Chapter 78:  Myeong-Myeong and the Familiar League (6)

The VIP section was in complete chaos.

The head of the Black Dragon Yi family lay collapsed, bleeding, and not a single one of her retainers was unharmed.

Amidst them, a metal cage was shattered. At a glance, it looked as though something had escaped from the cage and wreaked havoc in the VIP section.

“Ugh.”

The head of the Black Dragon Yi family, Lee Ryeo, stirred slightly.

She barely managed to lift her head.

In front of her was the broken cage.

The bars had been destroyed from the outside.

“This is insane,” she muttered, wiping the blood from her lips.

She whispered in disbelief, “To think you’d join forces with them…”

As the head of the Black Dragon family and her retainers were focused on the match, a sinister aura, reminiscent of an evil spirit, seeped behind her.

Sensing it, the head immediately prepared to eliminate the evil spirit with her power. But the hesitation came from the fact that it wasn’t an evil spirit standing behind her.

It was a human.

To be exact, a human imbued with the power of an evil spirit.

Those with spiritual abilities called such humans “possessed.”

But to think, after all this time, one of her closest subordinates had been possessed.

“If it’s a possessed person with a mind of their own, it must be from Mireuk’s Cult. Has someone from the Sacred Flame Jin family aligned with Mireuk’s Cult? All to eliminate Lady Jinari… Ugh, I’m about to collapse.”

Though Lee Ryeo staggered, her mind kept circling back to the incident that had just unfolded.

She hesitated for a split second because it was someone she’d known for so long.

But for a possessed person, a split second was more than enough.

The possessed immediately recited a vow—a vow to sacrifice their entire being for a single, devastating strike.

Once Lee Ryeo realized the gravity of the situation, she wasted no time in cutting down the possessed person. But the blow, empowered by the vow, had already shattered the cage.

And then the possessed spirit sought a new host.

It took over her daughter, who had been trapped inside the cage.

“Hahaha… Ahahahah!”

The girl, now possessed by the evil spirit, broke all the remaining seals.

In an instant, her strength surged to unimaginable heights.

Perhaps, for a fleeting moment, she had grown so powerful that even a semi-Immortals being might struggle against her. She was no longer someone Lee Ryeo could deal with alone.

“She’s not fully possessed by the evil spirit…”

But the girl hadn’t been fully consumed by the possession.

That girl was still her daughter.

“I’ve merely come to understand more deeply what kind of monster I am.”

Because of that, Lee Ryeo couldn’t bring herself to use a lethal technique on her daughter. But her daughter could wield both the bloodline’s power and the evil spirit’s strength.

“I wanted so desperately to save you, no matter the cost.”

The result was this chaos.

The mother, who had lost her daughter, bowed her head as she looked around the devastation.

“I’m sorry I brought you into this world as a monster.”

A single tear fell onto the marble floor.

And with that, Lee Ryeo, trembling, began crawling towards the arena.

  *

‘Lee Yi Hwa-ya? She suddenly appeared here?’

Jinari instinctively prepared for battle as she sensed something strange. She drew upon her spiritual energy and formed her hand seals.

‘How did Yi Hwa-ya escape?’

It was a pointless question.

The only thing that mattered now was the rapidly shifting situation.

With a smug expression, Jinari spoke, “Can you feel the difference in power? Just stay still.”

The ranks of Cheonji  were officially categorized like this:

Half-Immortals, Earthly Immortals, Celestial Immortals, True sage or Baekdu.

But the girl who had passed the Heaven and Earth trials knew there was an additional rank not included in that list. These were the “interns” of Cheonji, mockingly referred to as Semi or Half-Half-Immortals.

The characteristics of Half-Half-Immortals Immortals  were clear:

As interns of Cheonji, they were young.

They possessed outstanding talent, enough to stand out.

However, they could only use the skills bestowed upon them by their souls and were incapable of creating new techniques.

‘If you can use advanced spiritual abilities, you’re Half-Half-immortal. If you can use the ultimate technique, Total Power Deployment, you’re semi-immortal.’

Jinari was a Half-immortal.

She had recently developed a new application technique.

As for the girl standing before her, Yi Hwa-ya, the young head of the Black Dragon Yi family, she was likely a Semi-immortal. Having been confined for so long, it was certain she hadn’t had time to train.

“Yi Hwa-ya of the Black Dragon family. Surrender quietly.”

“What? You say your mission is to kill the young lady? That’s your contract? You’ll leave if you succeed? Understood.”

Yi Hwa-ya muttered to herself while staring into the air.

She looked like a madwoman.

‘…’

It was clear—she had been consumed by bloodlust.

Finishing her hand seals, Jinari prepared to subdue Yi Hwa-ya.

“Girl, I apologize for the rudeness I’m about to commit.”

“If you think you can be rude, then go ahead and try.”

Yi Hwa-ya smiled slyly as she said this.

Inside, Jinari’s heart fluttered with amusement.

‘Honestly, that was kind of cool. Who would think of me as a chick after seeing such a cool display?’

Jinari’s wings fluttered slightly.

She imagined Yoo Hajin, watching her from behind, and it filled her with joy. She wanted to follow him around just to see his reaction.

‘Wait, no! I’m not some frivolous woman who would follow a man around…’

But since she wasn’t truly a chick, Jinari was able to suppress her desires.

And so, the two girls faced each other.

