Chapter 328
Just then, there were heavy knocks on the door. Bae Jaemin, still holding onto me, raised his head. Unlike before, his face was lined with tension and questions.
“…–nim! Lee-kyung-nim! Are you there?”
The voice belonged to Kim Sangyoon. The issue, though, was that Bae Jaemin also recognized the owner of that voice.
“…Mmngh!”
“That’s right… Kim Sangyoon is also involved somehow, right?” Bae Jaemin whispered, covering my mouth.
Looking at his cruel expression, I desperately tried to signal to the Warrior that he was in danger, but it was futile since I couldn’t even breathe properly due to the Priest strangling me.
Meanwhile, Kim Sangoon eventually entered the house; dull footsteps–which must be his–approached closer and closer.
Desperate, I bit at the Priest’s hand covering my mouth until it bled. Bae Jaemin languidly looked at me before gently pulling his hand away. The man had a relaxed demeanor, as if he were watching a bug struggling to survive. However, I had no other options available to me.
As I felt that iron-tasting blood dripping down my throat, I screamed, “Don’t…Come…!”
“…Are you there?”
However, contrary to the desperation within my heart, only hoarse, broken words tumbled out of my mouth. However, I didn’t give up and tried to make whatever sound I could, banging at the floor with my fist and pushing at a broken light bulb with my feet.
However, my desperate struggles only resulted in a few quiet noises. Bae Jaemin, who looked down at me for a while, pressed on my Adam’s apple with his thumb; that alone extinguished my futile rebellion.
“It seems you’re quite close to Kim Sangyoon. You’re not even asking me to spare your life; you simply want him to run away.”
“……”
“Would it be a worthwhile show if I were to tear Kim Sangyoon to death right in front of you?” Bae Jaemin muttered, as if he were eager to do so. When I heard those words, I felt as if I had made a mistake; it felt as if all the blood drained out of my body.
I didn’t want to cry, but my view became gradually blurred due to the overwhelming emotions surging inside of me. When he saw my face, the Priest smiled.
And, just then, the approaching footsteps stopped. Finally, Kim Sangyoon had spotted us.
“Lee-kyung-nim!” Kim Sangyoon shouted, eyes wide open.
“You came to find Choi Lee-kyung?” Bae Jaemin asked softly; the priest grabbed my head and tilted it upwards so Kim Sangyoon could see my face clearly.
“What are you doing?!” The Warrior immediately took out [Berserker] and aimed the blade at Bae Jaemin. However, Bae Jaemin laughed without even a hint of anxiety in his voice, “Is your head an ornament?”
“…What?”
“What I’m doing with Choi Lee-kyung here… Why I’m here at all…I’m sure you can make an educated guess.”
“……!”
“Though, thinking about it, you must have also done something unforgivable if you’re hanging around the likes of Choi Lee-kyung.”
Kim Sangyoon’s expression distorted. However, the Warrior looked at me with a calmer expression than I would have expected from him. His eyes roamed over my face, and, when he saw my black-and-blue bruised neck, his brows furrowed.
He lowered [Berserker] slightly before calmly stating, “Bae Jaemin… Even if it’s you, it’s still a felony to assault a User without a trial.”
“Ha ha. I don’t think that’s anything the people who kidnapped and murdered Hyerin-ie should say.”
Hearing that, Kim Sangyoon looked at me, startled; I responded by continuing to signal, with my eyes, that he should run away.
But, of course, Kim Sangyoon didn’t receive my signal. He lowered his voice and spoke as if he were trying to somehow persuade the Priest. “How could Choi Lee-kyung deal with Ryu Hyerin? He’s even lower level than me. You should forget a ridiculous conspiracy theory like that…”
“Ah, by the way. Choi Lee-kyung already flapped his mouth about that. What are you going to do now?”
“……”
“For your information, Choi Lee-kyung has been very cooperative… Your name popped up immediately as well.” Bae Jaemin didn’t listen to the Warrior and continued to speak. Meanwhile, he strangled my throat so I couldn’t even deny the allegations; nausea welled up within me.
