Chapter 219
Chapter 219
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 219
Chapter Title: Interlude: Reunion (1)
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“You’re going… to save Mr. Oh-jin?”
Isabella bit her lip gently.
The image of the mother beast charging violently toward the rift flashed through her mind.
What was the point of going to save him now? It was too late.
“Mr. Oh-jin, he’s… he’s already…”
“He’s not dead, Ojini.”
“H-How would you know that?!”
Isabella shot up from the bed, shouting.
“I just do.”
“‘You just do’? Do you really think that makes any sense?”
She clenched her fists tightly.
“I… I should have been the one to stay. Not Mr. Oh-jin, me!”
Even if she had stayed, her chances of survival were extremely slim.
If that was the case for her, what about Oh-jin?
“……”
Ha-eun watched Isabella, who was sobbing with her lips sealed shut, tears streaming down her face.
“Still, we have to go.”
No matter how slim the chance he was alive.
As long as there was even a shred of hope, she had to go save him.
“What if… what if we go and find nothing? Or worse, what if we find Mr. Oh-jin’s body? Then… then what will you do?!”
she cried out, her voice like a wail.
Right now, she could at least hold onto the hope that he might still be alive.
But.
if they were to find him dead.
Wouldn’t that last thread of hope be completely severed?
“What do you mean, ‘what then’?”
Ha-eun shrugged with a nonchalant expression.
“I’ll follow him to the grave.”
Her tone was so casual, as if asking why she would even question something so obvious.
“…Pardon?”
Isabella stared at Ha-eun, who had just uttered something so outrageous with a completely straight face, her mouth agape.
If she found Oh-jin dead, she would kill herself?
“W-What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said. I can’t live without him anymore.”
A life without Oh-jin.
What value would there be in living?
“Well, that bastard Ojini probably feels the same way.”
Ha-eun smirked, her expression filled with confidence.
“That’s…”
Isabella gnawed on her lip, looking at that confident demeanor that held not a shadow of a doubt.
It felt as if an insurmountable wall stood between Oh-jin and Ha-eun, one she could never hope to cross.
“…That’s unfair.”
She was frustrated.
Ha-eun’s ability to speak of ‘death’ so calmly, so matter-of-factly.
Her confidence that Oh-jin felt the same way.
It felt so cowardly and unfair.
“Unni, I like Mr. Oh-jin.”
“I know.”
“…Weren’t you two dating?”
“We are, right? Well, we only officially started dating recently, though.”
Isabella looked at Ha-eun with an expression of disbelief.
Isn't this usually the part where you're supposed to get angry, call me a homewrecker or something?
“Are you okay with it?”
“Hm? With what?”
“With me liking Mr. Oh-jin.”
“Well, to be honest, it doesn't feel great.”
Ha-eun crossed her arms and gave a light shrug.
“What’s important isn’t how you feel about Ojini, but how Ojini feels about you, right?”
“…Are you saying you’re confident you’ll never lose him?”
“If it looks like I’m about to lose him, I’ll just throw a tantrum and threaten to die.”
she added with a chuckle.
“Didn’t I tell you? Ojini can’t live without me.”
“……”
A thick vein popped on Isabella's forehead.
She bit her lip and glared at Ha-eun.
“Just you watch.”
She had thought being second would be fine.
She had thought it would be enough to have even a part of his love.
But.
“I’ll make you regret saying that.”
Her mind had changed.
If someone had to be second, it would be Ha-eun, not her.
“Yeah, yeah. Go on and give it your best shot.”
Ha-eun chuckled, ruffling Isabella's hair.
“D-Don’t touch my hair!”
“Whoa, you stink. My nose is about to rot off.”
“Th-That’s a lie!”
“But you haven’t washed up once since you got here, have you?”
“That’s…!”
Isabella's face turned red as she scurried into the shower.
Ha-eun watched Isabella's retreating back as she rushed into the shower and let out a soft laugh.
“Hah, that girl is really something else.”
She brought the palm that had stroked Isabella's hair to her nose and took a sniff.
Despite having gone through a fierce battle and not having washed, a gentle, sweet scent of roses wafted into her nose.
“…Talk about unfair.”
She sighed, looking at the firmly closed shower door.
“……”
A heavy silence descended.
Ha-eun uncrossed her arms.
Her freed hands trembled pathetically.
‘Ojini.’
She clenched her trembling hands into fists.
The suffocating fear pressing down on her throat felt like it would kill her.
‘You’re… alive, right?’
Looking up at the dark night sky beyond the window, she bit the inside of her cheek.
“Your nunna is coming to save you, so just wait a little longer, you punk.”
Ha-eun's eyes glinted sharply as she turned around.
***
After Isabella finished her shower.
Ha-eun and Isabella headed to the Sanctuary.
A magnificent temple glowing with a soft, silver light.
Inside the desolate, empty temple stood a silver-haired goddess, dignified and alone.
[You have come.]
Vega, who had been standing with her eyes closed and hands clasped as if in prayer, slowly opened her eyes.
A sacred aura so powerful it inspired awe just by looking at her.
Feeling overwhelmed as if witnessing a scene from a myth, Isabella stared with her mouth agape.
“That person… is Lady Vega?”
Having only ever seen the smaller version of Vega, she couldn't help but be stunned by Vega's true form.
[That is so.]
