Chapter 123: Alone in the Cave (8)

Ever since the day of the Spiritual Eye Awakening, there were occasional days in Korea when one could see people standing in the sky.

Today was one of those days—and a woman stood high above, in the sky.

But no one paid attention to the woman standing in the sky. Or rather, they pretended not to.

Because to stand in the sky meant only one thing—she was a powerful being, someone who looked down on humans from above.

Drawing the attention of such a powerful being was a stupid move.

Even more so if that being was half insane.

And yet, one fool was drawing the attention of that half-mad powerhouse.

“Such a fool.”

The name of that powerhouse was Kirieon.

And the name of the fool attracting her gaze—Yoo Hajin.

With an expression full of frustration, Kirieon stared out toward the embankment of the Ido River.

There, a group of martial artists had gathered.

They seemed to be the ones who had fled from the Deungseon Cave.

She could even spot disciples from the great sects like Ilwol-Oakmoon Sect and Ten Thousand Li Sect.

Even retainers from powerful noble families like the Seonghwa Jin Clan were among them.

For all of them to have fled…

Just what on earth is inside that cave?

“…Why the hell is that idiot going back in there?”

Kirieon clenched her fists as she watched Yoo Hajin return to Deungseon Cave.

That place was dangerous right now.

So why was that boy heading back in, risking his life?

“Don’t tell me…”

Time passed.

And then, Yoo Hajin emerged—bringing several people out from the cave.

“…Wait, he’s going in again?”

After safely placing them down, Yoo Hajin turned around and headed back into the cave once more.

Watching this, Kirieon bit her lip.

From afar, the waters of the Ido River began to surge forward.

Ido was a tributary of the River—the River of the Three Paths.

In other words, the water approaching them now… was pure death energy.

Even those with almost no spiritual awareness could sense the terrifying aura it carried.

Some were so overcome with fear, they were ready to abandon even the relative safety of the embankment—leaving behind comrades still trapped inside the cave.

But Yoo Hajin went back again.

As if that ominous aura of death didn’t affect him in the slightest. Calm. Unshaken.

Of course, in truth, Yoo Hajin couldn’t sense the death energy.

But the others didn’t know that.

All they could do was watch his back—

The back of a man who walked toward death just to save others.

And then… drops of blood began to fall from the sky.

The blood belonged to Kirieon.

She had clenched her fists so tightly that her palms had started to bleed.

“…Still the same. Still naïve. Still foolish. You haven’t changed one bit. Still playing the fool, just like I used to…”

Kirieon muttered to herself.

Her voice trembled—not just with madness, but with sorrow.

“…Maybe you need a real, hard lesson to wake the hell up.”

And with that, Kirieon fixed her gaze on Yoo Hajin.

“A real hard lesson…”

* * *

“Is the chick the last one?”

I started rescuing people from the entrance inward. Naturally, those who had gone the deepest—the chick and her friends—ended up being the last ones left.

As I carried the chick out of the cave, I found myself lost in thought.

She had said this:

She was ready to throw everything away to become an immortal, but… she couldn’t bring herself to throw me away.

For f*ck’s sake. We’ve only known each other for a few months, and here she is, practically confessing.

Is this normal?

I felt a mess inside.

But then again, how would I know? I’ve never really been in a relationship.

When I was younger, I was too busy taking care of my little sister to even think about dating.

And when I got older, I was too caught up in adapting to the chaos of the Eye Awakening to even consider love.

And now, love?

Can I even afford to think about something like that?

I’m about to fight Cheonji just to save my sister.

There’s Mara—that middle-schooler-in-my-head manifestation—I still don’t even fully understand it.

And hell, I might have to go head-to-head with monsters like Joo-cheol and the others too.

And in the middle of all that, I’m supposed to date some clueless little chick who only knows how to chirp?

If she got dragged into my mess…

There’s a 120% chance she’d get killed horribly.

“…Yeah. No. Dating is off the table.”

Flinch—

The chick twitched in my arms.

Probably having a bad dream or something.

“She’s a high schooler, for god’s sake.

What the hell am I doing seriously thinking about dating a student? Have I finally lost it?”

“I’m not a student, okay?”

The chick, now awake at some point, chirped defensively.

“I’ve never even been to school, so I have no reason to be called a student.”

“Oh really? Then how old are you?”

She went silent for a moment, then chirped again.

“I’m an adult.”

“For real? How old exactly?”

“In the material world, sure, you might need to be 19 to be considered an adult.

But in the spirit realm, as long as you can have kids, you’re an adult. So yes—I’m an adult!”

