Chapter 127
Chapter 127
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 127
Chapter Title: Night That Falls During the Day (3)
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“It's made from a single block of Stigmata Stone, so it'll be much sturdier than your last one.”
“Hmm. Is that so?”
Ha-eun fitted the prosthetic leg Department Head Han handed her.
It certainly felt worth the price; it was smooth yet offered a reassuring stability.
“Ooh.”
She let out a gasp of admiration and jumped on the spot.
The prosthetic she used before was quite comfortable, but this was on another level.
“I had to make a special request to Si-hoo to get it made.”
“That kid who knows how to make Stigmata Relics?”
“Yes.”
“I heard about him from Oh-jin. He’s definitely skilled.”
“Well, he can be a bit moody… but his skills are second to none.”
He shrugged with a pleased expression.
Watching the fatherly smile spread across Department Head Han's face, Ha-eun let out a small laugh.
“You two seem to get along well?”
“Ah, well… we’ve had to work together on a few things.”
“Hehe. Anyway, tell that kid I said thanks.”
Ha-eun moved her right leg around and smiled brightly.
Of course, it couldn't compare to a real leg, but with this, she'd have no problem strolling down the street with Oh-jin.
“Hehehe.”
The thought of meeting him soon brought a giddy smile to her face.
Where should we have lunch?
Where should we go after we eat?
After we have some fun, I'll take him somewhere with a nice atmosphere.
*That punk. I can already picture him getting all flustered.*
Oh-jin might seem mischievous, but he had an unexpectedly shy side.
If she took him somewhere romantic and made a little move, he'd be at a total loss, completely flustered.
“Did something good happen today?”
Department Head Han tilted his head, looking at the beaming Ha-eun.
“Hehe. Something like that.”
“Hmm.”
Department Head Han scratched his head.
“Well, I'm off! Thanks for the leg, gorilla mister!”
“G-Gorilla!”
“Kyahaha! Just kidding, just kidding.”
Ha-eun waved her hand enthusiastically and turned away.
Her shoulders bobbed with excitement as she left the Association headquarters.
“Let’s see… I made reservations at the restaurant yesterday.”
She had about two hours until their meeting.
*Should I buy a present for that punk Oh-jin?*
She'd only ever received things from him, so for today at least, she wanted to do everything she could for him.
“A gift… what would be good?”
Ha-eun stroked her chin, lost in thought.
Her finances had been pretty good lately, but she didn't have the means to do something crazy like Isabella and gift him an entire apartment.
*I should get Oh-jin something he needs.*
Something he'd be happy to receive.
Something practical that he could use for a long time.
“…Maybe I should buy him a tracksuit?”
He'd been training every day recently, so a nice tracksuit seemed perfect.
“Alright.”
Ha-eun hummed a tune as she headed to a nearby department store.
She went into a store famous for its expensive tracksuits and, after browsing for a few minutes, found one with a design that seemed perfect for Oh-jin.
“Is this one any good… sir?”
She asked in an awkward formal tone.
“Ah, yes! This model is a tracksuit made exclusively for Awakeners, boasting incredible durability and a comfortable fit…”
The information about the tracksuit poured out as if someone had pressed a button on a machine.
Ha-eun, who had been listening intently, cut the clerk off with a slightly weary expression when the explanation showed no signs of ending.
“I’ll take this one in a large.”
“Thank you! But this particular item is… quite expensive. Is that alright?”
“I don’t mind.”
This was a gift for Oh-jin, not just anyone.
No matter how expensive it was, she wouldn't regret the money.
“That will be 7,820,000 won, then~!”
*Damn, that's expensive.*
Ha-eun swallowed the words that almost escaped her throat and held out her card.
*Alright then.*
Having bought Oh-jin’s gift, Ha-eun headed toward the restaurant with a spring in her step.
There was still plenty of time before their meeting, so she planned to wait for him at a nearby café.
“Hmm-hmm-hmm~♪”
A tune escaped her lips unconsciously.
The thought of going on a date with him for the first time in a while kept a smile plastered on her face.
*Everything's perfectly prepared!*
For this day, she had searched the internet and memorized hundreds of ways to 'successfully confess to a younger man.'
She'd even downloaded and cleared a 15,900 won romance simulation game for women.
*This is my chance to move beyond our 'older sister, younger brother' relationship.*
Then, maybe this anxiety that he might just up and leave her side would subside a little.
“But…”
Her excited steps came to a sudden halt.
She fiddled with the handle of the shopping bag containing the tracksuit and mumbled in a shrinking voice.
“W-What if he rejects me…?”
It felt as if a bucket of ice-cold water had been dumped on her heated head.
The worst-case scenario, something she hadn't considered while lost in her daydreams, suddenly crossed her mind.
-*I'm sorry. I don't see you as a woman.*
Oh-jin's cold, detached voice.
Just imagining it made her chest ache as if pierced by an awl.
*N-No!*
If she heard those words, she didn't think she could handle it.
