Chapter 147

“No, there’s no need for that.”

‘This voice…’

It’s definitely Yoo Ju’s voice.

“Master, how did you get here…?”

“…I came to save Yoon Seong and Ho-yeon.”

‘Did they defeat the White Devourer?’

If Yoo Ju came here to rescue us, it means the battle above is over.

Which also implies that she has regained her memories.

However, it seems Yoo Ju hasn’t noticed yet that I’ve lost my sight.

From her perspective, it probably looks like Seo Mi-kyung is pointing a sword at me and Wi Ho-yeon.

“Seo Mi-kyung, what are you doing right now?”

“W-What?”

During the meeting, Seo Mi-kyung didn’t even notice when Yoo Ju instantly positioned herself behind her.

In other words, the difference in their abilities is clear.

That’s probably why Seo Mi-kyung’s voice trembled when Yoo Ju coldly questioned her.

“Who do you think you’re pointing your sword at right now? Did you think what I said during the meeting was a joke?”

“N-No, it’s not that…”

“You’ll have to pay the price for underestimating my words.”

“Wait…!”

As soon as Yoo Ju finished speaking, the sound of cold weapons clashing began.

“E-Eternity Master, wait a moment!”

“……”

“It’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! The spear, the spear…!”

‘Misunderstanding my ass. Yoo Ju noona, teach her a lesson!’

“…..”

From the sounds, it seemed like Yoo Ju was ignoring Seo Mi-kyung’s pleas and continuing her attack.

But Seo Mi-kyung is also strong, so after a while of hearing the clashing of spear and sword…

*Crunch*

“Kyaaaah! My leeeeg!”

Seo Mi-kyung screamed as the sound of flesh tearing echoed.

It seems the fight is over.

“This time, I’ll let you off with one leg, but next time, you’ll really die. Understand?”

“Yes, yes! Please, please, the spear!”

‘As they say, a good beating fixes everything.’

That girl, who was completely out of control just moments ago, has now calmed down after tasting the spear.

“Since I stabbed you where I did, you might end up limping for the rest of your life. If that happens, just consider it the price you paid.”

“Ugh… Ugh…”

Seok-ho, who had been watching the fight beside me, let out a sigh and muttered under his breath.

“Hmm… The Eternity Master is truly a monster… She might even surpass the rumors…”

Anyway, after Yoo Ju dealt with Seo Mi-kyung, I heard footsteps approaching me.

Along with a voice that sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

A completely different attitude from before.

“Y-Yoon Seong… I’m, I’m so sorry… I don’t know why, why I did that… I really… Ugh…”

‘So she really did regain her memories.’

It seems she feels guilty for not being able to save me when I fell here.

“I’m really sorry… Please, forgive me…”

“…I’m fine, Yoo Ju.”

Honestly, I was quite upset at that moment, but what can I do? Yoo Ju wasn’t in her right state back then.

“But… I… Yoon Seong… Huh?”

“……”

“Y-Yoon Seong, have you lost your sight?”

She finally noticed.

“Yes, it’s temporary, but it happened right after I fell here. Just my bad luck, haha…”

“Ah…”

“…Yoo Ju?”

“I… What have I done… I put Yoon Seong in danger again…”

“It’s okay. You were in a state where you had lost your memories of me. Don’t blame yourself too much. Especially since it was a situation where you could only save one between me and Hyeon-jin.”

“Ah, that’s…”

“And Ho-yeon protected me, so I’m fine. If it weren’t for Ho-yeon, I would have been in danger.”

“……”

“Now that I think about it, I haven’t properly thanked Ho-yeon yet. Ho-yeon, thank you so much. I owe you my life. If I had fallen here alone… with my sight gone, I would have died.”

“No, it was just my duty as a guard.”

“Still. Next time, I’ll treat you to a meal. Thank you so much. You’re my lifesaver.”

“Ah, that, that’s too much… I can’t possibly be your lifesaver, Lee Yoon-seong.”

I intentionally kept praising Wi Ho-yeon.

