Chapter 28

< Chapter 28: The Second Ruin (3) >

“But can we just enter the forbidden zone like that? Isn’t there anyone guarding it?”

As we arrived near the Land of Jade Flame, Ha Si-yeon asked me.

“Hmm. There are some guards, but not many. Sneaking in is possible.”

The Land of Jade Flame is one of the safer forbidden zones.

There is no threat as long as you don’t intrude into the zone.

That’s why the border is lax.

No one would walk into the forbidden zone unless they were suicidal.

“….Are we really going in there by ourselves?”

Ha Si-yeon looked at the awkward wire fence and asked. The color of the land beyond the fence was different.

It was crimson. It reminded me of magma.

“Don’t worry too much. Let’s go.”

We easily jumped over the wire fence. A hot blast of air. The quality of the air entering the furnace was different.

It felt strangely like a sauna.

“Wait a minute, let me check the terrain.”

“Okay.”

I looked around.

The entrance to the ruin was said to be at the top of a half-collapsed mountain range. Where could it be?

“Is it there?”

I found it.

It was literally a half-collapsed mountain range.

It collapsed so that the inside was clearly visible.

The horrible inside that resembled hell.

“….Don’t tell me we’re going there?”

Ha Si-yeon followed my gaze and looked at the mountain range. She asked in a trembling voice.

“Yeah. There.”

“Can’t I just go back?”

“No. You can’t.”

I smiled faintly.

* * *

< Meanwhile, in the meeting room inside the Shinwa Group building. >

Shin Jia and Yu Hwa were looking at each other with smiles.

No, glaring at each other would be a more accurate expression.

“Why did you investigate Seo-yul’s background?”

Breaking the tense atmosphere, Shin Jia opened her mouth first.

“I was curious.”

“Curious? You can’t just dig into someone’s past without their permission.”

Yu Hwa was confident.

“Without their permission? I boldly declared to Seo-yul that ‘I will dig into your past!’ and investigated.”

Shin Jia’s eyes sharpened.

“….·You told Seo-yul beforehand?”

“Yes. He didn’t tell me to stop, even though he told me to do it moderately.”

Shin Jia’s eyes narrowed with doubt. She was wondering what kind of relationship Yu Hwa and Kang Seo-yul had.

“Besides.”

Yu Hwa crossed her legs leisurely and changed the topic.

“Shall we move on to the main issue now that your curiosity is satisfied?”

Yu Hwa took out a document from her bag.

“First of all, this agreement is beneficial for both the Bihon Guild and the Shinwa Group….·.”

“I don’t care about that.”

Shin Jia cut off Yu Hwa’s words with a sharp eye.

She was very firm.

Yu Hwa’s eyes flickered with confusion.

‘Kang Seo-yul, you liar! You said you would talk to her nicely! She’s trying to refuse without even listening again!’

She felt resentful of Kang Seo-yul for no reason.

“Shin Jia. Don’t act so emotionally―”

“Let’s do it. The agreement.”

“―and stop….· What?”

“I accept the Bihon Guild’s proposal. It’s a good deal for the Shinwa Group too.”

Yu Hwa’s expression became blank.

She looked like she had lost her mind.

‘….·Is it that easy?’

She wouldn’t even listen to me no matter how many times I talked to her!

She accepted it without even listening to Kang Seo-yul’s text.

‘Ugh, I’m annoyed.’

She felt happy, but also wronged.

“That’s it for the agreement, right? Then let’s go back to what we were talking about earlier.”

Shin Jia’s eyes sparkled.

She looked like she wanted to see through Yu Hwa’s abyss.

“What kind of relationship do you have with Seo-yul?”

What kind of relationship did they have, that Kang Seo-yul sent a text asking her to look after him?

Yu Hwa’s eyes also sparkled.

‘Ah ha.’

So that’s why she was rushing to talk. She had something else on her mind.

She looked more colorful and emotional than usual.

Shall I tease her a bit?

“We share each other’s secret secrets.”

“….·Secret secrets?”

Shin Jia’s expression became colder.

‘Exactly!’

She didn’t look like the usual cool-headed Shin Jia. Her thoughts were clearly visible.

Yu Hwa cheered inwardly.

“You must know the secret very well.”

It seemed like she would get a meaningful reaction now.

“The secret that the hero who solved the Piale Alo case was actually Kang Seo-yul.”

Shin Jia’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

But it was only for a moment, and soon she returned to her original expression.

“Seo-yul? That can’t be.”

She realized that Yu Hwa was trying to probe her mind.