*Come to think of it, I think I heard that the reason real siblings don't develop romantic feelings is because they grow up together.*
To think that being together for too long could prevent romantic feelings from developing.
That wasn't the case for her, at least, but it might be different for Oh-jin.
“Arghhhhhh!”
Ha-eun clutched her head and stomped her feet.
Just this morning she had been bursting with anticipation, but as the time for their meeting drew closer, all sorts of ominous thoughts filled her head.
“That bastard… if he dares to reject me, I'll rip his balls right off.”
A venomous look entered Ha-eun's wavering eyes.
Ever since Oh-jin had given her the Dragon Eye—no, even long before that.
Whether her eyes were open or closed, her mind was filled with thoughts of him.
Her life had become so filled with Oh-jin that nothing else seemed important besides being with him.
*He's going to reject me after making me like this?*
Unacceptable.
Whether she had to scream and throw a tantrum or just pin him down.
She would be with him, no matter what it took.
“Hoo.”
Calming her nervously pounding heart, Ha-eun started walking again.
As she was walking toward the restaurant she had booked.
“…Huh?”
Ha-eun frowned and looked around.
She felt an unnatural sensation that sent a chill down her spine.
*Why are there no people here?*
A main street at 11 AM.
It wasn't the busiest time of day, but it was still strange for there to be not a single person in sight.
“……”
Ha-eun's expression slowly hardened, and she clenched her fists.
As she was sharply scanning her surroundings, she saw something falling from above.
“Black… feathers?”
The moment she spotted the black feathers fluttering down like snow.
-Fwip!
The black feathers that had been falling like snow transformed into human figures and shot toward her.
“Kgh!!”
Ha-eun hastily stepped back and thrust her right arm forward.
*Snap!*
With a snap of her fingers, a powerful torrent of flames erupted in front of her.
“Kuh!”
The strange figures, engulfed in her flames, swallowed groans and retreated.
“What are you?”
“……”
“Hoh, not going to answer?”
Ha-eun twisted her lips into a smirk and, with a click, removed her eyepatch.
A reptilian eye, gleaming fiercely, stared them down.
“Let’s see if you can keep your mouths shut after I roast them.”
She stomped her foot roughly and crossed her arms.
Two fire dragons coiled around her arms and shot toward the figures.
“Kgh!”
“She’s a mage-type! Don’t be scared, get in close and subdue her!”
There were about ten of them.
The figures surrounding Ha-eun fired black feathers as they rapidly closed in.
*Are these the Night Hunters Oh-jin mentioned before?*
Ha-eun glared at the figures, her eyes flashing sharply.
As far as she knew, the only Awakeners who used black feathers as weapons belonged to the Noctua Constellation faction.
*Why is the Black Star Guild after me?*
She couldn't figure that part out, but.
“These bastards must know a pretty face when they see one, rushing at me all crazy-eyed.”
One thing was for sure: they hadn't approached her with good intentions.
-Thwack!!
“Keoheok!!”
Ha-eun sidestepped lightly, spun around, and landed a precise blow between the legs of an owl-like figure charging from behind.
The owl's eyes bulged as if they would pop out. It let out a shriek and rolled around on the ground.
“Who says mage-types are weak in close combat?”
Ha-eun wreathed both her fists in flames and lowered her stance.
*Fwoom!*
A light swing of her fist sent out a shockwave that sounded like the air itself was bursting, followed by an explosion of flames.
-Fwoooosh!
“Aaaaargh!”
“Kuh! Damn bitch!!”
“You couldn’t have me even if you begged, you punk.”
Ha-eun struck one of the charging owls on the philtrum and swung her right arm in a wide arc.
*Fwoooosh!*
A fan of flames spread out, sweeping over the owls.
Overwhelmed by the sheer firepower that made it hard to even keep their eyes open, the owls scrambled back.
“Where do these pathetic little shits get off acting so tough?”
Ha-eun fiercely pressed her attack.
In truth, even if she had grown stronger after taking the elixir, she shouldn't have been able to overwhelm the elite members of the Noctua faction so one-sidedly.
*These guys… they’re not attacking properly?*
For some reason, the owls were only using harassing moves passively, deliberately avoiding any threatening attacks.
*Their goal isn't to kill me.*
They're trying to subdue me without harming me.
Ha.
A dry laugh escaped Ha-eun’s lips.
“Go on, try it if you think you can, you punks.”
She unleashed an even fiercer barrage of attacks, pushing back the Night Hunters.
Just as they were struggling, unable to even lay a hand on her.
“—Hoholhol.”
Coming from somewhere.
An ominous laugh.
“Kgh!!!”
Ha-eun followed her instincts, ducking and rolling across the ground.
A storm of black feathers raged where she had just been standing.
“W-What was that?”
An attack she couldn't even follow with her eyes.
Ha-eun looked around in bewilderment.
But whether she looked right or left, she couldn't see the owner of that bizarre laugh.
*Don't tell me.*
Ha-eun hurriedly raised her head.
*Above!*
Looking up, she saw the figure of an old man, floating leisurely in mid-air, standing on a single black feather.
