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Chapter 363: Light Kiyoung Said, Let there be light: And There Was Light (1)
The next morning turned out to be very pleasant.
Of course, there was still the lingering smell of the disgusting demon, but that did not deter the good news.
"This is the item you were talking about. I don't know if this is correct..."
"I'm sure it is, Elena. I don't know how to thank you."
"No. I just did what I had to do."
[Light Alchemist-only Catalyst (Semi-mythic).]
[High Elf's Tears with Divine Power]
[Light Alchemist-only Catalyst (Semi-mythic).]
[Leaf of the World Tree]
'My precious...'
My hands had begun to tremble by just looking at it.
'My precious!!!'
Just having the ingredients prepared just for me made me feel good.
Of course, this was a treasure that could never be priced—though it was just a small amount of liquid in a small potion bottle, and a small leaf.
I could feel myself about to burst into laughter when I started thinking about the impact these catalysts would have in the future.
I wanted to get up and dance right now, but I couldn't afford to. Elena's expression did not look that good.
Of course, this was to be expected. I knew she had undergone a lot of thinking last night. Nevertheless, she still took it upon herself to give me this gift – and I was proud of her for it.
As I lifted my head once again to look at her, I saw her face, complete with swollen eyes.
I thought she would be okay, but she looked like she was having a harder time than I thought.
Her ears were drooping, and she still had unknown guilt on her face. It was obvious that this elf was kind by nature.
So far, guilt and a strange sense of betrayal had coexisted within her.
'How do I go about with this...?'
I was once again reminded of how cruel Elune could be.
It was all now spilt milk, and things had already happened. A heartbroken elf had been thrown away by the god she believed in. It was only right to get her out before she became unable to make a comeback. In the future, she would have to continue with me.
As I slowly held her hand, she flinched for a second. Seeing her reflexively trying to avoid my hand was also quite interesting.
Of course, in the end, she accepted my hand without avoiding it. The tingling pleasures of immorality once again covered her feelings of guilt.
I thought maybe things wouldn't get worse when she was talking, or was with me.
"About yesterday..."
"Yes... er... I'm sorry."
"No. It is not something for Elena-nim to apologize. I had the same feeling. And I think it was necessary."
"Ah..."
"I feel a little refreshed, but... of course, I don't know if I should call this as treatment, but it feels something different from before. How does Elena look at me now?"
"Come to think of it..."
"Yes."
"So, it was that. I... It was that."
'Yes... you're right. You are right.'
She didn't see me as someone utterly repelling anymore. Though I knew I still had some negative effect on her, at least she wasn't resisting the urge to gag like before.
It was evident that her disposition was changing, little by little, and it was proof that I had gotten into the heart of an innocent elf.
I couldn't quite yet determine to what extent I had been settled in, but I thought that, maybe if I let go of her hand, she could make an extreme choice.
It is correct to think that the only reason she can withstand the guilt that weighs on her is my existence.
Perhaps she would make the same choice of Jung Hayan from the first round, the one that had been toyed with by the masked trash.
'I can't let her do that. Yes. Absolutely.'
I couldn't let the golden goose, no, the precious Elena turn into that.
Elena mumbled alone whilst nodding.
"I see. Yes. It was unavoidable. To heal Lee Kiyoung... Yes. It was necessary. Yes..."
It seemed that she was now a little out of it. Naturally, I held her hand tightly.
She couldn't refuse and accepted when I kissed her slightly. Rather, she was clinging to me, little by little.
What I saw after ending the kiss was a reddened face, and now it seemed like I would have to do this kind of work for the next few days.
It didn't matter if she felt this out of curiosity, pleasure, or anything. The most important thing was to stop her negative thoughts.
'It can't be helped.'
There had been a few twists and turns, but for now, my work could be considered a success.
I didn't make her dangerous like Jung Hayan, and I had compromised very well in the right line.
Whatever the process, I had successfully penetrated Elena's heart.
Above all, it was important that the contaminated soul was healed by a sincere sharing of each other's feelings with High Elf Elena.
The next thing to do was quite obvious.
Having dug into Elena's heart once, it was time to rush to the heart of this filthy bastard who swallowed me.
