Waiting For Your Reincarnation Chapter 132

BOOM!

 

A boom followed by emergency sirens echoed through the center. Yeon-young gingerly opened her eyes, feeling the ground beneath her feet. In her vision, she saw Ryu Won looking down at the floor.

 

She was floating in midair thanks to Ryu Won’s powers, and if it weren’t for him, she’d be bouncing around on the crumbling floor.

 

“You’re not hurt?”

 

“Yes. Thank you, Mr. Ryu Won.”

 

Ryu Won lifted his head from their embrace and scanned the ceiling. It was cracked precariously and looked like it might collapse again. The white Sly climbed onto Yeon-young’s shoulder and settled in.

 

“At this rate, it’s going to collapse again. The other phantom’s…”

 

“Don’t worry, they’re not kids, they’re millennia old souls, they can look out for themselves. Look.”

 

He gestured to his feet with his chin. Ryu Won was right, the spirits had survived the crumbling building with their own abilities. The souls that needed help, like Yeon-young, were picked up like ghosts by someone else.

 

“So, Ms. Yeon-young, you can take care of yourself first, or you can take care of me.”

 

“…I’m also worried about Mr. Ryu Won.”

 

“It’s not safe to stay here for long.”

 

“Everyone, evacuate first!”

 

Just then, she heard a soft but strong voice. Turning her gaze in the direction of the sound, she saw Ji Hua standing there, the core in her chest pocket shining like the sun. Yeon-young was mesmerized by the light.

 

Then, from underground, an earthen tree root rose like a vine, burrowing into every corner of the collapsed building, steadily supporting it.

 

“Wow…”

 

Yeon-young let out a small gasp of admiration. Soon, the roots were reaching up through the columns and windows. She stared at Ji Hua with concern.

 

It wasn’t that she doubted Ji Hua’s abilities, but she instinctively knew that the vessel that could contain her power hadn’t fully returned yet.

 

This root wouldn’t last much longer. And it seemed that Ji Hua knew as well.

 

“I won’t last much longer. You’re all phantoms, so you know what to do. Gather everyone inside the building, first the general departments, then the emergency teams, and get out of the building.”

 

The souls that had filled the conference room quickly dispersed outside. To rescue the souls still in the building.

 

Ryu Won glanced at the shattered window and blew on Yeon-young. Her eyes widened at the sudden warmth. He brushed his index finger across her forehead.

 

“You should evacuate outside first.”

 

“What about Ryu Won?”

 

“I should help Ahn Ji Hua, this thing won’t last long.”

 

Kukung—

 

Just as Ryu Won finished speaking, the sound of the building collapsing once more could be heard. Ji Hua bit her lip so tightly that her lips turned white.

 

He was right, time was running out. Yeon-young grabbed his hand once, hiding her anxiety, then let go.

 

“Be careful.”

 

“You’re the only one who shouldn’t go out and flirt.”

 

“Even Mr. Ryu Won…”

 

“Yeah, me too?”

 

“You should put yourself first priority, not mine. You shouldn’t get hurt.”

 

Hearing the words mixed with worry, Ryu Won smiled as if he had heard a compliment. He slowly pushed Yeon-young out the window. Ryu Won didn’t hesitate to jump into Ahn Ji Hua’s arms and lend a hand.

 

Once outside the window, he was a blur. Yeon-young settled down on the floor as comfortably as if she were sitting in a chair. She glanced at the floor Ryu Won was on and took stock of the situation.

 

They’d just gotten out of the center, sending the distraught souls to shelters or steering them as far away from the center building as possible.

 

With Ryu Won working up front, it was time for Yeon-young to help him from behind.

 

She spotted Zhaolin in the crowd of souls being pushed out. As soon as she saw her, she raised one eyebrow and asked,

 

“How many shelter spots have you secured?”

 

“We’re almost at capacity, but the one connected to the center looks dangerous, so we moved them to the farthest shelter.”

 

After listening to Yeon-young’s explanation, Zhaolin patted her on the shoulder a couple of times as if to say she had done a good job. Through her necklace, Zhaolin checked the overall situation in Branch 1. It had fallen back into ruins, rendering all the restoration work done so far useless.

