Chapter: 907
Clap-! Crack-!
“Hey. Hey. Get a grip.”
I grabbed Gubong, who had lost consciousness, and slapped him. I think I’ve slapped him at least ten times already, but he still wasn’t budging.
“Ugh. This is really annoying.”
Maybe I went a little too far (?), and he wasn’t looking so great. Fortunately, he was still breathing, albeit shallowly, and his heart was beating.
Not to mention, there was some regeneration going on.
His face was quite bruised, but at this rate, it seemed like he would recover quickly.
The problem is…
“Hey, wake up!”
The real issue is that this guy is completely out of it.
“Seriously, you were acting all high and mighty, and now you can’t wake up?”
Crack-!
I slapped him again, but he remained just as quiet.
“Ugh, damn it… Normally, this is how people wake up.”
What should I do? If slapping doesn’t work, should I try pushing some energy in to wake him up?
‘That’s a bit risky.’
Usually, that would be the easiest method, but not now. Considering the amount of damage he’d taken, one wrong move could mess up his energy and blood flow completely.
So, right now, waiting for him to wake up was all I could do.
“But if this keeps up and someone sees us, my situation is going to get a bit tricky…”
“What are you doing?”
“…”
I turned my gaze away while still holding onto his collar.
Shin Noya had somehow crept up beside me and was staring.
“Ha…”
I had to awkwardly swallow my saliva in response to his deep sigh.
*
I walked into the room.
Sitting silently at the table, the same fragrant scent as before wafted around.
The plum tea I had just drunk—yeah, that’s definitely the scent.
Just as expected, a cup was set in front of me.
It was the tea brought by Shin Noya.
As I gazed quietly at the cup, Shin Noya, sitting across from me, spoke directly.
“How does an accident happen in just a moment of not seeing you?”
Hearing that made me frown slightly.
“They started it first.”
“Sure, that makes sense. Even if you have a bad temper, you wouldn’t strike first, so Gubong must have done something.”
“But…”
“But then, what do you think you’re doing to a child like that?”
“…”
I scratched my cheek awkwardly. He wasn’t wrong, after all.
“Surely, you didn’t intend to kill him. What did you do?”
“…Honestly, at first, I planned to let it go.”
If there was a problem, it was probably hitting him first.
“…I just hit him.”
“I just hit him.”
“He was tougher than I expected and regenerated quickly.”
“…and?”
“So I thought…”
Ahem. I coughed lightly, avoiding his gaze.
“…I was annoyed anyway, so I figured this was a good chance.”
“You used him to blow off steam?”
“Let’s say I put a little more heart into it for the spar.”
“So you vented your frustration, huh?”
“…”
“Are you out of your mind?”
Noya shot me a ridiculous look. Hearing that made me frown and retort.
“No, well, why would you just disappear like that? If you had been here, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“Look at you! Why are you blaming me for this? You’re the one who threw a fit.”
“There’s no right or wrong on both sides, huh?”
“…You’re both crazy and shameless.”
Noya looked at me as if I were repulsive. His face was dripping with contempt.
Of course, I felt the same way.
“…By the way…”
I strained to manage my expression and asked Noya.
“Is he going to be okay…?”
Regarding Gubong, Noya clicked his tongue sharply.
“Why? You’re suddenly concerned now that I’ve beaten him?”
“Not to that extent. But he’s from your side, after all.”
“Don’t worry. As you can see, he’s a really sturdy guy, so he should regain consciousness by tomorrow at the latest. And luckily for you, none of his vital points got hit, so he shouldn’t have any real issues.”
“Thank goodness.”
Noya quietly stared at me after my words. His crimson gaze felt heavy. And I knew exactly what that look meant.
“I told you before, Aesong…”
“Yeah. Don’t worry. After hitting him once, there’s no hard feelings.”
“…”
Please don’t hate Gubong too much. That’s probably what Shin Noya wishes for.
