Chapter 203
Chapter 203
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 203
Chapter Title: Horizon of Promise, Now I Go to You (4)
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10.
“Y-... Ye-jin...?”
Ryu Hyun-ji finally managed to pry her lips apart.
But Do Ye-jin kept approaching with that unnatural, puppet-like gait.
Her face was blank.
Her eyes were glazed over.
This isn’t Ye-jin...
Do Ye-jin had always been the most fragile girl Ryu Hyun-ji had ever met. She put on a tough front to hide it, but...
「Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.......」
「Grrrraaaaaaaaaaa.......」
Black & White.
The illusory wolves, now split into two, bared their fangs from either side of Ryu Hyun-ji in midair.
“N-No! Don’t bite! You absolutely can’t bite!”
In response to that impossible command came a cold sneer.
「Heh heh heh heh ha ha ha... The shaman bitch sure loves her friend.」
Just hearing it made her...
consciousness blur... an overwhelming divine presence.
This is...
Ryu Hyun-ji felt a dizzying ache in her throat as she glared toward the source of the voice.
「Too bad. That girl called Do Ye-jin is gone now.」
The pure white noble youth, Saito Nan.
A beautiful boy with long white hair cascading to his waist. He wore an expression close to blank as he sneered.
“What...?”
What... does that mean?
Ryu Hyun-ji blinked. Ye-jin’s gone? She’s standing right there plain as day?
「She held out pretty well, but she broke in the end. Her ego vanished, and now she’s just a subordinate obeying my command.」
Ryu Hyun-ji’s face went pale.
Lies, it’s a lie. No, wait. Brainwashing... He said brainwashing, right?
Ryu Hyun-ji sucked in a breath, then stared straight at Saito Nan.
In that case.
If I just take you down while you’re defenseless... I can save Ye-jin.
「You think that puny soul of yours can target me? Know your place.」
Did he read her intent in her gaze?
Saito Nan burst into mocking laughter.
That was the moment.
A squelching, heavy footfall made her whip her head around...
What... is that...?
...Ryu Hyun-ji felt every hair on her body stand on end in primal terror.
The god birthed by Hwang Ga-in was approaching.
That massive, grotesque snail body with wriggling legs and tentacles... and the bizarre spiral carved into its shell.
「No need to tremble like that. I’m not planning to feed you to my clone.」
Clone...?
Saito Nan floated lightly onto the shell, then looked down at Ryu Hyun-ji with a smile.
「It’s a rare experiment. I need at least one meaningful result, don’t I, Arishel’rap?」
The moment Saito Nan said that.
Do Ye-jin leaned forward as if about to collapse...
Rigid Body Reinforcement: Leg Strength.
...Her foot sank deep into the ground as she charged at full speed.
Huh...?
Boosted by the subordinate’s power.
She barreled in at a speed no ordinary hunter could even react to.
Too fast... I’m too late...!
Ryu Hyun-ji barely twisted her body, but she sensed the despair closing in.
Do Ye-jin closed the gap in an instant.
Just as her fingertips were about to plunge into Ryu Hyun-ji’s chest.
Shuuuaaaaaak───────!
A hefty blade fused with a shield.
Slashed fiercely into the tiny gap between Ryu Hyun-ji and Do Ye-jin.
──────Kuuuuwuuuung!
Do Ye-jin immediately reined in her momentum.
She leaped back, widening the distance again.
“You idiot...!”
Clang! Heo Cheon-gyeom separated the shield-sword back into shield and longsword.
At the same time.
He blocked the space between Ryu Hyun-ji and Do Ye-jin, shouting irritably.
“Get your head straight?!”
“B-But... what about Ye-jin──”
“──That’s not Do Ye-jin! It’s just a fucking subordinate that needs killing!”
“No, it’s not!”
“The hell it isn’t! That bitch just tried to kill you!”
She’s brainwashed, that’s why...!
As Ryu Hyun-ji tried to protest through tears, Saito Nan let out a mocking huff.
