Chapter 45: Inflection Point (4)

Verdandi was elated that her moment to shine had finally arrived. She was especially pleased that she only needed to subdue her opponents without killing them.

For that moment on stage, she truly felt like a hero recognized by the people.

The crowd's cheers, her opponent's acknowledgment of her strength, and the mutual respect were all wonderful, but...

"Master! I won!"

The main reason Verdandi had come to love the Dragon Phoenix Gathering was that she could appeal to her master, Bing Yeon, who had taken her in.

Until now, she thought she had no chance against Bi Wol's aggressive seduction, given her slightly lacking figure.

No matter how hard she tried to wedge herself between the two who had spent a long time as master and disciple, she hadn't made any real progress.

Bing Yeon had been completely blocking Bi Wol's advances ever since she had managed to steal a kiss once by luck.

"Well done."

"Pat me harder! Touch my cheeks too!"

But now, she had a legitimate reason to be praised. She had defeated a scion of the Namgung Family, famous for their swordsmanship, with her own sword skills.

"......"

Verdandi grabbed Bing Yeon's wrist, making him caress her face as she pleased. He indulged her childish behavior with a resigned expression.

To Han Do-hyeon, the original author, these girls were more precious than anything else. They were people he wanted to protect even if it meant burning his insignificant life.

They were also like daughters, carrying traces of Yu Seolhwa, his lover from his previous life.

"If sister hadn't won, I would have had a chance to shine..."

Seeing Verdandi's grinning face, Azazel bit her tongue slightly as she spoke. The tentacles on her back changed from gently writhing to a trembling form.

"If you're jealous, junior, you should honestly ask Master to pat you too!"

Verdandi, looking at Azazel's face, understood that she was hiding her desire to act spoiled with Master Bing Yeon as well.

"W-why are you saying I want to be patted by a man like that...?!"

"If you don't like it, then don't!"

With eyes that could distinguish truth from lies in people's words, Verdandi gave her a warm smile.

What she was doing now was a childish love quarrel.

It was like watching each other to see who would eat first when there was only one strawberry cake left.

She was taking advantage of the moment while Bi Wol, her strongest rival, had gone to the restroom to claim Bing Yeon's embrace.

- My, my, Azazel. Why don't you be a little more honest? When that child Bi Wol returns, you won't be able to approach Bing Yeon, you know?

Morgidian spoke with a small sigh towards Azazel, who was still pretending to be aloof.

The look in her eyes as she secretly glanced at Bing Yeon was dripping with honey, and when their eyes met, she would blush and quickly turn her head away - she was unmistakably a girl in love.

Everyone else knew, but she was the only one who didn't realize it.

A new wind of love was blowing for the girl who had been in unrequited love for years.

"I-I never said I didn't like it!"

Azazel closed her eyes and shouted as she rushed into Bing Yeon's arms. Morgidian skillfully moved the tentacles to grab Bing Yeon's arms, making him embrace her.

"......?!"

"Eh? Eh? Lord Morgidian...?!"

The two were stuck together like cicadas on a tree. With their bodies pressed close, feeling each other in various places, Azazel's cheeks and ears turned bright red as if on fire.

The firm muscles, a male body trained from head to toe, was too much stimulation for Azazel, who was like a blank canvas knowing nothing.

"Azazel, I can't breathe. Please loosen..."

"I-I didn't do this because I wanted to!"

She couldn't pull away. Rather, she disliked how their bodies were pressing even closer together, as if filling in any gaps between them. The tentacles on her back wouldn't move as she wished.

- Truly a child that needs a lot of handling.

It was all Morgidian's scheme, watching the two with an impatient gaze from the side. If things stayed like this, Bi Wol and Verdandi would steal the lead.

If he didn't push like this, she would pretend not to know her own feelings and keep her distance for the rest of her life.

"Huh, huaaah...?!"

A soft and ticklish sensation spread as flesh pressed against flesh, and at such a close distance where they could even feel each other's breath, Bing Yeon took a deep breath to try to regain his senses, but...

"D-don't move! It's forbidden to even breathe...!"

Rather, this made Azazel's imagination run wild. She started to envision the situation she had seen in the future last time.

"Eh...?"

As Azazel's eyes met Bing Yeon's again, she saw a different future unfold before her. With her reason on the verge of breaking, she couldn't help but have another nosebleed.

- Brother, do you know what the oracle that came to me a few days ago was?

Unlike the situation just before, in a pitch-black room where nothing could be seen, only the silhouettes of a man and a woman were faintly wavering in the darkness.

