Damned Transmigration - Chapter 126

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

◈ Damned Transmigration ◈

Chapter 126: Banquet

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Last winter, they had said they would cross their barriers before summer came.

But no one could predict how things would turn out. Especially when it came to crossing or breaking through a barrier to raise one’s realm, no amount of diligent training meant things would go according to plan.

“Scrub.”

And sometimes, unexpected things happened.

“Scrubstor, are you still at the fifth tier today?”

Surprisingly, Haryeong was the first to reach the sixth tier.

Having reached the sixth tier in the height of spring, Haryeong grew accustomed to the senses of her opened Upper Dantian while seriously beginning to study Intent Poison, the essence of the Scripture of Reversing Taiji Intent.

Who could have imagined that Haryeong would reach the sixth tier before Estor Orsia, grandson of the Sword Emperor and the finest thoroughbred among the Pride martial families?

Since no one had expected it, Estor’s shock was immense. When he heard the announcement at dawn that she had reached the sixth tier, he looked as if the sky had truly fallen.

“C-congratulations.”

“Estor, are you still at the fifth tier?”

“Yes... I think I’ll cross the barrier soon...”

“Scrub.”

Weeks passed, and even as spring drew to an end, Estor remained at the peak of the fifth tier.

“Scrubstor, Lorelia and we have schedules to keep as well.”

“...”

“Because Scrubstor is such a scrub, it looks like we’ll be welcoming a second winter here.”

The teasing whenever they had the chance was becoming excessive. At this rate, Estor looked ready to lose his mind, draw his sword, or swallow back tears and run away.

Unable to watch any longer, Yuri finally took Estor’s side.

“Haryeong. No matter how much Estor may be a scrub, it’s too harsh to call him one to his face.”

“Then what should I do?”

“Let’s encourage him instead of calling him a scrub.”

“Estor, you can do it. Keep it up.”

“Uicheon Mountain is really beautiful in autumn. Thanks to you, Estor, I’ll get to see that beautiful season one more time.”

Thanks to that encouragement, Estor crossed his barrier and reached the sixth tier in early summer.

“Seeing your achievements brings tears of joy to this Lorelia’s eyes!”

That was all she said, though. Lorelia did not actually shed any tears.

“Now that all three of you have reached the sixth tier, this Lorelia can leave for the Central Sea without a single regret!”

They took a sort of final exam at Sword Mountain Peak, whose terrain had been altered by the avalanches that had repeatedly struck throughout winter.

“Come! Hold nothing back, and attack this Lorelia as if you mean to kill her!”

Naturally, they fought better than they had a year ago. The result was still the same.

They had trained with grim determination throughout their stay at the Uicheon Sword Gate, hoping to land even one solid hit on Lorelia. Yet none of the three managed it.

“Excellent.”

Still, they had managed to graze her.

While Haryeong distracted Lorelia and Estor kept her occupied head-on while taking a brutal beating, Yuri slipped through the opening and his fist barely brushed Lorelia’s ear.

If his punch had gone just a little deeper, could he have driven it into her face instead of simply grazing her?

He did not know.

Lorelia might have responded if it had been that kind of attack. Perhaps she had not bothered because it was only a shallow graze.

Lorelia had not even used Conceptual Apotheosis in the first place, so every assumption was meaningless. If she had unleashed that unknown Slaughtering Hellscape, they would have died before they could even charge at her.

Even so.

“Sniff.”

It had only grazed her, yet tears streamed down their faces. Estor, who had been beaten black and blue so Yuri could break through, was the first to cry.

Once Estor began crying, a tear rolled from Yuri’s own eye as well.

“Why are you crying...?”

Haryeong asked as if she did not understand, though her eyes were rimmed red.

They had endured a year of hell and all achieved something. They had become far stronger than they had been before entering Uicheon Mountain. Their days there flashed past, stirring up overwhelming emotions.

“You have all done very, very well.”

Lorelia still shed no tears, nor did her eyes redden. Yet she smiled more like a priestess than at any other time that year, then hugged each of them once.

They held a banquet that night.

