Chapter 173
Chapter 173
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 173
Chapter Title: The Call (2)
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After arriving in Paradise—no, the Ganghwa Island Special Management Zone—by car, Oh-jin headed straight for Cheon Sang-gil's residence.
Passing through a quaint landscape that felt like a visit to a country home, Oh-jin arrived at a neatly decorated traditional house where an old man came out to greet him.
The old man wore a finely pressed martial arts uniform.
From between wrinkled eyes, a pair of clear pupils filled with wisdom turned to Oh-jin.
“You've come.”
Tamrangseong.
One of the seven Awakened considered the strongest in the world gave Oh-jin a benevolent smile.
“Have you been well?”
“Hoho. An old man like me? Life's always the same. Ah, but lately, time seems to fly by while helping that child with her training.”
There was no need to ask who Cheon Sang-gil meant by ‘that child’.
Oh-jin’s eyes gleamed as he took a step closer to Cheon Sang-gil.
“How is Nunna doing?”
“She's doing so well, I doubt she could be any healthier. As for her progress… she's made a very great achievement.”
“Oh.”
To think she had made what Tamrangseong called a ‘very great achievement’ in just over a month.
‘That’s my Nunna for you.’
The talent Ha-eun possessed was wondrous enough to be compared to any other Awakened.
“Is Nunna inside?”
“Hmm. Miss Ha-eun is not in a state where she can move right now.”
“Pardon?”
Not in a state where she can move?
A chilling killing intent formed in Oh-jin’s eyes.
It was a fearsome aura, so intense that a non-Awakened—or even a low-Star Awakened—would foam at the mouth and faint just from meeting his gaze.
His low voice echoed softly.
“Did something… happen to Nunna?”
“Haha. It’s nothing like that, so calm down. Didn’t I just say she was in good health?”
“Then.”
“Miss Ha-eun is currently ‘molting’.”
“Pardon?”
What was she, a reptile?
“You know of the eyes that Miss Ha-eun possesses.”
“You mean the Dragon’s Eye?”
“Yes. The power of the Dragon’s Eye has newly blossomed.”
“…And that’s why she’s molting?”
Cheon Sang-gil nodded.
“I'm not sure if it's because the Dragon's Eye awakened a new power, or if it's a characteristic of Awakened with the Draco stigma. But I can stake my name as an old man that it's not harming her body.”
Oh-jin narrowed his eyes.
Molting.
He had never heard of an Awakened undergoing such a phenomenon.
Of course, that might be because the number of Awakened with the Draco stigma was almost as low as the number with the Polaris stigma.
But since this was about Ha-eun, he couldn’t help but worry.
“Would you like to see for yourself if you’re concerned?”
“I would appreciate that.”
Oh-jin followed Cheon Sang-gil to a house located near the residence.
Or rather, to a place that was presumed to have *been* a house.
*Fwoooosh!*
An intense heat could be felt even from a distance.
In the empty lot where a magnificent traditional house was presumed to have once stood, only heaps of ash now scattered in the wind.
Through the ash drifting like snow, he could see Ha-eun, her eyes closed, enveloped in a thin membrane of flame.
“This is…”
“It’s been like this for about four days.”
“You mean she’s been in this state for four straight days?”
Cheon Sang-gil nodded.
Oh-jin approached Ha-eun, who was surrounded by flames.
Despite being engulfed in a blaze that burned fiercely enough to melt the entire world, Ha-eun’s expression was perfectly serene.
‘Is this why he said it wouldn’t harm her?’
Oh-jin activated the Canes Venatici stigma and examined Ha-eun’s condition.
Just as Cheon Sang-gil had said.
The flames covering her body were pushing out the old, withered flames and replacing her body with new, roaring ones, as if she were ‘molting’.
“What do you think?”
“It certainly doesn’t look like it’s harming Nunna.”
“Heh heh. Did this old man not tell you so?”
Oh-jin gave a troubled smile to the softly chuckling Cheon Sang-gil.
“It’s not that I doubted your words, Sir Cheon Sang-gil.”
“I know. It’s only natural to want to confirm the safety of your beloved with your own eyes.”
Cheon Sang-gil nodded.
“How long will Nunna be in this state?”
“That, even this old man does not know.”
Oh-jin swallowed dryly as he gazed at Ha-eun, her eyes closed in a peaceful expression.
He had been secretly excited to see Ha-eun after so long, but he never imagined she would be like this.
“In any case. If you’re done checking, shall we return to the house? There are some people waiting inside.”
“Ah, yes. Of course.”
“Heh heh. There are some people I’d like to introduce you to.”
“The members of the Guardian Stars?”
“Yes. There should be a few new faces this time.”
Cheon Sang-gil turned with a confident expression.
Talents handpicked by Tamrangseong himself.
Oh-jin’s eyes lit up with anticipation as he followed him.
-Fwoosh.
Of course.
He glanced back several times at the flame-engulfed Ha-eun on his way.
***
“Here, come on in.”
Following Cheon Sang-gil’s lead, he entered the house.
The first thing he saw was a young man with strikingly handsome features.
With sharp, beast-like eyes and an air of solitude, the young man approached Oh-jin upon seeing him.
The Black Lion, Lee Woo-hyeok.
He was Lee Shin-hyeok’s younger brother and the Leo Awakened who led the Valhalla Guild, one of the top ten guilds.
“It’s been a while, Mr. Oh-jin.”
Lee Woo-hyeok approached Oh-jin and bowed his head slightly.
“Yes, it has.”
“I heard you were quite active in Japan.”
“The Awakened over there did far more than I did.”
