Chapter 71: The Cruel Exchange and a Familiar Dream

“He’s mine…! He’s mine! No, I can’t let him slip away so fruitlessly, not when he’s right before my eyes!”

Roar—

Thunder clapped, enveloping the surroundings. Dark clouds hovered overhead, and flashing lights flickered within them as if in reprimand. A lightning bolt seemed poised to strike at any moment.

However, that impending disaster was halted by a dark silhouette that abruptly appeared behind Ju Uiryeong.

Thwack—!

It was a man two heads taller than Ju Uiryeong. With a swift, unhesitating chop of his hand, he struck Ju Uiryeong’s back. As Ju Uiryeong convulsed and then went limp, the man grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and flung him backward like a discarded sack.

The moment Ju Uiryeong released the child, the sky, as if nothing had happened, quelled its fury.

Through the sudden calm, the sound of footsteps crunching on dirt grew closer. Dokyeom struggled to focus on the pristine dress shoes that entered his vision.

Their well-tailored, wrinkle-free suit trousers, barely concealing the ankles, evoked the image of someone with an impeccably neat presence.

“Tae… Taeseongyeon…?”

No, it wasn’t. The hair was black as ink, and an abyssal demon’s seal was etched on the inner wrist of the hand reaching towards the fallen child.

It was Geon Ita.

As Dokyeom’s gaze lifted, a surprisingly gentle smile met his eyes. Geon Ita tilted his head towards the child as if confirming something, then murmured softly.

“…Still not it.”

Realizing it wasn’t the power he desired, Geon Ita unceremoniously shoved the child towards Dokyeom. Then, his dress shoes crunching on the gravel, he advanced toward Dokyeom.

“You’re quite hurt.”

His voice, asking after Dokyeom’s well-being, was surprisingly gentle. Yet, the hand he extended toward Dokyeom was utterly devoid of restraint.

In an instant, Dokyeom’s head was wrenched back. His vision spun wildly, and gasps tore from his throat.

“Let go, ha… you bastard….”

“Where did you learn such antics, to act so brazenly? Perhaps it’s you, not I, who needs a muzzle.”

Geon Ita’s face blurred and swayed before Dokyeom’s eyes. Dokyeom barely managed to reach out and snatch Geon Ita’s wrist, but he lacked the strength to push it away.

“Why are your lips torn again? You look pitifully idiotic.”

Geon Ita’s hand, which had seemed unmoving, descended like rainwater, seizing Dokyeom’s jaw. His gaze then slid over Dokyeom’s ragged lips. It was a gaze as cold as dawn.

When that gaze leisurely drifted to Dokyeom’s seal, Geon Ita let out a disbelieving gasp, “Ha.”

‘Yes, I know. It must be a mess.’

‘By now, the area around my seal, convulsing from magic depletion, would be stained black, with veins standing out hideously.’

“If you get used to this, it’ll be a nuisance….”

Geon Ita whispered without expression, forcefully rubbing Dokyeom’s engorged seal. Stars burst before Dokyeom’s eyes, and a muffled groan escaped him. Nearby, Agon’s growl rumbled threateningly. Geon Ita merely shifted his eyes to fix Agon with a stare.

As Geon Ita’s eyes, contemplating what to do, quietly blinked, his dress shoe slammed into Agon’s flank like a wedge. Agon’s body shot into the air, then tumbled across the gravel like a puppet with its strings cut. Dokyeom cried out, breathless.

“Don’t! Don’t… h-huh….”

“Don’t?”

Geon Ita asked, a quiet smile on his face, like a well-behaved dog. Dokyeom panted, watching Geon Ita’s indistinct form. This was the same man who had stood back and watched, like Ju Uiryeong, while Dokyeom struggled so violently in the water.

‘He’s the type to overturn everything if it doesn’t suit him. Would begging for help even sway Geon Ita in the slightest? Thinking such a thing is idiotic. So, sending him away quickly is the best option now.’

“If you have no business… then, please, h-go?”

“Why do you keep acting like a frantic dog, desperate to get rid of me? Are you trying to make me lose my temper? Even my generous nature is twisting.”

“Haa… that’s not it, you… bastard.”

‘Generous, huh.’

Smiling faintly, Geon Ita, seemingly pleased by something, unfastened the cufflink on his sleeve. He then rolled up his sleeve and brought his exposed seal to Dokyeom’s lips.

“Bite.”

Dokyeom’s gaze flickered briefly. He visibly understood what Geon Ita was proposing. The chilling sensation of the seal against his lips tingled as if touched by an electric current. What Geon Ita offered was an act of ‘magic exchange.’

And it was an act imbued with consideration, allowing the other party to ‘take’ the magic directly, without pain.

“Won’t you bite before I change my mind?”

Pushing aside the chaotic turmoil in his mind, Dokyeom opened his mouth and bit Geon Ita’s seal. But that was all he could do.

“H-hnn….”

“Can’t you suck?”

He had no strength left to draw out the magic. His entire body felt heavy and sluggish, yet his heart pounded as if it would burst. Even with delicious magic before his eyes, he lacked the jaw strength to bite into the seal. Dokyeom’s current state was truly on the verge of collapsing and dying.

