Chapter 75: Fox and dog (5).

“Hut!”

Seohee urgently compressed the air to create a barrier.

Countless pure white sword energies surged, and Seohee’s body, unable to withstand the pressure, was thrown back.

“Arena! Byeol!”

As if the void was splitting, with a different feeling from a crack, the space was cut in a circle, and Arena and Byeol, who had sprung out from there, landed on the clouds.

Yeonkyung’s energy, which had emerged from the opposite side, temporarily ‘stopped’ Seohee, and in that gap, the three teachers who had parted ways earlier also flew towards Chayeon.

“Hmph! Jeon Chayeon, I came back victorious!”

Arena puffed out her cheeks with a triumphant face and said that.

“I tore off that b*tch’s face,” Byeol said with a bright smile next to her.

The others also didn’t seem to have any major injuries.

“Chayeon-nim, what’s the situation?”

Yeonkyung approached quickly.

“That is…”

“It’s Teacher Seohee.

Mephistopheles is dead.

However, Mephistopheles’ memories seem to have been implanted in Teacher Seohee.”

“…I see…”

Yeonkyung sighed.

“Haha, I didn’t expect you all to come.”

Seohee’s voice was heard through the fog of dust that had settled due to the explosion.

Seohee was smiling as she swept back her gray hair.

“To defeat all my children, I really didn’t imagine this?

Was the difficulty too low?”

The air moved, and power was manipulated.

Telekinesis was about to be exerted on the group.

Chayeon swung her sword and completely nullified that energy.

It was the same trick that Namyeon had used on Seohee before.

“Really, don’t take everything away, Chayeon.”

Seohee’s face, Seohee’s body, Seohee’s gestures.

It wasn’t some disguise.

It was really Seohee.

Wolmyeong faltered at that sight.

She wasn’t possessed, nor was her body being forcibly controlled, but a period of less than thirty years looked like a speck of dust compared to the long eons of time that had devoured all of Seohee’s personality.

Arena, who had entered aggressively, also hesitated in the same way when she saw that sight.

“Subdue her!”

Yeonkyung gave the order without hesitation.

Her mind snapped back as if awakening, and at the same time, Seohee stretched out her arms.

The air moved.

Chayeon noticed that she was trying to compress the atmosphere and move it into their blood vessels, stomachs, hearts, and brains.

When she quickly nullified the energy, this time, countless clones were created and poured down on the group.

White paint spread within Arena’s golden eyes, which had been hesitant.

Myeonggyeongjisoo, Arena’s sword, which had regained its composure, was swung, and the sword energy of absolute severance swept past the clones on the left.

Shriek-

On the opposite side, dozens of strands of cloth were shot out from Byeol’s armbands.

While Chayeon scattered the energy of the telekinesis that the clones were using, the cords tied up the clones and lightened them, blowing them outwards.

Thud!

In the meantime, Wolmyeong’s legs, which had rushed to the main body faster than anyone else, wrapped around Seohee’s neck, which could not move due to ‘stop’.

After spinning once in the air with a whoosh, she slammed her into the floor with a thwack.

“Kh!”

Seohee grimaced in pain as Wolmyeong’s shins pressed down on her neck, subduing her.

Thud, thud.

Even if she had Mephistopheles’ memories, the main body was still Seohee.

There was no way she could stop these people, who included four of the Seven Divine Pillars.

Chayeon walked towards the main body, which was being subdued by Wolmyeong.

It was a strange situation.

They had come to save Seohee, but they were attacking and capturing Seohee.

“Chayeon.”

Thud – Chayeon’s body stopped.

It was Seohee’s voice, with all of Namyeon’s 말투 [tone/manner of speaking] and 어조 [tone/voice] gone.

“…Will you, save me?”

Words close to a whisper lingered in Chayeon’s ear.

“Protect, my sister.”

Seohee’s eyes glowed blue.

Seohee’s face turned red, then blue, as she struggled to breathe.

The image of her mother being strangled by her father last night flickered before her eyes again.

-I decided to protect.

Chayeon moved again.

Thud, thud.

Chayeon stood in front of Seohee, whose neck was being strangled by Wolmyeong’s legs.

-I swore I would never lose my mother again.

Chayeon quietly sat down.

“…Cha, yeonah…

“Yes, Teacher. I’ll protect you.”

“Chayeon-ssi!”

“Chayeon-nim!”

Wolmyeong and Yeonkyung shouted in surprise at Chayeon, who was speaking quietly with a smile.

