Chapter 297. Sacred Relic

The expedition members left behind the strange and mysterious mission and set out to return to Shalyh. Although they had taken a few more days because they had stopped at the old dingo’s house, they were able to reach a place a day or two away from Shalyh. Thinking that it would be better to go to bed early today and leave early the next morning, Chi-Woo ordered everyone to make camp.

Although it could be considered relatively safe because they were around the sanctuary, they couldn’t let their guard down. Chi-Woo, who firmly believed that expeditions were not fully over until one returned safely home, did not forget to establish guard duty.

It was a quiet night. While pondering the conversation she had with the old dingo, Evelyn poked at the bonfire.

“We’ll arrive at the city around tomorrow.”

A sudden voice woke Evelyn from her thoughts, and she shifted her gaze. She saw Chi-Woo sitting up and looking at someone. ‘Who is he talking to?’ After following his gaze, her question was quickly answered. She saw a small figure emitting a subtle moonlight in the darkness—it was the baby fenrir. The cub was also staring at Chi-Woo with their head peeking out.

“Once we go back to the city, I’ll be super busy. There are so many things that come to mind. So I’m sorting out my priorities now, and I’m wondering if I should include you as one of my top priorities.”

Evelyn stared at the two facing each other with interest. Chi-Woo had told them to not bother the fenrir cub and leave them alone for now. Why the sudden change?

“I’ll take care of you if you want,” Chi-Woo continued quietly. “However, I have no intention to force you. Although I was asked to take care of you by your mother, Hurodvitniru, I intend to value your will higher.”

The cub did not respond and quietly listened.

“You can continue to follow me like this, or leave if you want. If you don’t want to do either, I can find someone else to take care of you. I have a very reliable older brother among my acquaintances.”

Considering that the cub was looking at him, they seemed to be understanding everything, but they remained silent.

“It’s not that I don’t know how you feel… I think I’ve given you as much time as I can to organize your thoughts.” Chi-Woo hesitated and suddenly rummaged through his belongings. Then he got out of his sleeping bag and stood up to carefully place something on the floor, keeping a sufficient distance from the fenrir cub.

“If you’re following me reluctantly because of this…”

Evelyn’s eyes widened. It was a fang.

“I’ll give it back to you,” Chi-Woo finished. The mad moon’s fang was one of the main materials that La Bella demanded for the reliquia. “You can take it if you want,” Chi-Woo repeated himself.

Evelyn couldn’t understand his decision. The fang wasn’t just difficult to obtain; it was valuable to the point that he might never get his hands on one again. Given how hard he’d worked for it, the payment was bound to be enormous. However, Chi-Woo’s choice just now was no different than giving up this huge reward.

Evelyn wanted to immediately stop him, but she didn’t say a word. Although she thought it was crazy in her mind, she also thought, ‘Yeah, my man needs to have at least this much guts.’

Then the fenrir cub, who was quietly crouching, finally stood up. The cub slowly approached Chi-Woo as if they really had been chasing him all along for Hurodvitniru’s fang. And then—

“Ah.” Evelyn softly exclaimed when the cub pushed the fang back towards Chi-Woo. Then the cub tilted their head to the fullest to reveal their teeth. Although it hadn’t been long since they were born, their teeth shone clearly under the moonlight. Evelyn, who had been anxiously watching, burst into laughter without realizing it because of what the cub was clearly trying to convey.

The cub was telling Chi-Woo they didn’t need Hurodvitniru’s fang because they had their own fangs. On second thought, Hurodivitu was the one who had handed him the fang herself, so naturally, it was now rightfully Chi-Woo’s. The baby fenrir clearly understood that.

“…Yeah. I got it.” Chi-Woo also seemed to have understood the cub’s intentions as he picked the fang back up. “Anyway, if it’s not because of this…why don’t you make a decision before dawn? As I told you before, you can leave if you want. I won’t stop you. But if you’re still here after dawn, I’ll take that as you asking me to take care of you. You got it?”

“Ruff.” At last, the fenrir cub finally opened their mouth. Then they went back to their place and crouched down. The action made their intention clear—they would stay and follow Chi-Woo rather than taking their leave. Chi-Woo smiled quietly after seeing the fenrir’s answer.