I had never sold out Kim Sangyoon. However, I had no power to shake off Bae Jaemin and could only open and close my mouth silently.
Kim Sangyoon, unaware of the complete situation, looked between me and the Priest with a complicated expression. Eventually, he lowered [Berserker] and stared at Bae Jaemin.
“I…there were circumstances.” The Warrior mumbled–his demeanor a bit servile. Perhaps Bae Jaemin was satisfied with that response; he smirked and relaxed his grip on my throat. Then, as if I were garbage, he threw me to the floor.
“Cough, hack…” I wanted to move, but as soon as I was flung away, I was immediately caught by the Priest again. He stepped on my chest, pressing down, and I could only spit out a dry cough.
He didn’t stop at brutally trampling me beneath his feet; he began to stomp on me several times. The sounds of my ribs breaking could be clearly heard throughout the house because the surroundings were so quiet.
I wanted to scream from the terrible pain, but I could only make breathless noises–I blamed the fact that I had been strangled just before. Kim Sangyoon turned his head and looked away as if he were scared.
After assaulting me, Bae Jaemin continued in a relaxed tone. “Really? Choi Lee-kyung sold you out, saying that he couldn’t have done it without your help.”
“…I was forced to act against my will due to some restraints…”
“Didn’t you say that Choi Lee-kyung is lower level than you?”
“The person who helped…Nngh! That’s all I can say.” With that said, Kim Sangyoon opened his mouth and showed its insides to the Priest. A complex pattern appeared–like a tattoo on his tongue before fading away.
After seeing that, Bae Jaemin rubbed his chin and murmured, “That’s the highest level prohibition spell used by Sorcerers…”
“……”
“Alright. Then, Kim Sangyoon. You just sit still and blink if I’m wrong.”
“……”
“Did Seo Dawon intervene?”
“……” Kim Sang-yoon was stiff; there was no movement.
Bae Jaemin received that signal, sighed, and murmured, “So, it was really Seo Dawon? Hah…”
“……”
“Then, Ryu Hyerin… Truly…” Talking to himself, Bae Jaemin closed his bloodshot eyes. Then…
Slam–!
“Co-ough…!”
He kicked me in the stomach once more, as if he were venting his fury. I shook from the sharp pain. Soon, I heard Bae Jaemin’s cold voice from above my head.
“[Healing].”
“Mm–Mmmnph!”
I was sure that was a healing skill, but, when my body was engulfed by light, I was wracked with incomparable pain.
My mouth couldn’t help but drool; I felt sharp pain, as if someone was stabbing my organs. My fingernails cracked into pieces as I struggled and scratched at the floor. However, the pain didn’t subside at all.
Soon, the light died down; the pain disappeared as my shattered organs recovered. I sobbed and burrowed my face into my arms. And…
“Seo Dawon won’t die twice just because I’ve killed you…” Bae Jaemin said, tapping my shaking body with his foot. I didn’t answer, but he still looked down at me with a thoughtful expression. “You must have revived Seo Dawon with a Necromancer skill, right? Then, can he feel pain?”
“……”
“It would be nice if he could feel pain…”
“……”
“I should look into that.” With that said, Bae Jaemin leaned down and pulled lightly on my outstretched arm… I was so terrified of the Priest, I couldn’t help but scream at even that small amount of contact.
Bae Jaemin laughed and whispered, “I haven’t even started yet.”
Just then–
Suddenly, a thin thread of blood appeared on Bae Jaemin’s cheek. The wound burst, and blood droplets splashed onto my face.
Bae Jaemin looked back and cocked his eyebrow. Simultaneously, he probed the state of the wound on his split cheek, drawing his fingers across it in a line. That gesture alone was all the Priest needed to make the skin on his cheek smooth once more.
However, Bae Jaemin still looked displeased. He flung my arm away, slowly turned around, and murmured slowly, “Are you joking with me?”
“…Haah…. Fuck.” Kim Sangyoon, the subject of Bae Jaemin’s glare, stood with cold sweat dripping down his body with [Berserker] in hand.
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TL: My god Bae Jaemin, why are you so obsessed with Seo Dawon?