Chapter 150
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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 150
As flames erupted and engulfed the Imperial Palace, crimson feathers drifted down like snow.
Soon, an enormous scarlet bird radiating divine power blotted out the dark sky, and the entire world blazed with brilliant light.
It was the Phoenix, the ancient Divine Beast that guarded the Southern Lands.
The people gazed up at it with awestruck eyes.
Their faces, reflected in the firelight, took on a reddish hue.
The Phoenix looked down upon the world and slowly opened her beak.
―So you have summoned me from the heart of the land, little chick.
Her sacred voice resonated through the air.
"Goddess...?"
―Yes, I am the Purifier of the Southern Lands, the Vermillion Bird Goddess. My little chick who carries my blood. What shall I aid you with?
Jeok Soya stared at her in a daze.
'Why is the Goddess...? She said manifesting her true form was extremely difficult.'
―It seems the old Phoenix matriarch exerted herself. Ever since arriving at the Imperial Palace, she's been grinding her teeth at those chicken-brained fools.
―How infuriating, little chick. I too can make a grand appearance. Call upon me next time.
The White Tiger Mountain Lord and Cheong Hae Yong Sin whispered in voices only Jeok Soya could hear.
'Ah...'
Understanding the Vermillion Bird Goddess's true intention from their words, Jeok Soya felt her heart swell with emotion.
'For my sake...'
Just days ago, Riri had falsely claimed to be the Yellow Dragon's bride before the people.
To ensure Jeok Soya would not face the same suspicion because of that precedent, the Goddess deliberately revealed her true form before countless witnesses.
She made it abundantly clear that Jeok Soya was of direct Phoenix lineage, so no one could ever doubt her origins.
"Please purify those who have become demonic beasts."
―Where my flames reach, your will shall burn alongside them.
The Vermillion Bird Goddess answered Jeok Soya's plea with an elegant voice.
Soon, brilliant scarlet flames fell one by one from her crimson feathers, and radiant light enveloped the entire Imperial Palace.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the White Tiger Clan Quarters, two boys were locked in combat with a Sparrow.
The small Sparrow, whose demonic transformation had progressed earlier than the others, relentlessly attacked Baek Gayul as soon as he returned to his room after dinner.
"Ugh, argh, Sparrow?!"
The baby Sparrow, its pupils turned a vivid crimson, fluttered about, pecking and clawing at Baek Gayul's body.
The demonic transformation had made its attacks devastatingly effective.
"Young Master, are you alright? This wretched bird!"
"Stop it! Don't you dare hurt that little bird!"
When Suri moved to protect Baek Gayul by attacking the Sparrow instead, Baek Gayul cried out.
"Sir? But that bird is attacking you..."
"No, don't attack! This is the Sparrow I healed! I promised to protect it until it's completely better!"
"B-but that bird doesn't seem to want our protection at all, does it?"
As if answering that remark, the Sparrow fluttered and pecked at Suri.
"I-I don't care! Just defend, don't attack!"
"H-how can you just keep defending?! Ugh!"
Boom!
Suri, who had transformed into his beast form, leaped out the window to escape Sparrow's assault.
Sparrow, having switched targets from Baek Gayul to Suri without warning, pursued him relentlessly with no intention of letting him escape.
Baek Gayul followed them outside and watched Suri being attacked, utterly bewildered.
"What's gotten into him? Why is Sparrow so furious?"
His anger was so intense that even his eyes had turned red, and his strength had increased.
He resembled a goblin from an old folktale.
At that moment, the sky suddenly flashed and turned crimson.
"Wh-what...? This is...?"
Baek Gayul stood frozen, gazing up at the crimson sky.
He had seen that red-tinted sky before.
"Cotton ball...?"
Two years ago, in that village where they had gone to resolve the plague crisis—the day Jeok Soya began her growth pains alongside the crimson flames.
That day too, the sky had turned red like this, and shimmering red feathers had fallen...
Just then, red feathers fluttered down from the sky.
Baek Gayul, who had been staring blankly, quickly snatched up the red feather.
"Mine!"
"Oh my, Young Master. Now isn't the time to worry about feathers...? Huh?"
Sparrow, who had been attacking Suri, suddenly stopped.
His crimson pupils returned to black, and as he gradually regained his original form, he collapsed.
"Are you alright?"
