Each time her sword swung, flames erupted.
Chiik—the soles of her shoes scraped the ground briefly before she launched into the air. Her blazing red hair flared like fire as she moved through the flickering flames.
Faced with the fierce thrust of her blade, J twisted his body in a flash. He barely dodged, then brought down a massive scythe made from shadow, striking her blade with brutal force.
“W-Wait!”
J yelled frantically at Yoon Jeha, who looked ready to launch another strike any second.
“Why are you doing this?! Aren’t you on the same side as that Supporter?!”
“Supporter?”
Seeing that J didn’t seem intent on attacking, Yoon Jeha raised an eyebrow and rested her blade on her shoulder.
“There are tons of Supporters. Which one?”
“...Cha Seohu. I mean him.”
“Ah.”
At the mention of his name, Yoon Jeha smirked.
“Yeah, I know him.”
“Then why the hell are you attacking me?!”
“Hm?”
Tilting her head, Yoon Jeha paused for a moment to think.
Taking in J’s confused reaction and his mention of Cha Seohu, she quickly pieced together the situation.
“Ahh, wait... Are you maybe, like... a spy or something?”
“...Something like that.”
This time, J was the one caught off guard by Yoon Jeha’s cheeky question.
‘What the hell? Did Seohu seriously not tell her anything about me?’
She came at him out of nowhere, and it all made sense now. Seohu must not have told her anything about him.
Then her attack was understandable, sure, but still...
‘What the hell was he thinking not explaining things?’
He’d gone out of his way to stay behind here for Cha Seohu’s team. He’d even forced himself into this assignment.
Normally, he wouldn’t be allowed to act solo like this. The other zones were likely guarded by five or six cultists, as per protocol.
‘I gave them extra attention because the situation was getting tense, and this is what I get?’
What kind of lunatic did Seohu send in his place?
Grumbling to himself, J lowered his scythe.
“If you understand, stop wasting time and—”
“But.”
Yoon Jeha cut him off, smiling sweetly.
“How am I supposed to believe that?”
“What?”
“How do I know you’re really a spy? Cha Seohu isn’t even here right now.”
“N-No, I mean—”
“Why not just make this easy and drag you back so I can ask him directly?”
“...What?”
“Yeah, that sounds like the best option. Right? If I let you go because you say you’re a spy and it turns out you’re not, I’d be really sad.”
She nodded, pretending to consider it seriously—then suddenly lunged forward without warning.
“You’re insane!”
J, stunned by her complete absurdity, quickly threw up his guard.
Ka-kang!
Sword and scythe clashed, shrieking against each other. Red flames swirled through the air, mixing with pulsing shadows.
J couldn’t go all-out against Yoon Jeha—she was Seohu’s ally. That only made the situation more frustrating.
“Stop fighting me and take the damn flower!”
“Don’t worry, I’ll do both.”
“What?!”
J was so exasperated he could’ve smacked himself if he weren’t mid-fight.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
The plan was simple: once a Hunter who knew J was a spy showed up, they’d pretend to fight, then at the right moment, J would fall, and the other party would take the flower. In the confusion, J would escape.
That way, the flower could be dealt with while minimizing suspicion from the cult.
But Yoon Jeha’s arrival ruined everything.
‘She’s completely nuts!’
Sure, he could fake defeat and collapse—but would she actually let him go?
Being a spy was already a tightrope act, and if he got captured, there’d be no turning back.
‘No choice, then.’
Gritting his teeth, J strengthened his skill.
If it came to this, he’d have to change the plan. Make it look like the flower was damaged during an intense battle.
Just as he resolved to go all in—
RUMMMMBLE!
The ground quaked violently as thick smoke billowed up from beyond the clocktower. Screams echoed in the distance.
‘Don’t tell me they lost?’
J instinctively turned to look toward the center of the rift battle.
It was only a momentary glance, but that’s all Yoon Jeha needed.
She’d been waiting for an opening—and now she seized it.
“...!”
Before he could react, she grabbed him by the collar and slammed him to the ground. His hat flew off and tumbled away.
“You really shouldn’t take your eyes off your opponent mid-fight.”
Smirking, Yoon Jeha grabbed J’s chin and forced his face toward her.
