Chapter 216
Chapter 216
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 216
Chapter Title: In the Memories, the Main God of the Holy Mountain (2)
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5.
「GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」
It was a fight in the blink of an eye.
The moment Heo Cheon-gyeom slammed his sword into the shield, he mounted Do Ye-jin’s body and pinned down both her arms.
“Hurry! Hurry up…… White! This crazy bitch…… her strength…… fuck, she’s a monster……!”
For Heo Cheon-gyeom, it was a single moment devoid of any sanity.
「Smell, smell, smell, where.」
White sniffed around, pawing at Do Ye-jin’s head.
“Ugh…… ughhhhhh……!”
Do Ye-jin thrashed wildly, trying to escape the restraint.
“You fucking hothead! How long are you gonna keep flailing around?!”
Drenched in blood from head to toe, Heo Cheon-gyeom pinned down her limbs desperately and shouted.
「Shealzbel. Help Arishel’rab. Devour that human.」
Saitonan commanded with the [Ice Wheel Ring], ordering the snail god to charge forward.
It felt eternally long.
Until White yanked out an invisible tentacle from Do Ye-jin’s hair—it took just one second.
「……!」
That instant.
The frost orb gripped in Saitonan’s hands, the [Ice Wheel Ring], spat out a pale flash……
Shwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
……Do Ye-jin’s body convulsed wildly, then slumped limply to the floor the next moment.
“D-Did…… it work?”
“It worked……! R-Run! Take Ye-jin and go!”
“I know!”
The moment Heo Cheon-gyeom hoisted Do Ye-jin over his shoulder, Shealzbel shot two tentacles toward them.
“Wh-White!”
At Ryu Hyun-ji’s command, who had just joined Heo Cheon-gyeom, the divine beast wolf tore into the tentacles with its claws and ripped them with its fangs.
「WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG───!」
It was the roar of a god.
An alien echo infused with malevolent will that overwhelmed humans. A force that made even a Hunter’s body writhe in agony.
“Ugh…… ughhh……!”
Ryu Hyun-ji gritted her teeth.
Her whole body trembled as if it were being crushed. Her brain throbbed like it would burst, blood spurting from her eyes and nose.
But…… but……!
Heo Cheon-gyeom staggered as if he might collapse for a moment, but he clenched his teeth and endured the malevolence.
Just a little more, just a bit longer.
Clinging only to the impossible hope that they could meet again.
The boy and girl began to run.
6.
「If this is the final memory, we might uncover Edelweiss’s true intentions.」
A voice echoed in her head.
How many times had it repeated already? With that voice…… the scenery shifted once more.
- Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!
Where was this?
If she had to describe it simply, it was like an ancient Eastern changing room.
- How do I look?
There…… she saw it again.
Her younger self……
Cutely dressed in a dark blue outfit that resembled both hanbok and yukata.
- You look…… absolutely perfect!
Then, a woman with ash-gray hair appeared behind young Do Ye-jin.
- Really, Mommy? For real?
Mommy……?
A sharp headache stabbed at her.
Before she could think or understand…… tears welled up in both eyes.
She didn’t know why or who.
But she instinctively knew. This woman…… was someone incredibly precious to her.
- Who do you take after to be this pretty? Hmm……?
The ash-gray woman affectionately hugged young Do Ye-jin, rubbing her face against the girl’s head.
- It really suits me?
- Yeah. Really, truly! Come on, shall we go? Daddy’s waiting.
This memory…… lingered unusually long. Several times longer than the others.
- I rode a seesaw last time.
The memory of chattering away while holding hands between the suited man and the ash-gray woman.
- A seesaw?
- Yeah. Want to try it with me, Mommy?
The girl laughed endlessly while riding the seesaw with the woman in the garden…… then sat across from them at the dining table.
- Daddy, what’s this?
- Birthday cake.
- Wow! It smells super sweet!
Was it because she was an observer?
Do Ye-jin could see everything in the scene.
The shadow of sorrow in the eyes of the suited man and ash-gray woman.
That’s why she understood.
The two of them…… were desperately savoring this moment.
- Today is…… Arisiel, the day you were born…… and the day you’ll be born again.
The moment young Do Ye-jin asked,
- Daddy, what did Mommy just say?
A heavily armed subordinate approached the man, bowed, and whispered lowly.
- The final preparations are complete…… and Yotiatos is arriving.
With a sigh of “So soon……” the suited man nodded.
