Chapter 107
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: Things I Don't Want to Lose (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Is this as far as it goes?
Geum Sihyeon's will wavered.
In truth, at first, he had approached it a bit carelessly.
When it came to dealing with poison, at least, he considered himself invincible.
Because of the Immunity to All Poisons trait, he had grown overconfident and made the mistake of underestimating his opponent.
And now look at the mess he was in.
Though nothing had seeped into his lungs, and each breath instead filled his dantian with a bizarre sense of fullness.
The Poison Demon's sharply honed daggers of venom were closing in on him moment by moment, and the malice woven into them far surpassed his sword qi.
Forcing a calm expression, Geum Sihyeon's resolve began to chip away ever so slightly.
- That's enough already. We should save ourselves at least.
- We've done all we can. We've held out plenty. And he'll get his revenge, so can't we just turn a blind eye? It's not like we don't know him.
- Are we really going to die here out of pity...?
- Honestly, he seems stronger than even Elder Chicken Wings. No angle to win here? At least Hongryeon was a fake.
- The energy of the Dragon Pearl stolen from Heuk Mangsaeng is surely too overwhelming for a mere human to contain. He'll weaken soon enough, so we can wait and reengage later.
A whirlwind of thoughts swirled in his mind.
: : That's enough now. Even at this point, come back with Narang...! : :
Myo Hwaseo's cry seemed to fuel those thoughts further, laced with regret and desperation.
Right.
I've done all I can.
So──
- Is this really my best?
At the sudden realization, Geum Sihyeon's body stiffened.
Was what he had believed to be his best effort up until now truly his utmost?
He vaguely heard Myo Hwaseo crying out again.
'I've done all I can' is different from 'I've given my all.'
And the gap between them...
Geum Sihyeon suddenly realized where it came from.
Strength returned to his loosening grip.
He gritted his teeth and moved his heavy legs.
Just one step.
One step forward.
One who seeks to be born must shatter an entire world.
In that instant.
The shell Geum Sihyeon shattered was──
The faint hope that had lingered in his mind.
Having a past life and this current one meant there would be another after.
The complacency of that assumption.
Along with it.
The notion tucked away in a corner of his heart.
That this was merely a game world, something he had settled into just a bit.
He shattered those thoughts and poured his pure will into his sword.
This world he stood upon, this Central Plains, was reality right now.
And every person around him was precious, each and every one.
And.
It might be greed beyond his power──
But the vow to protect with all his might everyone who had slipped past the walls of his heart.
He engraved it into his sword.
At last, he awakened to the reason for wielding the martial arts.
And that will shone brilliantly, settling wholly in his chest.
"...You've crossed the wall. Congratulations."
"If you want to congratulate me, how about withdrawing the poison first?"
"Tch, the core's still that same rascal."
Dang Wuryang clicked his tongue.
If he had simply collapsed then, he would have paid any price to keep him alive somehow, but in that fleeting moment, he had grasped enlightenment and even undergone a complete rebirth.
Seeing the stellar energy cloaking his sword.
He must have fully comprehended what martial arts pursued and entered the stage of glimpsing harmony.
From the perspective of a senior looking at a junior in the martial world, it was a joyous occasion—a once-in-a-millennium prodigy had finally broken his shell and taken flight.
"Still, it's too much for you."
After a brief silence.
The two men clashed once more.
The sword seeking to protect Myo Narang, and Myo Hwaseo and Heuk Mangsaeng, wove beautiful lines of starlight.
The dagger aimed at the one who had driven all he had into ruin scattered darkness toward the star blocking its path.
Spear-sword and dagger collided, ground against each other, slammed together.
Creating fierce whooshes of air, glancing off, raining down.
Dang Wuryang's poison qi still overflowed without end, and matching that fierce momentum, Geum Sihyeon's sword danced wildly, wrapped in starlight, poison, and flames.
Had Geum Sihyeon reached the realm of harmony where he could not only wrap his sword in starlight but project it outward, the fight might have ended sooner.
"I told you it's too much, you rascal."
"This is really insane..."
Even having reached the transcendent peak, the gap in intensity didn't close easily.
Of course, Dang Wuryang wasn't unscathed either.
Whenever the slightest opening appeared, Geum Sihyeon's sword surged forward, leaving shallow cuts on Dang Wuryang's flesh bit by bit.
Feeling the poisoned blood oozing from the sliced skin within, Dang Wuryang heightened his focus once more.
