Chapter 208: Same Time, Waiting For The Same Moment (1)

Chapter 208: Same Time, Waiting For The Same Moment (1)

The stuffy air pierced my lungs.

An empty factory district. A place suspected to be the remaining stronghold of Flower.

Even when I expanded my magic to search for any presence, not even a small animal was visible.

Once again, it’s a miss.

I opened the file I had received in advance and marked a small X on the location among the many addresses.

-Vrrr!

Suddenly, a vibration came from my pocket.

I took out my phone and checked the messages.

-Unread Messages (21)

[Star in Your Heart]: Good night! Dream of me♡ - 4:32am (2)

[Jin Dallae]: Are you okay? Take your time with work. - 2:11am (3)

[Hwangdo]: Brother~~! No issues!! By the way, about the terror incident... - 11:32pm (1)

[Lee Seyeong]: (Photo) - 7:12pm (1)

.

.

.

Messages sent for different reasons.

I read through the messages they had sent.

Byeol played games all night and contacted me just before sleeping. Jin Dallae was worried about me.

Hwangdo was faithfully fulfilling my request to update me on Cheondo’s situation.Th.ê most uptodate novels are published on n(0)velbj)n(.)co/m

And then Lee Seyeong -

-(Photo)

She sent a mysterious and scary photo.

‘Phew....’

Taking a deep breath, I opened the message.

-Lee Seyeong: (Photo)

As soon as I opened the message, I saw a pink test kit.

With T on the left and C on the right, it was unmistakably a pregnancy test.

I covered the center of the photo with my hand and examined the surroundings.

For some reason, it felt like Seyeong, holding the device, was glaring at me from the screen.

‘Having a second daughter wouldn’t change anything. Rather, it should be a good thing.’

Becoming a dad wasn’t a bad thing.

After preparing myself mentally, I removed my finger covering the center.

“Yeah, that day the water was unusually sticky- huh?”

...One line.

On closer inspection, one side of the photo seemed edited, with the word ‘idiot’ written in the corner of the test.

I let out a bitter breath.

“No... it didn’t work?”

I tried my best to make it work, but it seemed making a baby wasn’t that easy.

Typing on the keyboard, I vented my small frustrations.

-Me: (Crying tree icon)

Even though I couldn’t achieve what I wanted, I hoped she knew.

I wanted her to take better care of herself.

Seyeong’s life was tied to my mental state. If she overworked herself despite my efforts... then I might as well prepare to raise children for the rest of my life.

“Phew.”

The time was exactly five o’clock.

I had searched about seven locations suspected to be Flower’s hideouts.

Fortunately, Flower hadn’t been found at any of them, and no significant traces were left.

‘It’s good that Flower isn’t around... but I wish one would show up soon.’

As I placed my hand on my face and slowly removed it, a white mask gradually rose from my skin.

-Crack.

The skin and the mask layer separated.

To an observer, it would look as if my skin was tearing off, making it quite a gruesome sight.

Feeling the cool breeze, I drew in more magic into my body.

‘Let’s call it a day.’

I still had work to do with Sansuyu’s secretary.

After greeting Jin Dallae briefly in the morning, I planned to meet her at the academy.

“Yongsan.”

Early morning road.

A small car driving at high speed dramatically turned right.

A short girl, breathing heavily, stared intently at the device.

A man and a woman, just the two of them.

The couple, dressed in rustic clothing, shouted in a panic.

“This time, Gwangju.”

“Are you kidding me? Why does the location keep changing? Are you sure you’re putting in enough magic?”

“I am, but it keeps moving.”

The man thought.

How could someone move this quickly? It’s not like they were a legendary Pokémon.

The red-haired woman, Aori, continued to inject magic into the tracker with a blank expression.

The tracker was chasing the power of the Tree Spirit King.

But its range could only detect up to around 100 kilometers.

“This is driving me crazy. Is this an error? You said you’re the Tree Spirit King’s descendant. Are you lying?”

“I’m not lying. My grandmother always said so....”

