Chapter 104: Wrapping Up
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 104: Wrapping Up
Screeeech!
The shadow monster shrieked amidst the lightning of the Brain Thunder bursting from within it.
As if in a final, desperate struggle, it swung its shadow at me, but my vision had already changed.
Si-ho had teleported me to her side.
Hugging me from behind, she glared at the collapsing shadow monster.
The shadow monster shuddered violently one last time before bursting into a splash of ink.
With that, Hyeok-seo, who had been trapped inside, tumbled to the ground.
My eyes shot toward him.
Shadows dripped from the neck of the man collapsed on the ground. As an aftereffect of destroying the shadow core, the shadow connecting Hyeok-seo’s neck was also beginning to disappear.
The moment that shadow vanished, Hyeok-seo would die.
I knew this, but my eyes kept trying to close.
“Manager!”
Hearing Si-ho’s cry, I barely managed to open my eyes.
The pain was making my consciousness drift in and out.
“What do I do? What do I do! It’s because of me, because of Si-ho. We need to get to a hospital, right now!”
Si-ho hugged me, tears in her eyes, completely at a loss.
I grabbed her wrist and breathed out weakly.
“I’m… okay. Si-ho, it’s okay.”
“You’re not okay! You’re not okay at all…”
As Si-ho fumbled at my cheek with a trembling hand and a frustrated expression, I was at a loss for words.
Honestly, if Hyeok-seo hadn't resisted from the inside, I would have been done for long ago. Even in this state, I was lucky just to be alive.
At that moment, someone appeared on the outer wall of a distant building.
His hair, wreathed in pitch-black darkness, fluttered with the colors of the cosmos.
Erebos.
He had finally come.
According to Eunnamu’s information, he was supposed to be abroad for some reason, not here. With his appearance, it was safe to say the Association’s plan was now ruined. He was just that powerful.
Eunnamu hadn’t been able to inform me of this.
That meant something must have happened to her as well.
I started to worry about her.
“Domi, go.”
Just then, Hyeok-seo was clutching his neck, forcing himself to stand. His trembling body looked like it could collapse at any moment.
“It’s okay.”
Watching him, I let out a quiet breath and looked up at the sky.
Camellia petals were scattering there.
Amidst the fluttering petals, red hair was revealed. The sword in her grasp was stained crimson, emitting a menacing light.
The Heavenly Demon, Cheon Hong-ryeon.
She had come.
Erebos stared in our direction for a moment. His presence here meant it was safe to assume Girasung had been all but annihilated. He could have thrown caution to the wind and made a desperate attack on Si-ho, but…
As if giving up, he vanished back into the darkness.
Cheon Hong-ryeon swung her sword in pursuit, but Erebos was already gone. The sun was setting. As a god of darkness, he could move more freely at night, so even for Cheon Hong-ryeon, chasing him wouldn’t be easy.
After glaring in the direction Erebos had disappeared, she gave up and leaped over to us. The moment she saw me, her eyes widened.
She rushed forward and hugged me, her hands trembling as she felt over my body.
“Again… why again, Domi, you!”
“Ugh, Ahyu, it hurts more when you touch me.”
“Honestly…”
She looked like she was about to scold me but bit her lip instead.
“Looks like… ugh… you saw my signal… just fine.”
I had fired the Brain Thunder not only to defeat the shadow monster but also to reveal our location. I was sure that anyone who knew me would grasp the situation and come.
Thanks to that, the most reliable Heavenly Demon herself had graced us with her presence.
“I’m angry, so be quiet. Eat this first.”
The problem was, Cheon Hong-ryeon seemed furious with me. When she took out a Rejuvenation Pill, I tried to take it, but I couldn’t lift my hand properly.
Seeing this, she let out a sigh that sounded like it could shatter and placed the pill directly into my mouth.
Since it was from her, I knew it would help my body recover, so I forced myself to chew it despite the bitter taste.
“Is it very bitter? Should Si-ho chew it for you?”
Just how far was Si-ho willing to go for me? Thinking that I’d ended up like this again while trying to protect her, she was fidgeting restlessly.
Meanwhile, I could feel the pain subsiding slightly as the Rejuvenation Pill took effect. It seemed perfect for first aid.
As if to say I was fine, I placed a hand on Si-ho’s head, let out a shallow breath, and looked up.