Up until now, his hood and shadow skills had kept his face hidden. But if he really was a spy planted among the ➤ NоvеIight ➤ (Read more on our source) cultists, then knowing his face might be useful.
“I won’t kill you, so just cooperate—”
Yoon Jeha’s smiling lips suddenly froze.
She couldn’t finish her sentence. Her eyes went wide.
Grayish-black hair. Murky green eyes.
“...Who are you?”
His hair and eye color didn’t match her memory—but the face was unmistakable.
Frozen in place, Yoon Jeha stared at him over and over again, her expression twisting.
“You—what are you?”
“What...”
“That face.”
She gripped tighter to hide the tremor in her hand.
Confusion swirled through her mind as her lips parted again and again in disbelief. Finally, she managed to speak.
“You...”
“......”
“What’s your name?”
J frowned at the sudden question.
Normally, he’d have cursed her out and shoved her away, but something stopped him. The way she looked—pale, trembling, asking for his name...
He couldn’t pull his eyes away from her red gaze.
Beneath the shock and confusion, he sensed it—desperation.
“......”
After a moment of hesitation, something in her eyes pulled the answer out of him.
“...J.”
“J?”
The moment he answered, her eyes twisted with pain.
“Who told you that?”
“...What are you talking about? Move. I need to get to the flower—”
“Was it those cult bastards? They told you your name is J?”
Letting out a shaky breath, Yoon Jeha opened her mouth to speak again.
But before she could—
A crimson beam shot down from the sky.
The ground shook far more violently than before as thick smoke surged toward them like a tidal wave.
Seeing the black smoke consume everything, J instinctively shoved Yoon Jeha away.
Still dazed, she couldn’t steady herself and fell to the side.
They had to get out before the smoke cleared. Without looking back, J summoned his shadows.
Shadows surged from the ground and wrapped around his body.
“Wait—don’t go!”
Just before he vanished, Yoon Jeha’s voice echoed in his ears.
“Jaehyun-ah!”
At that name, J almost turned around.
But before he could, the shadows swallowed his vision completely.
Cha Seohu repeatedly activated his holy power skill. Even while doing so, his mind was filled with horrifying thoughts.
What if they were already dead? No matter how high-ranked his healing skill was, it couldn’t bring back the dead.
Could anyone even survive that inferno? Was his skill doing anything at all?
Right before they flew into the sky, he’d seen the S-ranks clutching their heads and collapsing. That image wouldn’t leave his mind.
If a protagonist died... did that mean they’d failed again?
Ryu Sunghyun? Song Jiwoon? And me, again...?
“Hyung.”
Cha Seohu’s panicked breathing grew more erratic.
Haa, huk— Like he was being strangled, he gasped for air. Cha Sahyeon watched him with a complicated gaze, then slightly lowered their altitude.
“Hyung, look down.”
Seohu had kept his eyes shut, unable to bear looking at the flames below, focusing only on casting his skill.
Urged by Sahyeon’s calm voice, he finally opened his eyes and looked down.
“...!”
The first thing he saw, of course, was the blazing fire. Destroyed buildings, people collapsed on the ground.
But that wasn’t all.
In front of the hotel, something glimmered in the light. It was spreading quickly.
A field of white frost.
Centered around Song Jiwoon, who stood barely upright, frost spread outward.
Despite the overwhelming heat, he hadn’t given up—he was enduring, advancing.
“...Haah.”
Seohu let out the breath he’d been holding as he saw Song Jiwoon—and other surviving S-ranks—still alive beside him.
Relief so intense it made him dizzy washed over him. His tense body finally loosened.
“I attached a shadow before I flew off with you.”
When he saw the meteor falling in flames, Sahyeon had chosen Song Jiwoon out of all the S-ranks.
He’d placed a shadow on him. It wasn’t a perfect defense—Jiwoon had to protect himself, and luck had to be on his side.
But the fact that he was still alive and using his skill now—meant both had worked.
“...Thank you.”
Cha Sahyeon, still gazing silently down at Jiwoon, turned toward his brother at the weary voice.
“Really... thank you.”
Cha Seohu smiled, looking like he might cry at any second.
Seeing him like that, Cha Sahyeon was glad he had placed the shadow after all.

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