Chapter 148
Translator: uly
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: Heavenly Demon, Gives a Gift (2)
[Heavenly Demon. How about this?]
Nameless, having expanded its eye sensors to the max while scrutinizing the display shelves, pointed to a pretty carousel-shaped mood light placed in one corner.
[It's the perfect design for a woman in her twenties. Chaeyoung would probably love it.]
The Heavenly Demon, who had been closely examining the material of the carousel mood light, gave an unexpected response.
"It's made of a material that would shatter easily if thrown."
[What?]
While Nameless was blinking its eye sensors in confusion, the Heavenly Demon strode toward the inner display shelf.
[Then how about this? It seems like something coffee-loving Chaeyoung would really like.]
Nameless pointed to a tumbler cup adorned with a cute bear decoration.
[Plus, it's made of sturdy stainless steel that won't break even if dropped on the floor.]
The Heavenly Demon peered into the tumbler cup and shook his head.
"Even something trivial becomes a gift bestowed personally by me."
[What?]
"If I gave her a tin cup shaped like a bear, it would tarnish my dignity."
Once again giving an offbeat reply, the Heavenly Demon began scanning the shelves anew.
[Heavenly Demon. Then how about this one…….]
[This ranks third among the most preferred gifts by women in their twenties…….]
Buoyed by determination, Nameless continued offering recommendations nonstop.
But each time, the Heavenly Demon merely shook his head with an utterly impassive expression.
[Heavenly Demon. Then…….]
Just as Nameless, showing no signs of fatigue, was about to suggest another item,
"Wait."
The Heavenly Demon's eyes lit up upon spotting a box tucked in the corner of the shelf.
A very familiar and nostalgic energy emanated from the wooden box.
"Hoh."
A satisfied sigh escaped the Heavenly Demon's lips as he opened the wooden box.
Form, strength, material, and practicality—it fulfilled every condition he had envisioned.
"This will do."
[…You're giving this to Chaeyoung?]
"Exactly to my taste."
[At least the one next to it……]
Flustered, Nameless pointed to a worn metal case beside the wooden box but then clamped its mouth shut.
Atop it lay a hair clip decorated with what looked like a creepy baby doll face, the kind you'd find on a haunted house floor.
[No, never mind.]
Nameless waved its hand upon noticing the eerie decoration, but the Heavenly Demon nodded.
"This looks decent too. Quite the item."
[What?]
"I'm not sure which to choose."
Nameless's mouth fell open.
Both items were sinister-looking enough to make anyone grimace at first glance.
Yet the Heavenly Demon was pondering them as if they were rare treasures.
"No helping it."
After much deliberation, the Heavenly Demon picked up the wooden box.
* * *
A leisurely Sunday afternoon.
Shin Chaeyoung, gazing out the window with headphones on, suddenly spotted a white object bounding toward her from afar.
It was a large, egg-shaped robot with limbs attached—a peculiar nanobot that never left the Heavenly Demon's side, Nameless.
Ding-dong.
As Nameless arrived in front of the villa and pressed the video phone button, Shin Chaeyoung removed her headphones from the second floor.
Clunk.
The moment Shin Chaeyoung opened the door, she saw Nameless with a yellow cloth bundle strapped to its back.
[Oh, you're home just in time.]
Nameless, which usually addressed Shin Chaeyoung in its cheeky tone.
But today, its voice somehow sounded subdued, and its eye sensors blinked dimly.
[Here, take this.]
Unfastening the cloth bundle from its back revealed a pitch-black wooden box.
The wooden box, etched with bizarre patterns, seemed to exude wisps of black smoke.
It didn't look like an ordinary item at first glance.
"What's this?"
[A token of gratitude from the Heavenly Demon.]
Nameless handed the wooden box to Shin Chaeyoung and bowed its head politely.
Of course, lacking a neck, it simply bent its entire body.
[And… don't get the wrong idea.]
Turning its body, Nameless added cautiously.
[The Heavenly Demon has never bought anything like this before. Farewell.]
Before Shin Chaeyoung could respond, Nameless rolled away swiftly and vanished.
"What? A gift from the Heavenly Demon?"
"Sis, what's that?"
Before she knew it, Yoo Eunho and Han Hojo were behind her, an ice cream tub in their mouths.
"Chaeyoung, open it quick."
"Hurry and open it."
As Yoo Eunho and Han Hojo crowded in with expressions of dying curiosity, Shin Chaeyoung sighed.
Their eyes sparkled with eagerness—if she didn't show them, they'd use skills to peek anyway.
"Fine."
Seated on the sofa, Shin Chaeyoung carefully opened the wooden box on the table.
"What's this?"
Yoo Eunho muttered, staring into the box.
Inside was a pendant engraved with a grotesque, repulsive demon.
"This… is a gift?"
Shin Chaeyoung's mouth fell open.
It felt less like a gift and more like a cursed doll sent to a mortal enemy.
"Chaeyoung, get your hands off that pendant now!"