Skin wrinkled like an old pine tree.
In contrast to the neatly pressed martial arts uniform he wore, the old man's eyes were filled with a deep, avaricious light.
“You have very fine eyes.”
The old man raised the corners of his mouth in satisfaction.
“Hoholhol. It is difficult to find an Awakener whose Dragon Eye has blossomed so perfectly.”
“Who are you…”
“Does it matter who I am?”
“……”
Ha-eun bit her lip firmly.
As the old man said, who he was didn't matter.
What he planned to do was what mattered.
*I have to run.*
A loud alarm blared in her head, screaming that this old man was dangerous.
Just as she was cautiously trying to turn and flee.
“Hoholhol. And where do you think you're going?”
“Heop!”
The old man appeared right in front of her in the blink of an eye.
A bizarre smile hung on his wrinkled lips.
“Now, be still.”
The old man slowly moved his hand.
*Tap.*
He lightly touched Ha-eun’s forehead.
“—Ah.”
A short gasp escaped Ha-eun’s lips.
At the same time, her consciousness flickered to black.
***
“Ugh…”
A throbbing headache.
Ha-eun frowned and opened her eyes.
“W-What is this?”
A wide, unfamiliar clearing.
The owls who had attacked her earlier were surrounding her in a circle.
“Ngh!”
*Clank! Clank!*
She tried to sit up in a hurry, but her body, bound in chains etched with geometric patterns, wouldn't move as she wished.
“Hoholhol. So you’ve come to your senses?”
The old man approached her, letting out that bizarre laugh.
Ha-eun’s eyes shot open as she glared at the old man.
“Cheon Do-yoon. You’re Cheon Do-yoon, right? That bastard they call the King of Owls.”
“Hoholhol, you know me well.”
“Did you capture me to use as a hostage?”
Ha-eun suppressed her trembling heart and asked, feigning composure.
“A hostage? Hoholhol, no.”
“…No?”
Then why would the King of Owls himself make a move to target her?
“Ahh, no matter how many times I see them, they are beautiful eyes.”
“What?”
The old man’s wrinkled hand groped around Ha-eun’s left eye.
“……!!”
Goosebumps spread down her spine.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, you crazy bastard!!”
Ha-eun shouted, twisting her body fiercely.
“Hoholhol. Do not struggle.”
*Tap.*
The old man lightly tapped Ha-eun’s shoulder.
*Crack!*
With a gruesome crunch, her left shoulder twisted in a bizarre direction.
“Aaaaaaaargh!!”
A pain-filled scream erupted from Ha-eun’s lips.
“Hah! Hah!”
She gasped for breath, biting down on her lip.
The dizzying pain shooting from her left shoulder.
Suppressing the suffocating fear, she bared her teeth fiercely at Cheon Do-yoon.
“You perverted old bastard… who do you think you’re… touching…?”
Only Oh-jin was allowed to touch her body.
“Hoholhol. It seems you are under a strange misunderstanding. You are indeed a beautiful child, enough to make even this dying old man tremble.”
The old man’s eyes gleamed with greed.
“But it is not your body I am after.”
“…Then what.”
“The Dragon Eye. Give me your eyes. Do that, and I will let you go unharmed.”
“……!”
Ha-eun’s body flinched.
“W-What… w-w-what are you talking about.”
“I mean it literally. Pluck out your eyeballs—and give them to this old man.”
“Shut up, you crazy bastard!!”
“Hoholhol. Foolish child. Your eyes are not more precious than your life.”
The old man clicked his tongue and reached for Ha-eun’s left eye.
“If you refuse, I will simply take them by force.”
“Ah…”
Ha-eun’s face turned pale.
An unbearable fear spread through her like poison.
“First, the left one. The right one hasn't blossomed yet, but… I shall take it as well, just in case.”
The old man stared at her two eyes, his own filled with greed.
Ha-eun’s shoulders trembled.
*He's going to… take my eyes?*
Again.
Will I be abandoned in an endless night again?
“N-No.”
She remembered Oh-jin’s face, the first thing she saw when the darkness lifted.
She remembered the joy of that moment, the unforgettable thrill.
She had just gotten her sight back, just been able to see Oh-jin's face again.
To lose it so meaninglessly.
So emptily.
She couldn't let him take her eyes.
“No…!!!”
“Hoholhol. Resistance is futile.”
The old man’s hand touched the corner of her left eye.
The unpleasant hand, which had been caressing her eye as if it were a precious treasure, lightly touched her eyeball.
“Ah, ahh, ah.”
The fear.
The unbearable fear.
The unendurable fear.
Washed over her like a wave.
“N-No… p-please. Please… don’t.”
More than the fear of being trapped in darkness again.
She was terrified to imagine Oh-jin’s despair when he found out.
Tears streamed down Ha-eun’s cheeks.
“Hoholhol. Be still.”
“Please… please don’t do this…”
As her sorrowful plea echoed in vain.
KRA-KA-KOOOOM!!!
A bolt of lightning.
Struck down from a clear, cloudless sky.