Chapter 229
Chapter 229
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 229
Chapter Title: 2nd Epilogue of Part 2 - Journey of 30,000 Miles to Find Dad (1)
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0.
The name engraved on the newly erected tombstone was all too familiar.
Do Su-jin.
Where had she seen it before?
Well, on her toothbrush, for one. And on the lid of her ice cream container, too. Memories with her big sister came flooding back, fresh and green.
Her eyes started to sting again.
No more crying now.
She gently rubbed her swollen, red eyelids with her fingertips.
“Soo-jin unnie was made from our dad’s soul, she said.”
“What?”
“What’s so surprising about that?”
“You’re telling me that doesn’t shock you? Oh, damn! So he turned himself into a TS—transsexual, sex-swapped version.”
Golden blonde ponytail hair shining like spring sunlight, androgynous features. A uniform coat worn wide open like a martial arts robe.
Shin Tae-yeop.
The boy pulled a face like he was about to puke. Shyrak mimicked his expression.
“To think that guy had such a disgusting fetish…… You never really know people’s tastes……”
“……”
“Give it back~ Give back the pure hearts of all the guys who fell for Do Su-jin~ Turns out there was something dangling between her legs—agh!”
Shin Tae-yeop tumbled to the dirt after Do Ye-jin kicked him in the side. KO.
“Shishishishishi!”
Shyrak protested to Do Ye-jin while looking at the pitifully fallen Shin Tae-yeop. Do Ye-jin shot him a glare laced with killing intent.
“What? You wanna jump in too?”
“Shirak.”
But he firmly shook his head at the duel request. The little guy had sharp survival instincts.
“You little shit…… Couldn’t even avenge Dad…… So what’s your point, huh?”
“The affection Soo-jin unnie showed me…… It was all from Dad.”
Dad…… and unnie…….
Do Ye-jin caressed the name on the tombstone with a gesture full of longing and regret.
“You know…… It’s only now that I realize…… I was loved so much it overflowed……”
“……”
“Maybe Saito Nan was jealous of me for that……?”
Saito Nan had kept saying it.
That Do Ye-jin had received everything. That she herself was different from such a Do Ye-jin.
“So I wonder…… Was I really worth all that?”
Saito Nan, born in human flesh just like Do Ye-jin, had received nothing, yet she was transcendentally strong, brilliant, and capable.
On the other hand, Do Ye-jin……?
Without Shin Tae-yeop, Ryu Hyun-ji, Heo Cheon-gyeom, and Park Ji-won, what would have become of her by now……?
“Idiot. You think not?”
It was then that Shin Tae-yeop sighed and smacked Do Ye-jin on the crown of her head.
“Hey, what was that for!”
She bristled, but Shin Tae-yeop suddenly spoke in a serious tone.
“The Cheol-hyung I remember…… He was a perfectionist to the point of arrogance.”
“……?”
“Everything had to be thorough. Maybe because he was a field officer? It was an essential virtue for clearing that insane nightmare game, though.”
What was he suddenly talking about?
Do Ye-jin was curious. And jealous, too. A field officer? It felt like he knew Dad better than she did.
“Anyway, he didn’t pick just anyone like it was a gamble.”
“……?”
“He was cautious to the extreme, selecting only those he could truly trust with ability.”
“What’re you trying to say?”
“The reason he chose you. It absolutely wasn’t just because you were his daughter.”
Shin Tae-yeop looked up at the starry sky with interlaced fingers, then winked at Do Ye-jin with a smirk.
“A perfectionist like that chose you for this final raid.”
“…………!”
“Doesn’t that mean he trusted you that much?”
Ah…… In that instant, her father’s smile flashed before her eyes.
- A child who holds human sorrow and joy in a divine vessel…… Through you, dawn will break upon the whole world.
She wanted to keep remembering. Keep that smile in mind forever.
But……
Do Ye-jin swallowed a choked sob that bubbled up like a hollow laugh and drove her fist into Shin Tae-yeop’s gut.
“Shishishi!”
“Hey…… what…… why……”
“That’s payback for mocking our dad with your TS crap earlier. Be grateful I let that slide.”
