Chapter 142: Naek and Do Hwa
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 142: Naek and Do Hwa
The man before her was a dimensional invader.
Just because he had a handsome face didn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous.
“What do you mean, join you? I don’t understand. More importantly, could you let go of my hand?”
Eunha warned him, her gaze cold and steady.
At her words, he blushed in embarrassment and quickly released her hand.
“My apologies. To think I would just grab a lady’s hand like that. How shameless of me.”
Seeing how flustered he was, it seemed he had been overcome by emotion for a moment.
As he spoke, he belatedly noticed that the blood from his own hand had stained hers.
“My lady, the blood.”
He quickly pulled the sleeve of his cardigan down and began to wipe the blood from her hand.
The hair on Eunha’s arms stood on end for a moment before settling back down.
As the man, who was exactly her type, earnestly wiped her hand with an apologetic look, Eunha had to struggle to maintain her composure.
She quickly pulled her hand away and resumed her cold poker face.
“…I’m fine. First, give me your hand.”
Eunha spoke in a deliberately cool tone, asking for his hand again.
When Do Hwa raised his hand, she pushed up his cardigan sleeve to look at the wound.
It wasn’t a major injury.
A quick glance revealed several other cuts on his body, likely from bladed weapons.
“This might sting a little.”
Whether he was friend or foe, Eunha wasn’t the type to ignore someone in need right in front of her.
It wasn’t a serious wound, and she doubted he would try to harm her just for treating an injury like this.
At that moment, following Eunha’s will, the blood on his skin moved rapidly, sealing the wound.
The man’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Lady Naek, the pain is completely gone. Thank you.”
“It was nothing.”
Trying to maintain her cold expression, Eunha replied curtly, only to realize she was still holding his hand. She flinched and let go.
The man also slowly lowered his hand, and a brief, awkward silence fell between them.
Eunha was the first to break it.
“More importantly, how do you know my nickname? And what was that about joining you?”
“Ah, right. I should explain that first.”
As Eunha broke the silence, the man answered hurriedly, a flustered look on his face.
“One of the secret manuals I possess contains a martial art that allows me to retrace memories of the past. Through it, I unintentionally saw you, Lady Naek.”
“…Me?”
Hearing that he had seen her, Eunha fought to keep her expression from softening.
“Yes. I apologize for this, Lady Naek, but I saw you with Lady Juksim.”
“Juksim?”
The moment Juksim’s name was mentioned, Eunha’s mood plummeted.
Of course. That’s how it is.
There was no way a situation straight out of a romance manga would happen to an ordinary girl like her.
It wasn’t for nothing that everyone but her had been in a relationship back in that other world.
Her heart now considerably lighter, Eunha looked at him.
“What about Juksim?”
“I wish to ask for Lady Juksim’s help.”
He had said he possessed a martial art that let him retrace past memories.
If so, he had likely seen Juksim resurrecting someone while looking through those memories.
And she must have just happened to be there with her.
“Is there someone you want to save?”
“…Yes. It is to save Murim.”
With those words, he bowed his head respectfully.
“I will be sure to reward you. Though I have nothing now, I will give you everything I have to fulfill any wish you may have, Lady Naek. Please, could you grant me this one request?”
Seeing his desperate expression, Eunha covered her mouth and let out a faint sigh.
“You shouldn’t make promises like offering anything someone wants. You don’t know what kind of person I am.”
“I saw you in the memories of the past,” he said, as if to prove his sincerity.
“I saw not only Lady Juksim, but you as well, Lady Naek, saving people from demonic beasts. It is because you are that kind of person that I am making this request.”
He saw that, too?
Her romance-brain buff having completely worn off, Eunha studied him.
First, the clothes he was wearing were modern.
The fact that a dimensional invader from a Murim world was wearing modern clothes meant he had already been living on Earth for some time.
Furthermore, his eyes burned with the mission to save Murim.
And from the very beginning, his expression had shown no hostility toward her.
If he had any ill intent, I would have reacted the moment he approached me.
She was sensitive to that kind of hostility, and the only reason she hadn’t stopped him was that she hadn’t felt a single trace of it from him.
He doesn’t seem like a bad person.
As she thought this, something flashed through her mind.
Why had she come out today?
She had been on her way to see Ha-chan after hearing that Ahyu’s half-brother, Do Hwa, was looking for Juksim.
Ahyu’s handsome younger half-brother.
And since Ahyu was the Heavenly Demon, her half-brother would also be from the Murim world.
And he was looking for Juksim.
“…Is your name, by any chance, Do Hwa?”
When she casually asked his name, Do Hwa blinked.
“Lady Naek, how do you know my name?”
It really is Do Hwa.
So this was the handsome younger guy who was said to resemble Ahyu.
She had been so excited when she heard about him from Ha-chan that she’d rushed over, but she never imagined he’d be even more handsome in person.
Just when I’d started to calm down, thinking he was a total stranger…
The hope she had just managed to rein in began to poke at her heart once more.
Come to think of it, the reason she had dressed up so nicely today was to meet this handsome younger man, Do Hwa.
But now that she was face-to-face with him, she suddenly felt a little embarrassed about having dressed up.
Ugh, stop it, romance brain, stop!
Eunha forced herself to calm down and decided to talk to Do Hwa first.
According to Ha-chan, he was currently missing.
Since she had found him first, she had to persuade him and take him to Ha-chan’s group.
“Ahyu and I… uh, I mean, Shin So-ra? Cheon Hong-ryeon? We’re like sisters.”
“With my sister, you mean?”
As expected, Do Hwa’s eyes widened.
