Old Forces (5)
The person who appeared in front of us was a woman with red hair.
Cha Hee-ra…”
“You dare to disrespect me?”
Cha Hee-ra looked as if she had just come out of the market, only to stumble onto this scene. Her bloodshot eyes made me tremble. She looked utterly angry. She didn’t even have a weapon in hand, but she didn’t need to. Her presence was enough to scare me.
Of course, she wasn’t angry at the fact that I had gotten attacked. She was angry because, by attacking me, her authority was questioned.
It was then that an unidentified person dropped down and threw a sword at her.
“Danger!”
However, I could see Cha Hee-ra kicking her feet up in the air before I could even scream out.
Kwajiiik!
‘What is that…’
A surreal scene occurred in front of me. With a simple kick, the body of the man exploded.
Just one kick…’
I knew I shouldn’t say this about the person who was saving me, but I couldn’t help but describe her as a monster.
Now that the situation was heading down this route, I felt relieved. Who knew that my ‘insurance policy’ would one day save my life?
My gaze stayed on Cha Hee-ra’s form for a while, but it eventually dropped down onto Jung Hayan, who was still crouching and trying to protect me.
‘Is Hayan still breathing?’
I checked her condition immediately.
‘She’s still alive.
Her heartbeat was slow, but she definitely still had a pulse. Of course, I still needed to get a closer look.
As she was barely conscious, I thought I could push her away, but it seemed that she still had no intention of letting me go.
She really did stick to me like gum. As I lifted her and laid her down, I could see more wounds entering my line of sight.
It wasn’t just about being hit by a sword. The mere fact that she was still alive was a miracle.
‘Damn…
It definitely looked painful.
Nevertheless, I was thankful that she had taken it upon herself to block me from harm’s way.
“What a stupid bitch…”
‘What do I do?’
We couldn’t head to a temple to find a priest that could heal her.
‘But if I don’t do anything now, she might die.’
For now, all I could do was apply all the first aid procedures I knew.
I remembered Jung Hayan was wearing a healing ring. As I hurriedly reached out to get the ring out, Jung Hayan squeezed her hand close in front of me.
Still, in this situation…’
Having consciousness was indeed a promising sign.
I tried opening Jung Hayan’s hand once more. Immediately after pushing the magic power into the ring, a white light began to envelop her.
“Heal.”
Although it would only be minor healing, I knew it would help improve her condition.
After that…
I took out a potion. It wasn’t large in quantity, but it was definitely of good quality.
I opened the potion with my mouth and sprinkled it on Jung Hayan’s wound. Afterward, I poured out the rest of the contents in my mouth. Then, I grabbed Hayan’s chin and leaned down, claiming her mouth with mine, transferring the potion to hers.
‘It’s working.’
Ironically, I could still feel Jung Hayan’s tongue swirling around mine in response
‘She’s alive.
I didn’t know why she was moving, but I could feel my tension easing as I realized she was still highly responsive.
When I pulled away, I noticed Hayan’s breathing getting better. As I did so, my vision began to get blurry.
I thought I wasn’t shaken, but I strangely couldn’t stop the tears from spilling out of my eyes. My near-death experience had pushed me to feel this way.
As I looked up while wiping away my tears, I caught sight of the current situation.
Cha Hee-ra was currently playing with the assassins.
In fact, the word ‘play’ was an understatement. Most people had limbs torn or had burst due to her deadly movements. Of course, Cha Hee-ra had also been trying to see if there were any talented people among them, but she was to be disappointed.
Our side was winning. After a little more time, there would be more guilds coming to our aid.
As I reveled in my relief, one of the assassins switched targets and started coming my way, swinging his sword as he did so.
I flinched a little, but I felt no need to try and dodge. I knew he would be cut off before he could even think about stabbing me with his sword.
A second later, his beheaded body fell in front of me. A welcoming voice filled my ears.
“Forgive me for being late.”
“Hyunsung, about Jung Hayan…”
“Don’t worry. Hee-young came with us.”
“Ah…”
Upon hearing this, I looked around and saw Sun Hee-young approaching us, hiding behind Park Deokgu, who was holding up his shield.
It wasn’t just them.
The Red Mercenaries and Black Swans had also arrived, coming my way.
“Ah… Sister…”
Park Deokgu gently touched Jung Hayan’s face, tears dripping down his cheeks. Sun Hee-young began to push her divine power into Jung Hayan. She seemed to be doing a professional medical treatment, which eased my anxiety a lot more.
“How is Hayan’s condition?”
“Any later, and she’d be dead. If Kiyoung hadn’t administered first aid to her…”
“That’s a relief.”
“Who are the attackers?”
“I’m not sure yet. We were on our way back from the Black Swan Guild, and then an explosion ensued. All these assassins appeared right after. Thankfully, Cha Hee-ra came in time.”
“I see.”
Upon hearing this, Kim Hyunsung’s expression went cold. I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw this. It was the most passionate reaction he had shown us so far.
Perhaps he had also experienced something like this in the past, but of course, he wouldn’t tell us that.
One thing was for certain…
‘You’re all dead, you bastards.’
There was no chance for all the assassins that had tried to kill Hayan and me. Against such ferocious enemies, they would not be allowed to safeguard their lives.
Even Cha Hee-ra was literally tearing down the assassins on her own, and the rest of the Red Mercenaries had come to support her.
It didn’t take long for them to turn and try to run away.
“Do not let even a single mouse escape.”
