CHAPTER 214: SERPENT’S HEAD (7)

Kwon Oh-Jin silently stared with a stiff expression at the rift that had shrunk in half. Between him and Isabella, only one of them could escape this place.

The one left behind will be...

He bit his lip and swiftly slashed through a bundle of incoming tentacles with his spear. Yellow pus sprayed from the severed ends and splattered across the ground.

Spat!

The ground hissed and sizzled as it melted under the fluid.

“Krrrk! Krrrrk!”

He tightened his grip on his spear as he watched the mother demonic beast draw closer.

Will we be able to kill it?

If he and Isabella combined their strength, did they have even the smallest chance to take down this absurdly massive monster?

“No.” He shook his head.

Maybe if they were both in peak condition, but they had just fought a relentless battle for hours without rest.

Even if that weren’t the case, this thing isn’t something we can beat easily.

Vega had said this beast gave off a Star Spirit’s aura.

Considering how outrageously powerful Riarc was, going up against a demonic beast imbued with a fragment of a Celestial’s soul was practically suicide.

In that case...

He looked at Isabella. She fiercely swung her blood-red scythe and fended off the tentacles approaching Kwon Oh-Jin.

If one of us has to stay behind...

Who would it be? The answer quickly came to him.

Even though he was an apostle of a North Star Celestial, he was only an eight-star. Isabella, on the other hand, was on the higher end of ten stars. One of them would obviously stand a better chance of surviving here.

“Haa, haa. Mr. Oh-Jin! What are you doing? Why haven’t you gone through the rift yet?”

When the tentacle attacks momentarily eased under Isabella’s relentless assault, she approached him and grabbed his arm. Her gaze fell on the rift that had shrunk in half.

“Hmm?” She frowned, and Vega’s earlier comment flashed through her mind about the rift being unstable.

“Mr. Oh-Jin, don’t tell me...”

It didn’t take long for her to figure out why the rift had suddenly shrunk and why Kwon Oh-Jin hadn’t immediately left yet.

Their eyes met, and unspoken thoughts passed between them.

“I’m sorry, Isabella.” Kwon Oh-Jin lowered his head and bit his lip. Of all the things he could say, he hated to say it. “Please... stay behind.”

If one of them had to be left behind, it had to be her.

“Ah.” A quiet breath escaped Isabella’s lips, her expression tinged with slight shock.

Kwon Oh-Jin quickly continued, “Don’t worry. I’ll come back for you no matter what.”

This wasn’t the only rift leading to the Demonic District.

An Awakener as strong as Isabella could definitely survive, escape from that monster, and hide. If she could just buy some time, he would rally every force he could muster and return.

“I’ve met Deneb’s apostles before.”

The encounter hadn’t been a pleasant one. However, if Vega bowed and personally asked Deneb for help, Deneb would probably still lend a hand despite laughing and mocking her.

Kwon Oh-Jin recalled the suffocating pressure he had felt against Allen Oskal. If anyone could stand against a Star Spirit of the Black Star, it would be him as one of the strongest within the Seven Stars.

“I see.” Isabela looked at him with sorrowful eyes and faintly smiled. “You’re right. It should be me if someone is going to stay behind.”

She knew better than anyone that it had to be this way. Even now, she was far stronger than Kwon Oh-Jin. It only made sense that the one with the higher chance of survival would remain.

“I’m sorry.” Kwon Oh-Jin dropped his head even further and tightly clenched his fists.

Isabella gently placed a hand on his back as if comforting him. Her touch was kind and reassuring.

“It’s okay. I understand. Mr. Oh-Jin... you have Ha-Eun unnie, after all.”

His expression hardened.

Isabella giggled as if finding his frozen expression amusing.

“You said that for Ha-Eun unnie’s sake, didn’t you? Because you’re worried about her being left alone.”

“That’s...”

“Haha. I already know that your most precious person is unnie,” she added quietly and carefully, “At least for now.”

“I’ll definitely... come back for you.” Kwon Oh-Jin continued making a promise with no guarantee.

Isabella looked at him tenderly. Seeing him overwhelmed by guilt brought a strange sense of peace to her heart because it meant that she, Isabella Colgrande, had at least taken up that much space in his heart, enough to weigh him down with guilt.

I’m glad.

She gently patted her chest and smiled faintly.

The ground beneath them shook as the mother demonic beast approached.

Rumble!

Isabella bit her lip hard, gazing up at the grotesque creature.

Will I be able to escape?

Could she survive being left behind with that demonic beast as Kwon Oh-Jin hoped?

It won’t be easy.