Feeling the wind blowing softly, I realized that Noya cared quite a bit for that guy named Gubong.
“Also, please tell him I’m sorry later.”
I won’t ask why.
Because it was pretty obvious.
‘A hundred and fifty years, huh?’
The time Noya spent in this time-warped place.
If I consider that the time spent with me was only four or five years, then the time Noya spent with others would indeed be vastly different.
Especially considering this place is called Hwasanpa.
‘It signifies Noya’s affection.’
Because the value of emotions is different, I respected his wishes.
Jealousy? That’s just laughable. I didn’t feel that.
Right now was the time to check what lay ahead instead.
“So, what’s up with him?”
I asked about Gubong.
This wasn’t a run-of-the-mill concern about his well-being; I literally meant what kind of person he was.
“That calf I met last time was like that too. It felt like something was related to the night. Am I right?”
I recalled how Gubong changed as soon as night fell.
While his human appearance had a hint of beastly traits, his transformed state was completely different.
‘Almost beast-like in form.’
Along with that came enhanced strength and speed.
I ended up smashing him in surprise, but that also indicated he had grown too powerful to be assessed further.
“Hmm…”
Noya took a moment to catch his breath upon hearing my question.
“Do you remember what I told you during the day?”
“Yeah.”
Even if I tried to forget, it was too vivid to escape my mind.
“Then, do you remember the Night Moon?”
“I remember.”
One of the conditions for coming to Man-gye.
They had to belong to the Night Moon, being natives and masters of this realm.
That was the rule.
“Gubong is that very Night Moon.”
Noya’s statement didn’t elicit a particular reaction from me.
Of course, it made sense that you had to belong to the Night Moon to reach Man-gye.
“Among them, he’s a pureblood.”
Pureblood. That word caught my attention.
“What’s the difference…?”
Are those who came from elsewhere and became Yawol (Moon) different from those born here initially?
“It’s not drastically different, but there are distinctions.”
“What kind of distinctions?”
“Purebloods gain exceptionally high regenerative abilities and strength at night. They’re already pretty strong, but their power escalates at night.”
“Hmm.”
That made sense.
‘Their regenerative powers were indeed impressive.’
It amazed me how quickly my arm knit itself back together after being broken. So, they get even better at night?
I wanted to test it, but I regrettably smashed it up before I could witness it.
“Ah. So that calf too…?”
Was the leader still alive because he shared this trait?
“No.”
Noya shook his head firmly.
“He isn’t a pureblood, so he doesn’t have that kind of power. It’s a gift he received purely from the universe.”
“…A gift?”
“Exactly. This is the primary difference between purebloods and non-purebloods. They don’t possess this trait even at night. However…”
Slurp.
Noya poured more plum tea into my empty cup. A richer scent wafted through the air.
“If someone’s granted powers… they can utilize that gift until dawn.”
“So, that guy…”
“Immortal was the term used, right? That’s his power.”
“…”
Immortal, that’s quite a straightforward and clear explanation.
“The Night Moon….”
Those who grow stronger when the two moons rise at night.
It can’t be a mere coincidence in naming.
I also sipped my tea, thinks about Gubong’s ears and tail.
His appearance reminded me of his mother’s form.
“…”
Mother, perhaps?
Just contemplating that tangled up my thoughts again.
‘Oblivion, you said….’
Is it true that I remember nothing? Then how on earth does a part of that remain within me?
The question lingered.
At this point, I had no idea what to do next.
“Aesong.”
In the pause, Noya called out to me.
“…What is it?”
“Alright, now let’s have a conversation.”
“What about?”
What could this mean?
Oh, is it about what I need to do next that I haven’t heard yet?
Though to be fair, I hadn’t heard much at all.
I perked my ears up as those thoughts flitted by.
“How have you been?”
The words that spilled from Noya’s mouth were totally unexpected and contradictory to my expectations.
“Yes…?”
How have you been?
Out of the blue?
I was caught off guard for a moment, but Noya continued speaking casually.