“Then it’ll be… a little painful.”

‘Why can’t you swallow even when it’s spoon-fed to you?’

A shadow fell as a gentle murmur sounded. An unrestrained hand roughly seized Dokyeom’s jaw, twisting it to expose his seal.

An alarm blared in Dokyeom’s mind. It was accompanied by a terrifying anxiety, as if his heart would leap from his mouth. He saw Geon Ita’s wrist coming up to his ear.

Dokyeom instinctively thrashed. His jaw was held tight, and he met Geon Ita’s suffocating gaze. Geon Ita was smiling, pressing his wrist against Dokyeom’s seal.

The moment the two seals collided, Dokyeom was struck by a searing pain, as if lashed by a whip. His back arched sharply backward, then sharply curved forward again. Strange words, indistinguishable from screams, slurred from his mouth.

“Ugh! K-aagh… ah…!”

“Endure it.”

Was this what it felt like to have harmful substances injected and throbbing throughout one’s body? Dokyeom shuddered at the deep-seated pain, struggling to pull Geon Ita’s hand away. In the end, he couldn’t detach it, only able to gasp and curse.

Tears streamed down his face. He clawed at Geon Ita’s clothes and hands, but it was all in vain.

“Y-ugh… bas…. Ah!”

“Stop being stubborn and relax. It’ll hurt more if you resist.”

His tone was indifferent and cruel, yet the faint hint of consideration within it crushed Dokyeom’s spirit. Geon Ita’s hand, moving over Dokyeom’s torn lips, brushed a wound, causing blood to gush out. Geon Ita smiled with his eyes, gently wiping away the blood.

Dokyeom’s vision inverted and righted itself repeatedly. He writhed on the gravel, gasping for air. The seemingly endless pain slowly subsided as Geon Ita finally pulled his wrist away. As the death-like thirst receded, the world flickered.

“Take good care of your seal. If you treat your life so cheaply again…”

Geon Ita tapped Dokyeom’s cheek, where he lay prone on the ground. His foot, which had been pointed at Dokyeom, turned and pivoted away, heading towards Ju Uiryeong.

“…You’ll see what happens then.”

Geon Ita left with just that one remark.

As Geon Ita, carrying Ju Uiryeong over his shoulder, walked away, his footsteps faded, and a profound silence descended. However, before long, the clanking of armor assaulted Dokyeom’s ears.

Dokyeom’s closed eyelids fluttered, and through his dimming vision, he tried to follow the sound. He thought he glimpsed a Hell General in armor, wreathed in pale blue flames.

It was Taeseongyeon’s summoned beast, gazing at Dokyeom from between the bushes.

That was the last sight his eyes registered. After that, Dokyeom’s eyes fluttered closed and he lost consciousness right there.

****

A strangely familiar scent wafted past Dokyeom’s nose. His eyelids fluttered, and he curled his lashes, frowning as he opened his eyes, much like waking to the blinding sunlight of an ordinary morning.

The space around him was white. An endless, snow-like landscape stretched out without discernible boundaries. Though it should have been startling, a sense of familiarity and weariness filled his chest instead. After staring for a long while, Dokyeom fumbled on the ground and sat up.

It was only then that he sensed a presence he hadn’t known was there.

【Hey, isn’t that our youngest?】

A rich, mature voice, seasoned by time, spoke from behind him. Startled, Dokyeom turned to see a woman elegantly dressed in a red hanbok. Her hair, adorned with a gache, was graceful and refined, evoking a strange sense of déjà vu, yet for some reason, his heart sank.

From behind the voluminous skirt, another figure suddenly popped out.

『It is our youngest, unnie.』

A girl in a dress and bonnet chattered in a clear, jewel-like voice. At the girl’s words, the woman in the hanbok snapped shut the fan in her hand and tucked it into her sash.

【She ran away so boldly on her own, and now look, she’s returned looking like a beggar. And when did she grow so tall?】

《Hoho… perhaps our youngest missed home. Don’t be too harsh.》

Beside the elegantly dressed woman in hanbok, an old man with a slightly hunched back appeared as if painted into existence, stroking his beard and chuckling softly. Dokyeom’s eyes blinked clearly.

‘Where are they coming from?’

Beside the old man, a young man in a uniform adorned with medals also appeared like the wind, observing Dokyeom with his hands clasped behind his back. A knowing smile played on his lips.

〖Indeed, hyung-nim. It’s good to see her all grown up… but our youngest looks quite worn from missing home.〗

【Now, you must speak correctly. Did our youngest come on her own two feet? That good-for-nothing brought her here.】

『Unnie, stop putting thorns in your words. If our youngest cries, you’ll just complain to me again. And don’t you know our situation is different from hers, since we’ve traveled all over? Our youngest never had that chance. Why are you pouting all by yourself again?』

【Oh, well, that was before our youngest was born. And we haven’t moved an inch since she was born, have we?】

A familiar scent emanated from them. Unable to join their unfamiliar conversation, Dokyeom merely blinked blankly. A heavy, stone-like lump in his throat also played a part.