A breeze, damp with moisture began to blow. The Black Temple was a space created by Arge, once an ancient hero but had become a corrupt sorcerer. He had made several special arrangements here and this ruler of the first floor was one of those arrangements.
“Hehehehe.”
A chilling voice was heard, causing goosebumps to rise on Selvin and Viola’s necks.
“Sister, it feels really creepy.”
“Yes.”
Viola maintained her composure as much as possible while assessing the situation.
‘The wizard Arge is going to resurrect.’
More precisely, it was the resurrection of Arge’s vengeful ghost. Although nothing compared to the living Arge, it was still a formidable opponent for the current Viola and Selvin.
‘What should I do?’
Viola desperately recalled information from the novel. The wizard Arge knew that an evil spirit would be born here. He also knew that someone could exorcize that demon.
‘The monsters of the Black Temple’s first floor are used as flesh offerings, their souls used to resurrect his ghost.’
It was a very dark wizard-like idea. The problem was that there was no way to deal with this ghost.
‘In the original novel, it was Tundra who killed Arge’s ghost.’
That was supposed to happen years later. In other words, the ghost held enough power to have to be personally executed by the male lead of the novel because protagonists in stories do not usually fight minions.
‘Zenon won’t come to help, will he?’
They had to find a way to survive on their own.
“Are you the ones who resurrected me?”
A headless spirit appeared. It had no vocal cords, but curiously, it could speak. It had the form of an old man, emaciated and frail. In the novel, such beings were called ‘vengeful spirits.’
“I’m very hungry, I must eat you.”
The headless entity’s body transformed into black mist and began to approach Viola. She quickly made a decision.
‘I have to fight.’
No other option came to mind but to fight directly.
‘After everything I’ve done to survive until now!’
She couldn’t die here, especially not devoured by a resurrected ghost.
‘It would be too unjust to die here!’
Thinking about dying here made Viola inexplicably angry. Then, Selvin collapsed with a thud! Her eyes were unfocused.
“Hehe, sister, dizzy, wow, hee hee…”
Viola understood why Selvin collapsed.
‘She’s been poisoned by the murky energy leaking from the ghost.’
Fortunately, Viola was not poisoned by the haze thanks to the energy leaking from her ring. The miraculous ‘arena’ spirit water contained in her ring protected Viola’s body from external harmful energies.
“Ho? You seem like a useful child.”
“You said I’m useful and she’s asleep.”
There was no one to see or hear anyway. Viola didn’t need to act like Viola Bellato.
“So I’ll just kill you so I can live.”
She absolutely couldn’t die here.
“Pom-Pom! Water barrier!”
She tensed her eyes and cast a water barrier. It was not the real Arge but merely a vengeful spirit left by Arge’s resentment.
“Are you stronger than my favorite character?”
Viola had survived a year of sparring with her favorite character so she definitely wouldn’t die to a mere vengeful spirit. Viola raised her sword qi.
‘It’s not just sparring.’
This was real combat and she had to survive somehow. To survive, she had to kill her opponent. Unbeknownst to herself, Viola’s eyes started turning red.
‘I want to live.”
Viola fell into a strange state.
‘I’m going to kill it.’
She felt like she was thinking for herself, and yet it felt as though she wasn’t thinking for herself. In fact, it felt like the real Viola was rising from her subconscious, joining her. As her killing spirit manifested, Viola’s sword qi began to be imbued with killing intent. Petals of the marguerite flower began to flutter around and Viola discovered a curious phenomenon.
‘The marguerite petals and leaves… they’ve changed.’
Due to the sword qi, all the leaves she was manipulating turned purple. Viola didn’t know why but it seemed like the entire world had turned purple.
‘There won’t be a second chance.’
She didn’t understand what was happening, but she summoned all of her strength. Unbeknownst to Viola, a bitter smile lingered on her lips.
***
Zenon said, “Her Highness is performing a sacred blood oath.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“She might get angry.”
“I’ll handle it.”
Zenon looked at Tundra with deep-set eyes. It seemed that Tundra had escaped from ‘The Sacred Ground of the Ancient Warriors’ in ‘The Place of Blowing Snow’ and found his way here.
‘What happened during that time?’
Tundra’s aura had changed dramatically. His eyes were more refined than before and his energy was more contained and stable. Yet, the inherent intensity he possessed was beyond imagination. Shailan was taken aback.
‘What’s with this guy?’
He wasn’t nearly this formidable when they first met. He said he was going for training in the Northern Forest, but he returned as someone completely different.
Zenon spoke again.
“I clearly warned him. I am not responsible.”
Tundra nodded.
‘The master is inside.’
No. He decided not to call her ‘master.’ Viola did not particularly like being called ‘master.’ Tundra vowed to never do what Viola did not want.
‘The princess is inside.’
