Chapter 134
Chapter 134
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 134
Chapter Title: The Dragon's Heart
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Interlude–The Dragon’s Heart
"S-So..."
Ha-eun's eyes, wide as saucers, were fixed on Oh-jin.
Her agape mouth stirred a strange impulse in him.
'Hmm.'
After a moment's hesitation, Oh-jin couldn't resist and poked his index finger into her open mouth.
"Ack, spit! Ptooey!! What the hell are you doing, you crazy bastard?!"
"Oh, nothing."
You just looked so shocked, I thought I'd snap you out of it.
"How could I not be shocked after hearing that?!"
Ha-eun shouted, roughly grabbing Oh-jin by the collar.
"Hoo. So... you're a regressor... you say?"
"To be precise, I'm pretending to be a regressor."
"Right, fuck."
Ha-eun pressed a hand to her forehead as if her head was throbbing.
"So... that guy, Lee Shin-hyeok, was the original regressor... but you used something called Black Heaven to absorb his Stigma, and now Vega thinks you're the regressor?"
"Exactly."
"What kind of fucked-up..."
She trailed off, her expression dumbfounded.
Well, this reaction was to be expected.
"So what is this Black Heaven? Is it like that Koffing fart you used back then?"
"You make it sound so damn pathetic."
It was supposed to have all this cool lore, like being a power that could destroy the world.
"I don't know what Black Heaven is exactly, either."
"You've been using a power you don't even understand?"
"Well, do you know the true nature of your Stigma when you use it?"
"Uh..."
Ha-eun was at a loss for words.
She scratched her reddish-brown hair and clicked her tongue.
"When you put it like that, I've got nothing to say."
They were called the Awakened, meaning 'those who have realized the stars,'
but no one truly knew the identity of the Stigmas.
"Anyway, is that Black Heaven thing like a Stigma?"
"No, it's completely different from a Stigma."
Oh-jin explained the various functions dwelling within Black Heaven to her.
"...How can something so broken even exist?"
Ha-eun stared at Oh-jin with a look of disbelief.
Oh-jin simply shrugged.
"I told you, I don't know."
"Haaah."
"Well, anyway. To keep the fact that I have Black Heaven a secret, I have to act like a regressor in front of Vega."
"...What happens if you get caught?"
"Who knows."
Oh-jin let out a dry laugh and shook his head.
"Well, the Constellations firmly believe it's a world-destroying power, so I doubt it'll end well for me."
"B-But there's no way you'd destroy the world, Oh-jinie!"
"I wonder about that."
He had no memory of it, but he had already destroyed the world once.
Of course, he had no intention of destroying the world now.
"Who knows. If I hadn't been able to save you this time, I might have snapped and done something crazy."
"Hk."
Ha-eun's shoulders flinched.
She blushed softly and fidgeted with her fingers.
"Y-You're being dramatic, you little punk."
"Well... honestly, even if destroying the world is an exaggeration, it would have been hard to keep my sanity."
"Mmm."
Ha-eun sighed and shook her head.
"So you're asking me to help you with your regressor act, is that it?"
"You don't need to help."
It was enough if she just didn't get in the way.
"What, you don't trust me?"
"You can't. Your thoughts are written all over your face."
"N-No, they're not!"
"See? You're doing it again."
Oh-jin watched the fuming Ha-eun with a faint smile.
"Anyway, you don't have to worry about it. I'll handle it myself."
"......"
Ha-eun pouted.
"He always says he'll do it alone."
While she found him reliable, she also felt a little hurt.
Oh-jin gently approached the grumbling Ha-eun.
He lightly poked her pouting lips with his fingertip and chuckled.
"Alright, alright. I'll be sure to ask if I need help."
"...Promise?"
"Yep."
"Haaah. Honestly..."
She pressed a hand to her head as if in pain, then pinched and stretched Oh-jin's cheek.
"Owowowowow."
"All this was happening, and you didn't say a word to me. Huh? Are you sorry or not?"
After pulling his cheek, she carefully placed a kiss on it.
"...From now on, I'll help you, so don't suffer all by yourself."
The way she averted her gaze in embarrassment was unbelievably lovely.
"Oh right, take this."
Oh-jin took a fist-sized blue crystal out of his pocket.
It was the Dragon's Heart, obtained after devouring Cheon Do-yoon.
'He said it shows its greatest power when used by an Awakened of the Draco Constellation.'
In that case, she was the right person to use it.
"I-Isn't this that thing? The Dragon's Heart?"
"That's right."
"...You're giving this to me? Just like that?"
Ha-eun stared at Oh-jin with wide eyes.
The elixir she had received from him before was precious, but the Dragon's Heart was on another level entirely.
A holy relic so valuable its worth couldn't be measured in money.
And he was giving it to her so casually, as if handing over a chocolate bar from a convenience store?
"Why, should I get something in return?"
Oh-jin grinned and moved closer to her.
"H-Huh?"
Ha-eun stepped back, flustered.
Then, as if realizing something, she blushed and approached him.
"...What do you want in return?"
she asked seductively, revealing a hint of her cleavage.
His eyes were involuntarily drawn to the small mole on her left breast.
It was Oh-jin who was flustered by her gesture, filled with a sultry charm he had never seen before.
"C-Cough! I-I was just kidding."
Barely calming his racing heart, Oh-jin took a deep breath.
'What was that.'
Usually, when he made jokes like this, it was Ha-eun who would get flustered and panic.
He'd been hit by an unexpected counter.
"Anyway, you should have this."
"Okay. Thanks."
