By Zephyria 
The undulating red flames shifted to yellow and white. The Viking ships, which had been striking wildly in all directions to eliminate the bothersome human and expand their territory, were quickly retracted. ……37, 38, 39…… The ships began to strike Kim Si-baek in a concentrated, rapid succession.
The flames filling every corner surged as if to devour him. Clang, clang! Clang! The clear metallic sound of a blade repelling the Viking ships sharply sliced through the fire. Had it not been for his divine power, the blade would have melted long ago.
……74, 75, 76…… Beads of sweat rolling down his forehead fell onto his eyelashes, stinging his eyes. The moment he reflexively blinked and opened them, the ship’s ram rotated sharply, aiming for him. The hull swept over his bent waist with a rushing whoosh of wind. A gust of humid air pushed through the wind, allowing him a brief moment to breathe.
It was almost time to prepare. ……89, 90, 91…… Kim Si-baek healed his throbbing, burned palms and gripped the hilt of his sabre tightly. The effect of the flame-resistant enchantment had worn off sooner than expected. The heated iron plates began to rapidly melt the soles of his sneakers.
The blade of the sabre, extinguishing the flames that flickered their tongues while chasing him, split the motor in half.
“……!”
Something felt strange. He had dealt with split twin magical beasts before in mak slecht. At that time, the magical beast had collapsed as soon as the cores were destroyed simultaneously, but the flames here continued to blaze fiercely.
Could it be that Tae-un hadn’t reached the roller coaster yet?
If the cores of twin magical beasts are not destroyed at the same time, the magical energy surges into the remaining one, amplifying its power several times over. The hunters, who had barely maintained their defensive line until now, would fall helplessly, and the entire amusement park would become a sea of fire.
And above all these negative imaginings was the worry for Tae-un. The moment the image of Tae-un collapsed amidst the flames flashed through his mind, Kim Si-baek was already sprinting toward the roller coaster.
It was then.
The color of the blazing yellow and white flames changed and began to die down rapidly.
[Quest 09. CLEAR]
[There is a way to handle it slowly while waiting for the support team, but I knew a Returner would jump straight into the hunt -_-]
“Haa……”
Relieved, he leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees. He must have been a bit slow to react. Tae-un should be safe too. Only then, beyond the scattering embers like dust, did the clear sky become visible.
Tae-un was perched on the motor. The scorching flames could not penetrate the darkness to dare infringe upon him. Closing his eyes, he traced the flow of magical energy and divine power. Upon his dark retinas, the scene of Kim Si-baek blocking the attacks of the anxiety fog was vividly drawn. The elegant flow of divine power cutting through the thick magical energy without hesitation. That clarity.
His left chest throbbed, and a thrill of ecstasy surged through his entire body. The corners of his mouth twisted upward, and an unrestrained, pleasant laugh poured out.
“Ah.”
Amidst the lingering ecstasy, Tae-un slowly opened his eyes. The magical energy was stirring. Kim Si-baek had dealt with the Viking’s core. Though he had felt him fully, 100 seconds was truly a fleeting moment.
Sensing the massive amount of magical energy condensing into the motor where he sat, Tae-un lightly waved his hand. A clump of darkness swallowed the motor in one gulp. The core hidden inside was crushed and destroyed, as if trapped in the grip of a child playing with lumps of mud.
He stood up and brushed himself off. As the afterglow faded, he felt the toxic energy, which he had been forcibly suppressing during the fight, boiling up again. Ah, Si-baek hyung will worry a lot about this injury. He likes that the other man sees him as fragile and weak, but he didn’t really want to show him that he was actually hurt.
While thinking of a way to treat himself secretly from Kim Si-baek, Tae-un forced himself to swallow the blackened blood. Then, he pressed his eyelids, stifling the pain.
It was time to return to being the kind, obedient, fragile, and cute younger brother engraved in Kim Si-baek’s memory.
✽ ✽ ✽
Edokus turned and fled. The attempt to kill the apostle by manipulating a human named Na Jeong-woo had ended in failure. To make matters worse, Na Jeong-woo had been taken by the apostle’s party.
He had looked for a gap to extract him amidst the chaos caused by the magical beast’s attack, but that too had fallen through. He had to escape before the apostle who hunted the magical beast returned.
