Chapter 144 - Chapter 141: Episode 139 - Premonition
My gut feeling is usually spot on.
Having lived a life of servitude, I've always been able to spot those stronger than me.
The longer I spent walking on eggshells, the more that instinct seeped into my bones, becoming second nature.
That servile habit, now deeply rooted, hasn't failed me once lately.
I knew my mother was no match for me precisely because I trusted that instinct, which is why I could swing my fist at her without a second thought.
But even with this newfound power, my gut is screaming at me, telling me the woman in front of me is stronger than I am.
I absolutely refuse to accept it.
There's no way anyone could surpass my strength—not even my mother, who ranks among the elite of the S-class.
S-class is the pinnacle for Hunters. There are fewer than twenty in the entire world, and my mother is in the top three.
And I've easily surpassed her.
I didn't even take a scratch from her attacks.
I'd even started to think that if an SS-rank ability user were ever to be born, it would be me.
I was certain I was the strongest ability user in the world.
Yet, my gut is telling me I'm weaker than this woman.
To be honest, the instinct I've relied on until now feels more like a personal jinx.
A premonition that something ominous and unlucky is about to happen.
In a way, it's a hurdle I have to overcome.
Thinking of it that way, I can't trust it anymore.
I only have one thought: take down the woman in front of me and get 'what's mine' back.
There's no other way, anyway.
I clenched my fist.
I could feel the thrill surging through me, the sound of my heart hammering against my ribs.
I tensed my right leg, ready to launch myself at the woman standing there with her sword, and prepared to throw my punch.
If only she were gone, everything would go according to my will...
I planted my foot and lunged toward her.
Min-ah trusted her sixth sense.
It was an ability bordering on animal instinct, but it was incredibly sharp when it came to tracking.
Whether it was a path no human could walk or a rocky cliff face that seemed to defy climbing, she trusted the direction her gut pointed and kept moving.
After two hours of running, she found herself on a forest path that looked like the deep mountains of Gangwon-do.
Normally, she would have needed a car, but she decided to trust the sheer speed of this body to navigate terrain where no vehicle could follow.
That judgment was correct.
Because the person she most wanted to see was waiting right in front of her.
She saw her son, lovely and bearing the features of both her and her husband.
However, he was naked and confronting someone.
It wasn't Sophia, who had taken over Yena's body.
But she knew at a glance—even without her sixth sense—that this was an 'enemy.'
Her hair was a disheveled mess, her body covered in dust.
And there was fluid dripping down her legs.
Seeing her like that, as if she'd been raping her son, Min-ah almost lost herself to rage.
But perhaps it was because she'd finally heard that welcome voice again.
"Ah..."
She snapped back to reality at Seon-ah's voice.
The relief of hearing that clear, beautiful voice again, the lingering attachment, and the hope that everything was finally over calmed the fury in her heart.
"You... you are..."
The woman in front of her trailed off, clearly surprised by her sudden appearance.
"What... what did you do to my son?"
Min-ah felt a cold, silent rage swirling inside her.
She glared at her, ready to crush the mouth that was about to spout excuses.
Seon-ah couldn't tell if the person protecting him was his mother or Sophia.
Both were equally fierce in their protection, and whenever he was in pain, they had both acted in that motherly way he hated so much just to support him.
He thought that perhaps this time, 'Sophia' had abandoned her original form to pretend to be his mother.
Thinking that, he started to feel guilty for getting angry at 'Sophia' back at the house.
Half of his regression was his own fault.
He was the one who said he'd create a vessel through Miel, and besides, Sophia and Miel never touched him when his mind wasn't sound.
The one who had actually returned his mind to normal by inflicting that pain was Bianca...
He realized he might have acted too rashly.
She had guided him, gone through hell and back to restore his daily life, and made countless efforts for his sake.
'Sophia'... he needed to apologize to her.
However, there was no time for that now.
Lee Hyun-ah rushed in, swinging her fist at 'Sophia,' who held a sword.
'Sophia' swung her blade, intending to split Hyun-ah's fist.
Seon-ah knew very well how tough Hyun-ah's body was.
As he expected, the sword couldn't cut through her fist.
Instead, the blade snapped in two.
Tung!
"Aaaack!"
Even so, the impact on Hyun-ah's fist was massive; her arm was knocked off-course, and she let out a loud scream as blood sprayed everywhere.
