Chapter 296
Chapter 296
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 296
Chapter Title: Sky Mountain Range (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Flowing platinum-blonde hair.
Isabella, who had approached Poppy in the blink of an eye, swung a massive scythe made of blood.
“Grrr?”
Poppy, who had been running toward Oh-jin, came to a screeching halt.
As Poppy trembled in fear from the explosive killing intent radiating from Isabella…
‘Exceed!’
Crackle!
Blue lightning blazed around Oh-jin’s legs.
He kicked off the ground violently, drawing the folding knife from his waist.
Gripping Dantalion, which had instantly transformed into a spear, he stepped in front of Isabella.
“M-Mr. Oh-jin?”
Startled, Isabella tried to stop her scythe in a hurry, but it was impossible to halt the weapon mid-swing.
BOOM!
“Keuk!”
With a thunderous roar, Oh-jin’s body was sent flying like a cannonball.
He crashed through five trees before tumbling to the ground, coughing up blood.
“A-Are you alright, Mr. Oh-jin?!”
Isabella approached Oh-jin, her face pale.
She’d just hit Oh-jin—who wasn’t in his best condition due to the aftereffects of the blessing—with a full swing, like hitting a grand slam. It was no wonder she couldn’t keep her wits about her.
As she ran toward the fallen Oh-jin with trembling steps…
“Grrrrrrr!”
Poppy, its face twisted in a ferocious snarl, blocked Isabella’s path.
It stood protectively in front of Oh-jin, its sharp beak snapping.
“Move…!”
Just as Isabella was about to swing her scythe again at the creature blocking her way…
“Wait, wait, waaaaaait!”
Ha-eun, who had arrived late, grabbed Isabella from behind.
“Let go, let go, sis! That monster is going to…!”
“Oh-jin’s fine! That time he was coughing up blood and all that crap, it was all a lie!”
“…Excuse me?”
Isabella looked back with a dumbfounded expression.
“Ugh.”
Oh-jin, who had been lying on the ground, staggered to his feet.
“Grrr…”
Poppy approached Oh-jin and began licking his body with its tongue.
Sticky saliva clung to him.
“Hey, hey. Stop it, you.”
“Grrr, grrr.”
“I said I’m fine.”
He tapped the beak of the worriedly licking Poppy.
“……”
Isabella stared at Oh-jin, her expression one of utter disbelief.
Her eyes narrowed as she shot him a sharp glare.
“What in the world is going on here?”
“Ahem. Well…”
Oh-jin explained the pathetic, tear-jerking performance he had put on in front of the First Fissure.
“…So you’re telling me.”
A deep sigh escaped Isabella’s lips.
“You put on that show because you were afraid of getting caught being escorted back by that monster, which wasn’t dangerous at all?”
“Well, you see.”
Honestly, it was a bit much, wasn’t it?
To put it in perspective, it felt like a kid who skipped mandatory evening study to have fun at an internet cafe, only to come home to his mother tearfully hugging him at the door, saying, “My son, you must have worked so hard.”
In that heart-wrenching atmosphere, he couldn’t very well be seen casually lying on Poppy’s back, eating potato chips.
“Hah. Mr. Oh-jin, you really are…!”
This time, it seemed even Isabella couldn’t hold back. She scowled and smacked Oh-jin squarely on the back.
Smack!
A fiery pain spread across his back from the spicy sting of her hand.
“You told Ha-eun the truth! But you left me out again!”
Smack! Smack!
What could a cornered liar say?
Guilty as charged, Oh-jin meekly bowed his head and took the back-smacking.
“Grrr!”
As she continued to hit Oh-jin’s back, Poppy let out a fierce growl, its killing intent flaring.
Isabella let out a dry laugh and looked back at Poppy.
“Anyway, why is a monster following you around, Mr. Oh-jin?”
“Beats me.”
At first, he had vaguely assumed it was following him because of Cassia’s orders.
But seeing it this attached, he felt there might be another reason.
“Is it because of this?”
