181 – Yeou-Noi # 2

181 – Yeou-Noi # 2

I pressed down firmly on Seo Gaeul’s soft spot with my thumb.

Seo Gaeul jumped like a plump winter yellowtail thrashing about.

“Ouch!”

“Your reaction is as lively as a wild-caught fish.”

“Huh? A wild-caught fish? What kind of comparison is that for a pretty girl like me? More importantly, Ha Namjin, it kind of hurts, can’t you be gentler and more affectionate?”

“Even if it hurts, just bear with it and stay still. You’ll feel better soon.”

“Hey! It hurts! Aack! I said it hurts!”

“Seo Gaeul, you don’t understand. That amount of pain is just right.”

“Just right my foot! It just hurts! Gaeul Kick!”

*Thwack-thwack!*

Seo Gaeul kicked me with her sole.

Didn’t she like my foot massage?

Foot massages are supposed to be a little painful, aren’t they?

Regardless, I was massaging Seo Gaeul’s feet.

All part of the effort to keep Yeou-Noi from disappearing.

However, Seo Gaeul, as if unconvinced, drew her foot back and rubbed it.

“Ouch, seriously, that hurts like hell. And what’s with the sudden foot massage anyway?”

“Yeou-Noi is a little tyke created by the power of your ‘Miracle’, right? The fact that she’s fading is also due to the limits of your ‘Miracle’.”

“That’s true.”

“Then wouldn’t simply strengthening your ‘Miracle’ do the trick? If your Miracle becomes Rank 5, Rank 6, wouldn’t it be able to overcome those limitations? And its weaknesses too?”

Right now, Seo Gaeul’s ‘Miracle’ was the power to reverse the order of cause and effect.

She could reverse the order, but she couldn’t omit the existence of the cause itself.

But?

If the concept of Seo Gaeul’s Miracle were to grow and become even more powerful?

Perhaps she could leave only the effect on the world, without any cause or its sequential order.

“That makes sense.”

Seo Gaeul nodded as if convinced.

However, a few more words, as prickly as rose thorns, spilled from her lips.

“So how does that relate to you crushing my soles like you’re trying to tenderize meat!”

“It’s a good massage for Awakened individuals. It gets the mana flowing through your body circulating without any bottlenecks, allowing it to flow evenly throughout. How’s your condition right now?”

*Swish-swish.*

Seo Gaeul rotated her shoulders.

Soon, she stood up and started shaking her arms and legs like crazy.

“My condition is pretty good, actually.”

Of course.

I’ve researched meditation and asceticism to the point of being sick of it over these past 200 years.

I was practically a Taoist hermit seeking enlightenment.

I’ve also diligently studied the Awakened human body and mana, so I know exactly which spots to press to improve one’s well-being.

With my foot massage, Seo Gaeul’s condition was, indeed, greatly improved.

“I do feel mana flowing better, through every nook and cranny. But I don’t sense my Miracle’s concept becoming stronger? Isn’t this just bunk?”

“Don’t be so skeptical, this is just the first step of my plan. Have you ever heard of the ‘Arrowhead’? It’s supposed to be a treasure of the fae.”

Somewhere in this world, there was said to be an object called the ‘Arrowhead.’

One of the treasures of the fae royalty, a tool that could make whoever was pierced by it into an Awakened, no less.

And if an Awakened were to be pierced by it, there was even talk they might gain transcendent power.

Of course, it was all just whispers.

No one knew if such a thing truly existed.

But in this new Earth’s frontier settlements, rumors of such an ‘Arrowhead’ were carried on the wind, spreading openly.

What if such a thing really existed, and we could get our hands on it?

We could strengthen Seo Gaeul’s ‘Miracle’ and keep Fox Noe from fading away!

“……”

Hearing my scheme, Seo Gaeul’s expression turned peculiar.

“…Is that method really the best way?”

Obtaining an ‘Arrowhead’ whose existence wasn’t even confirmed must have seemed reckless, even impossible.

To reassure Seo Gaeul, I pulled out a map and pointed to a place.

“Here. An island newly formed in the West Sea, which has been repeating erosion and uplift for 200 years. It’s called Monster Island because it’s teeming with monsters. Someone claimed to have seen the Arrowhead there.”

It was Geum Taeseong.

A friend who roamed the country like a lone wolf, continuing his investigations.

He’d told me a story after visiting Monster Island in the West Sea.

“Taeseong said that when he infiltrated the island, the boss of that territory was keeping some kind of strange arrowhead in their treasure hoard. You’ve heard about the boss of Monster Island, right?”

A month since people started returning to Earth.

The world wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows.

Some Awakened took a dark turn and committed crimes.

Likely the remnants of ‘Genesis Crusade’.

Monster Island was a place those rogue Awakened fled to.

