Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 283
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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 283
When word reached us that Ilkana had betrayed the sect.
‘Father’ and the assassins under his command remained remarkably composed.
It was true that Ilkana possessed considerable skill as an assassin, but that was only in the context of assassination itself.
She excelled at waiting for the opportune moment, concealing herself, and eliminating her target.
However, everyone knew that her pure combat prowess in direct confrontation fell short.
And yet.
Clang!
Ilkana’s short blade deflected the chakram.
Despite fighting with a rhythm half a beat slower, her attacks found their marks precisely, blocking and thrusting through with devastating accuracy.
‘How is this possible?’
Everyone watched with wide eyes as she parried five attacks in rapid succession.
Crash!
Moreover, a dog as massive as an ox moved in perfect synchronization with her, providing cover.
Ilkana spoke.
“I distinctly told you not to interfere, Brother. Did I not?”
Jin Cheon-hee answered her.
“I didn’t command this. Hwang-gu is simply acting on his own.”
Crackling blue lightning struck one of the assassins in the rear ranks.
“Is he acting on his own with this as well?”
Jin Cheon-hee replied with an aggrieved tone.
“Well, if you didn’t want that, you shouldn’t have given them jerky in the first place…”
Grrr!
She clenched her teeth and spoke.
“At least command them not to touch ‘Father.’ I will face him directly myself, Brother.”
Jin Cheon-hee nodded.
“You two! Did you hear that?”
Yelp! Bark bark!
“Understood.”
This is maddening. This Doctor and his two spiritual beasts.
No matter how grave the situation, they perform their roles with uncanny precision.
From the way they moved, they would not directly intervene in combat, yet they would prevent her from sustaining serious injury.
‘How considerate does he intend to be? This human… no, these creatures!’
Their natural manner of doing so only made it more infuriating.
‘He must be worried she’ll suffer grave injuries in the desert.’
I had already discerned that Jin Cheon-hee cared not one whit for the sensibilities of a true warrior.
Ordinarily, when one spoke thus, whether she fought one against ten or one against thirty, the proper etiquette was to fold one’s arms and observe, saying ‘This is the battle of a single warrior.’
But this handsome young man thought otherwise—he believed that fighting one against a dozen or more alone was simply unreasonable.
And if she were to sustain grave injury, he would have to carry her back to the city himself, treat her with his own hands, which would be troublesome.
That was surely his reasoning.
‘Is a human life more important than a warrior’s honor?’
The more I understand this human called Jin Cheon-hee, the more I realize our lives have been polar opposites.
Twang!
In that instant, one of the assassins attempting to slash her ribs was sent flying backward.
An invisible qi projectile.
Feeling Jin Cheon-hee’s interference and glaring at her, she immediately spoke.
“I can’t let it become one-on-one! I really won’t interfere! But no matter the reason, facing thirty people alone doesn’t make sense, does it? If your organs spill out here, who’s going to stitch them back together?”
…This crazy Doctor, seriously!
However, the assassins facing her were equally bewildered.
Even with the spirit beast’s assistance and Baek-ui Sinryong’s passive(?) protection, Ilkana’s skill was genuine.
The opposition numbered dozens of assassins.
Normally, she would have exhausted herself long ago, her skin torn and body butchered like a beast.
Yet Ilkana did not tire, and her short blade never dulled.
“Brother. You’ve grown stronger….”
Slash!
Ilkana’s short sword tore through the assassin’s throat.
“Kyahahaha!”
She laughed like a demon, baring her fangs.
“I took a very potent elixir, brother.”
I can feel myself growing stronger.
Strength, endurance, and agility—nothing is lacking.
Last night.
She received a single pill from me.
‘I’ll give you this spiritual medicine I keep for emergencies. Take it and circulate your inner energy according to the incantation I taught you. Ah… you don’t know how to circulate energy? What do I do?’ I panicked, then—
‘I’ll guide your inner force through your back and have you circulate it. Just accept the sensation as it comes. After all, Seoe and Gangho ultimately have similar roots,’ and I casually sat behind her and took my position.
Ilkana was bewildered but swallowed the elixir anyway.
Thus she understood why martial artists grow stronger in an instant.
I explained, ‘It’s not a top-tier elixir, but it increases inner cultivation by five to ten years.’
When the Central Plains man asked if people from there eat these often, I shook my head.
‘No. If everyone could eat these, there’d be chaos. This is expensive. And if you take it too often, the potency diminishes, so you take it all at once when you want maximum effect,’ and I laughed foolishly.
Well, I could guess what this Doctor was thinking when giving her this.
Keeping my original promise to ‘help you grow several times stronger.’
Simultaneously, she needed to be strong enough to hold back the assassins who were obviously pursuing.
I chose the fastest method.
