There stood a lady wearing an ash-colored robe with a pressed-down hood and a balance in one hand. There was an indescribable sense of power behind her words and actions, and she gave off an air of a great giant whose feet stretched over the earth and head looked beyond the sky and space.
—Authority and power come with great responsibility.
La Bella walked toward Hawa. Although it was just a single step, Hawa felt immense pressure, as if her whole body was shrinking.
—If you covet power that isn’t permitted to you, you would have to pay the appropriate price.
Hers was a powerful voice that Hawa couldn’t dare disobey.
—But all you do is covet, and you have no intention of paying the rightful price for the power.
La Bella came to a stop before Hawa. Hawa didn’t even dare raise her head, but she looked up when she heard La Bella’s last sentence.
“I…!” Hawa was about to say something but closed her mouth again. Hidden by the hood, the lady’s eyes couldn’t be seen, yet Hawa felt a gaze that seemed to see through her completely; it made her feel transparent as if her insides were revealed to all.
—What changed?
La Bella asked.
—Why did you try to block the demon’s attack?
The revived demon had tried to shoot a bullet at Chi-Woo, but what was done had been done. Hawa could’ve turned back and run. Since she was told to not get involved, she could’ve watched from afar or even aimed for Zepar’s life at the risk of hers. This was the sort of action Shahnaz Hawa would have chosen to do. Instead, Hawa did something her usual self would’ve never considered. Why was it? She wouldn’t have been able to save Chi-Woo nor block the attack even if she tried.
“…I don’t know.” Hawa shook her head with a confused look on her face. She couldn’t figure it out. She had acted before she could even think, and the only thing clear to her was that she didn’t want Chi-Woo to die. Because…
—Liber is not even in your thoughts. You don’t care what happens to this world, nor do you have some kind of noble purpose.
Hawa flinched at La Bella’s reprimanding tone.
—But if you realize the purpose behind your actions just now…it won’t be too bad.
Hawa raised her head carefully again as La Bella continued.
—Devotion and sacrifice. These are the two things I will be asking for in exchange. Do you understand the meaning of devotion? And are you prepared to make sacrifices?
Hawa’s eyes widened. She finally realized the reason this lady had suddenly appeared in front of her and what she wanted. Yes. Hawa never had any thoughts about devoting and sacrificing herself for Liber one bit. But what if the subject of her devotion wasn’t Liber? What if the subject was someone who would save Liber instead?
“I still…don’t know.” Hawa gained a bit more strength in her voice. “But if you allow me…I will find out.” Hawa said while kneeling on one leg and bowing her head.
—…If that’s really your intention, make a vow.
La Bella requested and Hawa answered immediately. As if she had been waiting for it, Hawa spoke without hesitation, “I will use the power you give me only for him. I will devote myself and sacrifice everything I have for him. I swear it upon the balance beam carried by the goddess of balance!”
* * *
The white world collapsed, and darkness settled down bit by bit. As Hawa’s vision returned to normal, other things followed. Her arms and legs were moving like before, and the bullet was still aiming for Chi-Woo. But in the millisecond, Hawa clearly felt a strange sensation wrapping around her body. Before, it would have been impossible for her to even touch the bullet, but it was different now.
Hawa unconsciously moved the energy to both her legs and feet. Then she kicked off hard from the ground. Her body shot out like an arrow, but she didn’t have enough time to carry Chi-Woo away from the area. Her only choice was to take the hit for him. However, there wasn’t even a tiny bit of hesitation in her movements; she had already sworn to do so in exchange for this power.
“What!?”
Hawa’s action worked even more successfully than expected. Psh! The bullet swerved suddenly and hit the ground. Zepar had changed the trajectory of his bullet when he saw Hawa intervening. And with this, Zepar had lost his one chance to kill Chi-Woo.
‘Damn it!’ Zepar realized his mistake a second too late. He had acted instinctively upon seeing the silver-haired girl jump forth. Like the platinum-haired girl who used fire magic, Zepar also liked this one. It wasn’t only because of her appearance; Zepar liked Hawa’s soul very much too. She had a quality that was rare among humans, and those who had this quality often shone brilliantly in their respective positions and became heroes or saints who carved their names into history. Zepar especially liked corrupting such people and taming them, and nothing pleased him more than ruining great lives and dyeing them with his color. And thus, it was his desire for Hawa that caused Zepar to make this mistake. He should’ve just killed her without paying attention to such things, but he was used to acting on his greed over reason.
