Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 242

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 242
“Cough, cough!”
I hacked out a dry cough and scrambled to my feet.
Ugh, everything feels stiff. I checked my body, but there were no injuries.
‘Having a ridiculously durable body comes in handy at times like this.’
I recalled what had happened at the end.
When the Hyena Beastkin threw something incomprehensible toward the Dragon Duke.
I felt a sense of foreboding.
A familiar dread. For some reason, it stirred a terror similar to what I’d felt when facing the Dragon Duke’s rampage in my third return.
Without thinking, my body moved first. Thanks to the water stream, I arrived before it could reach the Dragon Duke.
After that, there was only darkness.
‘I did feel the sensation of the ground giving way.’
After that, massive boulders fell from the sky.
Moreover, shadow-like tendrils stretched from all directions, coiling around my body.
If I hadn’t known what was coming, it would have been a pathetically fatal attack.
‘Damn it, that Crown Prince bastard. He’s made quite thorough preparations.’
I felt a familiar killing intent in the attacks directed at me. A vile determination to win by any means necessary.
It was a sensation I’d felt every time from the earthen power he wielded.
In truth, I’d managed to deflect the shadow tendrils with my water streams, so the truly effective attack was the falling boulders from above.
But thanks to the power of water and my sturdy body, I’d managed to endure somehow.
‘What about the Dragon Duke?’
Since I’d shielded him first, he should have been safe. So why couldn’t I see him?
‘Ah, at the very end…’
I remembered pushing the Dragon Duke back to block the final attack.
I coughed softly and looked around. I hadn’t pushed him that hard, so he should be nearby.
‘What in the world is the principle behind this?’
As if trapped in a massive dome, everything around me remained dark.
I could sense the power of earth, but since it was a form I’d never seen before, I couldn’t jump to conclusions.
‘Ha, so you’re a Returner too.’
The earthen power I felt from all directions carried a resolve not to taste defeat like in the previous life.
A competitive spirit ignited within me.
‘And I can barely sense anything here either. Is that what he’s aiming for?’
The moment I thought this, something dug into my waist.
I was startled, but didn’t deflect it because it was a familiar presence.
“Dragon Duke?”
A massive body covered me. I blinked rapidly, suddenly held close.
He seems to be unharmed.
My head rested against the Dragon Duke’s chest. I was struck anew by how much of a size difference there was between us.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
The man’s heart was pounding fiercely.
I reached out and patted his back gently.
“My, you were quite startled, weren’t you?”
At my affectionate tone, the male protagonist flinched, and soon his head dropped against my shoulder.
“…Calypso.”
A low but crystalline voice flowed into my ear from right beside it, causing me to pause for a moment.
His voice stretched thin like a thread, desperate and urgent.
And if I’m being honest, it was quite dizzying—almost seductive in nature.
“It’s alright now. Even if I don’t understand what’s happening, it seems we’re still trapped, but I’ll find a way somehow….”
“…Don’t die, Calypso.”
“…A way, yes. I’ll find a way. So….”
“…You promised not to die in front of me.”
In that instant, I had no choice but to stop all my movements and words.
There was no choice. I had said those words to this man.
No, I had said them to Ekion in a place where we were alone.
I hesitated for a moment, then moistened my lips with my tongue. I couldn’t understand why I felt so anxious.
“…Ekion?”
I was hesitating to call your name.
“Is it you?”
I had heard he’d lost his memories.
Now that I thought about it, there had been a persistent sense of alienation and displeasure when looking at the man who’d lost his memories—as if he were a stranger. But at some point, that feeling had disappeared.
I had simply thought I’d grown accustomed to the displeasure.
“Did your memories come back?”
To my hesitant question, Ekion gave no answer.
His silence had always been affirmation.
So in that moment, I bit my lip, and at the same time, anger surged through me.
“I’m asking you, you fool!”
My hand moved first—well, it was inevitable.
Something felt within reach, but since he wouldn’t give me a clear answer, I felt frustrated.
And resentful.
Thwack!
Only after feeling quite a loud impact did I come to my senses.
“Gasp, Ekion. Are you alright?”
