I Awakened as a Dark History - Chapter 26

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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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Episode 26
“Swallow it whole!”
Piercing the darkness came an enormous serpent.
Similar to the one I, Yi Ji-eum, and Choi Jeong-mun had dealt with together earlier, but vastly larger.
The massive serpent snatched a Harpy Owl from the air in a single bite, exploiting a gap in the barrier.
The crowd’s shouts of alarm faded as someone leaped from atop the serpent’s head.
“Choi Se-i!”
“Barrier! Get ready!”
Yi Jae-cheon and Choi Se-i raised the Haetae Shield high together.
The moment both of them brought the shield crashing down with a thunderous bang, a hemispherical barrier enveloped us.
The Harpy Owls struck the barrier and could come no closer.
Meanwhile, those riding atop the serpent jumped down in quick succession.
Three figures descended from the serpent’s head: Song Hae-yum, Kim Jeong-seon, and…
“Leader, we’ve regrouped. We’ve secured the Man-in Snake and rescued sixteen survivors. We’re currently collaborating with a Hunter skilled in alchemy.”
I caught a glimpse of the Beast called the Man-in Snake from the corner of my eye.
Unlike the serpents I’d seen before, it bore no prominent fangs, which suggested it wasn’t venomous.
Despite its massive frame and scarred, uneven body, the Man-in Snake carried itself docilely, its head lowered.
Song Hae-yum had introduced herself as a mage—but could she actually be a Tamer?
The thought struck me with fresh curiosity: did Taming fall within the purview of magic?
While I tilted my head in confusion, someone in a pristine white coat extended a hand in greeting.
“I’m An Je-hwan.”
“Choi Jeong-mun. Thank you for the assistance.”
“It’s only natural as a Hunter.”
He spoke the words with scarcely a trace of enthusiasm, then rummaged through his bag with deliberate movements.
A Triangular Flask, sealed tight with cork.
As An Je-hwan uncorked it, wisps of vapor spilled out.
He exhaled sharply toward the flask—a short, measured breath.
The vapor trapped within erupted skyward like a volcanic explosion.
The smoke spread beyond the barrier’s edge, engulfing everything around us.
“Is that poison?”
“Paralysis Toxin. It should buy us enough time to escape.”
Just as he said, the relentless assault on the barrier ceased entirely.
One Harpy Owl that had ventured too close collapsed just outside the barrier’s edge, convulsing violently.
“Wow…”
The tension drained from us at the sight.
I tilted my head back and exhaled a shaky breath of relief.
The child remained clinging to my side, still crying.
Soaking my clothes in the process.
‘Ah…’
I smiled as I rubbed the child’s damp forehead.
The mother finally pried the child away from me.
“Ye-eun! Let go now! You almost hurt yourself hanging onto the Hunter like that!”
The child was dragged away by her mother’s hand but continued wailing all the while.
What could I possibly say to comfort her?
“Ye—”
“Hey, mother! Can’t you quiet that child down?!”
Just as I was about to crouch in front of the girl, a hoarse, strained voice cut in.
It was the same man who had been fretting over the child’s presence before.
“Don’t you understand? If the Hunter can’t move, we all die. Either stop the kid from crying or keep her from clinging to the Hunter. If you can’t do either, what kind of mother are you? Huh?”
The mother forced the child into her arms and bowed repeatedly.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
His relentless apologies did nothing to calm his fury.
“That’s why bring such a young child on the Underground Railway in the first place? Why not just avoid it altogether? What business does she have in a place like this? We nearly died! None of this would’ve happened if you hadn’t been here!”
“I’ll try harder to quiet her. I’m so sorry. I’ll be more careful going forward.”
“You said that before and what changed?! You coddle that child so much she doesn’t know right from wrong and just cries whenever she feels like it!”
He jabbed his finger accusingly at the mother, driving her back further.
Frightened by the man’s intensity, the child tried to stifle her sobs.
But if tears could be swallowed away so easily, there would be no crying in the world.
Sensing the man’s pressure, the girl choked back her tears—only to break into hiccups, her body shaking as she gasped.
“You said you’d manage her properly before! So what? How exactly are you managing that child?!”
The child stretched both arms and pulled his mother into a tight embrace.
His small shoulders shook with hiccoughs, his breathing broken and irregular.
Choi Jeong-mun, the raid leader, quickly positioned himself between the boy and us.
“Please calm down, ma’am. We need to move right now.”
“If she keeps crying like that while we move, won’t we just end up in another disaster? Someone needs to give her a firm warning about this behavior.”
