By Zephyria The scent of fresh flowers that had filled this place until just now was covered by the sweet scent emanating from Lee Sa-young. The sound of his heart pounding as if it would burst gradually subsided.
Sa-young lightly touched the root he was holding, and even the last remaining stem withered away, poisoned. He had only used his ability once, but the Garden of Life had become a pitch-black Poisonous swamp. Only after confirming that nothing was alive anymore did Sa-young mutter.
“What were you thinking, taking on the Master of the Rift with that kind of guts? …You even had the Weakening Curse on you.”
The last part didn’t seem to be directed at Eui-jae.
“That’s what I’m saying, Guild Leader.”
Min-gi Seo, who had lagged behind, quickly chimed in. He had something like an oxygen mask over his mouth. Eui-jae nudged Sa-young’s hand, which was covering his nose and mouth.
‘Are you not going to let go of this?’
He glared with that intention, and Sa-young said without even turning around.
“Hey, give it here.”
“Huh?”
“You must have spares. Give it to me.”
“……”
“I know you guys pooled them together.”
“Yes, sir.”
A Shadow Human about the size of a person’s hand popped out from somewhere, holding a small oxygen mask above its head and scurrying over. Sa-young nodded.
“Grow it.”
The Shadow Human quickly grew to the size of an adult male. It handed the oxygen mask to Eui-jae and then melted away.
[Master’s Mass-produced Oxygen Mask (A)
When worn in a poisoned area, it detoxifies a certain level of Poison and aids breathing. It’s better than nothing.
Creator: Hong Ye-seong]
Sa-young whispered.
“Put it on as soon as I let go.”
“……”
“Blink to answer.”
This crazy brat is ordering me around every step of the way. Eui-jae glared even more fiercely, and Sa-young retorted irritably.
“Listen to me if you don’t want to cough up blood again.”
Seriously, I have Basilisk’s Poison, you know. Not mentioning one trait was coming back to Eui-jae as a huge karmic debt.
With no other choice, Eui-jae blinked, and Sa-young released his hand. Anyway, it was only polite to use the item he was given, so Eui-jae put the mask on. Thanks to Basilisk’s Poison working hard, there wasn’t much of a change whether he wore it or not.
The surroundings became very quiet. His heart, which had seemed to calm down a bit, started pounding again. It was so loud that Sa-young, standing right behind him, could probably hear it. A strange anxiety rose from his toes. Eui-jae deliberately amplified his breathing. If even that sound was gone, he felt like he would be devoured by the anxiety that had barely disappeared.
Then, a firm arm wrapped around Eui-jae’s shoulder and pulled him closer. Sa-young, who had lowered his head, murmured in his ear.
“Catch your breath.”
“……”
“You’re startled right now, Hyung.”
No, this isn’t being startled. How many of these Monsters have I seen? Cha Eui-jae was just…
Anxious.
Tap, tap, small touches tapped his shoulder in a rhythmic beat. A faint noise that cut through the silence and breathing. He felt his heart, which had been trying to run wildly, gradually calming down. Eui-jae exhaled deeply. Once his mind started to clear even a little, Eui-jae became puzzled.
‘Why is Lee Sa-young here?’
Why did this guy come to a level 5 Rift? He could have easily ignored the call for help. No, he’s the type to ignore it, Lee Sa-young.
As the arm around his shoulder fell away, Eui-jae turned to look at Sa-young. Sa-young was putting his gloves back on. He glanced at Eui-jae’s face and chuckled as if he knew what he was thinking.
“Anyone would think you’d seen a ghost.”
“……”
“You didn’t think I’d come?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“There’s no reason for you to come.”
Sa-young tilted his head slightly.
“Hyung is really…”
“……”
“You have no trust in people.”
It was still quiet as usual, but somehow it felt sarcastic. Is this something to talk about trust? It was a conclusion reached with rational judgment. Feeling awkward, Eui-jae rubbed the back of his neck.
“So, why did you really come?”
“I came to get Hyung out.”
With his answer, Sa-young gestured with his chin towards the pitch-black Poisonous swamp.
“But I didn’t expect you to be fighting the Master of the Rift like a madman.”
Damn it. I should have just killed it and escaped first, even if my clothes got torn. It was the moment Eui-jae frowned deeply. Min-gi Seo shouted from afar.
“Guild Leader! It’s good to take care of your clients, but there’s something you need to consider!”
Sa-young glanced back.
“What is it?”
“Since the Guild Leader melted the Master of the Rift in an instant, there’s a possibility that the Riftstone held by the Master also melted away!”
As if waiting for those words, the entire Rift began to shake. The ground, the sky, even the air was distorted. Min-gi Seo shrugged.
“It’s already started. Can I borrow a Shadow Human?!”
A Riftstone is a type of Mana Stone cherished by the Master of the Rift, and destroying it causes the Rift to disappear. This is different from the exit that appears when the Master of the Rift dies. When a Rift disappears, everyone caught inside is nicely ejected back to the Rift entrance. Regardless of whether they are corpses or survivors.
In other words, survivors would end up seeing the corpses of other victims up close. The corpses of those killed by Monsters were gruesome, so the rescue team would evacuate the survivors first and then destroy the Rift to minimize the survivors’ mental shock.
Fortunately, there would be no fatalities this time… but Eui-jae had another problem.
‘At this rate, I’ll run into the rescue team as is!’
