Chapter 145
Chapter 145
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: To Protect My Kin, My Family, My Country (1)
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To my beloved sister.
I don't know if this letter will ever reach you... but I'll write it anyway.
First, I want to say I'm sorry.
In the name of protecting you, I did something a human being should never do.
I won't ask for forgiveness. I know what I did is unforgivable.
But I don't regret it.
I think even if I went back in time... I would have made the same choice.
Because I decided I would do anything to protect you.
I'll probably be gone from this world by the time you receive this, but I have one shameless request.
Live a happy life.
Make lots of good friends, find a partner, get married.
Haha, I never thought the day would come when I'd say something like this.
But still... I want you to live with a smile on your face.
I'm sorry for being such a worthless brother.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
S o r r y.
* * *
Based on the information Yuji provided, the operation to raid the 'Digestion Chambers' established across Osaka and Kyoto began.
Each branch housed anywhere from 50 to over 200 Black Star Society members and mid-tier or higher Executives, so the raids were not easy.
But thanks to the efforts of Ha-eun, Oh-jin, and Sakaki, the 'Digestion Chambers' fell one after another.
Ha-eun, in particular, was the most brilliant performer among them.
Witnessing her overwhelming firepower evaporate the water blasts created by the Hippocampus Awakeners, the Black Star Society members were terrified and scrambled to escape.
By the time they had destroyed three such Digestion Chambers.
“Ugh, I'm so tired I could die, for real!”
Returning to the Kurōshi's hideout, Ha-eun collapsed, fanning her sweat-drenched t-shirt.
It had taken only three days to destroy three of the five Digestion Chambers Yuji had told them about.
Fighting in massive battles involving hundreds of people almost once a day, even she, with her superhuman body, couldn't help but run out of stamina.
Especially since she had just reached the 9-Star rank and hadn't fully grown accustomed to her power.
“Haaah, this thing is so damn hard to handle.”
Ha-eun looked down at her chest resentfully.
“…Her chest is hard to handle?”
Indeed.
Her bust was voluminous enough to significantly hinder her intense movements.
To be honest, there were even times when I'd find myself staring blankly at it during a fight.
‘Can't be helped.’
My nunna is struggling this much. I can't just stand by.
“I can hold them to make it easier to…”
“What the hell are you talking about, you psycho.”
Ha-eun scowled and smacked Oh-jin on the head.
Oh-jin chuckled and asked.
“What's hard to handle?”
“This Dragon's Heart. It's really damn hard to control.”
“Isn't it because you just became a 9-Star?”
“There's that, but…”
Ha-eun sighed and shook her head.
“Honestly, I think the bigger problem is that I'm not a proper 9-Star yet.”
She ascended to 9-Star by accepting the Dragon's Heart.
But in reality, it was more accurate to say her level was still close to an 8-Star's.
‘Nunna only became an 8-Star a few months ago, after all.’
Moreover, she didn't ascend to 9-Star by gaining some special enlightenment or through bone-grinding training.
She had simply stumbled into the 9-Star rank by accepting the extraordinary power of the Dragon's Heart into her body.
To use an analogy, she wasn't a businesswoman who earned billions through excellent business acumen, but more like a nouveau riche who just happened to win billions in the lottery.
The gap was clear just by comparing her now to Cheon Do-yoon, who had also been a 9-Star.
“You'll get used to the power slowly.”
“Ugh. I'm trying various methods to get used to it, though.”
Ha-eun said, pulling out a cigarette.
“Like using this to embody the image of ‘fire’.”
“Ah, so that's why you've been pulling out a cigarette before every fight lately.”
The most important thing in handling a Stigma is to accurately manifest the image it holds in your mind.
For example, with the Lyra Stigma, if you think of your spear as a lightning rod, gathering lightning becomes much easier.
Still, embodying the image of fire through a cigarette.
It's not that I didn't understand, but I couldn't help but wonder, ‘Does that actually work?’
“Yeah. I used to be able to handle my Stigma just fine without this, but after becoming a 9-Star, it helps my mana flow more smoothly.”
“And here I thought my nunna had suddenly come down with a case of chuunibyou.”
“Chuunibyou? What are you talking about?”
“Well, you are a bit old to be getting that…”
Thwack!
Ha-eun's fist, swung like lightning, dug into his solar plexus.
“Keuk.”
A breath-stealing pain wracked Oh-jin's body.
Ha-eun grinned broadly and grabbed a handful of Oh-jin's hair.
“What was that about my age?”
“An age that feels as fresh and vibrant as a budding sprout in spring.”
“That's right, that's right. Good boy, our Oh-jinnie.”
With a pleased smile, she gently patted the head she had been gripping.
“Ugh. If we're done here, let's head in. We've got another bloody fight tomorrow.”
“No, we won't be fighting tomorrow.”
“Huh? What's that supposed to mean?”
“There's something. Anyway, you go on ahead and rest, Nunna.”
“Hmm. Alright, then. I'm gonna wash up and take a nap until dinner, so call me if you need anything.”
Ha-eun headed for the bath in the main building.
Watching her retreating back, Oh-jin turned to look for Sakaki.
Sakaki and the Kurōshi members were carrying out corpses, their hands full.
“How's the situation?”
“As you can see... it's utterly disastrous.”
Sakaki placed the Black Star Society member's corpse on the ground and let out a deep sigh.
“Even if they were the most heinous bastards... seeing them die in droves like this weighs heavily on the heart.”
He gazed with bitter eyes at the mountain of Black Star Society corpses.
The Black Star Society members were dead, their eyes rolled back to show the whites, white foam spilling from their mouths.
Among them was Mika, who had been knocked unconscious after picking a fight with Ha-eun and getting thoroughly beaten.
