Chick 152
by CristaeEpisode 152
‘What if the seed wasn’t everything…?’
What if the ones in my arm were just decoys, and she’d implanted another in my chest!
I need to get it out, now.
Thump!
Shhhk!
At that moment, he heard the sound of thin branches sprouting all at once from his heart.
Jin Siwon hesitated, blinking once before turning his head slowly from side to side.
“……”
He pressed his lower lip tightly as he looked at Serhi.
“Serhi.”
Serhi slowly turned his head.
“Huh?”
The moment their eyes met, he felt a chill—as if someone had grabbed him by the nape of the neck.
Jin Siwon pressed his lip and smiled.
Serhi dazedly whispered her name.
“…Irina?”
How?
“I kept you close, hoping for this moment.”
Jin Siwon’s—the truth is, Irina’s—hand caressed Serhi’s face.
“If your long-lost brother died before your eyes—”
In a flash, her left hand plunged into Serhi’s chest.
“—Zenya would be irreparably broken.”
“Guh!”
Serhi coughed up blood.
“You turned out useful to the end, Mykola.”
Mykola?
He wasn’t the only one startled by the familiar name.
As Serhi looked at the person who’d spoken, the first thing he saw were distorted green eyes.
Jin Siwon caught the collapsing Serhi in his arms.
Beyond his fading consciousness, through a splitting voice, he heard:
“Mykola…?”
Mykola. Who was that, again?
“What a shame. This was the moment I’d wanted to see most.”
Irina slowly turned her head.
She glared resentfully at the one who had forcefully disrupted the skill connecting her and Jin Siwon.
“I knew it. I thought we’d meet again.”
Nayeon smiled, pulling her silver vines taut as they wrapped around Irina.
After her encounter with Irina at school, Nayeon had contacted the investigative agencies, trying to dig up information on Moon Ira.
But all records before she entered Korea were false, and after that meeting, Moon Ira the teacher had vanished without a trace.
Unable to leave such a dangerous figure unchecked, Nayeon coordinated with the Awakened Task Force, relentlessly tracking Irina’s whereabouts.
She finally found a clue in a photo taken at Infinity Wave.
Following that lead had brought her all the way to Jeju Island.
“Why is there always so much interference…”
Irina bit her lower lip and exhaled deeply.
The moment the emergency message was sent to the tablets, she’d known it was all over.
She’d have to give up on the child.
Resigned, she germinated the seed she had planted in Jin Siwon.
If she could just take Zenya with her and escape…
But she hadn’t expected a wild card to show up at this crucial moment.
“Korea is starting to get on my nerves.”
The moment Irina finished speaking, men in black suits rushed at Nayeon.
As she retreated, Nayeon activated her skill over the area.
Swish.
[Skill ‘Silver Vines (S)’ activated.]
It morphs at the user’s will. When it restrains a target, it temporarily blocks their magic power.
As the attackers were ensnared by the thorny vines, they toppled one by one like kites with severed strings.
“I thought it last time too—your skill is really convenient.”
Captive in Nayeon’s silver vines, Irina smiled.
She didn’t mind the thorns digging and tearing at her flesh, squirming to slip through the bindings.
Her body was drenched in blood, yet the wounds from the thorns healed instantly, her skin remaining smooth and unblemished.
“It’s your body that’s convenient, really,” Nayeon said, shuddering at Irina’s monstrous recovery.
“Perhaps.”
Irina finished with a hint of laughter; meanwhile, those caught in the vines began to struggle anew.
Like Irina, they paid no heed to the flesh being torn as they ripped at the vines.
But their torn flesh only bled—it did not regenerate.
“Ugh…”
Nayeon groaned at the sight—like zombies, they pressed forward, bloody and oblivious to pain, even as their limbs fell away.
“Hm, cute.”
Irina pushed even harder, sensing Nayeon’s moment of weakness.
She continued to drive the controlled people at Nayeon, showing no concern for their suffering. Nayeon, forced back, steadily lost ground.
