who had returned in an instant with light steps.
“Grr… Get out of my way!”
“Try and get through me.”
“You damn bastard!”
Fwoosh!
The mace swung down with the sound of a fierce wind.
“Whoa.”
He dodged by leaning back, then sprang back to his original posture with incredible elasticity and thrust his sword.
Shweek!
“How annoying!”
The shield, large enough to cover most of her torso, reacted instantly no matter where he aimed.
Using this, I calmly recalculated her combat strength.
I had realized the flaw in her brainwashing.
Because she was blindly following orders, her field of vision and range of thought were much narrower than usual.
In other words, her flexible thinking and movements were restricted.
‘I can hold out a little longer than I expected.’
Of course, that didn’t mean I could snatch victory with some clever trick.
The gap between us wasn’t narrow enough to be closed by such a small advantage.
“Hriyaaat-!”
Angela charged with a beast-like roar, her speed ferocious.
Despite her heavy armor, which made her incredibly weighty, her speed was too fast for the eye to follow.
And I couldn’t even dodge.
The moment I moved from this spot, she could reach Yoon Myung-ho, who was facing Son Seo-yeon.
‘That’s probably what she’s hoping for.’
In the end, I had only one option.
‘Meet her head-on.’
It was absurd to think this slender body could withstand the impact of that tremendous force.
But right now, I wasn't a warrior. I was a mage.
‘And a mage has a mage’s way of doing things.’
I used the flow of energy I held tightly in my grasp.
I kicked up a wind so fierce it was hard to even open my eyes, trying to slow her down.
Kwaaaaa-!
From the smooth ground, I created countless protrusions and pillars to block her path.
Kwadeudeuk!
Kwakwang!
“Kuh…!?”
Her speed diminished by all the obstacles.
Finally, I erected angled walls in front of me, made of thinly woven threads of mana.
They were designed to redirect a portion of the impact she generated away from me.
And then, holding my sword at an angle, I met her charge.
KWAAAAANG-!
“Keoheok……!”
The breath was knocked out of me.
Every bone and muscle in my body screamed for mercy.
Pakang!
Unable to withstand even a fraction of the impact, the sword hummed violently before finally shattering.
Kwarururuk!
Even with all that, I couldn’t absorb the full impact. My body only came to a stop after being pushed back more than ten meters.
And only then did my choked lungs open, and I gasped for air.
“Puha!”
For a moment, the battlefield froze.
Angela, because her ferocious, all-out charge had been stopped by a single man.
Yoon Myung-ho, because his conviction that she was the lifeline that would pull him out of this fight had been shattered.
And Son Seo-yeon, because she was so overcome with shock that she froze, her hand still gripping her sword.
The swordsmanship Kim Do-jin had displayed to block Angela.
It was her father’s—Son Si-woo’s—swordsmanship.
And it wasn’t just an imitation; it was near-perfect.
‘How does Do-jin know my dad’s swordsmanship…?’
Her mind reeled, tangled in confusion at the incomprehensible sight.