Chapter 246
Chapter 246
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 246
Chapter Title: ACT. 48 Cha Eun-ha (4)
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No one cried at Jeon Do-jin's funeral.
They couldn't.
Anyone would have done the same.
If they had seen Cha Eun-ha, sobbing endlessly until no more tears would come, only a hoarse voice remaining.
If they had seen that heart-wrenching sight that left one watching in silence.
It was a struggle to pull Cha Eun-ha away, who refused to leave for hours.
Even with several strong men trying their best, she wouldn't budge, as if drawing strength from an unknown source.
“Let me go! Let me go!! I said, let go!! Please, please let me go! Just let me go…!”
Her struggling didn't last long.
She lost consciousness when Kim Ji-hyeon struck the back of her neck.
Kim Ji-hyeon caught the collapsing Cha Eun-ha and held her in a tight embrace.
“…It's my fault.”
“What? Why would it be your fault, Captain?”
“It's my fault.”
Even Kim Ji-hyeon's subordinate, who had been confused.
And I, who was watching from nearby.
Were left speechless by the expression on Kim Ji-hyeon's face.
The woman of iron blood who rarely showed her emotions.
Kim Ji-hyeon, who was rumored to be just that, seemed to be biting her lip hard, holding back tears.
“Continue with the funeral. Cha Eun-ha… I'll wake her and bring her back.”
True to her word, the two reappeared after Jeon Do-jin's cremation was finished.
Her eyes were red and swollen from how much she had cried.
When I handed her the urn, Cha Eun-ha took it with trembling hands and clutched it to her chest.
Afraid she might drop it. Afraid it might break.
She held it carefully, preciously.
She walked across the sandy beach until the seawater washed over her ankles, and only then did she stop.
“…You can rest now.”
Cha Eun-ha said, taking a handful of the powdered bones and slowly opening her hand.
The wind blew.
The ashes on her palm left her hand, drifting away slowly.
“You've atoned enough… Your real daughter would have forgiven you by now.”
Another handful.
“We were like that from the start, weren't we? We both saw each other as someone else. We were just stand-ins.”
And another.
“But why did you do it?”
The sound of scraping came from the empty urn.
Even knowing there was nothing left, Cha Eun-ha continued to run her fingers inside the empty urn.
“I never acted like your daughter. I haven't even given back what I received…!”
Cha Eun-ha sobbed.
She collapsed right there, bursting into tears.
Even as the waves crashed against her, breaking into white foam and soaking her clothes.
Cha Eun-ha's tears wouldn't stop.
“Dad…!”
A lost child's wandering eventually comes to an end.
It would be nice to realize it before losing something.
But humans were beings who always had to lose something to gain something else.
“K-Kim Se-hyeon-nim.”
As I walked away from the funeral site, Do Beom-jin approached as if he had been waiting.
“Th-thank you.”
“I didn't do it to be thanked. And if this is about saving you, I've already heard enough thanks.”
“That's n-not all. For so many things… Th-thank you. It's all because of you. That those people were able to come back. That this city regained its original light.”
Do Beom-jin bowed deeply.
Was this Do Beom-jin's original personality?
In EOA… I knew, but I deliberately left him alone.
An incident occurring meant a chance to earn coins.
Letting him become a villain and then suppressing him was more profitable for me than finding and treating him early.
This time, the drug cartel and the number of addicts were so much larger than in the original story that I judged this to be the better course of action.
“Th-thanks to you, Kim Se-hyeon-nim, I think I've f-found my path. I want to use my power to h-help those who have strayed to get back on their f-feet.”
“…I see.”
I recalled the Do Beom-jin I knew from EOA.
The one who hated everything in the world, vowing revenge on the world that made him this way.
Faced with such a stark contrast, I silently waited for his next words.
“The reason I came to th-think this way is ultimately thanks to you, Kim Se-hyeon-nim. You've truly t-taught me so much.”
A corner of my heart ached.
I didn't save Do Beom-jin out of simple goodwill.
But the fact that the same person could change so much based on my choice.
He doesn't know it, but for my own benefit, I had knowingly ignored him hundreds of times in the past, and in the end, even killed him.
It plunged me into an indescribable emotion.
“…Yes. I hope you achieve what you desire.”
“Yes! I will! If you get the ch-chance later, please visit here a-again!”
Behind Do Beom-jin, many people appeared.
Those who were once addicted to drugs but were now recovering after receiving treatment.
“Thank you!”
“We won't forget you!!”
Do I truly deserve their gratitude?
[You're a total hero, a real hero.]
“Hero, my ass.”
[Hey, just be happy about it. Why are you making a face like you're carrying all the world's problems? These are the people you saved. Who knows how much more they would have suffered if it weren't for you.]
Besial poked my cheek, looking dumbfounded.
I flicked my finger, swatting Besial's hand away.
“A devil worrying about all sorts of things. How unlike you.”
[I'm still bound to you! If you're acting weird, it makes me anxious! I'm not letting you go until you keep your promise to me!]
I couldn't help but chuckle at Besial's words.
I looked at the people who were still waving.
It felt like I had one more reason to prevent the apocalypse.
***
It was late at night on the day the funeral concluded.
“…What's this?”
Kim Ji-hyeon was heading out of the building.
That in itself wasn't strange, but the problem was that Cha Eun-ha was watching her from a short distance, as if tailing her.
There shouldn't be any particular reason for Cha Eun-ha to follow Kim Ji-hyeon.
After a moment's hesitation, I decided to follow them both.
“Why did you follow me?”
Kim Ji-hyeon stopped walking on the beach at night.
With an unreadable expression, she was gazing at the horizon when she spoke without turning around.
“So you knew.”
