Chapter 65
Chapter 65
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Confrontation
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"I-it's all here now. Just exit this alley, and it'll be right in front of you..."
"Good work."
-Pshk!
I dispatched the man who'd guided me and started heading toward the tavern.
'...It's ridiculously big and flashy.'
Could a mere tavern really be this massive?
I wondered if the surrounding sects or officials wouldn't interfere, but after hearing it originally belonged to the Hao Clan, I figured it made sense.
With their grip on most of the information in the martial world and beyond, something like this probably wasn't a big deal for them.
I wasn't curious about the finer details of why they'd chosen independence.
I'd deliver the warning as requested, get the info on Yuseong when I returned, and that would be that.
'I wonder what he's doing right now...'
Is he seducing other women like he did to me?
Or, shaken by what happened with me, has he sworn off women and been living alone?
The latter would feel amazing.
Even if it's a negative emotion, the fact that he remembers me enough to avoid other women...
Just imagining it made me want to hug that commendable boy tight—but I knew realistically how unlikely that was.
How likely was it that a boy that young could survive alone with his dantian ruined?
I figured the odds were terribly low.
Even if he just begged on the streets, would people—especially women—leave that face alone?
No way.
They might not rape him outright, but they could take him in to raise and then have their way with him—or worst case, sell him to a male brothel.
-Thud
A heavy lump sank in my chest.
'Sold to a male brothel...?'
Just thinking about it made me want to vomit.
Other women's filthy hands touching Yuseong's body, him struggling and resisting at first, but gradually getting used to it over time... eventually servicing women himself for his own safety...
'Urk!'
No.
That can't happen.
Even being defiled by one person would be horrific, but by several...?
By women whose names he doesn't even know...?
No way.
The thought of Yuseong being used dozens, hundreds of times by those bitches made my vision go red with murderous rage.
If Yuseong's become a male prostitute or something like that...
First, I'd kill the woman holding him.
No, I wouldn't let her die easily.
Before she dies, I'd torture her as painfully as possible. Make her regret being alive so much that she'd beg for death, then give her the most gruesome, agonizing end imaginable.
-Hummm
'Ah.'
Looking around, people were giving me a wide berth, fleeing from the killing intent I'd unconsciously released.
I didn't particularly want attention, but since I was here to deliver a warning, it might not be bad for establishing dominance.
Still, I wasn't here to start a fight with blades, just to warn them, so I toned down the killing intent a bit and approached the entrance.
There had definitely been women who looked like whores at the door earlier, but they'd apparently fled from my aura.
'Guess I'll have to go in and ask.'
-Jingle
"...Is the manager here?"
As I opened the door and stepped in, one woman was breathing heavily while cradling someone in a cloak.
There seemed to be other women too, but they didn't register.
My heightened senses zeroed in on the scent wafting from the man.
A staggering stench of alcohol, but beneath it, an even stronger body odor.
And that scent was so familiar.
Exactly like ten years ago—no, even stronger, not weakened at all. The fragrance that enchanted women.
-Shiii
His face was hidden by the large cloak, but I knew instinctively.
How could I not recognize him just because I couldn't see his face or build?
My Yuseong, the one I love most in the world.
But...
"...Yuseong?"
Who the hell is that woman?
And what's with the booze stench radiating from his body?
Cold killing intent began spreading outward.
'Good thing... I found him first...' It had been worth sending that woman to an area with no customers. Who would've thought our deputy manager would bring him here. I'd reward her for her "merit" later. For now, priority was hiding this guest... no, striking first. No telling when that woman might sense something and come this way, so I needed to hurry into a room, lock the door, and get a taste. -Slurp 'I'll think about what comes after when the time comes.' How could I predict what happens next? With a supreme fruit like this in front of me, I couldn't just walk away for some vague reason. Besides, if I don't eat it now, it'll haunt me forever. 'Not the time for this. Hurry and take him to a room...' As I swallowed hard amid happy fantasies— -Shiii -Flinch! An overwhelming killing intent hit from right nearby. Like she'd spotted her lifelong enemy. 'W-what is this?' I whipped my head toward the source and saw a cloaked woman filling the entire entrance with massive killing intent directed at me. And the most shocking part— 'Why me of all people?!' —was that I was the target of that terrifying aura. -Shiii Instinctively sensing mortal danger, I cast a spell to wrap myself in a massive shield. -Kagagak!
