The White Tiger Clan’s Baby Cotton Ball - Chapter 234

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Part 2, Chapter 26

Irim quietly looked down at Soya, who had fallen asleep in his arms with her head drooping.

The moment he sensed danger, he immediately tore through space to reach where she was, but Soya’s condition was quite poor.

Her wheezing breath was filled with hot heat.

The heat flowers blooming across her face were signs of second growth.

Sizzle—

Along with stinging pain, the sound of burning flesh could be heard.

His sleeve melted away, revealing his forearm swollen red like a burn.

It was because of the heat she was emitting.

Growth pains in beast-people are accompanied by special ability rampage.

The stronger the ability, the more intense the phenomenon.

The direct lineage of the Suzaku Family are usually born with fire abilities.

However, there was no record of emitting heat strong enough to consume everything around like this.

It was dangerously powerful enough to potentially become a disaster.

Soya had awakened a divine beast not long after birth when her spirit core hadn’t even awakened yet, and the young spirit core, startled by the great power it couldn’t handle, sealed the Suzaku blood to protect itself.

The sealed Suzaku blood first awakened at age twelve through the first growth pains, and now at seventeen, it was explosively awakening again through the second growth pains.

Crackle, crackle.

Sparks continued to bloom in the air around her.

Due to the sparks that spread to the forest and the corpses of dead demon beasts, acrid smoke rose from various places.

“Huu…”

Whimpering, pained sounds flowed from between her lips.

Irim tightened his arms wrapped around her, supporting her body more firmly.

The wider the area touching her, the more painfully his skin melted away, but he didn’t care.

Moving the suffering Soya to a safe place was the priority.

However, if he took her to the White Tiger people like this, the surroundings would become a sea of fire.

Ordinary beast-people wouldn’t be able to withstand the heat she was emitting.

Taking her to Saeon was dangerous.

For Soya, and for the other beast-people too.

Irim held Soya tightly while carefully wielding his earth powers.

Rumble—

Dozens of massive earth pillars shot up from the ground.

The rising earth pillars intertwined in layers to form earthen walls, becoming a solid hideout that blocked the heat from spreading outside.

Irim spread his outer coat on the soft earthen floor and carefully laid Soya down on it.

She looked terribly distressed, wheezing and breathing hot air.

Irim bit his lower lip hard with a pale face, as if he were in even more pain.

‘First I need to inform Baek Saeon of Soya’s location…’

Just as he was about to leave Soya briefly to find Saeon.

“Huu, huk…”

Soya groaned in pain and grabbed Irim’s sleeve.

“It hurts… It hurts, Your Majesty…”

“…”

A pained expression appeared on Irim’s face as he looked at her.

Because he had a vague idea of what she was seeing.

Covered by veils of time, covered and covered again.

So now they were times that had been covered and forgotten.

However, that didn’t mean they had never existed from the beginning.

Past times that would be engraved in her soul despite repeating countless lives.

She must be seeing those times.

Because Irim was the same.

His unusually long growth pains endlessly repeated the despair he had experienced across countless timelines.

“Please… don’t be in pain, Soya.”

Irim looked at her with sadly curved eyes and whispered pitifully.

“When you’re in pain… I don’t know what to do.”

He murmured while brushing away Soya’s hair that was stuck to her forehead with sweat.

Sizzle, sizzle.

Each time he touched her, his skin turned red and melted away, but he didn’t care and only looked at her.

“Even though I’ve experienced this several times, still, I find it so painful to see you hurt.”

Irim painfully closed his eyes.

“Even though you’re in such pain, there’s nothing I can do for you…”

Self-blame toward his powerless self stabbed at him.

Drop.

A single teardrop fell and spread across Soya’s face.

* * *

Soya, who had encountered her past self corrupted to the soul and transformed like a demon beast, squeezed her eyes shut and trembled violently.

Grrr…

Grrrr…

Growling sounds scratched at her ears.

Gradually becoming assimilated with those sounds, the physical pain became contagious.

“Huu, huk…”

The area around her chest where her spirit core would be located surged hotly.

Soya’s collapsed body became darkly corrupted like the body before her eyes.

Her head was hot and numb.

It hurt so much.

She wished someone would come and take away this pain.

“It hurts…”

Tears flowed down.

“It hurts, Your Majesty…”

Soya sobbed like that without even knowing who she was looking for.

Just then, she felt a touch caressing her.

Drop.

At the same time something fell and spread across her face, cool air from somewhere wrapped around her body.

The frightening growling sounds that had been scratching at her ears gradually died away.

Soya slowly opened her eyes.

There was a sad face looking down at her.

“Your Majesty…?”

Irim’s face appeared blurry.

“Is it Your Majesty…?”

“…Soya.”

His choked voice sounded both sorrowful and tender.

“I waited, Your Majesty.”

Soya looked at him and smiled hazily.

“You came to get me, didn’t you?”

At that question, Irim made an indescribable expression, then curved his eyes.

“…Yes, Soya. I came to get you.”

“Your Majesty, I really, really want to say something… something I must say…”

Even uttering just a few syllables was too much for her.

“Soya, if it’s difficult, you don’t have to say…”

Squeeze.

Soya grasped Irim’s hand.

“It’s not because of His Majesty.”

Even in her dazed state, Soya tried her best to speak with a clear voice as she looked at him.

“So please, don’t feel sorry toward me.”

“…!”

“His Majesty did nothing wrong. I really wanted to say this.”

A gentle smile appeared on her pale face.

Slowly.

She closed her eyelids again and collapsed softly into Irim’s embrace.

* * *

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump….

Irim froze completely, unable to do anything with Soya in his arms.

He couldn’t dare pull away the hand she had grasped.

Even though only his fingertips were caught, his entire body felt bound and unable to move.

[It’s not because of His Majesty.]

Throughout the countless times he couldn’t save her, Irim had to struggle with feelings of helplessness and guilt.

[His Majesty did nothing wrong.]

As if she knew exactly that, she said those words and fell asleep again.

“…Even in the moment your soul was shattering, you didn’t resent me.”

Irim muttered in a bitter voice.

What time period might her soul be wandering through?

Suddenly, Irim realized that the skin touching hers was no longer hot.

Her expression also looked much more peaceful.

But her Growth Pains weren’t over yet.

Unable to leave the ailing Soya alone, Irim eventually gave up on going to find Saeon and stayed by her side.

Soya’s fever repeatedly rose and fell, and at some point she transformed into a bird with a ‘poof!’

Though it would be a brief time that Soya wouldn’t remember once she woke up, it was an incredibly long time for Irim watching her suffer in pain.

The sight of the tiny Baby Bird wheezing from the fever was heartbreaking to behold.

How much time had passed like that?

The Baby Bird’s body was suddenly engulfed in flames.

Where the flames had quietly died down.

“Chirp. Chiruu—”

A beautiful Bird with brilliant Red Feathers all over her body was sleeping peacefully.

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