Chapter 195
Chapter 195
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 195
Chapter Title: After the Storm Passes
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"Damn it! Don't think you've won just because of this! Next time we meet, I'll sink my fangs into your throats, so you'd better prepare yourselves!"
Barshutain spat those words before pulling off some strange trick and vanishing from the area in an instant.
The battle appeared to end with him fleeing on the surface.
"Hoo..."
"Haaah..."
-Thud
-Plop
The moment he disappeared, the Sword Empress and I collapsed right there, formality be damned.
You might think it was a shame he got away, but it had been a precarious fight in many ways.
We'd pressured him heavily in a 2-on-1, which gave us a clear advantage, but he seemed to have an ace up his sleeve. If he'd used it, we might have been the ones in trouble.
Whether he couldn't use it or thought it too valuable here, he chose to retreat, letting us end the battle with minimal damage. What a relief.
"Is it really okay to let him go like that? Shouldn't we have finished him off here, even at the cost of our lives?"
"Records say he was killed before, yet he showed up resurrected somewhere else. If we could erase him from this world for good with our lives, it might've been worth trying, but otherwise, the losses would be too great."
"A guy with that level of regeneration who revives even after death..."
"Well, he's not completely invincible. It might take time, but we could find a way to kill him for real. It's suspicious as hell, though... We could always beg that White Witch for help."
-Pat pat
I massaged my slightly weakened legs, stood up, and brushed the dirt off my skirt.
"Alright, let's go. I know you've been through hell, but we don't have time to rest. We need to help mop up the remnants."
"...Reminds me of twenty years ago. How did we fight battles like this every day back then...?"
"Maybe because we were younger."
In the end, we shared an awkward laugh, got to our feet, and headed toward the battlefield where the fighting was winding down.
Barshutain had turned the unorthodox sects into bloodsuckers and brought them along, but they weren't a massive force to begin with.
The battle was ending in victory for the orthodox sects.
...Or so I thought.
"...You're from the Demonic Cult?"
"That's right."
After the fighting stopped, Yeo Socheon spotted people among the unorthodox fighters using martial arts no orthodox warrior would ever employ. Only then did he uncover the truth.
The Demonic Cult forces had arrived due to Divine Lord's absence and seen the orthodox and unorthodox clashing, so they'd joined the orthodox side.
A man who introduced himself as one of the Demonic Cult elders seemed to be the current representative here.
"...But why did the Demonic Cult help the orthodox sects?"
"Orders from the Cult Leader."
"...Pardon?"
"She told us to avoid clashing with the orthodox as much as possible and obtain what we want through peaceful means."
...The Demonic Cult Leader was obviously her, the Heavenly Demon.
She'd given that order?
"...Why?"
"How am I, a mere cultist, supposed to know the will of our sky-like Leader? She must have her reasons."
Even the Demonic Cult warrior saying this wore an expression of clear dissatisfaction.
He called her sky-like, yet he was unhappy too.
And understandably so.
No matter the orders, telling them not to clash with the orthodox and to get what they wanted peacefully?
Considering the mindset of those who joined the Demonic Cult, it was utterly absurd.
'What the hell is that woman thinking...?'
Of course, I wasn't complaining.
If that monstrous woman promised not to touch us unless provoked, we had every reason to be grateful, not disappointed.
The problem was I had no idea what her intentions were.
It could be a ploy to lure us into complacency, like those old fogeys who used to push for all-out war with the Demonic Cult.
'Hah.'
Enough with the nonsense.
If she wanted to attack, she could wipe out even a Nine Great Sects faction single-handedly. Why bother with tricks?
Whether we let our guard down or prepared fully, one kick from her would shatter everything. Luring us into complacency? What bullshit.
But the most likely reason being 'too much hassle'?
I didn't want her to move, but it left me uneasy anyway.
No matter how lazy she was about attacking, how many could stay calm with a tiger right beside them?
"...We'll accept your proposal. Tell us what you want first; I'll record it and reference it during distribution later."
"Oh, and by any chance, is there someone called the Faceless Golden Ghost here?"
"...Why do you ask?"
"The Leader inquired about his whereabouts. I heard he's not affiliated anywhere but has strong ties to the orthodox. Do you know him?"
"...No idea."
...Guess I need to retract that tiger metaphor.