“Ah, was his name Sakaki? The Awakened who defeated the Black Star Organization’s Executor.”
“That’s correct.”
Oh-jin smiled brightly and nodded.
In reality, he was the one who had defeated the Executor, not Sakaki.
But to avoid drawing the Black Star Organization’s aggro, it was publicly announced that Sakaki had defeated their Executor.
“Still, that’s incredible. To go abroad and fight the Black Star Organization…”
Lee Woo-hyeok let out a deep sigh with a self-deprecating smile.
“Compared to you, Mr. Oh-jin, I feel like I’ve just been running my mouth about avenging my brother.”
“You’re a busy man, Woo-hyeok. It can’t be helped.”
Indeed, he was the leader of a guild.
He wasn’t in a position to immediately fly to a foreign country and fight the Black Star Organization just by hearing rumors of their activity, as Oh-jin was.
“…Thank you.”
Oh-jin’s words of comfort seemed to have struck a chord, as Lee Woo-hyeok offered a faint smile.
‘This guy is seriously handsome.’
He had never seen anyone this good-looking, aside from Allen Oscar, one of Deneb’s twelve Apostles.
Oh-jin himself wasn’t what you’d call ugly.
But standing in front of Lee Woo-hyeok, he felt like a squid.
“Hoho. It seems Woo-hyeok needs no introduction.”
Cheon Sang-gil glanced between Oh-jin and Lee Woo-hyeok, let out a light laugh, and then started walking.
Oh-jin and Lee Woo-hyeok followed Cheon Sang-gil into the modest house.
“Wow, the Lightning Wolf is really here?”
“Hmph, what’s this? He looks weak as hell, nothing like the rumors.”
“U-um… y-you shouldn’t say something like that to someone you’ve just met.”
Sliding open the door, he saw two women and one boy.
“Let me introduce you.”
Like a host on a talk show introducing guests, Cheon Sang-gil began to introduce them one by one.
“First, this beautiful lady here is Jegalsyeong. She's the Sagittarius Awakened, famous for her title ‘Black Rose’. Have you heard of her?”
“Yes. Of course.”
The Black Rose, Jegalsyeong.
She was a talented Awakened of mixed Chinese and Korean heritage, active in both countries.
“Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Jegalsyeong, with her silky black hair, smiled with her eyes and gave Oh-jin a little wave.
She looked him up and down with a fascinated expression before a sly smile graced her lips.
“I saw you on that broadcast before and wanted to meet you. And now I get the chance?”
Jegalsyeong stood up, walked over to Oh-jin, and extended her hand.
It was a pretty hand with pink-polished nails.
Oh-jin lightly took her hand.
“A pleasure. I’m Kwon Oh-jin.”
“You can speak casually with me.”
“Let’s save that for when we get to know each other better.”
Oh-jin drew a firm line with the woman who was trying to get closer with a captivating eye-smile.
“Oh? Then how about we get to know each other right now?”
As if such boundaries meant nothing to her, Jegalsyeong gently tickled Oh-jin’s palm with her finger.
It was such a blatant seduction it was almost laughable.
“I have things to do, so perhaps another time.”
Oh-jin released her hand with a resolve that felt almost cold.
“Hmph. Is that so?”
Jegalsyeong’s eyes narrowed.
She scanned Oh-jin from top to bottom like a predator hunting its prey, then simply shrugged and returned to her seat.
“Next is Miss Choi Yu-mi, the Phoenix Constellation Awakened.”
The woman with short, ear-length orange hair, Choi Yu-mi, rested her chin on the table and looked up at Oh-jin.
Unlike Jegalsyeong, who had been quite friendly, her eyes were filled with annoyance and distrust as she sized him up.
“Weak as hell, just as I thought. I don’t feel any special aura from him. Is this bastard really the Star of Polaris?”
She looked him over again, utterly unconvinced, then shot to her feet.
“I think I need to test you.”
“P-please, stop, Miss Yu-mi.”
A boy with shaggy brown hair grabbed Choi Yu-mi’s sleeve, trying to stop her.
Was he about Kim Si-hoo’s age?
Unlike Deneb, this boy exuded an air of frailty and gentleness.
“And last, this is Oh Hyeon-bin, the Aquarius Awakened.”
“Ah, hello. I’m Oh Hyeon-bin! U-um… I’m sorry for the great discourtesy our guild member showed you before!”
Oh Hyeon-bin bowed to Oh-jin at nearly a 90-degree angle.
The great discourtesy from his guild member must have been referring to Choi Jong-cheol.
“Is it just the five of us?”
Normally, Ha-eun would have been with them, but she was currently undergoing her ‘molting’ process and couldn’t participate in this operation.
“No, there’s still one more.”
Cheon Sang-gil shook his head and checked the clock on the wall.
“It’s about time for their arrival…”
*Knock, knock.*
Speak of the devil.
A light knock sounded on the sliding door.
“Ah, it seems they’ve arrived. Come in.”
*Screech.*
The sliding door opened, and a head of platinum blonde hair that seemed to be spun from molten gold swayed gently.
“Huh?”
Oh-jin’s eyes widened as he saw the woman who entered.
The woman smiled brightly at Oh-jin and bowed politely to everyone inside.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Isabella Colagrande, and I have just joined the Guardian Stars.”
Her etiquette was as flawless as a painting.
“……”
The Guardian Stars, a group that included the Master of the Black Heaven and the 3rd ranked Executor of the Black Star Organization.
‘What a killer lineup.’
Oh-jin pressed a hand to his forehead as if a headache was coming on.