By Zephyria 
The blueprints attached to the board detailed the areas where survivors had been found and the number of people in each. Staff from the Supernatural Phenomenon Management Agency were busy operating programs linked to the raid team’s measuring devices. On the laptop monitors, the analysis diagrams of the giant vine were filled entirely with black, indicating the absence of a core.
“Where the hell is that bastard hiding its core?”
Gwak Yun-sang, who had been staring intently at the monitor over a staff member’s shoulder, jumped in surprise at Justina’s sudden voice.
“Please let me know when you’re approaching…”
“If you couldn’t notice someone approaching from behind, you’re an A-rank failure.”
“Then I can’t afford to have my annual salary cut.”
Gwak Yun-sang stepped away from the table where they were frantically analyzing the core’s location using past raid data on giant vines, and handed over a coffee left by the cafe owner.
“Would you like a cup?”
“I’m still in a state of over-excitation. My arm is tingling.”
Justina swung her right shoulder around for show. It was quite surprising that both her arms were intact. However, since it was obvious what she wanted to say, he deliberately changed the subject.
“I heard you once hunted a massive giant vine back when you were in Seoul. Did you find its core quickly?”
“It wasn’t as large as this one, but since it was a time when I was ignorant about magical beasts—let alone giant vines—I left it alone, and it grew quite a bit. I didn’t know the raid method or where the core was, so I tore through everything from the roots to the flowers. I eventually found it at the very bottom of the stem, close to the roots.”
“Hmm, the giant vine at the Management Center doesn’t have a core there either.”
Recalling the past from twenty years ago, Justina habitually fiddled with her eyepatch.
“Giant vines are relatively docile on the outside as long as you block the roots, right? Opinions gathered that we should just leave it alone for a while, as no one could imagine what would come out of the fruit. Many people were injured just trying to block the roots.”
Much is known about the movements of the Seoul refugees, to the point that documentaries were produced and survival stories published. However, since this was the first time he had heard this story, Gwak Yun-sang pushed aside his anxious worries for a moment and focused on the conversation.
“You didn’t actually just leave it alone, did you?”
“If we had, the giant vine’s spores would have crossed the Han River and spread throughout the entire Korean Peninsula. But then Tae-un said this.”
〈The things that look like fruit have grown larger than when we first attacked.〉
A single remark from the young boy, who was then going through puberty, changed the situation instantly. People grew concerned about the danger once the fruit fully ripend, and they agreed to recover from their injuries and completely cut off the magical beast’s life.
“In a situation where we were preoccupied with attacking, when would we have had the time to carefully observe the size of the fruit? What a smart kid… I should have brought him into our guild…”
Justina, reminiscing fondly, let out a sharp intake of breath and snapped back to reality. Gwak Yun-sang’s attempt to completely change the subject had failed.
“I didn’t come here to sell memories; I’m talking about Si-baek’s younger brother.”
“Si-baek’s younger brother?”
“We decided to become sworn siblings starting today.”
“I assume you didn’t consider Hunter Kim Si-baek’s opinion?”
“Our eyes met and we understood each other.”
Uttering such shameless words, Justina tapped her recovered right shoulder.
“Is that actual healing ability?”
“The manager has no comment.”
“Are you a celebrity? Anyway, tell me something Si-baek’s brother likes or is weak to. I’ll try to lure him to our guild.”
Gwak Yun-sang pondered for a moment. Something Kim Si-baek liked or was weak to… something came to mind immediately. After considering that revealing it to the outside would not harm Kim Si-baek or become a weakness, he answered.
“Guild Master Tae-un.”
“…Even with my one remaining eye, I can see that.”
“I don’t think he’ll leave Seven, no matter how you lure him.”
“Section Chief Gwak, the only thing left for a person who gives up on challenging themselves is obsolescence.”
“There’s no need to recklessly attempt a challenge only to be crushed.”
Justina chuckled and shrugged.
“Well, even if I’m not intending to lure him into the guild, I’m personally very curious. Since my days as a mercenary, I’ve seen many people with eyes like Tae-un’s.”
“What kind of eyes?”
“Eyes that say it doesn’t matter if they die.”
Even when they first met at age fourteen, those pitch-black pupils, which were not at all childlike, reflected nothing. Justina sometimes recalled how surprising it was that he possessed such void-like eyes—disregarding not only others but even his own life—yet never hesitated when it came to saving people.
In her experience, those with eyes like Tae-un’s threw themselves into operations without hesitation, as if they were attempting suicide, and died. For how long had she worried that Tae-un might die that way?
“But every time Tae-un looks at Si-baek’s brother, a spark returns to his eyes. I can tell that the one making him want to live is Si-baek’s brother.”
