Chapter 145: Real Man (1)
To my beloved little sister,
I don’t know if this letter will ever reach you, but I’m writing it anyway. First, I want to say I’m sorry. I did things no human should ever do under the excuse that I had to protect you.
I won’t ask for your forgiveness because I know what I did is unforgivable, but I don’t regret it. Even if I could go back in time... I think I would make the same choice because I swore to do anything to keep you safe.
By the time you receive this letter, I probably won’t be in this world anymore, but if I can ask just one selfish thing, live happily. Make lots of good friends, fall in love, and get married. I never thought I’d say something like this. Still, I hope you can live your life with a smile. I’m sorry for being such a pathetic brother. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.
***
Following the information that Yuji had provided, a surprise attack operation on the digestion chambers across Osaka and Kyoto began.
Each branch housed anywhere from fifty to over two hundred Black Star Society members, including mid-ranking and higher executives. This made the attacks anything but easy. Nevertheless, the digestion chambers fell one by one thanks to Song Ha-Eun, Kwon Oh-Jin, and Sakaki.
Among them, Song Ha-Eun stood out the most. Her overwhelming firepower vaporized the Seahorse Awakeners’ mist, leaving the Black Star Society members in sheer terror and scrambling to escape.
By the time they had destroyed three chambers, Song Ha-Eun collapsed onto the couch at Kuroushi’s hideout, fanning her sweat-soaked T-shirt.
“Ugh, I’m dead tired!”
It had only taken three days to wipe out three of the five digestive chambers. That meant massive battles against hundreds of enemies nearly every single day. It was impossible to avoid exhaustion even with her superhuman physique, especially since she had just reached nine stars and hadn’t yet fully adjusted to her newfound power.
“Haaa, seriously, this thing is a pain in the ass to control,” Song Ha-Eun muttered, staring down resentfully at her own chest.
“Your breasts are hard to handle?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked.
Her chest was certainly voluminous enough to be a hindrance during intense movement. To be honest, he also found himself unintentionally staring at them at times during battle.
Well, it can’t be helped.
He couldn’t just stand by while she was struggling.
“I could hold them to make it easier for you—”
“What the hell are you saying, you idiot?”
Song Ha-Eun frowned and smacked Kwon Oh-Jin on the head.
He burst into laughter. "What exactly is hard to control?”
“This thing, the dragon’s heart. It’s a real pain in the ass.”
“That’s because you haven’t been a nine-star for long, isn’t it?”
“That’s part of it, but...” She sighed and shook her head. “Honestly, I think the bigger issue is that I’m not really a proper nine-star yet.”
She had ascended to nine stars after absorbing the dragon’s heart, but in truth, her actual skill level was still closer to an eight-star.
She only became an eight-star a few months ago, after all.
On top of that, her advancement hadn’t come from gaining some deep enlightenment or enduring grueling training. She had simply absorbed an overwhelming amount of external power from the dragon’s heart and ended up a nine-star.
It was like comparing a self-made billionaire to someone who had just won the lottery. Comparing her to Cheon Do-Yoon, another nine-star Awakener, made the difference all the more obvious.
“You’ll get used to the power over time,” Kwon Oh-Jin said.
“Ugh. I’ve been trying all sorts of methods to get used to it, but...” She pulled out a cigarette. “Like using this to solidify my image of fire.”
“Oh, so that’s why you’ve been lighting a cigarette before fighting lately.”
When controlling one’s Stigma, the most important thing was having a clear and precise mental image of its power. For example, with the Stigma of Lyra, thinking of a spear as a lightning rod would make it easier to gather lightning.
Using a cigarette to solidify the image of fire wasn’t entirely unreasonable. However, Kwon Oh-Jin couldn’t help but wonder if that really worked.
“Yeah. Before, I could handle my Stigma just fine without something like this. Ever since I became a nine-star, I’ve needed it to move my mana more easily.”
“I thought you were suddenly going through a late-onset edgy phase.”
“What the hell do you mean, edgy phase?”
“I guess that wouldn’t be possible, considering your age is—”
Song Ha-Eun hit Kwon Oh-Jin’s solar plexus with a lightning-quick punch.
Smack!
“Kugh!”
A suffocating pain spread through him, knocking the breath out of him.
She grinned and grabbed his hair. “My age is what?”
“You’re at a youthful, vibrant age as fresh as the budding sprouts of spring!”
“Good, good. That’s my nice little Oh-Jin.” With a satisfied smile, she gently patted his head. “Alright then. If we’re done here, let’s head in. We’ve got another bloodbath waiting for us tomorrow.”
“No, we won’t be fighting tomorrow.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“You’ll see. Just go rest for now, Ha-Eun.”
“Hmm. Okay. I’ll take a bath and get some sleep until dinner, so call me if anything comes up.”
Song Ha-Eun headed toward the bathhouse in the main building. Watching her walk away, Kwon Oh-Jin turned and looked for Sakaki.
Sakaki and the Kuroushi members were hauling corpses out.
“How’s the situation looking?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked.
“As you can see, it’s a mess,” Sakaki replied, setting down the body of a Black Star Society member. He sighed deeply. “No matter how ruthless they were, seeing them wiped out like this still leaves a bitter taste.”
He looked at the piled-up corpses with a somber expression.
Their eyes had rolled back completely. White foam also dripped from their lifeless mouths. Among them was Mika, who had picked a fight with Song Ha-Eun and gotten beaten to death.
“Is it because of the Seahorse Venom?”
