(+Illusiona rough illustrations)
‘Ah, there… Guys. I’ll stop by somewhere for a while. I have to go first.’
With those words, Lee Yu-na was walking around the hospital away from the party.
If Lee Ye-eun was there, Shin Woo-seok, her henchman, would also be here, and in a sense, it was because there were many things to ask or consult with him, who is no different than his senior.
‘Because Jihyuk said he wasn’t feeling well… .’
Lee Yu-na sent a text message to Shin Woo-seok’s number she received earlier, and remembered Yoo Ji-hyuk, who had become a shrewd person.
The fact that her friend was doing such a tantrum, and in a way, it seemed that she was not of much help, so a corner of her heart continued to feel uncomfortable.
‘There… .’
He was his employer, and he was his employee.
Although nominally, he was wearing the cumbersome business card of his henchman, so something like an obsessive-compulsive compulsion to do something at times like this was gripping her.
“ah. Also.”
Receiving Shin Woo-seok’s reply, Lee Yu-na nodded her head.
As expected, he also seemed to be staying in this hospital.
It was when she, who had texted him that she was leaving soon, walked quietly, as always.
“… What do you mean?”
At the moment of hearing the voice, Lee Yu-na hid her presence without realizing it.
Just before, it was definitely Yeeun Lee’s voice.
Unknowingly, she moved her magical powers to reduce her presence to the limit, while making her hearing sensitive.
She was more confident than anyone in the ability to fine-tune her magical powers.
And it was only after she completely hid herself that she was startled by what she had done.
‘What am I doing now… ?’
Are you trying to eavesdrop on someone else’s story?
Even if it was a reflexive act, it was now the act he hated the most.
As soon as she was about to restore the hidden sign to her original state, she caught her breath again when she heard a voice.
“Again, it is not strange that my brother dies any time now.”
Ahn Joo-hyuk spoke out in a very businesslike and cold voice.
Lee Yu-na stopped breathing without realizing it, and Lee Ye-eun took a rough breath for a moment and then asked quietly.
“Could you please explain?”
“First of all, the cause of the weakened physical condition may be the aftereffects of intense battles… Above all else, there was a curse.”
“Curse?”
“Yes. curse. I tried to do something about it, but it was not enough for me.”
At his words, Lee Yuna closed her eyes without realizing it.
Ahn Joo-hyuk was one of the world’s leading experts in healing and curses.
He is saying that he will not even be able to grasp it at all.
And that curse is now on Yoo Ji-hyuk.
“What the hell was that curse… Couldn’t you even figure it out?”
“I don’t know the details, but at least the weakness, including weakness, is certain. Even considering the current state of his body and the wavelength of his magical power, he has become so weakened that it cannot be even compared to ordinary people. Far from being a hero or a hunter, a goblin or a slime… no. You will also be overwhelmed by ordinary people your age. If the power is reduced that much… It’s not common.”
“However, that child and I are members of the World Tree. So in general… !”
“… I’m sorry, my lord. I also have the experience of healing the people of the World Tree. And they, too, are well aware that there’s not much difference in those basic and essential parts. Just as if you get hurt, you suffer, and if you go over your limit, you lose your life.”
He paused for a moment and sighed, as if trying to hide his confusion.
“I’m not going to make tea, but… If the curse was enough to gnaw away all the power that was that strong, the pain would surely be enormous. It will not be at a level that can be subsided simply with healing or narcotic painkillers. To be honest, I wonder how you can be so carefree. A normal person would have tried to kill himself sooner.”
“then… .”
Ye-eun Lee’s voice was wet with tears in an instant.
She asked him, struggling to calm down with a humming and suffocating sound.
“… What should I do? What should I do… ?”
“… I feel like I said it too hastily from the beginning. We apologize. First of all, I am a healer, not a shaman. Even if I have some knowledge in witchcraft, I am not an expert.”
He said to Lee Ye-eun as if to be relieved.
“We are already looking for Evangeline and Laura, as well as people who can be considered experts in witchcraft. Please wait a moment.”
“Thank you, really… .”
“Thank you. This is, of course, what you should do. And to be honest, we are in a position to express our gratitude.”
Ahn Joo-hyuk muttered quietly.
“… It was originally what we were supposed to do. But my brother… No, Yoo Ji-hyuk. He risked his life to reduce the damage. And if it weren’t for him, we really wouldn’t have been able to avoid annihilation.”
Yeeun Lee seemed to have answered something, but I couldn’t hear it.
Lee Yuna moved her magic even more skillfully to strengthen her hearing.
“And above all else, this needs to be approached with caution.”
“What do you mean?”
“The power that my brother used… It wasn’t ordinary. I’m sure a few others have felt the same way. It’s like a power close to the Seven Evil Bells, such a taboo.”
Silence again.
“And when I found him unconscious, he was covered in the blood of the Seven Evils. Even the raw blood of an ordinary dragon is as poisonous as the blood of the Seven Evils… .”
“… It sounds like you can’t even touch it for treatment because it’s so entangled.”
“Yes. So now, rather than rushing to treatment first, until you are ready, alleviating pain and recovering your stamina, and even a little bit of possibility… .”
Yuuna, who had heard so far, quickly escaped.
Because I couldn’t believe it.
to die
Who the hell is dying?
For Lee Yu-na, death was not her share.
It wasn’t for the people around him either.
Even though she grew up as an orphan, death was originally so far away for Yuuna.
How much less, after a fierce battle, a person of weakness due to the curse left by the enemy… such a death
There can be no such thing.
