When the Black Moon Rises - Chapter 101
Chapter 101
Sehwa was dreaming.
The nightmares that had followed her for fifteen years.
Since turning back time, she was once again experiencing those memories, now stronger and more painful, clinging to her ankles.
They hadn't faded in the slightest with the passage of time, always pulling her back to the past.
This time was no different. Darkness surrounded her, so thick she couldn't see an inch in front of her.
The voices of those who had died miserably echoed in the darkness.
The smell of blood, thick in the air, made her feel like she was about to lose consciousness.
Terrible screams continued.
Whether they were hers or theirs, she couldn't tell.
It was then.
That a familiar white tiger appeared.
“Kuhh-roar—!”
The white tiger, running towards her with a loud roar, opened its mouth towards the darkness as if to protect her.
“―――!!”
At the same time, the white tiger's spiritual power surged out, pushing back the surrounding darkness.
The pitch-black darkness, unable to withstand the sharp wind, slowly faded.
The smell of blood, the screams. They gradually disappeared along with the darkness.
Relief washed over her, making her legs weak.
Even after collapsing, she immediately crawled towards the white tiger that had protected her and leaned against it.
The feel of the soft fur and the refreshing scent seemed to reassure her immensely.
‘…This scent. I’ve definitely smelled it somewhere. So…’
She opened her eyes, realizing she was surrounded by something other than the scent.
The remnants of the dream made her dizzy, just like when she had first woken up.
‘…What? Where am I?’
She saw the roof of a tent. And a single divine beast surrounding her.
Deep blue eyes, like the deep sea, were wide open, staring at her.
Sehwa's black pupils blinked for a moment, trying to grasp the situation.
She understood that what she had been seeing was a dream, and that she was now awake, but…
She couldn't understand why she and he were alone in such a place. Why he was in the form of a divine beast.
“Why are you here?”
The white tiger, whose face was somehow flushed despite its beastly form, averted its gaze and shifted its appearance.
As she staggered, having lost her support, he quickly caught Sehwa's body while looking elsewhere.
Then, startled by the touch of bare skin, he quickly pulled his hand away and hurriedly offered his outer robe.
“H-Here, put this on first…”
“…!”
Only then, becoming aware of her own state, Sehwa's face turned bright red, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly.
‘Oh, my god.’
Why hadn't she noticed it right away?
Sehwa, about to scream at the sight of her naked body, quickly swallowed her voice.
Snatching the robe from Baek Giha's hand, she hurriedly wrapped it tightly around her waist.
Her lips trembling, she asked,
“W-What is this? D-Did you perhaps take my clothes…?”
Sehwa’s unspoken words, choked back with her breath, held so much meaning. He couldn’t possibly know what she was misunderstanding.
His face, which had drained of blood a moment ago, turned pale as he hurriedly made excuses.
“Absolutely not. I wouldn’t… I mean, it wasn’t like that, you see, you had transformed into a divine beast and when that form shifted…”
“Don't lie! You always keep your clothes on when you transform, so how does it make sense that I don't?”
Transforming into a divine beast was like summoning another form of oneself from another world.
Therefore, even if one transformed back into a human form from the divine beast form, it was unheard of for them to be left naked.
Baek Giha, still unable to meet her gaze, calmly—well, pretending to be calm—made his excuses.
“No, listen. What I saw was… you turned into a small baby white tiger—.”
“Huh?”
‘White tiger? Did he just misspeak? Did he mean white dragon?’
“And you wouldn’t open your eyes, so I brought you here all night to infuse you with spiritual power. I swear on my pure white conscience, which is clear before heaven, that I had no ulterior motives and only worried about your body…”
“....”
Flustered, he explained the situation without pause, as if he had become Baek Manyong himself, speaking at tremendous speed.
“And then suddenly, at some point, your body, enveloped in Baek Clan’s spiritual power, started floating in the air and creating a weak vortex! I was worried that the power might hurt you, so I was just watching… and when you transformed, the sharp wind of spiritual power… your clothes… I mean, the clothes…”
“....”
“I absolutely didn't lay a finger on you…”
At his excuses, Sehwa bit her lip with a flushed face and glared at him.
