Chapter 46 ….
The hope that had barely arisen from that statement plummeted once again. In an instant, the empty space was filled with unexpected dismay.
Cheong-eum was now offering that precious treasure to save me.
He had instinctively realized that Seon-oh was not the culprit, and that I had foiled Seon-oh’s plan.
The price for this realization was Cheong-eum’s own life.
But…
“I won’t go alone.”
Seon-oh whispered firmly, and Cheong-eum lifted his head to look at him.
His face hardened, as if he had heard an answer he could never have expected.
But Seon-oh’s words were sincere. He had no intention of running away, leaving Cheong-eum behind. The fact that forces who knew how to suppress lunar energy had reached even the Chosin was serious. If the Chosin fell, the Phoenix would fall too.
And…
“I found it. The way to escape.”
Seon-oh had finally discovered a clever solution.
As Cheong-eum began to speak, Seon-oh suddenly grabbed his hand and pressed it against his own chest. Startled by the sudden act, Cheong-eum froze, only to see Seon-oh look directly into his eyes and quietly murmur:
“Light a fire on my heart.”
Cheong-eum’s delicate brows furrowed at the bizarre request.
He tensed for a moment, then moved his lips.
“…Are you asking me to kill you?”
His calm voice carried an undertone of bewilderment. Seon-oh, raising his eyebrows as if to dismiss the thought, said firmly:
“Who’s dying? I can’t die before becoming the Phoenix.”
Cold water now surged from their waists up to their shoulders.
“Oh my. Look at those two. Have they already secretly conspired? Hmph, a man who has touched another woman’s hand is unpleasant. Should I just kill him?”
Gajin floated above the water, lying sideways, mocking them. But Seon-oh’s gaze did not waver from Cheong-eum.
“Cheong-eum’s lunar energy is only temporarily blocked; it still exists inside him. So…”
Seon-oh whispered in a low voice that Gajin could not hear.
“When we’re fully submerged, that’s when.”
Cheong-eum froze, unable to nod or refuse, staring at Seon-oh.
He could not understand a word of what the woman before him was saying. Their bodies were close, and contact made it easy to ignite a fire on Seon-oh’s heart. But if they did, Seon-oh would certainly burn. Not just any fire, but a blue flame known as the Fire of God.
Yet in Seon-oh’s eyes, reflected on his face, there was unwavering conviction. The certainty in that gaze sank deep into Cheong-eum’s chest, stirring a strange ache.
And then it happened.
The rising water finally swallowed them both.
As they submerged, Seon-oh held his breath and gripped Cheong-eum’s hand tightly as a signal.
Cheong-eum, also holding his breath, obeyed as if entranced. As Cheong-eum bit his lip and focused, a blue flame ignited over Seon-oh’s rapidly beating heart.
“…!”
The sudden, searing heat from his chest forced Seon-oh to open his mouth. The pain was incomparable to stabbing his heart with a knife.
Feeling the unfamiliar agony burning throughout his chest, Seon-oh bit his lips to stay conscious. The icy water did nothing to alleviate the intense heat.
Just as Cheong-eum, watching him endure, tried to withdraw his hand in concern, the entire cold lake that had swallowed them surged violently. Cheong-eum’s head moved sharply in response to the unmistakable vibration.
He noticed the wave of energy spreading from Seon-oh across the lake, eyes widening in shock.
Gajin, who had been floating above, observing when to pull Cheong-eum out, also sensed it and jumped up.
A tidal wave, the kind only seen at sea, rose above the lake.
“Wait…”
Just as Gajin reached out desperately, the violently surging water swept her off the lake, throwing her against the opposite cliff.
“Argh!”
With no time to brace herself, Gajin grabbed her head to steady herself. The energy, created not from water but from the air, wrapped around her, lifting her back onto the cliff.
“This damn…!”
Furious, Gajin immediately formed a massive water sword and plunged it into the lake—exactly where Seon-oh and Cheong-eum were.
But a fierce whirlpool formed right at that point, swallowing her water sword and shattering it.
“?!”
The whirlpool, which had swallowed the sword, widened rapidly, creating a massive hole in the center of the lake. Through it, Seon-oh and Cheong-eum could be seen standing on the lakebed.
Gajin’s eyes widened in shock.
Seon-oh’s gaze met Gajin’s from the lakebed, while she remained on the cliff.
Seon-oh, panting slightly from the lingering pain, smirked at Gajin.
“You almost had me, Gajin.”
The mocking tone ignited fury in Gajin’s eyes. Blood from her split head streaked her face.
“You… this time, I’ll really kill you!”
Enraged, Gajin extended her palm, generating a massive whirlpool aimed at Seon-oh.
Anticipating the attack, Seon-oh quickly pushed Cheong-eum behind him and opened his own palms.
The incoming whirlpool narrowed into a thin strand, drawn directly into Seon-oh’s hand.
“Huh?”
Gajin, flustered, tried to pull the whirlpool back, but it no longer moved. Not only that, the entire lake’s water was now spiraling into the thin strand between their hands, lowering the water level at a terrifying speed.
Finally, Gajin realized that Seon-oh was absorbing the entire body of water. Her breath caught in disbelief.
How…?
‘Wait a moment…’
Sensing inevitable defeat, Gajin tried to break the connection and flee, but Seon-oh did not let go.
Realizing her own attack had become a trap binding her, shock registered on Gajin’s face.
By now, all the water had been drawn into Seon-oh, revealing the lake’s deep bottom. Yet Gajin remained trapped, held by Seon-oh in midair.
To prevent Seon-oh from moving, she had to kneel and cling to the cliff edge.
“L-Let go of me! How dare you!”
Cheong-eum, frozen, looked at Seon-oh standing before him.
The whirlpool swallowing her stopped suddenly. Gajin realized her own lunar energy was being drawn into Seon-oh.
Seon-oh had discovered he could absorb even the lunar energy of a superhuman—and was testing it in the most terrifying way.
With all surrounding water now absorbed and no more energy left to draw, the whirlpool began sucking the moisture from Gajin’s body.
Her mouth dried, her pale skin cracked like parched earth, and darkness closed in before her eyes.
“You… you…!”
Gajin shouted in fury, but Seon-oh spoke first.
“Don’t worry. I’ll return it.”
Simultaneously, all the energy drawn into Seon-oh exploded outward.
The thin stream of energy shot back toward Gajin, and the cliff she was standing on crumbled into pieces.
“Ugh!”
Unable to evade the surging current, Gajin fell along with the cliff debris.
