Cha Seohu couldn’t hide his bewildered expression as he looked down at his thigh.
“Just from a short kiss it ended up like that? Even though there weren’t any side effects?”
It’s not like the kid had never kissed anyone before... Wait, actually, maybe that was close to the truth?
At least it wasn’t obvious enough to draw attention. Relieved, Cha Seohu pressed his forehead with one hand and waved the other.
“Buff’s been applied properly, so go now.”
“What about you, hyung?”
“I’ll stay here and help treat the injured for now...”
He trailed off as he lifted his head.
Six holes had opened in the blood-red sky, lit by flashing thunder.
The rifts, now over 80% open, were on the verge of spilling monsters at any moment.
At most, maybe five minutes remained. Considering not even thirty minutes had passed since the first rift appeared, time was dangerously short.
Most of the reinforcements rushing in from all directions hadn’t yet arrived, and the treatment facility Choi Gyeonghui had mentioned consisted of barely a few hastily assembled tents.
Cha Seohu stared at the rifts with a complicated gaze.
“Just waiting here and treating people won’t solve this.”
He had a bad feeling, but for now, trusting the dealers and supporting the treatment facility was the best course of action.
“Don’t worry about things here and just go quickly. If things get bad, use your skill.”
Cha Sahyeon nodded reluctantly, his face full of hesitation.
“The shadow’s still connected, so if it gets dangerous, call me right away, hyung.”
“Got it.”
After attaching both the shadow that connected when Seohu called him ‘kid’ and the one that linked automatically if he got hurt, Cha Sahyeon finally turned around.
He didn’t forget what his brother had said—he formed a mask and put it on, then unfurled massive black wings from his back and shot up into the air.
“We’re short on shield units on the east side!”
“Guildmaster! Ronik Guild just sent a reply! Park Heeseok and the support team are heading out right now!”
“Evacuation of civilians on the west side is complete! The north is slower because of the schools!”
Reports were pouring in from every direction.
Kwon Taehyuk, who had already fastened a blade from his inventory to his waist, gave his response.
“Send Field Team 2 north immediately. Focus on evacuating civilians.”
But as he was giving orders, a chilling sensation made him whip his head up.
For a moment, he thought another rift had opened—but no, it was a familiar presence.
Familiar, but terrifying. And overwhelmingly strong. Kwon Taehyuk knew who it belonged to.
Floating alone at the center of the six open rifts was a black-clad man.
Other than the occasional movement of crow-like wings, he showed no motion—but the sheer intensity of his aura made it impossible to look away.
The sword lowered at his side was as pitch-black as the wings, and his face was concealed by a dark mask. Even so, thanks to Seohu’s prior explanation, Kwon Taehyuk instantly recognized him.
...Cha Sahyeon.
At the same time, the image of the young boy he used to see around the guild every day flashed through his mind.
He knew that the boy and this monstrous figure were one and the same, but it was hard to reconcile.
Even from this distance, he could feel the tension build in his sword hand.
“Wh-What is that?”
“Is it... a person? A monster?”
“That aura...”
The Hunters around Kwon Taehyuk each showed fearful expressions as soon as they laid eyes on Cha Sahyeon.
Not far off, Ryu Sunghyun and Song Jiwoon, who had been checking gear with their guild members, were also staring at Sahyeon with grim expressions.
Just then, when all eyes were focused on Sahyeon—
Crackle! Crackle!
Red sparks surged upward as the rifts took on perfect circular form.
Grrrrk, grrk.
Soon, a beastly growl echoed from beyond the holes.
The rifts had opened.
What burst out first was a hand—long and spindly like a spider’s leg, with a sharp tip.
Blood-red like the rift itself, the elongated hand gripped the edge of the portal. And then, its owner stepped out.
The beast’s face bore four protruding horns on its forehead and resembled that of a goat.
Below the neck, it had a human-like body—massive, over four meters tall, completely red. Bat-like wings flapped from its back.
A goat-headed humanoid monster emerged from each of the six rifts.
Keek keek keek keek keek!
A bizarre, metallic laughter echoed as if metal were clashing together.
