CHAPTER 207: INTERLUDE - NEW HOPE (4)

“The Heavenly Demon... isn’t human?”

If that’s true, then just what is the Heavenly Demon?

A Celestial? No, that didn’t seem right.

Someone simply revered by the Black Stars would be on the same level as a high-ranking Celestial of the North Star like Vega. However, if he created the Black Stars, that was a different story.

No matter how powerful a Celestial was, they couldn’t create another Celestial. As far as Kwon Oh-Jin knew, only one being could create a Celestial.

A Titan.

A giant said to be born at the beginning of all things. A creator of worlds and the one who brought forth the Celestials to govern those worlds. A titan was the closest thing to what most people would picture as the Creator.

So the Heavenly Demon is a Titan?

If that was true, then did he kill a Titan and take the Heavenly Demon title in his previous life?

“Mr. Oh-Jin?”

He didn’t answer as his thoughts kept spiraling.

Something’s off.

All the puzzle pieces seemed to fit, but the completed picture felt grotesquely warped. A chilling discomfort crawled down his spine and spread through him.

What is this? What have I been misunderstanding this whole time?

It felt like he was walking down a pitch-black street without even a single star to guide the way. His instincts screamed that something was wrong, but he couldn’t tell what it was.

“What’s the matter, Mr. Oh-Jin?”

He snapped out of his thoughts and looked up. “Ah.”

Isabella watched him with a concerned look.

“It’s nothing.” He bitterly smiled and shook his head.

Even if he tore his hair out trying to figure it out now, he doubted that he would reach an answer. He was sure of one thing.

The Heavenly Demon.

He had to find out exactly who or what that being was.

“You don’t know where the Heavenly Demon is, do you?”

“I heard he’s in the Demonic District.”

“The Demonic District?”

Less than five percent of the land of monsters had ever been explored.

“Yes. They say he’s the ruler of that world.”

“The ruler of the Demonic District, huh...”

At this point, he had at least confirmed a few things.

The Black Stars, the Heavenly Demon, and the Black Star Society are all connected to the Demonic District.

To fully understand the relationship between them, the best course would be to go there directly.

It’s too dangerous.

Far too little was known about the Demonic District. All he knew were vague, fear-filled rumors that no human could safely tread there. Either way, Kwon Oh-Jin wasn’t ready to go there just yet.

I need to get stronger, at least to nine stars.

He needed to reach the realm where he underwent full body reconstruction for his power to surge drastically.

“Come to think of it, how many stars are you, Isabella?”

“Me? I’m a ten-star.”

“So you’re the same as Damian.”

Isabella nodded.

“That’s right. Though there’s still a big difference between us even if we’re both ten stars.”

“True.”

Kwon Oh-Jin already knew that the higher one’s star rank, the wider the strength gap could be between individuals at the same rank.

“If you fought Damian one-on-one, how do you think it would’ve gone?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked.

“Hm... I’m not sure.” Isabella pressed her full lips together in thought. “If it were daytime, I’d probably lose, but I’d definitely win at night.”

“The difference between day and night is that big?”

“It’s like a trait of the Stigma of Leech.”

“Hm. I see.”

That was definitely a pretty inconvenient limitation.

“But it doesn’t matter anymore,” she said.

“It doesn’t?”

“Because I have you now, Mr. Oh-Jin.”

Isabella smiled seductively and gently wrapped her arms around his. Caught between the warmth of her large chest, he found himself lost in a softness that was hard to describe.

“What’s that got to do with having me—”

“When I drink your blood, I can use my full strength even during the day like I can at night.”

“You can use your full power if you drink my blood?”

“Mm... actually, it’s more than that.”

Although her powers strengthened at night, the overwhelming thirst for blood clouded her mind and made it hard to stay in control. Drinking Kwon Oh-Jin’s blood completely erased that craving, allowing her to fight with even greater power than usual in a clear-headed state. On top of that, the mana of her Stigma deepened as well.

“I may not be an eleven-star, but it feels like I’ve become a 10.5-star Awakener with just your blood.”

“Woah.”

Of course, no official rank like 10.5 stars existed, but she likely meant being in the upper tier of a ten-star Awakener.

Is this also the Black Heaven’s influence?

Since her strength increased at night, it seemed related to the Black Heaven.

“Looks like I’ve got a strong ally now,” Kwon Oh-Jin said.

Since her strength restriction in the daytime had disappeared, they had gained a greater force than an entire army.

“Hmph... Am I just a strong ally?”

Isabella pouted with a sulky expression and pressed herself even closer to him. Slipping her hand under his clothes, she gently caressed the Stigma engraved over the left side of his chest.

“If you want... I can be more than just a strong ally, Mr. Oh-Jin,” she seductively whispered in his ear and teased him with her breath.

As his expression stiffened slightly, Isabella quickly pulled her hand out of his shirt with a bright smile.

“Just say the word whenever you need my help. I’ll put everything on the line and fight for you,” she solemnly said like a crusader preparing to ride into battle.

Kwon Oh-Jin chuckled at the intense, almost maniac-like emotions that filled her eyes.

“You don’t need to put everything on the line.”

“No, my body, my heart, even my life... they all belong to you now. Nothing else matters anymore besides you, Mr. Oh-Jin.”

“Uh...

”

That’s lowkey terrifying.

“Mr. Oh-Jin, you’re my new hope... no, my only hope.”

How she leaned her head gently against him made her seem fragile.

“So you don’t have any specific plans for now?” Kwon Oh-Jin quickly changed the subject.

The fragile light faded from Isabella’s eyes, and her usual cool-blue gaze returned.