Oh-jin glanced down at the spear in his hand.
According to the formula Kim Si-hoo had deciphered, Dantalion’s form before it became an ego weapon was similar to Poppy.
Well, Dantalion had died long ago and been made into a weapon, so there was no way Poppy could be Dantalion, but…
“…Maybe it’s Dantalion’s child?”
Seeing how it followed him like a parent, he thought it might be possible.
“Well, whatever the case, this worked out well.”
Oh-jin grinned as he stroked Poppy’s neck.
He’d been worried about their slow travel speed, but Poppy would solve that problem.
“You’re not thinking of riding it, are you?”
“Yeah. It’s big enough for all of us to sit on.”
Its back was broad and covered in soft fur, so the ride wouldn’t be too bad either.
“Grrr!”
Poppy let out a pleased cry and lowered its body so Oh-jin could climb on easily.
Ha-eun’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Whoa, what? It understands human speech?”
“Seems so.”
Like the monsters known as Named on Earth, Poppy possessed a rather high level of intelligence.
“…So these are the kinds of creatures that would be classified as Named on Earth.”
Ha-eun approached Poppy with a look of wonder.
She carefully reached out and stroked Poppy, a short gasp escaping her lips.
“Holy crap. Look how soft this fur is.”
The texture was as smooth as stroking a high-end carpet.
“Grrr?”
Poppy tilted its head and looked back at Oh-jin.
Its expression seemed to ask if it was okay to let her keep petting it.
Oh-jin nodded and climbed onto Poppy’s back.
“You should get on too, Ha-eun.”
“Okay. Just a sec.”
Heave.
Ha-eun climbed onto Poppy’s back and wrapped her arms around Oh-jin’s waist, like riding on the back of a motorcycle.
“Ooh, this is pretty nice.”
“Right?”
A sly smile formed on Ha-eun’s lips as she held onto Oh-jin’s waist.
“And when I’m bored, I can play around like this.”
The hand wrapped around his waist began to creep down toward his thigh.
“…Poppy.”
“Grrr!”
“Aack!”
Poppy skillfully bucked its back, throwing Ha-eun off.
“Jeez… Just a little joke. What a petty little punk. It’s not like you’ll wear out if I touch you.”
“I won’t wear out, but something else will get bigger.”
And if that happened right now, it would be very troublesome.
“May I try riding as well, Mr. Oh-jin?”
Isabella walked over to Poppy.
As she cautiously reached out her hand, Poppy glared at her sharply and shied away.
It seemed it was still wary of her for attacking Oh-jin earlier.
“It’s okay, Poppy.”
“Grrr…”
Poppy hesitantly approached Isabella.
Isabella chuckled and stroked Poppy’s fur.
“It’s actually kind of cute.”
“Right?”
“Did you give it the name Poppy, Mr. Oh-jin?”
“Yep. Suits it, doesn’t it?”
“Hoho. I’ll be sure not to ask you to name my children in the future.”
Hey, why not?
What’s wrong with Poppy?
[For a monster to be so obedient to a human… It is indeed fascinating.]
Vega also flew around Poppy with interest.
[So you plan to travel by riding this child?]
“Yeah. Our Poppy has stamina for days.”
With Poppy, the party could travel quickly while conserving their own energy.
“Grrrrr!”
Pleased by the praise, Poppy snapped its beak and jumped lightly.
Thud!
A heavy vibration shook the ground.
“Shall we get going then?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll sit behind Oh-jin!”
“Oh my, then I’ll sit in front of you, Mr. Oh-jin.”
“Ah.”
Before Ha-eun could stop her, Isabella quickly hopped onto Poppy and took the spot in front of Oh-jin.
“…You sly thing.”
Ha-eun shot Isabella a slight glare before sitting behind Oh-jin.
Even with three people on its back, Poppy was so large that it didn’t feel cramped at all.
“Riak, you’re not getting on?”
“I’m fine. I’ll walk on my own two feet.”