"Hngh...!"
The sword sliced toward the shield in an instant but halted right before my face.
"[E-explode!]" -Boom! I detonated the shield, sending blood thorns—fragments of the shield—flying at the assailant. As the recoil pushed her back, I thought frantically. 'W-what do I do? Why's she targeting me? What grudge could she have?' Honestly, too many possibilities came to mind. This tavern wasn't mine from the start; I'd taken it after dealing with the previous owner, crushed any friction with local merchants unilaterally, so it wouldn't be surprising if an enemy sent an assassin. -Glance I glanced at the man in my arm. 'But why now of all times!!' If only one day—no, two hours later—I could've enjoyed him fully. Why now? If gods exist in this world, this couldn't happen. How does the timing line up like this? -Grind I had to choose. Coldly speaking, the man in my arms was dead weight right now. Now that I knew the assailant was after my life, I couldn't fight while holding him. Losing one arm in combat is a huge weakness. 'Ughhh...' Even after deciding, I hesitated. I could deal with her quick and pick him back up, but I hated even a moment apart. I was already that captivated by his scent and feel. 'Maybe fight while holding him...' As I wavered on that final option, her cloak fluttered, and our eyes met. Blood-red eyes. Blazing hot yet coldly frozen—a contradictory gaze that filled me with primal terror. The instinctive fear of beholding something that shouldn't exist. -Dash!
"D-deputy manager! Take care of him!"
"Huh?!"
I hurled him toward the deputy manager and faced the assailant. Unless she's an idiot, any opening I give, she'll— -Tadak!
"Yuseong!!!" '...Huh?' The assailant rushed not toward me, but him. ...Why? Are they acquaintances? -Dash!
"Urk!"
"Ahh... Yuseong... Yuseong... It's been so long... I missed you... Thank goodness you're alive..."
"Ueeh..."
Stunned and frozen, the assailant snatched him up. She hugged him with one arm, babbling in a clearly unhinged state. Watching her, one possibility hit me. 'No way, is that woman...' The massive killing intent toward me. But as soon as she set him down? Straight to him, embracing him. And talk of "it's been so long" and "I missed you."
Only one possibility fit. 'How many women did he enchant to drag even a lunatic like that here?!' She was one of the women he'd bewitched. Anyway, perfect. We're in the same boat, her and I. If I persuade her nicely, we could share him, take turns, and I'd get my chance too...
"Yuseong... just wait a moment... Sis will deal with that filthy rag bitch quick and come back... Hang on just a bit..."
The assailant hid him behind her and thrust her sword at me again. -Gulp Not the mood for negotiations. Even after taking him, her terrifying killing intent toward me hadn't faded a bit. -Drip drip 'W-what do I do?' As I fretted over surviving someone radiating that much aura— -Pew! A sword flew at her. Not thrown, but flying as if with a will of its own... -Bang!
"Kyaa!"
It struck her with the flat of the blade, sending her flying. I felt some energy explode from the sword just before. -Tadak!
"What is the meaning of this?!"
The woman who'd competed with me for him earlier came rushing from the direction the sword flew, looking frantic.
"Are you alright?! Did that wretch do anything to you?!"
"Dizzy..."
As she grabbed him, still out of it, and said something, I stood there with my mouth agape. '...What the hell did I just witness?' Not just manipulating the sword, but exploding qi from it? A technique even swordmasters from my past life couldn't use. And she's doing it—a woman who looks barely sword user level... '...Is she really just a sword user?' Don't swordsmen at higher realms leak no qi outward, making them seem weaker? If it's like that...
"Good... If anything happened to you, I really would..." -Chill I might've just picked a fight with someone utterly untouchable. And then, from the assailant embedded in the wall, a voice came.
"...M-Master...?"
A voice leaking utter disbelief.