“Move aside,” Zepar said in a low voice. “I will let you live. If you stay put, I will show you adoration. Why must you resist when everything is over already?”
Hawa didn’t listen. She simply focused on carrying Chi-Woo.
“Fine. I guess it would be fine even if you are a bit hurt.” Then Zepar shot another bullet, and simultaneously, Hawa jumped while carrying Chi-Woo. Seeing his bullet barely miss the mark again, Zepar grimaced. She shouldn’t have been able to respond so fast. Furthermore, it didn’t make sense that a young lady could run like this while carrying an adult male. This meant only one thing.
“…She’s not a normal human.” Zepar gritted his teeth. He made a decision in the end. Although he lived solely through his greed, he couldn’t do that this time. He had to prioritize killing Chi-Woo over fulfilling his personal greed. “If that’s the case, I will kill the two of you in one go since it’s bothersome.”
Chains shot out of Zepar’s whole body. And with the full intention to kill them this time, he blocked all the routes that Hawa could run to.
“Ah…!” Hawa stopped running when she saw the chains coming from all directions. Even though she had made a contract with La Bella, her awakening was recent. She had only escaped Zepar’s first attack due to Zepar’s own mistake, and the second one by taking advantage of Zepar’s underestimation of her.
‘No.’ But since Zepar had made up his mind to kill her, there wouldn’t be a third escape. She couldn’t escape nor block anymore. Hawa clenched her eyes shut as the chains rushed toward her. She couldn’t do anything but grit her teeth and wrap her arms around Chi-Woo to shield him. It was then she felt a strong whirlwind sweep past her whole body.
“…” She thought she would be ripped to pieces, but her fluttering hair and flapping clothes soon settled, and she didn’t feel any pain.
“Who is it this time…!” Zepar shouted in anger, and Hawa’s mouth widened. She saw a handsome blonde man in front of her.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, Teacher is saved.” Ru Amuh raised his sword and blocked the chains. Although Zepar had the opportunity to kill Chi-Woo two times, he failed because Hawa had risked her life to save him; and these two opportunities brought a bigger one. Ru Amuh wasn’t the only one who came to her aid.
“Yes…” Hawa felt a hand on the top of her head. “Protecting and fighting for someone is the fundamental trait a hero should have.”
Hawa looked up and saw that Chi-Woo had opened his eyes. More exactly, Philip had returned to Chi-Woo’s body after regaining his senses.
“You are awake, sir,” Ru Amuh said while keeping an eye on Zepar. “Are you all right?”
“No…I’m dying…” Philip groaned and smiled bitterly when he noticed that one of Ru Amuh’s arms was dangling.
“You don’t seem to be in a good condition either.”
Ru Amuh smiled awkwardly. His wounds hadn’t healed yet from his fight with Astarte.
“Ppyu.” A blue lump climbed to his shoulder and handed him something.
“This is...a talisman.” It was the talisman that Chi-Woo treasured very much, saying that he only had three left. They would be able to erase all traces of this demon with this talisman for sure.
“No, it’s fine.” But Philip shook his head. “Put it back. The last time I saw him use that, he murmured some kind of incantation. I don’t know how to use it.”
“Ppyu…” Steam Bun stretched out a bottle as if it was telling Philip to use the holy water then, but Philip turned that away too. Talisman and holy water were both great items, but they were finite resources, and they were incredibly rare with limited ways to replenish. Of course, no matter how precious an item was, it wasn’t more precious than one’s life, but Philip saw the hovering message that Chi-Woo hadn’t had the time to turn off and knew what his intention was.
‘This guy wants to rush through head-on without borrowing any other power.’ Philip wasn’t sure what it was, but he knew Chi-Woo must have come up with something. There was no way his heart would be pounding so hard otherwise. Thus, the only thing Philip should do right now was buy time until Chi-Woo was finished with his preparation for whatever he had planned. After spitting on the ground, Philip spoke, “Ru Amuh? Could you buy me some time?”
“Do you have some ideas?”
“Don’t know. Just trust me right now.”
“I see. You aren’t Teacher.”
Philip flinched.
“Teacher doesn’t speak like that,” Ru Amuh continued.
“…”
“He doesn’t spit anywhere nor stagger haughtily like you. He is someone who is always full of poise and grace.”