Baek Gayul rushed over to Suri and Sparrow.
"Yes, I'm fine..."
"Not you—Sparrow."
"...Yes, Sparrow is fine."
Suri pouted and replied.
"Phew, thank goodness."
Baek Gayul exhaled in relief, watching Sparrow sleep peacefully.
And at that same moment.
"Grrrrgh..."
"This chicken-brained fool..."
San Yu and Gaya, both in their beast forms, were locked in a fierce standoff.
Then, as the crimson light engulfed the sky, San Yu too returned to his human form and collapsed.
"Ugh..."
Gaya grimaced at the weight pressing down on him.
"Is it... over?"
A short sigh escaped between Gaya's teeth.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he glanced down at his shoulder, which bore bite marks.
The throbbing pain suddenly ignited his irritation, and Gaya roughly shoved San Yu's unconscious body aside before getting to his feet.
As I lifted my head, the crimson sky came into view.
No one had told me whose masterpiece this scarlet expanse was, yet somehow I felt I knew.
I knew of the most remarkable and courageous baby bird in the world—one who had made a decisive contribution to ending this prolonged war.
And perhaps this very moment was when that magnificent baby bird spread its wings before the world and soared into the heavens.
Gaya gave San Yu's shoulder, crumpled on the ground, a single kick, then followed the crackling sound of burning flames as he moved forward.
* * *
Crackle, crackle.
Crackle, crackle, crackle.
A night where only the sound of sparking flames echoed.
Everyone fell into silence.
"The Yellow Dragon's... bride...."
With someone's murmur, the silence shattered, and all eyes turned toward Jeok Soya with reverence.
"The true bride of the Yellow Dragon...."
And among those people, only Jeok Ahyun and Jeok Hwayou—father and son—remained pale and speechless.
'Why.... No, how.... Why....'
Jeok Hwayou's eyes trembled violently as he gazed at Jeok Soya.
The crimson feathers of the small bird that had soared into the dark sky moments before.
And the purifying flames that descended so gently as to envelop the entire world... and the voice of the Divine Beast.
Phoenix had spoken clearly: 'My little baby bird who inherited my blood.'
All of it pointed to one truth.
[And you know, Jeok Hwayou. I never deceived you.]
The moment Jeok Soya's voice echoed in my mind—those cold eyes fixed upon me as she spoke those words.
"Ah...."
A groan of anguish burst from his throat.
Something had gone terribly, terribly wrong.
* * *
As Dochul's body exploded, Evil fled as well.
Riri's body, which had once harbored Evil, was drained of its life force—half of it withered grotesquely.
"The heart of Evil ultimately brings only destruction."
The stronger the heart of Evil grows, the more it becomes nourishment for Evil to feast upon.
The Cuckoo, who harbored a more malevolent heart than anyone, bloomed through her wicked deeds and ultimately became sustenance for Evil.
That body, robbed of its life force in less than half a day, would not survive long—its life would soon be extinguished.
Despite that fierce malice, the Cuckoo's body was far too fragile to bear Evil.
Whether to be grateful that half of her remaining life force was preserved, or to consider it a misfortune.
"Those who become nourishment for Evil's heart have only one fate: to be consumed by Evil and meet death."
Tae Irim murmured coldly and turned his head away.
His gaze fell upon his dead guard.
"Why must those I show affection to always meet such tragic ends."
He gazed long at the guard, stripped of its shell by the demonic beast, with a sorrowful expression, then shifted his gaze and glanced briefly outside.
The purifying flames Jeok Soya had ignited enveloped the entire Imperial Palace, dyeing the sky above a deep crimson.
I felt Jeok Soya's presence lingering in the air.
Distinctly warm and comforting, her tender essence drew a faint smile across my face.
[Why do you simply look and leave?]
Do you know, Jeok Soya?
Every moment I involved myself in your fate, you inevitably perished.
Not once, not a single time, could I save you.
How could I ever approach you, being what I am?
Tae Irim slowly closed and opened his eyes, gazing toward his chest where his orb should have rested.
His orb was no longer with him.
He had given it to her long ago.
Now it had become a distant memory, yet a time that never existed for her—a first life that only he remembered.
Jeok Soya, the illustrious daughter of the Jujak Family, in those days when she still possessed brilliantly burning crimson hair....
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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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