“….”
“Naturally, I’m curious.”
Flustered by the unexpectedly heavy topic, Gwak Yun-sang stammered his reply.
“I, uh, think Guild Master Tae will firmly reject Guild Master Yu’s interest.”
“That’s true. He was always a rude brat.”
At that moment, a staff member’s voice interrupted their conversation.
“I’ve f-found the giant vine’s core…”
“You found it?”
One should have been happy that the core was found, but the staff member’s face was pale with terror. Just as a frustrated Justina grabbed the employee before Gwak Yun-sang could, the staff member spoke.
“The Id Portal discovered with it is on the verge of mutation!”
In a typical Id Portal, countless lights flicker beyond a dark entrance roughly the size of the host. Some interpreted this scenery, which looked like stars twinkling in the night sky, as a sign that every human is an individual microcosm.
〈Doesn’t that sound like something a humanities major would say?〉
Tae-un had dismissed it cynically, but Kim Si-baek thought it was quite romantic. However, the entrance to the first Id Portal he witnessed was far from romantic. Even to the eyes of Kim Si-baek, who was ignorant of the related academic fields, the portal’s entrance was strange.
The amount of flickering light was overflowing as if exploding. Beams of light, so bright they hurt the eyes, fluctuated chaotically and scattered rays in all directions. It was a violent current, as if someone had grabbed a microcosm and was shaking it violently. Yang Eun-ho clenched his teeth.
“There are less than 30 minutes left until the Id Portal mutates. And… it seems the magical beast’s core is behind the Id Portal.”
The measuring device, which had failed to detect the magical beast’s core until now, faintly read the core’s wave. The core was located in a position where it could not be accessed until the portal was destroyed, as the entrance of the Id Portal fit tightly into the cavity.
“We can just dig out the side of the stem to get close!”
“If we even touch the Id Portal while doing that, it will mutate immediately!”
“Isn’t it better to bring in a magical beast than to let the giant vine spread across Daejeon?”
Hunters caught in the confusion shouted in bewildered voices. The rising commotion was cut short by a single, cold sentence.
“I’ll raid it, so everyone shut up.”
“Tae-un hyung!”
“Oppa!”
Even Seo Gae-un, who always referred to Tae-un as Guild Master during official business, grabbed him in shock.
“If the entrance is in that state, the interior must be completely ruined! No matter how strong you are, Oppa, it’s dangerous!”
“Is there any other way besides raiding it?”
Seo Gae-un grit her teeth, let out a suppressed breath, and wiped her forehead.
“In that case, Eun-ho and I will accompany you.”
“No, you’ll just get in the way. It’s fastest if I go alone.”
“….”
No one could refute such an utterly arrogant assertion. As Seo Gae-un stepped back, clenching her fists in frustration at the reality that her abilities lagged behind his, no one was able to stop Tae-un’s steps. Except for one person.
“Let’s go with hyung, Un-ah.”
Tae-un smiled softly at the calm voice that contrasted with the urgently pressing atmosphere.
“Since it’s on the verge of mutation, it’s very different from the last Id Portal.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay. Do you think I can’t protect both you and me?”
[Death and Beauty is startled, wondering if your god will not protect you.]
“Since you’re like a ‘buy one get one free’ deal attached to me.”
Biyendwe, confused as to whether this was a statement to be touched by or not, quietly folded its wings and perched on top of Kim Si-baek’s head.
Kim Si-baek silently shifted his gaze. The most important reason was that he couldn’t send Tae-un into a dangerous place alone, and the next reason was the quest.
[Receive completion reward ↖↖]
No matter where he looked, the arrow moved, pointing toward the entrance of the Id Portal. It seemed he would have to enter the Id Portal to receive the ‘fragment of longing.’
‘Even if I don’t, it doesn’t matter.’
If he had refused the only path to protecting many people just because it was dangerous, he would never have become an apostle of god, and the person known as the current Kim Si-baek would not exist.
“Then I’ll go, trusting only in hyung.”
At the words that he would protect him, Tae-un’s face flushed a faint peach color as he stepped forward. Kim Si-baek followed behind, leaping into the darkness where the light flickered blindingly.
✽ ✽ ✽
For a moment, the flickering light covered his mind like an explosion. When he closed and opened his eyes, Kim Si-baek had already entered the world beyond the portal. As soon as his eyes adjusted to the thick fog, similar to the Id Portal he experienced at the department store, he was horrified.
“Wha—what is this? Why is the world like this?”
“It’s a sight that makes you feel like you’re losing your mind, isn’t it?”
The one who answered him was the voice of a very young boy.