Chapter 329: What's That? Then I Won't Do It. |
Chapter: 329
Chapter Title: What's That? Then I Won't Do It.
The light illuminating the magic formation had now completely faded away. Baek Seo-yeon's gaze swept over my face. How on earth could I describe her expression right now? The arms that had been hugging me tightly just moments ago slowly pulled away.
Baek Seo-yeon hesitated, taking a couple of steps back. One thing was clear: a flicker of hope still lingered in her eyes. As if thinking, 'No. This can't be happening.'
After a brief silence, Baek Seo-yeon's lips parted.
"Who... who are you?"
"Hmm. Who do you think I am?"
I shrugged nonchalantly before responding in a smooth, slippery tone. Baek Seo-yeon plunged into confusion in an instant. She glanced at my face, then hurriedly turned to look behind her. The vagrants stood alone in the underground prison, the same scene as yesterday. Her face twisted in bewilderment, not knowing where to go, and as she backed away unsteadily, her foot caught. Soon, the clumsy sound of her falling echoed through the quiet underground.
Even in that moment, Baek Seo-yeon tried to stand, but she had barely been able to walk by leaning on me. No, she seemed to struggle just accepting the current situation. Meanwhile, the vagrants were closing in from behind. Using one arm and two legs to prop herself up on the floor futilely, she finally cried out in a voice like a scream.
But that wasn't going to stop them. The vagrants, now upon Baek Seo-yeon, lifted her up and began to toy with her. They kneaded her breasts like dough and fondled her most precious places.
Feeling the sensations all over her body, she finally seemed to grasp reality. The momentary relief on her face began to distort. The faint spark of hope that had bloomed withered away, turning into tears that streamed down her cheeks.
"N-no. This can't be... It's Hyeon, right? I'm just seeing wrong?"
"Hyeon? My name is Su-hyeon. By the way, you've been calling for Hyeon since earlier. Who is he? You seem desperate to find him..."
"Wha..."
Baek Seo-yeon's voice choked. Perhaps wanting to believe it was all a dream, she squeezed her eyes shut. Had Vivian's illusion been this effective? I inwardly marveled and signaled a vagrant with my eyes. One of them forcibly pried open her eyelids. Our gazes met. The pupils I saw shaking mercilessly in Baek Seo-yeon's eyes.
"Hyeon...!"
Baek Seo-yeon barely managed to speak in a trembling voice, but the vagrants' continuing touches drew out a lewd moan. The drug's effects still lingered, making her body react. Now getting to the main act, they stripped off the robe I had bothered to put on her and laid her back on the floor. They surrounded her from all sides and bent down simultaneously.
"S-stop! Don't do it!"
Even then, Baek Seo-yeon struggled. It might have been different before, but in her current state, it was futile resistance. A vagrant grabbed her slender arm reaching toward me and forced it onto his grotesque member. I watched impassively for a moment before slowly turning away.
"D-don't go! Help me, Hyeon! Hyeon!"
Baek Seo-yeon's wail echoed through the quiet underground prison. It was a cry bubbling up from deep in her throat. But as I climbed the stairs, her dry voice gradually grew wet with tears.
Before fully ascending the stairs, I glanced down to signal Go Yeon-ju.
At some point, the vagrants were already thrusting vigorously, and Baek Seo-yeon's body jerked like a broken doll in response. The face that had been tinged with faint hope was now filled with the same despair as before. Her eyes, like those of a dead person, were clouded over. I had completely shattered the hope I had barely revived.
'I should call Lee Hyo-eul.'
Looking at her eyes emitting a dull light, I withdrew my gaze and continued up the stairs. Lee Hyo-eul was the organizer of the summons, and there were essential matters to confirm before holding it.
I organized my thoughts and let out a deep sigh. It was just a sigh without particular reason.
*
"Extra! Extra! Make way, everyone! The Western Continent and vagrants have finally begun their invasion of Halo!"
I had stopped by the temple for some business but turned back due to the crowd of users. While crossing the bustling square, I heard someone shouting loudly. He darted through the users with urgent steps and soon posted a large record on the square bulletin board. He dropped a stack of records with a thud and hurried off again.
A buzz erupted.
After the reporter's footsteps passed like a storm, the square instantly filled with commotion. But it wasn't major chaos. They had heard multiple times that the advance had been detected early, so reactions were along the lines of 'it's finally here.' Still, human curiosity wanted detailed circumstances, so users flocked to the bulletin board.
I had no intention of jostling to read the records, so I snatched one from the stack and quickly left the square.
I didn't know who wrote it, but the record was fresh with the latest war situation. First, calling it an invasion of Halo was false. However, their invasion was imminent, reaching striking distance in at most two days, so it was practically the same.
Other information was plentiful too.
Their numbers easily exceeded 10,000. The forces split for invading Beth and Dorothy were merging midway. The northern cities were passive in forming support troops under the pretext of retaking Mul. Golden Lion Clan urged SSUN to abandon Halo, recruiting volunteers and aiming for recapture after reorganization, but it didn't look easy.
It seemed clichéd at first glance but endeavored for realism.
'Abandon Halo and recapture after reorganization.'
At the bottom, it noted that users residing in Halo were increasingly evacuating to other cities. Seong Hyeon-min had mentioned Golden Lion Clan's support troop formation facing difficulties, which seemed true. After losing all their elite users in the Steel Mountains expedition, forcing a formation now would obviously be subpar.