A huge fire burned on the Righteous Sword Pavilion’s training grounds as they roasted mountain game and drank.

Gongsun Myeong, who had sparred with Lorelia once every week, attended the banquet. Namgung Yeon-bi, who had spent two seasons working hard to make Yuri her wings, attended as well.

“Yeon-bi, bring me some more meat.”

“Yes, Brother.”

“Lady Namgung, we are out of alcohol.”

“Y-yes... Dark Blossom, I’ll bring it right away.”

Born as the beloved youngest daughter of the Namgung Family, Namgung Yeon-bi worked as an attendant for the first time in her life that night.

“I will drink four cups.”

As the banquet reached its height and night deepened, Lorelia, who had not touched alcohol at all, suddenly spoke.

“The first cup will be with Gongsun Myeong. This Lorelia will pour you a drink as well. You put up with this Lorelia’s unreasonable request for a year and achieved more than expected, so you have earned the right to drink with this Lorelia.”

“You knew it was unreasonable?”

Gongsun Myeong grumbled with a smile as he filled Lorelia’s cup.

“When you suddenly came here a year ago, I honestly resented the heavens. But now, I am truly grateful that you came.”

After filling her cup, Gongsun Myeong formed a fist-and-palm salute and bowed deeply to Lorelia.

“Thanks to you, I have almost crossed the barrier I spent so long doing nothing but looking up at.”

“The view will change once you cross it.”

Lorelia filled Gongsun Myeong’s cup as well.

“When that time comes, you will be able to see the distance between yourself and this Lorelia more clearly. Please do not despair at that distance again.”

“I already despaired over you once long ago.”

They laughed and emptied their cups.

“The next cup will be with Estor. This Lorelia will pour Estor a drink as well.”

“It is an honor.”

Estor took his cup and sat before Lorelia.

“This Lorelia has never met the Sword Emperor personally, but I have often heard that his sword is the finest in the world. One day, Estor’s sword, which has inherited the Sword Emperor’s teachings, will also reach that level.”

“That is still far away for me.”

“This Lorelia knows the year we spent together was harsh. To be honest, I thought Estor would be the first to drop out.”

“Why did you think that?”

Estor did not appear surprised or offended. Instead, he asked back with a calm smile as he filled Lorelia’s cup.

“I knew Estor had determination. You love and enjoy martial arts. But I believed you had no reason to be desperate beyond that.”

“I understand.”

Estor nodded without denying it.

He had no remarkable past. He was not a Transmigrator like Yuri. Nor had he, like Haryeong, been born as the daughter of a Transmigrator, rejected and cast out by her family, unable to properly learn martial arts before being raised as an assassin.

“I was born into a blessed environment.”

His parents had declared that they were severing ties and disappeared, but Estor had no memories of them. It was not a story weighty enough for him to dwell on.

Even without parents, he had his grandfather, the Sword Emperor.

“My grandfather loved me and gave me everything I wanted. I was born into the greatest sword clan, and I held a sword and loved it without anyone telling me to. Few people could have grown up in circumstances as blessed as mine.”

“You would have achieved something someday even without enduring this Lorelia’s hell.”

“If the only difference is whether it happens sooner or later, I prefer sooner.”

Estor grinned and looked at Yuri.

“And actually, I have a reason to be desperate too. I spent my whole life being adored, thinking I was exceptional and the best, only to lose to some punk I met by chance. I challenged him again and again afterward, yet I still have not beaten him even once.”

Lorelia smiled as she filled Estor’s cup.

“This Lorelia misunderstood Estor’s desperation.”

“Yes, Lorelia misread me badly. My desperation is simple. Even if I lose to that bastard ten times, I want to beat him once. If he does not run away and keeps going, then I will keep going too. I have to.”

“Hahaha! Once in ten times is far too little. Should you not at least be evenly matched?”

“Then I will strive to make him my goal.”

They laughed and emptied their cups.

“The next cup will be with Haryeong. This Lorelia will pour Haryeong a drink as well.”

“I have already had a lot to drink, but I am sad that Lorelia has barely drunk at all. Why not drink two cups, including mine?”

