“Thank you! Thank you! Hero…!”
A scruffy civilian expressed gratitude before haphazardly making his escape.
You could tell he was scared out of his wits, fleeing without a backward glance.
Choi Ji-yeon didn’t feel uncomfortable about it.
In fact, she could completely understand why he acted that way.
– Swoosh!
With a downward chop, the axe severed a neck. Blood gushed out like a river from the clean cut.
The severed body staggered, wobbling before collapsing to one side.
A chunk of meat fell into the pooled blood. Choi Ji-yeon reached for the chunk.
Thud! The now cold piece of meat twitched.
With its head gone, the remaining body shook for a moment before suddenly springing back up.
It seemed to search for something before perfectly reattaching the neatly severed head.
The cleanly cut surfaces fused together. It was as if they were stitched back together like a surgical operation.
Necromancy.
Through a spiritual connection, the summoned creature stomped the ground to kill the monster going berserk due to the necromancer’s influence.
This method multiplied the number of summoned creatures while decimating the local monsters.
“Phew…”
After completing the rituals for hundreds of summoned entities, Choi Ji-yeon took a moment to catch her breath and surveyed her surroundings.
This area… The vicinity where emergency signals were sent out was nothing short of chaos.
Mad necromancers had unleashed countless summoned creatures.
Dungeons were going wild and collapsing one by one, spilling monsters into the open.
Monsters that had been roaming around the gray zone, now stirring up trouble alongside the commotion.
Superhumans working hard to defeat the monsters and civilians resisting with firearms…
At least in the areas with no civilians, she could just let the monsters fight and eat each other.
Even that might need to be suppressed due to the concern of creating deadly mutations, but for now, it wasn’t worth worrying about.
What mattered was the civilian areas.
– Please help the civilians.
Suddenly, a dull voice echoed in her mind.
Lee Ha-yul. That kid who was busy doing… something inside the dungeon.
– There are still a lot of people who haven’t evacuated.
Was it calmness or something else? Despite knowing the terrifying monsters were right behind him, the image of that child worrying about civilians crept into her mind.
– There are many dungeons going berserk due to the necromancer’s influence.
Of course, this wasn’t the real voice but an artificial sound produced by an artifact.
– If it’s you, many people can be saved.
But… despite being in a perilous situation, prioritizing civilians and urging Choi Ji-yeon to go help them was undeniably true.
The kid she had harbored a petty jealousy towards was… worrying about civilians, and about her safety.
Choi Ji-yeon could only feel frustration and pull away.
Leaving her junior behind, who was being chased by monsters.
That thought wouldn’t leave her mind… No, it was seriously gnawing at her. Ever since she bolted, she was plagued with grave anxiety.
‘Should I go back even now…?’
It felt like her insides were about to explode with pent-up frustration.
Choi Ji-yeon bit her lip and turned her head. In the distance, she could still see her junior being chased by monsters without her help.
There had been a reasonable reason for her to separate at first.
Back then, Lee Ha-yul was splitting his strength to ensure both their safety. If only Choi Ji-yeon had separated, it would have been easier to escape.
The two-headed dragon wasn’t interested in Choi Ji-yeon. It had chased her with deadly intent before, but ever since Lee Ha-yul had shown up, it was focused solely on him.
Lee Ha-yul had a plethora of means.
While he did have Choi Ji-yeon’s help, he was escaping rather effortlessly… He possessed astonishing sensory abilities and was mastering spatial magic.
If it really got dangerous, he could just use spatial magic to flee far away.
Plus, Choi Ji-yeon was the Manifestor of Taesan.
With earth manipulation, she could crush a bunch of monsters at once.
She could also use life force manipulation for emergency measures and summon more entities to rescue more civilians.
Fully aware of the current chaos caused by the rampant monsters and summoned entities, it was Choi Ji-yeon who was best suited to stabilize the situation by deploying large-scale necromancy.
With such reasoning, she had separated.
– I’m fine.
Lee Ha-yul… her junior assured her he was fine too.
– Don’t worry.
– I won’t die.
– Trust me.
He had told her not to worry, that he wouldn’t die, but to trust him.
So she should relax and ask him to save the civilians.
And so… Choi Ji-yeon made her own judgment and…
‘…Really?’
As she was killing monsters and summoning new entities to spread out and rescue civilians, she suddenly found herself doubting her own choices.