“Is it because of the Hippocampus's Poison?”
“Most likely.”
Sakaki nodded with a grim expression.
They had locked up the captured Black Star Society members in the annex while clearing out the branches, and after three days, those who couldn't drink the 'water' began to drop dead.
Of course, they had found a few vials of the 'water' they spoke of on the Executive-level members or in the safes hidden inside the Digestion Chambers.
But the amount was far too small for the number of captives, so they couldn't save all the dying members.
‘No reason to save them, either.’
Most of the captured members were criminals who had committed heinous crimes, just like the Owl faction.
No, even if they weren't criminals, considering what they'd done, there was no reason to save them with the little 'water' they had.
“That guy Yuji said earlier that Sosuke would probably start making his move around now.”
Sakaki clenched his cauldron-lid-sized fists, exuding a fierce aura.
“Tonight, perhaps... we'll finally be able to fight him.”
“I suppose so.”
Oh-jin opened his mouth, staring blankly at the mountain of Hippocampus Awakeners' corpses.
“Have you heard which of the two remaining locations Sosuke is at?”
Two of the Digestion Chambers Yuji told them about were left.
One in Osaka, and one in Kyoto.
“He said the one in Osaka is much larger, so he should be there.”
“I see.”
“Ah, right. Could you perhaps deliver this to Yuji?”
Sakaki pulled a small glass bottle from his pocket.
Clear water sloshed inside the bottle.
“That guy has only one day left before the ‘poison’ takes effect.”
“You're going to let Yuji live?”
“I gave it a lot of thought... and decided to do so.”
Watching Sakaki nod with a serious expression, Oh-jin burst out laughing.
“...Is this something to laugh about?”
Sakaki frowned, displeased.
“Ah, my apologies. I'll deliver this water, then.”
Taking the bottle from Sakaki, Oh-jin playfully spun it on his palm.
“Oh-jin, you…”
“Mr. Sakaki. So you'll be raiding the Digestion Chamber in Osaka tonight?”
“...That's right.”
“There's something I'd like to discuss with you about that plan.”
“What is it?”
Sakaki tilted his head, looking at Oh-jin.
“It's going to be a long talk, so let's go inside.”
Oh-jin turned and headed for the main building.
* * *
That evening.
As the fiery red sunset faded and a curtain of darkness fell over the sky.
Oh-jin slowly made his way to the annex.
Humming a tune, he walked with a glass bottle of clear water in his hand.
-Click.
The annex's basement.
Under the dim light, a young man could be seen tied to a chair.
A frail-looking young man with a gaunt frame.
Oh-jin pulled up a chair and sat down in front of the young man.
“You… are?”
Yuji, who had been hanging his head as if unconscious, looked up at Oh-jin sitting before him.
“I'm Oh-jin. Kwon Oh-jin.”
“Weren't… you supposed to go to Osaka?”
“I decided to sit this one out.”
Oh-jin took a glass bottle from his pocket.
Yuji's eyes widened at the sight of the bottle filled with clear water.
“That's…”
“Mr. Sakaki asked me to give it to you.”
“……”
Yuji seemed at a loss for words, his lips pressed tight, before tears began to stream down his face.
“Thank you… Thank you… *sob*.”
To be shown such mercy despite having a hand in capturing and killing Sakaki's loved ones, whatever the circumstances.
He couldn't help but cry from a mix of guilt and gratitude.
“Mr. Yuji, you said your sister was kidnapped by the Black Star Society, right?”
“…Yes. That's right.”
“I've had someone precious to me kidnapped before, so I understand how that feels.”
Oh-jin continued, leaning back leisurely in his chair.
“My vision went white… I felt like I was about to go insane.”
“…Mr. Oh-jin.”
Yuji looked at Oh-jin with trembling eyes.
“Yes… I felt that way, too.”
“Really?”
“Pardon?”
“Did you really feel that way?”
I recall the memory of when Ha-eun was kidnapped.
The memory of my breath catching in my throat, my whole body shaking.
Nothing else entered my mind except for saving her.
“So why did you do what you did?”
Oh-jin playfully spun the bottle in his hand.
Yuji looked at Oh-jin with a troubled expression.
“I'm not sure what you're talking about…”
“Do you remember when you first said you had one last request?”
Oh-jin asked with a smirk.
The words Yuji had screamed while kneeling on the floor.
-Kurosaki Sosuke… that monster… that demon in human skin… Please… please kill him!
That last request, shouted in terror.
“Don't you find that strange?”
“What about it…?”
“If it were me, I wouldn't have asked for Kurosaki Sosuke to be killed. I would have asked for my sister to be saved.”
“……”
Yuji's pupils trembled.
He shook his head, an awkward smile on his lips.
“If Kurosaki Sosuke dies, the ‘Hippocampus's Poison’ will disappear on its own anyway.”
“Is that so? How strange.”
Oh-jin's lips twisted into a grin.
“Didn't you say that Kurosaki had the antidote?”
“……!”
“If killing Kurosaki makes the poison disappear naturally, there's no need to get an antidote from him, is there?”
“Th-That's…”
Oh-jin uncorked the bottle in his hand.
A clear sound echoed through the dimly lit basement.
-Ah, but Oh-jin, aren't you going to do that thing? You know, making him repeat what he said backward.
-There's no need for that this time.
A recent conversation with Ha-eun came to mind.
Right.
Why bother checking if he was lying or not?
From the very beginning.
I already knew it was a lie.
“Right? Even you think it's a bit strange, don't you?”
Oh-jin poured the water from the bottle onto the floor.
“Kurosaki Sosuke.”
Oh-jin threw the empty bottle at Kurosaki Sosuke, who was glaring back at him with cold, dead eyes.