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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 31: Shooting, Star (6)
The entrance of the abandoned hotel was overgrown with vines.
Next to a headless statue, two groups stood facing each other.
On one side were Baek Ho and those accompanying him to their destination.
On the other were Chasa meant to attract the attention of other races and prepare for any unforeseen dangers.
“Remember what I told you.”
At Baek Ho’s words, Seongyu lightly tapped his chest.
“Young Master, we are the elite. We always complete our missions.”
“Making sure no one dies is more important.”
“Of course. This life you’ve protected—we’ll see it through to the end.”
“Good. Don’t forget to head straight to UnderHeaven the moment you arrive.”
“Yes, we will.”
“And…”
Baek Ho glanced sideways with just his eyes.
Seonhwa was fidgeting with her lips and lightly tapping the ground with the toe of her flower-embroidered shoes.
Her pout was obvious to anyone, and Baek Ho’s brow furrowed involuntarily.
He understood why she was upset with Frank.
She probably thought it was Frank’s fault he left the academy and ran away from home.
And that it was also Frank’s fault she, once meant to be his personal guard, ended up assigned to an unattached support unit with no real affiliation.
Still, pulling a gun on Frank unprompted—especially with such sincere intent—had been too much.
“Just take your sister with you.”
Seonhwa responded.
“Chang…gwi…won’t…leave…”
Her hoarse voice mumbled the words under her breath.
When Baek Ho asked what she meant, Seongyu interpreted.
“Chang-gwi will not leave the tiger it walks with.”
Chang-gwi—a term for the Baek clan’s elite Chasa guards.
They were the strongest among the reapers under Yeomra Corporation, and the waist emblems they wore were their symbol.
“Fine. Just watch over things until this is over.”
“Understood…”
“And don’t say anything to Frank.”
“…I’ll keep my mouth shut.”
As she answered, she looked to the side.
At the end of her gaze, Frank stood silent, lips tightly pressed.
He had still not recalled his personal ID code.
The confrontation hadn’t dragged on, thanks to Baek Ho intervening—
But the truth was, Frank genuinely couldn’t remember.
And that was serious.
It wasn’t just a symptom—it meant the Mad Eater transformation was already underway.
Under normal circumstances, someone showing those signs would be taken to a Center immediately for memory initialization—A kind of factory reset for a malfunctioning product.
But that was only possible in UnderHeaven or Grave.
Outside—especially in the middle of a battlefield—someone exhibiting such symptoms would usually be executed on the spot.
It was standard protocol, and military law.
“I will not say a word about him, if that’s what you wish. But what you’re trying to do, Young Master… it likely won’t work.”
Baek Ho’s goal wasn’t to cure Frank’s condition—it was simply to keep things stable for now.
But Seonhwa remained skeptical, her voice cold with experience.
She had seen too many Mad Eaters on the battlefield.
“Many necromancers have already tried countless ways to bring their familiars back. None of it worked. I tell you this in advance, lest you be too disheartened.”
“I’ve said it before. You don’t know anything unless you try.”
“......”
Seonhwa was at a loss for words.
When Baek Ho had declared he’d use a cursed omen to move the ghost ship, she'd opposed him—He had given her the exact same answer.
“You should go now. Take care.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
After bowing respectfully, Seongyu stepped in front of Frank.
Seongyu locked eyes with Frank, his gaze firm.
When Frank gave a silent nod, Seongyu suddenly pulled him into a tight hug.
“…You stubborn idiot. You really went through with it.”
He slapped Frank hard on the back.
Frank quietly rested a hand on his shoulder in return.
Though they’d once been teacher and student, it was only now, on the verge of parting, that they shared a moment—free from watchful eyes.
“We’ll meet again.”
He turned to Baek Ho.
“I’ll look forward to the day we meet again.”
Seongyu and the twenty Chasa raised their right fists to their chests in a salute, bowing slightly.
It wasn’t the formal kneel reserved for a noble heir of their house.
It was the recognition of a Commander.
A show of respect for the one who would someday lead them across battlefields.
“This is getting a little too much. Just go, already.”
