235 – HGL 235

235

Thud. The sound of the call disconnecting rang out. Eui-jae handed the phone back to Sa-young. He was newly pleased with the fact that he wasn’t the decision-maker. Eui-jae remembered the faces of the Guild leaders who had been so fervent. As small to medium-sized Guilds, they must have known each other well. There must have been places where they lived like family. If he had to decide, what answer would Cha Eui-jae have given?

‘I might have smashed everything before that….’

As Eui-jae awkwardly straightened his posture, Sa-young gestured towards Ivan with his chin.

“You heard everything, right?”

Ivan was already beaming. He fidgeted with his fingers and nodded repeatedly.

“Y-yes, of course. We’ll decide on the schedule and c-contact you. Huhu. This is a really big step. We’ve taken a step for a new world…!”

His hunched body swayed back and forth. He almost looked like a madman. He started humming softly.

However, there was one thing that bothered him. The scene of Lee Sa-young’s massacre. Eui-jae was prepared for an all-out war the moment he saw this place, but unexpectedly, Ivan didn’t seem to care. Eui-jae crossed his arms.

“This.”

“W-what are you talking about?”

“Here.”

Only then did Ivan look at the ground they were standing on. Lee Sa-young had roughly cleaned up the Poison, but the traces of the desperate battle still remained. Nail marks from scratching the floor in terror, bullet marks, footprints running towards the building.

Ivan blinked.

“W-what’s wrong with this?”

Eui-jae’s face twisted slightly. Ivan pondered for a long time, then made an ‘ah’ sound and put his hands together.

“Y-you’re worried about the d-dead people. You’re really k-kind. To even care about such sacrifices…. Y-you must have that kind of magnanimity to be c-called a hero, right?”

“……”

“But it’s al-alright. We’re connected to the Management Bureau thanks to your cooperation.”

Ivan spread his arms wide, drawing a large circle.

“If you think of it as a s-small sacrifice for the greater good…. It’s not that big of a deal.”

The face inside the mask crumpled terribly. A small sacrifice for the greater good. Eui-jae himself acted accordingly, but it was a phrase he never liked to hear. No matter what, sacrifice cannot be justified. Even for the sake of the dead.

‘He’s still a guy I don’t like….’

Eui-jae irritably snapped.

“Bring Song Jo-heon.”

“Y-yes?”

“We’re the ones who should hold him accountable. He’s not someone you guys can just leave on the floor. Bring him. In perfect condition. Don’t pull any other tricks.”

“……”

“Bring Student Ga-eul too. The conversation should have ended a long time ago.”

Ivan scratched his head and rolled his eyes, then nodded and slipped into the building. Should he also ask them to release the captured Hunters? But most of them were out of their minds from the drugs, and their aggression had increased. If they were returned in this state, it would be another disaster.

Eui-jae looked at Min-gi Seo.

“Min-gi Seo, if the Hunters captured inside are transferred to the Seowon Guild, is it possible to treat them?”

“Hmm….”

Min-gi Seo hummed and pushed up his sunglasses.

“Can I be honest with you?”

“Yes.”

“Frankly, it seems unlikely that they’ll be able to be treated even if they’re transferred. Matthew is still in the basement of the Seowon Guild, but there’s no news yet. They say they’re analyzing the drugs, but I don’t know.”

“……”

“But it will be safer. There won’t be any additional experiments.”

“No.”

Sa-young muttered with his eyes closed.

“Contact the Director. Include the condition that we’ll take custody of the imprisoned Hunters. They’ll coordinate with each other anyway. Those guys probably expected that level of condition.”

“Yes? Ah, yes.”

“They’re not people who have nowhere to return to….”

“……”

“We have to send them back to the people who are waiting.”

Long eyelashes fluttered. Their eyes met. A smile was in the purple eyes looking at him. The moment he saw those eyes, the large lump that had settled in his heart seemed to melt away a little. Eui-jae pressed his chest with his fist. His stomach churned.

A moment later, Min-gi Seo, who had been moving busily, raised his hand.

“Then I’ll go to the Awakened Management Bureau first. Guild Leader, how did you get here?”

“Kang Ji-soo’s motorcycle.”

“Where is Kang Ji-soo?”

“She said she’d wait in the back, take her with you.”

“Do you have a way to get back?”

