Chapter 212: Distance of Touching Breaths: Pervading in (3)
That day, only Yu Jitae and Bom were inside Unit 301.
Yeorum went off for her lesson early in the morning. Gyeoul was at her elementary school while Kaeul had left for a nearby spirit beast cafe with the baby chicken, Chirpy. It seemed that she was also playing with the spirit beast pets of other people there.
Thus, Unit 301 was empty during lunch time and the protector had just sought his permission to take a walk on the back mountain since the weather was fine today. As the protector of the Green Dragon, it liked being surrounded by nature and would therefore be enjoying the nature outside in the restricted area around the mountain.
And Bom…
-…
-…? …
She seemed to be having a chat with someone over the phone.
Who could it be? Although he wasn’t interested in eavesdropping to someone else’s phone call, he decided to check the voice at the very least, considering her current state of mind.
– Of course. My husband really loved it. He would always peek inside like a cat whenever I was baking bread.
“Really? What kind of bread?”
It was a familiar voice – the voice of an old woman. It was Li Hwa.
After identifying the person, Yu Jitae stopped eavesdropping. He felt as if Bom was letting him know of her survival after 10 days of silence and that was more than enough.
In his free time, he entered [Shallows of the Abyss (S)]. White translucent hands approached him and bent their wrists. Since it was a daily routine, the hands of the abyss brought Jung Taebaek’s corpse to Yu Jitae without him having to say anything.
Sitting in front of Taebaek, he laid his hand on top of the corpse of the child, that was being stored safely.
Then, he manipulated his mana to remove the fragments of the chimera that had merged with the existence one by one.
It was a tedious and tough task that required a lot of caution. The fragments of a chimera were like hundreds of thousands of fine fishing hooks stabbing into the body, and there were lots to consider even when trying to remove one of them.
The dead did not have a will of its own and a corpse was therefore prone to losing mana. The same was for Jung Taebaek’s corpse. Because of that, it was weak and fragile and one small mistake would cause an irrecoverable wound.
He was the only existence on Earth that could undertake a task like this. Carefully and slowly, Yu Jitae moved his hands.
It was when he was removing a small fur of the chimera from the red pupils of the child.
Clone 2’s will echoed his brain.
‘M, my lord…! There is a serious problem!’
***
A few minutes ago,
Clone 2 was in the 280th floor underground of the Southern Boreal Forest. It was slightly above the 290th floor where the witch was residing. Since he often spotted human-like subhuman races living in this area, he was planning to find it and wear its skin before returning to the witch.
A young man around 15 years of age who was strong enough to be acknowledged by the witch. A human like that had never existed even within the history of Yu Jitae’s regressions.
That was why Clone 2 was unable to predict that things would turn out like this.
Clink…
Five Death Knights appeared in front of him. In jet-black armour and a broadsword as large as a human body. Their swords glistened under the sunlight.
Among them was also an Over Class, a High Rank Death Knight. Wearing a black helmet with golden ornaments decorating it, it was one of the highest ranked guardians that was as strong as an SS ranked monster. Even two-digit rankers would find it hard to beat them 1 on 1.
It surrounded Clone 2 along with the other Death Knights.
“What are you guys?” Clone 2 asked.
“Sorry but you must come with us to our lord.”
“Why should I?”
“Our lord wishes to see you.”
“And what? That’s her problem. What if I don’t want to go?”
“I was not asking for your opinion.”
Clank– The Death Knights lifted their greatswords and postured themselves.
A long crevice appeared on the arms of the Over Class Death Knight. It revealed a complicated mechanic structure as it soon turned into something resembling a ballista. Its height reached 3.5 metres and the steel arrow in its body was also as big as a human.
It looked like a siege weapon and appeared like a Level 3 artifact at worst.
A cold bead of sweat travelled down the clone’s back.
“Crazy… Is Valentine that kind of person? A devil that t, tries to kidnap young children!?”
“Shut up–! Do you not realise how much of an honour it is!”
The Over Class pointed the ballista at Clone 2.
“Speak. Will you walk there with us?”
The large and bizarre arrow with thorns covering its tip was pointing at his legs.
“Or will you lose your legs and be carried there.”
Clone 2 gulped. Till now, he had never fought with his life on the line. If he were to fight against all of them at the same time, he might be forced to put his life on the line.
