Chapter 751: The Meaning of Purple (6)

As I entered Dokmul-hyang, I thought about where to move us.

If no destination was specified, you would normally appear near the entrance, but the entrance was no good.

Judging by the amount of energy coming from Jeokwol’s cocoon, she would probably rise to the Primordial Infant Stage.

Which meant a heavenly tribulation would descend.

There were not many important things near the entrance, but if a heavenly tribulation struck, the terrain could be destroyed, and I did not want to see that kind of damage every time I entered.

Dokmul-hyang recovered naturally rather slowly, so the scars would likely remain for a long time.

‘Where should I go?’

I pictured the various locations inside Dokmul-hyang.

Then one place came to mind.

The cave managed by Cheong-yu Sojeo.

Last time, Cheong-yu Sojeo had faced her heavenly tribulation there as well, so I figured we should use that place again.

All the experimental subjects had already been released, and the area near the entrance was a wide-open plain, so even if lightning fell, it would not affect the surroundings.

‘Ah! Right, the cave!’

The moment I pictured the cave entrance, the fresh scent of Dokmul-hyang flooded my nose.

Jeokwol’s cocoon and I instantly moved before the cave.

As my vision cleared, the environment around the cave entrance came into view.

As expected of an artificial world with slow natural recovery, the traces of the previous heavenly tribulation still remained clearly visible.

The ground blackened by lightning was still there, and the crater left by the strike, along with the stones blasted outward, all testified to the immense force that had fallen there.

“This should be enough, right?”

I quickly placed Jeokwol’s cocoon a short distance away from the cave entrance.

It was the same place where Cheong-yu Sojeo had endured her heavenly tribulation before.

Then I stepped back slightly and watched the moment of her advancement.

—Gurgle.

As I observed the cocoon for a moment, Jeokwol’s body writhed inside the shell formed from her wings.

Just like Hwa-eun before, the final stage of metamorphosis was underway—the process where everything melted down and was recreated anew.

When I sensed her energy, everything that had once melted had already regained its form.

I clenched my fist tightly, anticipating her transformation.

She was evolving from a Blood-Blossom Dream Illusion Butterfly spirit-creature into a half-human, half-beast form.

How could I not look forward to it?

If fantasy stories were anything to go by, she would probably look like some kind of fairy with butterfly wings.

That was the universal rule for butterfly demi-humans.

Like Tinker Bell from Peter Pan.

‘I wonder what she’ll look like.’

As I watched her with a pounding heart, a sound rang out.

Something split apart.

The cocoon tore cleanly in half.

—Shraaaak.

What burst forth was a glistening body covered all over with something that looked like fragments of red stained glass.

Through those translucent shards, I could see Jeokwol’s curled-up body inside.

Just as I was staring with a confused expression, wondering what exactly I was looking at—

The transformation began.

—Shraaaak.

The stained-glass-like material wrapped around her body spread out behind her.

Only then did I realize what it was.

What wrapped around her body were her wings, transformed into something transparent like glass.

As the wings spread open, her gleaming flesh was revealed.

‘Oh! It’s a perfect human body!’

As expected, Jeokwol had gained a human body.

Curled up in the air like a fetus, she began her true metamorphosis as her legs slowly stretched out.

Her two legs extended, her neck arched backward, and her arms spread wide.

As her heart pumped blood to the ends of her body, color and vitality flowed into her skin.

Fluid also spread through her wings, causing them to unfurl even wider.

When they fully opened, her ruby-red wings shone like crimson stained glass, transmitting light through them while scattering red radiance in every direction.

It seemed the metamorphosis was reaching its final stage.

Honestly, I liked her fully butterfly form more.

Where else was I ever going to find a poisonous butterfly spirit-creature?

But this was the body she wanted.

I decided not to show it and instead ask her later to show me her butterfly form sometimes too.

Just because she had gained a half-human form did not mean she could no longer transform into a spirit-creature.

As I was thinking about how to persuade her—

Jeokwol slowly began moving her wings.

Flapping them was part of the final drying process.

At the same time, a pair of butterfly antennae suddenly sprang up from her head.

‘Kya. Right, handles are essential. Ah, no—antennae.’

I almost called them handles because Gun Hye-rin’s horns came to mind, then hurriedly corrected myself.

At that exact moment—

—Flap.

With a single beat of her wings, clothes appeared on Jeokwol’s body.

They resembled Central Plains attire, but slightly different.

Somehow, they felt a little erotic.

Probably because they were semi-transparent.

Since clothes had suddenly appeared over her naked body, they were likely garments made from scale powder.

It felt similar to when she had created illusions from scale powder before, like individual pixels were rearranging themselves.

If that was the case, then they could probably be adjusted.

I wondered if I should tell her later to change into different clothes—

But at that moment, Jeokwol’s antennae turned toward me.

She turned her head and looked at me.

“Jeokwol?”

Her eyes were not human eyes, but butterfly eyes, giving her an oddly mysterious feeling.

The shimmering eyes and expressionless face created a strange charm.

As I stared at my reflection in her eyes, her voice reached me.

“So-ryong.”

Maybe because she had only just completed her metamorphosis, her moist voice seeped into my ears.

“Are you alright?”

I quickly approached and examined her body.

Had she dried properly? Were there any places still damp? Any folds or wrinkles?