I dropped the record and quickened my pace to the clan house. Two days had passed since finishing Baek Seo-yeon's conditioning. With the summons approaching, Lee Hyo-eul was supposed to visit Mercenary once, so she might be there already.
Upon arriving at the clan house, the receptionist informed me that Lee Hyo-eul had visited. As expected, right on time.
Go Yeon-ju had personally guided her to the fourth-floor office, so I hurried up the stairs without delay. Opening the office door calmly, I saw her demurely seated on the sofa table, intently reviewing something. I strode quickly to the desk. A familiar voice played from the crystal orb.
(The reason I became a vagrant was... probably a bit over a year in...)
(The number invading the Northern Continent this time from the Western Continent and vagrants is approximately...)
(The overall commander of the Western Continent is a user named Simon. I've never met him directly, but...)
(From those who've met him, he doesn't seem human...)
Sensing my presence, Lee Hyo-eul, who had been focused on the video recording orb, suddenly turned her head.
"Oh? You're here...? Ah, just so you know, I didn't touch this on my own."
"I know. I had to step out briefly, so I told Go Yeon-ju in advance."
"Hmm. I see. Where did you go?"
"The temple. Had business with the angels."
I infused mana into the calling stone labeled with Go Yeon-ju's name and sat on the sofa facing Lee Hyo-eul. At the mention of the temple, she gave me an odd look.
"Really? What did your guardian angel say?"
"Couldn't meet. Too many people."
"I see. Well... you got the invitation last time, right? What do you think? I'm pretty useful."
"Let's talk about that with hyung later. Right now, there's something more important, so let's get to the point. You saw the orb?"
It wasn't something to decide immediately, so I evaded politely. Lee Hyo-eul pouted, "Then you should've come with me from the start," but answered my question right away.
"I skimmed the beginning. Didn't expect to get info like this."
"It's the most accurate way. No lies, and it convinces everyone."
"True enough."
Lee Hyo-eul nodded in agreement a couple of times.
The crystal orb on the table was the recording of yesterday's interview with Baek Seo-yeon. Two days ago, we had finally broken her. Vivian dismissed it personally as "failure," but from my perspective, it was a success. Though I failed to completely shatter her mind, I had weakened her spirit enough for Lure Eyed to work.
"......"
"......"
Lee Hyo-eul and I fell silent for a moment. Glancing at her face, her cheeks were slightly flushed. She seemed composed outwardly, but her heart must be racing. No need for long talk. We had already confirmed each other's thoughts in the previous conversation. The orb was sufficient, but seeing is believing—better to hear it directly from Baek Seo-yeon.
About five minutes later, there was a knock. The door burst open, and Go Yeon-ju entered leading Baek Seo-yeon. Lure Eyed seemed pre-applied; her eyes glimmered faintly gray.
*
Plop!
Her stamina drained by Lure Eyed, Baek Seo-yeon collapsed to the floor as soon as it ended.
"Whew. At least that's a relief."
The stormy questioning time was over. Lee Hyo-eul's first words were about relief. At her cryptic remark, I asked immediately.
"Relief about what?"
"Ah. Think about why the vagrants killed the godmother. If there was a traitor among those who knew me, what would have happened by now? Heh... If you hadn't saved me..."
Lee Hyo-eul trailed off without finishing. A bitter smile played on her lips. It was a valid point, so I nodded silently. She smacked her lips and stood resolutely.
"Simon, huh... Vagrants and Simon are impressive. It wasn't just simple revenge. Tsk. Can't sit idle. Need to advance the summons."
This was unexpected too. I thought she'd delay after today's meeting, but she wanted to hasten it. Positively, decisive action; negatively, it could create preparation gaps.
Reading my mood, Lee Hyo-eul spoke with a light smile.
"Don't worry. I have that much influence. And with Halo's invasion faster than expected, I was already considering pulling it forward. Anyway, I'll head out. Gotta move fast now. Thanks for the hospitality today. And..."
Lee Hyo-eul started to say more, then bowed politely to Go Yeon-ju sitting quietly beside.
"Thank you for your help today, dongsaeng."
"You're welcome. Hope to see you again, unnie."
Go Yeon-ju replied in an elegantly graceful voice.
As I watched their playful exchange in bemusement, Lee Hyo-eul turned to me with an 'oh' face.
"Oops. Mercenary Lord. Won't you see me off?"
"Why should I..."
"We need to talk alone. About your brother. It won't take long."
"Hm. Just to the warp gate then."
I nearly refused outright, but mentioning my brother made it hard to ignore. She had been quite sulky about me dissuading her from coming with her initially.
I asked Go Yeon-ju to handle Baek Seo-yeon and left with Lee Hyo-eul. We turned down the hall, descended the stairs, and just reached the first-floor lobby.
"Oppa!"
"Kyuu!"
Spotting me descending while playing in the lobby, An Sol shouted happily, hugging her unicorn tightly.
An Sol and the unicorn each raised an arm to wave at me.
"That's a unicorn...? Aw, still a baby... Anyway, those two seem to have business with you, so I'll go ahead. Don't keep them waiting too long."
Having seen the unicorn before, Lee Hyo-eul muttered flatly. She glanced at An Sol and the unicorn and started walking.
An Sol ran toward me as Lee Hyo-eul passed by. After three or four steps, our distances parted.
That was when it happened.
Lee Hyo-eul's fluid steps halted abruptly. She whipped her head around to stare at An Sol nestling into my arms.
Lee Hyo-eul, who hadn't shown a flicker of expression change during Baek Seo-yeon's story. But now, her face was one of sheer astonishment.