Chapter 108
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 108
Leaving San-yu behind, she turned back with Ga-ya.
“Pyuu...”
A small sigh escaped from between So-ya’s tiny beak.
Perhaps she had been more tense than she realized while trying to hide her identity, for the moment San-yu was out of sight, the strength left her body.
Watching the limp baby bird, Ga-ya raised an eyebrow skeptically.
“Tell me the truth, Som-som. Did that guy do something to you?”
“Ppi. (He didn't do anything.)”
So-ya stopped mimicking a normal bird and began to communicate with Ga-ya. As she chirped, her Message was transmitted to him.
“Don’t lie. There’s no way he—”
Ga-ya suddenly came to a halt.
His gaze fell upon the scrap of cloth wrapped around So-ya’s wing like a bandage. In an instant, his eyes flashed with a touch of madness.
“This bandage... Did that bastard hurt your wing?”
‘Eek!’
His voice and murderous gaze were so chilling it felt as if he might run back right that second to kill Jeok San-yu.
“Pya, pyaa! (N-No, he didn't!)”
So-ya stuttered without realizing it.
Immediately, his expression softened back into a gentle one.
‘What was... that just now? Did I see it wrong?’
So-ya’s bead-like eyes shook violently at the sudden shift in atmosphere.
“You promised your brother you wouldn’t get hurt. And yet, here you are, injured.”
Ga-ya whispered tenderly, as if his previous terrifying demeanor had been a mere illusion.
“It breaks my heart, Som-som.”
“Pyaa...? (When did we ever make a promise like that?)”
So-ya asked in a bewildered voice, but Ga-ya didn't answer, continuing with his own thoughts.
“Still, I’m glad you seem safe. You look a bit smaller, though... and your feathers turned white, and you can’t speak human words.”
Ga-ya stared intently at So-ya, then tilted his head to the side.
“But Som-som, how long are you going to stay in this form?”
“Pyaa? (Do you not like this look?)”
So-ya lowered her short neck to look at her body, where the red feathers had vanished.
Ga-ya gave a wide smirk and replied.
“No. It’s much cuter. White suits a baby Som-som better than red anyway.”
“Ppiya, pyaa! (That’s right! Because I’m Baek So-ya of the White Tiger Clan!)”
“Right. You’re the White Tiger Clan’s Som-som. So smart.”
“Ppi, ppi! (The masters at the White Tiger Palace always say that too! That I’m very clever, just like my father!)”
It was as they were walking and exchanging conversation.
So-ya, who had been rolling around on Ga-ya’s palm, perked up her ears and sat up at the sound of urgent footsteps approaching from a distance.
‘Huh? Those footsteps...!’
If she wasn't mistaken, they definitely belonged to...
‘...!’
In an instant, So-ya’s bead-like eyes grew wide.
She had spotted Sa-eon and Seol-yo running toward them, gasping for breath.
Ga-ya also noticed Sa-eon and stopped.
“Oh? Fa—”
But before he could finish his sentence.
“Pyaaaaa!”
So-ya immediately took flight toward Sa-eon.
She vigorously flapped the wings that had been too painful to move properly just moments ago.
“My little Cotton Ball.”
Sa-eon’s expression stiffened as he watched the baby bird land perfectly on his palm.
“What is this bandage?”
“So-ya! Are you hurt?”
Seol-yo, standing beside Sa-eon, asked with tears welling in his eyes.
“Ppi? Pyaaaa!”
So-ya tried to flap her wings to show she was fine, but she overexerted herself and tumbled over.
“Ouch.”
“Cotton Ball!”
“So-ya!”
Sa-eon and Seol-yo cried out in alarm simultaneously, but So-ya didn't get up; she just sat there, blinking blankly.
‘Huh? My voice just now...’
So-ya’s face brightened instantly as she muttered to herself.
A baby bird’s body that has reverted to its state before the First Growth cannot produce human speech. However, the sound that had just come from her beak was unmistakably human.
Not only that, but her wing feathers were slowly being dyed with a reddish hue.
It was a sign that the power of her Spirit Core, which had been temporarily sealed, was returning.
Poof!
As she attempted to transform, So-ya’s body returned to that of a human girl.
“I’m back!”
“Cotton Ball?”
“I’m not badly hurt. I’m sorry for worrying you, Father.”
So-ya grinned and threw herself into Sa-eon’s arms.
