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Chapter 283

[H-Help me, Dad! Tae-oh is acting weird…!!]

‘Shar!? Is Shar okay?!’

Hearing Shar’s scream, Yeon-woo was taken aback as she replied. She hadn’t considered that Shar might not be trapped in the past. That was also why she hadn’t forced a connection through the line.

As she thought this, she checked her status and surprisingly found that her contract with Tae-oh hadn’t been severed. Does being trapped in the past not terminate the contract?

[I’m fine! But Tae-oh keeps repeating the same actions and words. Why is this happening…?]

In response to Shar’s urgent words, Yeon-woo rubbed her face with one hand. Although she could guess from Shar’s words, hearing that Shar had actually been caught made her feel uneasy.

‘Remember before we set out? I told you that the moment the Demon King wields his power, the entire Hwaeon City will be trapped in the past. Tae-oh’s current symptoms are exactly that.’

[So… T-Tae-oh isn’t Tae-oh anymore…?]

Yeon-woo fell silent. Recognizing what that silence meant, Shar let out a low sound. Unfortunately, it was certain that Tae-oh had been caught in the past.

‘However, Shar, there might still be a way to bring Tae-oh back.’

[Huh? But you said Dad is no longer here. No matter what method we use, we can’t bring him back….]

‘Yeah, that was before the regression. I thought it wouldn’t change this time either since it happened before the regression, but apparently, that’s not the case.’

[W-What are you looking for? Please tell me quickly, Tae-oh is acting strange…!!]

Honestly, Yeon-woo wasn’t sure either. Could this really be related to a way to bring Tae-oh back? It might not be.

Perhaps she would just be raising false hopes for Shar. But Yeon-woo didn’t want to lose Tae-oh so foolishly.

‘It’s just the two of us, Shar. Somehow, you and I, who have not been trapped in the past, are the only clues to bring Tae-oh back.’

[Huh…?]

‘Your sense of direction is still intact, right? Although time and space are fractured and everything on the outside and inside has changed, if we keep walking, we’ll eventually be able to survey all of Hwaeon City. In other words, if we walk endlessly, we can meet each other.’

[O-Okay.]

‘I don’t know where exactly you are, but you head north after passing through the west. I’ll do the same after going through the east. As we walk, let’s remember the people who were in the gaps of time. Got it?’

[A-Accepted…!]

‘Be careful. Even in the gaps of time, the Demon King’s Snake can move freely. When it’s tough to face, make sure to run away.’

[Understood! I will definitely reach the north. You have to come too!]

‘Of course. You go ahead and wait for me.’

Having made a firm promise, the two began walking toward their respective directions. A solemn sense of duty echoed in their faces.

*

‘Hmm…’

Yuri thought to herself, My body is moving on its own. Thankfully, it was moving quite actively. As a result, the tense muscles that had been stiff lately were loosening up.

Perhaps it was because she’d recently been sitting at a desk, fiddling with documents that made it hard to move. Simply swinging a sword wasn’t enough to relax her muscles.

Even being trapped in the past couldn’t invade the bloated ego of an Aura Master.

She had thought that apart from regaining youth, there weren’t significant merits to being an Aura Master, but it seemed that wasn’t the case after all.

‘If it were Claire, she would have smashed through this with her aura.’

Unfortunately, she herself couldn’t do that. The characteristics of their auras were different.

Claire’s aura had the trait of completeness, creating an absolute elemental mana that allowed nothing to intrude where it flowed—resisting black magic that interfered with the mind and rejecting anything that forced a role upon her.

In contrast, her own elemental mana was a sword. No matter how she tried, it wouldn’t help in this situation.

‘If necessary, could I swing my sword once…’

Well, her proud disciple would manage somehow. As for her, she just needed to hold onto her sword for when she truly needed it.

‘Ah, I feel like yawning, but it’s not coming out.’

*

The fact that time was chaotically mixed up meant that the flow of time wasn’t normal either.

Yeon-woo’s internal clock indicated that several hours had passed since she had begun wandering through the gaps of time, but she could suspect that it was different outside Hwaeon City.

This meant that recognizing the anomaly occurring in Hwaeon City and sending reinforcements would take some time.

Even though many groups were focused on the ominous energy that had befallen Hwaeon City, in a situation where the entire city practically flew away, it would take time for outsiders to notice. No matter how vigilant they were.

“I knew it, but is it this much…?”

Her internal clock, which prided itself on being accurate down to the minute, told her how many days she had been wandering.

When purely counted, it had been four days. Signs of reinforcements coming were emerging, and it was about time that someone would arrive for reconnaissance.

Of course, it could simply be that they hadn’t met yet. Their paths might have just crossed.