A failed metamorphosis could lead to permanent disability.

As I carefully inspected every part of her body—

The sky began to cry out.

—Rumble.

It seemed the heavenly tribulation was about to descend.

I hurriedly backed away and shouted to her.

“Endure it! If you get hurt, I’ll heal you!”

“Okay.”

The moment she nodded—

The heavenly tribulation descended.

A bolt of lightning crashed down from the sky and pierced straight through her body.

—KWA-RRRR!

The lightning penetrated cleanly from head to toe.

Jeokwol’s butterfly eyes glowed brightly, and thin smoke rose from the places where the lightning had passed through her body.

I quickly ran over and supported her while drawing up the energy of Moji and Soji to heal her.

“Are you alright? How about here? What about here?”

She was conscious, but I still checked carefully for any serious injuries.

Then Jeokwol pointed at her shoulder.

“So-ryong, here.”

It seemed her shoulder hurt.

I quickly examined it, but there were no major wounds.

Thinking there might be internal damage, I checked inside as well, but nothing seemed wrong.

There was no issue externally or internally.

As I tilted my head in confusion, she pointed at her thigh this time.

“So-ryong, here too.”

“Here?”

“No, a little farther inside. No, not there—deeper inside.”

I was pretty sure she had originally pointed slightly above her knee, but the location kept moving farther inward.

For a moment, I wondered if there was nerve damage.

Lightning could damage nerves, after all.

But soon I realized something strange.

The areas she claimed hurt were not moving along nerve pathways.

They were moving toward... suggestive places.

“So-ryong, here too.”

This time, it was her cleavage.

Jeokwol had gained breasts similar to the form obtained after being registered into the Heavenly Heart Venom Illusion Martial Mausoleum.

And she was pointing right between those breasts—the largest I had ever seen.

“Th-That hurts?”

“Mhm.”

I hesitated.

An arm or thigh was one thing, but breasts were hard to touch, weren’t they?

Especially the cleavage.

That was unknown territory. Forbidden territory.

Then Jeokwol suddenly grabbed my arm and placed it against her chest.

I had thought her body might feel somewhat firm because of her butterfly nature, but instead soft flesh pressed between my fingers.

The upper swell of her breast rose between them.

“Hhuuuhk!”

Overwhelming pressure and soft warmth.

My brain felt like it was melting.

Startled, I tried to pull my hand away.

But Jeokwol caught my wrist.

She placed my hand over her left breast—over her heart—and called to me softly.

“So-ryong.”

“Yes?”

“You know your older sister li-likes you, right?”

I had traveled together with her often, but we had never really talked about personal matters, so I did not know much about her personality.

You only learned someone’s personality through conversation, but when moving with Jeokwol, we had always traveled hidden in secret, leaving little chance to talk.

But the woman before me now—

She felt like the direct-attack type.

Overwhelmed by her momentum, I began stepping backward until the wall of the dim cave pressed against my back.

Without realizing it, I had retreated all the way from the entrance to the cave wall.

There was nowhere left to retreat.

Her gaze was before me.

The cave wall behind me.

I swallowed hard and nodded.

Just as Hwa-eun had said, this seemed like the moment I needed to show my stance.

“O-Of course.”

The instant my answer ended—

The heartbeat beneath my fingertips, resting on her left breast, intensified violently.

In a trembling voice, she asked again.

Even if she was the direct type, it seemed this was still her first confession.

Her voice shook.

“Then... h-how does So-ryong feel?”

The moment the question ended, it felt as though her heart was trapped beneath my fingertips.

Something soft and alive kept pounding there.

Slowly, I opened my mouth and gave the answer she had been waiting for.

Hadn’t she always accompanied me whenever I entered dangerous places?

If it was the heart of someone who had crossed life and death with me, then of course I had to accept it.

Hwa-eun had told me to make my stance clear.

And I had already made up my mind.

There was no reason to hesitate anymore.

Hadn’t I already done it with a spider, a mantis, and a blue sea slug?

Adding a butterfly now was not strange at all.

“I-I do too.”

“Really!?”

The voice that followed my answer was filled with disbelief.

It seemed she had never expected me to accept her so quickly.

“Of course.”

Her cheeks, already red from her crimson hair and wings, flushed even deeper.

A joyful smile spread across her face.

The clothes covering her body scattered away like dust.

She had clearly dispersed the garments made from scale powder.

“J-Jeokwol?”

Then she threw herself into my arms.

A naked-body rush.

It had not even been a full minute since the confession, but things were moving way too fast.

There were supposed to be intermediate steps.

Holding hands, whispering love, kissing—

But she skipped all of them and headed straight for the final stage.

“Guh-hk.”

As she pressed against me, her huge breasts crushed my breathing.

I thought we needed to calm down first, so I tried to stop her.

“C-Calm down. There’s an order to these things, right? So let’s go slowly, step by step—”

Then she looked at me with a serious expression and said,

“So-ryong, after waiting this long, your older sister has the right to immediately confirm her little brother’s growth!”

“Huh? Growth?”

For a moment, I wondered what on earth she was talking about.

But when I followed her gaze—

I understood.

Her eyes were fixed on the front of my pants.

And regardless of anything else, that part had definitely experienced remarkable growth at this moment.

‘Ahem.’