Chapter 372 – Growing Pains

He hastily approached the woman as she drew the sword from her embrace.

“Kuk.”

Frustration painted her face when things didn’t go as planned, and she attacked with lethal intent.

-Swish.

The scene before him slowed down.
The wind ceased, and the noisy city’s clamor vanished into the distance.
He predicted the opponent’s path in his mind.

So slow.

-Woosh!

The city’s noise returned to his ears.

As he tilted his head aside from the anticipated path, the sword’s blade pierced the empty air.
There was no need to concern himself with the fluctuating flow of magical energy.

[Got you.]

All options were blocked.
Any artifacts or magic that this person might have hidden, or even something brought as an ace up their sleeve.
With the spirit suppressing their magic and his own pressure controlling their body, they were subdued without the need for anything special.

He sensed the growth, but couldn’t quite grasp it.

He thrust out his fist.

*Crash!*

A woman, thrown onto the rooftop of a building, collapses. Her robe, caught on a steel frame, is ripped to shreds.

Her exposed, pale neck. A green choker.
I followed her onto the rooftop and, gripping her chin with one hand, I broke what appeared to be a device.

*Crackle!*

The shattered fragments of the solid choker scatter. The woman’s eyes follow the choker with a hollow look before glaring at me as if she wants to kill me.

“……”

If she had been a mediocre practitioner, that glare might have been enough to subdue her.

[There are many devices hidden within the robe, Master.]

‘I know.’

Perhaps methods that couldn’t be used to interfere with spirits.
I abruptly thrust my hand into the woman’s clothing.

“Ugh…! Hic.”

The woman looks at me as if she wants to kill me. She can’t bite down on any pills inside her mouth.
I deliberately grip her chin, preventing her from tensing her jaw muscles.

‘Should I kill her…? No.’

He slid his hand inside his clothes, brushing against the lumps of flesh between his fingers. He gently tapped the base of his lower chest.

– Crackle!

The sound of a harpoon striking its target.

“…Hngh, ugh…! Ah! Ugh!!!!!”

The woman’s limbs convulsed. Her hand, which had reached up to stab his shoulder, trembled as it descended.

The shattered magical energy oozed out, surging through the blood vessels of her entire body.

“You can go back. It’s over.”

[Master, what about her magic?]

“Later.”

[Hmph. Fine…]

Eleanor grumbled a note of discontent before vanishing. Lucy wordlessly raised her wings, offering a silent greeting before leaving.

He loosened his grip on the dark-haired woman’s chin, who was on the verge of losing consciousness.

The woman collapsed on the floor, unable to support herself with her hands. Saliva flowed and tears leaked from her eyes.

“Ugh….”

I slid my hand into the woman’s mouth and swirled it around. Prodding her uvula and thoroughly searching from the inner side of her tongue to her molars, I detected a foreign sensation.

“Found it.”

An undissolvable capsule pill. As soon as I grabbed the saliva-drenched object, I tossed it behind me.

“Now… shall we talk?”

Her eyes, devoid of light, stared at the tip of my shoe. I seized her by the throat.

* * * * * * *

The situation didn’t unravel as disastrously as Yuli had feared.

“Well, I must say, you’re quite impressive. I’ll acknowledge that Tae-yang is someone worth serving.”

Although she didn’t like it, her tone suggested a begrudging acceptance. Yet, she didn’t look at me; her gaze was fixed on Aori.

“Do you see something strange?”
“I can’t see ahead, that’s why.”
“… Right. Anyway,”

I shifted my attention from Yuli to Gu-seul, who was kneeling before me.

Aori had captured another tracker.
I never would have guessed that it was Gu-seul.

Throughout it all, she appeared to not have resisted even once. There wasn’t a single bruise on her body. Upon seeing me, Gu-seul tauntingly stuck out her tongue. I grabbed it with my hand and stretched it out.

“Ah! Hey, what are you doing?”
“I told you not to attract attention.”
“Damn you!”

When I let go of her tongue, Gu-seul quickly retracted it into her mouth and spat out a muffled sound.

“Ah… it’s so frustrating.”
“Should I just kill her?”
“…It might be hard to believe, but I really have no intention of fighting this time.”

