Chapter 38
"Uh, where are you touching? Move!"
Im Hwa-yeon pushed me away in embarrassment.
"I help you, and this is how you act?"
"…Hmph, who asked you to help me…? More importantly, your personality seems a little different?"
I thought about Im Hwa-yeon's words for a moment. Compared to the first day I met her, I wasn't trembling or anything anymore. I figured it was proof that I now had perfect control over my body.
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. Before, you were kind of… pathetic, but now it's like you're a different person."
"Well, people change."
"But you changed too quickly… You were definitely the same as usual yesterday."
I changed the subject when Im Hwa-yeon grew suspicious.
"Hey, there's something I'm curious about. Why are you still dragging me around even after graduation?"
"Don't be ridiculous. This is the first time I've seen you since graduation, isn't it? And do you think I called you because I wanted to? I only called you for today because I had no choice, thanks to Oh Kyung-hoon, that bastard."
"Oh Kyung-hoon?"
"Yeah, Oh Kyung-hoon, Oh Jeong-seok's son. That crazy bastard who boasts that his father is S-rank and the guild master of Taeyang Guild."
As I listened to her, I tried to recall what lay in Kim Woo-jin's memories about Oh Kyung-hoon, but something was strange. It felt as though some memory had been blurred and erased.
'What is this? I don't know anything.'
I looked at Im Hwa-yeon and asked,
"What did that guy say?"
"I don't know. He just told me to bring everyone from our class to his villa this weekend to celebrate our graduation. And he told me to take responsibility for turning you into a proper human being and bring you along. I'm not your babysitter."
"But today I was just a pack mule?"
"Well, your appearance changed, and you weren't dressing like a pathetic idiot anymore, so I didn't mind."
Im Hwa-yeon glanced at me as she spoke.
"Why would Oh Kyung-hoon go out of his way to involve me with you?"
"That bastard confessed to me and got rejected back then. It's obvious he's still holding a grudge and acting up over it. He knows I hate you, so he probably deliberately linked us together."
"What a crazy bastard."
"He really is a crazy bastard. I'd love to punch that bastard Oh Kyung-hoon, but I can't."
"You could just ignore him. You're a member of Hwayangyeonhwa Guild, and you're A-rank."
"I wish I could. The problem is the Taeyang Guild backing that bastard Oh Kyung-hoon."
"Do they have some kind of leverage over you?"
"Yeah. My father is the guild master of Hwayangyeonhwa, you know. But Taeyang Guild owns a sizable stake in our guild, too."
"Is Taeyang Guild really that powerful?"
"What are you talking about? You've been saying nothing but strange things all day. Did you get hit hard enough in the head to reset your brain? Taeyang Guild is the strongest and most influential guild in our country. Its very name carries enormous influence, from the government to corporations and associations."
Listening to her, I once again felt that something was wrong. If Taeyang Guild was that famous, it was information Kim Woo-jin should naturally have known.
'There must be something between Oh Kyung-hoon and Kim Woo-jin… The problem is that I can't find out what right now…'
I figured I would have to look into this matter little by little.
For a while, Im Hwa-yeon and I sat with our backs against the wall of an alley without saying a word. Then I spoke to her first.
"More importantly, how long are we supposed to sit here like this?"
At my words, Im Hwa-yeon hugged her knees and whispered softly,
"I don't know… My phone isn't working either. Shouldn't we hide until the Association or the guild sends support?"
"An A-rank ability user is useless."
"You little… Do you have any way to deal with this?"
"A way… I do have one, but…"
I let my voice trail off. I looked at Im Hwa-yeon and thought.
‘If I use the art of sexual cultivation, I might be able to take him down. Or I could power up in a fictional work and come back.’
If I had enough time, I could forcibly pounce on Im Hwa-yeon and fill her womb with semen until her favorability reached its maximum, but there was also a chance that the enemy would attack us while we were having sex.
"What is it? Do you have a way or not?"
"No… Let's think about it a little more."
In the end, I changed the subject. Im Hwa-yeon sighed with an irritated expression.
"Tell me. If you have any method at all, you should share it."
'Should I tell her about this…'
If I told her I could increase her ether, which ran out too quickly, through sex, there was a very good chance she would try to kill me.
After agonizing over it, I cautiously opened my mouth.
"…There is a way to recover and increase your ether, which runs out far too quickly."
"There is?! How?"
Im Hwa-yeon's eyes widened in shock.
'Can I… really tell her about this…'
To be honest, I felt like a fist would fly straight into my face if I confessed.
I took a deep breath and slowly opened my mouth.