‘Damn it. Damn it! If the apostle investigates, they’ll realize I was the one moving that human. What should I do?’
Regret washed over him for having interfered, but the milk was already spilled. His only consolation was that his own magical energy was extremely meager, making it difficult for the apostle to detect.
It was a truly ironic situation where being weak actually helped with survival.
‘But who created that magical beast earlier?’
Unlike mak slecht, magical energy is not perfectly purified in human settlements, so there was a possibility it sprouted naturally, but he leaned toward the possibility that a Servant of Chaos had done it.
He considered finding out who it was and asking for help, but soon gave up. While apostles and grand warriors who receive the protection of a god maintain a cooperative relationship, Servants of Chaos do not.
Just as the identity of chaos is that everything is pooled at the bottom of the world, everything is mixed, and it is everything yet nothing at the same time, the servants are the same. A Servant of Chaos forged on Earth might try to absorb him. Though, in the expressions of the humans he had met here, his magical energy was at a level that wouldn’t even tickle the liver.
‘If I happen to run into one, I’ll beg for my life, since eating me wouldn’t even leave a trace… More importantly, what do I do about the apostle?’
Should he run away? Should he try one more time?
Amidst confusion, deliberation, worry, dread, and fear, Edokus fled endlessly. Just as he had when he lived as a human.
✽ ✽ ✽
“Wow……”
A hunter, who had held onto his weapon until the end with hands where burn blisters had burst and blood and fluid were flowing, let out an exclamation as he looked down at his cleanly healed wounds. A hunter who had been so severely injured that his leg bone was visible and had barely managed to stop the bleeding burst into tears. Kim Si-baek, who had only performed emergency first aid to reduce the consumption of divine power before the mutation was complete, now healed the injured without hesitation.
It was true that quite a few had thought that healing power capable of merely stopping blood wasn’t bad. However, as if the previous healing had merely been a warm-up, they marveled continuously at the sight of severe injuries—where blood flowed freely and chunks of flesh were missing—being perfectly healed.
Above all, the hunters were moved by Kim Si-baek’s character. A hunter with a unique ability found nowhere else in the world was generously bestowing his power without expecting any reward.
“Thank you, thank you. How can I ever repay this grace……”
The hunters’ hearts warmed as they saw a colleague clutching Kim Si-baek’s hand, tears streaming down. Given his nature, they expected a warm scene where he would say no reward is necessary and simply wish for a speedy recovery…
Sure enough, Kim Si-baek, with a gentle smile, affectionately patted the hunter. Then, he pointed to the ugly baby crow perched on the crown of his head.
“You can give your thanks to this crow.”
“Thank you! Mr. Crow……”
Unlike the surrounding hunters, who were momentarily dazed and unable to keep up with the situation, the colleague bowed deeply to the crow, as if about to perform a full prostration. Then, for some unknown reason, the crow, which seemed to understand human speech, brought its bandaged right wing to its forehead. Was that some kind of signature pose for that… pseudo-mascot?
Taking this as a cue, the crow flew excitedly among the hunters Kim Si-baek had healed, and the hunters, glancing at one another, nodded their heads repeatedly. Since he had instantly healed wounds that would have required hospitalization and recuperation for at least several weeks or months, they were grateful even if he were a pseudo-grandfather, let alone a pseudo.
‘I’m getting used to the crow as I keep seeing it.’
Perhaps because of that, an optical illusion occurred where the baby crow seemed quite mystical despite its sinister appearance.
Biyendwe, receiving plenty of attention for the first time in a long while, was happy, and Kim Si-baek enjoyed a satisfying moment as his divine power recovered well.
‘Anyway, Un-i is late. Should I go look for him?’
Tae-un had not returned even while he was treating the severely injured. Was it premature relief to judge that there would be no major problem since the core had been destroyed safely and on time?
‘Could the wound from Hunter Na Jeong-woo’s knife have burst while he was fighting?’
Becoming anxious, Kim Si-baek walked toward the direction where the roller coaster’s core had been. Before long, Tae-un came into view. Kim Si-baek, about to wave his hand in welcome, paused.
“Un-ah!”
Tae-un’s slow pace was somehow strange.