Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: An Old Flame and a New Fight
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White hair, braided long over one shoulder.
Golden eyes that shone like mana.
A stunningly beautiful face.
Broad shoulders and a slender frame.
He was a breathtakingly handsome man, but it was a face she had studied very carefully from the villain list.
“Nova.”
An Awakened villain said to possess a powerful body and immense strength.
“What’s with the clothes?”
He asked with an elegant smile, then pulled Haon in by the waist and lowered his head.
“Has your taste changed already?”
Startled by his approaching lips, Haon quickly covered his mouth with her hand.
“Wh-what are you doing!”
She was too flustered to know what to do. But Nova, too, seemed surprised.
Haon scrambled away from him, clutching her phone.
His criminal history, marking him as a person of interest, flashed through her mind.
“Possession and sale of unregistered explosives, theft of overseas artifacts, occupation of a broadcast station and an attempt to brainwash the entire nation via radio, bombing of a casino, murder and attempted murder using poison…”
Contrary to his beautiful face, he was an extremely dangerous man.
Judging by how he suddenly embraced her and tried to kiss her, he must be ‘Eun Haon’s’ lover.
Haon bit her lip, a troubled expression on her face.
‘He doesn’t know ‘Eun Haon’ is dead. What should I do?’
Just then, Nova tilted his head and the corners of his lips curved up.
“How strange. Who are you?”
“…Excuse me?”
“You’re someone else, aren’t you?”
Haon’s eyes widened. This was unexpected.
“H-how did you know?”
“Because even if the Doctor lost her memories, she would still love only me.”
He added as if it were obvious.
“The Doctor was crazy about me.”
“…?”
“If I asked for her heart, she’d carve it out herself and give it to me. It was a love that would burn her very soul. Or was it obsession?”
Haon flinched back, a chill running down her spine.
As Nova spoke of ‘Eun Haon,’ his eyes held a peculiar glint.
“Well, that’s not what’s important. So, what are you?”
“I am, well, Eun Haon, but…”
Haon trailed off, her words faltering. Even if he saw her as a different person from ‘Eun Haon,’ she couldn’t just spill everything to such a dangerous individual.
He wouldn’t believe a story about multiple universes anyway.
“As long as you’re Eun Haon, nothing else matters.”
His reply was completely unexpected.
Haon couldn’t hide her agitation and looked at him with pity.
‘Did he love ‘Eun Haon’ that much?’
‘People who lost lovers or family during the war used to say things like that.’
Could it be that he already suspected ‘Eun Haon’s’ death to some extent?
After a moment of deliberation, Haon steeled herself and spoke with difficulty.
“Um, Mr. Nova.”
“Just call me Nova.”
“Okay. Nova.”
It was incredibly hard to say, but he deserved to know the truth about the woman he loved.
“Actually, ‘your Eun Haon’ is dead. She was already gone when I arrived here.”
“Hmm. So that can die too.”
Nova’s indifferent response made Haon wonder if the reality hadn’t sunk in yet. She asked cautiously.
“Nova. Would you like to take any of ‘Eun Haon’s’ belongings?”
“You have the same name, so you’re not twins. Are you an engineer too? You were at the computer, still wearing that gown.”
“I am, but…”
His inscrutable reaction was making Haon more and more confused. He didn’t seem sad at all. In fact…
‘Why does he look pleased?’
“Then you can make something like this, can’t you?”
Nova pulled a blueprint from his back pocket and unfolded it.
“Ah. I’m not accepting commissions.”
Haon waved her hand before she even looked at the blueprint.
“Not a commission, a gift. You always gave me gifts.”
“What? Th-that’s a bit…”
He perched on the edge of the table, a gentle smile on his face.
“Why? You just have to make it with your love for me.”
“…?”
“Just do it with a heart that’s madly in love with me.”
Haon’s mind ground to a halt.
Her lover is dead, yet he shows no grief and is saying things like this? Did he even understand what I said?
“But, I don’t love you?”
“Am I not pretty?”
“You are.”
“But you don’t love me?”
“No.”
“Is that so?”
“…Yes.”
His persistent questioning made her anxious, and she gripped her phone tightly.
His demeanor was gentle, but he was still a villain. She was afraid he might suddenly snap if she kept refusing him.
“Can’t be helped, then.”
But Nova just shrugged once and left the lab without another word.
‘He’s leaving that easily?’
Haon stared blankly at the door he’d exited through and muttered to herself.
‘…The ‘Eun Haon’ of this dimension. Were you just a total pushover for Nova?’
* * *
That evening.
