STD 201

Tairok kept his promise to me. After stepping on Grand Duke Montaine, he destroyed the Eye of Hell first. Since he hadn’t even seen me plant the grass, he did it with the intention of willingly handling the swarm of monsters that would pour out.

That was, I suppose, a bit touching. Though, it seemed his pride was hurt that I had sealed the rift first.

“You say this is the master of the Forest of the Crimson Waves?”

So, he wanted to verify for himself the existence that had beaten him to it.

“Yes.”

Even with my answer, Tairok incredulously looked down at the single blade of grass. After a moment of silence, he asked.

“You say this sealed the monster rift?”

“Yes.”

Although I gave the same answer, he still couldn’t believe it. Well, I suppose he wouldn’t believe it. Even I found it hard to believe. This knee-high grass didn’t look much different from countless other plants.

But now, I could see it. Because this single blade of grass created the wind, and that wind became a voice that I could hear.

Wherever there was grass, this wind was present. However, even I could hardly believe that the being with the greatest power was a single blade of grass.

“But why here?”

Tairok looked around; he still couldn’t understand.

“You said you went back in time because it takes hundreds of years for a seed to sprout. Why did you plant it here?”

I looked around just like Tairok. When I first went back in time, I naturally intended to plant the seed near the rift.

However, the ground was already dead, so no plants could grow there. If it couldn’t even sprout, where was I supposed to plant it?

I believed there must be a clue in the time I had experienced. After all, every trivial connection and event I had encountered had ultimately been organically connected.

However, precisely because of this, I could not pinpoint just one thing. Every place I had passed through felt important. At that moment, Mo reminded me of the conversation I had with Enya.

‘Because monsters cannot pass through portals.’

‘Monsters can’t pass through portals?’

‘The only portals monsters can cross are rifts they use to pass through. That is why sacrificing a divine beast is needed to create an identical rift to eliminate them. So I am still perplexed as to why that one monster suddenly disappeared and teleported back then.’

The place she had questioned back then was Ornord. The very place where I first woke up in Tubain.

What if a powerful force capable of bringing monsters had just awakened there? What if, in that instant, the Spirit of Poison recognized the voice of the master of the forest in the wind?

It was an unbelievable coincidence, but I knew that every moment was inevitable. Everything that happened in the past influences the future.

Or perhaps, future events influence the past as well? That might be why the monster appeared at that moment. And someone had come chasing that monster. It was Tairok.

Everything began here. Therefore, this was the only place for me to plant the seed.

“Isn’t it amazing?”

During the time I was away, this blooming grass had been slowly but steadily expanding its territory. Now its offshoots could be seen here and there.

“Yes. Surprisingly trivial.”

Although the words sounded like sarcasm, Tairok was serious. Just then, the wind blew. It sounded like laughter.

‎

‎

‎

With Grand Duke Montaine and the rift gone, peace returned to Tubain. However, it was only a temporary silence; danger still remained. It was the imprisoned Sarne divine beast.

Although that bear is a villain who drives people crazy with frustration, I couldn’t just let it die. Besides, after meeting all four divine beasts in the past, I had come to realize that the bear wasn’t the greatest villain.

That damned Kun divine beast. A vicious bastard with not a shred of patience. I thought I was going to die wandering all over Tubain while being harassed by that thing.

Aren’t I a Korean? We aren’t exactly known for our patience. Yet this bastard was even worse than me. Whether it was an egg or in its true form, it had a damn temper.

That chicken-headed bastard should have been reassigned to be a mirror therapy specialist for Koreans rather than a divine beast. Thanks to it, the bear looked like a fairy in comparison.

“You haven’t found Grand Duke Sarne’s location?”

“Not yet.”

Tairok’s short answer sounded lighthearted, but I knew the problem wasn’t. I had heard that the Mungkun Valley, where Grand Duke Sarne was hiding, was rugged and difficult to search.

They said it was so steep that even people who had lived there for a long time could easily get lost. In the end, there was only one person left to give us a clue.