It was time for their showdown.

The two immediately began chanting their incantations.

“Spiritual Manifestation: Vermilion Bird.”

“Spiritual Manifestation: Total Power Deployment - Black Dragon River.”

“Chirp, chirp?”

Total Power Deployment? The ultimate technique used by semi-immortal?

Why was it being used here?

Jinari was so startled by the phrase that she couldn’t fully complete her technique. But Yi Hwa-ya’s technique had already been perfected.

Thanks to the aid of the evil spirit.

A torrent of black water surged towards Jinari, and immediately, the onlookers rose to their feet.

“Protect the young lady!”

“How did this happen?!”

“Damn it, Total Power Deployment! If we knew this was coming, we should’ve intervened earlier!”

But none of them could move.

Because Yi Hwa-ya was already standing behind Jinari, a cold blade pressed against her neck.

“Did you say your name was Hajin?”

Yi Hwa-ya looked directly at Yoo Hajin as she spoke.

Yoo Hajin, having put Myeong-Myeong down, nodded his head.

“Yeah, that’s right. I’m Yoo Hajin.”

“How about a wager, young man?”

A wager.

It was an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Seeing the trembling in the little chick’s shoulders, there was no way Yoo Hajin could play ignorant and run away.

With a wry smile, he gathered his thoughts.

He hadn’t lost a bet in a while.

Especially not at Big Hand Casino, where his winning streak had boosted his confidence to new heights. With that baseless confidence, Yoo Hajin nodded.

“Alright, spit it out. What kind of wager are we talking about?”

“Oh, how delightful! The wager I’ve prepared is...”

“Myeong !”

At that moment, while Yi Hwa-ya was distracted explaining the terms of the wager, the mystical beast Haetae stepped in to enforce justice. Haetae rammed its horn into the sinner.

The girl, the one who had been judged, froze in place.

To be precise, her soul was being judged and evaporated, leaving only her body behind. The evil spirit that had possessed her dissipated with a final scream, and now it was the girl’s turn to face judgment.

The sentence given to her was death.

Despite being an enemy, she had committed the crime of killing a person cruelly.

And, though not entirely her fault, she had nearly killed another while under the evil spirit’s control.

With no one to stop the judgment, the girl’s fate seemed sealed—eternal obliteration. Her mother, witnessing this, could only mutter, “No, Hwa-ya… No, please…” But there was no one capable of stopping Haetae’s judgment.

The people watching felt a sense of awe.

The character for law (法) was inspired by Haetae itself. The sight of Haetae ramming into sinners gave birth to that character.

A divine beast, the arbiter of all sins.

As such, everyone in the arena feared they might be judged next, trembling as if they were criminals dragged before a judge.

“A divine beast that holds the power to judge, Haetae?”

Only those without sin could look upon such a creature without fear. And in this world, no such person existed.

That was what everyone here believed.

Until the man who lifted Haetae shouted in a loud voice.

“Myeong-Myeong! Have you lost your mind, you reckless little pup?!! What are you doing, pulling such dangerous stunts?!”

“Myeong? Myeong-Myeong!”

“What—what gives you the right to shout so loudly?”

Wait, shouting at the judge?

Who was this man?

The members of the assembled noble families and their followers could only stare in stunned silence at Yoo Hajin.

***

“Alright, spit it out. What kind of wager are we talking about?”

“Oh, how delightful! The wager I’ve prepared is...”

It was a tense moment. What kind of insane bet would this girl, who seemed full of mischief, propose? There was no way it would be something as innocent as an eating contest.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Myeong-Myeong.

Wait a second.

Why is Myeong-Myeong over there?

Before I knew it, Myeong-Myeong had somehow waddled its short legs over and was gearing up for a body slam without even waiting for my command.

This is insane.

Myeong-Myeong, no!

But telepathy doesn’t work on animals.

Should I move to get Myeong-Myeong back? But if I do, that crazy girl might stab the chick with her sword.

“Myeong”

In the end, Myeong-Myeong launched himself into a body slam.

The crazy girl, who had just been hit by Myeong-Myeong, stared at the creature in disbelief. Now was my chance. Without hesitation, I dashed forward and delivered a solid flick to her forehead.

“Augh!”

The crazy black-haired girl, dressed in a hanbok, crumpled to the ground.

In one swift motion, I grabbed both the chick and Myeong-Myeong.

Then I held Myeong-Myeong up and shook it furiously.

“Myeong-Myeong! Are you out of your mind, you reckless little pup?! What on earth were you thinking pulling such a dangerous stunt?!!”

“Myeong? Myeong-Myeong!”

“And what are you yelling about, as if you did something impressive?!”

Then, Myeong-Myeong let out what sounded suspiciously like a string of curses.

“Myeong-Myeong! Myeong-MyeongMyeong-MyeongMyeong-Myeong!”

“You—! Where did you learn such foul language? It was Jamsuni, wasn’t it? That rascal. Tonight’s dinner is grilled mackerel.”

For the record, Jamsuni hated seafood.

Seriously, these guys were like children.

Just then, the black-haired girl, still lying on the ground after my flick, muttered quietly.

“Young man, I don’t understand. Why did you save me?”

“...?”

What is she talking about?

As expected, it’s hard to make sense of what crazy people say.

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

[TL: You can support the translation and read 5 chapters ahead of the release here on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Bill94 

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