“Seo Gaeul, with your condition improved by my foot massage, you can easily defeat the Awakened hiding there and get your hands on the Arrowhead.”

# # #

There’s this folktale in Japan.

The story of a boy who storms a demon island with a dog, a pheasant, and a monkey.

Did the boy feel the same as I do now, standing before an island where terrifying demons supposedly lived?

Kwarng, kwarng—!

The newly formed monster island in the West Sea was about the size of Ulleungdo, a place where thunder, lightning, and whirlpools raged, making it difficult for just anyone to enter.

Seo Gaeul and I barely managed to swim through the turbulent sea and reach the island.

“Gweh.”

Seo Gaeul spat out seawater and a small fish from her mouth.

To catch a fish in your mouth while swimming—she really had a talent for everything.

“Are you sure this is the right way? I don’t know about this!”

Seo Gaeul was clearly annoyed.

Did she not trust my plan?

Or maybe her displeasure index had risen because her entire body was soaking wet.

“Just trust me.”

“Easy for you to say. My head is still throbbing from the last time I trusted you.”

Anyway, we had arrived at the monster island.

Now all we had to do was find the boss, get the arrowhead he possessed, and it would be over.

So, I shouted loudly.

“I am Hanamjin, the man!”

Kra-koom.

A voice like thunder itself.

Seo Gaeul was taken aback.

“Hey! That defeats the purpose of infiltrating in secret!”

“But sneaking around isn’t really my style.”

“Ah, jeez! This makes leaving Baek Yeoul and Yu Yeoreum behind completely pointless!”

What was she worried about?

Even with just Seo Gaeul and me, we could easily conquer this island.

I’d have to show her the power I absorbed from “Immortality.”

It was right then.

“Hanamjin actually came?”

“Quick, throw the net!”

“Capture him! Don’t let him escape no matter what!”

As people gathered on the beach shouting something, a strange thing happened.

Nets cast from everywhere ensnared me, leaving me completely immobile, not even a twitch of a finger.

For some reason, strength had abandoned my limbs.

Could this be no ordinary net?

“We actually caught Ha Namjin!”

“They say if you drink Ha Namjin’s blood, you’ll gain eternal youth!”

“Kyah-hoo!”

Were they after me from the very start?

Sergaeul and I, just as we were, were dragged toward a concrete structure built in the island’s center.

Bound by the nets, we were thrown into separate iron cages.

“Hey! Ha Namjin! Are you alright?”

Sergaeul, trussed up like a chicken in her own net, wriggled and anxiously inquired about my condition.

I seemed to be, mostly.

“This net… it feels like it’s sealing away the Awakened’s powers, doesn’t it?”

“You speak the truth.”

Thud, thud-.

Someone emerged to confront us in our cages.

Clad in black leather, his face was obscured by a helmet, making identification impossible.

“That net is a blessed artifact imbued with the power of ‘Sealing’, capable of suppressing an Awakened’s abilities for a day or so. In other words, Ha Namjin, you’re just a long-lived ordinary man now.”

Is this man the boss of this demon island?

He carried himself with an air of someone who had been expecting me.

“Ha Namjin, you probably came here after hearing rumors about the ‘Arrowhead.’ Little did you know it was bait in a trap meant to snare you. I, too, heard stories about you. They say drinking your blood grants immortality.”

Indeed, a villain targeting my immortal power.

How did the rumor that drinking my blood would grant eternal life even begin to spread?

“I won’t say that rumor is entirely false. So, let me ask you. The ‘Arrowhead.’ Is it here?”

“Hmm. Doesn’t seem like the time to be thinking about that. Ha Namjin, you’re in dire straits. I intend to run this blade straight through you.”

Shwing-.

The motorcycle-helmeted man drew his blade.

Sergaeul, overhearing the exchange, erupted in fury.

“You, you so much as touch that blade to Ha Namjin, and I swear I will tear you to shreds and feed you to the fish. I’ll make your death such unimaginable torture, you’ll wish you’d never been born!”

“Why are you getting so worked up? I’m the one stabbing Ha Namjin, not you.”

“Why would you even ask that, you fool? It’s obvious without saying, isn’t it? Of course, I like Ha Namjin, that’s why!”

*Fwooosh-*!

Seo Gaeul started radiating intense mana.

“And to think you believed this flimsy net could hold us is almost laughable.”

So intense was her power, a dazzling white light enveloped Seo Gaeul, enough to make one’s face contort.

Seeing the strength surging through her, I guess my foot massage was effective after all!

*Fwooosh-*!

In the end, Seo Gaeul ripped through the net and iron bars like paper.

*Bang-*!

Seo Gaeul fired a mana blast from her palm, striking the motorcycle helmet.

*Crackkk-. Shatter-*

The cracked helmet shattered like glass.

The face revealed was quite familiar, even to me.

“If it isn’t the class president.”