“What did Hoiga say?”

That was right; he was awake. They said he could stand up, though he couldn’t move freely. Strangely, however, Tairok was preventing me from meeting him.

“He said he didn’t know the details.”

“Let him tell me what he knows, at least.”

I heard no reply. Feeling something was wrong, I turned around, and his hand brushed against my nape. In an instant, a shiver ran from my neck to my tailbone.

I recoiled in shock to the side. Fuck, it’s this feeling again. It might feel good for your body to react when touching someone you like, but if it’s intense enough to be uncontrollable, it’s a problem. Why is this happening?

“Ah, stop touching me so suddenly.”

I frowned, but Tairok wore that usual look of delight. He seemed satisfied every time I reacted to his touch.

“Is it fine as long as it’s not sudden?”

No, that was the same. But I absolutely refused to let him know that my body was acting strangely from just a touch. It hurt my pride. After all, just the touch made my rear tighten and crave him.

Unable to admit anything, I remained silent, but the eyes looking at me darkened with a different desire instead of a smile.

“I’m not fine.”

“What do you mean?”

“Every time I touch you, my body gets so hot I feel like it’s going to explode.”

When I looked into his eyes, I couldn’t tell if he was lying to seduce me. That would be strange, though. He reacted just as excessively as I did.

I murmured to myself.

“Why are we like this?”

His lips twitched.

“Do you know the reason?”

He just smiled, and in my experience, that was an affirmative answer.

What? Is there a reason? Is it a disease? Just as I was getting serious, he gently soothed me.

“Don’t worry. It means we are truly connected. So that we will only be in heat for each other for the rest of our lives.”

I was momentarily entranced by his alluring voice and face, but the word “heat” brought me back to reality. He had said this before. That I would only be in heat for him.

But when I saw him grin, it seemed like he wouldn’t tell me. Fuck, does he think I can’t find it?

Even if it means consulting with Doctor Kim, I will definitely find the reason. But for now, the priority was to block those perverted eyes.

“Enough. Just tell me what Hoiga said.”

There must be a reason why he suddenly touched me and tried to change the atmosphere. And as expected, the smile vanished from his lips immediately. He stared at me with a look of disapproval.

“Answer my question first. Why didn’t you kill Hoiga?”

“I thought he would be useful since he knows so much…”

“There is a real reason.”

My mouth wouldn’t open. He had realized my true identity to some extent now, and the Eye of Hell had been sealed, so I could be honest.

“……I’ll tell you soon.”

He looked at me for a moment, then nodded. Then he told me what Hoiga had said.

“He wants to meet you. He said he has something to ask about your identity.”

‎

‎

‎

My identity? Hoiga must have thought about me over and over again after he woke up. Because when I met him in the prison, he had asked:

“Could it be… did you come from beyond the Eye of Hell?”

Hoiga’s voice trembled slightly. It seemed as though his tension would turn into fear if my answer were affirmative.

He would still hate me if I had only transformed from the foolish Lu into a decent human being, but if I were an informant like himself, I would become an object of terror. I ignored his question.

“Where is Grand Duke Sarne hiding?”

“Answer my question first.”

“You still haven’t come to your senses.”

I turned away without a second thought, but Hoiga called out to me urgently.

“Did you really, really come from Earth? But that doesn’t make sense… that’s impossible.”

When I just stared at him expressionlessly, his lips trembled. He gasped for breath and asked,

“I-Is it true? How? When?”

His eyes were filled with terror. However, I no longer felt any amusement, nor did I feel the need to mock him. Even so, I had absolutely no intention of meekly giving him what he wanted.

“You have until tomorrow. If you don’t tell me Grand Duke Sarne’s location by then, I’ll throw you into a pigsty.”

As I slammed the door shut and stepped out, I heard a sob. His display of self-pity evoked no response from me.

I thought he would eventually give me an answer because of all the crying. That was how I expected to hear the answer from Hoiga.

But without even needing to wait a whole day, the answer I was looking for came from a completely unexpected place.