“You think I wouldn't notice a B-rank's presence? I knew from the start, but I pretended not to because it seemed you had business with me.”
Deciding there was no point in hiding anymore, Cha Eun-ha approached Kim Ji-hyeon confidently.
For a moment, I flinched, thinking she was talking to me.
Of course, that couldn't be it.
“Kim Ji-hyeon-nim.”
Cha Eun-ha began to speak.
“Please teach me swordsmanship.”
For the first time, Kim Ji-hyeon turned her gaze toward her.
She watched Cha Eun-ha for a long while before turning her head back toward the star-dusted beach.
“Why me? Kim Se-hyeon is far more skilled. If you want to be taught, it would be better to go to him.”
“I'm asking you.”
“Haaah…”
Kim Ji-hyeon let out a long sigh.
“Where did you hear that Jeon Do-jin's daughter was being trained in swordsmanship by me?”
“…”
“That's the only reason, isn't it? For you to insist on learning from me.”
Since Cha Eun-ha's head was bowed, Kim Ji-hyeon had no way of knowing what expression she was making.
But Kim Ji-hyeon reacted as if she knew.
“You have no obligation to act like his daughter. Is this choice driven by your desire to become stronger, or your guilt towards Jeon Do-jin? Which is it?”
“It's neither.”
“…Neither? Then what is it?”
“I… just want to move forward. Carrying the past into the future.”
It was as if a light shone in Cha Eun-ha's eyes.
Her eyes were still swollen, but the glimmering light was so bright that it was hardly noticeable.
Kim Ji-hyeon slowly closed and opened her eyes.
Then, as if she had made up her mind, she drew her sword.
“Watch closely. This is Seven Flashes.”
*Shwazzzak!*
The skill that could be called Kim Ji-hyeon's trademark.
A seven-strike slash was drawn in the air as if on a canvas.
Cha Eun-ha strained her eyes, as if determined not to miss a single moment.
“It starts with One Flash. As proficiency increases, the number of strikes grows by one—Two Flashes, Three Flashes. When you reach the stage of Ten Flashes, they say you can strike ten times in a single clash.”
*Shwararak!*
Kim Ji-hyeon's sword instantly diced the space.
Just as the name Ten Flashes implied, the sword was swung ten times in a fleeting moment.
“And above that. When you reach the pinnacle. They say this skill undergoes another evolution.”
“A stage higher than that…”
“Heaven and Earth's One Flash.”
*Shwaaak*, a simple slash was swung.
But something was different.
The atmosphere seemed to vibrate.
From the way the blade trembled as if resonating with something, one could tell the technique was still incomplete.
“It returns to a single strike, but as the name implies—splitting heaven and earth—its power is incomparable. It's impossible to tell if it's truly a single strike or just so fast that it looks like one. As you can see, it's a stage I haven't reached yet. I still have no idea when I'll be able to get there.”
“Heaven and Earth's One Flash…”
Aspiration blossomed in Cha Eun-ha's eyes.
Just as her master's had.
It was less like a flame igniting and more like a spark flying.
“Please teach me.”
Kim Ji-hyeon nodded.
Skills can't just be copied and given from one person to another at will.
It was simple training, utilizing the principle that a skill is generated by perfectly repeating a specific action.
It would take Cha Eun-ha a considerable amount of time to acquire that skill.
“No! More concise and faster! You won't get speed if you don't eliminate unnecessary movements, and you can't put power into it if you're focused on stability! You have to grasp both sides of that seeming contradiction!”
“Yes!”
And so, the midnight training began.
Kim Ji-hyeon's shouts and reproaches were relentless, but Cha Eun-ha showed no sign of hardship, repeatedly swinging her sword as instructed.
“Again! That's not nearly enough! Was that the extent of your resolve?!”
“No, ma'am!!”
I watched them from a distance for a while before returning to my room.
Before I knew it, my worries about Cha Eun-ha had vanished.
The next day came.
It was early morning, the sun just beginning to peek over the horizon.
A cautious yet firm knock woke me, and I opened the door.
“I came because I have something to say.”
The dark circles under her eyes were immediately noticeable.
Did she really train all night and then come to see me?
I feigned ignorance and asked.
“What did you want to talk about, coming here so early in the morning?”
“You said if I wanted to chase those guys, I should come to you.”
“If that's the case, your original guild, Hongryeon, is enough. If you're just coming because you have nowhere else to go, I'll have to refuse.”
“No. That's not why I'm here.”
Cha Eun-ha shook her head firmly.
“I'm asking you to let me join this party, because I'll pull my own weight here.”
She had changed.
Something that wasn't there before now resided within Cha Eun-ha.
‘Could it be…?’
I used Extreme Eye to check Cha Eun-ha's information.
Then, I barely suppressed the corner of my mouth from twitching into a grin.
Was something like this really possible?
“I'm different now. I'm going to get stronger. Stronger… than Dad. Even beyond that.”
A spark of electricity crackled in Cha Eun-ha's eyes.
[Character Information]
Name: Cha Eun-ha
Gender: Female (18)
Strength: 50(+2) Stamina: 45(+2) Agility: 52(+7) Mana: 54(+2)
Unique Ability: Lightning (S)
Traits: Lightning Speed Movement (A), Internal Insulation (A), Agility (A), Path of the Sword (A), Inherited Will (S)
Skills: Electric Current Discharge (A), One Flash (E)
Inherited Will.
A trait that can never be obtained by oneself, only acquired when someone who has died cared for you so genuinely they would have given everything for you.
It was an incredibly overpowered effect that increased all stats and raised the rank of several abilities by one stage—one of the best traits you could get, if you could get it.
Jeon Do-jin had left Cha Eun-ha a great gift in the end.
To Cha Eun-ha, who possessed a power fundamentally similar to his own.