Chapter 219
Chapter 219
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 219
Chapter Title: Your Name Is, You Are the Seed of Hope (2)
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3.
“Mom……?
Do Ye-jin took another step back.
She was scared. Terrified.
Part of her wanted to just turn and run.
Arishel’rab.
It was etched in her clear eyes.
The immeasurable eons of waiting. The sorrow and joy born from that wait.
“Don’t lie!”
Another step.
She kept retreating.
“Don’t come closer! I said don’t come!”
Yet another step.
All the while she shouted, the gaping hole in her heart throbbed wildly.
“There’s no way you’re…… no way you’re…… my mom…… I already had one! A real mom!”
She wanted to scream not to look at her with such sad eyes. She wanted to scream that she didn’t know anything about her.
“If you were my real mom…… why did you abandon me?!”
“……”
“Why…… why did you make me live…… such a hard life……?!”
All the while she cried out.
A surge of rage-like sorrow welled up from deep inside.
“How could that even be a mom……! Why, why did you leave me with a fake family……? Me…… I……!”
In response, Arishel’rab gave a smile that was almost a sob.
“It’s not a fake family. Arishiel, take a good look at my face?”
Do Ye-jin hesitated for a long time before gazing at Arishel’rab’s face.
Then she stared, as if entranced.
It felt…… familiar. No, more than familiar.
“We look just alike, don’t we? Your aunt and grandma must’ve been the spitting image of him.”
This face…… this face……
Do Ye-jin whipped her head around frantically. Her hands and feet trembled uncontrollably.
“No…… no way……”
It was a face she could never forget even if she tried. A face she never wanted to forget.
Do Ji-woong.
The face of the father she truly loved and missed…… was right there on Arishel’rab……
“How…… how is this……?”
“The family that raised you…… was one we created from fragments of our souls……”
The resemblance was uncanny.
To the point where she thought if Do Ji-woong had been born a Western woman, he’d look just like that.
“It was also the family we wanted to give you──”
“──Shut up! Don’t lie!”
Do Ye-jin clutched her chest and curled up on the spot.
She didn’t want to hear any more lies.
Just listening to Arishel’rab’s tall tale made it hard to breathe.
But.
Even covering her eyes, even plugging her ears.
She couldn’t stop the flood of memories engraved deep in her soul.
-How can something so…… small and fragile…… be so…… warm……?
-Our child, what should we name her?
-I’m sorry…… I’m so sorry……
Do Ye-jin slowly raised her head…… and just as slowly…… opened her mouth.
“Are you…… really…… my…… mom……?”
Arishel’rab nodded and walked toward her…… with staggering steps, as if she might collapse.
And then.
She pulled Do Ye-jin into a tight embrace and began to sob quietly.
“I really…… really…… really wanted to see you again…… even just once……”
It felt warm.
It felt moving.
Just like long ago.
When Do Ji-woong would hug her and call her his daughter.
“Arishiel……? Mommy…… Mommy’s…… so sorry……”
Dazed in that embrace.
Do Ye-jin trembled all over, then finally wrapped her arms around Arishel’rab’s back and burst into sobs.
For a long time.
A very long time.
As if trying to fill the gap of years they couldn’t meet…… with an ocean of tears.
4.
Rumble rumble rumble………………!
The divine palace was collapsing.
Ceiling and outer walls alike…… in that hellish chaos, Shin Tae-yeop desperately ran while supporting Heo Cheon-gyeom.
Do Ye-jin……
You okay…… right now?
「PHAAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」
He wanted to help, but he couldn’t.
He had to get Heo Cheon-gyeom out too, and his own condition was the worst.
「WIENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG!」
And that……
It wasn’t a fight he could jump into even if he wanted to……
Riiiiiip──────!
It was a battle of gods.
──────Splat!
Anyway…… how did she pull off 《Subordination》? Where’s Ryu Hyeon-ji?
Huh……?
The moment those two questions collided.
A frightening realization flashed through his mind. For an instant, Shin Tae-yeop nearly froze in place.
Embarrassed by that shiver, perhaps.
Heo Cheon-gyeom, who had been silently hanging his head, spoke up.
“Hey……”
“……?”
“Did the Lead Hunter…… win?”
Thanks to Ji-won’s sacrifice…… Shin Tae-yeop hid his pathetic feelings and answered.
“Yeah…… he won.”
“That consistent bastard……”
“……”
“……”
As heavy silence enveloped them again, Heo Cheon-gyeom thought.
This guy…… how’s he running?
His body’s more wrecked than mine, but he’s carrying me.
“Hey…… ditch me and go……”
Heo Cheon-gyeom muttered as casually as he could. It was the situation that demanded it.
「PHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAA!」
The terrifying roar from behind was accelerating the collapse. Heo Cheon-gyeom urged him on.
“You idiot……? We’ll both die like this……”
“I’m not ditching you, you bastard! So shut up and hold on!”
The moment Shin Tae-yeop snapped back, the ground shook and the ceiling caved in.
If they’d been just a bit farther ahead.
They would’ve both been crushed for sure.
“No, fuck, why not ditch me! Why!”
Finally, Heo Cheon-gyeom yelled. He even tried to pull away from Shin Tae-yeop.
“Fuck, hey!”
“Stay still, you dog!”
“Let go of my hand! Let go! Did that smug head of yours suddenly break, you fucking idiot?!”
Heo Cheon-gyeom realized he was laughing like he was sobbing.
What a bitter reality.
But a reality he had to face. It was the first survival rule he’d learned after becoming a Hunter.
“Look around! We’ll both die────!”
“───I’m not ditching you!”
“So why the fuck not, you bastard──!”
The Hwapae Sword was already lost.
