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[Chapter 171]

[Crimson Wings]

Noh Eun-ha had died.

The rumor that broke out in Jung-gu spread throughout Gangbuk in an instant.

The speed at which the rumor spread was unstoppable, and even Pandora Clan members couldn't help but hear it.

"Eun-ha... died?"

""""...."""

"Just now... It's telepathy from Hanseong Clan. They say at dawn today, Eun-ha... died in a joint attack by Ye-gyeong and Caesar Hopper..."

"That's impossible... It can't be..."

""""Ha-yang!!""""

Temporary Pandora Clan hall.

People in the hall couldn't maintain composure hearing the rumor.

Ha-yang, who was commanding the frontline in Yongsan-gu, couldn't readily accept the news Seo-na received by telepathy.

But Seo-na, who spoke with red-rimmed eyes, just kept her mouth shut and bowed her head.

Eventually Jung Ha-yang collapsed.

"Ah... I can't... breathe..."

"Ha-yang...! Slowly... breathe slowly. You're just too shocked. Here, hold my hand and breathe with me."

She suddenly had difficulty breathing, startling the clan members.

Cha Eun-woo who was nearby ran over and supported her.

Jung Ha-yang who barely regained her breath was dazed.

And Noh Eun-ah─

"─Seo-na, tell me. What did you say? Say it again. I think I heard wrong. And I think Hanseong Clan must have relayed it wrong..." "It's not just... Hanseong Clan. Now... clans in Jung-gu keep... sending telepathy..." """"....""" "While trying to block Ye-gyeong's bombardment... It seems he fell unconscious and crashed... Jung-gu clans say they'll try to find Eun-ha's body somehow..."

Noh Eun-ah denied reality.

She interrogated Jin Seo-na with a fierce face.

Jin Seo-na whose shoulders were tightly gripped by her hands finally burst into tears and relayed the news.

Sparks kept occurring between her triangular ears.

"...I'm sorry. For pressuring you unnecessarily..."

Only then did Eun-ah realize her mistake.

That Seo-na was receiving news of Noh Eun-ha's death from unknown people even at this moment.

And that she was relaying Noh Eun-ha's death news to clan members here while suppressing her emotions.

Eun-ah hugged Jin Seo-na.

She hugged Eun-ah back.

Noh Eun-ah finally burst into tears she had been holding back.

""""...."""

It was the same for other clan members.

They were people who had followed Noh Eun-ha.

They had to swallow their anger with red-rimmed eyes at Noh Eun-ha's death.

Right then─

"─Ah!"

Jin Seo-na who had been crying for a while suddenly perked up her triangular ears.

Her exclamation was so loud that people's gazes turned to her.

Jin Seo-na's face brightened rapidly, and she spread the good news.

"It's a message from Myeongdong Cathedral! They're currently protecting <Swift Sword> Noh Eun-ha! Though his condition is quite serious, someone named Riya is in charge of treating Eun-ha!"

""""...!!""""

"It seems he's already passed the critical moment, so now we just have to wait until he regains consciousness!"

News that lifted and dropped their souls.

Clan members who had burst into tears paused looking at each other.

Soon, they all laughed loudly together.

"Well... He's not one to die. It wouldn't be strange even if he came back alive from hell, how could he die..."

"I knew it from the start! How could that Noh Eun-ha really die!?"

Mok Min-ho spoke calmly with a smile on his face.

Jin Pa-rang, who had been the first among the men to get excited, snorted with a hmph.

Other people's reactions weren't much different.

They visibly relaxed and wiped their chests.

And Ryu Yeon-hwa, who had kept her mouth shut while hearing news of Noh Eun-ha─

"─Anyway, it's true that Eun-ha was jointly attacked and brought to the brink of death by those creatures."

""""...."""

Thud.

She hit the floor with her spear shaft.

Her gaze was infinitely sharp, and soon starting with her, the clan members' gazes turned fierce.

"Then we should pay them back as much as Eun-ha suffered."

Han Chang-jin, who was leaning against the wall, expressed the clan members' thoughts.

Ryu Yeon-hwa nodded.

Fighting spirit sprouted in the clan members' eyes.

Even Ha-yang and Eun-ah who had fallen into despair burned with fighting spirit.

☆

Severe pain kept coming.

Pain like his soul was being torn apart.

It felt like beasts were tearing at his soul like they were tearing flesh.

Eun-ha had to keep feeling them biting at him without being able to resist at all.

"...Ugh...! It hurts, it hurts..."

Though he thought he was used to enduring pain.

The pain of something like his soul being bitten, not his body, was different.

Eventually Eun-ha couldn't endure the pain and spit out words that it hurt.

Then, someone spoke to him.

"Of course it hurts. How could it not hurt when you're injured like this? Just stay still for a bit. Once this is over, it will hurt less."