‘Was it really after a cool-headed decision that I left?’
The two-headed dragon, a markedly weakened version of its former self.
Even such a creature had almost taken her life just from being chased for a moment.
She experienced it firsthand. The speed of the snake, which was impossible to shake off, and the moment she thought her body would be crushed by the impact of a single hit.
Even Choi Ji-yeon, who was confident in her defense, stamina, and resistance thanks to her connection with Taesan, felt deathly venom when she got hit.
She was gripped by fear. She was scared of death. She didn’t want to die there.
She wanted to run away immediately. Wasn’t she already running away?
In the midst of that, her junior, younger than her, had opened a path for her.
She told her to leave it to her. She asked her to rescue others…
Had she rather let her guard down with sweet words and bolted on her own?
Perhaps she had secretly wanted to run but took the opportunity to turn her back…
‘I…’
She could not confidently say otherwise.
Choi Ji-yeon had always been timid since childhood.
Whenever she felt a vague fear of the unknown, her body would freeze. Hence, her actions were slow, and even thinking took time.
She was different from Hong Yeon-hwa, who was always confident and boldly stepped forward.
Choi Ji-yeon didn’t have any particular skills.
Whenever faced with a problem, it was exceptionally difficult for her to solve it even after days of struggling.
Unlike Baek Ahrin, who would back off humbly for a step or two before approaching with a beaming smile to fix everything with ease.
Choi Ji-yeon had manifested Taesan.
Based on the historical examples of her family, it was certainly a powerful manifestation of Taesan.
– Have you heard the news? That Hong Yeon-hwa girl, they say she completely melted the verification device.
– I heard she manifested Gop-hwa… What? Don’t joke. Even an active combat team would struggle. What can a mere 5-year-old girl do?
– No, it’s really true! Apparently, the world is abuzz with that news!
Hong Yeon-hwa had manifested Gop-hwa.
That output was unprecedented in the history of her family.
– Is this another offspring from Changhae? It’s a double blessing.
– They say she can handle both fire and ice freely. The output is tremendous… Especially with ice. She apparently froze special alloyed Hancheol, making it unusable.
– Hancheol… That’s unbelievable. Isn’t she only 5 too? Just imagine how powerful she’ll be as she grows.
Baek Ahrin had manifested Changhae. Her manifestation of Changhae was specialized in ice with an unparalleled output.
On top of that, her ability to handle water was impressive.
Hong Yeon-hwa and Baek Ahrin.
They were sisters who often played together.
The sisters, who were merely a year apart, were celebrated as the most talented in their family’s history, and people spoke of their reincarnation of legendary figures, saying they would surpass their predecessors…
Choi Ji-yeon was not anywhere close to that level.
Though she manifested a powerful Taesan… She wasn’t of the caliber to receive praises like the reincarnation of a legendary figure.
‘……’
– What about Choi Ji-yeon…?
That was always the topic following her.
The same generation, merely a year apart. They were all children of the current family head, and especially because they had spent much time together, their attention was ever apparent.
Weak expectations.
Continued small disappointments.
Those feelings disappeared quickly, but Choi Ji-yeon clearly felt them. She couldn’t forget.
– Hmm? What do you do? Um… You just, how should I put it, watch their movements and dodge, right?
Hong Yeon-hwa tilted her head innocently, wondering why she couldn’t do that.
– As for me, I’m just raising it like I learned, didn’t you learn something similar, Ji-yeon unnie?
Baek Ahrin was also in a dilemma about how best to help while actively offering assistance.
Choi Ji-yeon couldn’t forget how she had felt back then.
And foolishly, she harbored jealousy.
She felt ugly towards those younger sisters who got along with her, without any malice.
Suddenly, it became hard for her to enjoy spending time with them.
It wasn’t even a past situation.
That feeling still clung to her now. That’s why she began to drift away. It wasn’t that they had a falling out; naturally, their relationship grew distant over time.
It was all simply foolish feelings.
If one were to rate talents in the world from the top down, Choi Ji-yeon would surely be at the top.
As a child of the family with no thought of going hungry, a direct descendant of the founder, and the current family head’s eldest daughter.
Her innate ability was high enough to manifest Taesan. The family generously supported her.
The records left by ancestors were sufficient, and many teachers were willing to kindly interpret and teach her.
