Waiting For Your Reincarnation Chapter 81

The transformed Snarl, Yeon-young, and the spirits of Robillo Village all stood frozen in bewilderment.

 

They wondered why the Snarl’s hand had suddenly become as transparent as a normal soul’s.

 

One of the spirits of Robillo Village, who had regained her senses, stabbed Snarl’s core with her staff, and it disappeared without a trace.

 

She looked at the Pawn in her arms, puzzled.

 

“What the hell. Its hands were white…”

 

“Pawn, are you okay?”

 

The worried voices of the Robillo spirits echoed through the air, and she woke up.

 

Before she knew it, Pawn was clutching the cuffs of Yeon-young’s uniform so tightly that his blood was showing through, and his body was trembling slightly.

 

“Mr. Pawn, are you okay?”

 

“You, are you okay?”

 

He was genuinely worried for her, unlike the man earlier who had so decisively chased her out of town.

 

Yeon-young relaxed her arms and let go of Pawn’s head.

 

He could see the village spirits rush into his ruby eyes, and he slowly steadied himself.

 

He took Yeon-young’s hand and asked her again if she was okay.

 

Flesh touched flesh, and her unstable abilities reopened.

 

“Ugh.”

 

“What’s wrong with you?”

 

Yeon-young tried to press down on the power with her head, but it wasn’t easy.

 

She could feel the power leaking uncontrollably from her right wrist.

 

Slowly, bits and pieces of Pawn’s memories flowed into her.

 

She immediately tried to close the memory, but the familiarity of the scene stopped her in her tracks.

 

The memory of Pawn’s memory showed the same place where Yeon-young was standing.

 

“Am I seeing the past again?”

 

A bone-chillingly cold den-like place. The spirits of Robillo Village confronting the Snarl.

 

It was almost as if she was reliving the events of the previous fight.

 

There was a long standoff, and Pawn was about to slip through the cracks and attack the Snarl.

 

“Pawn!”

 

From out of nowhere, a woman in a black Center uniform rushed to Pawn and stood in front of him.

 

She was a cute-faced woman with soft golden-brown curls. She wore a yellow tie, so she was obviously the spirit of the First District Center.

 

“Pawn, please reconsider. There must be a way…”

 

“Ji Hua, why don’t you get out of the way? A soul tainted with evil has no self-respect.”

 

Ji Hua, the moment she heard that name, Yeon-young’s eyes widened.

 

It was a name she’d heard many times before, from Veronica, Edelous, and Saeri.

 

The spirit was related to Pawn.

 

“No, surely these spirits are also…!”

 

“Enough.”

 

Pawn shook his head, refusing to hear any more excuses, and charged at the Snarl.

 

Snarl, unable to back down, moved to engulf them.

 

“Ugh.”

 

But there was a problem. Pawn’s attack no longer missed the Snarl.

 

It was aimed squarely at Ji Hua’s chest. By the time Ji Hua realized it was coming, it was too late.

 

She froze in place, clutching her chest. The Snarl’s attack hit Ji Hua’s core.

 

The core shattered into pieces too fast for her to catch. As the core was damaged, her form began to crack like shards of glass.

 

Pawn swallowed a groan and gingerly touched Ji Hua’s body to prevent it from breaking further.

 

“Ji Hua!”

 

“Pawn…, this.”

 

Realizing that time was running out, Ji Hua handed Pawn something with trembling hands.

 

She closed her eyes before Pawn realized what it was.

 

The spirits of Robillo urgently called out Ji Hua’s name, but she didn’t open her eyes.

 

Then the Snarl she was trying to protect began to shake and struggle. It seemed to have a mind of its own.

 

It moaned in agony, and its body gradually turned to dust and disappeared.

 

That was the end of Pawn’s memories.

 

Dizziness washed over her, and Yeon-young rubbed her temples.

 

“Ji Hua…”

 

For some reason, Yeon-young remembered Saeri’s words at that moment.

 

“Ji Hua and you are so much alike.”

 

What did she mean by that?

 

What did Saeri have in mind when she said that to Yeon-young?

 

When Ji Hua’s name came out of Yeon-young’s mouth, Pawn’s eyes widened.

 

“You know Ji Hua?”

 

“I didn’t mean to, but I saw your memories, Mr. Pawn, because my ability is to read memories.”

 

“Did you see the end of Ji Hua?”

 

“Yes.”

 

At Yeon-young’s nod, the room around them began to grow noisy.