“I, I get it…”
“Hooh. Really?”
“Of course not! You bastards!”
Immediately after his words, the boy quickly turned around but the opponent was already expecting it. The Over Class shot an arrow that was as fast as a missile. It disappeared from sight and was right behind him by the time it reappeared.
The boy stepped hard onto the ground and jumped up high. The arrow barely missed his feet but the pressure caused by the shot twisted his ankles.
“Catch him–!”
In mid-air after the jump, Clone 2 observed the large artificial garden of the 280th underground floor.
It wasn’t the best location. There weren’t any flowing rivers nor caves to hide in and the trees of the forest were neither too high nor too low. No matter where his eyes scanned, he couldn’t find anywhere he could hide in.
“Come here right now–!” shouted the Death Knight.
Left with no other choice, Clone 2 raised his hand into the air. Cutting through the dimension, a longsword slipped out.
He was commanded to preserve his energy as much as possible but there was nothing else he could do. In order to protect his chastity (?) he had to swing his sword.
Afterwards, a fierce battle continued for roughly 20 minutes.
A sword strike exploded parts of the forest while an arrow cut off hills. One of them rolling on the ground created a cloud of dust enough to cover the sky.
Although he could only use 2% of Yu Jitae’s powers, Clone 2 was not weaker than the Death Knights. Four knights were crushed before long and were rolling on the ground.
Right when he was about to drive the final blow by striking the metal helmet of the Over Class,
Tuung–!
“Kuk!”
An arrow suddenly struck him on his thigh. Like a person being struck by a car, his body flew dozens of metres.
Was that an arrow? The sound it created when it struck him was strange. It made something like a crushing sound… So where was the arrow?
Looking down, Clone 2 felt stifled. The spherical bone connecting the femur and the pelvis – his caput femoris had been totally crushed. Fragments of the broken bone ripped through his skin and were out in the open but he wasn’t bleeding that much. Large chips of his bone were blocking his veins.
“…!”
Barely withstanding the shock and standing firmly on the ground, the parts around the wound screamed out in pain. It was painful and he almost lost his balance and ended up on the floor. To stop his tears from flowing out, the clone gritted his teeth.
That was when a chill went down his spine. The clone immediately turned around with a flick and swung the sword down.
A fissure was created there without him even realising it and the upper body of the witch was protruding out from it. His sword was easily caught by the witch.
I thought the witch was lonely…!
I thought she wanted someone to talk to…!
I thought she wasn’t going to hurt me…!
After a faint speck of resentment flashed past his head, Clone 2 quickly shouted towards his lord, that there was a problem.
Along with a decadent smile, the witch pushed her body forward whilst licking her lips. Unable to escape, Clone 2 had to decide on an extreme move.
“S, stop–! Do not come near me!”
He pointed the sword at the part between his legs.
“What are you doing…?”
“T, try coming any closer. Okay?! Try it! Take one more step and it w, won’t be any fun…!”
In response, the witch slowly lifted her hands into the air and stopped on the spot. Collecting his breath, Clone 2 distanced himself from the witch but the smile deepened on her lips.
“Boy. Put that sinister thing down.”
“Huk, huk…”
“If something were to happen to your precious body, this noona will not feel very comfortable.”
“…”
“Hnn? Calm yourself down and do not be irrational.”
The witch’s voice sounded like a mature nanny soothing down an immature child. Hesitantly, Clone 2 opened his mouth.
“If you touch me, my lord will come for you.”
“What?”
“H, he’s really strong. You might die.”
“Is that so? Huhuh. Huhuhuh…”
The witch sluggishly smiled.
Oh no. Thinking back, the clone remembered how the witch immediately committed suicide after being threatened in one of the previous iterations.
“O, or this…!”
When he placed the longsword between his legs again, the witch slowly shook her head.
“Boy. It seems you are misunderstanding me. I am not interested in your body.”
“What?”
“What I am interested in is you. You, who is so strong at such a young age. You yourself, who is extremely cute.”
“…”
“So you can relax and come here. I will heal your legs for you.”
Her sweet voice comforted his ears.
No… but for some reason, it sounded like a lie.
– For now listen to the witch’s requests but also ask for some distance.
That was when his lord gave him the command.
‘My lord. I, I am terrified.’