At that moment, Yoo Eunho shot to his feet and shouted.
"It's obvious! This is a curse."
"What?" "The Heavenly Demon has cursed you!"
Han Hojo nodded beside him.
"Yeah, sis. Carry that around, and you'll vanish into the world of darkness."
Click.
Shin Chaeyoung nonchalantly toyed with the thumb-sized demon figurine.
Then the eerie demon stuck out its long tongue—and it was a blade.
The demon's long, sharp tongue was none other than a knife edge.
"Ahh, it comes out."
Yoo Eunho shook his head as Shin Chaeyoung pulled out the demon's tongue.
"Touching that out of curiosity. You're doomed now! Shin Chaeyoung, from here on, you'll be single until you're in a coffin."
"Sis, are you really heading to the underworld?"
Ignoring Yoo Eunho and Han Hojo's nonsense, Shin Chaeyoung closely examined the necklace knife.
Its gleaming material was neither metal nor wood, and the demon's tongue (blade) was smaller than a nail clipper blade but razor-sharp.
—Probably because the Heavenly Demon has never bought anything like this……
"……."
Recalling Nameless's words, Shin Chaeyoung removed her string necklace and began threading on the pendant.
Yoo Eunho and Han Hojo cried out in panic.
"No! Chaeyoung! Don't give up on life! Somewhere on Earth, there might be a guy who likes an ice queen like you!"
"Sis, don't go to the underworld! Stay in this world!"
Undeterred by their drivel, Shin Chaeyoung hung the pendant necklace around her neck.
The tiny demon figurine wasn't very noticeable.
"That's so like him."
Muttering coolly, Shin Chaeyoung rose from the sofa and slipped into her room.
A faint smile, barely perceptible, tugged at her lips as she hid it.
A few days later.
Having finished his work, the Heavenly Demon was ascending the Shield Boundary Zone on Lamas.
Vroom.
Though the hill had a decent incline, Lamas—with engine power to spare—climbed it like flat ground, accompanied by a cheerful exhaust note.
[Oh?]
But in front of the villa opposite the rooftop room, a shadow was carrying items.
It was Cho Hong.
[With so many family members, she must be stocking up on ingredients in bulk.]
Nameless's eye sensors sparkled as it watched Cho Hong hauling large loads piled in front of the villa.
As a high-rank Awakener, she could lift a large fridge with one arm. Yet her slender frame made the task look pitiful and strenuous.
[Heavenly Demon. Shall we help a bit? Looks like a lot of stuff.]
"She's carrying it fine."
The Heavenly Demon snorted and passed by the villa.
As Lamas drove past, Cho Hong's eyes widened and she bowed deeply, but the Heavenly Demon callously looked straight ahead without a glance.
[Ah! Come to think of it, Cho Hong has been the most frugal in looking after you all this time!]
"Nonsense."
[Even after seeing you smash the golem, she didn't report it, and when Immigration Investigation showed up, she tried to forge an ID illegally.]
Nameless sighed as it spoke.
[Oh, and Jang Chaewon asked us to show some appreciation… I forgot Cho Hong's gift.]
Cho Hong had tried to hack the Association database to forge an Awakener ID illegally.
Such an act required resolve to quit the Association. Knowing this, Jang Chaewon had insisted on expressing thanks.
"Should I personally thank her for every little thing?"
To the Heavenly Demon's indifferent remark, Nameless replied matter-of-factly.
[Isn't that the way of the jianghu?]
"Ridiculous. No need to repay favors I'm unaware of."
It was a cold response, as if ice dust might scatter from it.
Nameless clamped its mouth shut, speechless.
Late at night, in the Heavenly Demon's rooftop room.
Seated cross-legged on the platform, the Heavenly Demon was meditating.
Boom.
Then, a low vibration and explosion echoed from the distant sky.
The Heavenly Demon's eyebrows twitched noticeably, despite his serene posture.
"……!"
Meditation directs all focus inward to the body, not outward.
It demands intense concentration and is vulnerable to external stimuli.
Like jumping more when startled during a daze.
Zing.
Then, a strange resonance and vibration tickled the Heavenly Demon's ear.
Simultaneously, a round-faced woman's image flashed in his mind—the face of Cho Hong he'd seen heading home today.
'Me, recalling a woman's face?'
Shocked, the Heavenly Demon's eyes snapped open, halting his meditation.
'A heart demon?'
Impossible.
His rigorously tempered mind hadn't weakened even after losing his inner energy. Besides, what connection or emotion linked him to this woman Cho Hong?
Zing.
Yet again, a faint resonance hummed in his ear.
Turning his head, he saw a dim light blooming in the darkened night sky beyond the Shield.
It was a thin, curving light like smoke, seemingly emanating from a dungeon past the Shield.
"What's that?"
Pointing at it as he rose, Nameless on the platform blinked its eyes.
[What is it?]
"That light."
[Light?]
