A Terminal Healer Needs an Obsessive Maniac-Chapter 135
As the grip on his hair tightened, Ryu Seoha’s mouth opened reflexively from the pressure. His ghostly form was slightly blurred, reducing his sensitivity, but not eliminating it entirely. He could still feel the pain, just dulled.
Because he had set his form to allow for minimal physical interactions, external stimuli were still vividly felt. In a reflexive move to avoid more pain, Ryu Seoha wrapped his arms around Choi Kanghu’s thick torso, as if silently begging him to stop.
“...Trying to seduce me, are you?”
Choi Kanghu, irritated like a beast, shook off Ryu Seoha’s embrace and pushed him roughly to the ground, baring his teeth in a snarl. With one swift motion, he pinned Ryu Seoha’s arms to the ground and pressed a sharp black stone against his hand.
Seeing that Ryu Seoha didn’t scream despite the stone digging into his hand, Choi Kanghu’s eyes narrowed. It was clear Ryu Seoha felt pain, his ethereal body writhing slightly in distress, yet no sound came from him.
‘He reacted sensitively to my touch... but he hasn’t absorbed the Dimension Core yet. Why?’
Despite the searing pain in his hand, Ryu Seoha was desperately trying to figure out why the young Choi Kanghu was being so overly cautious. Then, it hit him: Choi Kanghu had encountered a mental monster earlier that day—the F-rank illusionary monster, Honmongsaek-gwi.
It was a weak, parasitic creature that couldn’t fully take human form but lured its prey with illusions to drain their energy. Although Choi Kanghu had defeated it easily, the experience would make him naturally suspicious of anything with a similar appearance.
‘I should have connected to his dream in a non-human form, like a small animal...’
It was too late to regret that decision now. What was clear was that treating Choi Kanghu as if they were still on Earth would only backfire. He had to restrain his instinct to appeal to Choi Kanghu’s softer side.
Still lying on the ground, Ryu Seoha slowly moved his uninjured hand, intending to grab one of the nearby black stones to write something. But Choi Kanghu firmly pressed down on his arm, stopping him from moving.
“Don’t try anything.”
Choi Kanghu’s large hand held Ryu Seoha’s arm down, pinning him in place like a butterfly caught by a pin. Ryu Seoha sighed quietly, feeling utterly trapped. What did Choi Kanghu expect him to do?
He couldn't help but think how difficult Choi Kanghu’s temper was to handle. Choi demanded an explanation but didn’t give him the chance to write anything. If he truly thought Ryu Seoha was a monster, he could have just killed him immediately instead of this back-and-forth struggle. Perhaps the help Ryu Seoha had given him earlier made Choi hesitate to act.
‘This will go nowhere if it continues like this.’
Ryu Seoha didn’t have time to waste in this standoff. He needed to warn Choi Kanghu about the dangers that awaited him. In the end, Ryu Seoha decided to manipulate the connected system and force the vision of the threat he planned to show Choi Kanghu at the crossroads.
The scene shifted rapidly, showing a swarm of blood-red petrifying fire ants with large antennae surging forward. This was the danger Choi Kanghu would soon face if he chose the wrong path at the crossroads.
“Tsk.”
Clicking his tongue, Choi Kanghu quickly stood up, his instincts kicking in. Even though he was aware this was a dream, the realism of the vision made it impossible to ignore the approaching danger.
He swiftly prepared for battle, positioning himself defensively against the towering rock face. His calm demeanor in the face of an overwhelming threat showed how quickly he had adapted to the Abyss, even in just one day.
<Avoid>
Freed from Choi Kanghu’s grasp due to the distraction, Ryu Seoha quickly wrote the warning on the ground. But it was clear from Choi Kanghu’s aggressive stance that he had no intention of following Ryu Seoha’s advice. He seemed eager to test his strength against the swarm, knowing it was just a dream.
It wasn’t a terrible choice, except for one key issue: this dream was sustained by Ryu Seoha’s lifespan and was subject to a strict time limit.
Unable to explain the situation in detail, Ryu Seoha could only hope that Choi Kanghu would wake up, realize the truth, and avoid the fight in reality. If he stayed to fight, his future in the Abyss would be much harder.
‘If those things sink their teeth into him...’
Ryu Seoha didn’t want to witness his lover being injured, even if it was just in a dream.
<Watch out for the antennae>
Ryu Seoha wrote another warning, his eyes glued to Choi Kanghu as he adjusted his grip on the sharp stone he held.