"Your ether recovery is the most urgent thing right now. I… can help you with that."
"That's what I'm asking! What is it? Stop dragging it out and tell me, you're driving me crazy!“
"Sex… No, it's called yin-yang union…"
Before I could finish speaking, Im Hwa-yeon's face turned bright red.
"What…? You perverted bastard…!"
Im Hwa-yeon's face stiffened, and a small flame flickered from her hand.
"W-wait, it can increase your ether permanently."
At my words, Im Hwa-yeon bit her lip, her expression becoming complicated.
"How effective is it…?"
"The more you do it, the greater the increase."
"Then it won't have much effect right away, will it? Even if we do that right now, we don't know when that gay bastard will attack us."
"But there is no other way."
"Haa… For now, let's put that… on hold…"
Sighing, Im Hwa-yeon ultimately refused and covered her face with her palm.
‘Hmm, I think I could get Im Hwa-yeon aroused right now.’
She had reacted to my internal energy when we first met. Now that her strength was depleted, there was a chance she wouldn't notice my internal energy.
The problem was that I had to make physical contact. It would be too suspicious to suddenly go over to where she was sitting across from me.
"Hey, let's get moving again."
Im Hwa-yeon spoke in a cold voice. The gentleness from a moment ago was gone, replaced by a detached tone.
"Where to?"
"We should get out of this alley first. If we stay here, there's no telling when that bastard might find us.“
She was right. If we stayed here, we were bound to be discovered eventually.
'Let's move for now and look for an opportunity.'
We got to our feet and moved along the narrow alley. We were blocked by transparent walls from time to time, but so far there had been no problems.
"Ha, when is this barrier or whatever going to end…"
Im Hwa-yeon grumbled. Her exhaustion was plain on her face.
"Are you okay? Want me to support you?"
"…Don't bother. I can walk on my own."
Im Hwa-yeon spoke stubbornly, but her face was growing paler and paler.
Before long, we reached the roadside. Corpses were scattered here and there around us. We could even hear the sounds of fighting in the distance.
"I hear fighting over there."
"Huh? I can't hear anything. You're a physical-type, so I guess you have incredible hearing too."
”What should we do? Go help?“
”No, it would be difficult to do anything in my condition. My ether has recovered a little, but not enough to fight.“
”Got it. Let's avoid them and go.“
That was when I sensed a presence nearby. Just as I was about to warn Im Hwa-yeon, two men suddenly appeared.
-Boom!
I dodged while holding Im Hwa-yeon in my arms as the chain slammed into the ground.
"Heh heh, I've never seen a beauty this gorgeous before.“
"After only fucking ordinary bitches, I finally get to taste a real beauty.“
The two men materialized in the empty air.
One man held a chain and wore an extremely vile expression. The other approached with a Japanese sword in hand.
"Where did they come from?"
"It must be an artifact made by an alchemist that conceals its user and masks their presence.
Im Hwa-yeon and I readied ourselves to attack the two men.
"What the hell? Don't keep talking among yourselves—let us join in, too."
The man holding the chain spoke with a leisurely smile.
"How about you dump your boyfriend and have some fun with us big brothers?“
"Who says he's my boyfriend?!“
Im Hwa-yeon shouted, taking offense at his words.
"Heh heh, you're attractive when you're angry, too. Good, let's kill the male bastard first and then rape you.“
They came closer and closer. The man with the Japanese sword threatened us by slicing through the air, while the chain-wielding man spun his chain with an unpleasant smile. The chain whipped menacingly through the air.
Watching their murderous movements, I whispered quietly to Im Hwa-yeon.
"I'll attack first, so support me from behind as best you can.“
"…Okay.“
The moment she finished answering, I gathered my internal energy and charged at them at full speed.
I targeted the man with the Japanese sword, who looked weaker, first. The blade gleamed coldly in the darkness as he watched my approach.
As I approached, he knitted his brows and swung his sword sharply. But his gaze wavered subtly at my speed.
"You bastard…“
He swung the Japanese sword broadly in a horizontal arc. The blade cut through the darkness and rapidly approached my neck. But the movement was excessive. The wide swing made it easy to evade.
The instant the blade grazed empty air, his balance faltered. It was my chance.
As soon as I spotted the opening, I delivered a precise blow infused with internal energy.
"Aaargh!“
At that moment, his wrist twisted grotesquely. His grip slackened, and the Japanese sword fell, slicing through the air. The heavy clang of metal split the chilly air.
"Grr, you fucking bastard!“
I didn't know what his ability was, but it seemed there was no need to learn more.