“Shut up. Stop talking. It’s annoying.”

“.......”

A blond man with tanned skin.

Mok Taeyang turned the steering wheel, frowning irritably with his slit eyes.

“Any changes?”

“Not yet. Huff.”

“Keep searching. Remember, our mission is to find the heir to the king.”

[W-What...? How is this...]

“You can understand?”

[How can a mere human talk to me...]

“Ha, this is absurd.”

Sneering inwardly at the tree, Taeyang pulled a heavy sapling from his waist.

“Today, this lowly human is going to pound you like a dog.”

-Squish!

[Argh!]

These insolent trees. Their only value was to be ravished and drained of their power.

Soon, as the representative of Seoul Hunter Academy participating in the Forester Selection Competition, Taeyang intended to fully satisfy his desires before then.

[Ugh, ah, ugh! Stop!]

A nameless tree’s voice gradually filled with eroticism.

Before long, it would kneel and become a submissive tree.

A pure human participating in the Forester Selection Competition.

He was the natural enemy of the trees.

There were countless beings waiting for the Forester Selection Competition.

And for good reason. It was a global festival.

A broadcast watched by over 100 million viewers worldwide.

It boasted more viewers than the Olympics, with over 4 billion viewers, and it was a place where new talents who would illuminate the future gathered.

There were also many preparing for terror attacks.

“....”

The sharp scent of alcohol lingered at the tip of her nose.

-Drip.

Watching the droplets roll down the surface of the glass, she raised it to her lips.

A red-haired woman swallowed a sip of alcohol, only to vomit it out before it could be absorbed.

“Ugh... ugh.”

The transparent liquid poured from her stomach.

Even though her nose stung, she felt nothing. Her bloodshot eyes had long given up.

Yet, instead of losing her dignity, she seemed to shine even more.

She looked up with dark eyes and gazed at the mirror.

With a decadent aura, she crossed her long legs and sat on the chair, looking at the drink.

“We’re ready.”

A man, unable to look at her face, reported while lying flat on the floor.

“Get out.”

“Yes.”

With one word from the woman, he disappeared instantly.

The empty bar only added to the loneliness of her aching side.

‘I made it to this point.’

Not much time left.

Just a little more, maybe a few days.

The deep, burning emotion that reached its limit a few years ago.

She had made it to this point. She had. Finally.

Without saying a word, she repeated it dozens of times in her mind.

“...Ha.”

Still, no laughter emerged.

It seemed this painful suffering would never end.

Until this question was resolved, she would suffer for the rest of her life, gradually withering away, dropping her petals in a place no one knew.

“Why did you help us?”

The resentful thought was interrupted.

“...This was bound to happen.”

Right in front of her.

A black, torn, blood-stained cloth with holes and rips... she muttered, looking at the garment that had worn out over the years.

She raised the glass again.

“Ugh.”

The harsh, smoky alcohol couldn’t make it down her throat and spilled onto the floor again.

Her slender fingers folded one by one into a fist.

“I’ve returned.”

Another voice came from behind her.

Guseul, with black hair and wearing a suit.

Her eyes devoid of light, she stared at the spilled drink.

“...Are you drinking again?”

“Mind your business.”

“Sorry. I came here today to talk about the Cornus Family.”

The Cornus Family.

Not deeply involved, nor had she met them.

But it was a family that would soon face destruction.

“Cistus... said the Cornus Family would be abandoned.”

Without saying a word, the woman nodded as if she understood.

Despite her actions, her dark eyes were only staring blankly at the clothes in front of her.

Every moment in this place, always.

She never looked at anyone else.

At first, Guseul thought she was reminiscing about a past lover.

But that was a misconception.

She wasn’t weak enough to be entangled in personal feelings.

Guseul assumed that perhaps she was trying to derive an answer to her current dilemma from someone in her past.

As if the clothes were showing her the path she had to take.

“I’ll be leaving then.”

Guseul bowed her head and disappeared.

No matter what past she had, she was now busy.

A commotion was scheduled to happen soon.