Nameless climbed the railing and looked where the Heavenly Demon pointed, but detected nothing.
[I don't see anything.]
"Not visible to you? That color of light?"
Clank.
Sensing something odd, Nameless deployed various sensors from its body.
But no electromagnetic waves resembling light were detected, no matter how it scanned.
[Something must be there.]
Still, Nameless agreed with the Heavenly Demon.
He wasn't ordinary, possessing terrifyingly sharp instincts. If he said he saw something, it wasn't a hallucination.
"Let's check it out."
As the Heavenly Demon prepared to leap, Nameless hopped onto his shoulder.
[I'll come too.]
Vroom.
Unleashing his movement technique, Night Moon Extreme Speed, the Heavenly Demon headed toward the light's source beyond the Shield.
Inside the dungeon, clusters of Awakeners were camping here and there. But none detected the Heavenly Demon flitting swiftly between ruined buildings.
Tap.
The Heavenly Demon halted near the Variable Dungeon boundary zone.
"Let go! We're leaving on our own!"
There, five casually dressed Awakeners—cuffed with Needle Cuffs by those in Nano Suits—were Han Manjae, Yoo Eunho, and Shin Chaeyoung of the Special Response Team.
[Unregistered Awakeners summoning hidden monsters illegally here again, it seems.]
Nameless murmured lowly, observing them.
[Places to secretly summon hidden monsters are dungeon entrances or this Variable Dungeon boundary.]
Unregistered Awakeners summoned hidden monsters at dungeon entrances or boundary zones.
At entrances, escape was easier if things went wrong, but detection risk was higher.
At uninhabited boundary zones, detection was low, but danger was high.
As now.
-Hiss.
Suddenly, thick fog rose near the Variable Dungeon boundary.
Black shadows poured out from within, their forms resembling werewolves.
Common monsters at Variable Dungeon boundaries: Blood Seekers.
"Now the pack's here."
Han Manjae sighed at the over hundred Blood Seekers, glancing aside.
"The team leader's in for it."
There stood Cho Hong, eyes closed, wielding her mental manipulation skill.
Her Active Camouflage Suit hid her form, of course.
"So the kitchen woman created that light."
Narrowing his eyes at her, the Heavenly Demon noted.
Though cloaked by the camouflage suit, he vaguely discerned her focused figure.
And above her head, pink radiance spread toward the sky.
"That's why her face flashed during meditation."
Like a heart demon intrusion—Cho Hong's face surfacing abruptly.
The cause: the potent Subduing Mind Great Law she wielded, or precisely, her mental manipulation skill.
[What face?]
To Nameless's question, the Heavenly Demon cleared his throat and changed the subject.
"Strange. There was no such thing before."
He had once seen Cho Hong use her skill in the Study Room Variable Dungeon.
But no light then.
[I see.]
Nameless's sensors detected something too, its voice low.
[Faint electromagnetic energy from Cho Hong's body.]
-Grrr.
As the light from Cho Hong intensified, the swarming Blood Seekers grew confused and milling.
"Controlling the beasts like before to clean them up."
The Heavenly Demon realized Cho Hong was using her Subduing Mind Great Law-like power to handle the boundary monsters.
[Even if mental manipulation skill users are under special Association oversight… I didn't know it was like this.]
"What do you mean?"
[The ring attached near Cho Hong's ear. It's acquiring biometric data and transmitting somewhere.]
The Heavenly Demon focused his gaze on Cho Hong's hazy form, behind her ear.
A tiny ring was there, blinking constantly.
[The Association is ruthless. That's real-time monitoring level.]
"A collar, then."
Cho Hong with the ear ring resembled a beast leashed by a collar.
Gazing at her, the Heavenly Demon soon turned away with an impassive expression.
Sunday, inside an antique shop in the city.
There stood a hulking man with a round nanobot on his shoulder.
The Heavenly Demon and Nameless.
Striding over, the Heavenly Demon picked up a worn metal box from the shop corner.
It was the hair clip with the creepy baby doll decoration he'd agonized over for Shin Chaeyoung's gift.
[You're sending this to Cho Hong?]
"Yes."
Nameless couldn't fathom the Heavenly Demon's thinking.
If he wanted her dislike, curse her to her face or spit—simple. No need for convoluted methods.
[Why on earth send something like this?]
As Nameless scratched its round head, the Heavenly Demon replied.
"It's the way of the jianghu."
[The way of the jianghu?]
"Indeed."
Nodding, the Heavenly Demon continued flatly.
"To a martial artist, pride and honor surpass life itself. Even I strive to uphold a warrior's honor."
[So… sending this sickly baby doll face honors her?]
Irked by Nameless's backtalk, the Heavenly Demon waved it off.
"Enough chatter. Do as I say."
[Understood.]
Though it replied, Nameless clutched its head, utterly baffled.
But how could it know?
This small gesture of goodwill from the Heavenly Demon would alter the fate of the entire nation.
Nameless would learn this only far in the future.