novelraw Chapter 117 : Chapter 117
Chapter 117 : Chapter 117
Chapter 117 Secret Scheme (10)
─ DRIP DRIP
The sound of water falling regularly was heard.
A pungent smell of medicine tickled the tip of his nose, and soon, extreme pain rose from his entire body.
It was difficult to move even a single finger properly.
Even inhaling air was a struggle.
The first thing that came to mind as his consciousness returned was the safety of the Ice Rakshasa.
Jaun, who gathered all his strength, laboriously opened his mouth.
"Grrr……."
He wanted to call out the Ice Rakshasa's name, but only a sound of boiling blood flowed from his throat.
While concentrating all his nerves to move his body, he felt a warm energy touch his forehead.
"Young Hero Jaun?"
It was the voice he had wanted to hear.
It was the touch he had wanted to feel.
Fortunately, she was alive.
In an instant, all tension was released, and Jaun's consciousness fell back into the darkness.
***
"Now what will you do?"
"……I wonder."
The Alliance Leader shook her head from side to side with a troubled expression.
"Fortunately, they survived, but the state of both is not good. It seems they need to convalesce for a while longer."
"What about their martial arts? Does it look like they can regain them?"
"That depends on the efforts of those children. Since their limbs are intact and their Dantians are fine, is there any reason they wouldn't be able to?"
The Strange Physician stretched his limbs to loosen his stiff body.
Under the eyes of the Strange Physician, who had cared for the two without even sleeping properly for over a week, dark traces of fatigue remained.
"You've worked hard. It seems your skills haven't gone anywhere. Both were as good as corpses."
The Alliance Leader, who confirmed that the breathing of the two people inside the Prison was stable, exhaled a small sigh.
The Strange Physician, who was staring fixedly at the Alliance Leader, poked her side.
"By the way. I heard the fellows from the Murim Alliance have completely lost their minds? Hehe."
"Phew. Don't even talk about it. My head is killing me these days. Several times a day, they are clamoring for me to give them proper news. I never thought the Murim Alliance would search for that child to this extent."
"Tsk tsk. So just why did you touch that child? Anyway, you people still lose your minds as soon as you hear the mention of the Heavenly Demon. Did meeting the Heavenly Demon remain in your head as such a terrifying memory?"
"……Shut up. No matter how much you talk about that fear to those who haven't met him, they will never know for the rest of their lives."
The Alliance Leader bit her lip hard.
"Anyway, nothing changes even as you get older. You should think about coaxing him to make use of him; it's no good if your first thought is to kill him just because he's dangerous."
"Fine. Stop it. I've already heard enough of that from that guy Mad Dragon until my ears bled. I am also regretting it."
The Alliance Leader, who was staring fixedly at the two people lying in the Prison, suddenly turned her body.
"It seems I've lived too complacently all this time. I've completely lost my touch. Tsk. For now, send word to me as soon as that child regains consciousness. I don't know if he'll listen to me, but…… I should at least try."
"Heh. I shall do so."
The Strange Physician stared fixedly at the back of the Alliance Leader heading toward the stairs.
It felt as if the Alliance Leader's shoulders had become pitifully small over the past few weeks.
The Strange Physician hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.
"Being the Alliance Leader isn't exactly easy, is it?"
The Alliance Leader's footsteps going up the stairs stopped.
"……Yes. At times like this, I truly envy you. I should have just lived my life enjoying it freely as well."
"Still, have you not properly left your three-character name in the history of Murim? The fact that the Sado Alliance has reached this kind of position is all thanks to your power and effort."
"……I don't need flattery. I'm going."
The Alliance Leader went up the stairs of the Prison with weary steps.
Looking at the Alliance Leader's spiritless back, the Strange Physician exhaled a small sigh and picked up the herbal decoction in the corner.
"Tsk tsk. Just how did things end up like this. The fate of this place, which the Alliance Leader poured her entire life into creating, now rests in your hands."
The Strange Physician, who opened the door of the Prison and entered inside the bars, began to carefully pour the herbal decoction into the mouths of the two people.
***
"Gasp!"
Jaun snapped his eyes open.
It felt as if his entire body were crushed, but he was clearly moving according to his own will.