“Ah…”
Isabella's eyes wavered.
Radiant silver hair and glittering golden eyes.
Skin as white as a snowflake and an elegant, noble atmosphere.
She had always been confident that her looks wouldn't be outshone anywhere she went, but seeing Vega's true form made her feel as if that solid confidence was being chipped away.
‘Come to think of it, Lady Vega also seemed to think of Mr. Oh-jin in a special way.’
Every time she manifested on Earth, she would perch on Oh-jin's head and cling to him tightly.
Of course, seeing as she called him ‘my child’, I suppose it's an affection closer to motherly love.
‘It doesn't seem like it'll be easy to become his number one.’
A deep sigh escaped Isabella's lips.
“You said you don't know where Ojini is right now either, right, Vega?”
[That is correct.]
Vega nodded with a heavy expression.
The relationship between a Constellation and an Awakened could be simply compared to that of a tree and a seed.
They could bestow the seed of a Stigma and help the star's power grow within it, but the Stigma that grew inside an Awakened's body was ultimately a 'different tree'.
There was no way to know in real-time whether the Awakened who received the Stigma was dead or alive, where they were, or what they were doing.
“What about manifesting in your small body?”
[I used too much power before, so manifesting will be difficult for a while.]
“Ugh.”
Ha-eun grunted in frustration.
In such a time-sensitive situation, they couldn't afford to wait for her restriction to be lifted.
“…Then I guess we have no choice but to go to the Demon Realm for now.”
[How do you intend to go?]
“Well, since the rift in Sokcho closed, there's only one way.”
Ha-eun's eyes shone sharply.
“We'll go to the first rift.”
The super-massive gate located at the North Pole, with a diameter of 50 kilometers.
They had no choice but to cross into the Demon Realm through the gate known as the most dangerous place on Earth, due to the powerful beasts that poured out from there.
[But.]
“I know. It's dangerous.”
Ha-eun continued in a resolute voice.
“But we still have to go.”
[…Thank you.]
“Hmph, it's not like I'm going to save him for your sake, Vega.”
[Fufu. I know.]
Vega nodded with a faint smile.
She looked back at Isabella and Ha-eun.
[Still, it is too dangerous for just the two of you to go.]
“…Then?”
[Follow me. There is a Constellation I must ask for aid.]
Vega walked slowly out of the temple.
Walking down a long path made of starlight, she arrived at.
“Whoa… what is this place?”
A temple filled with all sorts of glamorous decorations.
Unlike Vega's temple, which was so barren it was bleak, this temple was filled with all manner of valuables, as if all the wealth of the world had been gathered in one place.
[Deneb.]
Entering the temple, Vega called out the name softly.
Vwoooom!
A dazzling halo of light filled the temple.
Piercing through the brilliant light was a boy with dark blue hair.
The jewels hanging all over his small body sparkled and shone.
The sheer number of jewels he wore almost made him look gaudy, but the boy's perfect features were so wondrous that they made even that gaudiness seem noble.
“…What is it?”
Deneb pouted with a sullen expression.
[I have come to ask for your help.]
“What? Help?”
Deneb scoffed as if he found the idea absurd.
“Do you… even know what I've been through since the last proxy war?”
After suffering a crushing defeat in the last proxy war.
The number of Constellations who already doubted his qualifications as a member of Polaris had only increased.
It's the same in human society.
When a famous and well-known being makes a single mistake, others rush in to tear them down, and the Constellations were no different.
“It would have been fine if I was the only one being insulted!”
He was used to being ridiculed and scorned.
After all, he had lived for ages being compared to Vega and Polaris.
But.
“My… my children!”
Deneb sniffled.
The thought of his children, who were receiving ridicule they didn't deserve because of their incompetent Constellation, made his heart burn.
[Were you not the one who requested the proxy war first?]
“Th-That’s.”
[Well, I do agree that my child was a bit excessive at the time. I apologize.]
“……”
Deneb sealed his lips and hung his head low.
Vega carefully approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
[Do not be disheartened. Did I not tell you before? No matter what anyone says, you are a member of Polaris.]
“…Hmph. You think that's going to make me grant your request?”
Deneb crossed his arms and turned his head away sharply.
With her hand still on his shoulder, Vega spoke in a low, somber voice.
[…My child is trapped in the Demon Realm.]
“What?”
Deneb's eyes widened.
The Demon Realm was an unknown world, largely unfamiliar even to the Constellations.
If he was trapped there, then he was already…
[Please save my child.]
Vega stepped back from Deneb.
She gathered her dress and slowly began to kneel.
[I will kneel and beg you…]
Before Vega's knees could touch the ground.
“What do you think you're doing!”
Deneb leaped forward and pulled Vega up before she could kneel.
“A Constellation shouldn't kneel before another so easily! What would you do if your child heard about this later?”
Deneb said gruffly and turned away.
“You said you're going to the Demon Realm, right?”
He swept back his dark blue hair and snorted.
“Just wait. I'll gather my children.”
A gentle smile formed on Vega's lips.
[Thank you.]
“Hmph! I'm not doing it for you! If the Lightning Wolf dies a pointless death, it'll tarnish the reputation of my children who lost to him!”
Deneb snapped with an indignant expression.
[…]
Vega watched Deneb with gentle eyes, a faint smile gracing her lips.