I don’t know the exact reason, but I just felt like doing it in front of Yoo Ju.

Yoo Ju fell silent as I kept praising Wi Ho-yeon.

After a while of me praising Wi Ho-yeon and her waving it off, Yoo Ju finally spoke up.

“…Thank you for protecting Yoon Seong, Ho-yeon.”

“It’s nothing, Master. It was just my duty.”

Maybe it’s just my imagination, but Yoo Ju’s voice sounded slightly different than usual.

The way she thanked Wi Ho-yeon felt like there was some subtle tension, but maybe it’s just me.

And for some reason, Seok-ho suddenly started praising Wi Ho-yeon.

“Hmm, hmm… It’s really heartwarming to see the trust between you two. The Sword Monarch is willing to risk her life to protect him, and he relies on and trusts her. It’s a testament to the camaraderie of the Eternity Clan members.”

“……”

Yoo Ju remained silent.

“Honestly, when I saw you two risking your lives for each other, I thought you were a couple. Haha!”

Wi Ho-yeon reacted to Kim Seok-ho’s words.

“T-That’s ridiculous. How could someone like me ever…”

“It’s just a figure of speech. A metaphor. And you, Sword Monarch, are too humble. Men and women are the same. It’s only natural to fall for someone who’s willing to risk their life to protect you.”

‘Seok-ho… wait a minute…’

The atmosphere was getting a bit awkward.

“Haha, from what I see, Lee Yoon-seong here probably doesn’t dislike the Sword Monarch either. You two seem to get along well.”

‘What are you even saying now?’

Yoo Ju stayed silent for a while before finally speaking.

“…Ho-yeon, you keep glancing at Yoon Seong. Is there something special?”

“Ah, it’s just… because of the injuries Lee Yoon-seong has…”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes… that’s it.”

I tried to steer the conversation away by asking Yoo Ju.

“By the way, Yoo Ju, how did you get here? If you’ve regained your memories, does that mean the battle above is over?”

“……”

“Yoo Ju?”

“…Yes. The battle above is over, and as soon as I regained my memories, all I could think about was saving Yoon Seong. Really.”

“Ah… I see. Of course…”

“It might sound like an excuse, but I really reflected a lot on why I did what I did as soon as I remembered.”

‘No, that’s not what I was asking…’

“There were several places where the ground had collapsed, so I found a spot that wasn’t completely blocked and came down. All I could think about was saving Yoon Seong.”

“Ah… I see…”



Alright, got it.

I roughly understood how Yoo Ju came down.

“I swear, I swear I didn’t abandon Yoon Seong. Really… really…”

“I know. I’ve told you several times that I’m fine. Let’s stop talking about that now. After all, I’m safe.”

I didn’t want to talk about this topic anymore.

Honestly, I did feel a sense of betrayal at the moment I fell, but I understand Yoo Ju’s situation.

More than anything, it was incredibly uncomfortable to have this conversation without being able to see.

There are things you can usually pick up on—changes in expression, pupil movements, lip tremors, gestures—but without that, I didn’t want to continue this conversation.

“But… even if coming down was one thing, how do we get back up?”

Everyone fell silent at my words.

Well, coming down was one thing, but going back up was the real problem.

“That… we can use floating magic to go up. There’s a mage waiting where I came down, so we’ll head there.”

“Understood, Yoo Ju.”

As Yoo Ju said, if there’s a connected space above, we can go up.

“Ho-yeon, could you help me? I can’t see…”

“Ah, yes. Underst—”

Just as Wi Ho-yeon was about to help me.

“No. Ho-yeon has been through enough. I’ll help Yoon Seong.”

Yoo Ju clung to me as she spoke.

“Yes… understood, Master.”

“Wait, wait! Take me too! My legs, my legs won’t move!”

“……”

“Why, why is everyone ignoring me! Take me too!”

Only Seo Mi-kyung’s shouts echoed behind us.

******

The people who fell down included me and the four others who were there, and all of us were safely rescued.