Jaun, who checked his body here and there for a moment, laboriously lifted his head and saw the figure of the Ice Rakshasa looking at him with a startled expression.
"Y-Young Hero Jaun……!"
The Ice Rakshasa hurriedly approached, stared fixedly at Jaun, and then slumped down in front of him.
"……I was worried you would never wake up."
Tears fell from the Ice Rakshasa's eyes with a DRIP.
Her clear voice, fine hands, and even her eyes that seemed to emit light.
Everything was as it was.
Jaun, who exhaled a sigh of relief, gripped the Ice Rakshasa's hand tightly.
"……Miss."
When Jaun suddenly gripped her hand, the Ice Rakshasa wiped her tears with a surprised expression and then her cheeks turned red.
"No, for you to act like this as soon as you wake up…… I'm a mess right now. I'm also wondering if this is even the right place."
The Ice Rakshasa touched her hair once with an embarrassed expression and then sat closer toward Jaun.
"Are you okay now?"
At the Ice Rakshasa's words, Jaun checked his body once more.
Although he was not complete, he had recovered much more than he had thought.
Except for the throbbing in his side where the largest wound had been, other parts were workable enough to move.
His shoulder, which he had worried about, also moved safely, and the wound on his thigh was almost healed.
'It seems quite some time has passed. Have I been unconscious all this time?'
Jaun twisted his body once to the left and right and then turned his head toward the Ice Rakshasa.
"Yes. I am okay. Are you okay too, Miss?"
"Of course. I regained consciousness quite a while ago. Although my Qi and Blood were tangled, there are no major wounds."
The Ice Rakshasa shrugged her shoulders once and wore a smile.
"……I am truly glad that we can talk like this again safely."
Hearing Jaun's words, the Ice Rakshasa replied with a bright laugh.
And after staring fixedly at Jaun for a while, the Ice Rakshasa lowered her head deeply.
"More than that…… I'm sorry. It's all my fault. If only I hadn't suggested coming to the Sado Alliance……."
"Don't say such things. It's not something you should be sorry for."
Jaun shook his head once and looked piercingly at the Ice Rakshasa.
"Rather, I am sorry. From now on, I will never let you be hurt again."
At Jaun's words, the Ice Rakshasa twisted her body slightly as if she were bashful.
"Hehe. I'm thankful even just for the words. But…… it's okay even if I'm hurt now. Because now, the only person who can hurt me is Young Hero Jaun."
The Ice Rakshasa's cheeks turned red as she pointed toward the bars of the Prison with her hand.
"There's only the two of us here. We've been completely locked up. No one knows when we'll be able to leave, or if we even can……."
Only then did Jaun, who carefully surveyed his surroundings, realize the fact that the place he was lying was inside the bars of a Prison.
"This place is……?"
Looking at Jaun's startled expression, the Ice Rakshasa giggled.
"It's the Sado Alliance's Prison. Come to think of it, I think Young Hero Jaun is the only person who has entered both the Murim Alliance's and the Sado Alliance's Prisons."
"The Prison? Why are you in this place, Miss?"
"Hmm? Rather, I want to ask why Young Hero Jaun is in this place. I, at least, have committed a crime."
"……You have committed a crime, Miss?"
"I abandoned all my positions in the Sado Alliance to go to Young Hero Jaun, and I disobeyed the Grand Elder's words. It's insubordination. And a violation of military discipline."
"……Insubordination, I see."
Jaun's face hardened stiffly.
"I'm sorry. I should have hidden it better…… but in the end, the Alliance Leader found out that Young Hero Jaun is the Descendant of the Heavenly Demon."
"That is also not your fault, Miss. It was merely a fact that everyone would eventually come to know."
"……But I never dreamed the Alliance Leader would change her attitude in this way as soon as she learned Young Hero Jaun was the Descendant of the Heavenly Demon. If I had known, I would have been more careful."
Jaun exhaled a small sigh at the Ice Rakshasa's words. He simply could not understand it.
Despite the situation where the Blood Cult was rapidly moving and they hadn't even resolved that problem yet, the sight of the people of the Murim being preoccupied with looking after their own interests first was disappointing.
