Chapter 214
Chapter 214
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 214
Chapter Title: Head of the Snake (7)
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“……”
Oh-jin stared grimly at the rift, which had shrunk by half.
Himself and Isabella.
If only one of them could escape this place.
‘The one left behind…’
Biting his lip, he sliced through a cluster of rapidly approaching tentacles with his spear.
*Swish!*
Yellow pus spewed from the severed ends of the tentacles, splattering across the ground.
The earth melted, emitting a pungent smoke.
“Krrrrrrk! Kereeeek!”
Watching the mother beast close the distance, Oh-jin tightened his grip on his spear.
‘Can I kill it?’
If he and Isabella joined forces.
Could they perhaps kill even this absurd monster?
“…No.”
He bit his lip and shook his head.
It might have been possible if he and Isabella were in peak condition.
But they had just finished a battle that had raged for hours without rest.
‘Even if that weren't the case, this thing wouldn't be easy.’
Vega had said she could feel the energy of a Constellation's spirit, hadn't she?
Considering the absurd power Liak possessed, facing a monster that had inherited part of a Constellation's soul was out of the question.
‘In that case.’
Oh-jin glanced over at Isabella.
Isabella was fiercely swinging her blood-red scythe, fending off the tentacles that were coming for him.
‘If one person has to stay.’
Between himself and Isabella, who should it be?
“……”
The deliberation didn't last long.
No matter how much they talked about him being the Polaris Constellation or whatever, he was still just an 8-Star. Isabella, on the other hand, was already a high-ranking 10-Star.
Wasn't it obvious which of them had a better chance of ‘surviving’ here?
“Hah, hah. Oh-jin! Why aren't you getting into the rift? What are you doing?”
During a brief lull in the relentless onslaught of tentacles, thanks to her attacks.
Isabella came over and pulled on Oh-jin's arm.
“Hm?”
Isabella frowned at the black rift, now half the size it was when she first saw it.
What Vega had told her earlier—that ‘the rift's energy is unstable’—naturally came to mind.
“Oh-jin, don't tell me… this is…”
Isabella easily figured out why the rift had suddenly shrunk and why Oh-jin was just standing there instead of jumping in.
“……”
“……”
Oh-jin's and Isabella's eyes met in midair.
“I'm sorry, Isabella.”
Oh-jin bit his lip and lowered his head.
He would rather die than say these words.
He knew he shouldn't.
“Stay here—for me.”
If one of them absolutely had to stay behind.
It had to be.
“Ah.”
Isabella let out a soft gasp, a look of shock on her face.
Oh-jin quickly continued.
“Don't worry. I'll definitely come back to save you.”
This wasn't the only rift leading to the Magyeong.
For an Awakened with transcendent power like Isabella, escaping the monster and finding a place to hide shouldn't be too difficult.
If she could just buy some time, he could gather all available forces and return.
“I've met Deneb's Apostles before.”
It wasn't on good terms, but…
If Vega personally bowed her head to Deneb, knowing Deneb's personality, he would probably cackle and mock her, but he would help.
Oh-jin recalled the suffocating aura he had felt when he faced Allen Oskar.
If it was him, one of the strongest among the Seven Stars, he could probably take on the spirit of that Black Star.
“…I see.”
Isabella looked at Oh-jin with sad eyes, then a faint smile graced her lips.
“You're right. If someone has to stay, it should be me.”
She herself knew that better than anyone.
After all, even right now, she was far more powerful than Oh-jin.
Isn't it logical for the one with the higher chance of survival to stay?
“…I'm sorry.”
Oh-jin clenched his fists and hung his head low.
Isabella gently patted his back as if to soothe him.
“It's okay. I understand everything.”
A gentle hand patting his back.
“Because you have… Ha-eun.”
“……”
Oh-jin's expression hardened.
Isabella giggled as if his stiff expression was quite amusing.
“You said that because you were thinking of Ha-eun, who would be left all alone, right?”
“…That's.”
“Fufu. I know that Ha-eun is the one you cherish most.”
“For now,” Isabella carefully added.
“I'll… definitely come for you.”
With his head hung low, Oh-jin could only offer an uncertain promise.
Isabella looked at Oh-jin with a fond expression.
Seeing him tormented by guilt somehow put a corner of her heart at ease.
It meant that the existence known as Isabella Colagrande had at least secured a place in his heart large enough to make him feel this much guilt.
‘What a relief.’
Isabella breathed a sigh of relief, a faint smile on her lips.
*Rumble!*
As the ground beneath them shook, she could see the mother beast approaching.
Isabella looked up at the hideously formed mother beast and bit her lip.
‘Can I escape?’
Just as Oh-jin wished.
Can I survive against that monster, left all alone?
‘…It won't be easy.’
She had already used a considerable amount of power in the previous battle.
If she were at full strength, it might be a different story, but as she was now, there was a high chance she wouldn't be able to escape the beast easily.
However.
“Well, escaping on my own won't be that difficult.”
“…Really?”
“Yes. In fact, having you here would just get in the way of my escape.”