She shook her head and gritted her teeth, admitting that she didn’t know why either. It was a reaction that emerges when someone is truly wronged, but my opponent was Gu-seul—a woman who could strike from behind and ignite conflict at any moment. I didn’t let my guard down and gestured for her to continue talking.

“Just investigate your own life.”
“Who?”
“…Would I really tell you that?”

I see.

Why is this rascal so brazen when caught in the act?
Oddly enough, this consistent behavior is somewhat endearing.
As if there was some injustice, Guseul even sought my sympathy.

“Does it make sense to investigate discreetly so as not to bother you and without causing harm to the surroundings?”
“What?”
“…Sigh.”

Not getting on my nerves.
Carefully and without causing harm to the surroundings.
It’s a surprisingly endearing command for Flower, who usually chooses to do malicious deeds.
As somethingcomes to mind, Aori pulls my arm from right beside me.

“Did His Majesty ask what you had for dinner tonight?”

Why would he ask that?

“…I don’t know?”

Aori tilts her head with a sullen expression.

“Does His Majesty like you?”
“…Sigh.”

Guseul, who had been quietly listening, lets out a deep breath. It’s a reaction indicating she’s uncertain as well.

‘What’s going on?’

As the power struggle began, it was understandable to remain inconspicuous to win over the hearts of civilians.

Two questions come to mind.
Not to irritate my nerves.
The dinner menu.

Perhaps it’s because the very existence of “Flower” has taken such a negative root within me. I even began to suspect if there was some hidden agenda behind this.

“Are you joking?”
“I wish I were.”

A prickly response to my question is given.
Leaving the hedgehog be, I resumed my train of thought.

Could it be…
Hong-Yeon?

A familiar face flashed across my mind.
A comrade from my past life.
And the influential figure of Flower, with whom I had recently had a brief reunion.

‘Even so, she’s no idiot. Would she really have me dig into her own past?’

However, no other possibilities came to mind.
I decided to cautiously broach the subject with Gu-seul, who was still sighing.

I knelt down and looked at Gu-seul.
As she looked at me, I slowly brought up Hong-Yeon and began speaking.

“The one who ordered you. Do you ever tie your hair with a hairpin like that?”
“……”

No change in her expression. Neither her pupils nor her complexion showed any change.

“What are you talking about?”

Gu-seul’s face, stating she didn’t understand, was utterly composed. But such composure hinted at an intention to conceal her true feelings.

This is absurd. Could Hong-Yeon really be this person’s superior?

“…Oh, really?”

As the corner of my mouth turned into a sly smirk, Gu-seul took a step back.

“What’s with that expression?”
“Did you just relay that to her?”
“…What?”
“It seems like your boss and I have a connection. Just convey this one thing for me.”

Gu-seul’s eyes held question marks, as if she couldn’t grasp the meaning. I pressed my finger on her collarbone, pouring out words she wouldn’t accept in succession.

“Don’t do things like this. Tell her that.”

Gu-seul’s eyes quivered for a moment. She closed her mouth and subtly averted her gaze from me.

I don’t know why Hong-Yeon did such a thing.
There must be a reason.
But what kind of thought process leads to prying into personal matters?

I’m aware that she harbors feelings for me beyond that of a simple comrade, but is she truly feeling such obsession as if she’s lost everything?

I wanted to ask Gu-seul what she had been investigating and what she intended to say, but I gave up due to lack of time.

Just then, Tae-yang was returning from the alley.

“Brother, I’ve almost finished.”
“How did it go?”
“It turns out they weren’t after you, brother. They were targeting me and the termites. It seems they got impatient as we began to move.”

By the time I rescue Cornus, I’ll be completely at odds with the World Tree.
That’s why I had been speculating that this pursuit wasn’t aimed at me, but it appears that’s not the case after all.

Tae-yang cleared away the traces of blood and magical residue with an artifact that resembled a hair dryer. As I gazed at him, our eyes met.

The moment our eyes locked, he grinned slyly and pointed to his back with the thumb of his right hand.

“Go ahead and have your way with it. It’s only a wooden effigy. But don’t you need to complete your collection? It would be even better if you bind it with a servitude spell.”

I decided to follow his suggestion.