– It’s alright. I will watch over you. Don’t worry. I will immediately cancel the Shadow of Archduke once the situation goes south.
‘I, I understand!’
His lord was watching over him! Thinking that, Clone 2 felt less frightened. After breathing in and out, Clone 2 calmed himself down and opened his mouth.
“There is a condition.”
“Speak.”
“We ask each other for one thing at a time, with what we both want. Or I will run away.”
“And can we refuse?” The witch asked.
“If it is too much, then yes.”
“Hmm… Good. Let us do so.”
Silently, the two of them kept to themselves while thinking of something to request. The witch was the first to open her mouth.
“I will heal you, so sit on my lap.”
Crazy… Was she serious!?
However, his lord didn’t say anything back which meant that it was fine to do so. He gulped as his heart began to race.
“My request is for you to not touch my body.”
“I see.”
“Y, you’re promising me to not touch me right?”
“That is what I said.”
Only after getting the confirmation did Clone 2 carefully walk up to her. His broken leg couldn’t properly move so he had to stagger his way there.
When Clone 2 walked up to her, a large rose bloomed from the ground in front of Valentine and blossomed like a bed. Sitting there, the witch waited for Clone 2.
“Oh my… it must hurt a lot.”
“Please don’t act like you’re feeling compassionate! You are a devil! Who’s the one that made me like this?”
“Let me apologise. I have hurt you.”
“Hu…”
“I was not expecting you to be so obstinate… Let this noona apologise once again.”
Nervously, Clone 2 carefully sat perpendicularly on the witch’s lap.
The witch was a very big woman, enough to make Clone 2 appear like a child. When she reached her hand towards the boy’s pelvis, something gentle and warm came flowing out and began healing his broken bone.
Clone 2 found it difficult to maintain his sanity. He could feel the body of the witch touching all over his body and the fragrant scent of the flower was too sweet on his nose. It wasn’t that much and yet was very stimulating.
His bone and flesh began connecting again – it was an incredible healing magic. After a few minutes, she opened her mouth.
“Boy.”
“Yes?”
“Should we go on to the second ‘request’ now?”
“…Yes. But I will be going first this time.”
In order to take the initiative, Clone 2 shouted with a loud voice but the witch simply smiled contently and gazed at him.
“Please tell me what you want from me apart from my body.”
“Good. But have a chat with me before that.”
In the distance of touching breaths, the witch requested as such.
*
“…”
Overlooking the situation, Yu Jitae pressed on his temples. He had just returned to Unit 301.
It was becoming a very bothersome situation.
There were 2 reasons why one should not give their body to the witch. One was because the scent of the witch was more addictive than any aphrodisiac in the world.
The second was because she stole the essence of the mana whenever one gave their body to the witch. This was the trait of the lord of the abyss that she made a contract with.
The witch wasn’t a demon.
However, she was a similar existence to a catastrophe-ranked demon. A human resembling a quagmire.
The Regressor pondered.
Power would only allow him to crush her neck. Abilities like mind control didn’t work on her either. It was only because she was a human that strong and unique, that Yu Jitae was seeking for her help in the first place.
The witch didn’t have any lingering attachment to life, so using her life to threaten her wouldn’t work.
The witch didn’t have any precious humans so threatening her with a hostage wouldn’t work either.
To solve this situation, he had to somehow persuade the witch using words and actions. However, persuading people using just words was something he did not know how to accomplish.
The reality was that the Regressor couldn’t even properly reconcile two angry young girls.
Creak…
That was when Bom walked out after opening the door of her room.
After carefully peeking her head outside the door, she glanced around before looking into Yu Jitae’s eyes. For the time being, he had time while the witch was healing Clone 2, so Yu Jitae walked towards her.
“You feeling a bit better now?”
Bom shook her head. Though she was looking into his eyes, she appeared to be gazing at a place further away.
“Then why are you out already.”
“…”
She was silent.
“Did you see something?”
Bom fidgeted with the hair that was reaching below her chest. Her fingers were fidgety and so was her gaze. He didn’t know why she was like this but she appeared somewhat embarrassed for some reason.
Soon, she asked with a soft voice.
“Do you need help…?”
Help with what?
That was what he initially thought but something immediately popped up inside his head. Now that he was thinking about it, there wasn’t anyone better than her in terms of dealing with a male to female relationship, was there?