Chapter 487. Ah! Hero, Salem’s Hero (3)

There was a white sheet. Since dusk was incoming, it looked a bit dark, but the sheet was white and soft. Chi-Woo was lying on his side with his stomach touching the bed. When he raised his head, he saw a familiar scene. He realized he was in his place at the Seven Stars base and let out a sigh of relief.

“Haaa….” His thumping heart quieted, and he thought, ‘…It was a dream. Yes, all that was a dream. It’s got to be.’ Chi-Woo plopped his half-raised body back down on the bed and sighed once more. It seemed that he had returned to Shalyh while he was unconscious. He was probably asleep for quite some time as a side-effect of the recent events. He didn’t know what exactly happened, but since it appeared to be quite late, he thought he could ask tomorrow morning.

His back was warm. He could still feel the palm that had pushed his back in encouragement, telling him to take the path he wanted. The sensation was so vivid it was as if the hand had been on him right before he woke up. Chi-Woo closed his eyes again and smiled slightly. Most dreams became hazy after a person woke up, but for some reason, he could remember this dream very clearly—he remembered seeing Philip from his human days, talking about the old times, and…

“…Mr. Philip.” Chi-Woo smiled to himself for a while and then called out in a slightly hoa.r.s.e, sleepy voice. “Do you know what I dreamed about…?” Though no one answered, Chi-Woo continued in a low voice. “I had a dream…and you were there…”

Chi-Woo continued his murmur. “Because you kept teasing me about how I was like in the past…I got angry and said I wasn’t like that anymore…and wanted to have a duel with you…then, you said that was fine…” Chi-Woo chuckled. “But…Mr. Philip, how can you even beat me now…? Actually…at first…we were quite even in the beginning…but when I showed my real power, the tide quickly turned…” Chi-Woo chuckled some more from the memory. “You were so shocked…your face became all red and you kept complaining that I was cheating…”

Chi-Woo gradually trailed off. He thought he should get a response by now and instinctively sensed that something was off. “Mr. Philip…are you listening…?” Chi-Woo’s half-closed eyes opened wide again. “…Mr. Philip? Mr. Philip.”

There was still no answer.

“Mr. Philip!” Wide-eyed, Chi-Woo quickly looked around the room. He didn’t see anyone. Chi-Woo’s breathing became harsher, and his mouth gaped open in disbelief. He hastily raised himself up and kicked off the bed sheet.

***

Eshnunna was going to check up on Chi-Woo when she stepped back in surprise. Chi-Woo suddenly slammed the door open and rushed out of his room.

“Oh my! Did you wake up…?” Eshnunna was about to say, but her eyes widened and her jaw dropped when Chi-Woo hurried past her without a word.

“Mr. Philip!” Furthermore, Chi-Woo was running across the hallways like a madman, opening doors and going in and out of rooms. All the while, he cried out desperately without rest, ‘Mr. Philip! Mr. Philip!’

‘Philip…?’ Greatly taken aback, Eshnunna tilted her head in confusion. She wasn’t alone. Everyone was taken by surprise because of Chi-Woo’s erratic behavior in the middle of the night. “Mr. Philip! Mr. Philip!” Chi-Woo not only went across the main building in search of Philip, but he also went through the Seven Stars members’ rooms.

“Teacher?” Ru Amuh was quietly reading alone when Chi-Woo barged in. There was also Yunael, who was sleeping without any clothes on. “Ah! W-What do you think you are doing!”

Other members were greatly baffled by Chi-Woo’s behavior and followed him outside. Then there was Chi-Hyun, who happened to be coming to check on Chi-Woo’s condition at that moment.

“Mr. Philip! Where are you! Mr. Philip!”

Chi-Hyun was about to enter the Seven Stars’ zone, but stopped at the entrance. Chi-Woo was too focused on his search to care about what was happening around him. Philip was gone. There was no Philip. Chi-Woo couldn’t find him anywhere even though it felt as if he could pop out any moment asking what all this fuss was about.

“Mr…Philip…” Under the night sky where the moon shone, Chi-Woo stood still for a while and heaved. He looked like he was at a loss for what to do, and all the Seven Stars members looked stumped too. It was their first time seeing the always calm and collected Chi-Woo falter so much.