Eui-jae looked around in shock and met Sa-young’s eyes. Sa-young also shrugged.
“Unexpected situation. What should we do now?”
“What else can we do?”
Eui-jae grabbed Sa-young by the collar. And looking straight into the purple eyes behind the lenses, he said, cutting off each word.
“You’d be in trouble too if it got out that you destroyed the Riftstone without waiting for the rescue team, right?”
“……”
“Memorize what I’m about to say in one go. We’ll coordinate our stories.”
The corners of Sa-young’s lips slowly rose as he listened to Eui-jae’s words.
Yang Hye-jin, who had been spat out of the Rift with a “ptooey,” repeatedly opened and closed her blurry eyes, trying to focus. Her stomach churned as if she had ridden a roller coaster fifty times in a row, and her whole body ached as if she had been beaten repeatedly with a baseball bat. Only one thought came to her mind amidst the dizziness.
‘Lee Sa-young, you crazy brat….’
Why did he have to destroy the Rift when the rescue operation wasn’t even over yet? Yang Hye-jin frowned as much as she could and barely managed to lift her upper body, supporting herself on the ground. The sensation of being forcibly ejected from the Rift was still terrible. She could hear the busy footsteps of people.
“All Hunters who entered the Rift have returned!”
“Rift… Rift annihilation confirmed!”
“Checking for survivors.”
“How did they catch the Master of the Rift so quickly? It hasn’t even been 30 minutes since they went in.”
Amidst the commotion, Yang Hye-jin looked around and saw that the Rift Management Bureau Hunters who had entered with her were groaning in pain, unable to withstand the shock of being suddenly thrown out. Yang Hye-jin, being an A-rank, was the first to regain her senses.
As she lowered her back due to the dizziness and nausea in her still blurry vision, a pair of black dress shoes approached and stopped right in front of her. She frowned and raised her head.
Jung-bin stood there with a gentle smile. So, the support personnel from the Awakened Management Bureau was Jung-bin. If she had known it was him, she would have held onto that scoundrel Lee Sa-young a little longer before entering.
“Are you alright? Ms. Yang Hye-jin.”
“Yes…. I feel like I’m going to throw up, but I’ll be fine soon.”
Jung-bin reached out and helped her up. Hye-jin took his hand and got up, looking around. Jung-bin followed her gaze and asked.
“Is there someone you’re looking for?”
“Guild Leader Lee Sa-young… where is he now?”
She couldn’t just let this go. It was a violation of the Hunter’s code of conduct that must be followed during Rift support. What if there had been fatalities and the dead and survivors had been mixed together? Jung-bin smiled awkwardly and pointed behind him.
“He’s over there. But….”
“Yes?”
“Well, I did question him once… but there was a reasonable reason for doing this. I think you’ll understand when you see it, Ms. Yang Hye-jin.”
Jung-bin stepped aside slightly. Several ambulances were parked side by side in the district office parking lot. A dark figure was sitting with his legs crossed in the ambulance farthest away, and it was obviously Lee Sa-young.
He looked so neat that it was hard to believe he was the one who had entered the Rift, but at least he had the last bit of conscience to cover his shoulders with the ambulance’s orange blanket. And someone was sitting next to Sa-young.
It was a somewhat familiar face.
‘…Huh?’
A young man with a cool and neat impression was leaning on Lee Sa-young, covered in an orange blanket and huddled up. His slightly sweaty bangs were disheveled and stuck to his forehead, and his face was particularly pale. It was a face Hye-jin knew well.
Well… she had eaten the Hangover Soup that young man had made just last night! Hye-jin asked cautiously.
“The person lying there, isn’t that the part-timer from the Hanover Soup Restaurant in the alley?”
“Yes.”
Jung-bin nodded.
“It seems the part-timer Awakened this time and came to get tested… and got caught up in this situation.”
“Oh dear, good heavens….”
Hye-jin truly felt sorry and checked her wristwatch. Looking at the time, it was the Hangover Soup Restaurant’s preparation time. He must have barely made time amidst his busy schedule to register, and this happened. Yang Hye-jin sighed deeply at the heartbreaking news of the kind and diligent young man, and Jung-bin continued.
“According to Lee Sa-young, the Master of this Rift had the power to attract Awakened. He was originally going to stay near the Master until the rescue was over, but when Sa-young arrived, the part-timer who had already been charmed was right in front of the Master….”
“Did he kill him?”
“That’s right.”
It happened while saving someone… Yang Hye-jin frowned and groaned, then sighed deeply.
“…Originally, I shouldn’t just let it go, but since it happened while saving someone, I can’t really say anything.”
“Haha, right? Still, that’s that, and he has to pay a fine.”
Jung-bin, who was looking at the ambulance with warm eyes, said cheerfully. Hye-jin, who had been silent for a moment, frowned.
“But… is it okay to leave the part-timer next to Lee Sa-young like that? He must have used his ability when he killed the Master. Could it have a negative impact on the patient….”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Is it okay to say that so easily?”
“I did try to bring it up, but Lee Sa-young glared at me like he was going to kill me, so I ran away. Hahaha….”
Jung-bin shrugged and laughed. Hye-jin looked at Jung-bin with narrowed eyes, then spotted a rookie retching and ran over to him in a flash.
And in the ambulance a little further away, Cha Eui-jae, leaning his head on Lee Sa-young’s shoulder, was showing off his whispering skills without moving his lips.
“Did she buy it?”