- Wait. It’ll only take a moment.
Watching that, the ash-gray-haired woman finally hugged young Do Ye-jin and began to sob.
- I’m…… so sorry…….
- Mommy?
Young Do Ye-jin, held in her arms, just kept tilting her head.
- I’m sorry…… I’m sorry…….
That grief. That sorrow.
Do Ye-jin felt the anguish in those sobs soaking her own heart right now.
- You’ll do great…… so…… we can…… meet again…….
What is it? What could it be?
I’ve never been here before.
So why, why, why…… does my heart hurt so much…….
- Stop. There’s no time. They’ll be here soon. We have to seal her before it’s too late.
The suited man patted the ash-gray woman’s shoulder, and she reluctantly pulled away, still sobbing.
- Arisiel.
This time, the man knelt on one knee before young Do Ye-jin and shaped something with his hands.
- It’s pretty…… what is it?
Young Do Ye-jin tilted her head, and the response came.
- Edelweiss.
Do Ye-jin swallowed hard.
Edelweiss…… Edelweiss…… Edelweiss……?
- It’s the flower my mother gave me every birthday.
The man placed the flower in young Do Ye-jin’s hand.
- That’s Daddy’s name.
- No. It’s a flower that means [precious memory].
- Mmm…… it smells so good.
- Yeah, doesn’t it?
He caressed her small face with trembling hands.
- May the scent of this flower…… guide you back to us…….
The elegant dark blue petals flickered.
The flower.
Suddenly emitted a brilliant flash…… and transformed into a reed basket-like object the next moment.
- Huh……? Daddy, I suddenly feel…… so…… sleepy…….
Young Do Ye-jin dozed off while sitting, then collapsed as if fainting.
- Arisiel.
The suited man caught the falling girl’s body. He carefully laid her inside the reed basket.
- Make sure…… to find us…….
The woman kissed Do Ye-jin’s forehead, then whispered through choked sobs.
- Then we’ll…… meet again…… then…….
Was it because the memory synced with young Do Ye-jin’s viewpoint? The memory ended there.
Thud……………………………….
The moment the reed basket closed.
Her vision plunged into darkness all at once.
………………Ah.
The next moment, a single tear streamed down her cheek.
“Arisiel.”
Hot, heartfelt tears.
“Arisiel.”
Why…… do these tears keep flowing no matter how much I wipe them…….
“Arisiel.”
Her mind, her reason still didn’t fully grasp the situation……
“Arisiye…… Ye-jin-ah!”
……but her body, her emotions wept in such profound sadness.
“Ye-jin-ah─────────!”
It was right then.
The floating sensation of being submerged in a deep abyss vanished…… and the world suddenly brightened.
“Ah……………?”
Where…… is this……?
She blinked her bleary eyes…… and soon, the dim sanctuary lit by blue candlelight came into view.
This is…… reality?
Cold air…… chilly.
No…… but this warmth keeps the cold away. Who does this warmth belong to?
“Ye…… Ye-jin-ah…….”
That voice.
The voice she longed for even amid pain worse than death rang out.
“Ryu…… Hyun…… ji……?”
Do Ye-jin murmured the owner of that voice’s name.
But that couldn’t be.
She couldn’t possibly…… meet her alive again……?
“Yeah…….”
Ryu Hyun-ji was an 18-year-old girl with a mushroom-cut bob of dark brown hair. Older than her, yet small in stature, timid, and terribly stuttery.
Just like the sniffling someone right in front of Do Ye-jin now.
And.
And and and…… then, that someone suddenly hugged Do Ye-jin tightly and sobbed quietly.
“I-I’m…… so glad…… really, really…… glad…….”
“No way…….”
“Ye-jin-ah…… really, really, really glad…….”
This is an illusion.
Ryu Hyun-ji couldn’t be here.
There’s no way she could meet Ryu Hyun-ji here again…… then someone smacked her on the head.
“Ugh, you dumb bitch, finally coming to your senses?”
“Heo…… Cheon-gyeom……?”
“Yeah, it’s me. You little troll slut.”
This…… can’t be real…….
A dream? No. Too vivid…… Ryu Hyun-ji’s voice…… Heo Cheon-gyeom’s face…….
「Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. Idiot.」
「Me. Hurt. Because of you. But I forgive. I’m from the great dog lineage.」
And Black & White spinning circles around her head, being playful.
“You guys…… how…… are you here……?”
