“......”
Cha Seohu quietly assessed the situation.
“That child,” the one the Cult Leader had mentioned. Judging by the circumstances, there was a high chance he meant Cha Sahyeon.
He had known. He had known that if he sent a {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} doll and revealed himself during the hotel incident, Cha Sahyeon would pass on the information that he was the “Cult Leader.”
‘No, not just that he knew... he steered it so it would happen that way.’
If the Cult Leader had guided things, then how far did that reach?
Seeing that Yoon Jeha had been captured, maybe... he had even predicted that they would come chasing after the missing J. Had that been why he hid J in the first place?
In that brief moment, countless thoughts rose in Cha Seohu’s head and collided fiercely. But he did not have the luxury of calmly thinking it through.
Shoving those tangled thoughts to one side, Cha Seohu asked,
“Where do I go?”
— Ah, just as I thought.
The Cult Leader laughed.
— I believed you would agree so readily. But I do not think there is any need for me to explain where you should come.
The gentle voice continued.
— You were the one who sent that red-haired Hunter, weren’t you? Come to that place. Oh, and of course, you must come alone. The one I invited is only you, Cha Seohu.
At those words, the S-ranks who had been holding their breath and listening to the call shot to their feet.
Kwon Taehyuk, gone pale, looked at him.
There was a fierce resolve in his eyes saying that he must not go, but there was no way to refuse this invitation when Yoon Jeha’s and J’s lives were at stake.
“......Alright.”
— Good.
When Cha Seohu agreed coldly, the Cult Leader informed him with satisfaction.
— I’m looking forward to it. You are too, aren’t you? Then I’ll be waiting. Hmm, will three hours from now be enough? I trust you won’t be late. The Hunter I caught. It seems she uses a sword as her weapon, and it would be such a shame if she were to lose a hand.
In a calm tone, as though discussing the weather, the Cult Leader spoke those chilling words, then bid him farewell brightly.
— Then I’ll see you soon, Mr. Cha Seohu.
Click. The call ended. At the same time, silence fell over the office.
Cha Seohu slowly lowered the phone from his ear. Then he handed it back to Kwon Taehyuk.
“I don’t need to explain, right? We don’t have time for that.”
If he arrived even one minute later than the three hours the Cult Leader had given him, there was no telling what kind of disaster would happen, so he had to move as fast as possible.
“Hunter Cha Seohu.”
Holding the phone, Kwon Taehyuk spoke with an expression that looked like he was suppressing all kinds of things.
“No. If you go alone... you’ll be creating exactly the situation that this Cult Leader bastard wants.”
“But it’s also true that there isn’t another way.”
“That’s...”
Kwon Taehyuk could not bring himself to argue and his face tightened painfully.
Yoon Jeha had been captured by the Cult Leader. J had also been out of contact for a long time, so there was a high chance he was in the same situation.
In the end, the hostages were the biggest problem. It was the same as having their weak point seized. As long as there were hostages, they had no choice but to comply with the cult’s demands.
“Hunter Cha Seohu.”
Ryu Sunghyun, who had been watching Kwon Taehyuk and Cha Seohu, spoke.
“Even so, we can’t just send only you and wait here... we can’t do that. At the very least, some minimum precautions are necessary.”
“Wait a second.”
At that moment, Eun Woojeong’s voice abruptly cut in.
Standing there with his arms folded, watching the situation, he said as if it were absurd,
“So what, you’re really just going to obediently do whatever that Cult Leader or whatever he is asked for? Seriously?”
Unfolding his arms, Eun Woojeong walked straight over to Cha Seohu without hesitation. Stopping right in front of him, he smiled irritably.
“Do you want to die that badly? If this was how it was going to be, you should’ve just died back in that Rift instead of hanging on. Then I wouldn’t have had to go through all that bullshit dragging you all the way to the exit.”
“Are you out of your mind?”
Song Jiwoon looked appalled at the excessively aggressive remark, but Eun Woojeong paid no attention and kept glaring at Cha Seohu.
“So there are hostages? That red-haired woman? So what? Is she really so important that your life should be on the line for her? You’re not even close, you’re not on the same team, and you’re too busy being hung up on your younger brother. So why the hell should you be the one walking alone into a minefield to save someone like that?”
Cha Seohu quietly watched Eun Woojeong press him with an expression that said he truly did not understand, then replied indifferently.
“Do I have any reason to convince you? I said I’m going, so why are you making such a scene?”
“Ha.”
Eun Woojeong gave a short laugh, like he could not believe it.
“So after all the trouble I went through to save your life, you’re going to go throw it away over some ridiculous thing, and what exactly am I supposed to say to that?”
“Yeah. Thanks for helping me. I’ll buy you a meal later. Now move.”