 

Pawn, who had asked the question with a puzzled look, also blushed.

 

“What’s up with the Snarl, and who are you?”

 

“I’m just…, I’m the youngest member of the 1st Division Center Special Team.”

 

It made sense now that the spirits of Robillo Village had prevented her from entering.

 

If that was how they’d seen the last of the souls they’d been close to, she wouldn’t want to face one that might break her.

 

On the other hand, there were still things that hadn’t been resolved.

 

The rampage and the curse. There were things that weren’t clear from reading Pawn’s memories.

 

When Yeon-young didn’t say anything, just remained lost in thought, Pawn grew uneasy.

 

“Are you sick?”

 

“No, just… I’m sorry for reading your memories, I’m not very good at it yet.”

 

“Oh?”

 

Yeon-young’s apology only made the atmosphere even more somber.

 

The spirits of Robillo Village glanced at each other and made nervous faces.

 

Pawn examined her body from top to bottom. His eyes were cautious.

 

“You look very similar.”

 

“What?”

 

“Thank you for your help, come with me. I’ll give you your soul shard back.”

 

“You’ve been keeping it here?”

 

“Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t realize it was yours at first. When I realized, I was going to give it to you through Ophir, if you hadn’t broken into the Snarl.”

 

Now she understood why her heart had been racing since she’d entered the den.

 

The spirits of Robillo Village had moved out of the way, and she could see a hidden path behind them.

 

A path hidden within a village, within a wall, within a cave. It was a maze.

 

Pawn traced the walls with his hands, navigating the dark paths with ease. It was obvious how much time he had spent in Robillo Village.

 

When he came to a dead end, he muttered a spell. A small, warm light, like a firefly, floated out and formed a door.

 

Inside, it was cozy enough to feel full as Pawn and Yeon-young entered.

 

“Huh?”

 

There was a pink spirit sculpture on one wall, and the moment she saw it, she knew.

 

The familiar color, the familiar glow, belonged to her.

 

Pawn handed her the soul shard, and she took it.

 

The soul fragment was quickly absorbed into her body like a magnet.

 

She didn’t realize it when she took it out of her body, but it felt different when it came back in.

 

“I feel a little lighter,” she said.

 

“That’s why I told them not to take it out. But these days, spirits don’t listen to us. It’s annoying.”

 

It was similar to how a strange glow had permeated Yeon-young when she went to retrieve Sly’s powder. Her senses were heightened.

 

She looked around the den and saw a familiar white light in the distance, white and beautiful, coming toward them.

 

“Ryu Won is coming.”

 

Ryu Won is safe. At that moment, Yeon-young could completely relax.

 

At the news that he was coming, Pawn gave her a look that said, “How did you know?”

 

But she didn’t bother to ask.

 

“It’s about time. It’s later than I thought.”

 

“I’m glad he’s okay.”

 

“I mean you. It looks like you’ve got it all figured out, but even if you do…”

 

“Huh?”

 

As she listened to Pawn’s words, Yeon-young’s eyes were drawn to another object on the wall.

 

It was an oval pendant, gilded along its rounded exterior, broken exactly in half.

 

She recognized it from somewhere.

 

“It’s the same pendant around the chairman’s neck.”

 

Yeon-young approached the pendant like she was mesmerized.

 

From a distance, up close, and again, it was the missing half of Saeri’s pendant.

 

As she got closer, the pendant glowed and floated into the air.

 

“It’s Ji Hua’s.”

 

“What?”

 

“Ji Hua gave it to me before she lost consciousness.”

 

Yeon-Young recalled the object from Pawn’s memory.

 

If this pendant was originally Ji Hua’s, why was Saeri holding the other half?

 

She couldn’t tear her gaze away from the pendant.

 

When she was staring at it like a child in a toy store, Pawn handed it to Yeon-young.

 

“Huh? Why did you give this to me?”

 

“Didn’t you look like you wanted it?”

 

“No, I didn’t. I just thought I recognized it somewhere.”

 

Yeon-young had to hold up her hands and shake her head several times to prove her innocence.

 

Nonetheless, Pawn pushed the pendant into her hand.

 

“The pendant chose you. I was the only soul in this village who could touch it.”

 

“I was chosen…”

 

The pendant read the faintest trickle of power.

 

A cozy sensation, like being covered in a very thick down comforter. The warmth of the earth permeated her entire body.

 

Yeon-young’s eyes widened for a moment. This was definitely the energy of Saeri.