At Eun Woojeong’s somewhat aggressive words, Cha Seohu raised one eyebrow. Soon, his gaze shifted to Song Jiwon.
When he looked at him with a stare that clearly meant, What the hell is wrong with that bastard?, Song Jiwon, having set down the teapot, gave a shrug.
“Who knows. I have no idea what he’s talking about.”
“He says he doesn’t know.”
Seeing Song Jiwon’s shameless response, and Cha Seohu actually accepting it and instead questioning him, Eun Woojeong made a dumbfounded face.
“Are you serious?”
“If you have a complaint, then you explain it properly first.”
Since he had been injured and unconscious, Cha Seohu did not know what had happened right before they escaped the Rift, or what Eun Woojeong had done inside it, so he answered without sounding especially concerned.
Leaving Eun Woojeong behind as he narrowed his eyes and glared at him, Cha Seohu looked over at the sofa across from him.
Cha Sahyeon was lying there asleep.
“...Has he been like this the whole time?”
“Yes.”
Kwon Taehyuk nodded calmly.
“He hasn’t woken up, or even tried to. He’s been like that the entire time.”
Cha Seohu had treated all the injuries himself. The color of his face was normal, and his breathing was steady too.
No matter how badly he had been hurt and knocked unconscious, a high-rank Dealer like Cha Sahyeon had sharp senses, so with this much noise, he should have woken up by now.
And yet he still could not wake up... which meant there was another cause.
There was one possibility that came to mind.
‘He was draining my energy. Definitely.’
Cha Seohu’s face went cold.
It had not stopped even when he ended the skill, and it had not stopped even when Eun Woojeong and Representative Seo physically separated them.
Whether it had ended because he fainted, or because Cha Sahyeon had taken as much energy as he needed. He was not even sure of that.
‘What the hell was that.’
Even for Cha Seohu, who had gone through all kinds of things most people would never experience in their lives, that had been a first.
Stealing another Awakener’s energy. It was different from a healer treating the body, or a buffer replenishing energy.
It had felt as if his life force itself were being sucked out. Or like an enormous amount of blood had been drained from his body all at once.
The primal fear had been greater when his energy was drained than when his arm had been swallowed by the shadows.
Fortunately, now that he had woken up, he was alright, but Cha Seohu naturally realized that the experience had dealt a considerable blow to his body.
“Ha... alright.”
He was looking at Cha Sahyeon with mixed feelings when Eun Woojeong spoke again in an irritated tone.
“You can just explain it.”
Though his displeasure was obvious, Eun Woojeong went on to describe what he had experienced.
Normally, he would have been annoyed and let it slide, but this time he was too curious about the identity of that man called Song Jiwon to do that.
From how Song Jiwon had told him to find Cha Sahyeon’s fragments, to how he had created the Rift’s exit, and above all the fact that his appearance had been completely different from how he looked now—after laying all of that out, Eun Woojeong gave a snort as if to say, Satisfied now?
“There. Happy? Now tell us who that man is. And don’t even think about giving some simple explanation that the Rift changed his appearance.”
After listening to Eun Woojeong, Cha Seohu blinked calmly.
“I see.”
Only now did it feel like he finally understood how things had gone.
Why the Cha Sahyeon he had faced in the Rift had looked like that. Why he had not recognized him, and why he had fought while being suppressed.
‘Though I don’t know exactly what those three things Eun Woojeong found were, it looks like returning them let Cha Sahyeon come back to his senses too.’
More than anything, it was something Chronos had personally stepped in and instructed them to do. It must have played a major part in resolving the situation.
He had wondered why Eun Woojeong had bothered following them in at all. But in the end, Eun Woojeong had effectively saved everyone’s lives.
But that was that.
“And why do you think I’d know the answer?”
Cha Seohu asked back shamelessly.
He had no obligation to explain Song Jiwon’s other form on his behalf.
“...You don’t know?”
Eun Woojeong, who had held a baseless conviction that Cha Seohu obviously knew, asked back with rare bewilderment.
“I don’t know.”
Cha Seohu tilted his head with an innocent face.
“Wow.”
Even Song Jiwon could not help being impressed for a moment by that perfect performance.
‘What a lunatic.’
He had helped make sure the people in that Rift, including himself, did not die, and this was what he got in return—being cleanly cut loose like this.
The more he learned about him, the more astounding the man was. It made him feel newly miserable about his own situation, having to watch a bastard like this save the world.
Even more ridiculous were the reactions of the other S-ranks who had been watching.
