By Zephyria “I’m sorry.”
After days of listlessness and lack of motivation, Yoon Seung-ryong, who had only just returned to his senses today after receiving Yohan’s purification upon his recovery of abilities, bowed his head and offered his apologies.
“I have no words. I’m truly sorry.”
“It’s okay, Seung-ryong Hyung. It happens. Come and eat quickly.”
“Do I even deserve to eat…”
As Yohan coaxed him with a gesture, Yoon Seung-ryong, though speaking in a dejected voice, quickly hurried to his seat. Today’s meal was spicy tuna kimchi stew. The tuna stew, infused with Yoon Seung-ryong’s cooking and Yohan’s purification, was incredibly delicious, almost beyond description. After quickly finishing a bowl of rice, Yoon Seung-ryong sighed while eating dessert.
“Wow, I can’t even look at it since being swept away by the Flood… Yohan, you’re a Purifier, so you can look straight at it, huh? I’m jealous.”
He shivered, as if the experience from a few days ago had been truly horrific. Yohan, who was eating an unknown tropical fruit that Lee Hyun-muk had somehow procured, widened his eyes.
“You were swept away by the Flood?”
He couldn’t believe they had been swept away by the Flood, which looked disgusting and terrifying just to see. It was even more so because he had witnessed how living creatures transformed upon contact with that Flood. Yoon Seung-ryong took a large bite of the tropical fruit and nodded.
“That’s why I became a Centipede Monster. And even then, it’s only because the Team Leader pulled me out midway that I ended up in a somewhat presentable state.”
The unbelievable story continued to unfold, leaving Yohan’s mouth agape. Yoon Seung-ryong chuckled as he popped a piece of fruit into Yohan’s mouth.
“Our Team Leader, every time a team member was swept away by the Flood, he went in with them, multiple times, multiple times… That’s why he’s the one who’s been in the Flood the most among us. I’m grateful… And that’s why.”
He lowered his voice very slightly. His tone trembled faintly.
“…I’m most afraid of the Team Leader.”
What could have happened for him to fear Lee Hyun-muk so much, even though he was his savior? But Yohan couldn’t bring himself to ask.
Yohan’s lips merely moved, unable to offer even a polite phrase like “You must have had a hard time.” He simply couldn’t utter words of comfort in front of someone who had endured unimaginable pain and suffering. Yoon Seung-ryong grinned and popped another large piece of fruit into his mouth. It was the especially sweet and delicious center part.
“My Yohan, eat a lot. I’m going to start calling you Hyung from now on. You chased away the Flood, didn’t you? Well done, amazing.”
“Th-that’s just… it just happened when I tried, so it worked out somehow.”
Yohan felt extremely awkward under the gaze that dripped with affection. At the same time, his cheeks and ears flushed with embarrassment and joy. He felt so proud to be contributing properly among such amazing people. It was a sense of camaraderie and accomplishment he had never felt before. It was then, as Yoon Seung-ryong was fussing over him as if he were royalty, that…
“Yohan, come here for a moment?”
As soon as the meal ended, Lee Hyun-muk, who had been working on something for a while without even touching his dessert, beckoned him. Yohan jumped up and scurried over to him.
“What is it?”
He tried to ask casually, but his demeanor was somehow awkward. Ever since their last “rescue operation” that involved a kiss, Yohan had been treating Lee Hyun-muk with extreme self-consciousness. It had happened twice already, yet he still felt that way. The other person didn’t seem to remember it properly, so Yohan didn’t bring it up, but he felt awkward and embarrassed. More than anything…
‘His eyes were black. Does that mean he wasn’t in his right mind?’
Did he not remember kissing him properly because his eye color was normal? This question bothered him immensely, and Yohan’s fleeting glance soon landed on the object Lee Hyun-muk was handing him.
“…What is this?”
Yohan tried his best to see it favorably, but it looked exactly like a small hand axe, no matter how he looked at it. It wasn’t even a hand axe; it was more like a fist-sized stone tool. Lee Hyun-muk said, “Hmm,” with a hint of embarrassment. The simple gesture of him brushing back his messy bangs, which were bothering him, looked incredibly cool to Yohan.
“I did my best to fix it, but this is the best I could do. It’s your weapon, Yohan, and I’m a bit embarrassed by its appearance.”
“Oh, wow! It’s incredibly… cool… and looks great for attacking!”
Although a long metal rod piece was attached, even the sharpest-looking part seemed more suited for use as a blunt weapon than for stabbing. Yohan tried his hardest to look delighted as he examined the stone from all angles. At first, he thought it was just a shiny black pebble, but upon closer inspection, it seemed to shimmer with a strange radiance. A thought struck him, and Yohan’s head snapped up.
“Is this… could this be the Eternal Stone…?”
This byproduct, rarely found when hunting monsters, was made of an as-yet-unidentified substance. It was a material not found on Earth, and unlike other weapons that quickly degraded when entering Rifts, it never corroded.