Being well-fed, warm, and having overflowing leisure, her grumbling was simply ridiculous.
It was an ugly feeling stemming from her inability.
Being aware of such faults in herself made Choi Ji-yeon feel even worse.
Even now, she realized her flaws.
Choi Ji-yeon clenched her teeth and gathered her magic. She released the summoned entities she had stored, using up her energy to the point of feeling quite empty.
In that moment, her head rang. Consuming too much mana at once made her vision blurry.
The further away she got, the more difficult it was to maintain precise control, but the absolute command to eliminate only monsters and other summoned entities remained unchanged.
‘After all, I should return now.’
No matter how she thought about it, regrouping was the right choice.
The surrounding structure was nearly complete. It was more efficient to entrust the remaining realm to the summoned entities.
It would consume quite a bit of strength, and there were still some injuries, but they weren’t enough to obstruct her.
Thus, she should regroup with Lee Ha-yul and buy some time together.
With that thought, she turned her body.
“Eh?”
From afar, she caught sight of a black orb appearing.
It was far away, but it was of considerable size. Moreover, the aura emanating from the black orb felt quite familiar.
‘…Wait a minute.’
Before she could ponder deeply, Choi Ji-yeon suddenly shivered.
That direction… was where Lee Ha-yul was luring the two-headed dragon.
A sense of foreboding flickered in the back of her mind.
“No!”
Choi Ji-yeon exclaimed, not sure who she was talking to, as she hurriedly stomped the ground.
The orb shrank and then vanished. Choi Ji-yeon quickly moved her feet.
She felt deadly poison. Staying too long could lead to fatal poisoning.
Choi Ji-yeon surrounded herself with rocky armor and strong energy to block the poison.
Manifesting Taesan, she heightened her resistance.
She kept running. The land was dying under the ominous toxins.
Flames and explosions scorched the earth, leaving traces that seemed to have been shredded by the wind.
She saw the signs of the two-headed dragon.
Clear marks remained, as if a snake the size of a building had slithered past.
She raced along that trail.
And then…
“…Ah.”
Choi Ji-yeon stood before a pit.
A pit wide enough to swallow an entire village was sunken into the earth.
From the pit, familiar energies emanated… but that was unimportant.
She scanned the surroundings.
The area around the pit was not intact either. It seemed as if the ground surrounding the pit had been completely turned upside down and obliterated.
The signs of the two-headed dragon were interrupted at the pit.
“…Junior.”
Looking around, Choi Ji-yeon found no trace of the two-headed dragon.
And there was no sign of the person who was luring it.
“Junior…?”
She spoke with a trembling voice. No answer came back. There were no plausible signs.
Manifesting Taesan, she blended with the earth to extend her senses.
She felt the life force… connecting with the earth, sensing everything she could.
Nothing could be felt. She pushed her senses beyond their limits.
Her vision turned red, and blood tears streamed down her cheeks.
Ignoring it, she pushed her senses higher.
Among that information, there was no trace of Lee Ha-yul.
The worst scenario she had been trying to suppress surfaced.
“…Then…”
– I’m doing this because I don’t want to die.
Suddenly, the words of that child came to mind.
Even as the monster pursued him from behind, it was not typical for a child worrying about civilians and Choi Ji-yeon to willingly take on the lure.
Choi Ji-yeon’s vision turned completely dark.
Despair and self-loathing gathered in her eyes.
*
Her head hurts.
It’s as if someone is hitting her head repeatedly with a giant club. Her brain felt like mush, and it felt like her skull would shatter.
Clenching her teeth, she tried to activate her powers…
“Ngh… urgh… aah…”
As she attempted to summon her observing power, the intensity of the pain doubled.
Just one more moment, and her brain might actually melt away.
With her consciousness fading to a bright white, she halted the powers from manifesting.
“Ugh…”
Fearing she might scream, she covered her mouth and curled her body. She didn’t know where she had fallen. It seemed to be the ground.
It didn’t look like she landed where she marked in advance.
Did she fail in spatial leap? How could that happen? Could there be anything wrong with the coordinates she had calculated beforehand?
“Ugh…”
Not just her head, but her whole body was in pain.
That’s why something felt off about her body.
An indescribable sense of incongruity enveloped her entire being.
Her senses felt strange.
How could she explain it?
Somehow… something…
Through the transmitted sensations, it felt like the world had expanded.
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