Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 24

24.

“You son of a bitch, die! Die!”

A dull thud accompanied the excruciating pain that spread through me. It was a torment I was sickeningly familiar with, yet could never truly get used to. All I could do was curl up into a ball, burying my head in my hands, and scream.

“It hurts! It hurts, Father! Stop! Please stop!”

“Shut up, you brat! Who is your father? Just die already! Hurry up and die so I can get that unlucky face out of my sight!”

Clang!

A sharp pain radiated from above as a glass bottle shattered into pieces. I blinked blankly, feeling a warm liquid trickle down, then slowly raised my hand to touch my forehead. My palm was soon soaked with red blood. Seeing it, a surge of unfairness welled up inside me.

“Why… why are you doing this? What did I do wrong?”

“What? You dare glare at me, you little bastard? Are you defying me now?”

“I… I just want to know why…”

“Heh, so that’s it! You’re just itching to die today! What did you do wrong, you ask? Fine! I’ll tell you!”

His rough arms, sleeves rolled up, now wielded a thick iron bar. It soared high into the air before rapidly descending towards me. I squeezed my eyes shut.

“Your very existence is a sin!”

* * *

“Ugh…”

I had a terrible dream for the first time in a while. Clutching my throbbing head, I struggled to open my eyes, only to be greeted by a towering ceiling and a dazzling chandelier hanging from its center.

‘Where am I?’

Perhaps it was because I had just woken up, but my mind was hazy, and I couldn’t remember anything. Why am I in a place like this? It was definitely not the Spirit Realm. More importantly, why was I even asleep?

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts, but my mind remained blank. All I could gather was that I was lying in a strange room I had never seen before.

“Ugh…”

As I tried to sit up, a chilling sensation spread throughout my body. The intense pain was beyond anything I could compare to the throbbing in my head. I grimaced, feeling as if I had been beaten to a pulp by my father the day before… Ah, is that why I had that dream?

It must have been around the first year of middle school. My father, usually indifferent, would become violent whenever he was drunk. He would vent his pent-up resentment by grabbing me and beating me. Sometimes, he would even get drunk on purpose. It was probably around that time that I realized my parents and siblings genuinely hated me.

‘Weren’t you close to your parents and siblings?’

Arehis’s question suddenly resurfaced in my mind. Feeling my mood sink, I quickly shook my head.

‘Ugh, how long are you going to keep this up, Kang Jihoon? It’s time to forget about it.’

It’s all because I’m in pain. They say people become mentally weak when they’re in pain, right? So, it’s not really my fault. Yeah, that’s right.

‘But why does it hurt so much? It feels like I’ve been beaten… Huh? Beaten?’

A scene flashed through my mind. The vibration spreading from my palms as I slammed them on the desk, the scattered piles of paper, and the blue eyes staring straight at me!

“That’s right! Ellyuen! That bastard! Ouch…”

I tried to jump up, but the throbbing pain forced me back onto the bed. Now I remember everything. Why I’m in so much pain, and even why I’m in this place!

Thump!

Unlike the startled angels when I slammed the desk in anger, Ellyuen’s expression remained calm as he stared at me. He glanced at the scattered piles of paper with a displeased look, then propped his chin on one hand, lowered his eyes, and said,

“Step back. This is not your concern.”

“What? I know it’s presumptuous of me to interfere at a time like this, but you’re being protested! At least offer some kind of explanation!”

“Explanation?”

“The parents lost their child and acted out of anger. No matter how bad the crime, you should at least take that into consideration. Why do you have to inflict such a cruel punishment when you could just kill them nicely? You heartless bastard!”

“…You’re impossible to reason with.”

Ellyuen sighed and roughly tossed some of the documents he was holding onto the desk. Then, he glanced at the window, which was bathed in the midday sun, and slowly rose from his seat.

His mere presence was overwhelming, but the pressure was immense with him standing right in front of me, a head taller than I was. His inhumanly beautiful appearance (he wasn’t human, after all) made me feel instinctively intimidated. I felt my escaped mind slowly returning as I took a step back.

“W-what?”

“I clearly told you to step back. You ignored that warning. So, don’t expect me to listen to your complaints.”

“…What?”

Immediately after, I saw a blinding light erupt from his hand. At the same time, I felt a white mass of light rapidly shooting towards me. I thought I heard Ifrit and Arehis scream for a moment, but I couldn’t be sure.

Because that was my last memory.

“Ha! What? So, I fainted from getting hit?”

I might have a problem for collapsing from just one hit, but to knock me out for ignoring a warning to step back? What kind of guy does that? He really was a psychopath, just like Ifrit said!

This time, I ignored the pain all over my body and stood up. I didn’t know where this was, but I wouldn’t be satisfied unless I went back and gave him a piece of my mind.

“Ah, Elquines-nim. You’re awake?”

The tightly closed door opened, and a man appeared. It was Arehis.

“Arehis, where is this?”

“This is one of the guest rooms in Ellyuen-nim’s palace. Are you feeling alright? Ah, but that’s a pointless question. Unless you were unconscious, the healing powers of the Water Spirit King should easily alleviate such pain.”

“Huh?”

Huh, that’s right! Healing, I have that, don’t I?

I widened my eyes in embarrassment, and Arehis’s face showed a look of disbelief.

“Surely, you haven’t forgotten?”

“Ahaha…”

I hurriedly cast a healing spell on myself. The throbbing pain that had been bothering me vanished as if washed away. I should have done this sooner. I guess there’s a saying that if you’re dumb, you suffer physically.

Arehis watched me for a moment with a helpless expression before sighing and continuing,

“Anyway, I’m truly relieved that you’ve woken up safely. I was so worried. Ellyuen-nim said that he only lightly knocked you out, so there was no need to worry, but I couldn’t help but be anxious. To strike so mercilessly with such a powerful divine power, said to be almost equal to that of a Demon Lord…”

“Huh? Divine power? You mean that strange white light?”

