Necromancer Survival

     Ryu Hyerin clenched her teeth and tried to stem the blood flow by placing her hand on the bloody stump.
After white light burst from her right hand, the bleeding stopped, but it was impossible for her to confront Kim Olim who was currently rushing back at her.
Ryu Hyerin flapped her wings, continuously increasing her altitude.
It appears she had given up on the battle and wanted to run away.

     “[Reception of the Gods]” 1 Kim Olim, looking straight at her, raised [Rho-Aias] and used one of her own godly skills. 2

     Her long hair strands rose in the air, one by one; an alien and destructive energy built in her sparkling eyes.

      [Rho-Aias]’s shape also changed.
The circular shield glittered and became vaguely transparent, like a snowflake or ice crystal.
Since the angel’s blood was still splattered on its surface, the whole effect made the shield look similar to a brilliant ruby.

     Meanwhile, Ryu Hyerin had flown almost high enough that her silhouette covered the moon.
However, Kim Olim was not rushed; the Paladin slowly aimed her shield at the Priest.

     And then…

 

Slice–!

 

     “Ah….Aghhhh!”

     [Rho-Aias] disappeared so quickly that I didn’t even see Kim Olim throw it.
Soon, Ryu Hyerin, who had been floating midair, began to fall with a hair-raising scream.

     Ryu Hyerin fell alongside shining feathers, which floated to the ground like snow.
And soon, the terrible sound of flesh hitting the ground rang out.

     “Ha, Haah…” In the aftermath of the fall, her body lay in a round crater.
She looked so damaged that I was certain she would need immediate treatment.
 

    There were puddles of blood underneath her wrongly bent limbs and convulsing body.
The sandbank, which would normally suck blood in like a paper towel, could not contain the considerable amount of bloodshed.

’

     However, even in such a dismal situation, Ryu Hyerin glared at Kim Olim with burning rage in her eyes.
Even though certain death awaited the Priest, she did not beg for her life or cower in fear.
Anger and hatred, rather than fear, seemed to flow through her.

     Ryu Hyerin looked up at the motionless Kim Olim and grumbled first, “You… I… You… You think…Gasp! You won…Don’t you?”

     “……”

     “Just because…Just because of…this… Ha, Haah…”

     “……”

     “Did… You …Did you… T-Think…I’d beg…miserably…pathetically…to you…?” Hnnghrk…!”

     Kim Olim stood silently in front of Ryu Hyerin before kneeling.
She then carefully observed her wrecked body.
Before anyone could react, Kim Olim lifted Ryu Hyerin’s hair, which returned to its original black color, and brought the Priest’s locks to her nose as if she were going to sniff them.

     Ryu Hyerin winced at Kim Olim’s actions.
The Paladin closed her eyes and began to kiss Ryu Hyerin’s long hair.
Then, with an incomprehensibly calm voice, she said, “I knew you were jealous and hated me.”

     “……”

     “Still, I couldn’t bear the thought of hating you back.”

     “……”

     “You were a childish, pitiable human being.
However, I didn’t hate that about you.”

     Ryu Hyerin opened her eyes wide; her lips fell open.
However, the Priest said nothing–she was struck momentarily speechless.

     Kim Olim soon opened her eyes and let the strands of hair fall from her fingers without an ounce of lingering regret; Ryu Hyerin stared blankly back.
The Paladin stroked Ryu Hyerin’s grisly face, as if she were trying to etch this last memory with her hands.

     “What…What nonsense… You..
Me… You completely looked down on me!” Ryu Hyerin muttered to Kim Olim in a barely perceptible voice.

’

     Kim Olim stared at Ryu Hyerin’s distorted face and bloodshot eyes.
Then, with a blank expression, she replied, “I was the one who threatened your parents so they wouldn’t contact you anymore.”

     At that moment, the Priest’s breath caught in her throat; her eyes searched the Paladin.

     She appeared to have been swept away by a surging storm of confusion and distrust welling within her.
However, Kim Olim did not care about her audience’s reaction and began to smooth the Priest’s hair back.
“I was also the one who persuaded Seo Dawon to at least listen to your heartfelt words at least once.”

     “……”

     “Why did I… wish for your happiness like that?”

     Ryu Hyerin stopped for a few seconds before suddenly shaking her head like crazy–struggling as if she were going to stand up.
She continued to deny what she had heard, convinced that she was hallucinating because of her severe injuries.
“Nooo! Ha, haah… No, it can’t be… You..! You… You…!”

     “……”

     “D-Don’t… Don’t make me laugh… L…Lies…” Ryu Hyerin said through tears.
Though, perhaps it was more accurate to say she howled through tears.