Perhaps it was because someone had nearly been dragged away a moment ago.
Most of the group tacitly agreed with him, their silence assent enough.
A few of them even nodded, their faces hardened into grim masks.
I understood his fear and anger.
And yet……
“What if we don’t take measures…….”
“What measures?”
I noticed the small breathing behind me had suddenly stopped.
The hostile stare directed at something he couldn’t even reach around his own waist made my skin crawl.
“Exactly what measures?”
“So…… the kid’s mother should…… maybe…….”
He hesitated, uncomfortable with the direct question.
“What do you want her to do with the child? In a situation terrifying enough that even adults want to cry, how can you possibly expect a small child not to weep?”
“I didn’t…….”
It was a contemptible, cowardly stance. But it was familiar.
You were always like this.
“You criticize, but you won’t say the measure yourself.”
[Current Synchronization Rate]
85…… 8, 91%%
The number climbed rapidly.
“I’m sick of you all.”
“Wait a moment, please.”
Yi Ji-eum reached out and gently grasped my arm, as if to stop me.
And I shook his hand away sharply.
There was still something I needed to confirm.
“You said ‘this time,’ didn’t you?”
It was the people behind him who reacted more strongly to that observation.
Eyes widened, or they turned away uncomfortably, pretending not to hear.
Even the man in front of me opened and closed his mouth wordlessly, at a loss.
I found it darkly amusing and laughed.
“Why? Did you chase them away easily last time too? And so you thought you could do it again?”
I recalled the remnants that had been left where the child was found.
Someone had been with the child.
Someone who cared for him, who protected him.
There had been someone willing to shield a stranger’s child amid accusations that the child was a burden.
‘A person like that deserves to live.’
The child was slow-footed and didn’t understand the situation well.
He required constant attention and care.
So in a situation like this, the child was a hindrance—dead weight.
But if we abandoned people for such reasons, how many would be left behind in this place?
Everyone here is being rescued with the aid of the Conquest Team.
From the Conquest Team’s perspective, all of them are burdens.
Yet the Conquest Team itself moves through the dungeon with mutual aid among comrades.
So they cannot cast aside their own kind for so flimsy a reason, cannot trample them underfoot.
They cannot trample others that way.
They cannot do that to us…….
‘Us?’
I paused for a moment, confused, and pressed my forehead.
In that pause, Choi Jeong-mun stepped forward and positioned himself between me and the man.
Before he could placate me, I opened my mouth abruptly.
“I find that man to be a hindrance.”
“I understand, but…….”
I cut off his words sharply.
“He’s the biggest obstacle to the rescue right now. We should move before the Paralysis Toxin wears off, but we can’t because of him.”
At my words, the mouths of those listening nearby fell open in shock.
Never did I expect such words to come from me, someone on the rescue team.
“Since they’re just dead weight getting in the way, why don’t you deal with them?”
Choi Jeong-mun seemed to genuinely deliberate over my suggestion, his gaze shifting between the other man and me.
Each time his eyes moved, the other man’s face went pale.
“N-no, I, I…… that is, um…….”
His mouth, which had worked so smoothly when condemning others, had gone rigid.
Choi Jeong-mun noted his expression and turned back to face me.
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly before settling back into place.
“I’ll be sure to give him proper guidance and manage the situation carefully.”
It was almost exactly the same phrasing the child’s mother had used earlier.
The man standing behind him now had a blotchy, mottled face.
Though my chest still didn’t feel entirely clear, there was no need to push the Conquest Team’s leader further.
I exhaled sharply through my nose and nodded.
“If you say so, then I understand.”
The moment I pretended to be magnanimous, Choi Jeong-mun gestured to his team members and moved forward.
“Right then, let’s move before the Paralysis Toxin wears off. This way. And the rest of you—no more making a scene. Please relocate.”
As Choi Jeong-mun finished speaking, a small laugh echoed from somewhere.
Perhaps the sudden reversal of the atmosphere had struck someone as funny.
I walked over to the child and gently patted her head.
“Don’t be afraid. Stay close to your mother. These Hunters here will make sure you all get home safe.”
The child, whose crying had apparently stopped at some point, smiled widely.
“If there’s ever anything you need help with, please don’t hesitate to ask. Anything at all—including looking after the child.”
“Oh, thank you so much.”
The child’s mother bowed her head, her face showing both embarrassment and genuine gratitude.
I turned away sharply and squeezed my eyes shut.
Now that I’d said everything I wanted to, my sense returned.
‘Oh no, what have I done! I completely ruined the mood!’
Belated regret flooded my mind.

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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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