Lee Yu-na was suddenly caught up in the thought of having to see Yoo Ji-hyuk’s face, who is now in a deep sleep.
It will be fine.
I’m sure you’ll be fine.
Not only Yoo Ji-hyuk, but other friends as well.
Everyone has gone through ridiculous events and survived even fighting the Seven Evils.
But how could such an absurd ending await… !
“Wow!”
At the momentary sound of nausea she heard, Yuna stood tall and stopped.
Yoo Ji-hyuk, who should have been sleeping by now, was vomiting blood.
Black, dead blood splattered on his hands, and it even clung to a hideous jelly-like consistency.
“Ugh… !”
It wasn’t the first time I’d seen a blood clot.
She wasn’t the one who would be horrified that she had only seen some blood now.
To say the least, she was also an aspiring hero, and she had much more combat experience than her peers.
Horrible or ugly appearances were said to have been seen so many times, to the point of getting tired of them.
However, it was the first time for her to see an acquaintance under a powerful curse that might soon die.
And it came as a huge shock to her.
I thought I was going to scream without realizing it, so Yuna covered her mouth with both hands.
In the meantime, I could overheard Yoo Ji-hyeok talking to himself quietly.
“… never mind. I just vomited some blood.”
He was spitting those words out as if he was hitting himself.
… When I woke up, I found myself out of the place.
No, I didn’t even know where I was now.
Lee Yu-na looked up blankly into the air and muttered blankly.
“What do we do… ?”
Sister, how do you like me?
“My friend is cursed to death, Sister… .”
Lee Yu-na started to sniff in a small voice.
Although he was mature compared to his peers, he was still young.
Most of all, parting was not a light thing that you get used to easily even as you get older.
“ah… .”
She groaned and sat down.
Why the hell did I overhear that story, while resenting myself like that?
She squatted down and buried her face between her knees.
My stomach ached and I couldn’t stand upright.
* * *
“I just felt it all of a sudden.”
“Um?”
I did that with Sbangali’s eyes and mouth embodied on my right arm.
There had been a sudden commotion in the blood before, but ironically, after vomiting blood, I felt more comfortable in my stomach.
Not only that, but mana became a little easier to deal with, so it was possible to embody him in this way.
“Why are there so many people out there?”
At my murmuring as I glanced out the window, Sbangali poked her eyes out and swung it up and down.
“It doesn’t look like you came to visit me. Judging by their posture and behavior, they are all trained. There are different nationalities and ethnicities… .”
he whispered quietly.
“There are clans of the World Tree.”
“yes.”
I nodded my head at his words.
At first glance, it was not something to take lightly to see 20 people standing outside.
“I don’t know what it is.”
“Shh. who is coming.”
With those words, Sbangali quickly disappeared.
As soon as I straightened my posture, the door opened and Yeeun Lee came in.
She looked at the window open and frowned, though very slight.
“I’m going to catch a cold. Anyway, it was a bit windy today.”
“Lord.”
As I was about to get up and say hello, her hand pressed my shoulder first.
Even though it was a light movement, it felt as if a rock was being crushed, and I couldn’t move.
“Just lie down. I have no desire to even greet patients.”
“Yes, I’ll excuse you then.”
As I lay down on the bed, she nodded in satisfaction.
Then I started walking around and lightly cleaning and tidying up.
“Evangeline Lohengrin and Laura Hartmann said they were coming tomorrow. Ahn Joo-hyuk said it was because of your treatment problems… I think it would be good to know first.”
“These two? Were those two famous for their medicine?”
“Well, I don’t know either. But at least you know better than me. Because when I got sick, I used to just sleep ignorantly.”
Ye-eun Lee said so and let out a small laugh.
Then, in a natural motion, she unplugged the television and looked at her.
“Ah, Joo-hyeok Ahn says that electromagnetic waves can have a bad effect on Ji-hyuk? I’m sorry, can you wait until tomorrow?”
“Uh, if the doctor said so, then it should be.”
“Good.”
Yeeun Lee smiled brightly and turned her head.
Then he seemed to keep fiddling with something, then shrugged his shoulders a little.
“… Well. OK, then I’ll keep resting. I’ll go out for a while.”
With those words, Yeeun Lee hurriedly left the hospital room.
As I was looking at her awkward back, Sbangali whispered quietly to me.
“Something is up.”
“I think so. But I have no idea what it is.”
“There are people all over the hospital, starting with the one down there. They’re all chattering… Umm, looking at the herpes in this batch, it looks like they’re all protecting you.”
Sbengali was large and cleared his neck.
“Even if you say that you are escorting a hero from the past, this is too much… What the hell is going on?”
In the meantime, I could see him disappearing hastily again.
After a while, I thought I could hear a knock, and two nurses opened the door and came in.
“I’ll check it out in a moment.”
“Oh, yes.”
As I nodded, two nurses approached me, skilfully checking this and that, and started writing something on the chart.
Then, the slightly smaller one came closer to me than necessary and poked her head.
It was the first face I saw.
“The situation is not favorable, so I will speak in this state.”
But it was a familiar voice.
The nurse’s face suddenly changed to Lydia’s.
‘Maybe I didn’t notice this… .’
Normally, you would have noticed that they were disguising before they even approached you.
It was a time when I was receiving a small shock thinking that not only my physical ability had fallen, but that all parts had fallen overall.
“The association is looking for you.”
Lydia continued her work and added as she explained.
“To be precise, Junhyung Choi and his gang are targeting you. My benefactor.”
Where illustration?