“Well, our faction probably needs to lay low for a while, and the Colgrande Family took too much damage to do anything...” She trailed off. Then, she smiled softly and held his hand. “I want to help you fight against the Black Star Society too.”

“But you’re also a part of the Black Star Society. Are you sure?”

“Well, it’s just the name that's the same. In reality, it’s like a completely different organization.”

True.

“Then, should we start with the Felis faction? You said you’re in contact with them, right?”

“Oh, we don’t need to worry about the Felis faction.”

“What do you mean?”

“They’re like my faction. They don’t do any of the Black Star Society-like stuff either.”

Ah. So that’s what she meant.

“I’ll introduce you to them when we get the chance, Mr. Oh-Jin.”

“Alright.”

So the Felis faction is off the table. That leaves just the Musca and Serpens faction.

“You said the Musca faction was in South America, right?”

Isabella’s expression hardened as she shook her head.

“You... shouldn’t go there. I’ve never met them personally, but the King of Flies is known as one of the strongest executors in the Black Star Society. They say his personality is extremely twisted as well.”

“Even with your help, it wouldn’t be enough?”

“No,” she shook her head with a serious expression.

“Okay. Then we’ll go there later.”

If even Isabella warned him that strongly, it was best to avoid going there for now.

It’s not like we’d find them right away even if we went.

South America was massive. With the little information they had, tracking down the Musca faction was impossible.

“For now, I guess I need to focus on getting stronger,” he said.

He had already grown at a much faster pace compared to others, but his current strength wasn’t even close to enough to face his future enemies.

“I’ll help you, Mr. Oh-Jin.” Isabella gently tugged at his hand and looked at him with alluring eyes. “And of course... I can help with other things as well.”

She slowly guided his hand toward her chest, but right before his hand could fall into that vast ocean, the door flew open and Song Ha-Eun stormed in.

Slam!

“Are you gonna spend the whole day unpacking?” She frowned as she saw Isabella clinging tightly to Kwon Oh-Jin. “You said you were unpacking, but I should’ve known a leech like you couldn’t resist latching onto Oh-Jin the moment I turned my back.”

It seemed like sparks would fly between Song Ha-Eun and Isabella again.

“I’m sorry, Miss Ha-Eun. You must be tired from cleaning up everything by yourself.”

“Huh?”

“Come sit down.” Isabella quickly jumped up, took Song Ha-Eun’s arm, and pulled her to the bed. “Now that I’m seeing you up close, Miss Ha-Eun...”

“W-What is it?”

“You’re really beautiful. Your red hair... and oh my, your skin is so flawless too.”

“Huuhh!” Song Ha-Eun flinched as Isabella gently stroked her cheek. She stiffened and backed up like a cat being cornered. “W-What the hell?! Why are you suddenly acting like this?”

“Haha. I just want to get closer to you, Miss Ha-Eun. We’re going to be living together, after all.” Isabella kindly smiled and sat snugly beside her on the bed. “Oh, by the way, Miss Ha-Eun, how old are you?”

“Me? I’m twenty-nine.”

“Ah, then you're three years older than me. Could I call you unnie[1]?”

“Eh? U-Unnie?”

“Is that not okay?”

“No, you can, but...” Song Ha-Eun looked flustered by Isabella’s sudden shift in attitude.

Isabella lit up in excitement and gave Song Ha-Eun a quick peck on the cheek. “Thank you, Ha-Eun unnie!”

“U-Uh... Y-You’re welcome?”

“Oh right, unnie, what lotion do you use?”

“Me? I don’t really use lotion...”

“What? You don’t use lotion?” Isabella raised an eyebrow as if she had just heard the most absurd thing.

She rummaged through her suitcase and pulled out an assortment of luxury skincare products that screamed expensive.

“This one is from a brand called Cosme Decorté. You should try it, unnie.”

“C-Consommé teriyaki?”

“Cosme Decorté. It’s a brand I use often.”

Song Ha-Eun took the bottle with a dazed look and asked, “How much is this per bottle?”

“I’m not sure exactly, but maybe around three thousand euros?”

“Let’s see... three thousand euros is around...” Song Ha-Eun checked the exchange rate on her phone and gaped in shock. “Four million won?! Holy shit? What kind of daylight robbers are selling a single bottle of lotion for that much?!”

“Haha. That much is nothing. Here, I’ll give you a mist and some face masks too. Oh right, unnie, you smoke, don’t you?”

“Uh, well, yeah, I do...”

“Just a second.”

Isabella pulled out her phone and made a call.

“Ah, Roberto? You said you’ve been collecting Cuban cigars, right? Can you bring all of them to the house right now? Huh? Why? Is that even important right now? Bring every single one. What? It’s your carefully curated collection? Hmm... and since when did you start talking back to me like that, Roberto?”

A cold glint flashed in Isabella’s eyes.

“Bring all of them. Now.”

Poor Roberto.

“Hehe. Just wait a little. I’ll have some limited edition Cuban cigars delivered too.”

As the gifts kept piling up, Song Ha-Eun began fidgeting in place, unsure of what to do.

“I-Is it really okay for me to take all this?” Song Ha-Eun asked.

“Of course! We’re family now, aren’t we?”

“R-Right.” Song Ha-Eun gulped nervously and stared at the cosmetics.

She didn’t care much about makeup or skincare, but that didn’t mean she was immune to wanting some. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at the products.

“Everything here... is yours, unnie,” Isabella whispered sweetly and handed over all the high-end cosmetics she had taken out of her suitcase.

Watching all this unfold, something suddenly flashed through Kwon Oh-Jin’s mind.

“I don’t mind being second.”

No way. She can’t be serious, right?

1. Korean term for a woman to address an older sister. ☜