The White Tiger Clan’s Baby Cotton Ball - Chapter 242

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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 34

Rumble, crash!

With a tremendous sound as if heaven and earth were splitting apart, the sky turned pitch black.

The evil that had opened its eyes in Seolyeo’s body slowly blinked and looked down at its own palm.

Then it bent its fingers one by one, moved its wrist, and turned its head.

Soon, ecstasy appeared on his face.

“I couldn’t move properly all this time, clinging to those wretched bodies.”

He traced his curling lips with his fingers and muttered in an overwhelmed voice.

“This is a very satisfying body.”

His limbs moved well, and even his voice was very pleasing.

Hyeon Rabaek’s body that had awakened him would shatter with just a little force, so he couldn’t completely dominate it.

He had tried to find other bodies, but ordinary beast-people’s bodies would have their life force drained just from his brief parasitism and couldn’t last three days.

But Seolyeo’s body had harbored him for the past three years, letting him rampage freely, yet not a single scratch appeared on it.

Truly, it was a perfect body.

“Despite having a body strong enough to rival the Imperial Dragon, his mind was so weak that he wavered over just one woman.”

The imugi’s body that couldn’t find its orb was incomplete, making it easier to corrupt with evil, and when his mind wavered upon facing Soya, he finally pushed out the consciousness and perfectly claimed that body.

“How foolish.”

He cast a cold sneer toward the original owner of the body he had claimed and slowly rolled his eyes.

Soya was looking at him with a shocked expression.

The moment their eyes met, Soya gritted her teeth and pointed the White Tiger Sword at him.

“What did you do to Seolyeo?”

“Dragon Emperor’s Bride…”

The evil that recognized Soya frowned around his eyes.

Five years ago, it was that woman who had driven him out while he was parasitizing Hyeon Rabaek’s body.

“Give back Seolyeo’s body!”

Soya raised the White Tiger Sword and charged at him.

Tap, tap.

She kicked off the ground with her toes, leaped into the air, and swung her sword toward his chest.

However, instead of avoiding her attack, the evil arrogantly tilted his head back and spread both arms.

Thud—!

The tip of the pure white sword pierced into the black shell covering his chest.

For a moment, confusion flashed across Soya’s face, but she immediately ignited the Vermillion Bird Heavenly Lady’s flames.

Whoosh—

Red flames blazed up along the pure white blade and spread across his chest.

However, unlike five years ago, the Vermillion Bird Heavenly Lady’s flames could not repel the evil.

“Hahaha! Hahahaha!”

The evil burst into laughter within the blazing flames.

“Unfortunately, Dragon Emperor’s Bride. Suzaku’s flames cannot destroy me.”

As if to prove the evil’s boast, his skin where the sword was embedded began to writhe and split, and black streams shot out from that spot, swallowing the Purification Flame.

“…!”

Soya’s eyes wavered for a moment.

The black streams immediately took the form of dozens of snakes and flew toward Soya.

Soya quickly withdrew her sword and dodged.

Dozens of black snakes struck where she had been just moments before.

Hiss—

The black snakes that had missed Soya by a hair’s breadth crashed into the ground and burst, leaving black liquid flowing down and corroding the earth.

“Why…”

Soya’s voice trembled slightly as she muttered while staring at the evil, against whom the Purification Power had been completely ineffective.

“Because I am no longer a ‘contaminated thing’ parasitizing this body, but have become the ‘owner of the body’ that has claimed this flesh.”

The evil, whose mood was greatly elevated, mimicked a gentle voice and explained smoothly.

“It means the consciousness of the body’s owner you remember has been completely submerged and devoured by me, Dragon Emperor’s Bride.”

Rumble, thud thud thud!

As soon as he finished speaking, black storm clouds rolled in once more and the world flashed.

Under the black sky, the evil that had claimed Seolyeo’s body bared his teeth and grinned wickedly.

* * *

Meanwhile, just after entering the Underworld Palace.

“I shall escort His Majesty.”