Do Ye-jin stuck out her tongue, then spun around. A shy smile bloomed on her flushed face.
Thanks.
Now I know what I have to do…… How I should move forward.
“So…… you’re really going in the end?”
Shin Tae-yeop asked as he brushed the dirt off his butt and stood. Do Ye-jin nodded immediately.
“Yeah. Even if you try to stop me. Because Dad’s waiting.”
At the end of the nightmare…… Come seeking the truth, he’d said.
She’d found the truth now.
If she could just find Dad somewhere in this nightmare……
“For the dawn of the whole world.”
1.
“This is…… an unexpected face.”
Star Messenger Karlen said.
Seodaemun-gu Cathedral. In the center, the serene and exalted main hall.
“It’s been a long time.”
A girl with long black hair entered through the high arched doorway. On her small shoulders hung an unrealistically massive sword.
“Hunter bearing the fragrance of the abyss.”
Daughter of the Abyss……
Karlen bowed politely in thought. Her eyes…… Her divinity…… They’ve changed so much it’s bewildering.
Is this really the same girl from back then?
Seeing Karlen’s reaction, Lysabera turned from her prayers to the stars at the altar.
“Hmm…… That’s……?”
After the Seodaemun-gu - Nowon-gu Uprising ended, Lysabera had come to Seodaemun-gu Cathedral.
The <Association> had relocated all surviving citizens of Gangbuk-gu to Jongno-gu, turning Seoul’s northern districts into a ghost town.
A Star Messenger’s mission was service.
It was only right to go where there were people to serve.
“That? Watch your mouth.”
Do Ye-jin glared at Lysabera and spoke.
“A mere subordinate like you, a proxy at best, dares open your mouth to who?”
“……!”
Lysabera was much shorter than Karlen. About Ryu Hyun-ji’s height.
Her hair was a neat bob.
But her features were impossibly beautiful, and her eye makeup thick, much like Karlen’s.
“Who the hell are you……?”
It was satisfying to see that face twist like she’d eaten shit.
“You know damn well. Arielle Love, daughter of World Enforcer Edelweiss.”
Lysabera furrowed her brow. Karlen stepped in with a smile.
“Of course, we have no intention of fighting you. We’re just proxies, after all……”
Her words hid a blade, and savage intent swirled for a moment, but Do Ye-jin didn’t even blink.
“So, may I ask the purpose of your visit?”
“Northern Limit Line.”
“……?”
“You guys left that open before, right?”
It wasn’t a simple question.
It could be an inquest into the Nowon-gu ambush…… Karlen hesitated briefly, then nodded with a smile.
“Of course. It was the will of the stars.”
“Hmph…… What’s with that look? Planning revenge for that?”
Lysabera sneered mockingly, provocatively, as if daring her to try.
“Revenge? Sure. If I wanna kill you, it’d be no problem.”
“……!”
“Don’t play games. Gods can’t manifest in this world right now. You’re just empty shells, you think I don’t know?”
Lysabera gasped. How…… How does she know that truth?
The reverse scale of the Star Messengers.
Star Messengers are different from the old administrators. They can’t intervene directly with Hunters. Karlen’s eyes darted busily.
This brat’s no big issue.
The problem is…… that sword.
The quasi-divine sword infused with Yotiatos’s abyss, the one the World Enforcer used.
Dangerous.
If that blade even grazes us, even our true bodies……
Suffocating killing intent crossed the air, but Do Ye-jin chuckled playfully and waved it off.
“Relax! Why would I? It’d just hurt the other Association members. Couldn’t use you guys anymore.”
“……!”
“Not here for some huge favor. Just……”
“Just……?”
“Just asking to let me pass through the Southern Limit Line.”
Karlen and Lysabera fell silent for a moment. Karlen spoke first.
“I’m sorry, but do you know what that means?”
Lysabera chimed in late with a forced laugh.
“Don’t you, the great one, know the [Era of Devouring] is still ongoing in the south?”
“……?”
“There’s no such thing as a three-way war. Only two paradises can fight. That’s the rule.”
The northern uprising had ended too quickly. There’d been an overwhelming power gap from the start.
