I Have a Fiancee in a Parallel World

9 – Now It Begins

“Where is he? Where the hell is he…”

Due to Jihun’s sudden disappearance right before his eyes, Changhun’s tension shot through the roof.

Jihun, who had been his personal punching bag until last year, had simply taken the hits and blocked them while enduring the pain.

He had been conditioned to fear him intelligently, making sure he would never dare to rebel.

After hearing the story of Jihun awakening, Changhun had avoided him for a few days, realizing he’d been too naive.

But before long, he, too, joined the ranks of the awakened and was on a much higher level than that pathetic guy.

The thought that he’d been classified as a C-rank hunter and the fact that the guy had become an E-rank hunter both flashed through his mind.

Even as a hunter, nothing would change. He would always be my punching bag.

So Changhun deliberately made time to find Jihun and once again, he beat and tormented him.

Even if he became a hunter, nothing would change. He would be his punching bag for life.

That’s how Changhun engraved intense fear in his mind once again.

However, right now, Changhun couldn’t afford to be the least bit complacent even with Jihun, his personal punching bag, in front of him.

The excruciating pain emanating from the barely healed wounds in his lower abdomen heightened his judgment.

“A Class Hunter, and I wouldn’t take this kind of beating from that punk Kang Jihun. Whether he’s undergone a resurgence or mastered skills, something has changed. I won’t let my guard down; I’ll give it my all.”

The 11th and 6th classes differed significantly in the difficulty of their training.

Though they spent the same year in the same academy, Changhun’s training was entirely different from Jihun’s practical combat training.

Even if the opponent was someone he easily ignored and tormented, as a C Class Hunter, Changhun had already surpassed the rookie stage where one is caught off guard, failing to demonstrate their skills before the enemy due to complacency.

“Where did he go?! Come out, you jerk!!!”

Changhun called out like a madman, boosting his fighting spirit, as Jihun suddenly disappeared from sight.

“Why is he shouting and… Can’t you wait a bit? I’ll be there soon. Can’t we settle this, sir? I’m short on cash…”

“T-That’s… Yeah… I’ll make it soon… But… You’re okay, right, student?”

“Ah, don’t worry. Oh! You’re worried customers might not come because of the noise? I need to finish this quickly.”

Unbeknownst to them, Jihun had vanished and was discussing with the shop owner near the food truck.

“I completely missed that idiot’s movements?”

*Shing*

“Ahhhhh!!!! Aghhh!”

A new hole appeared right next to Changhun’s barely healed abdominal wound.

“Ugh, it’s too noisy!! Hey, try that hemostasis you were doing earlier. Don’t be too melodramatic just because you avoided the vital organs and arteries.”

“Ahhhhh!! Aghhh!”

Though he managed to endure the pain once, as the same agony emerged, Changhun’s mind began to blur.

Falling to the ground, he writhed in agony, trying to stem the flowing blood from his abdomen.

Soon, following the same procedure as before, he summoned his magic to heal the wound and stop the bleeding.

“Haah… Haah… Ugh… You crazy bastard… What are you trying to do…”

“Phew… That was close. I was worried you’d faint from the pain, Changhun! As promised, should I cut off one of your legs?”

Changhun felt a chilling fear at Jihun’s teasing remark, quickly stood up, adjusted his stance, and summoned his magic.

The energy of magic streamed out from Changhun’s hands, meeting the surrounding air, causing it to freeze.

Ice Wall

A B-rank defensive skill of the ice magic category unfolded.

Around Changhun, a powerful ice wall, reaching about 2 meters in height, emerged one after another, encasing him.

“Wow! What’s that?!”

Jihoon exclaims like an excited child at the amusement park, his eyes round with wonder.

“Huff… Huh… I don’t know what kind of spell he used, but I can do it properly too.”

Between the narrow confines of the ice wall, Changhoon’s gaze sparkles and shines.

As Changhoon raises his magical power to its fullest, ice crystals begin to burst out from the front of the ice wall that surrounds him.

In an instant, these crystalline structures take the form of sharp, beak-like ice birds and shoot towards Jihoon with incredible speed.

***

“In the previous world, were there people who challenged Kang Daehyup?”

“No, Yeonhwa… They didn’t challenge him; they just hit and tormented me one-sidedly.”