‘Wait, what?’

Where the hell did that come from?

Suddenly dropping baby-making logic out of nowhere?

I had no words.

And by the look on her face, neither did she.

“…Chirp.”

We sat in silence for a while.

Then, quietly, she spoke again.

“…Is it really not possible?”

I didn’t look at her.

I didn’t want to risk wavering.

But I could feel her small hand gripping the hem of my shirt tightly.

The chick was still burying herself in my chest.

“If you’re gonna cling to me like this, you might as well get up and walk.”

“M-my legs hurt. I can’t walk…”

To be honest, I do like the chick.

I don’t know if it’s love in the romantic sense, but…

She is really cute.

Plus, her family’s insanely rich, right?

She could probably support me without even blinking.

I mean, if I had the choice, I wouldn’t mind being a freeloader in the chick’s house.

But for some reason, in moments like this, my sister’s face comes to mind.

I opened my mouth. Then closed it.

I still had things I needed to do.

And those things were dangerous—far too dangerous.

“No.”

The chick’s grip tightened.

But I pretended not to notice.

And with that, we finally escaped from Deungseon Cave.

The moment we stepped outside, shouting erupted from the embankment.

“Benefactor! Run!”

“The Ido River is rising! Get out of there!”

…What?

The Ido River is rising?

But I couldn’t see anything.

Holy sh*t.

So even Death’s River was just an illusion to me?

“Chick, hold on tight.”

“Chirp?!”

Heavenly Demon Serjeant Jump!!!

And just like that, I leapt—

Landing in a single bound on the embankment of the Ido River.

When I landed with my flashy Heavenly Demon Landing, applause broke out around me.

“How’d he do that without even using an ability?”

“Freakin’ insane—no, seriously, that was incredible.”

I gently set the chick down and decided to enjoy the praise for a moment.

Now then… maybe it’s time I got paid for saving everyone.

But before I could even open my mouth, a girl in a blue martial uniform rushed over and grabbed my arm.

“Thank you for saving our senior disciple! Benefactor, if you ever have the time, we’d love to invite you to our sect, Ten Thousand Li Sect—”

“No no, hello there! I’m one of the first-generation disciples of Ilwol-Oakmoon Sect, the name’s Wolhyang. You’re Yoo Hajin, right? I heard all about your impressive performance during the Cheonji Entrance Exam! If you’d be willing to grace our sect with your presence, we’d be honored to repay the debt…”

“Uh-heh.”

Is this what they call a flower in each arm?

I couldn’t help but grin.

But suddenly, both girls’ voices trailed off.

“Spiritual Form Manifestation. Total Power Release. Phoenix Wings.”

The chick was glaring at them.

Of course, I wasn’t scared in the slightest by her glare, but… the others clearly didn’t feel the same.

“Did she just say Phoenix Wings?!”

“All the surrounding yang energy is bowing to her?”

“She fully deployed her power? That means… she’s become a Earthly Immortal!”

Wait—she became a Earthly Immortal?

Didn’t she say earlier she didn’t want to become a monster?

“You said you didn’t want to become a monster.”

“When someone attains enlightenment, there’s no turning back. It’s the point of no return. Once you burn others as a monster… you can’t go back to being human.”

Her pink eyes shimmered with sorrow.

Then the girl asked me,

“Would you come with me to the Seonghwa Jin Clan?”

“…I don’t think I can do that.”

“Is it because I’ve become like Cheonsu… like an immortal?”

She stepped closer.

I instinctively took a step back.

“It’s not like that.”

“Y-you’re lying! Hmph!”

Suddenly, she lunged at me.

It was like a hawk spreading its wings—

I didn’t react in time.

Smooch—

And just like that, the chick kissed me.

It was quick. Just a soft touch of the lips.

A classic bird kiss—barely more than a peck.

Blushing furiously, she shouted,

“You have to take responsibility! How dare you kiss the heir of a noble clan! That means—that means…!”

“?!”

“Now I’m going to get pregnant! Take responsibility!”

“?!!”

I panicked and looked over at the Seonghwa Jin Clan members.

But they all just awkwardly turned their heads away.

Seriously, what kind of sex ed did they give this girl?!

The chick turned and gave them a signal, and the clan members instantly moved into formation.

What the hell—are they trying to abduct me into marriage over one surprise kiss?!

I quickly dropped into a defensive stance.

And that’s when—

“Ha! Of course. This is exactly how good deeds get repaid—With betrayal and a knife to the back.”

A stark-naked lunatic woman suddenly appeared.

– – The End of The Chapter – –

 

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