All Star Messengers had assumed Nowon-gu would win……
And now this brat stood before them with such arrogance. Do Ye-jin tilted her head with a look of disbelief.
“You guys aren’t that dumb, are you?”
“……?!”
“Who said I want the whole <Association> to pass? Just me.”
Just her……?
Lysabera bristled, but Karlen held out her arm to stop her.
This…… Wait a sec……
Karlen’s eyes narrowed slyly. That sounds fun. It’ll stir things up.
“May I ask what you plan to do there?”
“Hey, Karlen!”
“Quiet! Don’t forget who owns this cathedral!”
Lysabera clamped her mouth shut at Karlen’s sharp rebuke.
An irrefutable truth.
Damn this bitch…… That’s why Nowon-gu should’ve won.
When one paradise’s victory is decided.
The Star Messengers of the defeated paradise become subordinate to those of the victorious one. That was the rule.
“What else? Gonna go find the Lead Hunters.”
Karlen pressed for details.
“And then?”
“Talk to ‘em, and if they don’t listen, beat ‘em down.”
Talk?
And beat them?
Ha, ahahaha…… Karlen suddenly burst into laughter. She couldn’t stop.
“What if we refuse?”
Lysabera snapped irritably at Do Ye-jin. Do Ye-jin grinned.
“Then we throw down first.”
She aimed the tip of that enormously massive sword at Lysabera.
A sword infused with terrifyingly high divinity.
Hot sweat beaded on Lysabera’s temple. Lysabera laughed wickedly.
“Ha…… Ahahaha! A threat? Think we fear death? As you said, we’re just shells.”
“Oh come on~ You’re scared but acting tough.”
“Watch your mouth!”
“Why? You’re all perverts, right? Dirty perverts who wanna keep watching us fight.”
Do Ye-jin’s mouth smiled, but her eyes didn’t.
Fierce killing intent blazed in her eyes.
This brat…… She’s serious. Really planning to fight here? Then Karlen cut in.
“No need to worry. Hearing Hunters’ wishes and granting them is our duty. We’ll grant yours.”
Before Lysabera could protest, Karlen raised her left arm high.
Woooooong…………………!
A ripple of light spread in the air.
The next moment, it formed into a talisman in Karlen’s left hand.
“This is the emissary’s seal.”
“Karlen!”
“Hold it high at the Limit Line. The gate will open briefly.”
As Karlen tried to hand the talisman to Do Ye-jin, Lysabera finally exploded.
“What the hell are you──”
Karlen’s eyes chilled, and she pointed her right hand at Lysabera.
“────Bind.”
The Empress of Truth is the goddess of language.
Her subordinates wield the power of language as well.
“Shut up. Had to use crude words for you to get it? So very you.”
The ancient tongue Karlen had uttered was a high technique that sealed the target’s movements.
“Ka…… Karlen…… You dare……!”
Lysabera couldn’t move an inch, as if bound by invisible chains, sweat pouring down her face.
“Don’t mind her. I, Karlen, will handle it.”
Karlen smiled sweetly again and handed the talisman to Do Ye-jin. Do Ye-jin smirked contemptuously.
“Got it. But it’s really no issue, right?”
“Ah, if your siblings there ask how you crossed, it might be a problem.”
“That’s a problem?”
“Hehehe, just say you used the sword of that [Nameless Demigod]. That’ll be fine.”
A perverse gleam flashed in Karlen’s eyes as she spoke.
“Don’t worry. I’ll cover for you.”
Crazy bitch…… Do Ye-jin snorted and nodded.
Yeah, knew you’d play along.
You just enjoy this world turning into a bloodbath as entertainment. No way you’d refuse me adding to the fun.
“See ya…… Or rather, enjoy the show.”
Do Ye-jin waved as she turned away. Karlen bowed deeply and said,
“Above all, may you have a pleasant hunt.”
Karlen couldn’t contain her leaking laughter.
She’d take any punishment later.
For now, she just wanted to savor this. This insanely delightful situation……!
Tantereska.
What face would that arrogant one make when this awakened [Daughter of the Abyss] suddenly appeared?