“K-Kang… Kang Daehyup? That scoundrel! Hoo hoo, Kang Daehyup… my prince…”

“If we were to meet again, things would definitely be different. But, you know, I can’t remember much now. I’ve had so many near-death experiences in the martial world. What matters is what happened in my childhood.”

“It matters! Absolutely! You mustn’t forget! They say revenge in the martial world is never too late, even if it takes ten years!”

“No… Yeonhwa, why are you more upset than I am?”

“Because I love Kang Daehyup more than you do! Promise me… no one will disrespect Kang Daehyup. No one will treat him rudely. Hoo hoo.”

“Alright… Alright, stop crying.”

When Yeonhwa asked me what kind of person I was in the previous world, I should not have told her the truth.

I should have buried any sad or painful memories in her chest, so I could sleep peacefully without any worries.

But was that not too self-centered of me?

After hearing the stories of my suffering and torment, Yeonhwa cried for three days straight.

She shed tears while serving me warm tea, and she cried while preparing dinner.

Even when she held me, she couldn’t hide her flowing tears, her two hands cradling my face and pulling me into her embrace.

To someone who looked on, it would seem like it was Yeonhwa who had been tormented, not me.

Oh, yes… I remember her words now.

Because she loved me more than I loved myself, she had wanted to cross over to this parallel world to tear apart the person who tormented me, in my place.

Since she had no way to do it, it was unfair and frustrating for her.

The pain and sorrow I endured must have been many times greater for her.

Because she loved me more than I did…

Facing the ice chunks resembling flying birds, she briefly lost herself in thought. Jihoon, who had rekindled his inner strength, immediately wraps his body in it.

Ho Shin Kang Ki

Pwaaah Pwooook

The icy surge collides head-on with Jihoon, producing a deafening roar.

Soon, Jihoon’s surroundings are filled with hazy submersion.

Sorcerers who had sensed the magic and had already gathered to witness their battle were taken aback.

“Is that 6th class Sung Changhoon? What’s he doing with his skills on the street?”

“Hey, look there… He took a direct hit, didn’t he?”

“Oh my, what do we do… Is there a healer around here?”

The commotion around them was filled with concern for Jihoon, who had been struck by the icy surge.

Changhoon’s frost magic skill, on its own, was grand and spectacular, making it his signature technique.

Just by looking at the skill, spectators could tell it was Changhoon who cast it, but it wasn’t easy to identify the one who received it.

“Ugh… This ***… Why is he messing around… Damn it, did he die?”

Changhoon casts [Did I Kill Him] in a vulgar and uneducated manner.

The misty submersion that obscured their view gradually clears, and Jihoon comes into Changhoon’s view.

Right where he was standing before.

But his expression is different from before.

The mischievous look on Jihoon’s face had been replaced by sadness.

“Wh… how are you still standing after taking that, you ***-“

“Changhoon… honestly, it’s been so long that I don’t really care.”

“What’s that… what the *** are you talking about, you ***… Ugh… Agh…”

Using too much magic, Changhoon found it increasingly difficult to endure the intense pain that surged back.

“Well, if I had just thought about myself, I could have ignored someone like you.”

“What are you talking about, ugh… agh…”

“But now I can’t do that anymore… You made Yeonhwa cry.”

“What? Yeon…hwa? Who the *** is that?”

Jihoon’s feet quickly roll over, stepping on the ground in an instant.

From his right arm, a silky, razor-sharp form of a sword appears.

Swoosh

A soft line is drawn on Changhoon’s massive and sturdy ice wall.

“aaargh!!! aaah!!! Grrr…”

In an instant, along with the ice wall, a line is drawn on Changhoon’s right leg, just above the knee, and his right leg drops.

Screaming wildly due to the overwhelming pain, Changhoon foams at the mouth and faints.

Jihun took step by step.

With quick movements, Jihun’s hands reached towards Changhun’s legs, where blood was pouring out.

It was Jihun who seized the blood, stopping it from flowing out of Changhun.

“I can’t even dare to look at my own face…until I constantly have to hit my head on the ground…don’t die. I have to attach and cut off these legs countless times. The price for Yeonhwa’s tears is immense…”

Moving away from the fainting Changhun, Jihun grabbed his right leg and continued walking.

Towards Jini, who was sitting on the ground, trembling and unable to close her shocked mouth.