“It’s bitter, but I’m okay. Si-ho, can you deal with the dimensional gate first?”
Only Si-ho could close a gate of that magnitude. Dimensional entities were still pouring out, and the returnees and hunters couldn’t hold them off forever.
Si-ho nodded at my words and stood up.
“I’ll do it right away.”
With that, Si-ho reached her hand toward the sky again and began to close the gate.
“Haa, look at the state of you.”
Just then, Baeksan’s voice echoed. He looked at me, let out a long sigh, and asked.
“Your body?”
“Can’t say it’s in one piece.”
When I gave an awkward laugh, Baeksan nodded as if to say that was enough. It seemed he was willing to let it slide since I was still alive, despite how recklessly I’d treated my body this time.
“From now on, you will absolutely stay out of trouble for three months. At least until I can intervene again.”
Baeksan spoke as if lamenting the fact that he couldn’t stop what happened, even though he had reached out to me at the end. Even if he had tried to possess me, my body, still suffering the aftereffects of his possession back at the academy, wouldn’t have been able to handle it.
Hearing his words, I could only nod with a bitter smile.
Meanwhile, Cheon Hong-ryeon was approaching Hyeok-seo. Camellia petals swirled around her as her eyes twisted in anger.
“Are you satisfied now?”
The magi coiling around her looked ready to kill at any moment.
“…What about Namgung Cheon-ryong?”
“I killed him. The thought that I lost you because of that bastard, leading to Domi ending up like this… It’s enough to make me lose my mind.”
I guess something unexpected must have happened on Cheon Hong-ryeon’s end, too. According to the plan, she was supposed to subdue Hyeok-seo, and Eva was supposed to persuade him. It had felt strange from the moment Hyeok-seo appeared on our side.
Looking down at Hyeok-seo, Cheon Hong-ryeon’s eyes contorted further with rage.
I had a bad feeling.
My body having recovered a little during the short rest, I shot forward, wrapped my arms around Cheon Hong-ryeon’s waist, and lifted her up.
“Wh-what?”
Startled, Cheon Hong-ryeon started to struggle before realizing it was me, her eyes widening. For some reason, Ahyu always seemed taller in her Cheon Hong-ryeon form, but holding her now, she felt no different than when she was Ahyu. In the end, Ahyu and Cheon Hong-ryeon were the same person.
“Ahyu, stop.”
“…I was planning to.”
“Your eyes said otherwise. You looked like you were about to do something.”
“Do you see me as a homicidal maniac? I wasn’t going to. Put me down.”
When I carefully set her down, she let out a sigh. Then she glanced at me and hesitated slightly before saying, “…You, uh, can hold me a little longer.”
I flicked Cheon Hong-ryeon on the forehead.
Her eyes went wide as she clutched her forehead. The look on her face, as if to say, How dare you flick me?, was momentarily hilarious.
“Ahyu, can you do something about Hyeok-seo?”
If we left him like this, his head would fall off again, just like when he’d cut it himself.
Hearing me, Ahyu sighed, then walked over to Hyeok-seo and crouched down. Her camellia petals then wrapped around the gap in his neck.
“This is a temporary measure. It looks like his dantian has been destroyed. The Saintess will be here anyway, so she can fix it.”
Hearing her, I gratefully ruffled her hair and then approached Hyeok-seo.
“Hyeok-seo.”
“…Domi. I’m sorry. Are you okay?”
I scratched my cheek at his question.
“It hurts like a bitch.”
Even as I said it, I smiled.
“You’ve been through a lot, taking the long way back.”
“…If I had just taken your hand that first day we met, things wouldn’t have ended up like this. Right?”
“Even so, Girasung would have caused this incident anyway. At most, the only difference would have been you joining our side sooner.”
This wasn’t just an attempt to console him. According to Eunnamu, Girasung had been preparing for this from the very beginning. It would have been executed the same way, with or without Hyeok-seo. In the end, the World Returnee Association and Girasung were fated to clash today.
“So, my share is just this one thing.”
After hearing him and staying silent for a moment, I raised my fist and punched him in the head.
Thwack!
Is his head made of stone? The sound was crisp, and my own fist hurt more, so I shook my hand. Thankfully, thanks to Ahyu’s treatment, Hyeok-seo’s head didn’t fall off.
“From now on, the rest is what you have to do to take responsibility for your actions as a member of Girasung.”