“I’ll figure something out.”

“Then I’ll call a van instead of taking Kang Ji-soo. Kang Ji-soo has to work too.”

“Do as you please.”

“Yes, then I’ll be on my way.”

Min-gi Seo bowed and disappeared into the shadows. Quietness came after a long time. He should ask Lee Sa-young if he’s okay. Strangely, the words didn’t come out easily.

At that moment, he felt a presence inside the building. Two light footsteps. It wasn’t combat personnel, but rather a familiar presence. It didn’t seem to be Song Jo-heon. Was it Student Ga-eul? Just as Eui-jae was about to take a closer look, the arm that was slightly touching his twitched. Eui-jae hurriedly looked at Sa-young’s condition. His arm and shoulder were overly tense, his neck was pale, and cold sweat was forming under his disheveled hair…. Something was wrong. Eui-jae whispered softly.

“What’s wrong…?”

“……”

If he fainted again. No answer came back. His thick lips parted and closed several times, and instead of answering, he reached out and gripped Eui-jae’s arm tightly. So hard that he felt pain. Then he lowered his head and buried it in Eui-jae’s shoulder. The breathing echoing in his ear was rapid. His pulse was also strangely fast. Eui-jae urgently whispered.

“What’s wrong, are you sick?”

The head on his shoulder moved from side to side. It meant he wasn’t sick. But his condition was clearly strange. Eui-jae reached out and worriedly stroked his hair.

“Lee Sa-young. Are you really okay? If something hurts, be honest….”

“…Just a moment.”

Sa-young muttered in a cracked voice.

“Just a moment…. Like this. I’ll be… okay soon….”

Hot breath tickled his neck. He heard the sound of gnashing teeth. He felt a tingling pain in the arm he was holding. But Eui-jae didn’t have the mind to care about such trivial things.

‘…He didn’t say Sa-young just now?’

Even when he was out of his mind, he would always correct himself to say Sa-young when he used his last name. But now he was just sticking to him, saying only what he wanted to say. Eui-jae rolled his eyes.

‘It’s serious….’

An instinctive warning that he couldn’t leave him like this arose. Of all times, Min-gi Seo was gone at a time like this. He should have kept him longer! He’s always a problem when he’s needed. Just as Eui-jae was rummaging through his Inventory to see if there were any of Hong Ye-seong’s special scrolls left, a familiar voice rang out cheerfully.

“Oh? Why are there only two of you? Where did Ivan go? I thought the story was over and came out~”

Sa-young’s body trembled greatly as if struck by a sword. At the same time, Eui-jae slowly turned his head. Ga-young, who had confronted him on the road, was standing there. She was still wearing her white coat. She smiled and pushed up her glasses. And next to her….

“…Student Ga-eul?”

Yoon Ga-eul, who had her hands together and was cowering, was there. When her name was called, she flinched and avoided his gaze. Her pale lips and the beads of sweat were ominous. Could it be that they had tortured Yoon Ga-eul under the guise of experimentation? Or maybe they had injected her with drugs. Eui-jae glared at Ga-young.

“What did you do again.”

“What did I do? Just~”

Ga-young smiled and pulled Yoon Ga-eul’s shoulder closer.

“We just talked a little. Hero is so suspicious~ right?”

“……”

Ga-eul bit her lip. Her body was trembling strangely. It was clear that she was under some kind of pressure. As Eui-jae clenched his fist, Ga-young frantically raised both hands.

“Oh, don’t be like that! We really just talked. And Student Ga-eul has something to say. Right?”

Ga-eul nodded slightly. At the same time, the grip of Sa-young’s hand on his arm tightened. Even he, who was good at enduring pain, frowned slightly. Ga-eul fidgeted with her hands and muttered.

“I, I remember you said you’d save me. J, I was really glad you came with me. I felt relieved too. It’s not that I don’t trust J…. It’s not. I trust J more than anyone. But….”

Ga-eul’s voice grew smaller and smaller.

“I, I just… wanted to know more.”

“……”

“A, anyway, what I want to say is….”

She slowly raised her head. Her eyes were shining with a golden light. There was a hint of hesitation, but even so, there was….

Conviction.

“…I, I’ll stay here. You can just go back.”

The rapid breathing echoing in his ear stopped for a moment.