Tundra decided to help Viola. After all, to the outside world, he was no more than her dog, and helping Viola was not illegal. As soon as he entered the Black Temple, he felt a strange sensation.
‘Something is appearing. Something ominous and dangerous.’
Tundra was not afraid. He had overcome endless illusions and challenges in the Northern Forest. He had fought life-threatening battles with the constantly emerging monsters. Time flowed differently inside that place, causing Tundra to have trained there for more than ten years. Despite those ten years passing, he could still distinctly feel Viola’s presence.
‘I can feel the princess’s energy.’
Soon after, a purple leaf storm began. It carried an aura more dangerous than any blizzard in ‘the place of blowing snow.’
‘She’s grown.’
It was an incredibly strong energy. Tundra dodged all the surrounding petals. He could have cut through them, but he chose not to. Even Tundra couldn’t dodge every petal, consequently, a few petals grazed his skin.
‘I’m bleeding.’
He pulled out a healing ointment from his subspace and quickly applied it, but it wasn’t because he was hurt.
‘She would be heartbroken to see me bleeding.’
Thus, he decided to heal as quickly as possible. Amidst the leaf storm, he focused his mind and located the vengeful spirit.
‘So, it’s you.’
The one who made Viola wield such a powerful, murderous sword qi. Tundra drew his greatsword, quickly closed the distance to the vengeful spirit, and executed Hickson’s Tehron sword technique. The vengeful spirit couldn’t react in time. The situation was already overwhelming with just Viola’s sword qi.
“Who are you?”
“Me?”
He executed the first form of the Tehron technique, ‘Wave,’ causing six black sword energies to strike the vengeful spirit.
“The person Her Highness needs.”
The vengeful spirit split into six pieces. Tundra cocked his head. What he said seemed wrong.
“No. The person who needs Her Highness.”
He now had memories of another life but that did not mean he acknowledged Kang Han-joon’s identity. Kang Han-joon was Kang Han-joon, and Tundra was Tundra. But he did not deny the memories themselves. Tundra resolved to stay by Viola’s side, which soon became his identity and life’s purpose.
“Well, shit!”
The vengeful spirit was unable to do anything as Tundra nonchalantly disrupted the spirit’s energy with his greatsword. This vengeful spirit who was revealed as the ruler of the first floor, was powerless before him, and like smoke dispersing, it began to fade away. With an expressionless face, Tundra scattered the smoke and stabbed his sword into the ground. Then he quickly walked over to Viola.
“Princess.”
Viola had collapsed, exhausted from exerting all of her strength. In the process, even Pom-Pom had been inadvertently de-summoned. Tundra gently gathered Viola up, placing her head on his thigh, and checked her breathing.
‘She’s exhausted.’
There was no danger to her life. She had simply collapsed from fatigue. He tidied Viola’s disheveled bangs.
“I have returned to your side.”
Today, Viola’s face and body seemed unusually small. He wondered why she had always felt so intimidating and large before.
‘You really have become stronger.’
In reality, even if Tundra hadn’t intervened, Viola could have handled the vengeful spirit on her own. Such was the strength of Viola’s swordsmanship. And yet despite her strength, the current Viola seemed very small. Tundra sat and supported Viola’s head for six hours, staying by her side. During that time, Selvin regained consciousness.
She exclaimed in surprise, “It’s a ghost!”
Only then did Tundra realize Selvin was there. He had been so focused on Viola that he hadn’t been aware of Selvin’s presence for the last six hours. After a little while longer, Viola regained consciousness. Whether it was when he was slicing through the vengeful spirit or when Selvin woke up, the emotionless, mechanical expression on Tundra’s face began to show signs of life for the first time.
“Princess?”
A smile appeared on Tundra’s lips. He had completely transformed from the Tundra of just a while ago. Selvin found this change fascinating.
Selvin seriously pondered, ‘A split personality?’
Regardless, Viola had come to, and for a while, she thought she was dreaming. But it was not a dream. Tundra had returned much earlier than expected. Seeing Tundra’s expression, Viola sensed it.
‘Something… feels very different.’
He seemed like a completely different person. The entire aura around him was different.
“Princess.”
Tundra once again tidied Viola’s bangs. Viola, still drained from the excessive exertion, hadn’t fully regained her senses and wasn’t aware that her head was lying on Tundra’s lap.
“I will stay by your side.”
He resolved to become someone Viola needed. So he made a request.
“Please give me a name.”
As she had done for Pom-Pom before. In Bellato, giving a name held special significance. To give a name meant to claim ownership. In other words, receiving a name meant agreeing to become someone’s possession.
“I will be the person who can fulfill your needs.”
Still sitting, he earnestly pleaded with all his sincerity.
“I wish to be your person. I am here. Allow me to stay by your side and guard you.”
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Translator Note:
This chapter was translated by Bree.
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