Humanoid. Radiating power. Wings on their backs.
“......”
Kwon Taehyuk inhaled sharply at the pungent sulfur stench that hit his nose.
Though it was the first time seeing these monsters, identifying their type wasn’t hard. Demon-type.
Once the first demon emerged, a swarm of smaller monsters began pouring out behind it—gremlins with tiny bodies and bat wings.
Kwon Taehyuk thought that maybe—himself included—many Hunters here might die today, and then kicked off the ground, leaping into action.
It’s started.
After sending Cha Sahyeon off, Cha Seohu had safely reached the treatment facility. Now he watched the thunder-flashing rifts and the monsters pouring down from them.
There were so many monsters that, from this distance, it looked as though black clouds were pouring from the holes.
“Hunter Cha Seohu.”
Seohu turned around at the voice calling his name while he anxiously stared at the sky.
“Team Leader Park Minhyuk?”
Seeing the familiar, tired face, Seohu blinked in surprise.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’ve been assigned to protect the treatment facility.”
Seohu immediately understood after hearing the answer.
The facility might be some distance away from the frontlines, but with that many monsters, it didn’t mean much. They’d reach here soon enough.
The fact that the Association had stationed Park Minhyuk—their only S-rank Hunter—here meant Choi Gyeonghui considered the facility that important.
“You’ve been given a critical role.”
“Yes. I volunteered, and I think it was the right decision.”
Park Minhyuk’s voice was stiff as he gave a warning.
“Do not leave this area under any circumstance. ➤ NоvеIight ➤ (Read more on our source) We’ll be receiving periodic updates from field Hunters, but if things escalate, the line will break before we even get word.”
There were too many flying monsters to track all their movements. No matter how well the shields were set up, once one section was breached, it would spread out of control.
“Don’t worry.”
“Yes.”
Park Minhyuk stared at Seohu with an unreadable expression and let out a small sigh.
“Still... knowing you’re in charge here puts me a little more at ease.”
“......”
“I’ll be going now.”
Only then did Cha Seohu realize Park Minhyuk had made time specifically to check on him.
Now that he’d confirmed Seohu was handling the facility, Minhyuk looked slightly relieved as he turned—only to be grabbed by the arm and pulled.
Once he realized the one pulling him was Seohu, he let himself be drawn in—until the younger man wrapped his arms around him.
“......!”
《Skill: Bond of the Guardian (SS-rank) Activated!》
《Primary skill damage increased. (Target: Park Minhyuk) (Duration: 1 hour 59 minutes)》
《Base speed increased. (Target: Park Minhyuk) (Duration: 1 hour 59 minutes)》
《Stabilization effect applied. (Target: Park Minhyuk) (Duration: 1 hour 59 minutes)》
In less than five seconds.
Seohu had cast the buffs and pulled back from the hug.
“Stay safe.”
Park Minhyuk, trying to suppress his surprise at the situation, gave a short nod and turned away again.
“Ugh~ I’m losing it.”
Everywhere her sword swung, hot flames flared.
Yoon Jeha, her hair roughly tied up into a single bun with a band, scowled in irritation and nudged a monster corpse with her foot.
“These damn cultist bastards...”
She muttered curses as she kept moving.
This was the hotel’s east side—aside from the tall clock tower, it was a sparsely populated area.
“The Flower of Origin? This kind of place is perfect for planting that crap.”
The monsters pouring from the rift would be handled by other Hunters, including the Yesung Guildmaster.
Her job was finding and removing the Flower of Origin, based on the intel Seohu had given her.
After years of chasing cultist bastards across international borders, Yoon Jeha was very familiar with this kind of thing.
An area low in foot traffic, yet close enough to the incident’s core.
“Yeah. Knew it. Right here.”
Behind the clock tower stood a man by himself.
Yoon Jeha raised the corners of her lips and tightened her grip on her sword, slowly closing the distance.
Hot wind surged beneath the blood-red sky.
The black-haired young man standing before her looked like a high school student—his youthful face lifted slightly.
His murky green eyes, previously gazing upward, turned toward Yoon Jeha as he sensed her presence.

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