- What is it, Azazel?

- Hehe, are you curious?

Rainbow-colored eyes that shone even in the darkness. Seeing this, Azazel could immediately and instinctively realize that the person before her was her future self.

The present Azazel swallowed hard as she heard the shadow with a taller stature than now and a voice that seemed a bit more mature.

This was her first future vision since her relationship with Kang Si-woo had soured. Last time, she had been interrupted by future Bi Wol, but now there seemed to be no such interference.

- Prosper widely and bring peace to the world.

-...?

As if melting, her future self was speaking to Bing Yeon in a low, small voice, as if trying to seduce him. What kind of situation would make her speak in such a tone?

- Do you know what it means, Brother?

- I don't know.

- It means that you and I must leave behind descendants.

Her future self smiled, even letting out a coquettish laugh. If she thought about it now, she would know that this situation would be read in the future.

'To think that I'll say such an outrageous line later... Really...?'

Even knowing this, she couldn't understand why she would say such things. She had clearly been taught that babies were brought by storks or found floating in the water.

Why was she saying such lines in this dark room?

In a situation where only the voices of the two could be heard, the present Azazel stomped her feet, outwardly expressing her frustration.

- Why does it turn out like that? Surely...

- Shh, Brother, you really are oblivious.

The future Azazel made a shushing sound. It was as if she was speaking for her past self to hear.

- Right now, there are a total of 4 women, including me, who are after you, Brother. If I wait for my turn, won't I lose my chance to have you all to myself?

At the word '4', Azazel suddenly raised her head and looked in the direction the voice was coming from.

Bi Wol, Verdandi, and Azazel.

No matter how she thought about it, there was no room for the fourth person. Weren't these three the only women around Bing Yeon?

- I'm quite greedy, Brother. Enough to set up this situation to seduce you like this.

Who could the remaining person be, that her future self was so restless and taking such a drastic measure to be alone with her master in this darkness?

- Suddenly, why are you doing this? You said you had something to consult with me about your worries...

Bing Yeon's voice seemed weaker than now. He was panting as if he might lose his breath at any moment, and his shadow wavered as if he was limping.

- Yes, that's right. It's because I have no way to handle my burning love for you, Brother.

Towards such a Bing Yeon, her future self was calmly expressing her true feelings.

- You saved me when I was about to meet a trashy man, Brother. Without expecting any reward.

As if asking him to look only at her now, her rainbow-colored eyes were fixed on one spot.

- Perhaps, do you have ulterior motives towards me? I think I'm not lacking in looks anywhere.

- How could that be?

- Hehe, as I thought. I had already confirmed it through Sister Verdandi, but I wanted to hear it directly from your mouth, Brother.

Watching her future self continue to laugh with a flirtatious tone, the present Azazel covered her face with her hands.

Azazel peeked through the gaps in her fingers at the two figures that were now starting to become visible.

- Won't you take responsibility for the rest of my life?

- ......

- You're not answering. Then, as expected...

She felt her face getting hotter and hotter, to the point where she even wanted to intervene between the two, but...

- Why don't you remove that hand? You still need to wait your turn.

At that moment, an unfamiliar voice rang out, and Azazel felt her consciousness drifting to another place.

"Are you alright! Master!"

With Verdandi's urgent voice, only after cutting off a few of the tentacles on Azazel's back with her holy sword could she separate the two.

"Thank you, Verdandi."

"I'm so glad you're not hurt!"

Verdandi sighed in relief.

Not only had they been in a passionate embrace where everyone could see, but Azazel had even fainted after getting a nosebleed.

"Th-thank you. I almost lost consciousness."

"But why did junior suddenly act like that!"

"L-Lord Morgidian suddenly..."

"Couldn't you have resisted at least!"

Verdandi couldn't understand.

She had been told that the tentacles on Azazel's back were connected to an Outer God, so wasn't it that god who tried to grab Bing Yeon?

It wasn't a lie, but it felt like a convenient excuse, which made her feel bad. After all, she hadn't gotten to hug him yet either.

"Then hug me too!"

As Verdandi was expressing her jealousy towards Bing Yeon for the first time, someone's presence was felt.

"...What did you just say?"

Bi Wol, who had returned from the restroom, was glaring at Azazel and Verdandi with a predator's gaze, as if she could kill them.

"Who did what with Master?"

Her voice was filled with killing intent, and Bi Wol's possessiveness was so intense that some people in the area were crying or collapsing.