     However, despite Ryu Hyerin’s screams, Kim Olim stood up back on her feet with an impassive expression.
The Priest reached out to Kim Olim’s ankle reflexively, but her already broken limb would not listen properly.

     As Ryu Hyerin writhed, she called out to the Paladin, “W-Wait… Wait…!”

     “……”

     Kim Olim retreated two steps away from Ryu Hyerin without answering.  Then, after locking eyes, she adopted a cold smile.
“What an unsightly face, Ryu Hyerin.”

     “……!”

     “Regret…You’re not worth it.”

’

     “I…I…!” Ryu Hyerin raised her head and shot a startlingly pitiful look, but Kim Olim was no longer listening to her.

     Ryu Hyerin opened and closed her mouth soundlessly–as if there were so many things she wanted to say…but she couldn’t say a word because there was too much to say.

     As Kim Olim mentioned, deep lingering emotions seemed to permeate the Priest’s face.
Perhaps she was feeling a belated realization–a feeling of being too late.
Or perhaps she was feeling despair at a future she had broken with her own two hands.

     However…

     Without any further delay, Kim Olim slashed her sword diagonally; the sounds of bones being bisected rang into the air.
Ryu Hyerin’s panting breath disappeared, and the desert was soon filled with forlorn silence.

     I watched from behind as Kim Olim’s shadow–the silhouette of her lowered head–slowly disappeared.
At the same time, the scent of Ryu Hyerin’s blood, which had smelt sweet until a while ago, became disgusting.
I stumbled–weak vertigo washed over me.

     “Choi Lee-kyung.”

      “…Are you alright?” I asked.

     But, before I could collapse, Kim Olim held onto me.
I looked up at Kim Olim’s expression–which had been wiped clean from the previous events–and touched her eyes almost automatically.
Of course, the Paladin did not shed tears nor show agitation in her pupils…but she didn’t avoid my touch either.

     And today, unlike usual, she answered my question obediently.
“I don’t know.
I feel a bit tired.”

     It’s not like she went around with a blade held up, wary and vigilant…But, similar yet different to Seo Dawon, her energy had always felt a bit stern and rigid.
Today, though, that aura seemed to be a little cracked.

     I dragged her into my arms before I could fully process my own actions.
My heart filled with melancholy for her, and I couldn’t help but want to give her a hug.

     Kim Olim seemed to go rigid for a while, but soon pulled at my wrist with her immense strength and hid my face in her long, dangling hair.
I hesitated before stroking the back of her head cautiously.
Fortunately, she didn’t avoid my touch and stayed still, so I suffered no embarrassment.

     After stroking her for a while, I spoke out loud the words that were rattling around in my brain, “B-By any chance…”

’

     “……”

     “I don’t want you to think that you’ve failed, or that your actions were futile, or for you to feel empty… O-Olim-ah.” 3

     I felt a little nervous because this was the first time I spoke to Kim Olim informally, but she looked into my face without laughing.
Then, she lowered her eyes; an incomprehensible expression fluttered across her face.

     I dodged her gaze and scratched at my faintly flushed cheeks.
However, I opened my mouth again, rushing to speak the words in my heart, “The choices that people make… There’s really nothing we can do about that.
No matter how much we want to pave a good road for those we care for…”

     After saying that, I took a secret glance at her.
Kim Olim gave a wry smile before replying, “If you’re talking about Ryu Hyerin, I don’t blame myself for her.”

     “T-That’s right… You’re smart.”

     “Because, I was the same.
I made the wrong choices as well.” She spoke conclusively and cupped my face.
Perhaps, as a consequence of being a Paladin Shieldbearer, her hands were so big; I was surprised at their size.
Her hands together could hold my face entirely.

     When I flinched and raised my head, Kim Olim looked at me with a sincere expression I had never seen on her face before.
Though, distressingly, she kept fiddling with my cheeks way too much…

     “I made the wrong choice to dedicate my love to the wrong person,” She said calmly.

     “M-Mhmm…”

     “It was strangely difficult to tear my eyes off her when she looked so pitiful.”

     ‘…If she says things like that while pinching and groping at my cheeks… It’s the same as saying I look pathetic as well.’

     However, in the end, I didn’t express my dissatisfaction and merely inflated my cheeks with air, pouting like a hamster.
Kim Olim gave a surprisingly stunning smile at my puffy cheeks.

Footnotes

강신 is a step in the Korean ancestry rites during our “day of the dead.” At this step, we invite our ancestors to possess a receptacle so we may feed them/pray to them/honor them etc  Godly, in this scenario, does not literally mean holy.
The original used a slang term where God-like means “top level” or impressive.  AHHHHHH HE DROPPED FORMALITIES