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts...!"

"Where's the spirit you showed when you spoke harshly to me last time? Bear with it a little. I can only treat you if you stay still."

It was a voice gently admonishing.

Eun-ha who was floating in darkness just tried to endure the pain relying on the voice coming from somewhere.

Then as the pain gradually decreased, he could feel a sense of liberation.

It felt like he had taken off all the shackles binding him.

It's comfortable... I want to rest deeply like this.

How much had he pushed his body until now.

How much had he whipped himself.

Eun-ha floating in darkness could take a comfortable rest.

"─You did well enduring. Now rest deeply."

A warm voice embraced him.

Eun-ha fell into a deep sleep.

☆

"..."

It felt like he had slept deeply for a long time.

When he opened his eyes, it was a room surrounded by white curtains on all sides.

Eun-ha blinked.

"Where is this... ugh..."

As he painfully raised his upper body.

Pain assaulted him.

Eun-ha only then realized he was tightly wrapped in bandages.

There was no place not wrapped in bandages.

He grasped his condition and looked down.

"Mnya..."

"...Why is this kid sleeping here?"

Ariel was lying face down sleeping on the bed he had been lying on.

Eun-ha poked the pink head with his bandaged hand.

"Hey, wake up. What's going on..." "Mm... I want to sleep more." "...Alright, sleep."

Ariel was immovable.

She seemed to be in a deep sleep.

Eun-ha gave up on the thought of waking her and looked around.

Is this a hospital?

From my memory, I think I ended up like this while facing Ye-gyeong...

He couldn't readily recall.

The last thing Eun-ha remembered was Buldak trying somehow to save him as he fell to the ground.

When that thought occurred to him─

"─Buldak, where did this kid go? The pass isn't connecting..."

Buldak wasn't visible.

Usually he could infer where Buldak was through the pass, but the pass wasn't connecting.

The pass was cut off.

Eun-ha's expression darkened.

It was then.

Slide

The sliding door opened.

Riya entered the room.

"─Ah, you woke up?"

"...Riya?"

"When did I ever tell you my name... Well, what does it matter now. I know your name very well too. Still, I'm older than you, what's with speaking informally?"

"Is this Mana Church then?" "Yes, it's the Mana Church you so denounced." "..."

"It's quite funny, isn't it? How do you feel being treated in Mana Church now, someone like you?"

"You saved me?"

"This person, speaking informally to the end... Yes, I picked you up falling from the sky and treated you for hours without rest, you know? You were really lucky. You fell into Mana Church's back garden so I discovered you."

<Holy Maiden of the Church> Riya.

She put down bandages and towels and checked Eun-ha's condition.

Eun-ha let her put her hands on his body without hesitation.

"...Thank you. For saving me." "That's unexpected. You seemed like someone who wouldn't express gratitude."

"Even if I dislike Mana Church, I know I should be grateful if I received help."

"Oh, is that so? I'm glad to hear words of thanks from an atheist."

Riya chuckled.

Then she started changing his bandages.

Eun-ha entrusted his body to her.

I received this person's help again...

This is the second time.

Eun-ha who had received her help before the regression self-deprecated in his mind.

Though he had resolved not to get involved with Mana Church anymore.

He found it very funny that he had survived through her treatment.

"By the way, how is this kid here?"

"I relayed the news that you were being treated here. First I delivered it to the Mana Management Organization, then I told Pandora Clan earlier too. That person... came crying after I delivered the news to the Mana Management Organization."

Eun-ha glanced at Ariel.

When he stroked her hair, her eyes were very swollen.

It was a sign that she had cried loudly.

"She was very noisy, but she's been sticking by your side continuously since your treatment ended until now."

"The crybaby must have worried a lot."

"Crybaby?" "She cries well and throws tantrums."

"Now that you mention it, she does seem like that. She's quite the crybaby."

"Right?"

Riya burst into light laughter.

Eun-ha raised the corners of his mouth.

Soon Riya changed all of Eun-ha's bandages.

She picked up the fallen blanket and covered Ariel's back.

"Ah, that's right. You woke up at a good time." "Why?"

"This was with you when you fell. It seems to be an artifact, but I've been keeping it because it was awkward to keep by your side. Here." "..."

Riya bent her waist.

She took out an egg the size of a human head from the box she had brought earlier.

She handed it to Eun-ha.

Eun-ha slowly stroked the egg with his bandaged hand.

"...Thank you. I was looking for where this kid went."

"What comes out of this?"

"Didn't you see last time? The red bird that thinks my head is its home." "Ah, that bird. It looked cute."

"Buldak would be happy to hear that."

"...Its name is Buldak? Why did you name it that?"

"Ask the kid lying face down sleeping there about that. She named it." "The crybaby must have done wrong."