‘It’s going to hurt.’
The petrifying fire ants were classified as an S-rank species when in a swarm. Not only did they attack in massive numbers, but they also emitted a special substance from their antennae that caused anything it touched to turn to stone.
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While Ryu Seoha was wearing the protective Star Robe, Choi Kanghu had entered the Abyss with no gear whatsoever. He didn’t even have a decent weapon or armor to defend himself.
Crack!
While Ryu Seoha was lost in thought, Choi Kanghu had already leaped into action, crushing one of the ants under his foot. Another ant lunged at him, only to have its head and body separated by a swift strike of Choi Kanghu’s stone weapon.
One by one, the ants fell to Choi Kanghu’s attacks. His acrobatic movements, using the narrow gorge’s rocks as springboards, resembled a scene from a superhero movie as he tore through the insectoid monsters with ease.
‘But the numbers...’
Despite his impressive display of martial prowess, Ryu Seoha couldn’t relax. Even though Choi Kanghu had trained in various martial arts and was putting on a remarkable show of skill, he was up against tens of thousands of monsters.
As time passed, Choi Kanghu’s movements began to slow, his stamina quickly depleting. Meanwhile, the ants continued to swarm, unfazed by the deaths of their comrades, pressing forward relentlessly.
“Ugh!”
At last, one of the ants managed to sink its teeth into Choi Kanghu, injuring him. Seizing the brief moment of hesitation caused by the pain, another ant struck, its antennae brushing against his left leg. A sticky liquid touched his skin, and his leg began to turn to stone.
[The skill ‘Sanctification’ has been activated.]
Unable to watch any longer, Ryu Seoha activated his ability without hesitation.
[The target (S-Rank Awakened) has received the buff ‘Healing Regeneration.’]
[The target (S-Rank Awakened) has received the buff ‘Status Ailment Removal.’]
Choi Kanghu’s leg quickly returned to normal, and he glanced down at it in surprise before turning his attention to the translucent barrier that now surrounded him. Outside the barrier, the ants continued to bang their heads against it, their numbers still overwhelming.
<Avoid them>
Ryu Seoha wrote another warning, trying to persuade Choi Kanghu to retreat. Choi Kanghu glanced down at the writing and then turned to look at Ryu Seoha with piercing eyes.
“...Why do you keep appearing in my dreams?”
His quiet question startled Ryu Seoha. On Earth, Choi had constantly pestered him about where he was going, and now it seemed his new fixation was on why Ryu Seoha kept showing up. Just as Ryu Seoha was about to feel disappointed by the repetitive nature of the inquiry, Choi asked something different.
“Is there a reason you only help me in dreams and not in reality?”
Ryu Seoha was inwardly relieved that Choi Kanghu was finally trying to communicate, but there was no time to give him the answers he wanted.
<Take the left path when you reach the crossroads>
Ryu Seoha wrote down the pre-prepared message, but before he could write more, his consciousness was pulled from the dream once again. He had wanted to warn Choi Kanghu about the next danger, but there was still a lack of trust between them, making it difficult to convey more information.
‘Don’t rush.’
Ryu Seoha steadied his resolve and re-entered Choi Kanghu’s subconscious. Again, and again, and again... each time warning him of upcoming dangers. Slowly but surely, Choi Kanghu’s suspicion began to fade, allowing for smoother exchanges of information.
“Piyuu!”
However, each time Ryu Seoha was forcibly pulled out of the dream, Ruby circled the glowing ring anxiously, letting out distressed cries. The more Ryu Seoha sustained the overwhelming feeling of omnipotence, the more it seemed to overload his fragile human body. His complexion had grown noticeably pale.
“Piyuu! Piyuu!”
This time, when Ryu Seoha coughed up blood, Ruby let out a panicked screech. The dark space around them filled with red as the blood dispersed into the void.
“...I’m fine.”
He tried to reassure the frantic Ruby, while he struggled to grasp how much time had passed. His body was beginning to show signs of strain, likely because he had been separated from Choi Kanghu for too long without direct contact with the Dimension Core.
‘There’s no choice.’
He had to change the past before the present became a battlefield between the higher beings and Choi Kanghu. Strengthening his resolve, Ryu Seoha dived back into the dream world once more.
This time, he found Choi Kanghu asleep in the ruins of an old civilization. Amid the debris, Ryu Seoha spotted something familiar: a sign written in a font he recognized. It was the sign for the orphanage where his younger self had briefly lived in his past life.