Sakaki nodded with a hardened expression. “Most likely.”
While raiding the Black Star Society branch, they had captured several members and locked them up in the annex. The captives started dying after three days without the special Seahorse water.
They had found a small stash of the so-called water hidden in a vault inside the digestion chamber belonging to the executives, but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep all the prisoners alive.
Not that we have any reason to keep them alive.
Most of the captured Black Star Society members were criminals, just like the Owl faction. Even if they weren’t originally criminals, the things they had done made them unworthy of the little remaining water.
Sakaki clenched his massive fists and released an intense aura.
“That bastard Yuji said earlier that Sosuke should’ve started moving by now. That means tonight, we’ll finally get to fight him.”
“I guess so.”
Kwon Oh-Jin looked at the mountain of Seahorse Awakener corpses. “Did you find out which of the remaining two sites Sosuke is at?”
Of the digestive chambers that Yuji had mentioned, two still remained. One in Osaka and one in Kyoto.
“The chamber in Osaka is far larger, so he said Sosuke is likely there.”
“I see.”
“Oh, right. Could you pass this along to Yuji?”
Sakaki pulled a small glass bottle from his pocket and handed it to Kwon Oh-Jin. Clear water swirled gently inside. “That bastard should have about a day left before the venom takes full effect.”
“Are you letting Yuji live?”
“I thought long and hard about it, but yes, I’ve decided to.”
Kwon Oh-Jin chuckled as he watched Sakaki nod with a serious expression.
“Is that something to laugh about?” Sakaki asked with a frown, clearly displeased.
“Ah, my apologies. I’ll deliver this water to him.”
Taking the glass from Sakaki, Kwon Oh-Jin playfully twirled it between his fingers.
“Oh-Jin, you...”
“Mr. Sakaki, you’re planning to attack the Osaka digestion chamber tonight, correct?”
“That’s right.”
“I have something to discuss with you regarding that.”
Sakaki curiously cocked his head. “What is it?”
“It might take a while, so let’s talk inside.”
Kwon Oh-Jin turned and headed toward the main building.
***
That evening, as the fiery sunset faded and darkness fell like a thick curtain over the sky, Kwon Oh-Jin made his way to the annex. Humming a tune, he walked with the glass bottle in his hand.
In the basement of the annex, under the dim lights, a young man was tied to a chair. His thin and frail appearance gave off a weak impression.
Kwon Oh-Jin dragged a chair over and sat down in front of him.
Yuji, who had slumped over as if unconscious, raised his head and looked at Kwon Oh-Jin.
“You... are?”
“I’m Oh-Jin. Kwon Oh-Jin.”
“Aren’t you... supposed to be in Osaka?”
“I decided to sit this one out.”
Kwon Oh-Jin pulled the glass bottle from his pocket.
Yuji’s eyes widened at the sight of the clear water.
“That’s...”
“Sakaki asked me to give this to you.”
Yuji clamped his mouth shut, his lips trembling. Tears began to stream down his face.
“Thank you... Thank you... Hic...”
Even though he had contributed to the deaths of Sakaki’s comrades in some way, the man was still showing him mercy. Tears of guilt and gratitude streamed down Yuji’s face.
“You said your younger sister was kidnapped by the Black Star Society, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I understand that feeling well. Someone important to me was kidnapped once, too.” Kwon Oh-Jin leaned back casually against the chair. “It felt like my vision went completely white... like I was about to lose my mind.”
Yuji looked at him with trembling eyes. “That’s right... I felt the same way, Mr. Oh-Jin.”
“Really?”
“Sorry?”
“Did you really feel that way?”
Memories of when Song Ha-Eun had been kidnapped resurfaced. That suffocating moment made him shake uncontrollably and feel as though his breath had been caught in his throat. Back then, nothing else mattered other than saving her.
“Then why did you do it?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked, spinning the glass bottle playfully in his hand.
Yuji looked at him with a troubled expression. “I don’t understand...”
“Do you remember what you said when you asked for one last favor?”
Kwon Oh-Jin smirked. He remembered clearly what Yuji desperately shouted on his knees. A final plea made in utter terror.
“Please... Please kill Kurosaki Sosuke... That monster... That human-masked demon...”
“Don’t you find it strange?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked.
“What do you mean...?”
“If it were me, I wouldn’t have begged someone to kill Kurosaki Sosuke. I would have begged them to save my sister instead.”
Yuji’s eyes trembled. His lips twitched into an awkward smile as he shook his head. “As long as Kurosaki Sosuke dies, the Seahorse Venom will naturally disappear.”
“Is that so? That’s funny.”
Kwon Oh-Jin’s lips curled into a grin. “Didn’t you say Kurosaki has the antidote?”
Yuji was rendered speechless.
“If killing him would automatically cure the venom, then why would there be an antidote?”
“T-That’s...”
Kwon Oh-Jin pulled out the cork from the glass bottle in his hand. A crisp, clear pop echoed through the dimly lit basement.
He thought of the recent conversation he had with Song Ha-Eun.
“Oh, but Oh-Jin, aren’t you gonna do that thing? You know, making them repeat what they said backwards?”
“There’s no need for that this time.”
He didn’t need to check; he knew from the very beginning that Yuji was lying.
“Right? Even you think it’s a little strange, don’t you?”
Kwon Oh-Jin poured the water from the glass vial onto the floor.
“Kurosaki Sosuke.”
Turning to Kurosaki Sosuke, who was glaring at him with cold eyes, Kwon Oh-Jin threw the empty glass bottle at him.