NOVEL NEXT Chapter 124
Chapter 124
Si-hyun had once experienced extreme rejection from a former lover, even to the point of feeling it was too harsh.
Perhaps that’s why he was so keenly aware of the words “abandoned.”
Yet, he couldn’t determine the truth behind her words just yet.
He felt he needed to observe the situation a bit longer to glean what was real.
Si-hyun widened his eyes and opened his ears.
The relationship between Hyris and Delagardi.
It was only natural to feel curious, but for some reason, it gnawed at him.
It felt like there was more to it than just the fact that they were not unconnected to Po-ahim.
“Hyris, you seem overly excited right now. It would be better to talk when your emotions have settled a bit.”
Delagardi spoke calmly, trying to persuade her.
Hyris flashed her usual cold smile.
Yet beneath that coldness lay a deep sorrow.
“You’re right. I am excited. But what do you expect? How could I not be in this situation?”
“I’m sorry, Hyris. I really don’t have words to express how deeply I’ve hurt you.”
Delagardi apologized.
It wasn’t an insincere apology just to get out of the situation.
There was genuine feeling behind those words.
However, those words couldn’t calm the current state of affairs.
“I don’t want to hear you say sorry anymore!”
Hyris shouted, covering her ears and shaking her head vigorously.
“Every time I hear you say that, I feel like I’m the bad one and that woman is the good one!”
“….”
Delagardi fell silent with a heavy expression.
“Tell me! Why did you choose her over me?”
“That’s….”
Before Delagardi could answer, countless ice arrows materialized in the air.
Si-hyun recognized the magic type.
He knew how devastating its power could be.
Miriam, the female knight watching from behind, momentarily froze upon witnessing it, but didn’t move.
No one understood better than her the sheer strength of her lord.
“Don’t do this, Hyris.”
Delagardi spoke with a bitter expression, while the woman hid behind him, her face showing fear.
“Why?!”
As Hyris let out a passionate cry, hundreds of ice arrows rained down toward her.
At that moment, Acureruts drew itself, landing firmly in Delagardi’s hand.
He swung it sideways in one smooth motion.
It looked like an ordinary slice, lacking any special force.
However, with that single slice, every ice arrow was shattered.
Si-hyun wore a look of astonishment.
He had used the Sword Master’s sword multiple times.
It had saved his life twice.
Given its quality, he couldn’t help but wonder about the skill of its wielder.
But witnessing it firsthand rendered him speechless.
To think he could shatter such a massive spell with a single slice….
The infamous murderer known as the Human Butcher hadn’t flinched in awe for nothing.
“Again! Again! Does that woman stimulate your protective instincts that much? Do you want to protect her that badly?”
Hyris cried out with a pained expression.
She tugged at her hair in frustration.
Then, suddenly, she collapsed to the ground.
She had fallen to her knees.
“Please… Deli, I was wrong. I was so wrong. Tell me what I did wrong. I’ll fix it, I swear, I’ll fix it right away so come back to me. Please….”
She pleaded in a heart-wrenching voice.
Seeing her like that, Si-hyun felt uneasy.
Given the situation, Hyris’ words about being abandoned could very well be true.
Her plight resonated all too deeply with him.
How tormented had he felt when his former lover, Su-jin, abruptly stopped contacting him and kept avoiding him?
When she had delivered their breakup, she must have felt immense shock and extreme pain.
She was the Great Sorceress.
Even if she wasn’t well-acquainted with this world, it was safe to assume her social status was substantial.
Yet there she was, abandoning her pride and begging on her knees before others.
Such an action could only come from someone who truly loved fervently.
“Please calm down and stand up, Hyris. You haven’t done anything wrong. Nothing at all….”
Even Delagardi looked uncomfortable witnessing his former lover in such a state.
He seemed torn between rushing to her aid and fearing that another outburst from Hyris might threaten the safety of the woman behind him.
“Nothing… I did nothing wrong? Then why?!”
Finally, tears began to stream from Hyris’ bloodshot eyes.
“You said you loved me! You said you loved me… you told me you loved me! So why?!”
Delagardi bit his lip, his eyes wavering.
Then, with a voice filled with complicated emotions, he spoke.
“I’m truly sorry. I thought I loved you too. But I realized it was an illusion.”
“Illusion…? What do you mean? It’s not an illusion! You love me! You still love me!”
“Ugh, this is….”
Si-hyun found the intense confrontation between the former lovers increasingly awkward and uncomfortable, prompting him to discreetly step away.
Delagardi also refrained from commenting on his friend’s actions this time.
It wasn’t the kind of situation for casual remarks.
He walked toward the garden door through which Hyris had entered earlier.
Miriam, the Death Bow wielder, stood there.
As Si-hyun passed by, she called out to him.
“Lord, is today’s promise still…?”
‘What is this?’
Si-hyun’s expression turned puzzled.
He felt her face was slightly flushed.
…Does this woman perhaps have feelings for Po-ahim?
She looked completely different from the expressionless face she wore while dealing with Hyris, leading him to such a thought.
Regardless, he thought he could simply brush off any implications concerning promises.
But referring to him as Lord rather than a guard?
That was a title that didn’t seem to suit Po-ahim.
As he was about to ask what it meant, he suddenly felt his body lift as if weightless.
Along with that, dizziness washed over him, and his consciousness became hazy.
