Side Story 3: Five Years Later.
TL: Hanguk
Five years had already passed since Uren started living with Lucia.
"Uhehehehe. Lucia, do you want some of this?"
"Uhihihihi. Yeah! I want some! Uncle Uren, you eat this too!"
The two had become an especially close pair who looked out for each other. It only made sense. After all, over the past five years, they had crossed the line between life and death together thousands of times.
Of course, to Uren, those incidents were just activities that gave him a dopamine rush.
Just then,
Piyo?!
[You're seriously eating while we're being chased?!]
Kyawng!
Nyongnyong!
Pbok pbok!
Jak jak!
Piyot and the Four Guardian Beasts scolded Uren.
That's right. They were currently fleeing from a monster summoned by Lucia's misfortune.
Kraaaah.
The monster, which had closed the distance to within arm's reach, let out a roar and stretched out its tentacles. The creature had the shape of an alligator, and on its back, raw flesh swelled in a round bulge, with tentacles writhing out of it.
Piyo!
[It's coming!]
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
Piyot's party lightly evaded the tentacle attacks and once again put distance between themselves and the monster.
They had endured Uren's misfortune, and now they were five years into enduring Lucia's misfortune as well. Naturally, like Uren, they were experts in survival.
While they were dodging the monster's attacks,
"Mohehehehe. Tasty."
"Uhihihihi. Uncle Poyo, it tickles!"
Poyo was diligently licking Lucia's palm. To reduce Lucia's misfortune as much as possible.
Lucia's bad luck had a very different pattern from Uren's. In Uren's case, after one big misfortune struck, he would generally get a single rest period. Lucia's misfortune, on the other hand, had no pattern.
Sometimes there was a rest period after a misfortune, and sometimes several misfortunes would strike before a long rest period followed. In other words, it was irregular.
For reference, at Theo and Iona's wedding back then, Lucia's misfortune had struck fifteen times in a row.
Of course, since they had been with Sejun's group at the time, they hadn't needed to flee and were able to enjoy their meal in peace.
While watching the beautiful Iona, dressed in a pure white wedding dress that fluttered in the breeze and holding the [Three Month Vow, Apple Blossom Bouquet], crush the monsters that had disrupted her wedding with Meteor.
Afterward, Theo put the [Three Month Vow, Apple Blossom Bouquet] up for auction, and it was won by the Great Brown Dragon Krebibi for 1.5 trillion Tower Coins.
Anyway, in the middle of fleeing from the monster, Lucia's bad luck was intensifying, and it was now calling forth new misfortunes.
Kkigigik.
With a sound hundreds of times more spine-chilling than nails scraping a chalkboard, space tore open in a straight line, and then,
Squelch.
A fist-sized lump of black liquid squeezed out through the torn space.
[Black Amoeba]
Phew. What a relief.
It doesn't look very strong.
Piyot felt reassured by its pathetic appearance.
But,
Squelch. Squelch.
The lump of black liquid instantly transformed into the shape of a large cloth bundle, wrapping itself around the monster that had been chasing Lucia, and,
Gulp.
It swallowed the monster whole in an instant. It was a far more terrifying monster than the one before.
Having eaten the enormous monster in a single bite, the Black Amoeba had grown massive.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
It suddenly began to divide.
Fist-sized Black Amoebas scattered in every direction and began to surround Piyot's party.
A life-or-death crisis.
"E-Emergency Rescue Service Coupon, activate!"
Uren hurriedly used the coupon. Since his misfortune was fading and he could no longer produce large amounts of gold, he now had to conserve his coupons as much as possible.
[The Emergency Rescue Service has been used.]
[Starting next month, the Insurance Premium will increase by 5%.]
As Uren used the coupon, a hole opened up in the ground beneath them, and,
"Kkuik~!"
"Uhyahyah~!"
As Uren and Lucia plummeted, Piyot's party threw themselves into the hole after them, and,
Squelch. Squelch.
The Black Amoebas also dropped into the hole, intending to swallow them.
Not knowing that terrifying beings were waiting for them on the other side of the hole.
***
<Earth>
"Puhuhut. Everyone, hold on tight to Daddy, meeeow!"