‘Maybe she found something suspicious while digging into my ancestor’s past.’

Or maybe she stumbled upon something fishy while investigating Kang Seo-yul’s past. Anyway, it was likely a guess.

“Seo-yul. He can shoot well, but his stats are very low.”

It was an involuntary perfect expression acting.

“Hmm. Is that so?”

Yu Hwa answered with an ambiguous expression.

But inside, she was cheering.

She didn’t miss Shin Jia’s subtle facial change just now.

‘My guess was right.’

She was more than 90% sure from the start, but it became 100% certain with that reaction.

It was indeed Kang Seo-yul who solved the World Tree terror incident.

Shin Jia knew that and showed favor to Kang Seo-yul.

Not only did he save her from a near-death crisis, but he also avenged her enemy.

And the fact that Kang Seo-yul dealt with Piale Alo meant….·.

‘Piale Alo was not a lone villain, but a villain affiliated with the Saviors of Truth.’

It was all circumstantial evidence, but everything fit perfectly.

‘It’s certain.’

Kang Seo-yul definitely had a grudge against the Saviors of Truth.

Then what happened that made him harbor such a fierce grudge against the Saviors of Truth.

What kind of past did he have that he hid it so perfectly.

‘The most suspicious thing is still the orphanage where Kang Seo-yul lived….·.’

The Sunlight Orphanage, which is now a ruin.

The only suspicious part of Kang Seo-yul’s past was there.

‘Should I dig deeper into that?

* * *

The Land of Jade Flame’s core.

We were looking at the entrance of the ruin ‘Shelter of Flame’ that was located at the top of the mountain range.

“Are you really thinking of going in there?”

Ha Si-yeon still had full of anxiety in her eyes.

I understood.

“We have to, right?”

Honestly, I was also nervous to death.

What is this?

First of all, I can see magma.

And I can see magma.

Lastly, I can see magma.

I can only see magma.

It felt like what the hell’s furnace would be like.

“Is there really a ruin in there?”

“There should be….right?”

“Why are you so unsure…?”

It would definitely be there unless the setting changed.

“Let’s go in.”

“Do you have a way to get in?”

“Of course.”

Chwarararak-

I spread my wings.

“Ah.”

Ha Si-yeon looked at my wings with surprised rabbit-like eyes.

“We’re going to fly.”

To enter the ruin, we had to either fly or have an absolute resistance to fire.

“Bear with it for 5 minutes even if it’s uncomfortable.”

“Already?”

But unfortunately, I can’t fly right now.

“I don’t have enough strength to fly right now.”

There’s a possibility that we could fall in the middle of the flight.

“Huh? Does flying take strength too?”

“Of course. It’s muscles that move the wings.”

“Oh. I asked something obvious.”

She smiled awkwardly.

“Hmm. It’s a random question, but how do you move your wings?”

“Huh?”

She’s curious about everything.

“Hmm. First of all, near the wing bones….·.”

I explained how to handle the wings as much as I could.

Actually, I just moved them by feeling, so I just wrapped it up roughly.

“Oh. I see. Hmm. If it’s like that….·.”

She muttered something and concentrated.

“And finally, shape it like this….·.”

Jjeojeojeojeok-!

“Done!”

“….·.”

Ice wings appeared behind Ha Si-yeon’s back. It was a detailed sculpture that looked like my wings made of ice.

Maybe because she observed my wings closely while flying.

It was an amazing quality.

“As expected, registering it as a trait makes a huge difference in precision and completeness.”

She turned her head and looked at her wings from side to side. She looked very pleased.

“Then next. Move it like this. And fill in the missing functions with magic….·.”

Chwaaahaaak!

Ha Si-yeon’s ice wings flapped vigorously.

“Woah!”

And the next moment.

“I did it! I did it! Ehehe!”

“….Wow.”

Ha Si-yeon was flying in the air.

She handled the ice wings made of magic as if they were my wings.

It was a crazy talent.

No, even if she got a boost in power, control, and utility with her close-range trait.

She made ice wings in one go? And even flew?

“….Hehe.”

Watching her, I laughed involuntarily.

She glided safely at a safe altitude and a safe distance for about 3 minutes and slowly landed in front of me.

“Yup. Done. I think I can fly for about 30 minutes with this amount of magic consumption.”

And then she stretched out both hands to me. It was a similar gesture to before, but the meaning was completely different.

“Seo-yul. Hug me.”

“….·.”

I was speechless.

“Seo-yul?”

You freak of a talent…like this…..

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