Resurrection Chapter 14 - Will you be my partner?

“Heesoo hyung?”

“You’re awake.”

Heesoo hyung let out a sigh of relief and helped me sit up. Leaning against his chest, I drank from the canteen he held to my lips. Then, wiping the water that dribbled down my chin, I said.

“Sorry, I must have had a nightmare.”

“I’m glad you woke up. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Hurt? Hurt… ugh.”

As I echoed his question, I felt a pain as if my entire body had been trampled by an elephant. The agony was so intense it brought tears to my eyes, and I remembered what I had done. Recalling the events that followed, I hurriedly grabbed Heesoo hyung despite the pain and asked.

“What about you? Are you okay?”

Frantically, I felt around his body. Heesoo hyung, visibly embarrassed, tried to pull away, but I didn’t let go. I slid my hand under the torn armor where Yoon Younghyun’s machete had pierced, past his jacket and shirt, to touch his bare skin.

“Ah… Yitae, Mr. Yitae.”

Ignoring Heesoo hyung’s flushed and flustered reaction, I ran my hand over his smooth, unblemished skin several times. Still not satisfied, I lifted his clothes to confirm that his well-defined abs bore no scars. Only then did a wave of immense relief wash over me, and I looked at his face and exclaimed.

“Thank goodness! The skill worked! I was so worried that my skill might not work… that you might stay dead…!”

Overwhelmed by emotion, a single tear fell. Embarrassed, I quickly wiped my eyes with the back of my hand, but the tears, once started, wouldn’t stop easily.

Clenching my teeth, I let the tears stream down. Seeing me like this, Heesoo hyung let out a soft sigh. He reached out, gently wiping my eyes as he spoke.

“Don’t cry.”

“Sniff… I’m not crying. I’m just, just relieved, that’s all.”

“You cried a lot earlier too.”

“That was because I was shocked…!”

“There’s no need to be shocked. You can always bring me back, can’t you?”

He said this while repeatedly wiping my eyes. I knew it in my head, but no matter what, I couldn’t calmly watch Heesoo hyung die. It was even worse since this was the first time I’d revived him.

I knew what my skill could do through the detailed skill window, but I had never actually used it. I was worried that if it became known I possessed Resurrection, it would cause trouble. Naturally, a sliver of doubt lingered as well.

“…Even if I can bring you back, don’t die. I really can’t bear to see that scene twice.”

“Alright. I’ll try my best.”

“Not just try—promise me! Promise you won’t die again!”

As I raised my voice and insisted, he showed a troubled expression.

“Then wouldn’t that go against your plan, Mr. Yitae?”

I twitched my eyebrows and shut my mouth. Instead, I roughly scrubbed my tear-streaked cheeks.

I knew my words were contradictory, but I couldn’t help it. I didn’t want to keep asking myself if I was the one killing Heesoo hyung every time he died.

Instead of explaining my guilt, I pointed out something Heesoo hyung seemed to have already forgotten.

“But you called me Yitae, didn’t you?”

At my words, Heesoo hyung subtly avoided my gaze.

“Hm?”

“When you woke me up earlier, you shouted ‘Yitae!’ loudly. So why go back to calling me Mr. Yitae?”

“Did I do that? I don’t quite… remember.”

Heesoo hyung, clearly uncomfortable, pretended not to recall my words. Seeing him so bad at lying made my anger slowly rise.

It was all because of that bastard Yoon Younghyun, who stabbed not only Heesoo hyung’s stomach but also the back of my head.

I shot up from my seat, eyes blazing with fury, and looked around. In the desolate wasteland with scattered ruins, there was no sign of anyone but us.

“Yoon Younghyun! Where’s that damned bastard? I’m going to tear him limb from limb and shove him into every hole until he’s shitting blood…!”

As I spewed curses, Heesoo hyung spoke to me.

“Calm down. He’s not here now.”

“If he’s not here, where is he?”

“I don’t know. We teleported using his scroll.”

“Teleported?”

“Yoon Younghyun was targeting you. He planned to kill everyone there and take you, so I stole his teleportation scroll and escaped.”