“Ru Amuh, what’s going on…?” Ru Hiana cautiously asked, but Ru Amuh didn’t have an answer for her. Apoline looked around helplessly, Emmanuel calmly watched, and Yeriel simply shrugged.

“W-What…why are you suddenly…acting like this…?” Yunael had come running a bit later after getting her clothes in a murderous rage, but she now looked a bit scared and hesitant. Aida placed her hand softly on Yunael’s shoulder and told her that this wasn’t the time for her to step out.

Of course, not everyone was in the dark about what was going on. Evelyn had a good guess as to why Chi-Woo was acting like this as soon as he woke up; she closed her eyes in sympathy. Seeing how still Flora had become, Byeok patted her head and continuously smoked her pipe.

Chi-Woo searched around some more until he spotted Byeok. He recalled then that Byeok could also see Philip, and as soon as they met eyes, Chi-Woo strode up to her. “Master, did you perhaps see Mr. Philip—?”

“Do you think you guys are the only heroes?” Byeok said before Chi-Woo could finish his question. “I am also a hero. I already made the decision to make a n.o.ble sacrifice for everyone’s well-being during the time I was alive.” Byeok continued with the pipe in her mouth. “…Those were the last words that hero said.”

That was what Philip had said.

“So…he wanted me to pa.s.s on these words to you because he didn’t want you to blame yourself or this child too much,” Byeok said. Flora was standing with her hands clasped together. It seemed that she thought the whole situation was her fault, and she shuddered a little bit. Chi-Woo became speechless seeing this.

“N-No. There’s no way,” Chi-Woo stammered while shaking his head.

“…”

“He said he was fine…completely fine…since he was a spirit that guarded over a nation…”

“…”

“It definitely was a dream though…” Chi-Woo looked at his master pleadingly as if he was asking Byeok to say that she was only joking. Byeok quietly closed her eyes. Chi-Woo stood wordlessly for a long while, long enough for him to lose track of time. Then he suddenly flinched like he was struck by lightning. Yes, perhaps Philip would be there. Without a word, Chi-Woo rushed out of the Seven Stars zone.

The headquarters momentarily became dead silent after Chi-Woo left. But soon, Wallie rushed off to chase after Chi-Woo, and Hawa also hurriedly followed them. With the start of those two, other members began to run after Chi-Woo. Only Byeok remained, and she took the pipe out of her mouth with her head slightly lowered. Swept by the blowing wind, the smoke rising from her pipe disappeared far away into the darkness.

***

After leaving the Seven Stars’ zone, Chi-Woo even departed from Shalyh. Then, he ran like a crazy person. Night and day alternated a couple of times, but he didn’t pay the slightest attention to that. The only thing that occupied Chi-Woo’s mind was the one destination. And after running with all his might for a couple of days, Chi-Woo finally arrived at the capital of the former Salem territory. It was the underground burial site that Eshnunna had guided him to some time ago.

“Mr. Philip!” Chi-Woo shouted like his throat was going to burst, yet he didn’t find Philip there either. All that was left there were the scattered remains that had once been Philip’s statue. Chi-Woo headed for the castle next, but the result was the same. Unlike the scenery he saw in his dream, worn-out ruins that failed to survive the years greeted him. But that wasn’t enough. Not yet.

Chi-Woo headed back to the city while clutching his last thread of hope. He jumped toward the hills like he had done in his dream. He climbed over it while heaving, but what waited for him at its peak were nothing but a couple of trees and unkempt, dense shrubs. Chi-Woo stared blankly from where he had watched the sunset with Philip before collapsing to the ground. The feelings of loss and emptiness that he had been pus.h.i.+ng away rushed up at once and caused his legs to give out.

“…”

In his heart, he knew the truth. There was no way he didn’t the entire time he was running to this place because Philip couldn’t go beyond a certain distance from him. He knew it all along, but couldn’t acknowledge it.

When he first met Philip, Chi-Woo thought of him as an unwanted, bothersome stalker of a spirit. There were times when he jokingly said that he would exorcize Philip, but he had never really meant those words.