Riak looked up at Oh-jin, Ha-eun, and Isabella huddled together on Poppy’s back and shook his head as if the sight was unbearable.
“Let’s go, Poppy. You know where the Sky Mountain Range is, right?”
“Grrr!”
Poppy nodded vigorously and kicked off the ground.
* * *
“Should we set up camp here for today?”
Even riding Poppy, they couldn’t reach the Sky Mountain Range in a single day.
Spotting a stream as they passed through the forest, Oh-jin had Poppy stop.
With the sun beginning to set, it was wise to prepare for the night quickly.
“Ugh. Back to camping again.”
Ha-eun shook her head as if she was sick of it.
Although they had brought top-of-the-line camping gear from Earth, it still couldn’t compare to sleeping at home.
“Then I’ll prepare the area.”
The ground next to the stream was covered in thick gravel and vegetation, leaving no suitable place to pitch a tent.
But if there was no spot, they just had to make one.
Isabella lightly scratched her palm with her fingernail, drawing blood.
“Bloom.”
Fwoosh!
The drop of blood that fell to the ground spread out like a blooming flower, cleanly blowing away the surrounding gravel and plants.
In an instant, a wide, open space of about thirty meters was created.
“All ready!”
Isabella, having annihilated everything within a thirty-meter radius, turned around with a bright smile.
Oh-jin clicked his tongue at the power, which was as chilling as ever.
“I’ll get the tents.”
Oh-jin took two tents out of his backpack and set them up.
One was for him, and the other was for Ha-eun and Isabella to share.
Riak and Vega didn’t need a tent, as they would return to the Sanctuary at night.
“…You could just sleep with us, you know.”
Isabella licked her lips with a hint of disappointment.
It was a tempting offer, but they weren't on a picnic. He couldn't share a tent with them out in the wild.
‘I definitely wouldn’t be able to hold back.’
Whether it was him, Isabella, or Ha-eun.
It was obvious what would happen if they shared a tent.
[Well then, I shall take my leave.]
“I’m leaving too, kid.”
“Okay. See you tomorrow.”
Vega and Riak’s bodies glowed and then dissipated into the air.
“Alright.”
After setting up the tents, Oh-jin, Ha-eun, and Isabella had a simple dinner.
“See you in the morning, Mr. Oh-jin.”
“We’re turning in first~”
“Yeah, sleep well.”
Ha-eun and Isabella went inside their tent.
In the dark forest, only the quiet chirping of insects echoed.
“Well then.”
After cleaning up, Oh-jin stood up.
The aftereffects of the blessing hadn’t fully subsided, so his joints creaked like an un-oiled machine.
‘Still, I can’t just go to sleep.’
Hadn’t he keenly felt how much he still lacked in his fight against Calliope?
Oh-jin found a spot in the clearing, far from the tents.
“Fuuuu.”
He took a slow, deep breath and closed his eyes.
With his eyes closed, he conjured an image of Calliope in his mind.
The nauseatingly thick makeup and the cracked voice.
He engraved every single detail into his mind.
“I am fighting Calliope right now.”
He focused his mind, whispering a ‘lie’ to himself.
And then.
“Hohoho! I only lost last time because I let my guard down, you know?”
Calliope’s voice echoed from the darkness.
A chilling thrill ran down Oh-jin’s spine.
The unpleasant voice in his ears, the image of Calliope before his eyes.
They were all illusions Oh-jin had created himself.
“…Calliope.”
But to Oh-jin, who had put himself under self-hypnosis with a ‘lie’, all these illusions felt real.
“Huu.”
Oh-jin let out a tense breath and gripped his spear.
This time, he didn’t have Vega’s blessing.
If his concentration wavered for even a moment, he would be the one with a hole through his chest.
“Hup!”
CRASH!
The clash between Oh-jin and the illusion of Calliope began.
In the dead of night, while everyone else slept, Oh-jin alone continued his life-or-death training.
[…My child.]
Beneath the dark night sky.
He remained completely unaware of the pair of golden eyes watching over him.