“Don’t go picking a fight with Supporter Cha Seohu over something you’re not even sure about. He already woke up after passing out twice, and his condition can’t be good as it is.”
Song Jiwoon, who had never liked Eun Woojeong much to begin with, was the first to step in.
“...There is a need to hear an explanation, but it has nothing to do with Hunter Cha Seohu.”
Though Ryu Sunghyun had felt something subtly off about Song Jiwon several times before, he looked at him with suspicion while still trusting Cha Seohu’s words completely.
As for Kwon Taehyuk, there was no need to even mention it. He was already glaring at Eun Woojeong with a look that plainly said, So what does that have to do with Hunter Cha Seohu?
Watching those three, Cha Seohu was inwardly touched. Song Jiwon, seeing that, shook his head.
This was hopeless. Their blind devotion was already piled up like a mountain.
“Anyway, you two can settle your own problem.”
Cha Seohu already felt like his head was about to split open just from the Cha Sahyeon issue alone, and had just decided to wash his hands of it when—
A heavy vibration rang out. It was Kwon Taehyuk’s phone.
“It’s Hunter Yoon Jeha.”
After checking the number on the screen, Kwon Taehyuk spoke right away.
Only then did Cha Seohu realize that he still had not taken out the phone he had stuffed into his inventory before entering the Rift even once.
He had escaped the Rift right before dying, then fainted again immediately after recovering, and only just woken up a little while ago, so he had not had the chance to check it.
“I’ll take it.”
While they had been in the Rift, Yoon Jeha had gone off alone to find J.
He had told her to contact him if anything happened, so maybe...
He should have thought of it sooner and checked his phone earlier. Blaming himself, Cha Seohu immediately pressed the connect button.
“Hello. It’s me.”
But no answer came. Narrowing his brows, Cha Seohu spoke again.
“Hunter Yoon Jeha? Can you hear me?”
Still, it remained quiet.
Just in case, Cha Seohu lowered the phone from his ear and checked the screen. The call was connected.
Was it simply a bad connection? But somehow, he had an ominous feeling.
The expressions of the S-ranks, who had all turned their attention to Cha Seohu, slowly hardened as well.
“Hunter Yoon Jeha.”
The moment Cha Seohu called for Yoon Jeha again in a sunken voice—
— Ha ha.
A small, unfamiliar laugh came through.
Cha Seohu’s eyes widened slightly.
The call had come from Yoon Jeha’s number, but he was hearing the voice of an unfamiliar man? A chill ran down his spine.
“Who are—”
— Could it be that you’re Cha Seohu?
Before Cha Seohu could demand an answer, the other party cut him off and asked.
A smooth, neat tone of voice. But there was a pressure to it that could not be ignored, even though it was merely a voice coming through a phone.
Cha Seohu understood instinctively. This man was not ordinary.
“...And if I am?”
— Ahh.
The man on the other end let out a brief sound, with something almost pleased in it, then continued.
— So we’re finally speaking. It’s a pleasure. Truly.
“You only hear my name and that’s enough? Why don’t you introduce yourself too, if you’ve got any manners.”
At Cha Seohu’s sneering words, the man let out another low laugh.
— You’re a little impatient, aren’t you? Somehow that makes this even more interesting.
There was a small rustling sound, as if he were adjusting the phone in his hand, and then his voice came again.
— An introduction. Of course, I should give you one. Let’s see, how should I introduce myself so that you’ll recognize me right away? Hmm...
The man fell silent for a moment, as if sincerely considering it, then soon spoke.
— Shall I put it this way? I am the “Cult Leader.”
The hand holding the phone tightened at once.
For an instant, Cha Seohu’s eyes flew wide open, then shook violently. The others, who had been listening to the conversation with S-rank hearing, went rigid as well.
When Cha Seohu did not answer, the man spoke gently, as if understanding.
— We’ve met before, haven’t we? Right? We met in front of the hotel. I sent a doll that time, but even so, I watched you fight very vividly. In real time, and afterward through the recorded footage as well. It was a truly wonderful experience. If I said it felt like watching a dance... would that help you understand my feelings, even a little?
The man let out the innocent laughter of a child, then went on.
— You must have heard about me from that child, yes? That I am the “Cult Leader,” and that I’m not someone you can meet easily. But that’s alright. Mr. Cha Seohu, with you, I’m actually the one who wants to meet first. So I arranged a special occasion.
Along with some noise, there came the pained groan of someone—not the man’s voice. It was Yoon Jeha.
— This person is desperately waiting for you too. Well? You won’t refuse my invitation, will you?
The Cult Leader asked as though he were truly looking forward to it.

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