Baek Ho frowned and waved them off.
Seongyu and the Chasa turned and disappeared into the forest, their shadows vanishing as though swallowed by the darkness.
Baek Ho looked at his remaining companions one by one.
Frank, stiff like a statue.
Seonhwa, clearly displeased with him.
Two nervous Liberation Army soldiers, and one more passed out on the cart.
And Nana, groaning as she sat on a pile of rubble.
Her expression was twisted in discomfort, like someone suffering from a bad hangover.
“Whew…”
Baek Ho let out a sigh, his gaze fixed on Nana.
She had first appeared as a familiar client, but now she was something else entirely—an unusual Reaper with a strange power.
And the only potential remedy for Frank’s condition.
‘Can this even work…?’
Just moments earlier, at the entrance to the underground event hall beneath the ruined hotel, Baek Ho had hurriedly sent a message right after the standoff with Seonhwa ended.
[Help me.]
It was addressed to X.
Normally, the EM shield would’ve blocked the transmission, but now that he was outside, he figured it was worth a try.
Maybe that desperation got through.
A reply came almost instantly.
–[Remarkable. To use the Omen like that… as expected, my judgment wasn’t wrong.]
Baek Ho’s heart pounded.
He still didn’t know who or what X really was, but it was clear he was a highly skilled sorcerer living beyond the system.
Someone well-versed even in forbidden spells—and possibly aware of Nilberis’s death.
Baek Ho, filled with hope, didn’t hesitate to ask for help.
[Frank’s Mad Eater transformation is advancing way too fast.]
–[That was inevitable the moment you accepted the Yeomra curse. He’s likely convinced you're going to die—since the pain is being shared.]
Baek Ho felt like he'd been hit with a hammer.
He hadn’t even considered it.
He should have known—if not all, then at least some of the pain he received would bleed into his Familiar.
At the very least, he should’ve said something to reassure him.
Tried to stabilize him.
Wasn’t this why Frank always reacted so violently whenever Baek Ho trained under X’s spells?
But still…
How does this guy know so much? It was as if he had been watching everything from nearby.
Under any other circumstances, Baek Ho would’ve pressed him hard for answers.
But right now, that wasn’t the priority.
[So… Can you help or not?]
Right now, X was the last lifeline.
This was what had drawn Baek Ho to Barigyo's magic in the first place.
X had dangled Frank in front of him as bait.
Said that, at the end of all this, he’d find what he was looking for.
That he could help.
Baek Ho had verified for himself that it wasn’t just empty talk.
[Can’t you give me another fragment of the Imoogi’s core, like last time?]
–[No. If he consumes it while the previous dose is still active, it’ll kill him.]
‘Goddamn it…’
Baek Ho’s head pounded at the firm refusal.
But then, X offered an alternative solution.
–[It’s not a proven method, but… there have been a few past cases where the progression of Mad Eater transformation was slowed. Would you like to hear it?]
[Just get to the point.]
–[You override trauma with an even stronger stimulus. It sounds crude, but it’s worked a few times before.]
Trauma… stimulus…
What could be done here, in this situation…?
–[Do you have something in mind?]
Baek Ho didn’t have to think long.
After all, what he originally came out here to do could still go forward.
He just needed to add a sharper jolt to it.
＊ ＊ ＊
As time passed and night deepened, Baek Ho’s group finally reached their destination.
It was one of the many small towns that had once stood in what used to be the most powerful nation—America.
Now, it was a lifeless ruin, uninhabited by humans or other species. A true paradise, with even the neighboring sectors fully cleansed.
Vroooom—
A freight truck roared through the pitch-black wasteland.
The stars scattered across the obsidian sky outlined the jagged remains of buildings, while the fractured road ahead flickered in and out of view under the truck’s headlights, revealing occasional hazards.
After about ten more minutes of driving, the truck came to a stop beside a pile of layered concrete debris.
Creeeak—
The journey from the abandoned hotel to here hadn’t been all that difficult.
Thanks to the Liberation Army’s hidden transport routes scattered throughout the so-called paradise, the journey had been surprisingly easy.