“…I’ll have to give you a name first when I return.” Like this, their relationship was established, and Chi-Woo had to act as the cub’s guardian for the time being. Although he now had more work to do, his mood didn’t worsen. He thought he should do a good job since he’d decided to take care of the cub.

Chi-Woo said, “It’s cold. Don’t sleep on the ground. Come lie down here.” When Chi-Woo pointed at the sleeping bag, the fenrir glanced at it. However, they didn’t move.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to be afraid. You won’t want to come out again once you get in because of how warm It is.”

The fenrir cub snorted, but didn’t seem to hate Chi-Woo’s suggestion. Even when Chi-Woo reached out to them, they didn’t back away like before. Moreover, they didn’t refuse even when Chi-Woo gently held and lifted their body.

“By the way, what should I call you? What do you like? Okay. What about ruffruff?”

The cub, who was being dragged away as if it couldn’t be helped, bit Chi-Woo’s hand as soon as they heard this.

“Ah, it hurts!” Chi-Woo jumped and dropped the fenrir cub. Then the cub ran and disappeared into the sleeping bag. Chi-Woo raged and said things like, “You naughty punk, get out of there”, “Get out at the count of three”, and “You want a spanking?”

The expedition members frantically got up at the noisy commotion, thinking that an enemy had attacked. Evelyn held onto Chi-Woo to stop him, but thought to herself, ‘To be honest, Ruffruff—no, the fenrir cub had every right to bite him.’

* * *

The next day arrived. Chi-Hyun, who had been working in the morning, went out to the streets around the afternoon. His destination was the city gate, and he came to wait for his younger brother. He had originally planned to tell Chi-Woo to run to him as soon as he arrived, but things had changed. Ever since he saw the strange signs in the sky two weeks ago, he hadn’t been able to sleep. There were so many things he needed to ask his brother as soon as he arrived.

Since Chi-Hyun received Chi-Woo’s message yesterday, it was now about time for him to come back. His prediction was exactly right, and soon after, the expedition team, including Chi-Woo, could be seen from afar. Chi-Hyun’s eyes narrowed a little when he saw a few familiar faces following his younger brother. He didn’t look pleased.

Considering that the other Celestial Lights saw Chi-Hyun as their number one competition, Chi-Hyun didn’t like them either. There was no reason for him to like someone who disliked him, and even though they approached him first, their intentions were all too obvious. In fact, Chi-Hyun had been displeased that his younger brother teamed up with the Celestial Lights. He wanted to take his brother aside and tell him to not play with those kids, but Chi-Hyun stopped himself. If he really did that, he would never hear the end of it from Chi-Woo.

‘Anyway…’ The morale of the expedition team entering the gate didn’t seem good. He heard the news from Ismile already, and regardless of the process, the outcome of the expedition was a perfect success. The merit they achieved was enormous, but above all, they proved humanity’s value once again by accomplishing a feat that the Cassiubia League had failed to achieve. As such, Chi-Hyun thought they would look prideful and enter with confidence, but everyone looked like they suffered a crushing defeat. He didn’t know what happened, but there seemed to be some unknown circumstances. Since the mood was like this, the expedition team quickly disbanded, and Chi-Hyun was about to show his face after he saw the Celestial Lights leave one by one—

Tap, tap, tap! He suddenly heard someone running. Chi-Hyun, who was about to step out, looked toward the direction of the sound. ‘That guy…?’

A young man was running back to Chi-Woo with his hair flying back as if he had left something important behind. Chi-Hyun knew who it was—it was no other than Emmanuel of the Eustitia Family. Although he was at the lowest rank in his family, he was still a member of the top six families. Even so, from Chi-Hyun’s point of view, he was nothing but a hero who prided himself on being a pure human blood hero like the Afriliths and identified with the Choi Family—that was if Chi-Hyun was talking nicely. To speak bluntly without mincing words, they were just punks whose pride reached the heavens with nothing to show for it. Anyway, he wondered why a vain lump who had nothing but pride was running towards Chi-Woo. Chi-Hyun decided to quietly watch the situation. What happened next made him blink quickly.

