Chapter 131: The Sixth (2)

The invisible, intangible force of Psychokinesis continued to press down heavily on Ion’s body. Ye-on tilted his head slightly, observing him.

“You’re low on mana. Where is the Sansevieria? If it were here, you would have easily broken free from my skill, Hyung.”

“…….”

“I’m sorry. I’ll ease up a bit.”

As soon as he said that, breathing became easier. Ion closed his eyes tight, gasping for air and then exhaling slowly. Ye-on waited patiently for Ion to find his rhythm again.

After a moment, Ion asked, “How are you here? Did you join hands with Udumbara?”

“It was a temporary transaction. Butterfly Mask wanted someone who was supposed to die to actually die, and I wanted to show you the Memoirs.”

The person supposed to die. Ion’s eyes shifted toward Shin Sae-mi, who lay motionless on the ground.

“You… you hated fighting.”

“Hyung, do you know why I avoided conflict?”

“Because you said deciding a winner was a bother.”

“Right. Among the orphans, everyone’s skills were more or less equal, except for you. Even if I had the upper hand, I would have had to put my life on the line and sweat for it, just like the other person. I hated the idea of having to exert myself to that extent. But now…”

Ye-on curled the corner of his lip. It was a dark, gloomy smile.

“Now that I have a skill that allows me to win overwhelmingly… I don’t have to worry about the ‘bother’ anymore.”

“Is it really… a Psychokinesis skill?”

“Yes, Hyung. It really is.”

Awakeners often obtain skills related to areas they were interested in. Dam Ye-on was interested in winning overwhelmingly. He was the orphan who would rather declare defeat without even trying if he couldn’t guarantee a total victory.

In the end, he had obtained that absolute power.

“The Memoirs written by another Breeder… did you read them?”

“…Yes, I read it. Why did you want to show it to me?”

“Because you’re in there, Hyung.”

“……What?”

Ion’s eyes shook violently. Even in that urgent situation, he had scanned the Memoirs thoroughly, and Ion’s name was nowhere to be found. As Ion frowned, Ye-on lifted a finger. The Memoirs floated into the air, and the pages began to flip, stopping at a torn page.

[51.01.03 Return of the Heaven Realm’s Lost Child]

“This is your story. Since you are the missing child of the Heaven Realm.”

Ion read the line. However, he didn’t believe it was about him.

“I don’t know how you found out I have Celestial blood, but it’s not me.”

“It’s not? How can you be so sure?”

“That lost child went missing 18 years ago as an infant.”

“…….”

“It’s not me. I’m twenty, so I wasn’t an infant 18 years ago.”

Ion spoke firmly, staring into Ye-on’s shimmering gray eyes.

“It’s not me.”

This was a point he wouldn’t yield. I am an adult! I cannot be the actual youngest among the orphans!

Ye-on blinked as if he hadn’t expected that specific logic, then let out a short laugh. “Yes, Hyung. My mistake. You are twenty, after all.”

Ye-on walked past the fallen Shin Sae-mi and approached Ion. His sudden growth in height forced Ion to look up.

“I thought this child was you… and I really wanted to show it to you. It’s proof that you’re not ‘residue.’ You were a… valuable character appearing in the Breeder’s Memoirs.”

“…….”

“The other Hyungs and Noonas, and me too. We weren’t residue. I was so shocked when I saw the Memoirs… all I could think was that I had to show you.”

Ye-on smiled brightly. Because the clouds had cleverly obscured the moonlight, his face looked even more like that of a madman. Ion finally understood why Sa-on had called Ye-on “creepy.”

‘You joined Udumbara and hurt Shin Sae-mi just to show me a book?’

If he said that out loud, Ye-on might just level up from “madman” to “true lunatic.” Ion calmly controlled his racing heart.

“I see. Thank you,” Ion said in a soothing tone. “When and how did you see those Memoirs?”

“Age showed them to me directly a while ago. It was probably to boost my self-esteem. I didn’t want to get involved in the world’s affairs because I thought I was just residue, and they wanted to persuade me.”

“Are you… completely on their side now?”

“No. We’ve just teamed up for a moment out of necessity. I’m not on the side of Udumbara, System Age, or Butterfly Mask. Now that I’ve achieved my goal, I have no more business with them.”

“Then… come to us. I won’t hold you responsible for what you’ve done.”

Ye-on glanced at the fallen Shin Sae-mi with a face of total indifference. Ion continued.

“As you know, we’ve become a team. We were split between the Abusers and the Maintainers, but now we’ve all joined hands. So…”

“Hyung, you don’t believe me, do you?”

“…….”

“You don’t believe that I’m not on their side. You’re thinking of coaxing me, subduing me, and taking me to Horizon for interrogation, right?”

He was right. The Ye-on Ion had known for 15 years was exactly the type to empathize with the words of System Age’s silver mental entity.

‘A society without conflict, a world made only of those who cherish and love the Earth. A world where individuals are willing to endure personal discomfort to protect where they live… wouldn’t that be paradise?’

He wouldn’t just empathize; he would be a staunch supporter.

“It makes me so sad that you doubt me, Hyung.”

“Cut the crap.”

Ion shook off the invisible force and stood up. Whoosh! His flame sword ignited. The vines that had stopped growing began to surge again. Earlier, he had been ambushed while low on mana, but it was different now.

‘I can do this.’