And what was truly absurd was that my vision returned as soon as I came back up.

Meaning, the Black Devourer had just been defeated.

‘Well… not exactly at the same time, but almost simultaneously.’

Considering that the White Devourer and Black Devourer are practically a pair of monsters, it’s quite an ironic situation.

“Isn’t that… Priest Komer?”

As soon as we came up, the scene before us was the massive corpse of the White Devourer and the headless body of Priest Komer.

“Yes. That’s… during the battle with the White Devourer, Priest Komer led a group of Big Shapes to attack from the rear. So we had no choice but to…”

So that’s why he disappeared earlier—he was leading monsters to ambush from behind.

“But… Yoon Seong, your eyes?”

“It seems the 3rd Region Expedition Team successfully defeated the Black Devourer.”

“Ah…”

Now that I had regained my vision, I looked around.

Although I had only lost my sight for a short time, seeing the world with both eyes felt slightly strange.

Honestly, it was just a brief moment of blindness, but the sensation during that time was truly horrifying.

‘… Now I understand why most of the previous expedition participants refused.’

Looking around, the damage seemed quite severe.

Well, to put it bluntly, the Plum Blossom Clan was practically wiped out, and several other clans also suffered significant losses.

‘First, I need to check the Damage of Eternity.’

I noticed Charis grimacing at me, so I approached her.

“Charis.”

“Hmph, too bad you’re still alive. It would’ve been great if you had fallen and died.”

“Indeed. Unfortunately, your master is still alive. Right? Let’s talk later, just the two of us?”

Charis made a face like she’d bitten into something foul.

“Anyway, putting aside the fact that I survived, I have something to ask.”

“I can guess what you want to ask. If it’s about the clan’s damage…”

Charis pointed in a direction with her eyes.

Following her gaze, I saw Lee Jae-hyo and Song Ha-eun, who was crying.

‘Lee Jae-hyo…’

“Yoon, Yoon Seong oppa.”

“What happened? Jae-hyo, he…”

“Ah… Lee Yoon Seong. It’s nothing. I’m fine.”

‘Fine? He lost an eye.’

Lee Jae-hyo had lost his left eye.

“What happened? How did you lose an eye…”

Song Ha-eun answered tearfully.

“It, it was… while trying to protect me… because of me…”

“Ha-eun, I’m fine. It’s not your fault. Who could have expected an ambush from the rear in that situation?”

Lee Jae-hyo remained calm despite losing an eye.

In fact, while he was the one who lost an eye, Song Ha-eun was the one in a panic.

“Can I ask for more details about what happened?”

“It was just an ambush. Unfortunately, when Priest Komer attacked from behind, Ha-eun was in the rear. I got injured while rescuing her. Being blinded at the time didn’t help…”

“I see… Your eye…”

“It’s fine. It’s unfortunate, but losing one eye is manageable. It might affect my combat ability a bit, but it’s bearable.”

‘His mental strength is admirable.’

If I had lost an eye like Lee Jae-hyo, I wouldn’t have been able to stay so composed.

“Haha… Frankly, getting injured is something you always have to be prepared for when active on this continent. If losing one eye saved a fellow clan member, it’s a fair trade, isn’t it?”

Lee Jae-hyo’s deliberate attempt to lighten the mood with a laugh made me respect him even more.

“… I wish you a speedy recovery.”

After exchanging glances with Lee Jae-hyo and Song Ha-eun, I looked around.

Perhaps sensing that I was looking for someone, Lee Jae-hyo spoke up.

“Are you looking for the Mardan Clan Master?”

“Ah, yes. Commander Ha Yu-ri isn’t here, so…”

“Hmm…”

I could sense something troubling in Lee Jae-hyo’s expression.

“… What’s wrong?”

“Well… it’s not a big deal, but after the battle, the Mardan Clan Master’s condition seemed… off.”

“Off, how?”

Lee Jae-hyo pointed in a direction.

“I don’t know the details. But if you head that way, you’ll probably see. The Mardan Clan members took Ha Yu-ri there.”