He was Jung Ui-seon, the psychopath killer known as “The Arbiter,” from Class D.

I knew he was imprisoned, but his whereabouts had been a mystery since then.

“Did you escape after returning from the moon or something?”

“…Haha! Something like that. This island is a den for criminals like me. Ha Namjin, do you still believe the death penalty is useless? That a criminal spared might walk the path of evil again, like me.”

I remembered a debate from long ago.

By now, the roaring thunder and lightning had quieted. Gazing through the breached window at the island scenery, the flowers blooming everywhere were quite lovely.

The sight of people in tattered clothes watering the flowers was admirable.

“If I had killed you back then, I wouldn’t have seen this splendid island.”

My thoughts haven’t changed.

I still believed in the potential of humanity.

“This island is a prison. Overflowing with all sorts of scum. I intend to be the warden of this island, to prevent the vicious prisoners from escaping. Including myself.”

*Clang-*

Jung Ui-seon opened the iron bars that held me and released the net.

Meaningless assistance, of course.

Truthfully, had I been so inclined, I could have broken free from the bars and net by myself.

I was simply curious as to what Jung Ui-seon was planning.

“Truth is, that ‘Arrowhead’ thing? It was a lie. Hanamjin, I just wanted to see you again, so I spread the rumor. I figured if I let something like that slip, you’d eventually come to this island.”

She played her hand well, I’ll give her that.

“In that sense, the debate’s over. I’ve grown to like this scenery, too. Isn’t it beautiful enough to forget that it’s a flowerbed born from monstrous beasts? I’m glad we didn’t kill them.”

Monster Island.

It carried that name, but this place, after the typhoon calmed, was an incredibly beautiful island of flowers.

“I’ll have a room prepared for you so you can rest. You can leave by morning.”

And so, we found ourselves staying at a villa prepared for us on this flower island.

*Whoosh-*

Seo Gaeul went into the bathroom, grumbling as she washed the salt-caked grime from her body.

“In the end, it was all for naught. There was no ‘Arrowhead.’ Hanamjin, you got caught for nothing and nearly had your blood drained. Who’s spreading those ridiculous rumors about your blood granting eternal life, anyway?”

I thought back to Seo Gaeul, who’d been furious on my behalf when I was nearly stabbed.

To think someone cared so much about my body…it was honestly touching.

Though Seo Gaeul lamented, that’s true.

“Just a waste of time. A complete waste.”

“No, there are still a few other options. I heard a rumor about an ‘Evolution Stone’ being found near Gangwon Province. And in North Korea, they say there’s a ‘Giant Growth Mushroom’.”

Materials that could amplify the concept of Awakened Ones existed all over the world.

Whether they were real or fake, just rumors or something more, the process of going out and confirming it all felt like an adventure, which I enjoyed.

Just then, Seo Gaeul emerged wearing a white coat, her eyes narrowing as she looked at me.

“Besides depending on rumors like that, there is a sure method. A surefire method to keep Yuno disappearing. Actually, you know it too. That there’s a most effective way.”

“And what’s that?”

Suddenly, I felt a shiver crawl up my spine. Like a mouse placed before a fox, you could say?

So I hesitated slightly, taking a step back, and Seo Gaeul’s eyes seemed to glow an especially bright red.

“You’re always like this. You pretend to be so manly, but you’re actually more afraid, more tearful, and lonelier than anyone. You scaredy-cat. Coward.”

“Hey now, when and where, and what on earth have I been afraid of—”

Just then, as if pushed by something, Seo Gaeul grabbed my shoulders and collapsed, *thump*.

Her weight caused me to fall with her, and we tumbled together, landing amidst the flower pots scattered throughout the cabin.

Overwhelmed by the pungent, fragrant scent, my mind went dizzy, as if the ground beneath me had given way.

# # #

“You guys! What is this! Where were you! I have been looking for you all!”

Bbangdaengi, returning to the cabin, was giving us a good scolding.

I offered the beastkin her favorite, tangerines, a specialty from Monster Island, for that shapely bottom of hers. Her face brightened immediately after stuffing a few into her mouth.

“So good! I love tangerines the most! Where’d you get them? Huh? These tangerines!”

“What were you all doing yesterday?”

Yu Yeoreum, astride her white horse, appeared at the cabin.

In that very instant, the horned horse, snarling like a wild beast, charged towards Seo Gaeul.

*Phoo-hiing!*

“Oh dear, why is he like this.”

Yu Yeoreum, still on the horse, looked flustered.

The horned horse immediately rammed into Seo Gaeul.

“Argh! What the, this crazy horse b*stard!”

Seo Gaeul toppled over.

Yu Yeoreum also dismounted from the bucking horse.

Then, as if something had struck her, her eyes widened.

“A unicorn rammed you. Seo Gaeul, don’t tell me─!”