Meeeeoow!
Myaang!
Ppyot-ppyot!
One baby cat who had inherited Iona's pure white fur, one cat with yellow fur and white stripes that had taken on a mix of both parents' colors, and one baby hamster who had inherited Theo's yellow fur.
Even all together, the three little ones were smaller than the size of two palms, and they were clinging tightly to Theo's tail with their adorable little paws so as not to be separated from him.
Swish-swish.
Theo gently swung his tail back and forth, playing with the children.
While Theo was watching over the children,
"Huaaaam. Vice Chairman Theo, you're up already?"
"Good morning, kids~"
Sejun and Aileen, having just woken up, emerged from the bedroom, and,
Meeoow!
Myaang!
The two baby cats that had been hanging from Theo's tail leapt down and went pattering off in a rush toward Sejun.
But,
"Puhuhut. Baeksu! Noha! The Great Colorless Dragon Hybrid Chairman Park's lap belongs to Daddy, meow! Don't even think about it, meow!"
Theo, who had claimed Sejun's lap in an instant using Light Speed Meow-Step, blocked the two of them with his front paws to stop their advance, and,
Meeeeooow~!
Myaaaang~!
Faced with their father's firmness, feeling betrayed by him, and grieving over not being able to have what they wanted, the two baby cats burst into a storm of tears. Even with his own children, Theo would not yield Sejun's lap.
For reference, the white-furred little cat prince's name was Baeksu, and the little cat princess with yellow fur and white stripes was named Noha.
Baeksu meant "white-furred beast", and Noha was a shortened combination of "yellow" (no) and "white" (ha). [TL: 노 from 노랑 (yellow) and 하 from 하양 (white)]
And,
Ppyot-ppyot!
The little golden hamster prince, who had Theo's tail all to himself and was grinning widely, was named Yel. Like his mother, Yel loved Theo's tail.
Yel was a name shortened from "Yellow".
The three names had, of course, been given by Sejun, and when he named them, the eldest, Baeksu, received the <Authority: Command> Naming Effect, which let him place all beasts beneath him; the second, Noha, received <Authority: Fanaticism>, which let her believe in something without a shred of doubt; and the youngest, Yel, received <Authority: Blessing of the Great Mana Stream>.
"Vice Chairman Theo, why are you making the kids cry? Come here, you two."
Sejun placed Baeksu and Noha on his palm and gently rocked them side to side to comfort them, and,
Meohang~
Myaang~
Baeksu and Noha cheered up and let out happy little cries.
Ppyot-ppyot!
Apparently thinking his older siblings were having fun, Yel, who had been on Theo's tail, scrambled up Sejun's body in a flash, lay down on Sejun's palm, and joined his siblings in enjoying Sejun's rocking palm, letting out a happy cry of his own.
"Meow meow meow~"
While father and children were enjoying the comfort Sejun was providing,
Grrrowl.
A sound came from Aileen's slightly swollen belly. The pregnancy period for a Great Dragon was quite long. The expected due date was estimated to be roughly five years from now.
"Sejun, I'm hungry."
"Yeah. I know. Just give me a moment. Kids, let's go make some food."
Sejun lifted the little ones onto his shoulders, and,
Meeoow!
Myaang!
Ppyuit!
At the word "food", the little ones' eyes lit up, and they huddled together to find their spots on Sejun's shoulders.
After some time passed, the savory smells of grilled fish and roasted peanuts began to waft through the air, and,
Meeoow?
The eldest, Baeksu, asked on behalf of the others, looking up at Sejun. Drooling profusely.
Theo and Iona's children had inherited all of their parents' food preferences, and they were absolutely crazy about grilled fish, churu, and peanuts.
"Ah. How much longer do you have to wait? It's almost ready. Just hold on a little longer. Okay?"
Meeoow!
Myaang!
Ppyuit!
At Sejun's answer, the three of them, whose mouths were thoroughly drenched with drool, brightened up.
A little while later.
"Kyoooot!"
Iona, who had stayed up all night doing magic research and had woken up late, came stretching out of the room, and,
Meeoow!
Myaang!
Ppyot-ppyot!
The little ones hurried down Sejun's body and went pattering off to their mother.