“Help, please help…”
“It hurts…”
Beyond the murmurs of the possessed, Irina, now at a safe distance, waved her hand with a gentle smile.
She turned to leave.
Had there been no one else, she would have vanished swiftly.
The one who stopped Irina was a presence that radiated overwhelming magical power.
Just his existence pressed down upon her entire being.
There was only one person with such power.
‘On Jurim…’
She couldn’t take a step.
Irina, drained, raised her head.
Jurim met her gaze, a faint frown on his brow.
With a flick of his fingers, the crowd advancing on Nayeon was swept away in an instant.
They stood clustered together, utterly immobilized by an invisible force.
Jurim, murmuring softly—“She does resemble her”—fixed his gaze on Irina, then turned to Nayeon.
“Where’s Grue?”
“Sorry? Grue?”
Shaking off her hands after subduing the would-be zombies with her thornless vines, Nayeon approached.
“Grue is on Jeju Island?”
“……”
She honestly looked as if she didn’t know.
Grue hadn’t been in the room earlier. Gidan hadn’t answered her calls, either.
Thinking Grue might be in danger, Nayeon had followed the magic signature—only to find the woman who seemed to be Jin Siwon’s sister and Nayeon herself.
Jurim clicked his tongue.
‘Should’ve put a tracker on her—instead of just a summoning-type item.’
Cold sweat trickled down the back of his neck.
Time was running out.
The master of the 99th floor had appeared, expending vast magic.
How long could he endure if he invoked hypersense…?
He stopped calculating and looked down at Irina.
The one called Gnosis, was it?
First things first—kill her—
At that moment,
Sensing a chilling murderous intent, Irina spoke.
“Rooftop.”
Irina stared straight ahead, articulating every syllable.
“If you want the child, she’s on the roof.”
The moment Zachary McLaren realized his partner, Alan Krevis, had caught on to everything, he headed straight for the rooftop helicopter.
Waiting for Irina, who said she had business to finish, Zachary swore under his breath.
“How long am I supposed to wait? Goddamn it.”
Then, Irina’s zombie-like servants began to climb onto the rooftop railing one by one.
‘Why are they suddenly… Are they scheming something?’
Or… maybe they were signaling him.
If she was using only those with awakened seeds, not her skills, it might mean she couldn’t use her magic now.
Zachary trusted his instincts.
“A pursuer, huh…”
He pulled out an emergency escape item.
When used, it jammed the surrounding wavelengths for a moment, confusing hunters and preventing them from using skills.
It couldn’t cut off mana completely, but it was the perfect tool for a quick escape.
“Come on…”
On edge, he stared at the rooftop door.
The stronger they are, the more careless they become.
Irina knew this very well.
That was how she had shattered the minds of the high officials of Kirrus.
Jurim stepped onto the rooftop, staring at the helicopter with an expression of boredom.
Is that really all they’re after? his face seemed to say, but Irina smiled calmly.
“The child is in the helicopter. How about we exchange hostages?”
Jurim shrugged nonchalantly.
It was the answer Irina wanted; she smiled, while Nayeon rushed forward in alarm.
“Guild master! Are you just going to let them get away?”
But Jurim only shook his head, eager to finish things quickly.
Nayeon tried to compose her frustration.
Irina moved straight for the helicopter.
She sensed someone inside—it had to be Zachary.
If she could distract Jurim for just a moment, then use Zachary’s stealth skill, she could make the entire helicopter disappear.
As she exhaled, a cloud of white breath dispersed.
She was exhausted.
Everything had gone wrong.
What had happened to Zenya?
Irina blinked slowly.
By now, would Zenya have completely lost his mind?
Zenya.
Just wait a little longer.
The only real family you have left is me.
I am the one you should hate and love—the only one.
Irina took one step after another toward the helicopter.
“…?”
A crimson-stained hand emerged from the helicopter door.
A black Glock aimed at her.
“Zenya?”
The blood-soaked hand squeezed the trigger.
Bang!