 

Unusually, this time the Snarls weren’t directly attacking the building, but rather creating a black hole beneath it. The building fell down the sinkhole, losing its center and collapsing, and an army of Snarls quickly emerged from the cracks.

 

The Snarls mercilessly pounced on passing souls, increasing their numbers. It was painful to watch as the souls tumbled to the ground, clutching tightly to the Snarl’s touch. Zhaolin, watching intently, flicked his finger across the screen.

 

There was a moment of silence between them.

 

“Sealing off the burrows is working. The number of Snarls coming in is still significantly less than we expected.”

 

“But it won’t last long,” Yeon-young said, “because they can still open it with their powers, and they can make new ones that way.”

 

Yeon-young jerked her head in the direction of the village where Jaeho had appeared. The giant storm near the square was moving away, as if it had found its target.

 

“Maybe Branch 1 isn’t the end goal? It’s moving somewhere else.”

 

“We’ll have to evacuate the remaining souls, and then we’ll have to catch up.”

 

The center building looked precarious, but it was still standing. Fewer and fewer spirits were escaping through the windows and doors. The evacuation seemed to be coming to an end.

 

Yeon-young opened the shelter portal, protecting the souls tirelessly, but her mind kept turning to the center. Ryu Won hadn’t come out of there yet.

 

Just then, the center building sank ever so slightly. Yeon-young’s eyes widened, having forgotten to close the shelter portal. Smoke billowed around the center.

 

“Ms. Zhaolin, what do you think happened inside? Even the Snarl…”

 

“I don’t think so.”

 

Images of Ryu Won being attacked by Snarl in the emergency room filled her mind, while Zhaolin stared calmly into the smoke. Through the thick smoke, a human figure began to emerge.

 

Yeon-young took a step forward. In the air, a clear light that looked like a shrunken sun floated in the air. That was definitely the core of Ji Hua.

 

“Kolok, Kolok!”

 

“Ms. Ji Hua!”

 

As soon as she recognized Ji Hua’s core, she ran out of the center. When she spotted Yeon-young, Ji Hua lurched forward as if her legs had given out.

 

She gently grabbed Ji Hua’s upper body. Ji Hua forced the corners of her mouth up, but she seemed to feel the limits of her strength.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Yeah, well, I started it anyway, and you’re the one who helped me– Kolok!”

 

Yeon-young searched for him in the silence, but he didn’t emerge from the center building when the smoke cleared.

 

“Ji Hua, where’s Ryu Won? Didn’t you come out with him?”

“Well…, I was going to come out with him, but he told me to go first, saying that it would be troublesome to use his abilities.”

 

“What? So he’s alone in there now?”

 

“I tried to hold on, but the wind pushed me all the way outside the center… I’m sorry, Yeon-young.”

 

The situation was obvious. Yeon-young carefully placed Ji Hua on the ground and stood up, not doubting his abilities, but it was reckless to take on everything alone at this point.

 

“Don’t worry. He’s more of a monster than a soul, right?”

 

Zhaolin offered her comforting words. From her peaceful face, it seemed that she wasn’t really worried about Ryu Won’s safety.

 

Pushing away the chatter in her ears, Yeon-young concentrated on reading the core’s aura at the center.

 

*Thud*

 

The sound of a building collapsing came once again. Breaking her concentration, she blinked and looked at the building.

 

This time, it wasn’t just the sound of one of the columns breaking; a black hole had formed beneath the building, just as she’d seen in Zhaolin’s video.

 

BANG–

 

*Thud*

 

The building’s foundation collapsed and it began to sink deeper and deeper into the black hole.

 

“Mr. Ryu Won…”

 

Yeon-young called his name anxiously. She couldn’t read his core through the building because she wasn’t concentrating.

 

“Ryu Won!”

 

A huge cloud of dirt flew around the center. The building quickly collapsed as Ryu Won’s ability to support the center was gone.

 

By then, Ryu Won hadn’t emerged from the crumbling building.