The ones who suffered this time were ordinary citizens. No matter how much we prepared beforehand, I couldn’t say there were zero casualties. Some people probably died today.
I’m not a particularly altruistic person. I’m just desperate to protect the people by my side; I’m not some humanitarian who wants to save all of mankind. As I said before, Girasung would have done the same thing even without Hyeok-seo. In that process, someone would have died, and I could only hope it wasn’t someone close to me. After all, even I ended up killing Kwak Sa-yeon for the sake of saving Seo-ho and Si-ho.
In the end, everyone just lives and thinks according to their own standards. Both Hyeok-seo and me.
While Hyeok-seo remained silent, I straightened my knees and stood up again.
“Ha-chan!”
Just then, Seol-hyang’s voice rang out from the direction of the road. She saw me, ran over, and grabbed my collar tightly.
“…What is this state you’re in?”
Seol-hyang bit her lip, as if finding it hard to look at my injured form.
“Doesn’t it hurt?”
“Not really. I feel fine after eating what Ahyu gave me.”
Though in truth, I still ached all over.
“Heavenly Demon, what did you give him?”
“A Rejuvenation Pill with healing and pain-relieving effects. He’s just bluffing right now. He needs proper treatment.”
Busted.
“I understand. I’ll call for the Saintess.”
It looked like the Saintess would be making another house call. Then again, considering Hyeok-seo’s condition, we really did need her to come.
“What’s the situation on your end?”
“It’s all been taken care of. Erebos came here, didn’t he?”
“Yes, he fled,” Cheon Hong-ryeon answered, and Seol-hyang clicked her tongue in disappointment. But given the circumstances, she seemed to have decided it wasn’t the time to give chase.
“The Immortal seems to still be in hiding and on the run. Eunhyeon is pursuing him. So, aside from those two, we can consider everyone else who participated to be captured. And.” She relayed the situation, lightly sweeping her hair back. “We’ve also finished seizing all of Girasung’s bases in each world.”
The World Returnee Association’s move this time wasn’t limited to just Korea. To uproot Girasung, they had taken advantage of their main forces gathering here to attack all their other bases. Eunnamu’s help had been significant in this regard; she had told the Association about several bases that were difficult to locate.
I wonder where Eunnamu is now.
Where could she be? Worried about her because of the Erebos situation, I fiddled with the burner phone in my pocket. I felt like I should try contacting her later.
Just then, Seol-hyang looked up at the sky.
I also looked up and saw the massive, rapidly-formed dimensional gate, which had been open until just a moment ago, slowly closing.
Now, everything was truly coming to an end.
It had been a really long fight.
Seeing that, I casually asked Seol-hyang, “Seol-hyang, what about Juksim?”
“Naek is bringing her. She said she found her hiding somewhere.”
“I’m here!”
Just then, Naek appeared, carrying someone in her arms. The adult version of Juksim was nowhere to be seen; only the girl I had first met was there.
Juksim had her face buried in Naek’s chest and showed no intention of lifting her head. It seemed the combination of being outside and being around a large group of people was too much for her to handle. Seeing her like this, I could tell she had also made a considerable effort this time.
Now we just need Eva to show up.
Somehow, every guild member except Kkotbi had gathered. Between Girasung and the World Returnee Association, the abilities of my guild members were not just outstanding, but excessive.
At this rate, couldn’t we aim for world domination?
It was enough to make me laugh wryly.
Meanwhile, Naek set Juksim down. She stumbled, barely separating herself from Naek, and let out a deep sigh. Then, she glanced at Hyeok-seo before beckoning me over with a flick of her finger.
“Juksim?”
As I approached her, Juksim grabbed my collar tightly. Seeing this, Cheon Hong-ryeon’s eyes sharpened slightly, but given the situation, she stayed quiet.
Meanwhile, Juksim waved her hands around for a bit before, as if remembering something, she lifted her clothes again to pull out her phone.
I wish she wouldn’t do that every time; I never know where to look.
Anyway, phone in hand, she began to type something.
[ She says she’s sorry for letting Erebos escape. ]
Hearing her apology, I shook my head.
“Sorry? Things would have been much worse without you, Juksim.”
If Juksim hadn’t been there when Erebos appeared, Seol-hyang would have been in danger. So there was no need for her to apologize.
[ She says she revived the ordinary citizens on her way here. ]
The moment I read the next message, my eyes went wide.