Waiting For Your Reincarnation Chapter 133

The building had completely collapsed. The center, the heart of Branch 1, had vanished from Tanato.

 

Yeon-young shook as she saw Ryu Won disappear with the center building. Her legs gave out on her own. As she sank to the ground, the white Sly approached her, jumping up and down.

 

Zhaolin, who had been looking in the direction of the center the whole time, smiled the faintest of smiles.

 

“What did I tell you, didn’t I call him a monster?”

 

“What?”

 

Yeon-young watched Zhaolin’s smile with puzzled eyes, then sighed. Where the center building had disappeared, only Ryu Won was left floating in midair.

 

He glanced at the black hole beneath his feet, then walked over to Yeon-young with slow steps.

 

He helped her to her feet, staring at her with confusion in his eyes.

 

“What are you doing, has someone been bullying you?”

 

“You. It’s you, Han Ryu Won.”

 

Clenching her fists slightly, Yeon-young let out a breath of relief and pushed him back. Ryu Won cocked his head and looked at Zhaolin.

 

“Why did you come out so late?”

 

“Oh, I was checking the building for any lingering spirits.”

 

“Did you really have to come out so dangerously? I thought you were crushed along with the building.”

 

“It’s just that it’s more efficient to build a shield around my body than it is to hold up the building…”

 

“Well, you really freaked me out, so why didn’t you tell that to Ji Hua.”

 

Yeon-young spoke in an uncharacteristically rapid-fire manner. Ryu Won, who had been watching her reaction, smiled softly.

 

“Were you worried about me?”

 

“I told you, he’s a monster, so there’s no need to worry.”

 

Zhaolin shrugged his shoulders. Yeon-young pursed her lips and glanced at Ryu Won.

 

“No…, how can I not worry?”

 

“You should be more worried. How did you feel when you thought I was gone, did you suffocate, did your world fall apart?”

 

“I really don’t like it, I think we should rethink the downgrade, it feels like a life without you.”

 

“Now, now, now. Save the love-fights for after the war.”

 

Zhaolin crossed her arms, placing herself between Ryu Won and Yeon-young. She touched the necklace, trying to establish a communication link once more, but it remained silent.

 

As she watched, Yeon-young touched her own bracelet and tried to contact the staff at the shelter.

 

“It’s not working.”

 

“I think the center collapsed and the communication went out.”

 

“Uh, isn’t that the direction of the forest?”

 

Just then, someone shouted, pointing a finger into the air. The gazes of the officers gathered in front of the center naturally turned in the direction of the finger.

 

There, at the end of the line, was the spray that had been raging through the village. Rising higher than the forest, the wave splashed and sputtered, slowly advancing toward the forest. 

 

The sound of splintering wood mixed with the sound of water cutting through the air pierced her ears.

 

“I think he’s right.”

 

“What are they doing in the forest?”

 

“Shouldn’t we be heading that way?”

 

“I thought you said the comms were down, so the teleportation must be down too, won’t we be late?”

 

She could hear the voices of the spirits busily discussing. Yeon-young broke away from the group and quietly watched the direction the waves were traveling.

 

This wave must have been created by Jung Jaeho. Tearing her gaze away from the waves, she deduced the direction he was headed. After coming all this way, he wouldn’t just move to destroy the first branch for no reason.

 

“Pillar…”

 

“Yeon-young, what did you say?”

 

“He’s not aiming for the forest, he’s aiming for the pillar.”

 

At her shout, the phantom stopped talking and stared at the waves again. The pillar of Iris was glowing weakly in the straight line of the waves.

 

There was a moment of silence. No one spoke, but everyone agreed with Yeon-young’s guess. 

 

The waves were headed toward the Pillar of Iris.

 

“Isn’t it really dangerous if the pillar is corrupted?”

 

“Yes, it’s dangerous, because the source of its power is gone.”

 

“Someone turn the teleports back on quickly. Isn’t any of it working?”

 

The spirits began to chatter at the question of danger. Impatiently, the spirits tried to open the teleports with their own communication machines, but to no avail. Not a single machine could open the teleportation portal.

 

The waves began to pick up speed, and before they knew it, it had reached the pillar. 