“Didn’t you say you saw me and Juksim in your memories earlier?”
“That is because you two were the only ones I saw in that memory. I had no idea you also had a connection with my sister.”
That made sense. She had joined up with Ahyu and Juksim much later.
Thinking it was perfectly plausible, Eunha nodded.
“I see. Well, this is perfect. Domi and Ahyu were just looking for you, Do Hwa. They’re both with Juksim, so let’s go see them!”
Eunha reverted to her usual bright self and gave him a radiant smile.
Hearing this, Do Hwa hesitated, mumbling.
“…Lady Naek, due to certain circumstances, I cannot face my sister right now.”
Just as Do Hwa began to explain his situation, both his and Eunha’s heads snapped back at the same time.
Their eyes turned sharp.
From the shadows of a building, a group of figures emerged.
They wore veils embroidered with a peculiar red crest.
The group, a mix of men and women, exuded a palpable aura of danger.
Individually, none of them were a match for Do Hwa, but they were all formidable warriors.
In returnee terms, they were a mix of A-ranks and B-ranks.
“Do Hwa, you were the one who agreed to the deal. You had your chance, yet you stalled for time and even fought against us. How should we interpret this?”
The man at the head of the group spoke.
Hearing his voice, Do Hwa slowly lowered his sword.
“I’ve had a change of heart.”
“Hah. If you’ve had a change of heart, you could have at least handed over the Crimson Incense.”
“I told you. I’ve had a change of heart.”
At those words, the man’s expression twisted behind his veil.
“Have you grown fond of that sister of yours in this short time?”
“…”
The man looked at Do Hwa with pity.
“What affection could you possibly have for that bitch who abandoned us, abandoned Murim, abandoned the world? You two have no connection other than being born from the same womb.”
Rage began to burn in his voice.
Do Hwa chose to remain silent.
“I even let you in on this plan because you said you wanted revenge on the monster who killed your own mother.”
The man pointed a hook-like sword at Do Hwa.
“In the end, you’re just like her, a child from the same womb, betraying Murim.”
A torrent of magi poured from him, beginning to consume the surroundings.
Having become a bystander, Eunha, who had been watching the situation unfold, tapped her cheek and then raised her hand.
“Excuse me.”
Her presence was so faint that they had momentarily forgotten she was even there.
“And you are?”
They had only just spotted Do Hwa, so they had no idea who the girl next to him was.
Having crossed over from their dimension only yesterday, they lacked information.
Looking at them, Eunha waved the phone in her hand.
“Hey, mister. Ever heard of a cell phone?”
The man’s gaze shifted to Eunha from behind his veil.
It was an object he had never seen or heard of in Murim. The moment he looked on in confusion…
[Yes. That bitch is right here.]
A chill ran down the spines of every member of the Demonic Cult.
Everyone present instantly recognized the voice coming from the phone.
“Cheon… Cheon Hong-ryeon.”
[My, that voice has gotten deeper, Jang Ho-yeong. To think you’d dare say my name so openly.]
Cheon Hong-ryeon’s voice echoed quietly, like the growl of a predator.
Jang Ho-yeong, once the leader of the Cheonsal Unit and now the second-in-command elder of the Demonic Cult, felt his throat go dry just from hearing her voice.
Even though he had ascended through realms and reached the Hwagyeong state, Cheon Hong-ryeon was still a symbol of fear to him.
She was the Heavenly Demon he had followed his entire life, and the woman he endlessly resented for abandoning them and disappearing without a word.
As Jang Ho-yeong ground his teeth, Cheon Hong-ryeon continued, showing no intention of considering his feelings.
[Naek.]
“Yes, yes, Heavenly Demon!”
[You have my permission to break all their arms and legs. Keep them there until I arrive.]
In response to that imperious tone, Eunha replied playfully and casually handed the phone to Do Hwa.
As Do Hwa took the phone with a bewildered expression, the voice spoke again.
[Do Hwa, you and I will talk later.]
Hearing that, Do Hwa lowered his gaze slightly.
“Why the long face? Is Ahyu going to eat you or something?”
Eunha gave Do Hwa a bright smile before spinning around.
“Our cute little Heavenly Demon wants me to hold you here. So, ladies and gentlemen, shall we have a little chat?”
“Damn it! Everyone, retreat!”
Knowing that Cheon Hong-ryeon was on her way, they had to leave immediately.
No matter how much time had passed in Murim, no matter how much their martial arts had grown or how many new masters had appeared…
In their memories, the Heavenly Demon was still a monster.
In the first place, hadn’t they sent Do Hwa here—the one person she seemed to feel a sliver of guilt towards—specifically to lure her out?
They had even given him the Crimson Incense, a treasure said to be able to put even a mountain-sized spirit beast to sleep.
Unless we return to Murim, there’s no way to deal with Cheon Hong-ryeon!
They were supposed to capture Cheon Hong-ryeon for the greater good, but Do Hwa’s betrayal had ruined everything.
“Sorry, but I have no intention of letting you go.”
Eunha’s voice reached them as they turned to flee.
Jang Ho-yeong ignored her words and turned with his comrades, but…
Sensing a presence directly behind him, he swung his curved sword.
Clang!
A sound like clashing steel rang out.
When Jang Ho-yeong looked at Eunha, he saw a single red spear in her hand and narrowed his eyes.
The scent of blood.
The spear was made of blood.
“I used to play a rather unique game, you see.”
A smile played on Eunha’s lips as her bangs fluttered wildly.
At the same time, dozens of blood-red spears materialized behind her.
“Warning: this might get grotesque!”
With those words, the spears of blood flew through the sky.