Isabella continued in a calm voice.
*Swoooosh!*
Just then, the tentacle attacks, which had been quiet for a while, began again.
“Kgh!”
*Bzzzzzt!*
Oh-jin hastily raised his spear to block the fiercely charging tentacles.
Was it trying to avenge its dead young?
The monster was relentlessly targeting only Oh-jin, launching its tentacles at him.
‘At this rate, I can't even act as a decoy like Oh-jin did earlier.’
Isabella brought her wrist to the blade of the blood-red scythe in her hand.
*Splaaash!*
Her artery was severed, and crimson blood spurted out like a fountain.
“Hah.”
As Isabella exhaled a short breath, a crimson storm began to rage around her.
“I-Isabella?”
“I'll protect you until we reach the rift.”
*Slaaash! Slaash!*
The crimson storms swirling around Isabella violently tore apart the tentacles aimed at Oh-jin.
She grabbed the arm of a worried-looking Oh-jin and ran toward the rift, which had shrunk to half its size.
“Isabella, maybe I should…”
Oh-jin, being pulled along by Isabella, opened his mouth as if he couldn't stand it any longer.
“Fufu. Do you know something, Oh-jin?”
Isabella smiled brightly at him.
“If you had offered to stay behind earlier, I would have used my ‘Command’ to force you to go.”
“……”
“Don't worry. Even for me, fighting a Constellation's spirit is impossible, but escaping isn't that hard.”
Isabella said reassuringly as they arrived in front of the half-sized rift.
The closer they got to the rift, the more the fear she had been trying to suppress began to grow.
‘…Perhaps.’
The fear that she might never see him again.
The dread that this might be the last time.
It became a heavy shackle, holding her feet in place.
‘It's okay.’
Even if I never see him again.
Even if we can never meet again.
If I can save him with my life.
If I can protect this new, beautiful, and precious hope I've come to cherish in my heart.
This level of fear was nothing.
“Krrrrrrk! Krrk!”
*Thud! Grrrr! CRASH!*
The ground shook once more, as if in an earthquake.
The mother beast, which had been a considerable distance away at first, had moved its long, cockroach-like legs and was now right in front of them.
Isabella turned her back to the rift, standing as if to block it.
“Hurry and go, Oh-jin. There's no time.”
The crimson storm covering her body was gradually weakening.
“……”
Oh-jin narrowed his eyes, staring down at the black rift that had shrunk to a mere fifty centimeters.
Glancing between the black rift and Isabella's back, Oh-jin gave a small nod.
“Alright, this distance should be enough.”
“Oh-jin! Why aren't you going? What are you doing?”
Just as Isabella, who was blocking the tentacles, turned her head in frustration.
“Mmph?!”
Oh-jin swiftly pulled her in by the waist and pressed his lips against hers.
Caught off guard by the unexpected kiss, Isabella's eyes shot wide open and her body went rigid.
Confirming that the strength had left her body, Oh-jin…
“Heave-ho.”
He yanked her waist hard and threw her into the half-sized rift.
“O-Oh-jin! What is this…!”
As Isabella's body vanished into the black rift, the remaining opening sealed itself completely.
“Jeez, what a tiresome lady.”
Oh-jin chuckled and turned his back on the now-closed rift.
‘I feel a little bad for Ha-eun.’
He touched his lips, the soft sensation still lingering there.
Kissing Isabella while he had a girlfriend named Ha-eun was definitely wrong, but there was no other way to shove her into the rift without giving her a chance to use her ‘Command’.
‘I'm gonna get an earful when I get back.’
Oh-jin let out a soft laugh and raised his head.
“Krrrrrrk!”
“Damn, I really can't get used to how you look.”
The mother beast let out a bizarre shriek and opened its mouth, which was split all the way to its temples.
A waterfall of yellow pus poured from its mouth, raining down on Oh-jin.
“Ah, for fuck's sake.”
Oh-jin cursed under his breath and used Thunderclap Step to create distance.
But perhaps because the range was too wide.
A stream of the yellow pus struck Oh-jin directly.
“Kgh!”
*Sizzzzzle!*
The three shields that formed in front of Oh-jin melted in an instant.
The orange bracelet on his wrist lost its light and snapped.
“Damn it.”
That was one of my favorites.
Oh-jin frowned, looking down at the fallen bracelet.
“Krrk! Krrrrrrk!”
The mother beast let out a grotesque laugh from its torn mouth, as if it thought its prey was completely cornered.
Oh-jin looked up at the mother beast, lost in thought for a moment.
Between himself and Isabella, who should stay behind?
Which of them had a better chance of ‘surviving’ here?
“Why even think about it?”
Logically speaking.
Isn't it obvious that my chances of survival are higher if I'm the one who stays?
“Krrrrrrk! Krrk!”
“You think so too, don't you?”
He slowly raised his hand and placed it over his left breast.
He chanted an incantation in a low voice.
“He who passes me—to the Garden of Lament.”
Dark storm clouds erupted, soaring into the sky.