* * * * * * * *

“If there’s any trouble with my sister and brother, I won’t let it slide,” Yuli shouted, pointing her staff at an unrelated spot instead of me. We were at the airport, preparing to board a flight to Russia.

With Gu-seul’s release taken care of and all tasks completed, the only thing left to do was fly to the country where the Cornus family resided.

“Hey,” Gu-seul asked me just before we left, adjusting her outfit.

– Sansuyu, that girl. Are you truly committed to saving her?

With eyes as if watching someone walking into the fiery pits of hell, the expression remained unchanged. Guseul stuck out her tongue and furrowed her brow.

– I’m giving you sincere advice this time. It might be better to let her go.
– What?
– I know how much you care for her. However, this upcoming battle… It’s a war. There’s no guarantee that the other factions within Flower will remain idle.

Flower, divided by the number of its leaders.
Guseul explained to me several times, as if intending to drive a wedge with this opportunity.

Flower not only struggles to unify their opinions internally, but sudden actions could also lead to disaster.
In essence, Guseul’s words that they wouldn’t participate in the subsequent events carried subtle undertones of excuse and persuasion.

“Even knowing that, nothing would change.”
“What did you just say?”
“I was talking to myself.”

After saying goodbye to Yuli, who had come to see us off, we boarded the plane. European countries, aside from France, were teetering on the edge of being entangled in the Flower civil war.

Inevitably, the flight to Russia had to make several stops along the way. News in this country revolved around the Flower conflict, no matter where we went. Various forms of propaganda were rampant, aiming to sway beliefs and recruit supporters.

– Cornus family: High likelihood of heresy confirmation.

The foundation was slowly being laid. Armies were amassing, and the hunters from the association were leaving their jobs to answer the call to arms.

Under the guise of peace, war was about to erupt. Naturally, the deaths of countless innocents would be tragically overlooked.

– Startled.

As I was about to board the plane, my body momentarily froze.

“Brother?”

My heart clenched and released irregularly. And below that, the center of my ribcage swelled as though it would burst.

“Should I help you?”
“Your Majesty…”

Sadness filled the eyes of both Taeyang and Aori.

I forced a smile and gently stroked Aori’s head.

Children work so hard; they should not be subjected to such difficulties. Growth invariably entails growing pains.

“Is it the magic… that’s causing the problem?”

As Aori had suggested, the magic trapped within her body had swelled to the brink of eruption. It was an issue that had been previously pointed out even by the Heavenly Demon. The burden was all the more intense in its nascent stage.

The pain now persisted for a full day. If one were to enhance their physical abilities beyond this point, it could lead to more than just a strain on the body.

“If it becomes too difficult, let me know right away, brother… If it bursts, you’ll die. Even if you manage to survive, you’ll be left with a body incapable of using martial arts or magic for the rest of your life.”
“I understand.”

Everything about the body was meticulously prepared: magical power, physical abilities, and even authority.

The problem was… my body still remained at a human level. Even the humans of this other world initially possessed no mana, let alone magic. It was pushing the limits of the species.

Tae-yang gazed at me intently and spoke with a hint of bitterness.

“If I determine that your core energy is on the brink of collapse, I won’t hesitate to cripple one side of you.”

Intentionally breaking a part of the body to allow mana to flow to the other side. There is no strain on the energy core when injured.

“It’s okay.”

I momentarily eased Tae-yang’s concern. The fact that my heart is throbbing like this means my body’s recovery is accelerating.

Having gained abilities by dominating the trees while injured, all that’s left is to endure on my own.

“Your Majesty, it will be alright.”

Aori tightly grasped my arm with her small hands.

“Yes.”

Neither wooden beings nor trees experience this process. No…even if they do, it would be too difficult for them when they’ve become much stronger.

The way to overcome this situation is to either break through the limit or change one’s race.

“King Mokryeong.”

I gazed at Aori.
She stared back at me with her round eyes. Stealthily, she pulled my hand with both of hers and placed it between her breasts.

I removed my arm from Aori’s chest and lightly tapped her on the forehead.

– Thud!

“Ouch!”

Aori clutched her forehead and moved away.
Seated in the airplane seat, I closed my eyes, succumbing to the encroaching fatigue.

– Twitch.