NOVEL NEXT Chapter 120
Chapter 120: The Reckoning
“Hyungniiiim!!”
Kang Baek shouted for Si-hyun with bloodshot eyes, voicing his desperation.
He had clearly witnessed the man’s hand penetrate Si-hyun’s chest. The sight of blood splattering everywhere, along with Si-hyun’s agonized groans, crushed his heart as if it were about to explode.
This wasn’t someone meant to die here. He absolutely couldn’t die.
The Si-hyun he knew was the best person, and also the finest Correctional Officer. His sense of responsibility and proactive manner in handling tasks commanded respect. Even now, he stood at the forefront, fighting the enemy to save others. No one else could dare do such a thing.
But why? Why did that person have to die here?
Why?!
Kang Baek, his face flushed with rage, dashed toward Si-hyun without a care for his own life.
Just as he moved a few steps forward…
“Delly!!”
A woman’s scream echoed, as if calling someone desperately.
Yet, Kang Baek paid no mind, continuing his urgent run toward Si-hyun.
He couldn’t afford to be distracted.
But in that moment, a woman’s figure appeared behind Si-hyun, as if she were a mirage.
She stretched out her hand and pulled Si-hyun away from the man.
Then, cradling Si-hyun in her arms, she moved to another location with ghostly grace.
Everything unfolded far too quickly.
Before he realized it, Kang Baek’s steps came to an abrupt halt.
“What’s going on here?! What is this?!”
The woman shouted, her head bowed so he couldn’t read her expression.
But from her voice, he could tell she was in a highly agitated state.
The man wore a look of utter disbelief at what had just transpired, his fury bubbling at someone daring to interfere with his actions.
“How dare… who the hell are you?!”
His voice was laced with menace.
The woman raised her head.
At that moment, Kang Baek finally saw her expression clearly.
It was filled with deep sorrow and intense rage.
“You trash! I’ll kill you soon, so shut your mouth!”
Malice dripped from her words, yet Kang Baek felt that her anger wasn’t simply born from rage.
In that very instant, her hand moved.
Kaboom!
Simultaneously, a tremendous explosion rang out.
Kang Baek swiftly turned his head toward the sound.
A massive column of fire shot up into the sky from the spot where the man had stood just moments before.
He could see the startled look on the man’s face, as he had just managed to evade the flames.
Kaboom!
In an instant, yet another fiery column erupted.
It was from where the man had just been.
Kabwaaaang!
“Huh…!”
The man’s confused groan broke through the noise as another column of fire erupted.
Thick, black smoke began to blanket the sky, engulfing the area with intense heat that made it hard to breathe.
“Damn… this bitch! What the hell is she?!”
The man, barely escaping the massive explosion, roared at the woman as if he would devour her alive.
He had almost been caught up in that unexpected series of attacks.
Of course, he wouldn’t be seriously harmed by a mere human’s attack. But it was an unacceptable disgrace, an affront to his kingly dignity.
Humans were nothing but insect-like slaves.
They couldn’t even scratch the surface of his noble body.
If such a thing occurred, it would only be met with cold, merciless judgment.
“….”
The woman, Lin Xue, did not respond.
She simply knelt beside Si-hyun’s body and knelt down on the ground.
Her gaze fell upon the wound in his chest.
Blood flowed like a river.
There was so much blood that it felt like he might bleed out completely.
She reached out and placed her hand over the wound.
Her long, slender fingers quickly became stained red with blood.
Her head spun in confusion.
She hadn’t been prepared for such a situation to arise so suddenly.
She had never even imagined they would meet like this, not even in her wildest dreams.
She had loved fiercely, yet in the end, had grown to hate him deeply.
It had all come to this calamity.
She thought that was the end.
But somehow, a chance to meet again had emerged in this different world.
And she wanted to ask:
Why did he choose her over me?
This was a question she had asked dozens, if not hundreds, of times in that other world.
Yet, she felt she had never received a sincere answer.
Perhaps here, she might hear the truth.
But why?
Why was he lying there, like that?
He was supposed to be the strongest boulder in the world.
A person who could never be eroded by even the fiercest waves.
So why, here, was he on the verge of death…?
Lin Xue reached out and caressed Si-hyun’s pale cheek.
She thought she had completely severed their ties.
But that was an illusion.
The instant she saw him suffering, she realized that wasn’t true.
In that moment, her heart ached with an overwhelming sorrow.
It felt as if her chest had been ripped apart by a sharp blade.
“You worthless bitch! How dare you ignore me?!”
The noise was unbearable.
It was annoyingly loud.
The curse of a damned man echoed in her ears.
The cries of desperate humans filled the air.
Everything grated on her nerves.
“…It’s too loud.”
Lin Xue muttered.
“I’m telling you clearly! I won’t let you die easily! Your filthy body will be thrown to the orcs over there! Over and over again, until you scream for mercy!”