“Die!”
One assassin could no longer hold back and thrust his short sword.
Ilkana grinned wickedly.
She planned to tear out his throat and kill him immediately.
Twang!
At that moment, his solar plexus caved in as he flew through the air.
Jin Cheon-hee spoke.
“Ah, my mistake.”
Now I understood.
This Doctor did not particularly enjoy watching enemies die.
That assassin would never run again in his lifetime, but at least I left him breathing.
‘That’s actually crueler. Hehehehe, truly a mad Doctor.’
Having slaughtered countless assassins and left countless others with irreversible scars before sparing them.
Now at last, she remained alone with ‘Father’.
“….”
What words were needed?
Her dagger craved blood.
The finest would be the blood of true kinship, but if that were impossible, she would gladly accept the blood of false kinship.
Truly a wretched existence.
Father hurled a chakram at her, and she simultaneously threw one in return.
Clang clang clang!
As the chakrams collided in mid-air, a hidden blade concealed behind them flew toward her throat.
‘You have grown, Father.’
Just as she had grown, so had he.
‘While you branded me with hot irons and submerged my hands in acidic lakes, you too must have grown.’
He performed the Assassination Sect’s rituals with the devotion of a true believer.
She wanted to gouge out his faithful eyes.
Always.
Not once.
Had she ever had such an opportunity.
Her dagger ensnares the hidden blade. The curved steel spins and wraps around it with a whirring sound.
A good sensation.
Her body craved warm blood.
‘Perhaps it was never because of Mother. Perhaps I was made this way from the very beginning.’
Her afterimage scatters.
Spirit embodiment—the technique used when assassinating the Third Prince.
Power obtained in exchange for offering one’s soul to an ancient god.
However, having already apostatized, Hell awaited if she died.
‘That’s fine too.’
She would gladly embrace such a Hell.
In that moment, Father also achieved spirit embodiment.
In this state, neither could attack the other.
Yet maintaining spirit embodiment for long was impossible.
Using it frequently was also impossible.
Ilkana was the first to release it.
And Father’s blade entered the gap in her defense.
I released the momentary spirit form to launch my attack. The blade was already thrusting toward the back of her head.
Tsugagakak!
Blood sprayed.
But it was not her blood.
What was severed was “Father’s” wrist.
Ilkana laughed.
“Kyaha!”
“How…?”
For just a moment, she had finally surpassed Father’s speed. It should have been absolutely impossible.
Even more so after facing dozens of assassins.
Ilkana answered.
“Ask him in heaven. How I did it.”
Kwaddeuk—
The first short blade embedded itself in a vital point,
Uddeuk—
The second short blade burrowed deep into the marrow.
Warm blood flowed out, soaking her hands.
“Kyahaha, krkrkuk… Krahaha!”
Ilkana laughed for a long time.
Tears streamed from both her eyes, but she paid them no mind.
In this moment, she had surpassed “Father”.
She had crossed a path from which there was no return.
She looked down at him as he died.
The Chakra Tant, which maximized physical ability, stubbornly kept life clinging on until the very end.
That is why assassins commit suicide.
Otherwise, they would endure pain throughout torture while their life persisted.
She struck his jawbone, dislocating it.
Uddeuk—
“Kyaha… Father. Did you think I would let you commit suicide?”
“…!”
Something unintelligible burst forth, but it was certainly a curse.
It was fine.
Ilkana savored this inarticulate sound.
“So you have become an apostate too, Father. Let us meet again in hell.”
Then she returned to her usual languid smile and answered tenderly.
“Who knows. Father, since this sect sends children to heaven even after torturing them and raising them as killers, perhaps they might send you to heaven even if you did not commit suicide. Well, it does not matter.”
Tears still did not cease from her eyes.
“I used you, Father, and you used me to reach heaven. So we are even.”
I listen as blood fills her lungs, as she gradually suffocates in her own blood.
It was clearer than the sound Mother had made as she whimpered toward her daughter.
“Then, Father. Sleep well. There’s no need to extinguish the fire.”
Ilkana gazes up at the night sky.
The words “sleep well” were what he had spoken while searing her back with a branding iron.
Within that peculiar kindness, Ilkana waited for him to stop breathing entirely.
Finally.
With his last breath, her opponent died completely.
Only then did she rise to her feet.
Twisted and contorted in madness, Ilkana spoke.
“Ah, Doctor. Have I fallen out of your favor with my appearance?”
“….”
Jin Cheon-hee rubbed the corners of his eyes with a weary expression.
Soon after, he opened his mouth.
“…Let’s begin treatment first. Assassins often coat their daggers with poison, and the sooner we treat it, the fewer aftereffects you’ll suffer.”
“Kyahahaha!”
Ilkana found this mad doctor to her liking.
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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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