“Haaa...”
At Park Minhyuk’s words, several Hunters sank to the ground, exhaling breaths of relief.
Now that the boss monster was dead, the red glow that had dyed the surroundings vanished, leaving the area as nothing more than a regular underground cavern.
Having confirmed that the situation was over, Cha Seohu swiftly stored the flower in his inventory.
‘I don’t know how the official dungeon report will turn out later...’
But the fact that the flower was the cause had to be hidden. No telling what kind of chaos it might bring.
Just in case, Cha Seohu turned to Kwon Taehyuk beside him and quietly muttered,
“Guildmaster, you’ll pretend you don’t know anything... right?”
“...I’ll listen to the explanation first, once we’re out.”
His answer might’ve been cautious, but it was clear he was willing to cover it up—if the explanation was convincing enough.
Kwon Taehyuk wasn’t a major concern. This other one was more troublesome.
As Cha Seohu suddenly turned and glared at him, J flinched and snapped irritably,
“W-What?”
“You’re pretty bold for someone who almost got everyone here killed.”
“...”
“J, my friend. If you keep making poor decisions, maybe it’s not the world’s fault—maybe you’re just not good enough. Try not to sacrifice other people’s precious lives next time.”
Leaving behind a stunned-looking J, Cha Seohu stood up.
Seeing Ryu Sunghyun and Song Jiwoon, both completely unharmed amidst the sweating and shaky Hunters, made him feel more at ease.
That Kwon Taehyuk had learned too much and that his skills had been exposed in public were both problematic...
‘Still... I’m glad I survived again.’
The secret had always been kept for moments like this, when things could go terribly wrong.
He never expected the system to suddenly grant him an area-wide buff skill.
‘The status window said it was a hidden quest reward...’
But could he really take that at face value?
Hadn’t he already realized the system was monitoring his every move?
This area-wide buff might have been something the system had prepared well in advance.
It was a rare decent gift among the system’s usual twisted antics, but he couldn’t bring himself to feel entirely happy—not when he had no idea what the real motive was.
‘It’s uncomfortable, but it’s not a question I can answer.’
Swallowing a sigh, Cha Seohu examined the corpse of the dead boss monster and noticed something strange.
Blood poured from the severed neck of the massive body, spreading slowly in the water.
Thanks to his divine power, Cha Seohu could sense the abnormal energy coming from the blood.
Not just from the boss monster, but also from the corpses of the demon-types scattered around, blood was leaking out.
Thankfully, the shallow water kept it from spreading too fast.
Since he still had his divine power skill active, he figured he might as well purify the blood too.
“Cha Seohu Hunter?”
As Cha Seohu moved forward, Kwon Taehyuk followed quickly.
Splash, splash. His feet splashed through the thin water as he approached the boss monster’s body, drawing the eyes of every Hunter present.
Still surrounded in radiant white light, Cha Seohu ignored the attention and kept walking with calm indifference.
“Cha Seohu Hunter!”
“It’s dangerous!”
Seeing them, Ryu Sunghyun and Song Jiwoon quickly joined as well.
The Hunters, who had been staring at Cha Seohu, began rising to their feet and creeping closer after seeing the S-ranks flock to him.
There was no way the S-ranks hadn’t noticed the subtle group movement.
As the Hunters inched closer, the gazes of the S-ranks sharpened into warning slits—but before anything could erupt, Cha Seohu stopped near the boss monster’s corpse.
He brought his hands together like he was praying. Then, smiling softly at the S-ranks beside him and the Hunters watching from afar, he lifted his head.
It was a smile that almost seemed to say: Keep your eyes on me.
From him, bright white light burst forth.
Starting with the boss monster’s blood closest to him, the corrupted fluids spread across the space were purified cleanly.
The Hunters, who hadn’t been able to see clearly earlier in all the chaos, now watched his area-wide purification skill in awe and swallowed hard.
It was him. He was the one who healed their wounds and boosted their strength.
Now sure of it, the Hunters’ eyes gleamed.
Men and women alike looked at Cha Seohu with blazing admiration. Even other Supporters were no exception.
After finishing the purification and finally deactivating his divine skill, Cha Seohu felt the shift in gazes and slightly curled his lips.
‘Well, since I’ve been found out—might as well reel them in and use it to my advantage.’
Not everything had been resolved yet. Somewhere, Kang Haeil was likely still observing.
“Um, Cha Seohu Hunter... thank you so much. You saved us.”
“My name is Kim Youngmin. If possible, when we get outside, could I... maybe have your phone num—”
“Cha Seohu Hunter! I introduced myself last time—Bacardi Guild Vice Guildmaster! How would you feel about a serious discussion about future collaboration, argh!”
Ryu Sunghyun blocked the overly excited man from approaching and asked seriously,
“Cha Seohu Hunter, that’s a lot of blood... Are you injured?”
“Oh. Right.”
Reminded by the question, Cha Seohu finally checked himself.