Even though there were attendants who had arrived from the Imperial Palace, Saeon insisted on escorting the Emperor himself and defended his position next to Irim.

“Baek Saeon. I didn’t know you liked me so particularly much.”

Irim let out a low laugh at Saeon’s attitude, which didn’t hide his wariness toward him.

“I hear the mistress of White Tiger Palace is quite frightening. If I earn your wife’s hatred, it will all be your fault.”

“Didn’t I always like Your Majesty very much? Ever since you were very young.”

Saeon snorted and retorted to the joke Irim had offered.

“…That’s right. You were the only one who extended a hand to the young prince, Saeon.”

Irim’s eyes suddenly deepened as he quietly nodded.

“Therefore, I am always grateful to you, Saeon.”

It was a wistful voice as if recalling the distant past.

The two of them also searched every corner of the Underworld Palace looking for Seolyeo, like the others.

However, even to their senses, which were sharper than others, Seolyeo’s presence could not be felt at all.

While walking along the stone path through the thicket, they heard a rustling sound.

Both men’s expressions instantly hardened sharply, and as Saeon launched his body, the golden light that Irim conjured flew toward the bushes.

A demon beast fell with a death cry from behind the thicket.

“Just an ordinary demon beast.”

Saeon glanced at the fallen demon beast’s corpse and spoke in an indifferent voice.

It was when the two were walking along the path again.

Stop.

Saeon’s steps suddenly halted.

Irim looked back at him with a puzzled expression.

“What’s wrong, Saeon?”

“…Your Majesty.”

Saeon looked at him with rigidly hardened eyes and asked.

“I thought it was my imagination for the past few days, but… are you perhaps unwell?”

The languid smile that had been lingering on Irim’s face completely disappeared.

“Why did you think that?”

“Because your gait is different from usual.”

Saeon had been watching the Emperor since his childhood.

Though it was a very subtle change, he, being sharper than others, noticed that the Emperor’s gait was heavier than usual.

Once he detected the abnormality, there were more things he could sense.

For instance, every time the Emperor’s sleeves fluttered, he could smell the faint scent of festering wounds…

“May I dare to check?”

“…”

Instead of answering, Irim looked at him with a cold expression.

It was silent permission.

Swish.

Saeon grabbed Irim’s wrist.

As the sleeve flowed down, black festering scales on the inside of his forearm were revealed.

“…!”

In an instant, Saeon froze completely.

It wasn’t an ordinary wound.

A very old-looking wound was burrowing into his flesh, festering black.

“Why did you come all the way here with such an injured body! Instead of staying at the Imperial Palace!”

“I had no choice. Time is flowing in a way I’ve never seen before.”

Irim replied in an indifferent tone.

“Just when exactly did this start…?”

“…”

“What about treatment…?”

“It’s not something that can be healed with medicine.”

“Then my daughter…”

“Also, it cannot be healed even with your daughter’s Purification Power. This is the price for breaking the world’s rules.”

Saeon couldn’t immediately understand those words.

However, soon some thought flashed through his mind, and his face turned deathly pale.

“Your Majesty’s mention of breaking the world’s rules, could it possibly be…?”

With hope that it wasn’t what he feared, he clenched his trembling fingertips and asked.

“Did you… tamper with time?”

“I did.”

Irim answered with a faint smile.

At that moment, Saeon could understand the identity of that strange sense of discord he had felt from the Young Emperor all along.

The young prince who had changed as if he had become a different person overnight.

The puzzling commands that seemed to know what results his actions would bring.

That attitude of occasionally seeing through everything like someone who had lived for a very long time.

The cause of all those mysteries was exactly this.

The forbidden power given to the Imperial Dragon: time.

“Then right now, Your Majesty, which iteration of time are you living through?”

“Well.”

Irim couldn’t answer.

“I don’t know either, Saeon.”

It wasn’t that he couldn’t answer because he couldn’t reveal it, but that he couldn’t answer because even he didn’t know.

Because at some point, it became impossible to count anymore.

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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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