Ha-eun accepted the Dragon's Heart with a shy smile.
"But how do you use this? Don't tell me I have to shove it into my chest like that senile old man, right?"
"I don't know. There must be another way."
She wasn't Iron Man; there was no way the method to handle the magic within the Dragon's Heart was as crude as jamming a gem into the center of one's chest.
"Right? No matter how precious this holy relic is, I don't want to have lightning boobs."
What the hell are lightning boobs.
"How about trying to touch it to your Stigma first?"
"Oh, that's a good idea."
It was said that someone with the Draco Stigma could handle the Dragon's Heart best.
Touching the Dragon's Heart to her Stigma might trigger some kind of change.
"Hmmmm."
Ha-eun, who had been staring intently at the Dragon's Heart in her hand, suddenly lit up as if she'd had a great idea.
She held the Dragon's Heart out to Oh-jin with a mischievous smile.
"Then you do it, Oh-jinie. Touch it to my Stigma."
"...What?"
"What if I do it myself and some kind of mana resonance happens and I drop it? Things like this can be dangerous if they're accidentally interrupted, you know."
"......"
It was true that being unintentionally interrupted while absorbing the power of an elixir or holy relic could lead to side effects like Qi Deviation, but...
'Somehow, she doesn't look worried about that at all.'
As she handed over the Dragon's Heart, Ha-eun's eyes were sparkling with anticipation.
"Haaah. Fine."
"Yesss~!"
He sighed and took the Dragon's Heart.
Ever since her confession, she had been showing a bold side that was enough to fluster even Oh-jin.
"Alright, then..."
Gulp.
Ha-eun swallowed hard, then gently pulled down her clothes to reveal the area over her left breast.
Her skin was as white and smooth as freshly fallen snow.
Upon it, the Draco Stigma was imprinted like a footprint.
'Fuck.'
His face flushed, burning hot.
With a trembling hand, Oh-jin lifted the Dragon's Heart and carefully brought it to her Stigma.
-Vwoooooom!!!
"Ugh!"
In that moment.
An immense amount of magic erupted, and the Dragon's Heart began to blaze with a blue light.
The mana resonance she had joked about was actually happening.
"Ha-eun?"
"Hah! I-I'm fine!"
Ha-eun bit her lip, as if enduring the power surging into her body.
The Dragon's Heart, which had been emitting a fierce blue light, began to melt like ice cream, slowly being absorbed into her Stigma.
It was a completely different phenomenon from when Cheon Do-yoon had used the Dragon's Heart.
-Click.
As if shrugging off restrictive clothing, Ha-eun removed the eyepatch covering her left eye.
"Hah, hah, hah!"
Her Dragon Eye could be seen gleaming with a ferocious light.
Veins like tree roots covered the area around her left eye, snaking down her cheek to her nape.
"Ugh! Aaargh! Heuk!"
"......"
He wanted to say something to encourage her as she groaned in pain, but...
'I have to trust her and wait.'
The moment her concentration broke, she could fail to withstand the influx of power and fall into Qi Deviation, just as Lee Shin-hyeok had.
'If that happens.'
Oh-jin's eyes glinted sharply.
He summoned Black Heaven in his other hand, preparing for the worst.
If it looked like she couldn't handle the magic contained within the Dragon's Heart, he planned to use Black Heaven to absorb it immediately.
"Hah, hah. Hooooo."
But, as if to dispel Oh-jin's worries,
Ha-eun's pained groans subsided, and her breathing gradually calmed.
The thick veins that had covered her nape spread further, eventually reaching her Stigma.
And then.
-Fwhoooosh!!!
The Stigma blazed with a fierce light, and a curtain of red flames unfurled.
But these weren't savage flames that seemed ready to burn everything around them; they were warm, almost comforting.
"This is..."
Oh-jin looked around in amazement.
The flames flowing from her enveloped him and all the furniture in the house, yet nothing was burning.
An exclamation of wonder escaped him at the unreal sight, like a scene from a fairy tale.
-Vwoooooom!
Just as the Dragon's Heart in his hand completely melted and was sucked into the Stigma,
"Hah!"
the warm flames covering the area were drawn back into her body.
The hideous veins that had stretched past her nape to her left breast gradually receded.
"Oh-jin-ah..."
"Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah. I'm fine."
Ha-eun staggered, a dazed look on her face.
He caught her by the shoulders, gently pulling her into an embrace to keep her from falling.
He could hear the even breathing of Ha-eun, who fit perfectly in his arms.
"Did you absorb all the magic from the Dragon's Heart?"
"Mhm. I absorbed it... but I don't think I can control it all yet."
She gently touched her chest as she continued.
"It feels like there's a lump left under the Stigma here."
"Like you got an implant?"
"Of all the analogies you could make, an implant? Really?"
Ha-eun snorted and grinned.
"It's not like your chest needs implants, right?"
"Oh, you."
"Oh, me."
Good grief.
"Are you hurt anywhere? Do you feel sick?"
"Nothing like that, but... Ugh!"
Ha-eun, who was examining her body, suddenly frowned.
-Vwoooooom!!
Her Stigma, which had calmed down, began to blaze, emitting a brilliant blue light.
"Ha-eun?!"
Oh-jin urgently reached for her, but then he noticed something and froze.
"...Huh."
The Draco Stigma was etched on her left breast.
Next to the eight strokes, a new stroke was forming.
"O-Oh-jin-ah."
Ha-eun stared down at her chest, her mouth agape in disbelief.
"I think... I just became a 9-Star?"
It was the moment Ha-eun became a high-ranking Awakened.