Resurrection Chapter 99 - There’s a Strange Scent

Faintly lifting my eyelids, I blinked my eyes.

It had been a very long time since I’d dreamt of when I first met Heesoo hyung. I used to dream it often in the past.

Meeting Heesoo hyung, even in a dream, was a great comfort to my heart, so whenever things were tough, I would pray to the Dreamer to let me dream of Heesoo hyung. That kind god must have pitied my insignificant self, as he would often show me Heesoo hyung’s form in my dreams.

Dreaming of Heesoo hyung naturally made me think of the Dreamer. The Dreamer, whom I first served as my primary god, had been with me until the Golden Emperor appeared. After we were forcibly separated because of the Golden Emperor, I never once dreamt of Heesoo hyung again.

Seeing the old Heesoo hyung in my dream after so long made me realize anew how much he had changed. He had aged from frequent divine descents, and his melancholic yet pure aura had turned more desolate.

Well, it’s only natural that he’d change after all this time. Even I, who was just a child who knew nothing, have changed this much.

The dream’s afterglow lingered, so I didn’t get up and just wriggled in my blanket. It was strange. I felt like I had slept soundly, yet my body was extremely weary. I could probably sleep for another twelve hours, but the ceiling I was looking at was unfamiliar.

It was a tent, but it wasn’t mine. Staring at the space above, I slowly recovered my memories from just before I fell asleep.

The Iicheong Training Center, Shin Lion, Yaksha, and……

I remembered Mr. Min Gongchan sinking his fangs into my neck and shot up from my seat. Then, I felt around my neck with my hand.

There was a large bandage stuck there. When I peeled off the bandage and touched the spot, the wound had healed cleanly.

It was just a hole in my skin, so it must have healed quickly. It was a relief, but the fact that the wound had already healed didn’t offer much comfort. The memory of me clinging to Mr. Min Gongchan as he sucked my blood came to mind, and a sense of shame washed over me.

‘I knew a vampire’s venom was powerful, but I didn’t think it would be to that extent……’

I had been confident that with the Golden Emperor’s protection, most poisons or hallucinations wouldn’t work on me. But to lose my reason like that just from getting my neck bitten. Because I was clinging to him, I ended up being useless in a critical moment and was knocked out by Mr. Min Gongchan.

He must have been desperate to put me to sleep. How am I going to face him now?

The mere thought made my face burn, but I couldn’t just stay cooped up in the tent out of embarrassment. The situation I last remembered was extremely urgent, so I lifted the tent flap to check what happened afterward and went outside. Then, the chaotic scene revealed under the bright sunlight came into view.

The entire Iicheong Training Center area was in complete ruins. The buildings of the Iicheong Training Center were all blown away, with no shape to speak of, and even the mountain that had remained had lost its form.

Heavy machinery was moving about busily, clearing away concrete debris and collapsed earth and trees, but fortunately, the training center itself was located away from residential areas, so the damage didn’t seem too severe. Even if there were people inside the training center where the explosion occurred, they would have all been Awakened, so there probably wasn’t much need to worry.

I saw the flag of the Iicheong Special Task Force fluttering on the tent I had been lying in. The crest emblazoned on it reminded me of Mugunghwa Team Leader Hwang Chihong, and my anger began to boil.

Hwang Chihong had understood the situation perfectly. He knew that the one in Shin Lion’s form was Yaksha and had come to rescue him. That was only possible because he wasn’t the real Hwang Chihong, but Yaksha’s subordinate.

Was it called Soul-Transfer Technique?

I understood why Mr. Min Gongchan hadn’t informed the Special Task Force of his plan. The Special Task Force might not have known anything, but even so, it was unacceptable. To not know that there was a spy openly planted within their ranks. It was entirely the Special Task Force’s failure, so I looked around for someone to confront.

I grabbed a passing Special Task Force member and asked.

“Where is everyone?”

He hesitated, not understanding what I was saying at first, but he soon recognized me and pointed beyond the row of tents. As I walked in that direction, I saw a scene where Mr. Kang Cheoljun, Mr. Min Gongchan, Yoon Younghyun, and Heesoo hyung were gathered under a large canopy.

Heesoo hyung was the first to notice my appearance. He frowned upon seeing me and then strode forward to stand in my way.

Just him standing in front of me blocked my entire view. Has he gotten taller somehow? Is it just my imagination?

The shadow cast over my face made me furrow my brows. Unconcerned, Heesoo hyung spoke in a somewhat urgent tone.

“What did you do with the bandage?”

He nagged me about a bandage at a time like this, pulling my open collar tightly closed. I pushed his hand away, almost brushing it off, and asked impatiently.

“What about Yaksha? What happened to him?”

Heesoo hyung couldn’t answer right away, but that hesitation alone was enough.

He got away.

Rage welled up, and I immediately walked past Heesoo hyung and shouted at Mr. Min Gongchan.

“If you were going to suck someone else’s blood, you should have at least caught Yaksha! If you can’t even catch Yaksha, why did you become a vampire? You couldn’t catch Yaksha, and you became a blood-sucking monster, so you’re doing a great job!”