“…Ah, I see.” Philip scratched his head. “But can we just move on from that right now? Considering the situation.”
“I understand. If I buy some time, Teacher will return, and we can win this battle, right?”
“Yeah. You sure are smart.”
“Then…!” Ru Amuh quickly moved before he could even finish replying because Zepar, who had been on high alert since Ru Amuh’s appearance, suddenly launched an attack.
“And you, the silver-haired kid?” Philip turned around as he heard a violent clash and said, “Can you do me a favor?”
Hawa looked at Philip from afar as he grabbed Steam Bun. Philip said, “You see those two, right?” Philip pointed at the unconscious Jin-Cheon and Apoline. “Both of them are completely out of it right now, but I guess this is better than nothing. Anyway, I’m sure there are some healing potions in this guy.” Philip threw Steam Bun at Hawa and continued, “They’re potions made by a hot mage named Shadia, and their effects are killer. You get what I’m saying, right?”
Hawa nodded. Grabbing Steam Bun, she quickly ran towards Apoline and Jin-Cheon.
“…Good.”
Hawa reached them in an instant and took the healing potions from Steam Bun. Philip then extended a hand toward the blonde man now locked in a fierce battle with Zepar. “Let’s go another round!”
Swish! The ghost-busting club flew through the air, and Philip caught it. Then…
* * *
When Chi-Woo regained his senses, he was confused for a moment. He couldn’t feel or sense his body. His vision was also lower than usual by half his height.
“…You up?”
Chi-Woo finally understood the situation after hearing Philip’s voice. He realized that Philip had taken control of his body, and he was sitting against the wall with his hands on his abdomen.
‘Why…?’
“What do you mean why?” Philip groaned and said, “This is the result of us working our asses off and doing whatever the hell we can while you were completely out.” The word disastrous could not fully describe the view that Chi-Woo shared with Philip. Everyone’s condition looked extremely critical from a glance. The only one who was still standing on both feet was Ru Amuh, but even his fierce resistance was almost reaching its end.
Philip said, “It’s all for you.” The reason why Jin-Cheon rushed toward Zepar like a wild dog and got skewered with a chain. The reason why all of Apoline’s fingers got torn and bloody from squeezing out every drop of mana. The reason why both of Hawa’s ankles turned 180 degrees while trying to heal them both—
“It was all to protect you.”
Chi-Woo became speechless.
“But…it’s good that you’re not too late…” Philip smiled softly and got up with a groan. “Now, it’s your turn to feel responsible and show us.” He raised his club and said, “Show us the reason why we sacrificed for you.”
Ru Amuh could no longer hold out and fell, and Zepar turned towards them. “You bastard! You’re still…!” Chi-Woo had no idea what had transpired between Philip and Zepar while he was out, but Zepar looked aghast and quickly turned to Chi-Woo. Ru Amuh ran towards Zepar again, trying to stop him with everything he had, but Zepar was in a similar mindset.
—Aghhh!
Zepar changed into a spirit and passed through Ru Amuh, and Ru Amuh’s body collapsed as his soul was taken away. Philip watched Zepar’s spirit rush towards them and said, “Well, before you return to this body, brace yourself.” Weakly, Philip continued, “You have one chance.”
—Please just fucking dieeeeee!
“This is…really the last time.”
Bam! Zepar’s spirit passed through Philip, and his soul came out.
—Ugh…!
Zepar, who had exited Chi-Woo’s body with Philip’s soul, struggled in pain as his whole body burned in the after effect of interfering with another person’s soul. He hadn’t ever imagined that he would be pushed to a corner to this extent, but now, it was all over. Earlier, he had been caught off guard because he thought the battle had ended, but he wasn’t going to lower his guard this time. Zepar endured the pain and looked back, and as expected, he saw Chi-Woo staggering and trying to balance himself. There was no need to say anything more. Zepar immediately cast aside Ru Amuh and Philip’s soul and prepared to charge again. If he could catch that bastard, if he could deal with that guy, it really would all be over.
At that moment, Chi-Woo regained control of his body and heard a familiar sound even as he felt intense pain throughout his body. It was the same notification that rang whenever he was on the verge of dying.
[New ability derived from inherent skill, ‘Core of Balance’]
[Inherent skill, ‘Breakthrough’, has been created.]
A lifeline fell in front of him.