It was hard to see in the darkness, but judging by the amount of blood, her fist had to be in tatters.
Not missing the momentum, 'Sophia' dove in and swung the broken blade toward Hyun-ah's body.
The shortened sword dug into Hyun-ah, cutting diagonally.
Finally sensing the danger, Hyun-ah backstepped to minimize the damage.
'Sophia' sneered as Hyun-ah's body hung in the air, then rushed in, grabbed her by the neck, and slammed her to the ground.
She had defeated Lee Shin-ah, one of the top S-class hunters, with nothing more than her hand.
It was a one-sided fight.
One side relied on raw physical ability and reckless aggression.
The other used superior experience to effortlessly neutralize the beast-like woman.
It was clear that while the power gap was obvious, her experience was on another level entirely.
"Now, any last words? If you apologize to my son, I'll let you close your eyes comfortably."
Her anger made her slip into the cold, professional tone she used as a Hunter in the field.
Seon-ah, unaware of this, felt that the tone was exactly like 'Sophia's.'
When Hyun-ah stayed silent, Min-ah spoke again.
"No last words, you beastly bitch? Then die now..."
Just as she was about to finish it, she heard a shout from behind.
"Stop! Please... please don't kill my daughter..."
The soprano voice made it clear it was a woman.
Min-ah looked back without loosening her grip on the neck.
Her eyes widened.
The very person who had driven her to leave the Han-il Guild in her youth, the one who had left her with such painful memories and forced her to start over.
Her own blood relative.
Though she had aged, she recognized her younger sister, Lee Shin-ah.
"Lee Shin-ah..."
'Daughter?'
The daughter of the person who had caused her so much pain.
And the fact that this daughter had teased her son and inflicted that same pain.
The combination made her rage flare up again.
Min-ah spoke to Lee Shin-ah.
"It's been a while... Lee Shin-ah. To do this to me... and then to beg for forgiveness after doing this to my son? You're just as shameless as you were back then."
Upon hearing those words, Lee Shin-ah—who had been begging to save her daughter—turned pale as she realized who was speaking.
Despite the moral depravity she had committed against her sister, she had dragged herself here in a restraint suit, desperate to save her eldest daughter.
But when she realized the person who had suppressed her daughter was her own sister, all the memories of her past actions came flooding back.
They were blood-related, but they were enemies, and she trembled at the thought that her plea might only provoke Min-ah further.
Lee Shin-ah sobbed desperately.
"Please... sister... you can kill me, but... please save my daughter... I beg you. I was sorry for everything. I meant to visit and apologize, but you had already entered the Gate. Give me one chance... please..."
Min-ah hesitated.
It wasn't that she didn't understand a mother's heart.
But strangely, she felt no desire to spare the beast who had tormented her son.
Her son was too precious to let the one who had teased him live.
However, Min-ah couldn't bring herself to do it.
"Uh... Mom... save Hyun-ah... this... this aunt is asking... besides, I don't like it when Mom kills her own blood relative..."
Seon-ah's voice broke through.
Even though he sounded like he was dealing with someone difficult—the same tone he used for Sophia—Min-ah didn't notice.
Her heart ached to see Seon-ah taking Lee Shin-ah's side.
She was angry because it seemed like he didn't understand that she was acting for his sake.
Moreover, the way he spoke to her was as if he were walking on eggshells.
He seemed scared of her.
Seon-ah currently thought 'Sophia' was in a rage.
Just like when she'd cut off the First Elder's head, or the noble who had been looking him over.
Thinking that killing Hyun-ah might ruin her relationship with Seon-ah, Min-ah pulled the sword away from the woman's neck.
Instead, she swung it at the tendons in her arms and legs, neutralizing her.
"This... is the only time. There won't be another."
No one knew who that remark was directed at.
Was it a resolution to herself, advice to Seon-ah, or a warning to this mother and daughter?
Regardless, the worried expressions on Seon-ah and Lee Shin-ah's faces vanished.
As Seon-ah's face returned to the expression she knew, Min-ah felt good about having forgiven them.
But the moment she hugged Seon-ah to feel his warmth, her hands and feet began to tremble at a small voice.
A phrase that made her doubt her own ears, filling her heart with dark turmoil.
The voice that came from the welcome Seon-ah was.
"Thank you... Sophia."
She wasn't the one he was calling...