“If you keep chattering, Haryeong will be drinking a bitter draught instead of alcohol!”

“Oh dear.”

Haryeong took her cup and sat before Lorelia.

“This Lorelia does not know the Dang Family’s Poison King or Dark King. Likewise, I do not know your true name.”

“You do not need to know.”

“Yes, that is so. All this Lorelia knows is that you are known by the alias Dark Blossom and go by the name Haryeong.”

“That is me.”

Haryeong’s face looked no different from usual. The faintest curves rested around her eyes and lips. That was now normal for Haryeong.

She was no longer completely expressionless as she had been while living with the Dang Family and Salhomun.

With that expression, Haryeong filled Lorelia’s cup.

“This Lorelia saw determination and desperation in Haryeong. Like a thirsty person seeking a well, you were desperate for martial arts. Did this Lorelia become a well that sufficiently quenched your thirst?”

Lorelia filled Haryeong’s cup as well.

“Many things in my life changed because of Yuri. If Yuri had not been there, I would not have received Lorelia’s teachings.”

Haryeong accepted the full cup in both hands before answering.

“I am grateful for this meeting and these teachings. I was so thirsty that I drank too quickly and nearly made myself sick, but Lorelia quenched my thirst and more.”

“This Lorelia will not take your circumstances into account. You have quenched your thirst, but it is too early to be satisfied. Continue striving and achieve what you desire.”

“Yes. I, Haryeong, will strive even harder and aim to become an Assassin King capable of assassinating Lorelia someday.”

“What? You mean you will kill this Lorelia?”

“It is only a manner of speaking.”

Lorelia smiled faintly at the calm answer. They emptied their cups.

“The last cup will be with Yuri. This Lorelia will pour Yuri a drink...”

Before Lorelia could finish, Yuri shot to his feet.

“Yeon-bi, bring alcohol.”

“Yes, Brother...”

Namgung Yeon-bi, who had prepared in advance, handed Yuri two bottles. Holding one in each hand, Yuri ambled over and dropped down in front of Lorelia.

“Ear.”

Yuri grinned and pointed at his ear.

“My fist grazed it a little earlier, did it not?”

“Very slightly, yes?”

“Whether it was slight or not, a graze is a graze. So instead of cups, let us drink from bottles.”

“What does grazing this Lorelia have to do with drinking from bottles?”

“I did very well today, so can you not indulge me this much?”

Pop.

The bottle cap Yuri pushed off with his thumb flew past Lorelia’s ear.

“Cheeky.”

Lorelia spoke with a bright smile. Yet she did not back away and simply reached out to accept the bottle.

“Very well. Yuri touched this Lorelia for the first time in a year, so I will indulge your nasty mischief. But this Lorelia will consider this entire bottle a single cup.”

“You are telling me to empty it in one go?”

“Did you offer this Lorelia a bottle without confidence that you could do it?”

Yuri snorted rather than answering.

“After today, this Lorelia will leave this place and head for the Central Sea. Yuri will likely leave Uicheon Mountain tomorrow and head somewhere as well.”

“Yes.”

“It seems Estor and Dark Blossom will go wherever Yuri wishes to go. Is that correct?”

“Haryeong came looking for me, and Estor left the Orsia estate saying he would follow me. The three of us crossed the sea together, so we will likely continue together.”

“Then Yuri is the one who decides where the three of you will go. This Lorelia hopes Yuri’s steps remain free, but please do not set those free steps upon the Evil Path. If you do...”

“Fortunately, I have two people who will scold me if I step out of line.”

Yuri raised his bottle with a faint smile.

“The two are strict and relentless, so if I take a wrong step, they will join forces and beat me until I turn back. Therefore, Lorelia’s turn to scold me will never come.”

“Oh, what a pity. Estor said he would strive to become evenly matched with Yuri. What does Yuri think?”

“I need to stay stronger and win more often so pathetic Estor will work harder. I should remain stronger than Estor in the future as well.”

Estor laughed with an incredulous expression.