“Yes, Master.”
At the same time that Cha Hee-ra spoke, Kim Hyunsung also rushed towards one of the assassins trying to get away.
It seemed that the situation had come to an end. There were no more assassins around us, at least.
Knowing this, Cha Hee-ra also began to march in our direction. The Red Mercenary’s executives also did the same, shooting us an uncomfortable look.
“Ah… I should have kept a few people alive….”
“They would still all be dead anyway. Everyone seemed to have brought poison. Those with severe limbs or severe wounds all took their own lives with it.”
“Ah… I don’t know if I should say that I’m glad… Still, this habit needs to be fixed. Did you figure out who the other person is?”
“We’re working on it. The Black Swan also wants to cooperate…”
“Ah. That’s their area of expertise, so let them. They’ll probably do more work than us in a day.”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t clean up after me again. However, if this happens again, I’ll kill you myself.”
“Ah.”
“But before that…”
“I’m sorry.”
“Do you know what you all did wrong?”
“We’re sorry…”
“I was surprised to see him being attacked in front of my own eyes.”
“And it even happened within Lindel. Are the guilds feeling too comfortable these days? Huh? Or do you also see me as a fool? Did you lose your sense of duty just because you went on an expedition?”
“Well, that…”
“You know that I don’t need nerds who can’t do what I tell them to do.”
“Yes…”
“I won’t say it twice. Once again, if I come across a scene like the one witnessed today… That will be your downfall.”
“I will engrave it in my heart.”
“Good.”
I felt embarrassed upon hearing their conversation. It was because the man being scolded by Cha Hee-ra was looking my way with a strange kind of enthusiasm.
Perhaps he had started to resent me, as he had just been given a new commitment.
The other guys in the vicinity had their heads hung low as well. It was a little burdensome.
Cha Hee-ra looked more like a demon than a hero at this point, roughly wiping the blood off her body with a handkerchief. It felt unsettling watching her do this so casually.
After she had finished doing this, she spoke to me.
“My dear, are you feeling okay?”
I debated how to address her but figured that it would be better to speak in a semi-casual manner.
“Thank you, Hee-ra.”
In an instant, the smell of blood flowed into my nose.
“No, no, I guess there’s more to this than what meets the eye. I thought her injury would be healed quickly, but it seems like…”
“Ah…”
“Hyungjin!”
“Yes, Master.”
“Here, put the guild members on standby at a distance of 50 meters outside the center of the collapsed building. And… Make sure that one over there is taken to the guild to be healed. Make sure to leave as little scars as you can. A woman’s body is precious.”
| glanced over at Jung Hayan and found her sleeping. Sun Hee-young, on the other hand, was paying close attention to us.
I wanted to come with them to take Hayan in, but I knew I had to keep Cha Hee-ra company
“Miss Heeyoung…”
“Don’t worry. For now, her vitals are stable. It will take a little while for her to regain consciousness, but we can leave her to recover.”
“That’s good… First of all, honey, there are a lot of prying eyes here. Looking at the little miss also hurts my self-esteem. Even if she got hurt, you know I’m a jealous woman.”
“Ah… Yes. I’m sorry, Hee-ra.”
At this, Cha Hee-ra gestured towards me.
“Now, I want you to tell me what’s been going on with you.”
“It’s a bit too long to explain.”
“You can speak comfortably.”
“…I’ll think about it.”
“Anyway, well done. I didn’t think anyone in the city would do something this crazy. Whoever targeted you must have had his pride hurt. You know what I mean?”
“Of course.”
“I think it’s because of the legendary item you’ve received this time around. However, they do know that even if they kill the owner, they won’t be able to use it, right? I want to know exactly who did this.”
I worried about whether or not I should speak up. Perhaps she would take things into her own hands if I told her about Lee Seolho. The old man could vanish as simply as the wind.
However…
‘It’ll be too easy.’
A simple death was not enough for the old man. Cha Hee-ra wasn’t the only one who was angry.
I knew I had to make the right call for this sort of thing, but the angrier I got, the harder it was to grasp any semblance of common sense I had. I didn’t want to hand Lee Seolho over to Cha Hee-ra. That was my honest take on it.
However…
‘I can’t lie, either.’
“I’m not sure, but I think it has something to do with Lee Seolho, a member of my guild.”
“Ahhh. Lee Seolho… Alright, that’s noted.”
“He’s been more annoying than usual. Do you know that our Guild Master is dead?”
“That’s the first news I heard as soon as I came back to the city.”
“It’s just a hunch, but I think that Seolho had something to do with his death. The situation is more complex than it sounds, but it’s a bit too hard to explain. I know it sounds absurd, but can I ask you to keep your hands off Lee Seolho?”
Cha Hee-ra’s face wrinkled in confusion.
“Honey.”
“Yeah?”
“I may be a little quiet right now, but I know you know I’m still upset. If you don’t bring that bastard over here right now, there’s no telling what I might
do.”
“I’ll be honest. I like you. Given the circumstances, I won’t get bored even if we explore each other all day. However, you shouldn’t mess with my pride. I know roughly what you’re thinking. You want to repay me for what I’ve done. However, if I let you have all the fun, how am I supposed to unwind my wounded heart? Who should I turn to? Hmm?”
I had predicted that Cha Hee-ra would say something like this. Looking straight into her eyes, I spoke once more.
“Yamato Guild.”
Upon hearing this, Cha Hee-ra smirked.
“You really are my favorite piece of trash.