The White Tiger Clan’s Baby Cotton Ball - Chapter 255

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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 47

Seolyeo’s body was as still as if he were in deep sleep.

Soya carefully took out a black orb and placed it on Seolyeo’s chest.

It was Seolyeo’s Dragon Orb that she had received from the elder of the Black Serpent Tribe.

Then his body reacted to the black Dragon Orb, and black scales appeared from head to toe before disappearing.

“…!”

—The serpent found his Dragon Orb and became a dragon!

Heuksa exclaimed excitedly.

Soon after, Seolyeo’s eyelids began to twitch.

Slowly—

Seolyeo lifted his eyelids.

“Seol Yoya…!”

Soya threw her arms around Seolyeo and burst into tears.

“Seol Yoya, are you okay? It’s me, Soya. Do you recognize me?”

“So…ya…?”

Seolyeo blinked his eyes, unable to grasp what had happened.

“Why am I…. Ah….”

Then suddenly, he remembered what had happened just before he lost consciousness.

[Seol Yoya…!]

Soya had found me hiding beneath the Underworld Palace.

[Don’t try to run away again, just talk to me for a bit.]

She had caught me when I tried to avoid her once more.

[Seol Yoya, why all of a sudden…?]

In a moment of being swayed by evil, I had selfishly embraced her….

[Don’t do this, Seol Yoya. I don’t like this…!]

Afraid of being hated by her, I had harbored the weak desire to just disappear.

The reason I had been able to endure without being devoured by evil all this time was because I had the goal of waiting until she was ready to awaken the last divine beast.

Now that she had grown magnificently and found me again, perhaps it was time for me to disappear.

The moment I harbored such thoughts, my consciousness suddenly went out, and Seolyeo’s soul, robbed of his body, sank into the darkness of Mujeoggyeong.

Seolyeo’s soul tried to awaken his consciousness and reclaim his body, but once sunken, his consciousness would not awaken again.

Devoured by evil, Seolyeo gradually felt his soul being eroded.

It was painful and agonizing.

He finally understood what it meant for a soul to rot away.

It was so torturous that he wanted to give up everything in that moment.

—If you’re unlucky, you’ll die. A soul that’s lost its body will eventually be devoured by evil. But it’s not completely hopeless.

Suddenly, he remembered what Heuksa had told him before leaving White Tiger Palace.

—Give up your body, but don’t let your soul be devoured. Endure. Endure, endure, and endure to the very end.

—Your body and consciousness will both be devoured, but endure with your soul alone. Until that child awakens the last divine beast and destroys evil.

That’s right. Soya, if it’s Soya, she will surely destroy evil and come looking for me.

Soya said so herself.

Let’s return to White Tiger Palace together.

If it’s Soya, surely….

Seolyeo’s soul, which had sunk beneath Mujeoggyeong, endured, and endured, and endured again.

And Soya, as she always had, found him once more like this.

“The evil is gone now, Seol Yoya. So….”

Soya, with reddened eyes, wiped her tears away bravely and smiled brightly.

“So let’s return to White Tiger Palace together.”

“Yes, Soya. Let’s go back.”

Seolyeo also smiled broadly, his eyes reddening as he followed her lead.

And at a spot a little distance away.

Saeon was watching the two children when it happened.

Tug.

He turned around at the touch of someone grabbing his sleeve.

“Your Majesty…?”

Irim was holding onto him with a pale complexion, looking as if he might collapse at any moment.

“I’m sorry, Saeon. Just for a moment.”

He spoke with difficulty, like someone who could barely manage to stand still.

It was an unusually fragile appearance, unlike his usual self.

“Why….”

Saeon, who had been looking at Irim’s pale face, suddenly noticed black scales that had fallen between his sleeves and his expression hardened with shock.

“Why has your condition worsened even more…!”

“Shh. Lower your voice.”

Even in this situation, seeing Irim worry about Soya discovering his condition made Saeon’s eyes harden sternly.

“…Hold on tight.”

After asking Sanyu, who was calmly standing there having cleaned up traces of Jeok Ayun, to look after Soya and Seolyeo, Saeon supported Irim and left the scene first.

Certainly, until this morning, Irim’s physical condition had not been this serious.

However, the current Irim was in such poor condition that he could barely manage to stand.

Had he perhaps overexerted himself using his divine power?

But Saeon hadn’t seen Irim use his strength.

Even when suppressing the evil’s movements, hadn’t he used his sword and physical force rather than the Imperial Dragon’s divine power?

‘Wait. Don’t tell me.’

Suddenly, Saeon recalled that there had been moments during the confrontation with evil when the flow of air had changed.

Saeon’s expression twisted grimly.

“…Your Majesty.”

He looked at Irim and asked.

“Just what exactly did you do?”

“….”

Instead of answering, Irim gave a faint smile.

* * *

Evil died and thus everything was resolved.

The black sky cleared up, and the Demon Beasts vanished without a trace in an instant.

They were able to get Seolyeo back too.

But there was just one thing that remained unresolved.

That was Irim’s body, which was rotting away, turning pitch black.

The land where the sacred tree is rooted was a sacred place connecting the earthly realm and the heavenly realm, distinct from the earth ruled by the Imperial Dragon of the earthly realm.

Therefore, originally Irim could not use his earth powers in this sanctuary.

However, the moment he set foot in the sanctuary, Irim realized he could wield his power here as well.

Though he didn’t know the reason, the heavenly realm was allowing the earth’s power to encroach upon the sanctuary.

If that was the case, he had nothing to hold back.

The first time he used his earth power was when they first encountered Evil.

Without warning, the blackened, rotted roots of the sacred tree shot up and pierced through Soya’s thigh.

Soya bled too much.

Since her purification power couldn’t heal her own wounds, it couldn’t prevent her death.

Soya’s consciousness snapped away.

Her death was something no one present wanted, not even Evil itself.

While everyone wailed and sobbed in anguish, Irim alone moved unsteadily and placed his hand on the black earth.

“Your Majesty…? Surely you don’t mean…!”

Saeon seemed to realize his intention, but before he could say anything more, the earth shook.

Rumble—!

The entire world trembled, and time reached its end, covering over another timeline.

The moment when the veil of time covered everything and breath ceased was always accompanied by pain.

However, he didn’t even have time to dwell on the pain.

Blink.

When Irim closed and opened his eyes, he was just setting foot in the sanctuary.

Since time flowed differently inside this sanctuary than outside, the newly overlaid time began from the moment they had just entered this place.

Whether that should be called fortunate.

Having turned back time like that, he prevented her death once by embracing Soya and dodging the rising tree roots as soon as they encountered Evil.

However…

“No! My paradise…!”

The black water pillar created by the enraged Evil spread like a tsunami, covering everything in all directions.

In that horrific attack that corroded everything, she lost her breath once again.

Irim turned back time at every such moment, again and again and again.

In some moments he successfully protected her, but there were also moments when her father and elder brother lost their lives.

Thus what was merely half a day’s battle for others became an endlessly long fight for him.

He could feel his physical condition gradually deteriorating.

However, Irim couldn’t stop.

Because this might be the last battle.

At the end of this final battle, he would finally be able to keep his promise to her.

That promise to save her.

That promise he couldn’t perfectly keep even through all those countless times…

“So I’m fine, Saeon.”

Irim spoke with a faint smile toward Saeon, who was looking at him with eyes mixed with complex emotions.

“I’m really fine. Really.”

He had destroyed Evil and protected Soya.

Truly, at last.

It had been such a long promise.

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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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