The sharp sound of metal striking the corridor floor rang out.
After the blade fell, what came was a suffocating silence.
Kwon Taehyuk, who had dropped his weapon; Ryu Sunghyun, who was holding Cha Seohu; Eun Woojeong, who had caught his shoulder.
All three of them, their faces pale, could neither move nor open their mouths carelessly.
This was fear. Fear upon facing the most terrible reality, one they had never once imagined.
“Move.”
The first to move in that silence was Yoon Jeha.
Barely coming to her senses, Yoon Jeha shoved Eun Woojeong aside and hurriedly pulled Cha Seohu down from Ryu Sunghyun’s back.
“Cha Seohu. Cha Seohu!”
Yoon Jeha’s voice as she called him held anxiety and urgency she could not hide.
After carefully laying the limp Cha Seohu on the corridor floor, Yoon Jeha checked his pulse with her fingertips. The action itself was composed, but the fingertips pressed against his neck were trembling.
“......”
Yoon Jeha, having felt for his pulse, parted her lips, but no sound came out.
She merely withdrew her hand in silence. Biting her lip, she lowered her head.
In truth, even without checking his pulse, everyone present already knew. The sensitive senses of S-ranks could hear not only the breathing of someone nearby, but even the sound of their heartbeat if they focused.
She had tried despite knowing, and the result was devastating.
Yoon Jeha looked down at Cha Seohu with shaking eyes and whispered without realizing it.
“Why on earth......”
When she had learned that Cha Seohu had come all the way here alone to save her after she was taken hostage, Yoon Jeha honestly had not believed it.
She had thought he must have had some other purpose or benefit.
That suited the kind of person Cha Seohu was, and Yoon Jeha herself had thought that would be the wiser judgment.
They were not especially close, merely comrades who had fought together a few times.
For the sake of her life, he had walked into a dangerous place, and in the end, he had become a cold body.
She wanted to sneer as usual and mock him for being pathetic, but the corners of her mouth would not move at all.
All she could do was stare blankly at Cha Seohu’s face, stained with blood and dirt, his eyes peacefully closed.
Even though the realistic problem of needing to leave the church and move to a safe place filled her head, strength would not enter her body, as if it had broken down.
“......Ha!”
Just then, a sharp laugh burst out.
“Haha!”
The area around Eun Woojeong’s eyes was horribly distorted as he began to laugh.
“I knew this would happen.”
The voice muttering after the laughter was thick with resentment and betrayal, though it was impossible to tell who it was directed at.
“Fuck, I told him not to go... I told him so many times not to go. Look at this. Huh? Look at this. Autonomy? Rights?”
Eun Woojeong, deathly pale, forcibly raised his stiffened mouth into a smile, while only the area around his eyes was stained red, as if he were holding something back.
“All that bullshit about autonomy, and you turned this person into... this. Are you satisfied now?”
Even while losing his reason, Eun Woojeong could not bring himself to say the word “dead.” He could not say it.
Kwon Taehyuk showed no reaction to Eun Woojeong’s outcry.
Unable even to think of picking up the weapon he had dropped, he merely stared blankly at Cha Seohu lying on the floor.
His lips moved several times, but nothing came out.
His mind was constantly denying reality, but in truth, he was too afraid to even call his name.
Because he was terribly afraid of a situation where, after he called his name, no answer came back.
“...Move.”
Another voice cut into the corridor where only Eun Woojeong’s crazed laughter had been echoing.
It was Ryu Sunghyun.
“Move.”
Ryu Sunghyun spoke dryly to Yoon Jeha, who was sitting dazed beside Cha Seohu, then bent down.
Forcing strength into his trembling arms, he lifted Cha Seohu again. The action was terribly careful.
“Hunter Ryu Sunghyun.”
Kwon Taehyuk called him in a badly cracked voice, but Ryu Sunghyun did not respond.
Holding Cha Seohu gently in his arms, Ryu Sunghyun slowly began walking. There was no hesitation in his steps as he passed Kwon Taehyuk and headed toward the far end of the corridor.
“Haa.”
Yoon Jeha let out an exhausted breath, then rose after him, carrying J on her back, and followed.
Only after a long while did Eun Woojeong move unsteadily, and Kwon Taehyuk was last.
In a line, they began retracing the path they had taken through the corridor.
After crossing the wide hall where Cha Seohu and the Cult Leader had first met and opening the door, an underground staircase appeared. They climbed that staircase, which stretched on tediously long, one step at a time.
As they ascended toward the surface, the only sounds echoing underground were footsteps and the occasional drip of water.
On the underground stairs they passed, the blood that had run down Cha Seohu’s arm remained as the only trace.
In the cold silence, Ryu Sunghyun simply walked forward, holding Cha Seohu in his arms with empty eyes.