His robes were soaked through with blood from his own wounded skin. He hadn’t noticed until now, thanks to the divine skill masking the pain.
“I forgot.”
“W-Why... why didn’t Cha Seohu Hunter heal himself...?”
One of the Hunters asked in confusion, and Cha Seohu simply shrugged.
“My heal skill doesn’t work on me.”
“...”
The Hunters who had been trying to cozy up to him all fell silent.
“Let’s get you treated right away. Even your pants are—god, they’re soaked in blood too. Just how badly were you hurt—?”
Looking like he was the one suffering more, Ryu Sunghyun sighed and began searching for a healer.
Then, suddenly, a graceful hand reached out from among the Hunters and gently grabbed Cha Seohu’s wrist. At the same time, a refreshing energy wrapped around him.
The burning, stinging pain vanished in an instant.
Startled, Cha Seohu looked up—and saw Dan Yeoun smiling with his eyes curved.
“I can heal Cha Seohu Hunter’s wounds. Right?”
This time, even Cha Seohu was a bit surprised. To wedge himself in at just the right moment—clearly not an easy opponent.
‘Definitely not someone to take lightly.’
Cha Seohu already knew Dan Yeoun had a serpent-like side that didn’t match his pretty face.
So, for now, he smiled back politely.
It seemed like the buff had made quite an impression.
Even if it wasn’t as direct as physical contact, it was still an SS-rank buff. The euphoria would’ve been unmistakable.
‘Still, how long is he planning to hold on to me?’
Just as Cha Seohu was about to tell him to let go because it was getting uncomfortable—
“Hyung.”
“...!”
A quiet, flat voice cut through.
It wasn’t loud, but it sank deeply into everyone’s ears.
Everyone—including Cha Seohu—turned toward the right.
There stood Cha Sahyeon alone.
His appearance was exactly the same as when he’d been fighting the monster.
He held the longsword made of shadow, black wings still spread wide behind him. At his feet, black haze continued to ripple.
The aura was so cold and dense it made everyone’s bones ache—Hunters instinctively stepped back in fear.
Kwon Taehyuk tensed, stepping in front of Cha Seohu and raising his blade into the air.
Ryu Sunghyun and Song Jiwoon quietly drew their energy up as well—ready to react instantly to any sudden attack.
Seeing the S-ranks protectively guarding Cha Seohu, Cha Sahyeon’s green eyes grew even colder. Shadows deepened across his pale face.
The air felt like a ticking time bomb about to explode.
A silence heavy enough to muffle even breaths fell over them—a moment where conflict could break out at any second.
The one to break the silence was none other than Cha Seohu.
“Sahyeon.”
Shrugging off Dan Yeoun’s hand, Cha Seohu ran straight to Cha Sahyeon without hesitation—and wrapped his arms tightly around his neck.
Cha Sahyeon responded by wrapping his arms around Cha Seohu’s waist.
“Hyung.”
Others might’ve feared him, but to Cha Seohu, he just looked like a kid who was obviously sulking. The moment he hugged him, that face softened instantly.
The S-ranks hadn’t expected Cha Seohu to move at all. They could only stare at the two brothers, half shocked and half dazed.
“You’re hurt.”
Up close, Cha Seohu could see the wounds etched across Cha Sahyeon’s face. Likely hidden by clothing, his body had to be injured too.
It was the first time since becoming L-class that Cha Sahyeon had been wounded.
Cha Seohu’s healing skill didn’t work well on Cha Sahyeon either. His divine power was S-rank, and Cha Sahyeon was L-rank.
“These will heal quickly.”
Noticing Cha Seohu’s concern, Cha Sahyeon replied gently, trying to reassure him.
“...”
Caressing Cha Sahyeon’s cheek with a complicated look, Cha Seohu leaned his head on his ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) shoulder and whispered very softly.
“Just for a moment... block everything so no one else can hear.”
Cha Sahyeon blinked once, then, without asking why, moved his shadows. His black wings stretched wide and enclosed them both.
In that momentary darkness, Cha Seohu began to speak.
“Sahyeon. Once we’re outside the dungeon, use your skill as soon as you can and run.”
Cha Sahyeon paused for a moment before asking,
“You mean without you? You want me to run alone?”
“Someone has to draw attention. And someone has to take responsibility for the mess.”
“Then we should do it together.”
“You can’t. It’s not the same for you and me. And even if I get caught, it’ll be easier to escape if you help from outside.”
“Caught?”
Cha Sahyeon bared his teeth and growled.
“Who the hell would dare?”
“Well, originally I was going to run with you because I didn’t want to get caught...”
Cha Seohu thought of Park Minhyuk.
Unlike the Hunters who had crowded around him, Park Minhyuk had stood a little apart, quietly watching him.
At a glance, it might’ve looked like he wasn’t interested—but not even close. That was just misdirection.
Cha Seohu had seen it clearly—the fire burning in Park Minhyuk’s eyes.
“I thought of a better way.”
Cha Seohu smiled in satisfaction.

Comments

Loading...