"Kyoot kyoot kyoot. Baeksu, Noha, and Yel, did you sleep well?"
Meeoow~
Myaang~
Ppyot-ppyot~
In response to Iona's words, the little ones answered by enthusiastically rubbing their bodies against her.
"Puhuhut. Iona, did you sleep well, meow?"
When Theo approached Iona and asked,
"Kyoot kyoot kyoot. Yes. I slept well."
Iona answered as she reached out both arms and gave Theo's belly a snug hug. The feel of Theo's soft fur and warm tummy was just too wonderful.
"Everyone, time to eat."
Sejun called out to the group as he moved the food to the table, and,
Kueng!
Kkiing!
"Huuuam!"
Cuengi, Blackie, and Taecho, who had been sleeping together in another room, came out yawning long and lazy and sat down at the table.
Just then,
"Kkuik!"
"Uhyahyah~!"
Familiar sounds came from outside.
"Looks like Uren and Lucia are here? I'm going to keep cooking, so Cuengi and Blackie, take care of the situation outside."
Sejun stood up and spoke to Cuengi and Blackie, and,
Kuehehehe. Kueng! Kueng!
[Hehehe. Dad, no need to worry! Cuengi'll handle it cleanly!]
Kking! Kking! Kking?! Kihihit.
[Butler! Just trust in Great Blackie! Great Blackie will take care of everything! In return, you know about the Roasted and Dried Sweet Potato, right?! Hehe.]
The two of them sprang to their feet and ran outside.
***
Uren, Lucia, and Poyo plummeted out of the hole.
Right behind them came Piyot and the Four Guardian Beasts, followed by a shower of Black Amoebas pouring through the hole.
Piyo!
Jak jak!
Whenever the Black Amoebas tried to reshape themselves to swallow the falling party, Piyot and Jeokbi pushed or pulled their companions out of the way to evade the attacks.
While dodging the attacks, the ground drew nearer, and the sky overhead had already grown dark, covered by thousands of Black Amoebas.
In that moment.
Kueng!
Kwaaang.
Along with an enormous shockwave, the Black Amoebas vanished without a trace. It was Cuengi's Destruction Fist.
And,
Thunk!
Blackie charged at the nearest Black Amoeba that was trying to swallow him and headbutted it.
A moment later.
Sluuush.
The bodies of the Black Amoebas falling from the sky lost their cohesion, transformed into black droplets, and began raining down like water.
All of the Black Amoebas had only divided their bodies; they were still connected through a single mind, and,
"Was it you?! The one who interrupted Great Blackie's mealtime?!"
In an instant, Blackie tracked down the mind of the Black Amoeba's main body and annihilated it.
Kueng!
[Burn!]
Hwarrrr.
The Black Amoeba corpses raining down were neatly erased without a trace as Cuengi conjured an enormous flame and incinerated them.
Once the situation had been wrapped up,
Smack.
Cuengi and Blackie exchanged a wordless high-five and headed inside to eat, and Piyot's party naturally followed in after them.
This kind of thing happened so often that everyone was used to it.
And,
"Uhehehehe. Sejun-nim, you were in the middle of a meal? May I join you?"
"Uhihihihi. Can Lucia eat with you too?"
Uren and Lucia asked, drooling. Lucia, the niece, was growing far too much like her uncle.
While everyone was happily enjoying their meal,
Meeoow!
[Activating <Authority: Command>.]
Baeksu approached Baektang, who looked like him, and used his Authority.
But,
[The opponent has resisted.]
Kkawoong?!
[How dare a wet-behind-the-ears little brat presume to make me, the Great Baektang-nim, his subordinate?!]
Whack.
Since he was still young, his Authority was also quite weak.
Meeoow!
After being smacked by Baektang, Baeksu immediately burst into tears, and,
"Baektang! Why are you hitting my son, meow?!"
Whack.
Kkawoong...!
Baektang was immediately smacked on the back of the head by Theo.
I'm going to smack people on the back of the head just like Daddy when I grow up!
Baeksu watched his father with eyes full of admiration and made a new resolution. It was the moment a new demon, one who would one day strike fear into the Nine Great Towers, was born.
*****
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