Emmanuel stopped in front of Chi-Woo and breathed heavily. “…Teacher.” Then he suddenly knelt down on both knees with a determined face.

It wasn’t just Chi-Hyun. Chi-Woo also seemed to have been taken off guard. Better to break than to bend—this was the line that described the Eustitia Family. But a member of a family that could even rival the Choi Family in pride was on his knees? Why?

“Please tell me.” Emmanuel put his fists on his thighs and looked up at Chi-Woo with trembling eyes. “How…how on earth can I be as strong as you, Teacher? I want to be strong. No, I have to get stronger!” Emmanuel gave up his pride and everything else and was more desperate than ever. He even lowered his head and said, “Please…teach me too…”

Startled, Chi-Woo turned left and right, and everyone’s reactions were similar. Only Ru Amuh stared at Emmanuel with his head slightly lowered.

‘…It’ll be better to wait at home.’ Then Chi-Hyun, who had been watching quietly, turned around. He didn’t know what had happened, but he made a mental note to ask Chi-Woo about this as well once he got back.

* * *

Chi-Woo’s return home was later than expected because of Emmanuel’s unexpected behavior. He barely managed to send Emmanuel back, saying he’d call him later to talk, but Chi-Woo had been extremely flustered by Emmanuel’s request. He didn’t know another shock would be waiting for him as soon as he returned.

“Chi-Hyun?” It was because his master and brother were sitting on the verandah and enjoying tea together. “Why are you here…”

Chi-Hyun answered calmly, “I came to see my master. What a coincidence. You came back now?”

“I sent you a message yesterday. You didn’t see it?”

“Oh, you did?”

Byeok looked back at Chi-Hyun with a slightly surprised look, as if she thought him completely ridiculous. Chi-Hyun looked back at her with an expression that seemed to be saying, ‘what, why?’

Byeok shook her head and stared back at Chi-Woo. “You’re here.” After looking him up and down, she put down the cup in her hand quietly. “I heard the news. You’ve made a big achievement. Well, considering the result, I want to compliment you, but…” She trailed off before continuing, “You have something to tell me, right?”

Judging by her words, it seemed she already knew what had happened, and Chi-Woo had been preparing himself. He quietly lowered his head and took a few more steps forwards. Although it bothered him that his brother was watching, he knelt down in front of his master.

“I’m sorry, master.” He got right to the point. “I violated your orders and lifted all the seals on my abilities.”

Byeok closed her eyes at his straightforward confession. She had a rough idea about what had happened from what the others were saying. Moreover, considering the attitude he showed so far, she didn’t think that Chi-Woo would’ve lifted the seals for no good reason. In the first place, many of the Cassiubia League’s top members and Ismile had failed to solve this problem and had no choice but to withdraw. Even before she sent him out, she had considered the possibility that he might have to lift all the seals on his abilities. However, the problem was what happened after that and what Chi-Woo had to face now.

“Get—” However, she had taken him as a disciple, and since he had just returned from fulfilling a big accomplishment, she felt bad for him. She was about to tell him to get up when someone interrupted her.

“Get up,” Chi-Hyun said instead of Byeok. “I’m not saying that you did well. You definitely did wrong, but don’t kneel down so easily next time, especially considering your situation and position.”

Byeok’s head turned automatically again; she stared at Chi-Hyun with a look of bafflement and irritation. What the hell was wrong with this punk?

Chi-Woo also looked flustered and wondered why his brother was stepping in.

Byeok vowed to punish Chi-Hyun later for this and took a deep breath before saying, “…Get up.” Only then did Chi-Woo carefully get back up. She asked, “Did you seal your abilities?”

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“I sealed the second stage for now.”

“What about the first stage?”

“I’ve left it unsealed to heal my body, but if you tell me to, I can seal it right away.”

“No, it’s fine. You should recover.” Byeok waved her hands and smacked her lips. After organizing her thoughts for a while, she continued, “Since I gave you a condition, I can’t say that you broke your promise to me. While I didn’t witness everything myself, I believe you didn’t have a choice from what I heard.” First, Byeok expressed her opinion on the subject of Chi-Woo breaking his promise to her. Then she tilted her head and asked, “So. How was it?”

