Chapter 193
Chapter 193
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 193
Chapter Title: Monsters of the Sacred Land (4)
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The monster raid, which had been like a war, was over.
The beautiful resort town was now covered in viscous blood, and destroyed in places as if it had been swept away by a storm.
“Agh! You goddamn pests!!!”
With a fierce voice laced with irritation, scorching flames danced through the air as if they were alive.
Two monsters, staggering as they tried to flee, were engulfed in the flames and turned to ash.
“Haa, haa, haa.”
Ha-eun leaned her back against a building wall, panting heavily.
The battle had raged on for hours.
No, to be precise, it was less of a battle and more of a one-sided massacre.
“Fucking exhausting…”
No matter how many hundreds or thousands she could wipe out at once, the sheer number of monsters that had attacked the town meant it took a long time to deal with them all.
‘This would’ve been even harder if the monsters hadn’t suddenly gotten weaker midway through.’
She didn’t know what trick Oh-jin had pulled.
Partway through, the monsters’ movements had abruptly slowed, and the intense heat they radiated had cooled down.
Thanks to that, the rest of the fight felt less like a battle and more like squashing scattered swarms of ants.
Of course.
Even that wasn't easy, given their sheer numbers.
“Still, it’s finally over. Damn it.”
She couldn't do anything about the ones hiding in buildings, but at least all the visible ones were dealt with.
Ha-eun swept back her sweat-drenched hair and opened her pack of cigarettes.
It was empty.
She disappointedly turned it over and shook it, but nothing came out besides a few crumbs of tobacco leaf.
“Damn it.”
Ha-eun kicked the empty pack in frustration.
She walked alone through the streets, which were a chaotic mess as if a hurricane had passed through.
Vega and Riak had already exhausted their strength in the fierce battle and had been unsummoned.
As she was walking forlornly down the street.
“Hm?”
She saw Oh-jin walking from the direction of the distant beach.
He, too, looked like he had been through a battle with the monsters, drenched from head to toe like a drowned rat.
“Oh-jiiiiin!”
Ha-eun’s eyes lit up as she sprinted toward him.
Leaping into the air, Ha-eun threw herself into Oh-jin’s arms.
“Where are Vega and Riak?”
“They used up too much energy, so they went back to the Sanctuary.”
“I see. Are you hurt anywhere, Ha-eun?”
“Heheh. You think a few mutts like these could hurt me?”
Ha-eun shrugged with a smug expression.
“Anyway, where were you?”
“In the sea for a bit.”
“What?”
Ha-eun’s mouth fell open, her eyes wide like a startled rabbit’s.
“Y-You went in there?”
There had been so many monsters in the water that you couldn't even see the sea, and he went in there alone.
With a worried expression, Ha-eun began to feel Oh-jin's body all over.
“Doesn’t seem like you’re hurt anywhere… Hmm. This side looks fine, too.”
*Grope, grope.*
“Hey, what are you touching?”
“Hehehe! Your mouth may be defiant, but your body is honest!”
What is this woman even talking about?
“Thankfully, you don’t seem to be hurt… Huh?”
Ha-eun, who had been thoroughly checking Oh-jin’s body, widened her eyes.
What she saw was the Stigma of Lyra engraved on his left chest.
To be precise, it was the eight strokes etched next to the Stigma.
“E-Eight? Oh-jin, you’re an 8-Star now?”
“Yeah.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Holy shit! 8-Star already?! It hasn’t even been that long since you hit 7-Star!”
Ha-eun jumped up and down with joy as if it were her own achievement.
Her eyes sparkling like stars, she tightly gripped both of Oh-jin’s hands.
“So you’re just one step away from 9-Star!”
For Awakeners, ‘9-Star’ held a special meaning.
It was when the body was reconstructed, allowing one to wield an immense power incomparable to before.
‘Even as a 7-Star, he was beating up 9-Stars… If Oh-jin becomes a 9-Star.’
*Gulp.*
A dry swallow went down her throat.
Just imagining it sent a shiver down her spine.
“I just hit 8-Star. 9-Star is still a long way off.”
“You always say that, and then you level up in the blink of an eye.”
“That’s…”
Well.
It was true that his growth rate was abnormally fast.
“Anyway, we can think about that later. What’s the situation in the town?”
“I’ve cleared everything around here. That way… I don’t know.”
Ha-eun pointed to the area opposite where she, Vega, and Riak had been defending.
It was where the road leading to the next town was.
‘If they broke through there, it’s going to be more than just a mess.’
Oh-jin clicked his tongue as he looked toward the other side of the town.
If he had been familiar with the area, he would have taken Ha-eun there first, but since it was his first time here, he had defended the area with the most people first.
‘Well, we’ve done what we could.’
While he couldn't say they had perfectly protected the town from the monster attack, considering he was neither in charge nor the manager of this place, hadn't he done enough?
“Let’s head to the other side and take care of any stragglers.”
“Okay.”
Just as Oh-jin and Ha-eun were about to head to the other side of the town.
“That side… is fine.”
Isabella walked toward them from the opposite direction.
Her white dress was soaked in dark red blood.
Panting heavily and staggering, she looked so precarious that she might collapse at any moment.
“Isabella!”
Oh-jin quickly rushed over and supported her.
Isabella looked up at Oh-jin with a weary smile.
“Our family’s employees have sealed off the passage so they can’t reach the other towns.”
“……”
Isabella’s voice was so faint it sounded as if it could break at any moment.