She had already used up quite a bit of strength in the earlier fight. It would be different if she were in perfect condition, but it wouldn’t be easy to outrun the beast in her current state.

Despite that, she said, “Escaping alone will be easy.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Rather, you’d only slow me down if you were with me,” Isabella calmly said.

The tentacle barrage that had quieted returned with full force.

Swoosh!

“Ugh!”

Kwon Oh-Jin quickly raised his spear to block the flurry of vicious attacks.

Crackle!

As if the demonic beast sought revenge for its fallen offspring, all its tentacles only targeted him.

At this rate, I won’t even be able to act as bait like Kwon Oh-Jin did earlier.

Isabella brought her wrist to her blood-red scythe.

Slash!

She severed her artery, and crimson blood gushed out like a fountain.

“Haaa.” As she let out a shallow breath, a bloodstorm began to swirl fiercely around her.

“I-Isabella?!”

“I’ll protect you all the way to the rift.”

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The raging bloodstorm around her shredded the tentacles aiming for him. She grabbed him by the arm as he worriedly looked at her and pulled him toward the rift.

Unable to hold back anymore as they ran, Kwon Oh-Jin finally said, “Isabella, I think should be the one to—”

“Haha. Mr. Oh-Jin, guess what?” Isabella cut him off and turned to him with a smile. “If you had insisted on staying earlier, I would’ve used a command to force you into the rift.”

Kwon Oh-Jin could only remain silent.

“Don’t worry. Even if I can’t fight a Star Spirit of that magnitude, escaping is a different story.” She gently soothed him as they arrived before the rift.

As they neared it, the fear she had kept buried began to resurface.

What if?

What if she never saw him again? What if this was really the last time? The fear clung to her like chains, pulling at her legs.

It’s okay.

Even if they never met again, even if she couldn’t see him anymore, if her life could save his, if she could protect the beautiful, precious hope newly born in her heart... This fear was nothing.

“Krrrrk! Krrrrk!”

The ground shook violently again like an earthquake.

Boom!

The mother demonic beast, once far away, came forward with its monstrous cockroach legs and stood right in front of them.

Isabella turned her back to the rift as if shielding it. “Hurry up and go, Mr. Oh-Jin. We don’t have time.”

The bloodstorm that surrounded her began to weaken.

Kwon Oh-Jin narrowed his eyes and quietly looked down at the rift, now reduced to just fifty centimeters. He glanced between the rift and Isabella’s back numerous times and nodded slightly.

“Alright. This distance should be enough.”

“Mr. Oh-Jin! What are you doing?! Hurry up and go!” Isabella, still fighting off the tentacles, turned her head in frustration. “Mmph?!”

Kwon Oh-Jin suddenly pulled her into a tight embrace and pressed his lips to hers. Isabella’s eyes widened in shock, and she completely froze from the unexpected kiss. Once he felt the strength leave her, he yanked her waist forcefully and threw her into the rift.

“M-Mr. Oh-Jin! What are you—?!”

As Isabella vanished into the black rift, the opening completely sealed shut.

“What a troublesome young lady,” Kwon Oh-Jin muttered with a faint smirk and turned his back to the closed rift.

I owe Ha-Eun an apology.

He touched his lips, still tingling with the soft sensation.

He knew kissing Isabella when he already had Song Ha-Eun was wrong, but he had no other option to force her into the rift while keeping her from using a command.

She’s definitely going to nag me when I get back.

He dryly chuckled and raised his head.

“Krrrk!”

“Man, no matter how many times I see you, you still look nasty as hell.”

The mother demonic beast grotesquely screeched, its gaping maw tearing up to its temples. A flood of yellow pus poured down from its mouth and rained down directly on his head.

“Ew, the fuck,” he cursed under his breath and used Lightning Steps to leap back.

Perhaps due to its wide range, a stream of the yellow pus still struck him dead-on.

“Argh!”

Sizzle!

Three shields that had formed in front of him instantly melted, and the orange bracelet on his wrist snapped off after losing its glow.

“Damn it...” He scowled as he looked down at the broken bracelet on the ground.

“Krrrk! Krrrrrgh!” the mother demonic beast laughed as if it had cornered its prey.

He looked up at the monster and briefly thought. Between himself and Isabella, which one of them had the better chance of surviving here?

“There’s no point in thinking about it.”

Of course, logically thinking about it, he had the better odds of surviving.

“Krrrk! Krrrk!”

“You agree too, don’t you?” Kwon Oh-Jin slowly raised his hand and placed it over the left side of his chest. He began to chant in a low voice, “Those who pass by me into the Garden of Lamentation.”

A storm of black clouds erupted around him like an explosion.