While talking, he had recovered mana through his Ivy and his concentration was at its peak. Ion’s magic began to overpower Ye-on’s skill. Ye-on put his hands in his pockets and stepped back. In response, the invisible pressure grew even stronger.

Rumble!

The vines overcame the pressure and soared high. Swish! Dozens of vines shot toward Ye-on, only to be stopped in mid-air just before touching him. A tug-of-war of power ensued.

The struggle was fierce and silent. To win this battle, every ounce of strength—even the breath needed to make a sound—had to be focused entirely on subduing the opponent. After a long stalemate, Ye-on was the first to speak.

“I thought it might be, but as expected, it’s impossible.”

His tone was gloomy and listless.

“Fighting you is a bother, Hyung… because I can’t win overwhelmingly. Let’s meet again later.”

Ye-on’s body floated up into the air.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Ion immediately used flight magic to give chase.

“Ah, that’s right. I’ll prove right now that I’m not on Udumbara’s side.”

Ye-on reached out toward the direction of the Udumbara warehouse and snapped his fingers.

Snap! BOOM!

A massive explosion roared as if a missile strike had occurred. When Ion looked back after briefly glancing at the warehouse, Ye-on was gone. Ion did not pursue him. As Ye-on had said, it wouldn’t be an “overwhelming” fight.

He wanted to check the warehouse, but first, he approached Shin Sae-mi. She was scheduled to die today, so he hadn’t come unprepared. Shin Sae-mi had already crafted potions using her skill that could go beyond recovery to full resuscitation. Ion poured a potion into her mouth.

Once he confirmed her breathing had returned, he laid out his robe on the snow for her. Since the ground was covered in snow, he covered her with vines and built a campfire nearby. Then, he flew to the warehouse.

The warehouse was completely demolished. A giant sinkhole had formed, and the area looked like a wasteland hit by a bombardment.

Far from the center of the destruction, Ion found Jin Seong-ha wiping dust off his face with his forearm. For some reason, his face was set in a grim expression.

“Hunter Jin Seong-ha!” Ion flew down immediately. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“You…”

Jin Seong-ha’s expression softened slightly after a quick scan of Ion from head to toe.

“So much happened. It’s exhausting, really.”

“Pardon…?”

Seeing the confused Ion, Jin Seong-ha chuckled. “Don’t you get it? Commander, you should spend some time on the internet.”

“Ah… I think you need to spend less time on the internet.”

Ion let out a sigh. The tension finally left his face.

The explosion of the Udumbara warehouse became a major news story. The midnight blast leveled the building and triggered a landslide warning, forcing nearby residents to evacuate. The Udumbara guild planned to pay compensation to the terrified villagers. Articles claimed the explosion was caused by unexpected issues with items traded from another guild, shifting the blame elsewhere.

The casualties were all Awakeners: 13 Udumbara members and 6 mercenaries. There were over a hundred injured. There was a reason the death toll was low. Not only were Awakeners physically resilient, but…

‘Let’s get out of here before people gather.’ ‘We can’t just leave them like this. Commander, do you know CPR? If not, at least give them potions.’

Ion had wanted to leave immediately, but Jin Seong-ha had jumped into the scene to provide first aid. Ion had no choice but to call Ade Tuna to look after Shin Sae-mi while he helped Jin Seong-ha. Among the casualties, the Butterfly Mask, Kim Young-eun, was nowhere to be found.

‘Well, it would be more strange if she were there.’

With her skills, she would have easily escaped the collapse. Regardless, they saved the lives of a dozen people who would have certainly died before rescue arrived, and managed to prevent a larger landslide in the process.

‘Good job. Let’s go to my place and rest.’ ‘No… I have my own home.’ ‘Is the house still off-limits? Your walls are high indeed.’

Exhausted, Ion returned to his one-room apartment and fell asleep hugging Sanse.

The next day, Ion rubbed his tired eyes and contacted Da-on. The communication item was single-use, so he had been saving it, but after meeting Dam Ye-on, it was time to use it. While he had to tell Sa-on as well, he wanted to speak with Da-on first.

—Ugh… what is it, Ion? Blegh…

“…What’s wrong with you?”

—Yesterday… with Haidian… we drank crates of alcohol…

“You knew Haidian is a heavy drinker, so why did you do that?”

—He’s not a heavy drinker. Haidian is… ha, a ‘Booze-brachiosaurus’ would be a better metaphor… ugh.

A hollow-eyed Da-on brushed back his hair.

—Sorry. The timing isn’t great… so what’s up?

“I met Dam Ye-on.”

Ion briefly explained the events of the previous night. Da-on instantly snapped out of his hangover. Seeing his serious expression, Ion asked:

“What do you think? Did Dam Ye-on… join hands with System Age?”

This was the reason Ion had contacted Da-on. He wanted to know if he was being too suspicious, or if the other orphans thought the same. If he asked Sa-on or Se-on, they would definitely say he joined them. They would say Dam Ye-on is our enemy without hesitation.

Ion needed a kinder perspective.

—Ion-ah.

Da-on’s brow furrowed.

—…I think so, too.

Da-on struggled to finish the sentence. He knew the weight of Ion’s heart, using a single-use item just to reach out. From those few heavy words, Ion understood exactly what Da-on meant.

“I see. I understand what you’re trying to say, Dam Da-on.”

The sixth of the orphans had returned as an enemy.