“Haryeong said that many things in her life changed because of Yuri. What does Yuri think?”

“I agree. I am like a heaven-sent opportunity to Haryeong. Therefore, Haryeong should feel deeply grateful to me and see to it that she treats me well.”

This time, Haryeong clicked her tongue. It was true, but hearing him say it so openly was still irritating.

“Yuri has deeply involved himself in those two people’s lives.”

“It was not only me. Those two have deeply involved themselves in my life as well.”

Yuri spoke with a bitter smile.

Many people had deeply involved themselves in the life of Lee Su-hyeok, who had come to live as Yuri in this world. Besides Lorelia, those two were the ones who had brought another great turning point to Yuri’s life.

He still remembered clearly.

A life that had begun and might have ended in a tiny one-room home in rural Oldor.

The person who had suddenly broken down the door and entered that life.

Blonde hair, blue eyes, a pure white dress, and a wide-brimmed hat.

“Lorelia has deeply involved herself in my life too.”

Yuri spoke with a bitter smile.

“I hope I can become that kind of person to Lorelia as well.”

“You are cheeky. Yuri is far too weak to involve himself in my life.”

“I pray that you achieve what you desire in the Central Sea.”

“If you are going to pray, pray to the Goddess of Order.”

They smiled at each other and raised the bottles to their lips.

“Do not do something amateurish like suppressing your drunkenness with inner power.”

“I can hold my liquor.”

“This Lorelia has never been drunk in my life either.”

Neither moved first. They poured alcohol into their mouths at the same time.

Gulp, gulp.

The liquor going down was far stronger than soju or beer. Yuri had never tasted it on Earth, but this had to be sorghum liquor.

‘What kind of alcohol is this...?’

It felt as though his esophagus were being seared. He could feel the burning heat traveling down from his mouth and settling inside him. He had brought this on himself by acting cocky and suggesting they drink straight from the bottle.

Still, he gritted his teeth and kept drinking. Fortunately, this body could hold its liquor.

Could it really?

“Urgh...”

After drinking a little over half, the liquor he had forced down started to come back up. He pushed it back down with more alcohol.

When he glanced at Lorelia, she had already cleanly emptied her bottle and was watching him with a broad smile. It seemed she had not lied about never getting drunk.

“Guh...”

He barely emptied the bottle. Yuri steadied his breathing as he suppressed his burning, unruly stomach. Yet the drunkenness he could not suppress rose into his head with a rush.

“Are you going to pass out?”

Lorelia asked with a smile. Yuri did not answer. He abruptly stretched out his hand and crammed the snacks around him into his mouth.

“Let us stop drinking now.”

Lorelia giggled and rose to her feet. She looked at the blazing fire.

Yuri staggered to his feet as well and stood beside Lorelia, looking at the fire.

[Yuri.]

A quiet Voice Transmission reached him. Yuri turned to look at Lorelia, but Lorelia did not look back at him.

She watched the flames burning brightly enough to light the night, the logs burning away within them, and the settling ashes.

[Flames do not exist only to burn and consume. They can also brightly illuminate the night and convey warmth.]

[...]

[Sacred Flame Release, Heavenly Art of Annihilating Evil, Heavenly Demon’s Divine Art. Just as it is you who decides what to call them, it is you who will decide what kind of flame you become. This Lorelia has only one thing to say.]

Lorelia’s face, dyed orange by the firelight, turned toward Yuri. Her eyes, red as blood, were brightened by the flames.

[Become a flame.]

After the night passed and dawn broke, Yuri woke and stepped outside.

Lorelia was gone. He knew she had left. They had talked and said their goodbyes enough the night before, so he did not regret her departure.

‘Someday.’

They would meet again.

Yuri watched the distant light brighten the sky, then looked at the center of the training grounds.

The fire that had burned all night was dying after consuming most of the logs. Left alone, it would burn everything away and collapse into embers.

But the night had already passed. Even if the fire went out, morning had come, so it would not be dark.

Yuri held out his hand toward the flames.

Whoosh...!

At Yuri’s will, the flames surged once before going completely out.