Sa-eon’s stiff expression softened slightly.
“I’m glad you aren’t seriously injured. You have no idea how much I worried about you.”
Sa-eon said as he lifted So-ya into his arms.
“Ah, I’m really okay, Father. It’s not that big of an injury...!”
“Nonsense. Your ankle is red and swollen.”
“Huh?”
So-ya looked down at her ankle in surprise. She had been so focused on her painful wing that she hadn't even realized she was injured, but her ankle was indeed swollen red.
Now that she noticed it, it started to feel even more painful.
“Still, it’s not like I can’t walk...”
So-ya murmured softly, stealing a glance at Sa-eon.
“You can lean on your dad more today. After all, today is the day my little Cotton Ball saved the world.”
At those words, So-ya leaned into her father’s embrace.
Even though she had already gone through her First Growth, being carried by her father made her feel like a young child again...
‘Well, whatever. I did something very difficult but amazing today. Besides, my ankle is starting to hurt a bit. And Father said it before—that even when I’m a hundred years old, I’ll always be a baby in his eyes. But I’m only twelve...’
Having found a reasonable justification, So-ya’s expression became much more peaceful.
Meanwhile, Ga-ya, who had been watching the scene from a few steps away, wore a somewhat grumpy expression.
“You’re heartless, Som-som.”
Just a moment ago, he had been triumphant, throwing a sneer at Jeok San-yu.
Seeing So-ya fly straight to her father the moment she saw him—making his previous joy feel meaningless—he felt as if he had ended up in the same position as San-yu.
“Maybe I should have been the father instead of the brother.”
Ga-ya grumbled, crossing his arms petulantly.
However, contrary to his pouting lips, the corners of his eyes crinkled slightly as he looked at his father and sister.
“I heard from Seol-yo what happened in the Underground Palace,” Sa-eon said, walking slowly while holding So-ya.
“It must have been very scary and difficult. Thank you for overcoming it so bravely. When did our youngest baby grow up to be so magnificent?”
“I’m a daughter of the White Tiger Clan, after all. I only did what was natural,” So-ya replied with a proud face at her father’s praise.
“And because Father was waiting outside, holding back the demonic beasts...” So-ya added, glancing at Sa-eon. “I’m just glad you’re safe and unhurt too, Father.”
“Were you only thinking about your dad even in the middle of all that, my baby?”
So-ya giggled at Sa-eon’s chuckling remark.
Seol-yo and Ga-ya followed behind Sa-eon as he walked.
In the midst of it all, Seol-yo had made sure to bring the Black Tortoise Iron Shield. He said he had run into Sa-eon while trudging along with the shield in his mouth right after the Underground Palace collapsed.
“Is it true that the demonic beasts have lost their strength?”
“Yes.”
Sa-eon explained what had happened in the meantime.
After sending So-ya and Seol-yo ahead, he had faced Do-ol’s Demonic Beast Legion alone. The beasts kept swarming in, and their numbers were so vast that there seemed to be no end to them, no matter how many he cut down.
But then, a violent vibration was felt.
Do-ol, who had been commanding the legion, suddenly collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood. The demonic beasts were thrown into turmoil along with him.
Taking advantage of their weakness, Sa-eon cut down the enemies.
As the high-ranking demonic beasts, including Do-ol, fled, he was in the middle of pursuing them when he felt another vibration.
In an instant, the sky turned pitch black, and a chilling shiver ran down his spine.
Sa-eon knew instinctively that it was ‘The Evil.’
‘The Evil’ had lost its power and was fleeing.
After the presence of evil passed, Sa-eon barely regained his senses and immediately spun around.
‘Cotton Ball!’
Now was not the time to chase demonic beasts. If ‘The Evil’ had truly fled, he had to find So-ya. He had to find her and make sure she was safe and uninjured.
With that thought, he ran toward the location of the Underground Palace.
However, only traces of the Black Swamp remained where the palace had once stood. The palace, which had been maintained by the power of the Black Tortoise Tribe, had collapsed because the head of the tribe, Hyeon Ra-baek, was dead and there was no one left to succeed him.
And there, Sa-eon had encountered Seol-yo.
Through Seol-yo, he learned that Hyeon Ra-baek was dead, the evil had fled, and that Seol-yo and So-ya had been flung outside as the palace collapsed.
After that, they had wandered while tracking So-ya’s scent until they finally met like this...