Pushing Eun Woojeong aside without mercy, Cha Seohu spoke to Song Jiwon, who had been watching the whole thing with interest.
“This. The thing you personally carved into my body.”
What Cha Seohu pointed to was none other than the tattoo.
The golden tree-pattern tattoo Chronos himself had engraved on him before.
“It’s still valid, right?”
Naturally, Cha Seohu had no intention of obediently acting the fool and doing exactly what the Cult Leader wanted.
With Cha Sahyeon asleep right now, the strongest being present was Song Jiwon, standing right in front of him.
Chronos, the god and administrator of this world. A mark engraved by a being like that, together with a promise.
With this, even if he went alone to the place the Cult Leader had called him to, he had a chance.
“You’re the one who promised it yourself.”
Under other circumstances, he would have asked in private, somewhere the others were not present, but there was no time for that now.
Honestly, Eun Woojeong had already witnessed more than enough at this point, so there was not much reason to go through the trouble of hiding it anymore.
“Right.”
Song Jiwon, apparently having no intention of putting any special effort into concealing it, nodded readily.
“It’s exactly what I said back then. If your life is in danger, I’ll step in once.”
“I’m going to believe you didn’t carve it in just to follow me around and cheer me on like some clown.”
“A clown?”
At that comparison, something he had clearly never heard in his life, Song Jiwon let out a short laugh without meaning to.
“You really do say interesting things. As for an answer, I definitely told you it was something very precious. I said that if you wanted to confirm its value, you should use it yourself.”
Cha Seohu looked at him like he was pathetic for a moment, then nodded.
That flippant attitude pissed him off to no end, but right now Chronos was the only one he could trust.
‘At the very least, he wants to protect this world just as much as I do, so he won’t let things unfold the way that Cult Leader bastard wants.’
It was fortunate that their goal was the same.
And one more thing. Cha Seohu turned his gaze and looked outside the window.
By the time he had woken up from fainting the second time, the sun had already set. Now it was fully night, and the outside was dark.
‘I can turn into “Cover.”’
Of course, the fact that Cha Seohu and Cover were the same person had already become public knowledge, so naturally the Cult Leader would know too, but even so, it was a relief that he did not have to walk in there in a Supporter’s body.
Cha Seohu’s eyes lowered.
He stared silently at Cha Sahyeon, who was still fast asleep, then made a request to Song Jiwon.
“Keep an eye on him. You. Just in case.”
This was the first time he had ever seen Cha Sahyeon fail to wake up like this.
Cha Seohu was worried about his younger brother, but at the same time, he was uneasy that Cha Sahyeon might forcibly drain the energy of the other Awakeners around him the way he had done to him.
“If you want.”
Song Jiwon agreed easily that he could at least watch over him from nearby.
Cha Seohu’s pale hand lightly brushed through the hair of the sleeping Cha Sahyeon.
Ever since meeting Cha Sahyeon, the shadows he had attached to him had always stayed with Cha Seohu. Those shadows had always protected him, and when they could not, Cha Sahyeon himself had come looking for him.
Now, he had to act alone without Cha Sahyeon’s help.
‘When I come back... will you be awake by then.’
Swallowing the bitterness, Cha Seohu withdrew his hand.
Turning around, he said to Kwon Taehyuk,
“Guildmaster. I’d like you to provide transportation. Something as fast as possible.”
“...So you are going.”
Kwon Taehyuk said it heavily. Ryu Sunghyun, standing beside him, wore much the same expression.
Kwon Taehyuk’s lips moved, but in the end he could not bring himself to say don’t go. Even seeing Eun Woojeong on the other side with narrowed eyes and a cold expression, he still could not bring himself to agree with him.
Because if he were in Cha Seohu’s place, he too would have gone without hesitation to save Yoon Jeha and J. He too would not have been able to turn away from their lives.
But even while understanding Cha Seohu, he desperately wished that Cha Seohu would turn his back on those two and remain safely by his side.
That was a selfish desire that surged up faster than reason.
That Cha Seohu’s safety mattered more than Yoon Jeha’s and J’s lives. That he did not want to send him away alone.
And beyond that, even the thought of forcibly subduing Cha Seohu and locking him up to stop him from going.
While Cha Seohu was talking with Song Jiwon and setting his plan, those three thoughts had crossed Kwon Taehyuk’s mind, and the moment they did, he felt ashamed.
Had he really become such a low, ugly bastard?
Lowering his head slightly, Kwon Taehyuk answered,
“I have a motorcycle stored in a miniaturization item. With that, you should be able to reach the place in time.”
From behind them came the short sound of Eun Woojeong clicking his tongue.
“Thank you.”
Cha Seohu, who rarely offered sincere thanks, said calmly,
“I’ll be back.”

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