It was a hard material, seemingly crystallized from a part that was never contaminated and never changed, regardless of the environment, found only in living beings. It was the material called Eternal Stone before refinement and Adamantine Steel after refinement.
In other words, what Yohan was holding now was raw ore, and what Lee Hyun-muk and Yoon Seung-ryong were holding were refined versions of the ore. Yohan looked at his weapon again in surprise. Now, it looked less like a fist-sized stone and more like a diamond worth billions. Both Eternal Stone and Adamantine Steel commanded exorbitant prices.
“When and how did you get this…?!”
As soon as Yoon Seung-ryong regained his senses, Lee Hyun-muk had disappeared for about two hours. It was astonishing that he had managed to beat some terrifying monster in that short time and procure such a rare material. Overjoyed, Yohan beamed.
“Wow, thank you. I’ll use it well!”
After all, Yohan’s ability was purification, so he could carry any metal weapon. It wouldn’t corrode from Corruption in his hands, and he rarely had to attack. However, after the events of a few days ago, Lee Hyun-muk seemed to have given it considerable thought.
“Even though you can purify the Flood, it’s best to keep your distance. Contact with it is never good.”
“I’ll train my abilities diligently from now on and protect you both!”
Yohan declared stoutly, clutching his weapon protectively. Lee Hyun-muk leaned forward, his eyes softening into a smile.
“That’s very reassuring.”
Yohan’s cheeks flushed with heat as he met Lee Hyun-muk’s gaze and then quickly looked away. He fumbled as if trying to act natural, then tentatively infused his purification power into the weapon. The weapon hummed and vibrated with white light, and the Eternal Stone glowed brightly. Aside from liking the weapon, honestly, it just looked like a white-glowing vintage lamp. Lee Hyun-muk seemed to have a similar impression.
“It would be nice if we could refine the weapon later… I hope there comes a chance for that.”
As he muttered, a person suddenly came to Yohan’s mind. Seo Yakrin, one of the members of the Sunrise Team.
‘She could refine Eternal Stone, couldn’t she?’
Was Seo Yakrin still alive somewhere? Did the hope for an opportunity mean she was alive? Not knowing who among his teammates was alive or dead, Yohan hesitated, unable to speak easily. It was then that Lee Hyun-muk’s thumb pressed against Yohan’s lips.
“Did you eat dragon fruit for dessert?”
Lee Hyun-muk said, removing a piece of fruit stuck to Yohan’s lips and casually putting it in his own mouth.
“Th-that, that was dragon fruit, dragon fruit, hahahaha…”
Yohan’s face turned bright red as he recalled Lee Hyun-muk’s words from the last “rescue operation,” telling him to only do such things to him. He couldn’t tell if what he was thinking was correct or if he was just imagining things. The action just now had been too intimate!
As Yohan’s weapon glowed brightly like a beacon, resonating with his emotions, it caught the attention of Yoon Seung-ryong, who was focused on his dessert. He ambled over, chewing on the dragon fruit peel he was almost finished with.
“Yohan got a new weapon? It’s so bright. That must be why the moths were flying in…”
“…What? Moths?”
Only then did Yohan belatedly register the flapping sounds and let out a scream of terror. It was clear that Lee Hyun-muk and Yoon Seung-ryong weren’t the only ones drawn to Yohan’s purification. The moths, flying in with horrifying sounds, were fried by Lee Hyun-muk’s electricity and dealt with, emitting a pungent smell. Yohan quickly stopped infusing his power into the fist-sized stone weapon.
“We had a little post-meal exercise, so let’s get going.”
Lee Hyun-muk stood up, using electricity to remove the dirty residue from the spear shaft. Surprisingly, Yoon Seung-ryong, who had already eaten the dragon fruit peel, scratched his cheek and asked. Yohan belatedly wondered. …Huh? Come to think of it, haven’t we never really disposed of food waste? No way? …It couldn’t be, could it?
“About that, Team Leader, are we still going to the Russian sector?”
“Hmm…”
Lee Hyun-muk fell into thought, unable to answer easily. While Yohan looked back and forth between the two in confusion, Yoon Seung-ryong pressed him.
“Let’s just go to the Japanese sector.”
“Why? Is there something good in the Japanese sector?”
Yoon Seung-ryong, who usually explained things at length, held back his words, glancing at Lee Hyun-muk. When Yohan asked for an explanation with a clear gaze, Lee Hyun-muk smiled wryly and explained.
“First of all, to get to the Russian sector, we have to cross a river, and it’s best to avoid this route because of the Flood, right?”
“Ugh… I never want to experience that again.”
Yohan shuddered. He had desperately stopped the Flood from swallowing them both, but if it hadn’t been for that situation, he would have fled without looking back. The Flood was such a terrifying phenomenon that it set off alarm bells for their survival instincts.
“And Ho-young is in the Japanese sector.”