The clean-up was swift.
The damage had been less than expected, partly due to Aegis’ protection and partly due to Minerva flying above and spewing poisonous smoke instead of ramming into buildings and using physical attacks.
But Five Streets was shattered to the point where normal operations would be impossible for some time.
Orhe Academy was also affected.
While it wasn’t completely destroyed, several buildings on campus were damaged, with cracks in the exterior walls. Furthermore, Minerva’s poison was incredibly potent, not allowing anyone to come near.
“…So you’re saying the academy will be closed for about a month?”
“Yep. They’re repairing the buildings and cleaning up any poison that might have been released… so it will be temporarily closed for a while. Luckily, there were no people inside the academy, so there were no casualties.”
Soo-Young replied as she diligently sliced an apple.
“I guess we have a short vacation…”
She was working hard, but the apple was crooked, and the flesh still clung to the discarded peel.
“I heard that the body of Minerva has been reduced to dust and disappeared.”
Hyun-Woo, leaning against the window, said as he picked up another apple instead of picking up the one Soo-Young had cut.
He had lost his sword in this battle, met Hyun-Hwa, and was enlightened.
However, there was no difference in his demeanor or aura compared to before, as if his awakening was a lie.
“From what I hear, the Association sent a bunch of people to do forensics and stuff, and it all went to waste.”
He took a big bite out of the apple with a crunch.
Then Soo-Young tried to poke him in the eyes.
“That’s for Ji-Hyuk.”
“He said I could eat it….”
Hyun-Woo said helplessly as his apple was stolen.
As I watched, Ye-Seul, sitting next to me, unexpectedly put something in my mouth.
It was a beautifully carved pear, incomparable to Soo-Young’s.
“Here, eat this.”
“Uh, you can just hand it to me.”
“Just do it. You broke both your arms.”
She was definitely right.
Since I used my body to protect Minerva during the fall, I had broken both my arms and right leg. I also had many other wounds from the battle.
I heard my injuries were so severe that I would have died if Joo-Hyuk hadn’t been there for emergency first aid.
As he worked on my body, he was said to have muttered something about how it would be easier to take my body apart and remodel it.
“Ah.”
I opened my mouth to take the pear, but she pulled it back.
“What.”
“Sorry.”
She smiled and held it out to me again.
When I opened my mouth to take it, she moved her fingers slightly to the side. I followed by turning my to a little.
“…It’s like a baby bird.”
I was about to ask her what the hell I was doing when she muttered that with a slight blush.
“Ugh.”
“There.”
She gently pushed her stomach into my mouth without a second thought.
I felt it touch my uvula and gagged, but she insistently held it to prevent me from spitting it out.
When I finally bit into the pear with my teeth and ate it, Ye-Seul looked at me with a smile.
“You eat well.”
She then casually wiped off the juices and saliva running down my chin with her fingers.
“…….”
Ye-Seul stared at her wet finger wordlessly.
After a while, she slowly moved her finger while looking at me.
“I’m glad you’re over the hump, Ji-Hyuk. Here’s a tissue.”
“Ah…!”
Yu-Na, sitting next to her, said hurriedly.
She pulled out a tissue and carefully wiped Ye-Seul’s fingers.
“It’s all over the news.”
Ivan, constantly shifting in his seat, muttered that while watching the television.
A man was being interviewed on the air, an official of the Association and one of the “heroes” of the group the Association had organized against the Ten Strongest.
He spoke confidently, saying that their top-secret operation was successful.
He also bragged that it was a monumental event in human history, successfully defeating one of the Seven Evils and defeating one of humanity’s greatest enemies.
Moreover, the Association was saying that they would use this momentum to destroy all six remaining seven evil spirits, and they were asking the people to rest assured and believe in them.
“Did you see any of the Association’s members there? I didn’t see a single one. You’d think they were fighting on the front lines.”
Ivan muttered with a bloodshot, sneering smile.
I mumbled as I watched the broadcast, half lying on the bed in a daze.
“But he’s so handsome.”
“I’d say you’re more handsome, Ji-Hyuk.”
I awkwardly laughed at Soo-Young’s comment.
She turned her head to look at the two men, the epitome of handsomeness, representing the East and the West, respectively and opened her mouth.
“By the way, what’s his name?”
“Choi Jun-Hyung.”
It wasn’t any of us that answered, but Myung-Joon as he entered the room.
Behind him, Yuzuki Horie, Joo-Hyuk, and Ye-Eun walked in.
“He’s the leader of the training program, the face of the organization. He also has many connections and is a resourceful person who’s made it all the way to the top… Well, his martial strength as a hero is second-rate, to say the least.”
Myung-Joon glared at the television and chewed on his words.
“What an asshole. An asshole… Fuck!”
He was forcibly silenced by Yuzuki Horie, who dropped him with a punch on the head while still smiling. (TN: I think I saw the other translation sometimes use male pronouns for Horie, but I think she’s a female?)
Horie kneeled down to whisper into Myung-Joon’s.
“Watch your tongue, boss. You can’t be saying such things in front of the children.”
But it was loud enough for all of us to hear.
“Uh…I’m sorry.”
Myung-Joon chuckled while standing up.
All the while, he was staring at the face of Joon-Hyung on the television with killing intent.
Ye-Eun approached me and placed her hand on my forehead.
“How are you feeling?”
“Much better.”
She then walked away to open the window.
Then, Joo-Hyuk walked up to me and cleared his throat.
“How are you feeling?”
“Thanks to you, Ahn-ssi, I’m fine. I don’t feel sick at all.”
“That’s because I pushed so many painkillers into you that your veins flow with medicine instead of blood.”
“…What?”
“When you leave the hospital, I might have to bring you to rehab for drug addiction. Just make sure you clear your pockets when they inspect your belongings.”