'Did you think you could digest me?'
It didn't have a ghost of a chance.
"I think it would be better to be going right away."
"What you said you would make..."
"We will have time in the way. The catalyst itself can be prepared while moving. It's all in my head, so you can simply rest assured."
Elena looked puzzled, but she chose to follow alongside me. It seemed that she was amazed at my ability to prepare a catalyst that would usually need processing whilst moving.
No, considering the fact that she was an Elf, she may even marvel at the process of alchemy itself.
"It's amazing. Of course, I saw it last time, but..."
Ah, she was interested. This was good; I could keep her distracted from her negative thoughts.
"That... Are you memorizing all the methods and procedures to make it?"
"Yes. I'm used to it. It'll probably be ready in a few hours. And then, I can use the alchemy kit to make potions right away."
Currently, making a new potion was, arguably, easier than taking candy from a baby.
Of course, it was hard to say that there was absolutely no difficulty, but it just felt like cheating on a test. No wonder I felt like a genius.
I could make perfect measurements and sense without a single error.
I was just reading the manual and working on it, but she looked at me with a face that looked as if she had seen something great.
'It's really effective.'
Certainly, as my magic power held divine power, every time I exuded my magical power, light burst out. Admittedly, I only had little divine power, but as it was the semi-mythic-grade's influence, the whole thing looked like a sacred show.
'This is the energy of light. Yes. Absolutely.'
I felt like forever ever since I had done some proper alchemy.
Even I couldn't really figure out what this was. I was just doing what I was told to do. One thing I was sure of, however, was that It looked like I was working a miracle.
Just before completion, I suddenly felt like the monster was moving.
'Huh?'
It is definitely not an illusion. Even Elena looked to have felt the same.
Of course, I wasn't as flustered, as it wasn't the first time this happened. Actually, there had been several movements from him during our stay here.
I remembered he was just tossing and turning around at best. However, the shock that struck again forced me to realize that something was wrong.
"L-Lee Kiyoung-nim."
"I feel it, too. I think it would be better to go a little faster. Let's try to hold onto each other as much as possible, so we don't get separated."
"Okay."
We couldn't go back to where we came from. If we fell from here, everything we worked for would just be in vain.
Once again, I had found myself on an unexpected journey.
'What's up with him all of a sudden?'
As soon as I started thinking of useless things, my insides trembled. I immediately began chanting a spell.
'This...'
From the vibrations, it appeared as if he had engaged in a fight.
As I embraced Elena tightly with one arm, she also closed her eyes tightly and began to hold onto my body.
'Is it Hyunsung?!'
At that moment, he shook his body with a loud roar once again.
'He came.'
Blue guild members and the Elune Knights of the Kingdom of Eberia had arrived.
"What's... going on? Lee Kiyoung-nim."
"It seems like the expedition has arrived. I don't know exactly, but... I'm pretty sure."
It's about three days earlier than the expected time for the expedition team to get here.
If the expedition moved very quickly, it would be about the right time.
"Then how..."
"It doesn't change what we have to do. Perhaps the expedition is also struggling. If you and I help them, we will be able to attack the named monster more easily."
"Okay."
"I think it would be better to hold onto me. Please be careful because you might bump your body."
"Yes. Okay."
In the meantime, I noticed her blushing face, but I didn't care for it much.
'In the middle of this, she...'
I had to solve the immediate problem now.
I didn't know exactly how the situation outside was going, but it was likely to be a tough fight, as I had just said. This was, after all, a semi-mythic grade named monster.
No matter how good the Blue Guild members were, some sacrifices would still have to be made.
Since the schedule had been shortened by three days, the back liners with weak physical strength would probably have already hit the limit.
My mind was a mess, but my hands started to move quickly. I continued to advance, putting the divine power.
'Shit.'
I was going crazy experimenting, all while creating Dialugia's catalyst and balancing my body.
However, the results were getting closer.
Elena also created a curtain to prevent shock just in case and looked at me with anxiety. Her expression gave away the fact that she was praying.
It must be a prayer for the heartless trash Elune, but I quickly realized that it was working.
This was because, after activating the prepared catalyst, a blinding light rushed out.
'Nice!'