“So, to summarize.”
Her eyes, which had never properly cried even in the midst of agonizing pain, welled up with tears.
“You’re saying you saw everything while I was transforming with all my clothes ripped off?”
“!”
Baek Giha’s pale face flushed red again.
Guessing his answer from his reaction, she quickly ran to the side.
“Wait!”
Strong arms wrapped around her from behind, stopping her from leaving the tent.
“Let go of…!”
“Shhh, shhh. It's late at night. Everyone's asleep.”
“....”
“And believe it or not, you really did transform into a white tiger.”
The man spoke in a serious voice filled with concern.
“It’s probably because of the treatment I gave you using my fangs in that emergency, so let me examine you a bit more.”
“F-Fangs?”
“Yes. So I'm worried that perhaps the flow of power within you has become distorted. I'm really worried that something might be wrong.”
His gentle voice didn't contain a single hint of falsehood.
It was filled with so much regret, affection, and worry.
‘And fangs…’
At his words, her body went limp.
Hesitantly turning around, she looked up at him.
Her face, with her lips tightly pressed together, became pale like his had been a moment ago.
“Fangs…. Did you perhaps… use… again…”
Sehwa hesitated, unable to finish her sentence.
“Did you perhaps…”
She couldn’t bring herself to ask if he had used *that* thing she knew about.
But Baek Giha, as if he already knew her question, answered casually.
“It's nothing. I'm more worried that the stronger Baek Clan spiritual power might have been absorbed and harmed you.”
“....”
“So let me share my spiritual power with you and examine you a bit more. I promise I won't do anything else.”
Come to think of it, her body had been completely mangled by the Mystic Ruler’s flames.
It was a terrible pain that made her vision turn white.
Even after taking and applying countless medicines, the burning heat in her body hadn’t subsided at all, but…
Yet, she had woken up like this, completely fine. It wasn't hard to guess what he had done to achieve this.
Seeing Sehwa’s eyes welling up again, his face darkened.
“Why? Does it hurt somewhere? Is something wrong?”
After using his precious treasure so freely, his only worry was that *she* might be in pain. He was only concerned about that one thing.
How could she be angry at a man like this?
She felt sorry even for the question she had blurted out in rebuke.
Sehwa just bit her lip.
Thinking about it, this body…
In her past life, even when her skin was being flayed, when she was constantly being burned, the Mystic Ruler's guards had already seen everything.
So what was the big deal about her benefactor seeing a little due to an unexpected accident? Why did she have to scold him for it?
Feeling incredibly apologetic, she slowly approached him and hugged his waist.
“…Why are you crying?”
How did I become so lucky as to win the heart of someone like you?
I have to do better, too.
More than what you do for me.
I have to repay all the kindness you show me, the immensity of which makes me wonder if there could even be more.
As she clung to him and began to sob, he patted her shoulder cautiously, flustered.
But he couldn’t bring himself to hug her back.
He could have embraced her under the pretext of comforting her crying, but…
‘Y-You’re… too close.’
Strangely, her scent felt stronger today.
A distinctly richer, almost intoxicatingly sweet fragrance than usual.
‘No. Is this perhaps the scent of spiritual power?’
It might be that a familiar spiritual power was resonating with him.
In any case, all of this combined left him unsure of what to do.
She was crying.
He should be telling her not to worry, that everything would be alright, that he’d take care of everything, that she could tell him anything.
‘I should be patting her back and saying that…’
Even though he knew he should be reassuring her anxious heart.
Her soft, floral scent was so stimulating, even by itself.
He felt an overwhelming urge to bury his face in the exposed curve of her white neck and devour her in one gulp, so much so that he couldn't calm his racing heart.
His hands trembled with the desire to hold her tight, pull her into his embrace, and never let go.
It was then.
Soft.
‘!!’
A sensitive touch, previously absent, arose between them, now free of the thick clothing.
‘Her… breasts…’
Because both he, shirtless, and she, clad only in a robe, were more thinly dressed than usual.
The distinct sensation of her full, post-transformation breasts pressing against him was acutely perceptible.
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