The Brightest Star in a Ruined World

[22]

A/N:
Sorry again for the super duper late update, but please enjoy.

Chapter 22: His Majesty's Greatest Scam
[☆]

"Is it just me or did a storm come to this place while I was asleep?"

PARK Hanbyeol could not help but voice out this question, now that she was able to take a careful look at her surroundings.

[The constellation 'Prisoner of the Golden Headband' raises his staff in response to Park Hanbyeol's question.]

[The constellation 'Secretive Plotter' nods his head.]

[The constellation 'Rabbit in a Waistcoat' raises its paw in answer.]

[The constellation 'Cat with a Smiley Face' flicks its tail.]

[The constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' has strong feelings of "déjà vu".]

[The constellation 'Greatest Hatmaker of the Sanest World' has seconded with a lift of his steaming cup of oolong tea.]

[The constellation 'Abyssal Black Flame Dragon' looks at the present scene with bright eyes.]

[The constellation 'Bloody Red Queen' stares at the same scene while muttering, "What a wonderful masterpiece.".]

Indeed. Before Park Hanbyeol, a panorama of an unfiltered grisly art was on full display; pools of blood, severed limbs, and dead bodies were littered everywhere. This bloody scene somewhat reminded her of that time when she was serving as a military doctor's assistant in a certain war-prone country just to escape her dark past. Those days were not easy, but the battlefield effectively made her forget some things for a short moment.

Anyway, enough of that. Now, back to the present.

"A group of people from another station tried to ambush ours." Jung Heewon explained to Park Hanbyeol. "Unluckily for them, we have a vicious guard dog on our side." She pointed to Gong Pildu, who was glaring at her direction in response to the word 'guard dog' she had just uttered, as she continued. "That guy killed all of them in one fell swoop. They were aiming to ambush us, but it was them who ended up getting caught in an ambush. What a joke."

"And where were you when all of this was happening?" Park Hanbyeol gave Jung Heewon a single raised brow in query, wondering why the woman was speaking as if she wasn't there when the violent encounter took place.

"Oh! We were doing something else. Come on. Let me show you."

Jung Heewon excitedly waved her hand before walking away. Park Hanbyeol followed suit as she wanted to hear more about the story.

Meanwhile, Kim Dokja was silently staring at the two ladies walking side by side while he remained seated on the floor with Lee Gilyoung's head now placed on his lap as the boy slept. Since Kim Dokja was tagged as a patient by the doctor, he was asked to take a moment of respite. Truthfully, he also didn't want to argue with the team's official healer and hurt himself again, so he willingly decided to stay put as ordered.

"Dokja-ssi, are you feeling alright now?" Yoo Sangah asked in a tone filled with genuine concern as she knelt down beside Kim Dokja.

"Yeah. I'm more than alright. Thanks for asking."

Kim Dokja nodded and instinctively placed a hand on his cheek where Park Hanbyeol had hit him earlier. The punch mark had already disappeared before it could fully form into a bruise due to the aforementioned doctor shoving a whole bottle of healing potion down Kim Dokja's throat a few minutes ago.