As he placed a hand on the wall to steady himself, darkness enveloped his vision.
◈ ◈ ◈
“Ugh…. What is happening?!”
Si-hyun shouted as he opened his eyes.
A strange ceiling came into view.
The first emotion he felt upon regaining consciousness was the biting cold.
A tremendous chill coursed through him, making him shiver violently.
“Finally awake, I see.”
A deep male voice echoed.
Si-hyun struggled to lift his trembling body.
A massive man sat before him.
“Ugh….”
Upon seeing the man’s face, Si-hyun involuntarily let out a groan.
The face of the infamous Human Butcher was right there.
He had witnessed countless heinous criminals, but never had he seen a face so menacing and harsh.
Ordinary people would probably be too terrified to even meet his gaze.
Yet that ferocious face somehow felt familiar and oddly comforting.
…Am I losing it? Have I finally gone crazy?
Si-hyun shook his head in disbelief.
“I wanted to meet you.”
The man spoke.
“…Do you know me?”
“Correctional Officer Lee Si-hyun. And my Awakened Being.”
Those words made Si-hyun’s eyes widen in shock.
No way?
He quickly looked down to check his own body.
He was back.
He had returned to his original body.
His gaze shifted back to the man.
That body….
Ah, got it.
He had just used it not long ago.
Then that means…
“Po-ahim?”
The thought surfaced in Si-hyun’s mind as he spoke the name aloud.
“That’s right, I am Po-ahim.”
The man affirmed.
Si-hyun was at a loss for words.
He felt as if he had so much to say, yet in the face of such a sudden situation, he couldn’t think of anything to articulate.
With Po-ahim not initiating conversation either, there was a moment of heavy silence.
“…Am I dead?”
Si-hyun eventually broke the awkward silence after some time passed.
That was the foremost thought that came to his mind.
After his awakening, he had never once faced Po-ahim like this, not even in dreams.
So, it felt like something was unsettlingly off.
“No, you nearly died, but you haven’t.”
Hearing Po-ahim’s response, Si-hyun sighed in relief.
“Thank goodness I’m not dead.”
“I suppose you want to know.”
“Yes?”
“You must be curious about what transpired after you lost consciousness.”
Anyone familiar with Po-ahim would be astonished to see him engaging in conversation like this.
He was well-known as a man of few words.
Yet those who knew him understood that he only spoke at length when addressing prisoners or when conversing with his close friend Delagardi.
“I want to know.”
“I understand. I’ll show you what I witnessed.”
As soon as Po-ahim said this, a message window appeared before Si-hyun’s eyes.
[Po-ahim has transmitted a memory of the past to you.]
What is this…?
A paused video screen seemed to materialize.
Within it, he saw himself, bloodied and pierced through the chest by a man’s hand.
Time had momentarily stopped.
Even knowing he wasn’t dead made chills run down his spine.
…How do I see this?
As Si-hyun brought his hand to the screen, time resumed in the video.
◈ ◈ ◈
“This is….”
Si-hyun bit his lip in disbelief.
He had nearly died. He was practically on the brink of death.
But at that moment, a woman had intervened.
It was Hyris.
Had she not shown up, he certainly would have died. This was the second time she had saved his life.
With this level of connection, it felt like their bond was something truly extraordinary.
“What did she give me…?”
Si-hyun asked, his expression slightly embarrassed.
While losing consciousness, she had kissed him and transmitted something through her tongue.
He understood it was an act meant to save his life, but nevertheless, it felt awkward.
“That was the Fruit of the World Tree.”
Po-ahim replied.
“The Fruit of the World Tree?”
“It’s a treasure unlike any other. It can save anyone from death, regardless of their condition, as long as they’re not truly dead. That fruit saved your life.”
“To think something like that exists in this world….”
“Do you understand what it means that I used such a treasure on you?”
Po-ahim posed the question.
“That means… she mistook me for a Sword Master….”
Ironically, at that time, he had been wielding Acureruts, not Po-ahim’s Guard Baton.
It was common knowledge that items transitioning to inventory during awakening belonged to their original owners in another realm.
So it made sense that Hyris could misinterpret upon seeing Acureruts.
“Exactly. She made that mistake. So, what will you do now?”
“I suppose I should speak the truth.”
After all, she was the one who had saved his life twice. He couldn’t keep deceiving her indefinitely, nor was it morally right to mislead someone like her.
“Whatever you decide is your call, but I’ll give you one piece of advice.”
“What kind of advice?”
“Hyris despises me to the core.”
“Pardon?”
Si-hyun looked bewildered.
The way Hyris had interacted with Po-ahim earlier didn’t seem to indicate she harbored any animosity toward him.
“I understand why you look confused. You met her in my memory just now, didn’t you?”
“…You knew? She didn’t seem like she bore any hostility towards you back then….”
The term “senpai” slipped out naturally from Si-hyun’s lips.
“That was true at the time. But Hyris found out later that her first encounter with me was because of you.”
“What does that mean?”
“She was a prisoner in my care. A very exemplary prisoner. And that friend of yours came to see her….”
Huh?
Suddenly, Po-ahim’s voice went distant.
The world began to spin around him.
He was listening to something vital, and yet why was it drifting away…?
◈ ◈ ◈
“Ugh…!”
Si-hyun opened his eyes for the third time.
A white ceiling that looked like a hospital room came into view.