As Haon entered the Old Town, a shiver ran down her spine from the chilling, menacing atmosphere.
‘This is scary…!’
It was a district where many villains lived, and brutal incidents were said to occur at the slightest provocation.
In one alley, someone was rummaging through the clothes of a person who was either asleep or unconscious.
A few people stood nearby smoking, but none of them paid the scene any mind.
They just stared blankly at Haon as she passed the alley entrance.
‘Eek.’
Haon pulled her hat down firmly and quickened her pace. This place was the very definition of a criminal den.
‘They said a lot of ordinary people live here too. How do they sleep at night? Are those people the ordinary ones?’
She had passed by this area on the day she went with Juyeol to find the Awakening Sphere. It had looked dangerous even then as they sped by on the bike, but setting foot in it herself was far more terrifying.
Bullet holes, knife marks, and bloodstains were visible everywhere, and some kind of slimy trash was rolling around on the ground.
Her eyes darted around as she turned a corner, and Blue, perched on her shoulder, chirped.
[Multiple individuals detected across the street to the left!]
‘It’s just ahead!’
Haon moved toward the street and peeked her head out.
Across a single road, she could see people already in a tense standoff. The air was thick with tension, as if a fight could break out at any moment.
‘Chacha’s there, too.’
A red-haired woman was shouldering a massive machine gun. Its appearance was so intimidating that even the gang members hesitated to attack.
Just then, Blue’s warning came.
[Three individuals armed with firearms are approaching from behind!]
“!”
Her heart sank. Haon ducked behind a dented car just as three men walked out from the street where she had been standing.
“Slipping away when the fight’s about to start is no fun. Are you sure this is the spot?”
“The boss told us to check this area. Said he saw Solmae heading this way.”
Hearing their words, Haon’s eyes widened from her hiding spot.
“Like the boss said, we need to get rid of that old geezer first.”
“Yeah. We can punch holes in those pathetic punks, but the old man just stitches them back up. That’s why they keep messing with us.”
She hadn’t misheard. They were definitely talking about Solmae.
“Let’s deal with him quick and rejoin the others.”
“Don’t rush me, will ya? Ah, found him.”
The man lowered his voice and readjusted his grip on his pistol, while the other two scanned the surroundings.
‘They’re going to “deal with” Elder Solmae?’
Haon peeked out. The man’s gun was already aimed at something, and in a nearby alley, she could see the back of a head with wispy white hair.
‘The elder…!’
She quickly swung her phone, and a hook of blue mana latched onto the man’s ankle before dissipating.
“Ugh, argh!”
The loud sound of the man falling made the white-haired head startle and duck out of sight.
“What are you doing all of a sudden?”
“Did you just trip over your own feet?”
They laughed at him as they helped him up and prepared to chase after Solmae.
‘Not on my watch.’
Aiming the top of her phone like a gun barrel, Haon shot a burst of superheated mana at the man’s pistol.
The round, blue mana was absorbed into the gun, which instantly overheated and began to melt.
“Agh, hot!”
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
The man furiously threw the remains of his gun to the ground.
“Dammit! What was that blue thing just now?”
It was inevitable that they would see the blue-tinged mana, but it didn’t matter. Even if they saw it, they couldn’t stop it.
Haon crouched down again and checked the direction Solmae had fled.
‘This was a trick I used for starting campfires. I never thought I’d use it like this.’
*Bang! Crash—.*
At that moment, a bullet whizzed past her ear and shattered a side-view mirror. Another man had spotted Haon and fired immediately.
“Ugh…!”
Haon barely managed to stifle a scream and was about to crawl under a truck.
*Bang! Bang!*
*Boom!*
From the direction where the groups were facing off, loud gunshots and explosions began to ring out. It seemed the man’s gunshot had been the spark.
Flares from whatever was exploding lit up the dark sky, making it flash and flicker.
As Haon froze, dumbfounded, a shadow fell over her.
Thinking that ‘Eun Haon’s’ killer might be a resident of the Old Town, Haon quickly pulled her hat down even further.
“Was it you who did something weird to my gun?”
“That’s an interesting weapon you’ve got. Did Dr. Eun make it?”
“Why ask? Let’s just kill her and take it.”
One of the men aimed his gun at her small head. Pale with fear, Haon thrust her phone up.
“B-Blue! Shield!”
The man didn’t wait for the hopelessly defenseless Haon and pulled the trigger. A shot rang out, but Haon was unharmed.
Their eyes widened in shock. The bullet had stopped right in front of her nose. No, it wasn’t stopped; it seemed to have embedded itself in a transparent blue barrier before falling to the ground.