“….”
“…You’re alive, right?”
Why did I have to hit his side? I could have avoided the vital spots.
This creature’s instinct—I tried to pull Ekion away in a panic, but before I could.
His arms and head pressed against me. I felt his breath right beside my neck.
“…I’m sorry, Calypso. I missed you so much.”
At those words, the strength drained from my hands that had been trying to push him away. I wore an angry expression once more.
But even that didn’t last long.
I carefully placed my hand on Ekion’s back.
“I resented you.”
“….”
“You broke your promise. You said you’d show me your growth.”
What if you disappeared?
His massive back trembled. With my hand resting on that broad expanse, I too fell silent for a moment.
“When you lost your memories, where were you?”
“…I was trapped.”
“….”
“…The First Dragon’s memories said they couldn’t exist with Calypso anymore, that I had to return.”
I understood the nature of that alienation and displeasure. Was it because that ‘First Dragon’s’ memories didn’t favor me?
“And then?”
“I fought.”
“….”
“I won, and I consumed it.”
I didn’t fully understand what he meant, but I nodded quietly.
‘Ah, so that’s why the displeasure disappeared?’
As I was organizing my thoughts about what to say next, Ekion stirred slightly.
“But then… there was me, yet not me.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’m me, but I’m not me. So I was afraid Calypso wouldn’t like me….”
“You’re saying that because you called it the First Dragon’s memories, you thought your essence was damaged by carrying someone else’s memories? That’s what you believed?”
“….”
Silence again. It seemed to be the answer.
“What were you so afraid of? You’d still be you, no matter what form you took.”
“….”
“If I die in this life and search for you again in the next cycle, would you think you’d be a different person then?”
Ekion shook his head firmly.
“Exactly. That’s what it is, Ekion.”
I closed my eyes gently.
“As long as I keep returning, you’re the only one who will remember me. And you disappeared from my sight.”
“….”
“How could you do that?”
Quiet fury sometimes carries greater force than savage rage.
I suppressed the surging power of water that rippled around me.
“But it’s fine now. You came back. From now on, no more….”
“I love you.”
“….”
“Even if you live another life, even if you go to a different world. I’ll chase after you.”
My shoulders trembled slightly.
“That’s how much I love you.”
“….”
Ekion slowly lifted his head.
“The Dragon’s memory reproached me for saying the world could perish if you weren’t here.”
“….”
“But honestly, a world without you wouldn’t matter even if it did.”
I blinked.
It felt like I was truly meeting the eyes of this grown child for the first time.
“…You’re more composed than I thought. Or was this always how you were?”
Even in this darkness, those golden eyes gleamed with a solitary, beautiful radiance.
A brilliant hue entirely different from the lion’s eyes I had so bitterly despised and hated.
“I love you.”
“…Can you calm down for a moment?”
“I love you so much.”
“….”
A face with slightly lowered lashes drew closer. I flinched without thinking and stepped back.
But for every half-step I retreated, his feet advanced.
Pushing him away wouldn’t have been difficult, yet the distance closed in an instant.
“I love you, Calypso.”
“…Right, I’ve heard it so much that your confession even appears in my dreams. I understand.”
“I want to be your mate.”
“Wait, wait.”
Won’t you give me time to adjust, Yongyang? I just found out your memories came back!
‘Even sudden acceleration causes accidents like this, accidents!’
Unfortunately, the accident seemed to be happening in my own mind.
His gaze, so full of affection it threatened to overflow, weighed heavily and disrupted my thoughts.
It stirred a tension and anxiety—the fear of seeing a side of myself I didn’t know.
Faced with his plaintive gaze looking down at me, a terrible thought crossed my mind: perhaps I should just soothe him first and think later.
Deciding that wouldn’t do, I covered Ekion’s mouth. Surely he’d be quiet now, I thought.
Ekion paid no heed and drew even closer.
A cool breeze, perhaps the refreshing scent of water that I loved, emanated from him.
It was only a moment before I realized this was Ekion’s natural scent.
The hand covering Ekion’s mouth pressed directly against my own lips.
We were kissing with my palm between us.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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