Chapter 108
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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Chapter 108
I turned back alongside Gaya, leaving San Yu behind.
"Chirp..."
A soft sigh escaped between Soya's small beak.
It seemed the tension of concealing her true nature had worn on her; the moment San Yu's figure vanished from sight, her body went limp.
Gaya raised one eyebrow at the sight of the drooping chick.
"Tell me the truth, Somsom. What did that bastard do to you?"
"Chirp. (He didn't do anything.)"
Soya abandoned her bird mimicry and began communicating with Gaya.
With her chirping, her message came through clearly.
"Don't lie. There's no way that's true—"
Gaya suddenly stopped in his tracks.
His gaze fixed on the cloth wrapped around Soya's wing like a bandage.
In an instant, his eyes flipped white with rage.
"This bandage... Did that bastard injure your wing?"
"Eek?"
His eyes and voice carried such a sinister intent that he looked ready to sprint back and kill Jeok San Yu on the spot.
"N-no, no! (That's not it!)"
Soya found herself stammering without thinking.
Immediately, his expression softened once more.
'Just now... what was that? Did I imagine it?'
The sudden shift in atmosphere made Soya's tiny eyes quiver as violently as if an earthquake had struck.
"You promised your older brother you wouldn't get hurt, yet here you are, injured."
But Gaya spoke tenderly, as though his previous expression had been nothing but an illusion.
"Your older brother is very upset, Somsom."
"Chirp? (When did we ever make such a promise?)"
Soya asked in bewilderment, but Gaya ignored her question and said only what he wished.
"Still, I'm glad you seem unharmed overall. You've grown a bit smaller, though... and your feathers have turned white, and you can't speak human words anymore."
Gaya gazed at Soya intently, then tilted his head to one side.
"But Somsom, how long will you stay in this form?"
"Chirp? (Don't you like this form?)"
Soya lowered her small head to look at her body, now stripped of its red plumage.
Gaya grinned and answered.
"Not at all. You're far cuter this way. Little Somsom suits white much better than red."
"Chirp, chirp! (That's right! I'm Soya of the Baekho Family, after all!)"
"That's right. You're my little Somsom of the Baekho Family. Smart girl."
"Chirp, chirp! (The masters at Baek Ho Palace always say the same thing. That I'm as clever as Father!)"
As the two of us exchanged words and continued walking, Soya, who had been rolling about in Gaya's palm, perked up her ears at the sound of urgent footsteps echoing from afar.
She lifted her body with sudden alertness.
'Wait... those footsteps...!'
Unless I'm mishearing, this is definitely....
'...!'
In an instant, Soya's eyes, which had been as small as beans, widened completely.
She had spotted Sayeon and Seol Yo rushing toward her from across the way, breathing heavily.
Gaya also noticed Sayeon and came to a halt.
"Huh? Father...."
But before his words could finish.
"Chirp chirp chirp!"
Soya immediately flew toward Sayeon with a flutter.
Her wings, which had been too painful to move properly just moments before, now beat with vigor.
"Little fluffy one."
Sayeon's expression hardened as he watched the baby bird settle gracefully into his palm.
"What's with these bandages?"
"Soya! Are you hurt?"
Seol Yo, standing beside Sayeon, asked with tears glistening in his eyes.
"Chirp? Chirp chirp!"
Soya tried to show she was fine by fluttering her wings, but overexerted herself and tumbled over.
"Ow."
"Little fluffy one!"
"Soya!"
Sayeon and Seol Yo cried out in alarm simultaneously, but Soya didn't get up—she simply remained in place, blinking her eyes blankly.
"Huh? Did I just hear my own voice...?"
Soya's face, which had been murmuring absentmindedly, suddenly brightened.
A baby bird's body before its first growth cannot produce human speech.
Yet what had just emerged from her beak was unmistakably a human voice.
Moreover, the feathers of her wings were gradually taking on a crimson hue.
It was a sign that the power of her spirit core, temporarily sealed away, was returning.
Poof!
As she attempted to assume human form, Soya's body transformed back into that of a human girl.
"I'm back!"
"Little fluffy one?"
I'm not badly hurt. I'm sorry for worrying you, Father.
Soya laughed cheerfully and threw herself into Sayeon's embrace.
Sayeon's expression, which had been rigidly stiff, softened slightly.
