CHAPTER 222: INTERLUDE - REUNION (4)

Kwon Oh-Jin lazily stretched and widely yawned as he lay on top of Poppy’s back.

“Are we almost there?”

He grabbed hold of Poppy’s mane and pulled himself upright. A thick, lush forest spread out before him. Thanks to countless bugs glowing like fireflies, the forest wasn’t dark at all despite it being pitch-black under a sunless sky. If anything, the scene almost looked beautiful, bathed in an otherworldly glow.

Guess the Demonic District isn’t as barren as I imagined.

For the past few days, everything Kwon Oh-Jin had seen riding on Poppy’s back was far from what he had pictured. He had expected something like an endless hellscape or a wasteland soaked in blood and carnage.

“Some places even look like villages and cities.”

He hadn’t explored them up close and simply observed them from afar, but some settlements in the Demonic District were surprisingly organized enough to be called civilization.

Come to think of it, aren’t there beings known as kings around here too?

The existence of kings implied that the demonic beasts had their own hierarchy and society.

Never thought demonic beasts could have that much intelligence.

Up until now, most of the demonic beasts he had encountered were nothing more than wild animals driven by raw instinct. The idea that such creatures could form villages, cities, and even nations with kings had never crossed his mind.

“Well... it's not like there aren’t any intelligent demonic beasts.”

The best known examples were the Named, who weren’t a single race but rather monsters so unique and powerful that they received individual names. The Named often had intelligence that surpassed humans.

Lately, things had been quieter. Before the Black Star Society showed up, Named monsters leading hordes of beasts had been humanity’s greatest threat.

“The Named, huh.” Kwon Oh-Jin sounded subtly angry.

He thought of Barbatos, the Thousand Curses Dragon, the Named who had taken Song Ha-Eun’s eyes and leg.

Sensing Kwon Oh-Jin’s rising bloodlust, Poppy turned his head toward him.

“Krrr?”

Kwon Oh-Jin just smiled warmly as if he had never released such murderous aura and patted Poppy’s mane.

“Oh, is that it?”

While gently stroking Poppy’s mane, he spotted a massive black rift in the distance through the trees. It looked so big that it didn’t even resemble a rift anymore. It looked more like a black curtain that stretched across the world.

So this is where it connects to the first rift.

“Time to head home.”

Kwon Oh-Jin flopped back down on Poppy’s back and tore open a bag of potato chips that Cassia had given him.

When he first found himself trapped in the Demonic District, he thought he would have to claw his way back through a brutal survival ordeal. Thanks to Cassia, the whole trip had been a first-class cruise.

“I miss them.”

Ha-Eun, Isabella, Vega, and Riarc...

Only after being left alone did he realize how important they were to him.

“Krrr!

”

Perhaps Poppy picked up on Kwon Oh-Jin’s longing because it growled and picked up speed. The sudden jolting bounced him up and down at first, but his superhuman sense of balance kept him steady.

Woong!

They went through the black rift. What greeted Kwon Oh-Jin on the other side was—

“Kheeee!”

“Krrrrk!”

Tens of thousands of demonic beasts chaotically fought against Allen, Isabella, and the Xiao sisters.

“O-Oh-Jin! Oh-Ji... Huh?” Song Ha-Eun, shouting frantically for him, froze when she suddenly spotted him.

“Huh?” Still lying on Poppy’s back and munching his chips, Kwon Oh-Jin’s face went completely stiff.

What the hell is this?

He didn’t have any time to process the situation. The thought, I’m screwed, flashed across his mind. Before he even realized it, his body moved on instinct.

“Kugh! Ack!” He clutched his chest and rolled off Poppy’s back. Using Transformation, he created a visible wound and used Lightning to rupture one of his organs.

“Kugh!”

Dark blood gushed from his mouth.

“M-Mr. Oh-Jin?”

Fighting nearby on the right, Isabella whipped her head at the scent of his blood.

“H-How are you all here?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked in disbelief. He frantically screamed as Isabella ran toward him, “N-No! Stay back!”

He crawled across the ground and looked up at Poppy in horror.

“Everyone, run!” he shouted.

“Mr. Oh-Jin?”

Isabella stopped in her tracks.

Taking advantage of the brief moment when Isabella stopped, Kwon Oh-Jin activated the Stigma of Capricornus.

—Poppy! Attack me now!

Using the Stigma’s power to control sound, he spoke only to Poppy.

“Krrr?”

Poppy cocked its head, puzzled by Kwon Oh-Jin’s voice suddenly echoing in its head.

—Attack me right now! Quickly!

“Krrrr!

”

Nodding, Poppy swung its massive front paw down at Kwon Oh-Jin, who was still on the ground.

Wham!

Struck by the demonic beast several dozen meters tall, Kwon Oh-Jin was sent flying back like a cannonball and rolled across the ground.

“M-Mr. Oh-Jin!” Isabella cried out and dashed toward him in horror.

Despite the pain searing through him, he issued another command to Poppy.

—Good. Now don’t move. Stay still, raise your head, and glare at me.

“Krrrrrr!”