‘Is this the effect of the curse?’
He didn't think it had been this bad before.
Oh-jin frowned and helped the unsteady Isabella to a nearby bench.
“What on earth are these monsters?”
“…I don’t know.”
Isabella shook her head and bit her lip gently.
“I’m sure the Gates were being thoroughly managed by our family…”
With an expression of disbelief, Isabella clutched the hem of her blood-stained dress.
Oh-jin considered telling her that someone had intentionally caused the Dragon Vein to go berserk, but he quickly sealed his lips.
‘Not yet.’
For one, if she asked how he had managed to calm the berserk Dragon Vein, he would be at a loss for an answer. Besides, there was something he wanted to confirm for himself.
“I’ll head back to the mansion for now. I need to speak with Uncle Gilford.”
Isabella’s eyes gleamed coldly as she looked toward the mansion.
It seemed she intended to confront Gilford, the one managing San Fruttuoso, about the incident.
Oh-jin nodded and gently lifted her from the bench.
“M-Mr. Oh-jin?”
“I’ll take you.”
The curse’s effects seemed to have worsened to the point where she could barely walk. He couldn't let her go alone.
“Ah… Th-Thank you.”
Isabella lowered her head shyly, her cheeks blushing.
“Ugh.”
Watching them, Ha-eun pressed a hand to her forehead as if she had a headache.
She wanted to jump in and interfere, but recalling how Isabella had been gasping for breath, she couldn't bring herself to do it.
“Let’s go.”
Oh-jin headed for the mansion, carrying Isabella in his arms.
They made their way through the streets littered with monster corpses and arrived at the mansion.
“Y-Young Lady! Are you alright?!”
Gilford came running urgently toward Isabella, his portly belly jiggling.
Once Oh-jin set her down, Isabella coldly slapped away Gilford’s hand as he tried to support her.
“What is the meaning of all this?”
“Th-That is, I’m not sure myself.”
“You’re not sure? Weren’t you the one in charge here, Uncle?”
“W-Well, yes, but…”
Gilford stuttered, his expression utterly cowed.
His eyes were filled with fear and anxiety.
“Hah.”
Isabella let out a deep sigh and glared at him sharply.
“As soon as this is sorted out, I will form a disciplinary committee. Don’t even think about getting away with this.”
“W-Wait! Young Lady?!”
Ignoring Gilford, who was calling after her desperately, Isabella walked into the mansion.
Oh-jin watched Gilford scrambling after Isabella and narrowed his eyes.
‘Did that guy do it?’
As the manager of San Fruttuoso, it would have been easy for him to interfere with the Dragon Vein.
But looking at Gilford, who was trembling so much he couldn't even make eye contact with Isabella, it didn't seem like he had the nerve to make a Dragon Vein go berserk.
‘Even if he did, Gilford has no reason to do it.’
The moment the Dragon Vein went berserk and the monsters went crazy, he would surely be kicked out of the family, collateral branch or not. Why in the world would he do something so insane?
‘Someone with enough authority and power to interfere with the Dragon Vein, yet able to avoid suspicion.’
Only one person came to mind right now.
Oh-jin’s gaze turned to Isabella.
If it were her, couldn't she interfere with the Dragon Vein freely?
Even if the Dragon Vein went berserk and caused massive damage, couldn't she pin all the blame on Gilford?
‘…No.’
Continuing his train of thought, Oh-jin shook his head.
Like Gilford, Isabella had no reason to make the Dragon Vein go berserk.
‘Then who on earth…’
And for what reason?
As Oh-jin was lost in thought.
*Whirrrrrrrrrr!!*
A helicopter flew toward the mansion, accompanied by a gust of wind so strong it felt like it could tear his clothes off.
“What the…”
Isabella frowned, watching the helicopter land on the helipad built next to the spacious garden.
The helicopter door opened, and a middle-aged man with slicked-back platinum blond hair stepped out.
He was a handsome man with a solid build, like the protagonist of a noir film.
Paolo Colagrande.
The current head of the Colagrande family and Isabella’s father.
Paolo approached Isabella, exuding a charisma so intense it was breathtaking.
But only for a moment.
“Ahh! My beloved darling! Are you hurt anywhere?”
As if he had never exuded such suffocating charisma, Paolo approached with an undignified gait.
*Clutch!*
Paolo roughly pulled Isabella into a hug.
“I heard what happened…! You must have been through so much!”
Paolo frowned at Isabella's blood-soaked dress, then turned his head to glare coldly at the trembling Gilford.
“How dare you let my princess get hurt… You had better prepare yourself.”
“I-It wasn’t me!”
“Isn’t this whole disaster due to your negligence?”
“Th-That is…”
Gilford lowered his head, his face crumpling.
“Don’t worry, Father. This isn’t my blood.”
Isabella said with a bright smile.
“Thank goodness! What a relief!”
Paolo sobbed loudly, tightening his arms around Isabella.
‘Father, huh.’
Oh-jin’s eyes glinted.
He had thought they looked somewhat similar, but was that man Isabella’s father?
‘Just from what Isabella said, I thought they had a bad relationship.’
The way he flew in by helicopter as soon as he heard the news to check on Isabella seemed far from what he’d been told.
Isabella’s smile as she told him not to worry, saying the blood on her clothes wasn’t hers, made her seem like the model of a filial daughter.
“You reek of sweat. That’s enough. Would you mind getting lost now, Father?”
But with a dash of fire.