「How curious. You just swung your sword at empty air on purpose, and now you say that?」
Heo Cheon-gyeom coughed awkwardly at the words, then went on the offensive.
“Gentleman’s Special. Gives total handicaps to total scrubs.”
Starlight shimmered from the blade.
The starlight coiled around it, swirling blindingly bright.
Unique skill, 《Star Radiance Blade》.
A technique that explosively amplified the blade’s cutting power, enough to slice through human flesh in one stroke.
「Human excuses are always so pathetic. Fine, let’s see you fight for real.」
Before Saito Nan even finished, Do Ye-jin kicked off the ground again.
“Speed... fuck...!”
She’d clearly been far away.
But in one blink, her hand chop was swinging down from overhead. Ryu Hyun-ji cried out desperately.
“G-Go easy! D-Don’t kill her!”
Thud────!
He raised his shield to block the hand chop.
In that instant, her toe shot toward his exposed abdomen.
“Guh────”
Heavy.
Agony like his lungs were being crushed.
“─────Heok!”
Heo Cheon-gyeom doubled over for a split second, then got flung back by the impact, tumbling across the snow.
This shit...!
You go easy on someone you can actually go easy on!
He forced his spin to stop and snapped his head up, but...
「The more I use it, the more I like this body. Good thing I dealt with Im Ga-hee quick.」
...Do Ye-jin was already right in front of him, fist cocked back. This is... dangerous?
“Blaaaaaaaaack────!”
Ryu Hyun-ji, who’d been watching the tragedy in silence, finally wailed.
Her familiar obeyed its master’s command.
In that moment of crisis, the black wolf charged fiercely and sank its fangs into Do Ye-jin’s shoulder.
“……………………!”
The star fangs dug deep.
But Do Ye-jin didn’t flinch from the pain.
She grabbed Black by the scruff.
Even as her own flesh tore away, she yanked it, slammed it into the snow, and kicked it hard.
「It hurts, it hurts, it hurts.......」
Black flew through the air and rolled to Ryu Hyun-ji’s feet.
“B-Black! A-Are you okay?!”
How much did it hurt?
The weakly whimpering body had shrunk to fist-size. Had the combat gigantification released from the fatal blow?
“Ye-jin... you really...?!”
Ryu Hyun-ji looked up with a face on the verge of tears and froze.
Plip... plip plip...
Droplets falling to the snow at Do Ye-jin’s feet. Huh? One’s red... the other’s clear.
Ye-jin... is crying...?
She cautiously raised her gaze, and sure enough, she was.
Her refined features remained expressionless... but tears streamed down both cheeks.
She’s still... still in there?
Ye-jin’s still inside?
Ryu Hyun-ji felt her eyes heat up, but... she quickly wiped the tears.
This isn’t the time to cry.
She’s there. So think. A way to save Ye-jin.
In that moment, a memory flashed through her mind.
Wait. Yeah, that could work.
But... to pull it off, I need to catch them off guard.
“Ch-Cheon-gyeom! Over here! Run! Hurry!”
“What? That way’s... blocked!”
“It’s not! Hurry up!”
Ryu Hyun-ji suddenly spun around and bolted toward the divine palace.
This was open terrain with clear sightlines.
But inside the building with limited visibility... she could try ‘that.’
「Ah ha ha ha ha... Even your struggles are entertaining. Perfect for practice.」
Saito Nan sneered at the boy and girl’s retreating backs, then nodded at Do Ye-jin.
「Arishel’rap, chase them down. It’ll be fun to cut your fate with your own hands.」
11.
[Today’s Weather Alert]
- April 10, 2045: ‘Clear’
The early spring sun bathed the land in beautiful light.
What a... nice day.
School rooftop.
Do Ye-jin leaned on the railing, gazing at the sky while slurping orange juice.
But isn’t the sun dead?
What? A sudden wave of dissonance. The sun’s dead? When?
“...No, just lend me some braincash. I’ll pay it back for sure.”
That’s when footsteps came up the stairs. Along with a cocky voice.
“No, uh, that was for buying books...”
“Fuck no, books or your friend—which matters more?”