The man was seething with anger, glaring at Lin Xue with rage burning in his eyes.
“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!”
Lin Xue scowled and stood up.
She couldn’t hold it in any longer.
The cacophony was causing her head to throb even more.
First, those damned bastards.
Lin Xue lifted her hand, stained with Si-hyun’s blood, higher.
Suddenly, the monstrous beasts engaged in battle with the inmates and Correctional Officers began to rise into the air, howling frightfully.
Reverse Gravity.
She had cast the gravity inversion spell.
“Uh? Huh?”
“What’s happening?”
As the beasts flew upward, the inmates and Correctional Officers recoiled in surprise and confusion.
It was strange.
They had been fighting intensely, yet only the beasts were floating upward due to the magic.
In the chaotic melee, Lin Xue had targeted them with incredible precision.
Without easing her furrowed brow, she moved her other hand.
At that moment, dark clouds began to gather in the sky.
Moments later, freezing rain began to pour from that spot.
It was a sharp, needle-like rain.
The icy rain mercilessly targeted the beasts floating in the air.
Thud, thud, thud!
“Kyiiing!”
“Kyik!”
The fierce beasts screamed pitifully like puppies, torn apart bit by bit.
Alongside the icy rain, the blood and flesh of the beasts rained down from the sky.
“Ugh!”
“Get down, run!”
People scrambled to avoid the falling debris.
If they hadn’t, they would have shared the same fate as the beasts.
Kaboom!
The chunks of ice crashed down, creating tremendous noise as the ground buckled beneath them.
Those who barely dodged the icy rain collapsed, exhaling in relief.
“What… what was that…?”
The mouth of the wizard among the inmates on the 6th floor dropped open in shock.
Reverse Gravity and Ice Rain.
Those were tier 7 and tier 6 spells, respectively.
He was not shocked by the fact that such high-level magic had been used.
If one were a high-level wizard, they could naturally perform such spells.
What left him astounded were two reasons.
One was that she had cast such high-level magic without any incantation.
The other was that she had executed two spells simultaneously.
It was clear that the beasts had been levitating in the air before the Ice Rain had fallen.
It was utterly unbelievable.
Any wizard would know that achieving even one of those feats was close to impossible.
“Ugh… how dare you harm my cute children…”
The man gritted his teeth in disbelief.
He couldn’t comprehend it.
He had killed countless humans labeled as strong up until now.
But they were all pathetic nuisances.
Merely ants.
Squashed without a second thought.
Some of them were wizards.
Dealing with wizards was easier.
They were physically weak, and they took too long to cast their powerful spells.
They were truly pathetic beings.
But what about her?
How was she able to use such powerful magic continuously without any casting?
Lin Xue glared at the man with a chilling gaze.
Just as she was about to raise her hand to cast another spell…
Hack Cough… cough….
Si-hyun, who had lost consciousness, coughed out blood.
“This isn’t the time… I don’t have time.”
Lin Xue muttered to herself as she sank back down beside Si-hyun.
She hurriedly retrieved something from her inventory.
A fruit, slightly smaller than an apple, of pure white.
It was the Fruit of the World Tree.
While the Tear of the World Tree Po-ahim drank to rid Si-hyun of the Paralysis Poison was precious, this was an artifact of unparalleled value.
The World Tree, existing as the sole one in the continent, bloomed once every hundred years, yielding a single fruit.
In other words, it was a treasure obtained only after a hundred long years had passed.
Its abilities were astounding.
It couldn’t resurrect the dead, but as long as there was a breath left, it could heal any fatal injury or incurable disease.
This was an exceptionally rare item, but her family possessed one of the World Tree’s fruits as a treasured heirloom.
She planned to use it now.
But in his current state, he wouldn’t be able to accept it.
Lin Xue bit into the Fruit of the World Tree.
Then, carefully chewing it, she made sure not to swallow.
She continued until it was soft as porridge.
Finally, judging that it was time to swallow, she carefully pried open Si-hyun’s mouth.
Then she placed her lips over his.
Using her tongue, she slowly pushed the chewed fruit down into Si-hyun’s throat.
Fortunately, his body accepted the Fruit of the World Tree without any major rejection.
As if sensing his master’s urgency.
“This… this bitch! How dare she? Right in front of me… She’s mocking me to this extent!”
The man screamed in a furious rage upon witnessing the scene.
In front of a king,
A king who declared he wouldn’t let her die easily.
And in front of that king, she had the audacity to turn her back and mock his authority.
Such humiliation was incomprehensible to him.
Especially from a pitiful human.
Such actions were intolerable.
He couldn’t stand it.
Death.
The only thing that could relieve this feeling was death.
And it would be the most excruciating death possible.
“I’ll kill this damned bitch right now!”
The man shouted as if spewing blood.