Even considering that, it was absurd that neither Yeon-woo nor Shar had encountered one another, and the concerning factor was the result of asking Shar how many hours had passed.

[It’s been five hours now!]

She thought that it would be better for her to handle this suffering on her own rather than having Shar endure it, but even so, wasn’t this a bit excessive?

The difference in the flow of time being nearly twenty times was a bit baffling for even Yeon-woo.

Hwaeon City wasn’t exactly small enough to take several days just to walk halfway around. Even if it could take a day, that was acceptable.

‘Thanks to that, though, I’ve been doing quite the amount of non-training training.’

The Demon King’s Snake wasn’t that powerful of a monster, but due to the overwhelming numbers, it provided an environment where she could test out anything she wanted.

It’s not just a small time difference, but with such a large disparity, it was only natural that she would want to make use of that difference.

It felt like a mental and training chamber. Though it didn’t project a particularly positive image, it would be acceptable to call it quite similar.

Especially since Yeon-woo still hadn’t been able to answer the proposition that Raymond had thrown, she felt even more that way.

If she wanted to reach the realm of an Aura Master, she needed to pursue something. She needed to inject obsession into the tip of her sword.

But Yeon-woo still hadn’t been able to decide what to be obsessed with. She had too many things she wanted to pursue.

In other words, Yeon-woo was greedy. There were too many things she wanted to grasp in hand.

‘Still, in this situation, I have no choice but to give up on some…’

There was still plenty of time to reach the north through the east.

Nobody could always make only the best choices. Let’s minimize the options until she meets Shar and they can talk.

*

Staring at the hemisphere made of blood right in front of her, Yeon-woo pondered what she should do.

She had seen the tentacles melting away when they touched the blood dome during the defense, so she felt a sense of fear in making contact recklessly.

Gently poking at the dome with her mana brought an unpleasant feeling, as if it reacted. The only thing she could do was hope that Delain would notice and open up.

Fortunately, Delain, with his sharp instincts, seemed to have sensed Yeon-woo’s presence, and a round hole appeared at one side of the dome. It was a sign indicating for her to come in.

The inside of the dome was a bit dim, but for the most part, the city retained its circular shape. The expressions of the people didn’t seem too bad either.

They looked a bit anxious, but that was only natural to feel uneasy in this situation where the outside was not visible, considering the existence of claustrophobia.

“You’ve arrived?”

Suddenly appearing before Yeon-woo was a pale-skinned handsome man. It was Delain. He looked particularly pale today, probably because he was using all his energy to maintain this dome.

“You speak as if you knew I would come.”

“Rather than knowing, I should say I believed you would come. Who else but you, Yeon-woo?”

“How long have we known each other to have that much faith?”

“Well, you are a hero after all. If I can’t trust a hero in matters related to the Demon King, then who else can I trust?”

That was true. Ironically, it was this hero who had messed things up, leading to this situation.

“Shar said she would come this way as well. Has Shar arrived?”

“Yes, she came first and is waiting. Should I guide you?”

“Please do. We have a lot to discuss.”

At Yeon-woo’s words, Delain shrugged his shoulders and began to walk ahead in silence. The atmosphere felt slightly uncomfortable.

“Do you know about the situation outside? How much time has passed in the north?”

“Hmm, it seems about a day has passed. It appears there’s quite a difference in the flow of time.”

“Yes, the western side that Shar passed through doesn’t seem very different. It took me about ten days to get here.”

“Is it that much of a difference?”

Delain turned his head sharply, looking at Yeon-woo in surprise. Fortunately, she didn’t have a noticeably grown beard, so even after ten days, her jawline wasn’t overly stubbly.

“Just take a look at how tattered your clothes have become. It’s absurd, really.”

“Hahaha. There are clothing shops in the north, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to buy some clothes. Shall I prepare them while you talk with Shar?”

“I would appreciate that. You’ve really taken on a lord-like appearance in the meantime, haven’t you?”

“Is it the grace of a noble? Just kidding, of course.”

Delain led her to a tavern located in the north, and they headed for the clothing store first while Yeon-woo entered her room at the inn. Shar must have been anxiously waiting for her.

After knocking on the door of the given number, the door flew open, and Shar came rushing out. It seemed she had just washed up, her hair glistening with moisture.

“D-Dad!!”

“Yeah, Shar. You were waiting, huh?”

“I waited a long time!!”

With a voice partially on the verge of tears, yet bright, Yeon-woo smiled as he ruffled his daughter’s hair. The golden eyes of Shar read the state of her father.

Shar did the same. They didn’t even need to ask how each other was doing, as their gazes revealed their conditions.

Only then did they realize why the two of them could be free in there while everyone else could not.

(To be continued in the next episode.)

 

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