Laughter from three or four guys.
“Sigh... Aren’t we friends? You’re that kind of asshole?”
Soon, the owners of the voices climbed onto the rooftop.
Five guys.
The biggest one had his arm slung around the smallest one’s shoulders.
Obvious as hell.
This is why guys are... Do Ye-jin sighed and crumpled her juice carton.
“Wow, shaking someone down right now?”
At that.
The three lackeys flinched and glanced at Do Ye-jin.
The so-called delinquents.
Hwang Suk-gyu alone glared, then snickered.
“Shake down? Beeeeep? People might misunderstand. We’re just borrowing, bitch.”
“That’s borrowing?”
“Yeah, borrowing~ Oh, you wouldn’t get it, you friendless loser.”
Do Ye-jin started to scowl, but gasped and took a deep breath.
「Humans really are pathetically amusing.」
Because of the unfamiliar voice echoing somewhere in her head.
「No time for this. Just kill them all and move past this time segment, Arishel’rap.」
A sharp headache hit at the same time.
What is this... voice? As Do Ye-jin clutched her forehead with a groan.
“Didn’t your mom teach you?”
Hwang Suk-gyu stopped there, then said this with an extremely sorry look.
“Oh right. Your mom’s in America, right? Gone.”
In that instant, the blood in Do Ye-jin’s body ran ice cold.
Reverse scale, reverse scale.
This bastard just... touched what he absolutely shouldn’t.
“Hey, my bad. Mentioning your mom to a motherless bitch—my mouth sure───”
In that instant, she kicked off the ground.
Her whole body moved at an absurdly fast speed.
“────W-What the fuck?!”
Terrifying power loaded into her leg.
Hwang Suk-gyu’s swung fist came slow like slo-mo, crystal clear.
- First, get into stance.
The opening Hwang Suk-gyu exposed.
She kicked his side hard.
- This is like an application of rigid body reinforcement.
As if she’d once learned killer martial arts from someone... her body moved on its own.
- Geon-woo hyung, you think that idiot gets it from one explanation?
- Don’t be like that, Dong-sang. She’ll get it soon.
As Hwang Suk-gyu wheezed and crumpled, Do Ye-jin felt tears running down her cheek.
What... is this voice?
She saw Hwang Suk-gyu’s lackeys reluctantly raise their fists.
“Y-You, crazy bitch!”
Do Ye-jin assumed her stance again.
Clearly, definitely... unfamiliar voices.
Why does it hurt so much?
Why... do they feel so nostalgic?
12.
The drowned corpse was half-submerged on a riverbank in Gangbuk-gu.
“Wake up. Come on, wake up. Hey~ Hellooo~?”
Gong Min-young dragged the corpse out with her shepherd’s staff, then poked it or shook its shoulder.
Is this for real...?
It’s been like three days in this icy water... How hasn’t it sunk, and why’s its heart still beating?
“What now, Ering?”
Gong Min-young scratched her pet dog Eringga’s chin and asked. Eringga licked her hand in reply.
“Kyuu, riuuung.”
“Right? You think so too? Time for CPR. Reaaally don’t wanna, but no choice.”
Gong Min-young hummed as she knelt by the corpse’s head.
“Hmm humm humm humm hmm hmm hmm~!”
She tilted the corpse’s head back slightly to clear the airway.
And... those luscious lips.
Just as she leaned in to cover them with hers...
“............?”
The corpse... unbelievably... slowly lifted its eyelids.
“Sleep well, oppa?”
“...?”
“This is... uh... you know.”
In that instant, the man and woman’s awkward gazes tangled in midair.
Gong Min-young made her call.
Whatever, it’s busted anyway. She pressed her lips to his,
“Puhaaaack!”
Something cold flooded her mouth.
This is...?
Kim Baek-jun, who should’ve been a corpse... spewed out the ice water that had risen to his chin.
“Whoa... what a reaction...!”
Gong Min-young, drenched in the water, grinned like an innocent girl.
“Oppa! Was that your first kiss by any chance?”