Chapter 188

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on January 2, 2025

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Yoo Ju sensed the hurried footsteps approaching her office.

Thud!

“…Ms. Ho-yeon?”

“Master…”

Yoo Ju felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

Well, it was understandable. Wi Ho-yeon had rushed to her office with a frantic expression.

It was obvious that something had happened.

Just like when they were attacked by the Outlaws before.

Suppressing her pounding heart, Yoo Ju asked Ho-yeon, “What’s going on?”

“…Lee Yun-seong hasn’t returned to the Clan House since yesterday after leaving with Woo Seo-heun.”

She felt relieved that it wasn’t an attack or kidnapping, but something felt off about the situation.

“…What do you mean? Are you saying Yoon-seong went out overnight with Seo-heun?”

The thought of him staying out with another woman, not Ho-yeon, made her chest tighten.

As she clenched her teeth inwardly, Ho-yeon quickly spoke up, as if understanding what Yoo Ju was thinking.

“No, it’s not like that. It’s not that kind of issue. It’s something much more serious, Master.”

“What…”

“…Lee Yun-seong left a note.”

“A note?”

Yoo Ju took the note from Ho-yeon and began reading it.

The problem was the content of the note. The more she read, the more her expression hardened.

Her hands even started trembling.

“Is… is this true? Then…”

“…We haven’t confirmed it yet. But the fact that he hasn’t returned yet…”

“…This… this doesn’t make sense. Are you saying Woo Seo-heun is suspected of being from the Execution Society? And that Yoon-seong went out alone to test her? Is this really true?”

At Yoo Ju’s words, Ho-yeon bowed her head in shame and replied, “…Given that he hasn’t returned yet, it seems certain that something has happened to Lee Yun-seong.”

“Sigh… What on earth were you doing, Ho-yeon?”

Immediately after, Ho-yeon bit her lip and knelt before Yoo Ju.

“I’m sorry, so sorry. I have no excuse. I will save Lee Yun-seong even if it costs me my life.”

“Of course, of course you should. This isn’t the time for this. Gather all the other clan members immediately. Contact anyone who can help.”

******

“Phew… phew…”

In a private training hall, a woman in martial arts attire was sweating profusely as she trained her stamina.

Her sweat-soaked hair and attire might make her look messy at first glance, but anyone who saw her would never think that.

Instead, her determined eyes and the way she threw punches exuded beauty and charisma.

The sound of someone running into the training hall echoed.

“Yeon, Yeon unnie!”

“Haah… What? Why are you so flustered? I told you not to disturb me during training.”

Park Seo-hwa saw Yoon Yeon, who was hammering a large iron block with her slender frame, but that wasn’t important right now.

“Something big has happened! This isn’t the time for training!”

“…What?”

Yoon Yeon stopped her training at Seo-hwa’s words. If she was making such a fuss, it couldn’t be something trivial.

“…What’s going on?”

“Well… Eternity has requested support.”

‘Support?’

This was the first time Eternity had requested support from the Myth Clan since Lee Yun-seong was attacked by the Outlaws.

“What kind of support? What did Eternity say?”

“Well, let me summarize it for you. It seems that a spy from the Execution Society has infiltrated Eternity, and that spy is suspected of kidnapping Lee Yun-seong… sir.”

“What?”

Crunch—

The training equipment in Yoon Yeon’s hands crumpled instantly.

“…Kidnapped? Not an attack, but a kidnapping? Isn’t the Sword Monarch supposed to be guarding him?”

Yoon Yeon couldn’t understand.

It was common knowledge among those in the know that Yoo Ju, the master of Eternity, cared deeply for Lee Yun-seong.

Enough to assign the Sword Monarch as his guard.

With the Sword Monarch by his side, kidnapping should be nearly impossible. Especially since Eternity has many other skilled individuals besides the Sword Monarch.

Unless he willingly offered himself up for kidnapping, it should be almost impossible.

“Well… I’m not sure. From what I heard, Lee Yun-seong went out alone with the spy to test her, and then something happened…”

‘Ha, that idiot…!’

She knew he had a tendency to throw himself into dangerous situations, but she never expected him to go out without any guards.

“Then what were the other clan members doing while the spy was in Eternity? And who is this kidnapper anyway?”

“A woman named Woo Seo-heun… She recently officially joined Eternity.”

“Sigh… So you’re saying she’s a spy sent by the Execution Society?”

“Yes, but…”

“…..”

“Unnie… are you okay?”

“…What?”

“Your… expression…”

At Seo-hwa’s words, Yoon Yeon unconsciously touched her face.

“……”

“Unnie, what should we do? Lee Yun-seong, sir…”

“…We have to save him.”

“Ah… Then how many parties should we send? The parties currently at the Clan House are…”

“No, I’ll go myself.”

“…Huh?”

“I’ll go personally.”