His body was wrecked; he couldn’t fight for a while. Right now, he was just dead weight…… As Heo Cheon-gyeom mocked himself, Shin Tae-yeop bellowed.
“─────You’re my friend!”
For a moment, Heo Cheon-gyeom’s eyes went wide.
“My one and only friend my age! If you get it, quit yapping about ditching and run, fucker!”
“……”
“Before I burn off every strand of that cocky hair.”
Heo Cheon-gyeom silently stared at Shin Tae-yeop’s serious profile, then let out a hollow laugh and dropped his head.
Ah…… fuck.
He was furious at how pathetic he felt.
Fuck, fuck, fuck……
He’d lived his life trying so damn hard…… but he’d never once helped these guys……
Fuck…… fuck…… fuck……
5.
“Mom.”
Do Ye-jin asked shyly.
Sitting side by side with Arishel’rab, her head resting on that shoulder.
“Yeah.”
“Mom.”
“Yeah.”
“Mom.”
“Yeah.”
There was someone who answered right away whenever she blankly called “Mom.”
It was truly……
A miracle beyond imagination for those who took having a mom for granted.
“Mom, is my real name Arishiel?”
“Your dad and I call you that as a nickname.”
A nickname?
Arishel’rab turned Do Ye-jin to face her, then gently brushed her hair.
“Your divine name is Arishiel Lavranda.”
“Arishiel Lav……? Wait. If you say it fast, it sounds like Arishel’rab. Right?”
For some reason, her voice lifted excitedly on its own.
It was genuine happiness.
She even liked that her name matched her mom’s.
“The pronunciation is similar, but the meaning is completely different. The languages used to make the names are different too.”
“How are they different?”
“My name, made in the language of the Absolute Gods, means [Rampaging Despair].”
Arishel’rab gave a radiant smile and kissed Do Ye-jin’s forehead.
“But Arishiel Lavranda, in the language of the Genesis Gods, means [Dawn of the Whole World].”
Dawn of the whole world……
So that’s why Gayneib interpreted it playfully.
“My name…… it sounds so pretty! You made it, right, Mom?”
“No, he made it. Your dad.”
Dad.
A childish curiosity bubbled up.
“Was Dad a smart guy…… no, god?”
“Yeah. Exceptionally so, even among the Holy Apostles.”
“Super strong?”
“Super strong!”
As Arishel’rab replied excitedly, Do Ye-jin echoed back with equal excitement.
“Really?”
“Of course! You saw that power earlier? That was just a fragment. If the throne hadn’t been empty, he would’ve become an Absolute God.”
What kid wouldn’t get excited hearing tales of their dad’s prowess?
Her heart felt full.
The dad she’d seen on the day of destruction…… tall, incredibly handsome…… and strong too.
“Hehehe.”
As Do Ye-jin giggled with inexplicable pride, Arishel’rab smiled serenely.
“But Arishiel, your name didn’t come from his wisdom.”
“……?”
“It came from a promise…… with a friend, his lifelong benefactor.”
A friend?
Lifelong benefactor—who could that be? Arishel’rab didn’t elaborate.
“But…… I loved the name the moment I heard it. You too, right?”
“Yeah!”
Do Ye-jin and Arishel’rab nodded at each other, then burst into identical “hee” laughs.
It was such a happy time.
It felt just like chatting with Do Ji-woong, whom she’d thought lost forever.
“Mom, do you love Dad a lot? How’d you meet?”
So the words kept flowing.
But the answer to that question was a bit shocking.
“At first, it was unrequited love. After becoming his Subordinate, I even forgot that I’d ever had those feelings.”
“What?”
“When you gain divinity, emotions and memories vanish.”
Something felt off about the story. Her head tilted instinctively.
“But then why’d you get married?”
“Married? Gods don’t have such subservient relationships.”
“Huh?”
“There was only one reason we could unite. Yotiatos arranged it to gain a stronger god.”
Yotiatos……?
Just like Sherashul’toryak. The name itself carried a profoundly irreverent dread.
“I had no emotions either. Without past memories, how could I? What to cry over, what to get angry about?”
No past……?
Did gaining divinity mean losing your human memories?
“That’s why the Outer Universe’s whims are so terrifying.”
“……?!”
“You become an irrational being swayed only by instinct and impulse. Or a doll indifferent to everything.”
The words were hard.
But she couldn’t say in front of her mom that she was dumb.
“So you…… were toyed by the Outer Universe’s whims too……”
Do Ye-jin clamped her mouth shut.
Then Arishel’rab looked up at the distant cosmos with a bitter smile.
“Yeah. I…… loved one man more than an entire world.”
“One man……?”
“It was selfish…… If only I could’ve made a selfless choice back then……”
Arishel’rab caressed Do Ye-jin’s cheek with a soft hand.
“But I don’t regret it. Thanks to that, I could meet him again…… and you.”
She pinched her cheek lightly and chuckled. A laugh mixed with sorrow and joy.
“Seeing this, Mom’s hopelessly selfish, huh?”
“No, no! I would’ve done the same! It was for the person you loved!”
“Hmm…… my daughter, do you have a boyfriend or something?”
In that instant, who flashed in Do Ye-jin’s mind?
Her cheeks flushed red.
Do Ye-jin shook her head wildly and changed the subject.
“But you said you forgot? How’d you remember?”
“All thanks to that friend.”
“That friend?”
Arishiel tapped Do Ye-jin’s chest with a grin.
“In the final battle…… he deliberately broke his own sword.”
“Why? In a fight, a broken sword means defeat.”
“To plant a fragment in his chest. Knowing he’d die……”
How could someone……?
But a broken sword felt familiar for some reason. Her mother nodded at the question.
“You’re thinking of it right, Arishiel. It was Verkenxiaji. That man…… died to your father in that battle.”