'To think that we must always be suspicious of each other, not knowing what dark schemes might be hidden, in a situation where even trusting and cooperating would not be enough.'
Whether it was the Murim Alliance or the Sado Alliance, both seemed to have many insufficient parts to face the Blood Cult, which was firmly united under the rule of the Blood Demon.
'No matter how necessary a power the Sado Alliance is to face the Blood Cult, I cannot just let this matter pass.'
Jaun felt many things through this incident.
That he must not easily trust anyone.
And that if he does not have sufficient strength, he might lose the people he cherishes.
That ghastly moment when the Ice Rakshasa flew like a paper doll and fell to the ground once again brushed through Jaun's head.
Jaun clenched his teeth.
As Jaun was lost in thought with a serious expression, the Ice Rakshasa watched him cautiously, then stealthily grabbed his hand and leaned her body against him.
"Young Hero. For now, it seems there's nothing we can do until we leave this place. So while the two of us cool our heads here……."
"No. I absolutely cannot accept this situation. To put you in a Prison when it wouldn't even be enough to treat you in a proper place……."
As Jaun rose abruptly from his spot, the Ice Rakshasa stood up beside him with startled eyes.
"Young Hero? What do you intend to do……."
Jaun slowly examined his own physical state. Because he had operated the Reverse Heaven Asura Art unreasonably, various parts of his Qi and Blood were significantly damaged, but the paths where energy flowed had actually widened considerably.
Furthermore, most of the energy Wi Jeong-cheon had planted in his meridians to heal Jaun's body had been released.
Jaun performed a quick circulation of Qi and then nodded his head.
'My Qi and Blood are damaged, but the amount of internal energy has actually increased and the flow has become stronger.'
If he could just endure the pain, it seemed there would be no major problem in using his energy.
Jaun clenched and released his fists several times to check his physical condition again, then nodded his head.
The Ice Rakshasa stared fixedly at Jaun's appearance and then stealthily approached again.
"Young Hero. Even so, it's not like we can just break this place and leave. For now, while resting a bit……."
As soon as the Ice Rakshasa's words ended, Jaun began to pull up his energy.
─ RUMBLE
Due to Jaun's energy suddenly spreading out, the bars of the Prison began to tremble.
"Y-Young Hero Jaun?"
The Ice Rakshasa's complexion turned pale.
The body of Jaun, who slowly pulled up his energy, began to glow dark red.
'I must meet the Alliance Leader right now.'
─ THROB
In an instant, a strong pain rose to his head.
Jaun thought that he would absolutely not have made this kind of choice if he were himself before he woke up.
Whether this change in himself was a side effect of the demonic energy invading his brain or due to a change in his state of mind, he did not know for sure.
But he felt it didn't matter for whatever reason he had changed.
'I won't act indecisively like in the past anymore. If I don't do things properly, the people I cherish might be hurt or die.'
Jaun reached out and grabbed the bars of the Prison. Subsequently, his hands, filled with energy, grabbed and snapped the bars of the Prison.
─ SNAP!
Since the intention wasn't to lock the two up by force in the first place, the bars were snapped away helplessly.
The Ice Rakshasa stared at Jaun with her mouth wide open.
Jaun gripped the Ice Rakshasa's wrist tightly.
"Let's go. I must have a showdown with the Alliance Leader. Whatever decision the Alliance Leader makes, I will protect you, Miss. Can you trust me and follow?"
The Ice Rakshasa stared at Jaun with blank eyes and then slowly nodded her head.
"Yes……."
'This forcefulness. What am I to do?'
The Ice Rakshasa, whose wrist was held by Jaun, hurriedly held her breath, fearing he might hear her thumping heart.
'It's a life I already gave to Young Hero Jaun once. I'll think of the rest of my life as a bonus and…… follow him like this.'
The Ice Rakshasa, who cleared her head of complicated thoughts, stared at Jaun's solid back.
'Even if the same situation comes again, I will protect the Young Hero without change. I pray that I can be even a little help in achieving what the Young Hero desires.'
The Ice Rakshasa firmed her heart.
Biting her lip hard, she moved her steps outside the broken bars of the Prison, following behind Jaun.