Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Clash on Seodal Mountain
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Boom!
Clang! Clatter!
A massive noise echoed through the mid-slope of Seodal Mountain, a spot frequented by hikers.
Birds scattered into the sky in terror, while animals fled in panic, desperate to escape the radius of the sound.
Gulp!
The sound of someone swallowing hard dry spit rang out.
At the same moment, another enormous boom resounded.
Boom!
The ground shook, sending rocks tumbling down the steep incline.
The tourists standing nearby—who were actually hunters searching for the Poison Witch—gaped, unable to tear their eyes away.
"Th-this is insane..."
The scene unfolding before them was so unbelievable that curses slipped out involuntarily.
A collision between pitch-black energy that sent chills down the spine just by looking at it and a blue energy that seemed to tickle the nose with a clear, fresh scent despite only being observed.
It was like watching a battle from another dimension altogether, captivating every hunter present and making it impossible to look away.
"Is this... Hogun?"
And at the center of it all were two figures.
Hogun and Yong-un stood with their hands interlocked, foreheads pressed together, glaring fiercely at each other.
"Poison Witch?"
A woman watching the scene rose to her feet with a worried expression.
One of the hunters who had been trading with the Poison Witch pointed at Hogun and asked her.
"You okay with this? Even if it's Hogun, his opponent's Yong-un."
Anyone trading on the mid-slope of Seodal Mountain would know.
Both the Poison Witch and Hogun were figures who had long cut ties with the world.
Yet even she knew Yong-un's name, a testament to his immense fame.
"Top S-Rank..."
The Poison Witch whispered softly, prompting the hunter who'd overheard to frown and say,
"Bad matchup. Hogun could get hurt."
He seemed to know her well.
At his concerned tone, the Poison Witch bit her lip.
"Urgh..."
"Hahaha!"
Hogun strained so hard his face turned red, while Yong-un burst into hearty laughter, clearly delighted by Hogun's energy.
Watching their battle surpass all imagination, the Poison Witch took a step forward.
"I have to stop them."
Sensing something ominous, she started striding toward them.
"Stop."
At that moment, someone blocked her path.
"Jeong-won!"
The Poison Witch shouted at the one who stood in her way.
In response, Hwang Jeong-won—Yong-un's lackey who had brought him here and Hogun's own disciple—frowned and said,
"He's way stronger than he looks, huh? I thought Master would win easily..."
"Did you bring that guy here?"
Realizing Jeong-won was behind this turn of events, she shot him a resentful glare.
But Jeong-won glared right back and retorted,
"He already knew you were here. If we'd just left him be, everything would've been a mess before he even arrived with that kind of power."
The Poison Witch opened her mouth to argue,
but at that instant, another massive shockwave erupted from the space where Yong-un and Hogun clashed.
This one unleashed a brilliant light unlike any before.
Faint at first, it soon engulfed both Yong-un and Hogun, triggering a colossal explosion.
"Stop it!!!"
The Poison Witch's scream pierced through the roar of the blast.
'Died again...'
'Shouldn't we scrap it? It's too dangerous.'
'Four years is enough. We need to get rid of it before anyone else dies.'
'Yeah, let's end it.'
Those words conjured images of inescapable death for the trembling young girl.
A pure white room and pure white clothes.
A pure white bed and a pure white door.
This five-pyeong windowless chamber was her home—her entire world.
Before steeling herself for death from the voices outside,
the young girl's memories rewound to a distant, unremembered past.
She didn't know when it began.
By the time she became aware of her own existence, she was already here.
A pure white space and a pure white door that stripped her of all freedom.
Everything she had ever seen growing up included that white door and that white space.
Creeeak.
But the white door didn't stay shut every day.
Irregularly, it would open.
And when it did, in came marvels that captured all her attention.
Puppies, kittens, wild dogs, eagles—even tigers and bears classified as ferocious beasts.
As the visitors shifted from cute to terrifying, she realized her purpose.
Raised like a bird in that white chamber,
her reason for being was exactly that.
'Extreme poison research.'
Only after watching everything that entered through the white door collapse lifeless did the young girl grasp what she was.
A Poison Human.
A living poison that heralded unspeakable death to any creature with a single breath or gesture.
Yes. She was poison itself.
And the white room trapping her was a place where death was forged.
"Ah... so that's why..."
Realizing her essence was poison, tears streamed down her face.
The thought that the cute puppy—the first to come through that door—had died because of her tormented her.
Not just the puppy; memories of every creature that had entered haunted her.
She clawed at her hair and curled up in a corner, unable to do anything for a long while.
All she could do was pray that white door stayed shut.
But soon after, against her wishes, it opened again.
This time, she held her breath tight and curled up, refusing to move.
She buried her face between her legs, avoiding looking at whatever had entered.
'Please go away! Just leave!'
Desperate for this unknown life not to die, she thrashed inwardly.
Then, something wondrous happened.
Tap tap.
"Hey there..."
Was it her efforts?
For the first time in this death-forging room, she heard a voice and felt a touch.
Startled, she whipped her head up to look.
"Ah..."
It was a boy smiling brightly.
Seeing another person for the first time, she froze in shock but quickly realized her mistake.
"Gasp!"
She had exhaled the breath she'd been holding.
She clamped her hands over her mouth and nose instantly.
But it was too late.
Fleeing to put distance between them, she turned to check on the boy.
"Sorry, I must've messed up."
The boy scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
Nothing else happened.
He was the first living being to enter unharmed.
"Y-you... okay?"
She asked with wide eyes.
The boy chuckled and countered,
"Should I be acting weird or something?"
Only then did she lower her hands from her nose and mouth.
"That's even prettier."
"R-really okay?"
"I'm fine. Don't worry."
This time, the boy approached and extended his hand.