'What the hell did you do while you were there, you idiot!!!!!'
The tiger was already eyeing us, licking its chops.
"Mm..."
I'm tired.
I don't know how long I slept, but I'm still exhausted.
'I wanna sleep more...'
"Get up. No matter how sleepy you are, you can't sleep through meals."
"Eating wakes you up..."
"Get up anyway. Sleep helps recovery, but you can't neglect nutrition."
"Five more minutes..."
"If you don't get up now, I'll splash water on your face."
"...Hing."
Hearing Master's voice, I cautiously opened my eyes.
The breathtaking valley was right in front of me, just like always...
"?"
Wait. Master?
"????????????"
"Why the panicked look? Still half-asleep?"
"N-No... Why is Master...?"
My drowsy, dream-hazed mind finally kicked back into gear, recalling what happened before I slept.
"...Ah."
Right at the dramatic moment when Dang Ayoung was on the brink of death, Master appeared, saved her, and subdued the bloodsucker.
Exhausted, I'd passed out cold.
"M-Master..."
With the danger past and things stable, the emotions I'd suppressed amid the urgency came flooding back.
And the strongest was longing.
"Sob... Waaah...! Master...!"
"There, there. I'm right here."
"Sob... I... sob... missed you... so much..."
I buried myself in Master's embrace, just like when I slept in the mountains, and let the tears flow.
"Sob... Hic... Sob..."
"How did a crybaby like you survive out there?"
"Outside... sob... I hardly ever cried."
"Sure, the kid who cried just because I stepped out for water while you slept."
...True enough.
When Master first took me in, the trauma from the outside world lingered heavily, so I depended on her a lot. Sometimes, even her brief absence while sleeping would trigger near-panic.
I was young then.
I think that's when I developed the habit of burying my face in her chest to sleep.
I remember starting because I'd have nightmares from trauma while sleeping beside her, and she'd hold me like a baby, letting me hear her heartbeat.
'...When did it turn into this?'
Her chest was so ample that to hear the heartbeat properly, I had to burrow deep. Maybe that's how it happened.
Later, when I was older, I said it felt wrong for a man and woman—even master and disciple—to sleep like that, but she brushed it off. Even right before leaving the mountain as an adult, I was still sleeping that way.
Anyway, I'd shown all my weak sides to Master long ago, so this spoiled behavior came naturally.
"Sob... Sob..."
"Enough crying. You're soaking my clothes."
"Sob... You're the one I nurse from anyway..."
"...Hm. Come to think of it, I didn't pack spares."
"I'll buy you new ones. I've made good money out there."
"Good, good. But how about getting up now? Spoil yourself where no one's watching."
"...Huh?"
At those words, I panicked, released my arms from around Master, and looked behind us.
"...Eh, what? Master's raised me like her own parents; a little spoiling's fine."
"..."
There was Dang Ayoung, smiling awkwardly, and the bound bloodsucker woman staring holes through us.
"...Dang Ayoung aside, why's that woman still here?"
"Gotta keep her where we can see if she tries anything."
Hm. Makes sense logically. Can't argue.
"That's not the point! Then she sees everything we do!"
"If that's an issue, blindfold her."
"...Wouldn't that be too cruel?"
"So what do you want? Get up and eat. Your companion's cooking is decent."
"Call me Dang Ayoung, Mas— What should I call you?"
"No need for titles when we'll part soon anyway."
"Don't be so prickly. Tell me your favorite foods or fruits; I'll prepare them as best I can!"
"I want grapes."
"...They're not in season now!"
"That's why I said it."
Master being curt with Dang Ayoung, and Dang Ayoung trying to win her over.
It involved me, but jumping into women's talk scared me.
I quietly slipped out of bed and sat at the table where the meal was already laid out.
-Stare
"...Something to say?"
"..."
Whether I was in bed or at the table, the bloodsucker woman kept staring silently. I made a sour face.
'...Come to think of it, what does she eat?'
I should ask if bloodsuckers need meals.
It'd be trouble if she needed food and we let her starve to death unknowingly.
"...Sigh."
Just yesterday, she was threatening me and trying to kill Dang Ayoung, and now here I was worrying if she'd eaten.
What a pathetic sight. I picked up my chopsticks and started eating.
It'd only been a couple of days, but it felt like I'd finally reclaimed a sliver of peaceful daily life.