“Yes, that’s right. The purest power that a god can use. Fortunately, you only lost consciousness, but if you had been unlucky, you might have been annihilated on the spot.”

“A-annihilated?”

That… means dying, right?

I asked back in horror, and Arehis nodded with an even heavier expression.

“Please, be careful. In the Mortal Realm, you can project a temporary body by borrowing the mana of your contractor, so no matter how powerful the attack, it wouldn’t be a problem. But here, within the Four Great Dimensions, you exist in your true form, so any damage you take directly affects your life. The spirits are so used to the situation in the Mortal Realm that they often forget this fact. That’s why I was hesitant to bring you to the Divine Realm…”

“Um, what happens if I get annihilated?”

“Well, you would have become a spirit like Kang Jihoon and had to go to the Underworld with me. If that happened, you might have gone down in history as the Spirit King with the shortest reign.”

I don’t want to go down in history like that!

Seeing my rigid expression, Arehis smiled and said it was a joke. What kind of joke is that scary? I grumbled inwardly, thinking that it was just like him.

“By the way, where did Ifrit go?”

“Ah, he’s currently talking with Ellyuen-nim.”

“What! Just the two of them?”

I was horrified by the unexpected answer. Talking! Ifrit’s personality is just as bad, there’s no way those two can have a proper conversation. Is he going to get hit and carried out like me?

It’s just my guess, but the possibility is definitely there. Arehis smiled gently at my flustered state and said,

“He’ll probably be fine. Ifrit-nim was a little agitated when Elquines-nim fainted, but other than that, the atmosphere wasn’t particularly hostile.”

“Oh? R-really?”

“Yes. I was with them until a little while ago, but I was worried about Elquines-nim’s condition, so I excused myself. Would you like to go with me if you’re worried?”

“Yes!”

I readily answered and jumped out of bed. But to be honest, my desire to confront Ellyuen was greater than my concern for Ifrit’s safety.

Attacking me out of the blue and just throwing me in a place like this. Isn’t that blatant disregard? I felt a surge of anger even when I was still.

‘So, you thought I was that easy to deal with! This time, I’m going to knock that high nose down a peg!’

As if sensing my thoughts, I heard Arehis mutter softly beside me.

“Don’t forget. If you get hit this time, you’ll really be annihilated.”

* * *

As we approached the office, I could hear voices chatting. It was Ifrit and Ellyuen.

I slightly opened the door and carefully peeked inside. The two of them were facing each other across a small tea table. I couldn’t see Ellyuen’s expression because he was turned away, but I could clearly see that Ifrit’s face was flushed red like a tomato.

‘He’s practically dying of happiness.’

Your friend almost died, and you want to blush shyly in front of the person who did it!

I clicked my tongue and threw the door open. Ifrit, who had been staring blankly at Ellyuen, flinched in surprise.

“Gah, you scared me. Oh? What, Elquines? You’re awake?”

“You sound disappointed that I woke up?”

“W-what are you talking about? When did I ever say that?”

While Ifrit stammered with a flustered expression, I glared at Ellyuen, who was sitting in front of him. He didn’t even glance at me and quietly brought the teacup to his lips.

In a moment of anger, I tried to settle things with him this time. But before that, Arehis’s gentle voice echoed from behind me.

“Have you finished talking?”

As he spoke, his calm eyes glanced at me. Seeing that, the warning he had given me before coming here resurfaced in my mind.

‘If you get hit this time, you’ll really be annihilated.’

“….”

No matter how full of bravado my head was, it was hard to ignore those words. I had only experienced it briefly, but that Ellyuen was a man who could kill me without hesitation if he got angry. I couldn’t risk my life for something like this just because my pride was hurt.

‘Ugh, really, what’s with this!’

I grumbled inwardly and plopped down next to Ifrit. Ifrit looked at me strangely for a moment, but then turned his gaze back to Ellyuen. Then, as if he was going to continue the conversation they had been having, he began to have an incomprehensible conversation.

“Then you’ll really reconsider it, right? Huh? Ellyuen.”

“…Maybe.”

“Tch, you’ve become more aloof since becoming a god.”

“I’m the one who can’t get used to your attitude right now. I thought you were always busy picking fights with me.”

“Oh my, when did I ever pick a fight? Hehehe…”

“……”

I don’t know what they were talking about, but it was clear that their relationship had progressed considerably while I was unconscious. Seeing Ifrit’s eyes turn into hearts and having a friendly conversation, I felt a little twisted. And that unfitting falsetto! That’s women for you!

“Haha, what a harmonious atmosphere. As a god of the Underworld, I am deeply moved to see the former Spirit King and the current Spirit King having such a friendly chat.”

Arehis, who had no sense of the situation, exclaimed with an equally excited face.

At that moment, Ellyuen’s eyes suddenly turned cold, and he put down the teacup he was holding on the table and said,

“Now that I think about it, Arehis, I had something to say to you separately.”

“Yes? To me?”

Ellyuen nodded slightly at Arehis, who was looking at him with a puzzled expression. The smile on his lips seemed a little twisted.

“Seeing you like this, I’m really moved. Is this the first time since I saw you in the Underworld after you finished your term as Spirit King? I’ve been wanting to meet you again ever since, but as you can see, I’ve been too busy. I haven’t had any time.”

‘Huh! That huge pile of paper was really documents?’

Shocked that my prediction was correct, I looked around the room again with a disgusted feeling. I thought that becoming a god would mean lazing around and doing nothing, but I didn’t know that I would be overwhelmed with so much work. That’s why they say you have to experience things to know them.