Seeing me pointing my finger and yelling, Yoon Younghyun muttered.

“Even so, calling him a blood-sucking monster is a bit……”

Ignoring his words in defense of Mr. Min Gongchan, as if they had already grown fond of each other, I continued to berate him.

“If you couldn’t trust the Special Task Force, you should have at least come to me! Then Heesoo hyung and I would have helped! Do you think sending a single sword is enough!”

Mr. Min Gongchan’s complexion was pale as he looked at me shouting. Paler than pale, it was bluish. The area around his blue eyes had also turned dark.

Seeing the livid veins popping up here and there on his skin, he was undoubtedly suffering from bloodlust. It seemed he had already used up all the blood he had sucked from me.

As soon as I faced Mr. Min Gongchan, the spot where I was bitten began to throb. It was a sensation hard to describe as simply painful, but I tried to ignore it. I had heard that getting bitten by a vampire causes symptoms similar to addiction.

But knowing it in my head and feeling it in my body were different. The more I looked at Mr. Min Gongchan, the more a strange feeling bloomed. A ticklish sensation crawled up my spine, and I had to try very hard not to be the first to look away.

Fortunately, Mr. Kang Cheoljun said some of what I wanted to say to Mr. Min Gongchan for me.

“If you had given us a hint that Hwang Chihong had become Yaksha’s servant, we wouldn’t have left Shin Lion’s body as it was. You might have thought you couldn’t trust us, who didn’t even know there was a spy, but even so……”

Mr. Min Gongchan looked at Mr. Kang Cheoljun and replied coldly.

“Even apart from Hwang Chihong, I wouldn’t have told you. No matter how many times I warned you, you would have just moved him instead of destroying him.”

Mr. Kang Cheoljun fell silent as if he’d been hit where it hurts, and Mr. Min Gongchan finished his sentence as he turned his head away from him.

“Then the result would have been the same anyway.”

“Why do you assume that?”

“Because I’ve already been stabbed in the back by you guys countless times. Do you think Iicheong was hiding Shin Lion for no reason?”

Shin Lion, who had defeated Leviathan, was undeniably a national benefactor and hero. No matter if he was in a coma, it was right to keep him alive.

But the way Mr. Min Gongchan spoke wasn’t simply pointing out the fact that Shin Lion was alive. The nuance was truly meaningful.

As Mr. Kang Cheoljun’s expression hardened, Mr. Min Gongchan sighed and continued.

“Actually, I was half-convinced myself. When I heard the news that Yaksha had disappeared from Dungeon 77, I had a bad feeling and intended to eliminate Shin Lion early on, but I was a step too late. If I had been certain that Yaksha would appear, I might have informed the Special Task Force.”

Heesoo hyung, who had been standing and listening quietly, opened his mouth.

“Then Yaksha’s original body is in Dungeon 77……”

“Yes. When he suffered a fatal wound and was engulfed in the scorching flames of a great demon, he abandoned it without a second thought. Since he had a better body, Shin Lion, prepared anyway, there was no need to struggle. Last time, the bastard didn’t just come to watch after defeating Kim Piljoong and seeing Shin Lion. He had finished his preliminary work.”

At Mr. Min Gongchan’s explanation, Yoon Younghyun muttered as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Changing bodies at will. That’s a power I’ve never heard of. No matter how much of a cheat an S-rank Awakened’s ability is, if he can keep switching bodies, isn’t that practically immortality? And he wants to get his hands on Yitae sunbae too? That guy has no conscience.”

Not expecting any conscience from Yaksha, I tried to figure out exactly what the skill called Soul-Transfer Technique was.

“So, the fact that Yaksha could enter Shin Lion’s body and that he could possess Hwang Chihong’s body with another soul are all thanks to the Soul-Transfer Technique?”

“Yes. The Soul-Transfer Technique allows one to move souls at will, regardless of whether they are living or dead spirits. He was able to make Hwang Chihong a servant by removing his soul and putting another dead spirit in its place.”

“Wait a minute, then how could Yaksha use Shin Lion’s skills? If he removed his soul and entered his body, shouldn’t he only be able to use his own skills?”

“Shin Lion was in a coma, so there was no need to remove his soul. Of course, using his skills is a different matter. I think Yaksha made some kind of deal with the god Shin Lion contracted with.”

“A deal?”

“If the god hadn’t allowed it, he wouldn’t have been able to use his abilities freely, even if he had taken over Shin Lion’s body. The fact that it’s possible means the god recognized Yaksha as Shin Lion’s proxy. It’s also possible that Yaksha took Shin Lion’s soul hostage.”

Yoon Younghyun, who had been listening to Mr. Min Gongchan’s explanation, grumbled as if he couldn’t understand the reason at all.

“He’s got some nerve, going up against a god. Why is that Yaksha guy doing all this? What’s his goal, anyway?”

Mr. Min Gongchan stated briefly.

“To become a god.”