“The fact that Gubong is still conscious after that means you’ve grown stronger. I can tell just by looking at you.”
I had to force an awkward grin at that.
Indeed, there was a significant difference between before Noya vanished and now.
“I don’t know much. I just…”
“You’ve done well. You’ve struggled a lot.”
“…”
I lived hard.
I’ve faced many challenges.
At his words, I unconsciously clenched my hands underneath the table. An uncomfortable feeling surged through me.
“I’m honestly disappointed I couldn’t watch you from the sidelines and tease you. Hehe. Ah, I really enjoyed messing with you.”
“…Is that really what matters in this situation? That I couldn’t be teased?”
“Of course, it matters. So, now that I couldn’t poke fun at you, tell me how you’ve managed while I was gone.”
“…”
We’re already in a messy and uncomfortable situation here.
Better than anyone else, I knew this wasn’t the time for such discussions.
I knew it for sure…
“…It was nothing special. After Noya disappeared….”
Strangely, my mouth spoke freely to Noya without hesitation.
If I were to share everything, it would have been a lengthy story, but curiously, words flowed out easily.
It felt comforting, an emotion I hadn’t experienced for ages.
Softly, slowly.
I poured out thoughts I had never shared with anyone else, without even organizing them.
I laid it bare without filter.
As I spoke, Noya silently and quietly continued pouring plum tea into my glass as it emptied.
Continuing through the night until dawn broke.
*
Outside the walls of the building.
A woman with black hair stood in a field, gazing up at the sky.
The two rising moons grew more fascinating the longer she looked at them.
If you said they were beautiful, that would seem true, and if you called them simply extraordinary, that too would be correct.
“Hmm…”
But that wasn’t the only feeling the woman experienced while looking at the sky.
She felt a strange sense of familiarity. An odd disconnect, as if this wasn’t the first time she was seeing it.
This sky was evoking such feelings in her.
“No…”
Clearly, she had neither been here nor seen it before, so why did she feel this way?
Although it was bizarre, she didn’t dwell on it.
This wasn’t the first time the woman had felt something like this.
She had felt things she never thought possible.
She was looking at something unfamiliar, yet it felt strangely known.
This occurrence was not surprising for the woman, having happened hundreds of times before.
“Hmm…”
Was something particularly intense today?
This curiosity was precisely why she had come out alone to survey the area.
Even if this place felt unfamiliar, it somehow seemed like it should be this way.
“Hmmm….”
And so she continued to glance about, yet the more she looked around, the more her expression soured.
“Annoying.”
She was beginning to tire of this constant scanning all day.
Being away from him was also bothersome.
Everything felt only irritating and unwelcome to the woman.
“Should I go back?”
This was enough.
She nodded, making a compromise with herself, and stood up.
At that moment…
Wooosh—!
As a breeze stirred from somewhere, the woman turned her head.
She spotted a spot densely shielded by thick trees and tilted her head at it.
At the same time, light enveloped her softly shining purple eyes.
“Who?”
The moment the woman asked in a place where nothing was visible.
Crunch.
Someone suddenly emerged from between the trees.
“…”
Upon seeing this, the woman furrowed her brow.
The first thing visible was a floppy-eared dog and a bushy-tailed figure with long brown hair wearing an unknown black mask.
“…”
After locking eyes for a few seconds, the woman was just about to step silently towards it.
Pop-!
The masked figure, having kept watch, suddenly vanished in an instant.
The woman showed no inclination to follow.
Could she have followed if she wanted to?
That question remained unanswered.
“Annoying.”
Frustration surged up to her head, and she decided against pursuing it.
Even aside from that…
‘I don’t want to go.’
It felt wrong to chase after it.
Those thoughts filled her mind.
Rustle- The woman turned around and began walking away.
Her destination was, naturally, where he was.
“Hmmm…”
Although she occasionally looked back.
The figure she had just encountered lingered in her mind more than she expected.
Far too much.
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