‘Was this what he was aiming for…!’

Chayeon had come to save Seohee from the start.

If Chayeon were to step up to protect Seohee, there would be no one who could stop her.

Everything would go according to Mephistopheles’ will.

Seohee smiled.

Teacher and student, sister and sibling, smiled at each other.

“But.”

“What I’m protecting is Teacher, not you.

You greasy bastard.”

And, black energy flowed into Seohee’s eyes.

Chayeon’s mental manipulation, possessed by Heukgumiho, began to dig into Seohee.

Clang-!

Mephistopheles’ power, which had quickly tried to fight back, was scattered once again by the sound of a bell.

In the midst of the blacked-out consciousness, a silver-haired girl standing behind Chayeon was reflected in Seohee’s eyes.

Thud, thud.

In a pitch-black space, she walked through a tunnel with not a single ray of light.

Thud, thud.

Only the sound of Chayeon’s footsteps filled the tunnel.

Thud.

Reaching the end of the tunnel, she stopped.

Opening the iron door at the end, she squinted for a moment at the dazzling light.

Soon, her vision adapted to the light.

Giant trees covering the sky, sunlight pouring down through the green leaves.

It was a lush forest.

A stream flowed to one side, and rainbow-colored butterflies fluttered and flaunted their wings over the stream.

Rustle, rustle.

The rustling of leaves, the touch of moist soil.

She moved forward.

Before long, two figures appeared.

Seohee was kneeling with one hand raised, and heavy branches were intricately twisted around her wrist.

“Chayeonah, why are you in a dangerous place like this.”

Seohee murmured that as soon as she saw Chayeon.

“Oh well, I really didn’t know.”

Jo Namyeon, standing next to her, shrugged at Chayeon.

“To think that Baekgumiho would be unrelated to me.

I firmly believed that I was controlling Baekgumiho.

Ah, how embarrassing.”

Hahahahaha, the beautiful voice echoed through the tunnel.

Chayeon ignored Jo Namyeon, who was laughing, and approached Seohee.

“Teacher, I’ve come to get you.”

“Look at you.

Are you eating well?”

“It’s better than gaining weight.

I’m already worried about my belly fat these days.”

“Look at you.

You’ve become a woman.”

“What does it matter whether I’m a man or a woman.”

When she put her hand on the thick branches that were binding her wrist, the tree turned to dust and scattered.

“Let’s go now, Sister.”

At those words, Seohee’s eyes widened.

Seohee smiled and took Chayeon’s outstretched hand.

“Chayeonah.”

Namyeon blocked Chayeon’s path as she turned around.

“Do you really think everything will work out this way?”

“It’s just a temporary measure.

I’ll live forever inside your beloved teacher.

Well, this isn’t so bad in its own way.”

Namyeon approached Chayeon.

Namyeon, who was much taller than the small Chayeon, looked down at her.

Like the day they first met—although it wasn’t like that in Chayeon’s memory, Namyeon stroked Chayeon’s cheek like the day they actually met.

The hand that softly caressed her face came down her cheek and lifted her chin.

“I’ll think of you every time I see Teacher.

I’m happy.”

Chayeon,
Just smirked.

“Why, did you want me to kick your shin or something?”

Chayeon walked past Namyeon.

Namyeon’s expression was frozen.

“How pathetic.”

Chayeon, as if Namyeon wasn’t even in her eyes, took Seohee’s hand and returned the way she had come.

Namyeon silently stared at Chayeon’s retreating figure.

But Chayeon didn’t look back even once and left the forest.

<<A temporary measure, huh.

I look forward to seeing if you can overcome me and get out of here before the owner of this place reaches the end of her life.>>

The green leaves writhed, and soon black fog began to fill the air.

“Geez, what kind of defense mechanism did that guy make.”

An unintelligible murmur hovered in the middle of the forest that had turned to ashes.

Soon after, a darkness in the shape of a fox swallowed the lone blonde man.

Seohee opened her eyes.

Chayeon quietly accepted the scolding and the flick on the forehead as Seohee muttered that she had done something reckless.

The walls collapsed, the clouds subsided, the sky crumbled, and heaven crumbled.

Yeonkyung was standing with the safely recovered heart in her hand.

A single raindrop fell with a plop, leaving a round stain on the ground.

That point imprinted on the ground gradually increased in size and spread to the surrounding land.

Plop plop plop, the number gradually increased, and soon rain poured down from the sky.

It was the first winter rain of the year.

Announcing the end of the story,