It was the first time.
A living being that conversed with her at length without changing.
The boy stayed in the room for hours, perfectly fine.
No agony, no vomiting blood like the others.
From then on, she clung to one miracle in her heart.
The miracle that her death had no effect on humans.
Thanks to the boy, the space that had only tormented her began to feel bearable.
Then, an incident occurred.
A few days after the boy started staying with her.
As she slept her usual sleep, voices reached her ears.
"Hurry up and finish it!"
"Y-yeah, I get it. So give me the antidote..."
"This could be your last antidote. Get rid of her quick, or our deal's off."
A conversation between the boy and an unfamiliar voice.
Sensing something off, she slowly turned toward the white door.
There stood the boy talking to someone through the cracked door.
"But is she really that bad? From talking to her so far..."
"Over a hundred have died because of her already. If she lives, it'll be thousands, maybe tens of thousands."
"True, it's because of her..."
"Ask one more question, and the deal's canceled. No antidote either."
"I'll do it! I said I will!"
The white door creaked open wider, and a bottle of pink potion was handed to the boy.
He downed it without hesitation and held out the empty bottle.
"Don't even think your master will come save you. If you try anything stupid, we'll poison the entire Sadang 1-dong neighborhood. Then her kill count jumps from thousands to tens of thousands—because of you."
"......"
The boy grimaced silently as the door shut, the voice continuing,
"We don't want that either. Do what you can. Only you heirs of Hogun's power can kill her."
With those final words, footsteps faded away.
Realizing the man was gone, the boy slumped against the white door.
Seeing his anguish, she slowly closed her eyes.
Tears fell as she thought,
I'll die for that boy.
No more sacrifices.
'And so morning came... and tragedy struck.'
Beeeep! Beeeep!
Strange alarms blared as chaos erupted outside.
Sounds of destruction and screams echoed.
"S-scary..."
The terrified girl trembled as the boy hugged her tight.
"Don't worry. I've got you."
Glancing outside, the boy smiled.
"Looks like my master found me. It'll be over soon. Let's get out of here together."
Why was that?
To her, who had lived her whole life here, "let's go" felt like danger.
"G-go... out?"
"Yeah, we're leaving. Together."
Death escaping the realm of death?
Then, the man's words from last night flashed in her mind.
'Her kill count will exceed tens of thousands.'
The miracle that didn't affect humans was just that—a miracle.
An absurd phenomenon born of the tiniest luck.
But she had no such luck.
No miracles dwelled in her heart.
"No, I'm not going."
At her words, the boy looked at her in confusion.
"I heard you last night."
"What...?"
But she stared straight at him and said,
"You knew. That I'm a Poison Human. What happens if I go out there?"
"Th-that's..."
She pressed the flustered boy.
"One breath, one gesture from me, and countless people die. Imagine me out there. How many would die? Thousands? Tens of thousands? Even more?"
"......"
"I'm staying. And you do your duty."
She drew a gleaming piece of metal hidden at his waist.
Startled, the boy grabbed it hastily.
"Can't do it? Then I'll do it."
She gripped it reverse and plunged it toward her chest with all her might.
Stab!
It wasn't ordinary metal.
A dagger with a blade the length of a child's hand.
Drip. Drip.
Red blood flowed.
The same blood all previous entrants had spilled now trickled down her chest.
The boy's shocked and bewildered expression swapped with her confident one.
"...Why...?"
No pain.
Because the boy's hand had positioned itself before the blade that should have pierced her heart.
All the blood flowing down her chest was his.
"Told you. We're going together."
"Why on earth!"
The boy's face grew resolute, while confusion and worry mingled on hers.
"Blegh!"
Then, the boy vomited blood.
Just like the other creatures in this space.
"...!!"
Blood seemed to surge through her entire body.
Fear beyond shock gripped her.
"N-no!"
She caught the collapsing boy.
Knowing this was all her fault, she wanted to let go.
But she couldn't.
It felt like if she did now, she'd lose him forever.
"Cough! Sorry... might not keep... my promise. Heh."
Boom!
The boy smiled through the blood.
Then, the white door that had stolen her freedom exploded off its hinges and crashed into the wall.
"M-Master."
A two-meter giant—Hogun—entered, biting his lip as he saw his disciple lying in a pool of blood.
"Sorry... Master."
"Enough. Save your strength."
Hogun strode toward the boy,
but froze upon sensing something, turning to her.
"This girl..."
Whoosh.
His head snapped toward the dagger embedded in the boy's hand.
"Did she do this to you?!"
Misreading the situation, Hogun roared in fury and unleashed killing intent, channeling his energy to slay her.
"Master!!!"
But his actions halted at the boy's scream laced with agony.
"It's not her fault. Master... one last request?"
The words "last request" hit hard.
Hogun clenched his teeth, swallowing his grief.
"Speak."
Then came an unexpected plea that shook the master's heart.
"Take... this girl as your disciple... in my place."
"Her..."
"I know what you're thinking. But you can do it, Master."
Hogun balled his fists tight.
He turned away sharply to hide his tears.
"Talk... to her. It was a joy teaching you."
His voice choked as he stepped out, unleashing his energy to settle the unfinished battle.
Left in the death chamber, the boy and girl gazed at each other, tears flowing.
"Can I ask your name?"
"M-me...? I don't have..."
"Beauty. Let's call you Beauty. Beau... ty..."
With that, the boy's breath stopped.
"Witch... Yeah, I'll be Witch. Poison Witch."
Clutching the lifeless boy, the newly christened Poison Witch wailed.
In the end, the space remained a chamber of death.
The death that took everything from the girl who heard "Beauty" as "Witch" and named herself.
Thus, the Poison Witch was born.
The Poison Witch, death incarnate.