Hunters Keep Coming To My House - Chapter 139

Chapter 139

“Ellie!”

I immediately rushed towards the fallen Ellie. So caught up in the chaos, that I didn’t even notice the White Ego Sword I had clenched in my hand slowly fading away and disappearing.

As the thick darkness that had been swirling around gradually dissipated into the dusty wind, Ellie’s figure started to become visible again.

Still the same as before.

“Ellie! Wait, is it Ellie who’s returned? Did the Black Dragon leave? Why does she still look soaked in black?”

Ellie’s hair was still stained black as it was when the Black Dragon was looming over her. It was as if the fact that she was once a radiant beauty with golden hair didn’t exist from the start.

“Surely her eye color hasn’t remained the same too?”

If her eye color hadn’t changed… I had to consider the possibility that the Black Dragon was still present and she was using this to catch me off guard.

There was no sense of black mana whatsoever, though.

If it were the Black Dragon, it could hide its mana completely.

Furthermore, with the Black Ego Sword nearby, it was difficult to discern whether the mana I felt was emanating from the sword or Ellie.

One side was emitting an incredibly strong mana, after all.

I carefully lifted Ellie’s eyelids with trembling hands. Only after confirming the color of Ellie’s eyes could I finally release the tension that had been gripping my lips.

“…Thank goodness, her eye color has returned.”

Gazing intently at Ellie’s clear eyes which were once again devoid of the black stain, I let out a sigh of relief.

Her scalp was also returning to its original color as her hair gradually lost its black hue.

I moved my hand cautiously to cover Ellie’s eyes with her eyelids again. Then, I expressed my feelings about what had just happened.

“We’ve made it through safely.”

As soon as the relief of having made it through safely washed over me, all the tension in my body melted away. Lying down next to Ellie, I closed and opened my eyes.

“…Wow, how did I manage to endure?”

My fingertips were so cold that they could have been in a freezer for a day and still not warmed up. It was hard to believe that I was holding a sword that emitted such a hot light.

Moreover, my body, still tense from excessive stress, was experiencing slight tremors. Perhaps it had been like that since the moment I first encountered the Black Dragon.

…I’ve just realized it now.

Anyway.

It seemed like whenever I got involved with dragons, my body would go limp. Well, maybe it’s because they’re such different beings and I’m just a lowly human………

“He said she’ll be fine for a while, right?”

Evan… he said, ‘She’ll be quiet for a while. We’ve intervened enough, so we need to avoid the eyes of the administrators.’ 

Thinking back, it could imply that the Black Dragon might attack again, but for now, I decided to be relieved. It hadn’t even been five minutes since we sent her back, and worrying about a grim future was honestly a waste of energy.

…I should rest for now.

“…Let’s just stay like this for a while before moving.”

Anna probably noticed that the black mana was fading. She must be rushing here now.

To check on Ellie.

What an enviable friendship. With a faint smile on my lips, I recalled Anna’s story from before coming here.

“Ellie started acting strange a week ago. I was the only one who noticed. So I spent a day observing Ellie… and I found out. There’s another entity in Ellie’s body. It was Ellie who always listened to me and became my friend when I was alone. So this time, it was my turn to help her. That’s why I made a deal with the entity possessing Ellie. I promised to help with the tasks in exchange for returning Ellie to her original state.”

I remembered Anna’s expression as she spoke about the past. It looked firm and warm. I couldn’t help feeling envious because I didn’t have a friend who would throw themselves for me.

“Well, I’ve been busy without a moment to look back anyway. I guess it’s a case of reaping what you sow.”

After the strange incident of my house disappearing into the gate… I should consider it fortunate that I have people I can call friends.

Sigh. My mouth felt bitter for no reason.

“Come on! Snap out of it! It’s not the time to be lost in thought just because we’ve made it through a big ordeal.”

I gently slapped my cheeks to clear my mind of unnecessary thoughts that had filled it. Since my body was already at a level where I could move somewhat, I slowly got up from where I was sitting, intending to go back home.

After brushing off the dust from my clothes, I tried to support Ellie as usual. But then my attention was diverted elsewhere.

“…Hmm, what do we do about this?” 

It was the Black Ego Sword.

It seemed like touching it directly wouldn’t be a good idea. I had a feeling that if I touched it carelessly, I’d face dire consequences from the Black Dragon.

And it seemed quite plausible, as the Black Ego Sword suddenly emitted a menacing amount of mana.

“…I don’t like leaving it behind, but… waiting for Mr. Jae-joon to come and find it is also not ideal.”

Sigh, what can I do?

I’ll just pack it back into the box… and set up the tent again. There wasn’t any other option.

I felt uneasy, but there was nothing I could do about it. Furrowing my brow, I took out a box from my inventory.

And then, in that moment.

Rustle.

I heard a sound nearby.

It was the sound of someone walking in this direction. It sounded like they were stepping on the still-blackened grass, even though the Black Dragon had left.

‘…There were no monsters around here when I came, though?’

Could it be Anna? Or maybe Arvani…?

Now that the Black Dragon has left, Arvani might be waking up soon.

Also, if the Black Dragon’s target was the Ego Sword, there was a possibility that Cha Jae-joon had regained consciousness.

Well, the chances of them coming all the way here are slim.

One thing for sure, though, is that I believed I knew who could come here.

Arrogantly trusting my speculation while having enough strength to not even sprinkle mana, I did.

As a result.

“…Huh?”

Why would they come here from over there..?

An unexpected presence jumped out of the withered grass, completely catching me off guard.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the darkest place.

Even the wind refused to blow in the place where darkness was feared, and a coldness lingered.

“…So, Evan. You dare turn your gaze to false hope.”

With a sharp click, the armrest of the chair creaked and split under the pressure of the nails.

Such emotions were truly rare. As the Black Dragon, who had lived for ages without hope, all that remained was the erosion of her being.

Even the emotions that she barely maintained were trampled by her beloved. Where did that oath go, to always stand by her no matter what she did?

Was it the overwhelming power that Seo Yeon-oh possessed that allowed him to ignore all the emotions they had built up over time?

Only Evan, her lover, would know the answer.

“…Ha!”

She let out a sharp laugh and wrinkled her nose.

She wondered if her impulsive urge to rush over and question him would subside if she did so immediately, but she had to respect Evan’s choice.

He was fragile.

He was inherently kind and gentle. That’s probably why he stood by her side when she had nowhere else to go, thrown down to the bottom.

All because of a mere feeling called love.

Evan was that devoted to her. He never once went against her will.

“…He did seem anxious lately, yes.”

She thought it was just like the coming and going of spring flowers. But apparently, it wasn’t.

A smirk spread across the lips of the Black Dragon.

“It seems I need to hurry things along.”

That way, Evan could be saved, and they could finish before the preparations made by the perceptive little one matured.

The death she had desired and yearned for.

“I wanted to prepare perfectly without any risk… It’s a shame. To ruin my hard work again…”

She had greatly valued the one she had finally found…

She reached out to the crystal in front of her. As she did, the fragmented part of the crystal began to glow brighter and started to show a scene.

She, who had been staring at the screen expressionlessly for a moment, poked the crystal with her finger. Soon, a bright light emanated from the crystal, and the figure that had been illuminated on the screen disappeared.

Now it was a battle against time.

Whether the perceptive and unlucky little one would laugh, or if she would, would depend on who had prepared more diligently.

“…I won’t lose.”

For hundreds of years, she had been preparing and hoping for this moment.

So, she would be more thorough in her preparations.

The Black Dragon, declaring war on someone, moved forward with a dry expression devoid of any emotion whatsoever.