Poppy faithfully followed Kwon Oh-Jin’s instructions. It raised its head and glared menacingly at him.

“To think you ran away this far... Persistent bastard.”

A deep, threatening voice came from Poppy. Of course, it wasn’t actually Poppy speaking. It was Kwon Oh-Jin manipulating the sound through the Stigma of Capricornus.

—Now scan the others around you and snort.

Poppy swept its gaze across Allen, the Xiao sisters, and Isabella all fighting nearby. Then, it harshly snorted.

“Sniff!”

—No, damn it! I didn’t mean for you to blow snot everywhere!

Poppy wiped the dribble of snot away with its paw.

“Lucky bastard,” Poppy said. “But it’s no use no matter how hard you try. This world will soon find a new order under the Black Stars.”

Woong!

Black light flared ominously and enveloped Poppy. The air grew thick and foul from the dark mana surrounding the area.

Allen, who had just slain the Basilisk, turned his cold eyes toward Poppy. “Is it a servant of the Serpent?”

Poppy narrowed its gaze at Allen and growled fiercely. “Do not dare speak of her so carelessly, human.”

“I knew it,” Allen narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on his sword. “The rumors that the Serpent had even managed to control the demonic beasts within the Demonic District were true.”

He had doubted it when he first heard the news from Megrez. Seeing it now, he realized that it was true.

Isabella, cradling Kwon Oh-Jin in her arms, slowly rose to her feet. “Did you do this to Mr. Kwon Oh-Jin?”

A red energy swirled violently around her and shook the air.

“How dare you... How dare you hurt Mr. Oh-Jin!”

Isabella tightly gripped her crimson scythe and prepared to charge at Poppy, but Kwon Oh-Jin coughed up more blood and writhed in pain.

“Kugh!”

“Ah!”

Isabella hastily embraced him and took out a potion from her pocket. She had brought a top-grade potion just in case Kwon Oh-Jin was in a critical state. She quickly uncorked it and poured it carefully into his mouth.

“I-Isabella...”

“It’s okay, Mr. Oh-Jin. You’re safe now. I’m here... I came to save you. So don’t worry anymore.” Tears streamed down Isabella’s cheeks.

Watching the scene, Poppy snorted and turned away.

—Now just leave.

“Krrr...”

Before disappearing into the rift, Poppy growled as if it wanted to spend more time with him.

—It’s okay, Poppy. We'll meet again someday.

“Krrr!”

With a soft swish of its tail, Poppy went back inside the rift.

Watching Poppy’s fading figure, Allen clicked his tongue and began cutting down the remaining demonic beasts around them. “Let’s get out of here first.”

Perhaps because the Serpent’s subordinate had retreated, the frenzied demonic beasts nearby lost their momentum and began moving sluggishly.

“Get on my back, Mr. Oh-Jin.”

“T-Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” Isabella gently stroked his cheek.

He looked thinner as if he had gone through quite the hardship in the past few days.

“I was... so scared.” She trembled as she held him close. “I was terrified that I might never see you again... that we’d never meet again.”

Tears streamed down her fair cheeks and gathered at her chin before dropping.

“Thank you... for staying alive, Mr. Oh-Jin.”

The tears trickled onto his forehead like morning dew falling from a leaf.

“I’ll never... let go of you again, ever again.” With a quiet resolve, Isabella tightened her arms around him.

Song Ha-Eun watched the entire scene unfold and muttered, “That dumbass is spitting bullshit.”

She heavily sighed and pressed her temples like she had a headache.

***

After safely returning to Earth, Kwon Oh-Jin couldn’t go home right away and rested in a hospital room owned by the Colgrande Family. He hadn’t sustained many injuries to begin with, and soon recovered without any issues after receiving treatment from the top medical staff.

He woke up with a lazy yawn after sleeping for ten hours straight on a plush bed in a VIP hospital room that looked more like a hotel suite. Still lying down, he stared at the hospital ceiling as his thoughts wandered.

Well, I somehow managed to get through it.

When he first locked eyes with Song Ha-Eun, he honestly thought that his life was over. Fortunately, aside from her, it seemed no one else saw him lounging on Poppy’s back and casually munching on potato chips.

It’s been a while since I got to rest properly too.

Maybe it had been the aftereffects of using Open Heaven. Without realizing it, the exhaustion had been piling up. Isabella’s hospital arrangement for him actually felt like a blessing.

“Alright, time to get back to work.”

He got ready to sit up.

Clink.

“Huh? What the hell is this?”

Only then did Kwon Oh-Jin notice that red iron chains bound his wrists and ankles. The chains wouldn’t budge easily even when he tried to pull free.

At that moment, the hospital door opened, and Isabella walked in.

“You’re up?”

She was wearing the maid outfit she had once pulled out from her luggage, and she approached the bed where he was tied up.

“Isabella, what is—”

“I told you, didn’t I?” Isabella lightly sat on the edge of the bed and gently stroked his cheek with a sweet smile. “I’m never letting you go again.”

Her eyes glowed a deep blood red as she looked at Kwon Oh-Jin.