 

Yeon-young clenched her fists so tightly that her muscles burned. Helplessness enveloped her entire body.

 

‘I lured the phantoms to the center and then to the final destination, the pillar…’

 

A fatal mistake. It was too late for the forest.

 

Seeing the despair on her face, Ryu Won unclenched her fist one by one, and then gripped her hand as tightly as he could with his own.

 

The center of the First Branch collapsed under Snarl’s attack.

 

The spirits clasped their hands together and prayed, accepting this moment.

 

Yeon-young glanced around and looked at Ryu Won. He was staring at the pillar with an expressionless face, but his white eyes were a mixture of emotions.

 

Yeon-young felt the same way; they had spent time in front of the Pillar of Iris, and they had shared a parting kiss.

 

Their souls shattered and disappeared, only to return and meet again in front of it.

 

It was a place that held both beginnings and endings.

 

She had glimpsed many miracles through the pillars. Iris’s pillar was made of hope.

 

The thought of it being destroyed by Snarl filled her with indescribable emotions.

 

Yeon-young blinked her eyes slowly and opened her mouth.

 

“Later…”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Once this situation is sorted out, we can rebuild it, right, the pillar?”

 

Ryu Won let out a small laugh as he listened to Yeon-young’s voice ask.

 

“Of course, I can recreate this world if you want.”

 

Ryu Won replied confidently. Even in the midst of the crumbling world, he smiled like a child, which made her think that it would really be okay.

 

Koo-kung–

 

Just then, the sound of waves crashing against the pillars was heard. It was smaller than the sound of the center collapsing, but more destructive. The center of the pillar couldn’t hold up against the current and broke off, disappearing into the water.

 

The light that had illuminated the forest was lost forever in the water Jaeho had created. A darkness like no other had ever fallen upon the First Division.

 

“It’s Jung Jaeho. He’s on the waves.”

 

She turned her head to see a furrowed brow, staring intently into the forest. Yeon-young could see nothing but waves, but the man’s eyes seemed to see Jaeho clearly.

 

He wasn’t surprised, as he’d suspected it was Jaeho’s doing ever since the town’s communications had captured his image.

 

“Where’s Daeheon Lee?”

 

It was suspicious that Daeheon, who was more serious about the project than Jaeho, hadn’t shown up yet.

 

‘Where is Daeheon Lee and what is he doing?’

 

‘Why is Jung Jaeho the only one who’s out and about?’

 

Yeon-young stroked the back of Ryu Won’s hand, lost in thought.

 

“What should we do?”

 

A question from someone pulled Yeon-young out of her thoughts and she looked up. In front of the center now, the people who had gathered in the conference room were still standing.

 

When the center had collapsed, they’d all moved to their respective parts without much prompting, but now that the pillars were gone, they couldn’t erase the confusion on their faces. 

 

We need to think about what’s next, but the situation doesn’t allow them to think about the future.

 

“Still, we’ll see what we can do. We’re not all just going to wipe our throats and wait for the Snarls to annihilate us, are we?”

 

Ryu Won’s low voice cut through the silence. Hearing his words, Zhaolin’s eyes widened slightly. 

 

After a moment of deliberation with the necklace in her hand, she concluded.

 

“Today is the first time a Negro has shown himself in person, so this may be the first and last time.”

 

“I don’t see him now. He disappeared again without a trace.”

 

The man who had been listening to Zhaolin’s ramblings said as he stared intently in the direction of the forest.

 

It seemed that Jaeho had finished his task and quickly disappeared underground. Zhaolin nodded once and continued.

 

“It’s okay, if the comms are down, so are they, so they’re probably still down here.”

 

“Mmm.”

 

“This is our last chance. Our goal is not to rescue the souls, but to follow 

Negro’s trail and capture the phantoms responsible for all of this… and if we succeed in capturing them…”

 

For a brief moment, Zhaolin’s eyes flashed like goblin fire. They looked determined. The spirits waited for the command to fall from her lips.

 

Even without hearing it, Yeon-young knew what Zhaolin would command. She closed her eyes and waited for her sentence.

 

“Jung Jaeho and Lee Daeheon, they have committed a felony and shall be destroyed upon discovery.”