“Oh―! Of course he would! That guy Yoon Younghyun must have lost his mind the moment he saw the resurrection skill. And yet he calls me sunbae? Sunbae?! I knew that hypocrite was full of it from the start!”

Punching the air and raging, I soon slumped in exhaustion.

Venting my anger was too much for my current condition. My body ached, I had a fever, and chills ran through me. It was the aftermath of possession, untreatable by any potion or skill. Rest was the only cure, but now wasn’t the time for that.

“By the way, where are we?”

“I don’t know. That scroll must have been made by a high-level mage, as it seems we’ve come quite far.”

“If we’re far from the sanctuary, that’s a problem.”

“You even performed possession—can you still make it to the sanctuary?”

At Heesoo hyung’s worried question, I deliberately spoke with bravado.

“Of course. The possession was only for a moment. More importantly, we came here for a reason. We have to get to the sanctuary somehow.”

“If it’s too much, we could aim for another chance…”

“There is no other chance.”

I cut off his concerned words sharply. It wasn’t to dismiss Heesoo hyung’s obvious statement. I told him what I hadn’t yet had the chance to say.

“According to the Golden Emperor, this time the god is a berserker.”

“A berserker?”

“Yeah. Someone who doesn’t fear pain or death but uses them as fuel to grow stronger… truly a masochist-like…”

Without thinking, I used the Golden Emperor’s exact wording. I cleared my throat with a cough and changed the subject.

“Even a combat-oriented god would be a welcome addition, and a berserker is even better. You absolutely have to become the top apostle, hyung.”

I explained my plan, and Heesoo hyung nodded slowly. He seemed reluctant to push forward given my poor condition, but it was true that we couldn’t miss this opportunity.

“For now, the closer we get to the sanctuary, the more frequently monsters will appear.”

“I agree. The closer we are to the sanctuary, the more numerous and stronger the monsters will be. I believe we should follow the trail of monsters. Of course, breaking through them will be tough…”

“Since we don’t know who’s targeting you or why, dealing with monsters might be better than facing other hunters.”

Heesoo hyung nodded, and I fell into thought for a moment.

Who could be targeting Heesoo hyung, and for what purpose?

As everyone knew, Heesoo hyung was currently E-rank, with no skills beyond level-based stats. One could assume someone was seeking revenge while he was weakened, but as a former holy warrior, he was more likely to have earned gratitude than grudges.

Even if he had enemies, they wouldn’t be many, and Heesoo hyung should have some guesses about their identities. But he seemed to have no clue either.

No matter how I thought about it, it was hard to see Heesoo hyung as the cause.

Even if his elimination was the goal, it was more likely that I was the ultimate target.

Yacha knew I had the resurrection skill.

Being kidnapped by him led to my meeting with the Golden Emperor, but that didn’t mean I was grateful. That incident caused the Yacha raid team to disband, and Yacha himself disappeared, but given his personality, I couldn’t believe he’d given up on me.

Was he trying to eliminate Heesoo hyung as an obstacle before securing me?

But it didn’t seem like Yacha would fear the current Heesoo hyung enough to hire others to do it.

No matter how much I racked my brain, no answer came.

I decided to put the thought aside for now.

Finding and punishing the client could wait until we left the sanctuary. For now, capturing the sanctuary was the priority, so I gently grabbed Heesoo hyung’s hand as he adjusted his gear.

“Let’s get going… huh?”

When I grabbed his hand, Heesoo hyung’s shoulder flinched. Sensing something off, I pulled his wrist, revealing a palm with completely peeled skin.

“What? Why’s your hand like this?”

Seeing my shock, Heesoo hyung said awkwardly.

“I used the magic sword in a hurry earlier…”

The magic sword couldn’t even be touched by anyone but me, its owner. Its temper was so foul that grabbing the hilt would cause it to heat up and burn the user.

Seeing his newly revived body injured so soon upset me deeply. Knowing my sword caused it made me feel guilty, so I pulled his hand closer and rummaged through my waistband.