Chi-Woo gulped. He didn’t know why, but he thought he should answer this question well.

“Just say exactly what you felt.” Although Byeok’s tone was soft, there was a sharpness to it, as if she would cut ties with him in an instant if he gave the wrong reply.

“I understood why you sealed my abilities.”

“Didn’t you already have a rough idea before? If you’re racking your brain to come up with such frivolous things, stop.”

Byeok was right, so Chi-Woo decided to tell the truth after much consideration. He felt that he would have no regrets then. “…Last.”

“What?”

“I thought it might be the last time.”

A glint flashed through Byeok’s eyes. “Say it more clearly.”

“If I lift the seal next time…” Chi-Woo breathed in and couldn’t continue speaking for a while. “I don’t think I’ll be able to return anymore…” As he barely managed to continue, there seemed to be fear but also slight anger in his expression. His statement was backed up by more than words. Unlike before, Chi-Woo clearly recognized the problem. The fact that he was scared was proof of this. The power that he sealed at the second stage inevitably caused fear, for the people watching and also for the one using it.

The important part was that this was the only answer that Byeok wanted to hear from him. “…Good.” Then she smiled brightly. “This is the strongest seal I can put on you.”

“Excuse me?” Chi-Woo quickly raised his head. What did she mean?

“To tell you the truth, the ban on your ability using La Bella’s power cannot be called a proper ban.” Byeok lifted her pipe and continued leisurely, “It was unreasonable to completely block it with La Bella’s power in the first place. And if you want to, you can lift the ban whenever you want.”

As Byeok said, he tried to seal the ability that was plastered with question marks, but he couldn’t because La Bella said it was difficult with her own power. The same was true for the other abilities. Although he had sealed his abilities in two stages, there was not much point to it in the end. This was clearly shown when the final king candidate appeared. Although he definitely put the seal back on, he couldn’t stop his impulse and immediately used the ability at the second stage again. Thus, unlike the first stage abilities, there was hardly any point in sealing his second stage ability.

‘Then why…?’ Chi-Woo was about to ask when Byeok answered for him.

“That means—” Byeok continued, “The reverse is also true: you can suppress it whenever you want.”

Chi-Woo’s expression turned blank; he hadn’t expected these words at all, but it made sense. If it was an ability that came from his will, he could also suppress it with his will. In retrospect, it was like that with Zepar and Shersha and at the Hala Forest as well. Although it had been extremely dangerous, Chi-Woo succeeded in controlling it in the end. In short, the most powerful way to suppress this power was no other than Chi-Woo’s own will.

“Master, then—”

“But leave the ban on for now. At least for stage two.” Byeok took the pipe out of her mouth, and smoke flowed out. “Just in case. No matter how much you suppress it, that seal can act as a fence to hang your feet for at least a moment to prevent your fall.”

“…Yes, I understand.” Although he couldn’t let down his guard, he felt his worry lessen after talking with his master, so he nodded with a brighter expression. On the other hand, Chi-Hyun, who had been waiting for an opportunity to talk to Chi-Woo, was about to pitch in as the conversation seemed to be ending, but Byeok beat him to it.

“Let’s hear the rest of the story next time. You’ve done well. You must be tired, so go home. Wash up and rest.”

“No, it’s all right. There’s no time to rest…”

“It’s an order from your master,” she said in a firm tone. “I told you before. Rest is part of training.”

“Ah…”

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

“Are you planning to faint from running nonstop? You also need to properly replenish your energy from time to time. And…”

Chi-Woo was slightly moved by her warm words, while Byeok stifled a giggle. Although she was telling the truth, she also wanted Chi-Hyun to suffer for daring to interfere with her lesson.

“I’m in the middle of talking to this guy.” Byeok turned to the side and smiled softly. Chi-Hyun snorted, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

“Yes. Then…” Chi-Woo had already gotten up from the verandah and entered his room, though, and he didn’t see Byeok and Chi-Hyun glare at each other with fierce sparks in their eyes.

Soon after, words like, ‘He’s my brother’ and ‘So what, he’s my disciple’ were fiercely exchanged, but Chi-Woo paid no mind to the verbal duel after closing the door. Although his master had told him to rest, there was one thing left for him to do.