“How what how! You Lead Hunter bitch, we came to cut your head off────”
“────to save you.”
Ryu Hyun-ji’s words, wiping away tears, made her heart nearly stop.
“Me…… Ji-won too…… Cheon-gyeom too──”
“──Hmph! Not me, so don’t get any weird ideas.”
“And…… T-Tae-yeop oppa too…… all of us…… came here to rescue you…….”
Do Ye-jin trembled.
I see…… Tears surged so suddenly she couldn’t see. Heo Cheon-gyeom clicked his tongue at the sight.
“Why’re you looking at me like that, bitch? I keep telling you, not me.”
「……Yeah.」
Do Ye-jin nodded obediently, and Heo Cheon-gyeom awkwardly cleared his throat before speaking to White.
“Hey, White! How’s the smell? How close are they now?”
Smell? How close?
Do Ye-jin tilted her head, and Ryu Hyun-ji wiped her tears while opening the bag on her back.
“Ye-jin-ah! Qu-Quick, change into this……!”
What Ryu Hyun-ji pulled out…… was a <Association> uniform. Do Ye-jin’s eyes widened.
“S-Seo Hwa-yun Battalion Commander prepared it…… she said you’d definitely need to change……!”
Seo Hwa-yun……?
What? Unnie’s alive? No way. Then Heo Cheon-gyeom shouted.
“I won’t look, so hurry up and change! It’s urgent! We’re on the run right now!”
「……?」
“Don’t know? From a massive monster snail…… and some kid.”
Saitonan…….
Recalling that eerie kid’s eyes sent chills rippling across her arms.
Hurry.
She roughly tore off the mourning clothes.
Cold air hit her skin. Her stiff, trembling fingers fumbled to dress her fully exposed body.
Hurry. Hurry. Hurry.
In the end, Ryu Hyun-ji started helping her dress.
She put on the linen tunic top.
Pushed the leather pants up her legs and fastened them with the belt, then draped the leather coat over……
“Shell……? Eye stalks……? Or the body……?”
Do Ye-jin muttered blankly. Ryu Hyun-ji, hurriedly working, asked.
“Wh-What…… did you say, Ye-jin-ah?”
“Weak point! There might be a weak point. I’ve never encountered a human snail before, so I don’t know.”
Weak point?
For a fleeting moment, hesitation flickered in Ryu Hyun-ji’s eyes. Heo Cheon-gyeom’s mutter reached her.
“I know that snail fucker’s weak point…….”
「……What is it?!」
“Don’t know the kid’s.”
Heo Cheon-gyeom didn’t reveal the weak point. Ryu Hyun-ji cut in.
“Sh-She definitely said it was a clone…….”
“What? Fucking hell.”
“Why?”
“Don’t you know? With those types, you have to kill both to finish it. ……That’s how it was in the game.”
Kill both to end it……?
Her brows furrowed at the absurdly impossible odds—right then.
「Coming. It’s coming……. The smell’s getting closer.」
「Scary. Scary. Scared.」
White sniffed and warned, while Black spun in the air, whining.
That moment.
From the far end of the dark divine palace corridor came a squelching roar. Chills raced down the boy and girl’s spines in an instant.
Terror.
Terror that beaded cold sweat on their foreheads just from hearing it……. Heo Cheon-gyeom and Ryu Hyun-ji spoke in turn.
“Done now? If you’re still not finished, I’ll seriously punch you dead, you bitch.”
“All dressed! Even the boots are on properly!”
“Okay, let’s go!”
“C-Can…… you walk……?”
Ryu Hyun-ji extended a hand to Do Ye-jin. Do Ye-jin grabbed the small arm and stood up in one go.
“Yeah…… I can run too.”
Maybe even fight…….
Do Ye-jin’s body had recovered to a point that surprised even her.
“Work, puppy. Time to earn your keep.”
Black, cradled in Heo Cheon-gyeom’s arms.
It sniffed and guided them toward circulating air.
「Here. Here.」
「This way. This way.」
「Not there, here. Idiot.」
Black and Heo Cheon-gyeom in the lead.
Do Ye-jin in the safest middle.
Ryu Hyun-ji, in the best condition, took the rear with White, guarding against Saitonan’s attacks.
WIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGG……….
Intermittent wails echoed.
Wails that shredded every nerve with cold dread…… their steps quickened involuntarily from the terror.
They had to escape this place fast.