"The crybaby did wrong." "Mnya..."

"But doesn't it roll off the tongue nicely?"

"I don't know about that, but I won't forget it."

Level 3 monster Phoenix.

Monsters with mana stones die when their mana stone is destroyed.

But for familiars based on the Phoenix, death didn't exist.

When they receive a near-fatal blow, they transform into an egg and wait for the day to be born again.

Eun-ha knew because he had seen Kang Hyeon-cheol's familiar die and revive before the regression.

Of course, if destroyed in egg state, then it would really die...

Riya kept it well.

On the other hand, when returning to egg state, previous contracts become invalid.

So you have to make a contract again.

Hearing from Riya, she said she didn't flow mana into the egg.

Eun-ha felt relieved.

"Thank you for protecting me."

If it weren't for Buldak.

Perhaps he would have died right there falling victim to Ye-gyeong's magic.

Also, he might not have been guided here when he lost consciousness and fell.

Eun-ha said thank you to Buldak who saved him even sacrificing itself, and flowed mana into the egg.

Right then─

"─Ugh...!"

"You're not fully healed yet, you know? Your mana circuits are tangled in a mess, so that happens when you use mana. You need absolute rest."

He stopped flowing mana midway.

He felt pain like the blood in his body was burning.

Also, a sensation like something fine in his mana circuits was interfering with mana flow.

Eun-ha who couldn't endure the pain stopped flowing mana.

"How long do I need to rest to recover?" "For life."

"Don't joke around."

"You need to rest for at least 1 year. Do you know how serious your condition is right now? Saying for life isn't wrong either. You'll have aftereffects and won't be able to use magic properly..."

"...1 year is too long. The army will surely invade again tonight, how can I rest like this? Can't you fix it in one day?" "If I could fix it in one day, wouldn't I be God?"

"..." "Well... Though I can use healing magic using Mana God's power, there are treatments that need time. Take absolute rest." "I can't do that. Even if it's a potion..."

"Your body needs to rely on natural healing ability, not potions or magic. Potions and magic just borrow healing ability from the future..."

"I don't care." "Your body is at its limit now. There's no healing ability left to borrow from the future. If you do any more, you could die..." "I don't care."

"Take. Absolute. Rest."

"...!!"

Eun-ha was stubborn.

Riya who had been admonishing calmly openly sighed.

An image unlike the <Holy Maiden of the Church>.

She suddenly pushed Eun-ha down onto the bed.

"Listen to me. Just rest a bit." "The army is coming..." "No, can't they stop the army without you? Why are you trying to do everything alone?"

"..."

"You had plenty to say to me before, but you're going to push yourself like this?"

Riya's grumbling.

Eun-ha became speechless.

Riya smirked seeing he couldn't refute.

"Even without you, other people will resolve things well. So just eat this and rest."

Riya rummaged under the bed.

A snack box came out.

Choco Pie and Mon Cher.

She held up two and asked.

"Choco Pie? Mon Cher? Which do you want to eat?" "...Give me Mon Cher." "I'll acknowledge you have good taste."

Riya handed over Mon Cher.

She unwrapped it and put it in his mouth.

Then she ate a Mon Cher too.

"Ironically, this is the only place I can rest now since it's chaotic outside the hospital room. It's the only time I can eat snacks too." "...It's delicious."

"It is. It's really delicious eating while resting for a moment. Though I have to go back to work after eating this."

The two munched on Mon Cher.

They chatted casually.

"Ah! Noh Eun-ha! You woke up!? I'm not dreaming right now, right!?"

"Yes, I woke up. Thanks for nursing me all this time."

At that moment, Ariel woke up.

Ariel, who had been sleeping while drooling, looked over Eun-ha's condition this way and that.

Then she spotted him eating snacks.

"How mean to eat alone! Give me one too!"

"Here, eat." "We have plenty, so eat."

Ariel grabbed a snack.

She must have been hungry as she ate hurriedly.

The two laughed seeing her eat with chocolate smeared around her mouth.

Then Eun-ha recalled a memory.

─Come to think of it, hopper-type monsters were crazy about chocolate.

He finally remembered.

How the crazy squid had lured Caesar Hopper's army in his previous life.

It was such an absurd strategy, but it ultimately succeeded.

Eun-ha, who finally recalled his previous life's memory, stuck out his tongue.

"Well then, I'll get going now, so Miss Crybaby please nurse him well." "Crybaby?"

"I'll be going."

Eventually Riya got up.

Ariel tilted her head.

The two didn't answer her question.

Like that, Eun-ha spent time chatting casually with Ariel.

And when lunchtime passed─

"─Someone rushed here worried, but you're happily eating Choco Pies?"

"I knew it would be like this, I just knew it! Pay me back for my tears!"

Jin Seo-na and Kim Min-ji.

The two came to visit.