Suppressing the overflowing solo poison energy meant to annihilate everything around him, channeling it into his long spear.
"Now, let's end this."
Dang Wuryang whispered gloomily.
So long ago he could scarcely remember.
Narang had been left alone near the grove.
She had been so young that she didn't even realize her parents were gone, unaware of her situation.
She had merely screamed into the endless darkness to affirm her own existence.
- Kyaa?
If Myo Hwaseo hadn't appeared.
If her hand hadn't grasped Narang's tiny, frail one and lifted her into an embrace.
She would probably have been devoured by beasts right there.
From that moment, the Beast Palace became Narang's home, her playground, and everyone there her family.
Having been abandoned at such a young age that she couldn't even remember her previous family might have been a blessing in disguise.
But five years ago again.
She lost everyone except Myo Hwaseo and Heuk Mangsaeng.
Two losses.
Even with Myo Hwaseo always by her side.
At fifteen, it was far too young to bear the weight of being left alone.
She hadn't fully closed off her heart because her innate kindness resembled her birth mother, and the lively Myo Hwaseo, who had taken on the role of her foster mother, had kept it open.
But.
In the midst of betrayal from Heuk Mangsaeng—whom she trusted and relied on as much as Myo Hwaseo—for taking away all their family, and the contradictory emotions of still being unable to let go of her love for him.
The girl who had come to attach the surname Myo to her name Narang.
Began to crave warmth from the depths of her heart.
And.
A fierce determination took root: never again, never again would she let those around her go.
"Young master, Young master...!"
After evacuating all the beasts, Myo Narang ignored the poison qi and turned back, racing into the forest once more.
The antidote elixir Geum Sihyeon had given her had purified some of it, but a numbing sensation crept up from her fingertips.
But.
It didn't matter.
Her terribly cute and lovable friend.
Aside from Cheon Luri, everyone she had opened her heart to was contained within him.
Myo Hwaseo, Heuk Mangsaeng.
And Geum Sihyeon.
The third loss.
Felt like something she could no longer endure.
She would die with them if she had to.
She would etch into her eyes the face of the enemy who had pushed Myo Hwaseo, Heuk Mangsaeng, and Geum Sihyeon to this state.
With that resolve, she forgot even the shortness of breath from the surging poison.
: : No, Narang! Don't come! : :
Ignoring Myo Hwaseo's scream-like cry.
She ran, and ran again.
And at the end of it.
The reliable back that had always seemed so sturdy, one she could entrust her future to.
Was fighting fiercely, wrapped in brilliant light, yet felt endlessly precarious.
No.
I can't lose him too...!
"Young masteeeer──!"
Just before Dang Wuryang unleashed his full-powered poison palm.
From behind Geum Sihyeon, near the forest already rotting away with poison qi, a woman's loud cry rang out.
Dang Wuryang glanced there out of guilt.
Because he clearly recognized the unforgivable act he was committing.
To never forget the tragedy wrought by his own hands, to engrave that misfortune fully into his eyes.
But.
"...!"
The moment he took in the distant woman's figure.
Dang Wuryang's pupils shook violently.
How on earth.
How could he ever forget, even in his dreams.
Those sky-blue eyes exactly like his own.
The brown hair that fluttered softly like his mother's.
The adorable sight of her clutching his finger, babbling shyly.
...The precarious wail he had faced that day, as she leaped off the cliff in her mother's arms.
How, how could he forget.
The image of his child, buried deep in the chest that had wept bloody tears day after day in hollow emptiness ever since that moment.
Even after seventeen years had passed.
How could he not recognize her.
No, no.
...It would be better if he pretended not to.
Yes.
Just knowing she was alive was enough.
Dang Wuryang felt the venomous intent in his heart melt away gently, the poison qi trembling in his grip scattering into the empty air.
The next moment.
Puhook──
In the gap born from laying down his heart.
In the midst of the solo poison strike that was the source of his sins.
The cheeky, sly rascal's.
The young man's with a promising future.
His fellow disciple under the same medical arts master.
──Perhaps, the man who could have become his son-in-law.
Brilliant starlight bloomed.
Even as his consciousness faded into the distance.
A relieved smile graced the lips of the Poison Demon, forever shrouded in delusion.
Seeing Geum Sihyeon's anxious face as he rushed over and placed his hand on the poison spear.
Feeling the pure, refreshing energy begin to flow through his meridians right after.
Dang Wuryang's vision went black.