“...It’s all right.”
When they had nearly reached the surface, Ryu Sunghyun muttered for the first time.
“It’s all right, Hunter Cha Seohu.”
Ryu Sunghyun whispered tenderly and hugged the limp Cha Seohu tightly in his arms.
“We’re almost there. Hold on just a little longer.”
Ryu Sunghyun kicked the door in front of him roughly. Beyond the door, which went flying as if it were made of paper, they could see the inside of the abandoned church they had passed through.
Crossing the desolate church, Ryu Sunghyun continued muttering with clouded eyes.
“It’s all right, if you get treated... As long as we somehow get you treated....... I’ll bring a healer. Hold on. Please hold on.”
Even though no answer came from Cha Seohu, Ryu Sunghyun paid it no mind and kept talking to him without pause.
The fact that the body in his arms was far too heavy and cold, and the fact that he could not hear any breathing, did not register for Ryu Sunghyun.
When they stepped outside the old church, a ruined night street spread out before them, brightly lit by moonlight. They could also see the car and motorcycle they had parked.
Good. If they put him in the car like this and went to the hospital, it would be fine. If he drove like mad, thirty minutes—no, fifteen would be enough. If the hospital was not enough, Kwon Taehyuk could call a healer from his guild.
There was a way. There had to be. If they somehow treated him, then again......
“......”
The moment Ryu Sunghyun consciously cut off his thoughts and took a heavy step toward the car he had parked—
—Vice-Guildmaster.
A familiar voice sounded.
Ryu Sunghyun flinched to a stop and lowered his head. The white face in his arms was still peaceful, as if asleep.
—Vice-Guildmaster.
The voice sounded again. It was Cha Seohu’s voice.
In Ryu Sunghyun’s hollow eyes, overwhelming emotion burned up like flame.
He was alive. Cha Seohu was alive.
Come to think of it, he could hear him breathing too. He could feel his body heat.
That was right. There was no way he was dead. Cha Seohu was only a little hurt. Ryu Sunghyun, hugging Cha Seohu close, let out a small laugh.
“...Hey.”
Yoon Jeha, who had been following behind, noticed something was wrong and called Ryu Sunghyun, but he did not even look at her.
“Yes, Hunter Cha Seohu. It hurts a lot, doesn’t it? Hang in there just a little. I’ll take you to the hospital quickly.”
—I’m all right, Vice-Guildmaster.
Cha Seohu answered gently once more.
Cha Seohu’s face in his arms did not move at all, but Ryu Sunghyun did not doubt for a moment that the voice belonged to Cha Seohu.
Ryu Sunghyun staggered briefly, then quickly put strength into his legs and walked toward the car.
'Quickly. To the hospital.'
Once he confirmed that Cha Seohu was alive, impatience surged over him.
He had to get out of this hellish area as soon as possible, whether to go to the hospital or drag a healer here.
“Hey, hey!”
Yoon Jeha, who had been watching Ryu Sunghyun with a sense of unease, screamed sharply in horror.
Supporting J on her back with one arm, she grabbed Ryu Sunghyun’s shoulder hard and pulled him back. At the same time, something flew into the spot where Ryu Sunghyun had been standing and slammed violently into the ground.
Craaaack!
The attack that mercilessly split the cement floor was none other than a stream of water.
Cold water sprayed everywhere, glittering in the moonlight. Kwon Taehyuk and Eun Woojeong, who had been out of their minds and blindly following only Cha Seohu, belatedly sensed the presence of another S-rank.
“Cha Seohu.”
A distinctly sly voice, laced with irritation, flowed from beyond the darkness.
The person who walked out from the ruins stared at them with his brow narrowed. The moonlight clearly illuminated the blond hair scattering in the wind.
“Why are you making your brother work so hard? Hyun Dowoon couldn’t even detect your location properly, so do you know how much trouble I had finding you......”
Kang Haeil’s steps, which had been approaching with a sneer, abruptly stopped.
Cha Seohu, held in Ryu Sunghyun’s arms, entered his sight. The arm dangling downward was soaked in blood, and his complexion was especially pale even in the darkness.
Once Kang Haeil realized that Cha Seohu was unconscious, the smile vanished from his mouth in an instant.
“What are you trying to pull now?”
Still too far away to detect his breathing or heartbeat, Kang Haeil calmly assessed the situation with blue eyes.
Ryu Sunghyun holding Cha Seohu, and behind him, Kwon Taehyuk and Eun Woojeong, Yoon Jeha with J on her back.
After confirming the people present, an enormous column of water formed beside Kang Haeil and spiraled threateningly like a snake.
“Fine. I’ll hear the explanation later. Hand him over. He’s my little brother.”

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