[Hah, this is nuts.]

[It’s great that you brought him, but…this guy already has almost everything. What the heck do I give him?]

[So, I’ll help you.]

[Hey! Of course it’s something good! …Think carefully. It’s a rare opportunity to be taught by someone like me.]

[Okay, I’m going to say that you agreed. Don’t say anything else later, got it?]

[Sigh. Good. I was getting sick of resting. I should think of this as my chance to see the world.]

Philip was…

[You punk. At least you have tenacity.]

[This is my first lesson as your master. You won"t be able to feel it, but watch carefully.]

Philip was a teacher more trustworthy than any other.

[Ru Amuh’s sword is free just like the wind.]

[Sometimes it’s strong as a storm; other times, gentle as a breeze. But it swings too much to the extremes for his attacks to be versatile.]

[Hm. I suppose you’ve heard something like that somewhere. No, that’s not what I mean… ]

[Let him be. It seems that he got enlightened. He probably wants to engrave the feeling into his mind and body.]

He was an advisor like no other.

[Anyway, that’s enough. Since the uninvited guest is gone, shall we forget what just happened?]

[Ah, who cares~! Let’s just dance with that long-head over there! Dance! Dance!]

He was a closer friend than any other.

[Did you sleep well? If you’re awake, open your eyes, punk. It’s not over yet.]

[Well…you’re in really bad shape… How about it? Can you do it?]

[Then, it’s fine even if it’s just this once. Do what I tell you to. If it’s you right now, I’m sure you can do it.]

He was a companion more reliable than any other.

[Ahhhh! No! The cool silver-haired beauty is about to—!]

[Wow! It’s nice to meet you, mademoiselle! I can’t believe a pretty lady like you can see me! It’s an honor!]

[Is that really important? We can have a back and forth with our tongues, and then if our hearts connect, maybe we can also…!]

[Then, can I ask for Ms. Byeok’s underwear?]

Of course, he was a pervert who sometimes went too far.

[It’ll be fun to teach you now. Yeah. Let’s do this.]

He was serious when he needed to be.

[I think you can stop worrying about him now.]

[He didn’t just talk big, but actually showed you this much…Isn’t it about time? No more, no less…Can’t you just believe in him this once?]

[Just once. Can’t you just believe in him this once?]

He was someone who believed and trusted Chi-Woo more than anyone else.

[I just wanted to cheer you on at some point.]

Chi-Woo didn’t realize it because Philip had been with him every single second of the day, and he became so used to Philip’s presence. Only after he was gone did Chi-Woo realize the weight of his absence. Chi-Woo stood up blankly for a while and weakly collapsed back to the ground. If he had known that this would happen, he would’ve…

“…” It felt as if a guardian spirit that had looked over and protected him the whole time was gone. In the end, a drop of tear streaked down his cheek. Then more tears came, and it didn’t take long for them to become heavy trickles. From a slight distance away from the peak, the Seven Stars members came after hastily chasing Chi-Woo.

“…”

All soaking wet in sweat, they stared cautiously and worriedly at Chi-Woo. Most of them had no idea why Chi-Woo was crying. Of course, they knew there must be a reason, but that didn’t make them any less fl.u.s.tered. This was the first time they saw Chi-Woo crying. After a while, Ru Hiana couldn’t bear it any longer and tried to approach Chi-Woo cautiously, but someone hiding behind a tree walked out and blocked her.

Ru Hiana stopped and looked wide-eyed at the man before her. It was Chi-Hyun, and he was carrying a furry fenrir.

“I’m sorry to say this when you’ve come all the way, but…I hope you can just let him be right now.”

“Ah…”

“Please,” Chi-Hyun murmured in a soft, low voice. Ru Hiana blinked hard. In the end, she listened to Chi-Hyun’s request and rejoined the rest of the Seven Stars members before returning to base. On their way down, Ru Hiana glanced at Chi-Hyun, who was staring wordlessly at Chi-Woo from a distance. For some reason, today, he felt more like the older brother of a man rather than a scary and fearsome legend.