“W-wait a minute. We don’t know how long this will take, and if you go, what about the clan…”

“You handle it.”

With that, Yoon Yeon started walking. To save that foolish man.

“Huh? W-wait, wait! Yeon unnie!”

******

“…Yul, how’s your body been lately? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, unnie. I’m fine now. No need to worry so much.”

Ha Yu-ri couldn’t feel reassured even with her sister’s answer. After all, what her sister had gone through was no ordinary matter.

Her sister, who had been miraculously recovered. She would do anything for her sister, and she couldn’t help but focus on her sister’s safety.

She hadn’t officially announced her sister’s existence yet.

Of course, some within the clan knew about Yul. It was impossible to keep it a complete secret.

But those who knew were all tight-lipped. It was only natural to keep them quiet.

“Hehe, unnie! By the way, I’ve gotten really strong, right? Did you see me in action in the dungeon?”

“…Yeah. Our Yul is really strong.”

Perhaps because she was being praised by her older sister, Ha Yul smiled brightly.

Ha Yul’s condition was now practically back to normal, and she had even gone on light dungeon runs with Ha Yu-ri.

It was just a moment ago that I checked Yul’s condition.

The results were surprisingly impressive. Although her skill in handling power still has a lot of room for improvement, her magical power and firepower are top-tier, even among the upper echelons.

‘But…’

However, Ha Yu-ri couldn’t simply be happy about that.

Because it was a trace of that old monster, Rekalux.

Her younger sister knew about it too, but she deliberately chose not to dwell on it, knowing it would make her sister sad.

‘So admirable… and so sorry.’

It was admirable how Yul worried about her sister despite having her own concerns, and it made Yu-ri feel even more guilty.

“Yul, is there anything you want or need?”

“Hmm… not really?”

“…Don’t hold back. Your sister is capable, so if there’s anything you want, just say it. I’ll do anything for you.”

Ha Yu-ri really meant it—she would do anything for her sister.

“…Well, it’s not something I want, but can I ask something?”

“Of course. What is it?”

“Um… what’s the relationship between you and that guy?”

“Huh?”

Ha Yu-ri couldn’t help but be flustered by her sister’s question.

She never expected her sister to ask something like that, and the question about her relationship with that man…

“Uh, why? I told you before. We’re just friends…”

“Boyfriend?”

“Huh?”

“Is that guy your boyfriend?”

“No, no. What are you talking about?”

Her words stumbled unintentionally. Anyone watching might mistake her for a fool.

“But… sis, whenever you talk to him or about him, you always smile.”

“…What?”

“I thought he was your boyfriend because you always smile when talking about him…”

“…No. But why are you curious about that?”

“Just… he hasn’t been coming around lately.”

Her sister looked a bit down.

It made sense, though. Unlike how he treated her, he was quite warm toward her sister, so it was only natural.

‘…Did he mention having siblings before?’

Maybe it was just her imagination, but she could see genuine concern in his eyes when he looked at her sister.

Even when Yul asked difficult questions or acted tired, he never showed any annoyance, though his true feelings were unclear.

Sometimes, watching him talk to her sister, she even felt a twinge of jealousy.

‘He doesn’t act like that with me…’

Unlike her, who had messed up from the start, Yul was different, so maybe it was natural.

“That guy is really busy… his clan is different, and he has a lot going on.”

“…Then why can’t he join your clan?”

“…Huh?”

“I want to be with you and him…”

“That, that’s…”

As Ha Yu-ri struggled to respond, someone knocked on the door.

“…Clan Master, I have important news. May I come in?”

“…Come in.”

Ha Yu-ri hesitated because Yul was there, but the person knocking already knew about her presence.

“…Excuse me.”

Click.

“What is it?”

Perhaps because her time with her sister was interrupted, Ha Yu-ri’s tone was sharp.

“Well… we’ve received a support request from Eternity.”

“…A support request from Eternity?”

“They say one of their clan members has been kidnapped by the Execution Society.”

“…A clan member?”

Ha Yu-ri suddenly felt her heart race.

There was no guarantee that the clan member was him, but for some reason, she had a strong feeling it was that man.

“Yes, Lee Yun-seong… you know, the one who’s been getting famous lately. He’s the one who talked with you a few times during the Swamp of Oblivion expedition.”

“…..”

“Perhaps they thought you had a close relationship with him, so they sent the request.”

Her subordinate’s report barely registered. Her mind was just blank.

If it were the old her, she would have been happy that something had happened to that man.

After all, if he died or something went wrong… she would be free.

No one knew about their relationship.

But Ha Yu-ri wasn’t happy at all now.

The only emotion she felt was fear.

Fear of losing him, fear of never seeing him again.

“That… I don’t know why they sent a support request to our Mardan Clan, since we’re not allied. Should we decline…”

“No…”

“Huh?”