Joo-Hyuk said as he touched every part of my body.
He was silent, pursing his lips, then looked at me.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You don’t feel any pain?”
“Uh… yes. I’m really fine.”
I replied, and he nodded slightly.
He then glanced at Ye-Eun and said.
“Yi Ye-Eun is nominally your guardian, right? In a case like this, you should talk to her when you can.”
With that, he looked around.
“…I’ll also give you some peace.”
“It’s for the best. This is when I need stability…and also sleep. I definitely want that.”
At his words, the others obediently rose from their seats.
No one else could refute the orders of the leading medical healer.
“Then we’ll come back tomorrow.”
“Okay. Ji-Hyuk, do you want anything to eat? I’ll make it when I come back tomorrow.”
Joo-Hyuk gave a bitter smile at Soo-Young’s words.
“I think it would be better if he only ate porridge or soups for a while.”
“I guess I’ll have to chew up his food…”
I wondered if I had misheard her for a moment, but when I looked up, I could see her ruminating.
…It seems she was trying to solve a serious issue.
Hyun-Woo pushed her back and said.
“Come on, let’s get out of here. Ji-Hyuk is very tired.”
“Hey, Hyun-Woo. I was going to leave even if you didn’t tell me.”
Soo-Young complained, but Hyun-Woo only smirked and urged her on.
Ye-Seul squeezed my hand once before she left, and Yu-Na gave me a small bow.
“Get some rest; we’ll talk more later.”
Ye-Eun said, and Joo-Hyuk followed after.
The room that had been bustling with so many people was suddenly empty, and I felt a strange emptiness.
“Whoa….”
I sat up from my bed and checked my status.
Name: Yoo Ji-Hyuk
Gender: M
Name : * * *
Constitution: F
Strength: F
Dexterity: F
Intelligence: F
Finesse: F
Luck: C (–)
Karma: 10
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
No matter how often I looked at it, I couldn’t believe it.
I let out a small sigh as I glance at the status bar, which is even more miserable than when I first fell into this world.
I never thought I’d looked into a row of F again.
Considering the standard for an E rank is an average person, I was now weaker than a typical person my age.
‘Oh, and….’
I fiddled with my inventory and pulled out what I’d gotten as a reward for Hyun-Woo’s awakening.
A cloudy, milky liquid in an oddly shaped potion bottle.
However, the effect of this item was nothing short of a national treasure.
Blood of the Earth (Legendary/Subordinate)
– This item cannot be transferred or used by others.
– The full dose must be consumed to take effect.
– Cures all conditions.
– Breaks all curses.
– Heals all wounds and restores health and mana to full.
When I received it, a small notification popped up, explaining that it could cure the aftereffects and curses caused by the King of Thorns.
So, I put it back in my inventory.
In any case, the stat drop from the King of Thorns is only temporary.
It would heal over time.
Besides, I wouldn’t have to deal with the commotion for a while, so I had plenty of time to heal in peace.
Having it in my possession would be much more valuable.
So it was too good to waste now.
[What kind of chopping board did you use your body as?]
“…Svengali.”
I heard a familiar voice and let out a languid breath as I leaned back a little further.
My attitude and wariness towards him had relaxed considerably after the incident with Minerva.
Partly because he had acted appropriately and helped me on the battlefield, but primarily because of his assistance in suppressing the remnants of Margo.
If not for him, I’d probably be decapitated and lying next to Minerva, listening to her singing for eternity.
[Have you seen the power you gained by…defeating Minerva?]
His question was met with a momentary burst of laughter.
Meanwhile, he was actively suppressing Margo.
It seems he was trying to be nice, seeing how I felt about Minerva.
“Yeah, but there’s nothing.”
[Nothing? You’re covered in her blood and absorbed her heart… no, her crystal?]
“No… more accurately, I can’t feel anything at all.”
It wasn’t a lie.
The power I had gained by defeating Minerva, Dragonblood, was very different from the late-blooming power of Margo, or the King of Thorns, which had been created from the beginning.
Hemolysis
– Your heart is not yet beating.
That was all that appeared.
Svengali let out a small, troubled groan when I told him I could feel her power taking hold but nothing more.
[How about I try to stimulate the energy, then?]
“What?”
[It’s likely because your body is too weak right now, so I’ll carefully activate your body to generate some mana. What do you think?]
I nodded at his words.
It certainly couldn’t hurt to experiment.
[Good, let’s start slowly; your body is frail right now, so very slowly….]
With those words, I could feel the mana moving within my body.
“Blargh…!”
I leaned down and vomited.
I could only stop gagging after spat out a handful of blackened blood on my palm, which stuck to my skin like jelly.
[…Are you okay?]
Svengali asked, and I nodded, unable to say anything.
And as I wiped it away with a tissue, Svengali muttered, almost lamenting.
[I don’t know if this is an aftereffect of my powers or some newfound strength, but I think I’ll stop for now. I had no idea you were this weak….]
He paused for a moment before continuing.
[I apologize; I didn’t mean to, but my rush almost endangered you.]
“…It’s nothing, I just coughed up some blood.”
With that, I stood up to throw away the tissues.
I looked toward the door as if I sensed something was going on.
[What’s wrong?]
“…….”
Without responding to his words, I staggered toward the door, leaning heavily on my crutches.
Opening it with a creak and peering out to see that no one was there, I shook my head.
“Nothing.”
[I see.]
Svengali seemed to shrug off my nonchalant response.
“We’ll have to check it out later. For now… I think I should just get some rest.”
[That’s for the best.]
And that’s how we continued our conversation as I returned to bed.
So, neither he nor I noticed.
[…….]
A single drop of black blood from the tissue fell to the floor.
The Henir’s Shadow, who should have been still, stirred, if only for a moment.
It was a movement with clear will.