The internal energy concentrated in my dantian flowed down my arm like a river and gathered in my fist. Clenching my fist tightly, I threw a blow at his face.
-Boom!
My internal-energy-infused fist landed squarely on his face. But the sensation at my fingertips was strange. It felt abnormally hard, as though I had struck a thick steel plate.
"Urgh"
His body flew backward. The blow should have crushed his nose and caved in his face, but it merely knocked him back. His face was completely unscathed.
"Heh heh, how do you like my ability, Steel Head!"
His shout made the situation clear. So that was it—he was simply an ability user who had strengthened his head.
'Is it only his head that's strengthened?'
If his ability was limited to his head, the rest of his body would be vulnerable.
I gripped the hilt of the Japanese sword he had dropped. It had a satisfying heft.
'A sword is more convenient than bare hands after all.'
When I gripped the hilt, it felt like it fit my hand perfectly. I lowered my body, aimed the sword, and took up a stance.
At that moment, the chain-wielding man charged from the side. He was swinging the chain at my head.
-Whoosh!
Just then, a pillar of red flame sprang up in front of the chain wielder's feet. It was Im Hwa-yeon's supporting fire. It was smaller than the flames she had produced when fighting the gay bastard, but it was enough to stop his attack.
"Fuck!"
The chain-wielding man hurriedly retreated. The flames blocking his path died down, but the momentum of his attack had already been broken.
Im Hwa-yeon kept her hand raised, ready to attack at any moment.
I raised the sword horizontally and fixed my gaze on Steel Head. If only his head was strengthened, the rest of his body would be vulnerable.
-Whoosh!
The sharp blade shot toward his neck. It was about to become a fatal blow—
The chain wrapped around my sword in midair.
Like a living snake, the chain tightened around the sword. It felt as though the sword might be ripped from my hand.
"Heh heh, my ability is chain manipulation."
Following the chain wielder's hand movements, the chain moved freely. It whipped through the air as though it were an extension of his arm.
"Take this!"
Another chain flew toward my ankle. As I strained to keep hold of the sword, my ankle was in danger of being bound.
-Swish!
I quickly lifted my foot to avoid the chain. But the sword was already tightly bound. The chain tightened more and more.
"Heh heh, die!"
The chain wielder sent even more chains flying. Chains came at me from every direction like a spiderweb.
At that moment, a small flame flew toward the chain wielder. It was Im Hwa-yeon's attack.
"This puny flame!"
The chain wielder swung his hand. The chain blocked Im Hwa-yeon's attack, and her weakened flame was easily stopped.
"Hah… hah…"
Im Hwa-yeon panted. Her attack was far too weak.
This time, the chain wielder's chains flew toward Im Hwa-yeon. She couldn't dodge and was struck by a chain, sending her flying backward.
I released the sword at once. The chain-bound weapon flew through the air.
The chain wielder hesitated at my unexpected move. I charged through that split-second opening.
"Damn it!"
The flustered chain wielder hurriedly swung the chains he had left. But it was already too late. My fist flew toward his abdomen.
-Thud!
"Ghk!"
My internal-energy-infused fist drove deep into his abdomen. A bloodied groan burst from the chain wielder's mouth.
At that moment, I sensed killing intent behind me. Steel Head was approaching.
”Aaaaargh!“
I seized the sword lying on the ground. Internal energy flowed along the blade. I swung it hard behind me.
-Whoosh!
The sharp blade cleaved through the air.
The sword split his body in half. Red blood spurted like a fountain.
Steel Head's body collapsed limply to the ground.
I immediately approached to check on Im Hwa-yeon. She was sitting against the wall after being struck by the chain.
"Are you okay?"
"…No, I'm not okay."
Despite what she said, she looked fine on the outside. There didn't appear to be any notable injury where the chain had struck her, either.
I held out my hand to her.
Im Hwa-yeon looked at my hand as if hesitating for a moment, then finally took it.
"Let's get out of here first."
"Yeah…"
The moment she tried to stand, her body suddenly staggered. Her legs gave out, and I quickly caught her as she swayed.
"This won't do. Get on my back."
At my words, Im Hwa-yeon sighed.
"Ugh… I don't want to ride on the back of a pervert…"
Even as she grumbled in a small voice, she obediently climbed onto my back. Her soft breasts pressed against my back.
"Just bear with it for a little while. Only until we reach somewhere safe."
Her body heat came through my back. Her arms wrapped around my neck. Her breath touched my ear.
"…Yeah."
With that small reply, she leaned more deeply against my back. She was so docile that it was hard to believe this was the prickly Im Hwa-yeon.