I'm so relieved you're not badly hurt. You have no idea how much your old dad worried about you, little fluffy one.
Sayeon lifted Soya into his arms as he spoke.
Oh, I'm really fine, Father. It's not that serious of an injury...!
It's not, huh. Your ankle is swollen and red.
Huh?
At those words, Soya looked down at her own ankle and gasped in surprise.
I had been so focused on my aching wings that I hadn't even noticed the injury to my ankle, yet now it was swollen and flushed a deep red.
Once I became aware of it, the pain seemed to intensify.
"Still, it's not so bad that I can't walk..."
Jeok Soya murmured softly to herself, casting a sidelong glance at Sayeon.
"Just for today, I can lean on Father a bit more. After all, this little cotton ball saved the world."
At those words, Jeok Soya let herself sink into her father's embrace.
Having already undergone her first growth, being cradled in Father's arms made her feel as though she had regressed into childhood, yet...
'Well, what of it? I accomplished something truly difficult and remarkable today. Besides, my ankle is starting to hurt a little. And Father said it before—even if I live to be a hundred, I'll always be his baby in his eyes. But I'm still only twelve, after all...'
Having found these reasonable justifications, Jeok Soya's expression grew noticeably more serene.
Meanwhile, Gaya, who had been watching from a few paces away, his expression shifted to something slightly sullen.
"Merciless, isn't she, Soya."
Just moments before, he had been triumphantly hurling insults at Jeok San Yu.
Seeing Jeok Soya, whose joy had been so evident, immediately fly to Father the instant she caught sight of him, he felt as though he had become the very picture of her.
"Maybe I should have called for Father instead of Older Brother."
Gaya folded his arms crossly and grumbled.
Yet despite the petulant shape of his mouth, the corners of his eyes curved ever so slightly as he gazed upon Father and his sister.
"Seol Yo told me what happened in the Underground Palace."
Sayeon spoke as he walked slowly, still cradling Jeok Soya in his arms.
"You must have been terrified and exhausted, yet you overcame it all so magnificently. Thank you, my youngest. When did you grow to be so splendid?"
"I am a daughter of the Baekho Family, after all. It was only natural that I do so."
Jeok Soya answered with a proud expression at her father's praise.
"And since Father was outside holding back the demons while waiting for us..."
Jeok Soya added, glancing sidelong at Sayeon.
"I'm relieved that Father came through unharmed."
"Even in all that, you were thinking only of your father, were you, my dear?"
At Sayeon's words, delivered with a soft chuckle, Jeok Soya laughed brightly.
Seol Yo and Gaya followed behind as Sayeon continued walking.
Seol Yo had even thoughtfully retrieved the Black Tortoise Iron Shield.
According to him, right after the Underground Palace collapsed, he had been trudging along with the shield in his mouth when he encountered Sayeon.
"Is it true that the demons have lost their strength?"
"Yes."
Sayeon explained the events that had transpired in the meantime.
After sending Jeok Soya and Seol Yo ahead, he had faced off against Dool's Demon Army alone.
The demons continued to surge forward in endless waves, no matter how many he cut down.
Then suddenly, a violent tremor shook through everything.
Dool, who had been commanding the Demon Army, abruptly collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood.
The demons grew agitated along with him.
Seizing the moment of their weakness, Sayeon cut down his enemies.
Thereupon, the higher-ranking demons, including Dool, fled, and as he pursued them...
Another tremor was felt.
In an instant, the sky turned pitch black, and a chilling dread swept across my skin.
I could sense it then—that presence was Evil, fleeing.
Evil was losing its grip and escaping.
After Evil passed, I barely regained my senses and spun around urgently.
Blast it all!
This was no time to pursue the demons.
If Evil truly was fleeing, I had to find Soya.
I had to find her and confirm she was safe, that she bore no injuries.
With that thought driving me, I raced toward the Underground Palace.
But where the Underground Palace once stood, only traces of the Black Swamp remained.
The palace had been sustained by the power of the Hyunmu Clan, but with their leader Hyun Rabaek dead and no successor to inherit his mantle, it had crumbled.
And there, I encountered Seol Yo.
Through him, I learned that Hyun Rabaek had fallen, Evil had escaped, and the collapse of the Underground Palace had sent both him and Soya hurtling outward.
After that, I traced Soya's scent through the chaos until I found myself here, facing him like this.
---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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