“They really are like sewer rats…”
Seonhwa muttered as she climbed down from the truck.
It was a massive, clunky vehicle—sixteen wheels, powered by a mana-stone engine, the kind usually used to haul demonic beast carcasses off the battlefield. Out here, in this so-called paradise, it was completely out of place.
“First it was that rusty old dropship, and now you show up in a garbage hauler? You people really are begging to get your heads chopped off.”
“I-I’m sorry… truly sorry…”
The man in the Chicken Mask stammered, bowing his head over and over.
From Seonhwa’s perspective—a frontline warrior risking her life daily—the Liberation Army were cowardly pests, nothing more than disposable insects.
To the Chicken Mask, however, Seonhwa was like a force of nature—best avoided at all costs.
“Where’d you steal this thing from?”
She snapped.
“It was abandoned in the swamp, so we patched it up and—”
“Quiet!”
“S-sorry…”
After another round of apologies, the Chicken Mask opened the truck’s cargo hold and rolled out a warehouse cart carrying the unconscious Ox Mask.
“Hah! Let me guess—the cart’s stolen too? From some supermarket, maybe? Pathetic.”
“That one’s actually from the city… Baek Ho brought it back himself…”
“…Now that I take a closer look, it’s quite refined. Hoho, as expected of the young master’s exquisite taste.”
“It’s stolen.”
Baek Ho said proudly as he hopped out of the passenger seat.
“There was a new store opening near my house, so I helped myself. Fresh off the lot—solid stuff.”
The corners of Seonhwa’s smile twitched.
“Y-Yes, of course. Such frugality surely foretells a bright future for House Yeomra. I’ll take it to heart and strive to be a worthy adjutant to the young master.”
“Adjutant? Careful how you say that—people might think I’m gunning for commander.”
“Hoho… hohoho… ohohohoho…”
As Seonhwa forced out a laugh, the cart gave a faint tremble.
Ox Mask was clearly trying not to laugh, while Chicken Mask still hadn’t realized he was awake.
“Baek Ho. Over there.”
The Pig Mask had climbed out of the cab and was pointing between two concrete mounds.
There, half-hidden, stood a rusted steel door. A stairway led down behind it.
But no one followed his gesture.
Instead, all eyes shifted past it—toward a massive structure that had just begun to emerge from the darkness.
A steel tower loomed high against the night sky.
It had once served as a broadcast transmission tower. But at some point, a dimensional rift had torn through it—twisting its midsection into a grotesque, unnatural curve.
“So this is where the rats have been hiding…”
Seonhwa clicked her tongue and narrowed her eyes at the tower's peak.
That faint glimmer she’d mistaken for just another star was actually emanating from the top. The place was still in use.
“We’ll need to lay more traps.”
“You promised not to report this to Grave…”
“Be grateful the young master is merciful. If not, I’d have reduced it to rubble by now.”
“Thank you…”
“Silence!”
“Seonhwa, enough. Even in paradise, stay alert.”
“…Understood.”
Baek Ho turned his head toward the truck’s cargo bed.
Frank and Nana stepped down together.
“Grab her.”
“Thank you…”
Frank easily lifted Nana and set her down on the ground.
When she thanked him, he dismissed it with a casual flick of his wrist, clearly irritated.
“Unbelievable…”
Baek Ho let out a hollow laugh.
Frank, acting as though he were a caretaker for the celebrity he once admired.
And Nana, now unusually docile and composed, as if nothing had happened.
Two of the Reaper's most troubling flaws—supposedly humanity’s greatest creation—were on display right here.
The first: memory loss from brain shock.
The second: personality changes caused by excessive exposure to dark mana.
There was only one true solution to both: a complete reset.
“Baek Ho… I get carsick. I feel terrible. That pig can’t drive.”
“I feel dizzy too… And what’s this on my face? Is it blood? It won’t come off…”
“…Haaah.”
Baek Ho ignored them and took the lead.
Could their symptoms truly be cured without wiping their memories?
He wasn’t sure—but today, his mother’s words echoed in his mind—
If you truly, desperately want something, anything is possible.
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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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