Chapter 101

Kudangtang!

Seeing him unable to control his body, crashing into a trash can and rolling around, I immediately turned around and sprinted at full speed.

Thanks to remembering the sensation of grabbing the string earlier, my aura was barely left at around 5%.

Without a moment to rejoice, I picked up Siho and started running away at full speed.

Hyuk-seo hyung is in a bad state due to my aura going berserk, so we need to escape.

I knew all too well that at my current level, facing an S-class Returner was out of the question.

The recent attack would have been recovered from quickly, and it was obvious they’d come back.

“Siho, snap out of it!”

That’s why Siho was the most needed here.

I felt bad for pushing her, but her spatial movement ability was necessary.

However, Siho’s complexion didn’t look good.

The backlash from the dimensional gate being cut off midway, plus not being able to breathe in the shadows, seemed to have taken a toll on her.

This is bad.

At this rate, Siho might need medical attention too.

Meanwhile, I suddenly popped out into an alleyway.

As I was about to run to escape, I was stunned to see the road filled with dimensional beings.

“…Damn.”

This is a complete mess.

They had turned the ground into a wasteland and were moving quickly in search of prey.

The problem was that these guys’ noses were incredibly sensitive.

And their gazes were now directed at me.

This is bad.

Literally.

Really.

Totally screwed.

“Krilalalalalak!”

As one of them howled and started running towards me, the others followed suit.

The one right next to me suddenly stuck its head out, so I immediately slapped it.

“Kiiiiik!”

The dimensional being I slapped screamed as its head crumbled.

Due to my ability’s nature, I’m lethal to dimensional beings.

But with Siho to protect, there’s no way to handle that many.

I immediately turned around and started running through the alley again.

This was the only way to escape.

Behind me, dimensional beings started pouring into the alley, squeezing through.

These crazy guys, despite their bodies being larger than the alley, were tearing themselves apart just to chase and kill me.

“Domi, you bastard!”

In the midst of this, I ran into Hyuk-seo hyung staggering towards me.

He seemed to have just regained consciousness, with bruises on his face, and was glaring at me.

Sorry.

But I couldn’t help but smile at him.

It was a trusting smile, like the one I’d give to the tank in a game.

“Hyuk-seo hyung, aggro please!”

“What?”

As he looked puzzled, I quickly slipped into a gap in the alley.

Hyuk-seo hyung, who was momentarily stunned, saw the dimensional beings and made a dumbfounded expression.

“Domi, you bastard!!!!”

Of course, the dimensional beings prioritized the new prey over the one that disappeared.

He cursed at me and swung his shadow.

“Nice toss.”

Meanwhile, I ran out of the alley, climbed over a wall, and broke through a building window.

Running outside recklessly would only lead to being caught and killed by dimensional beings.

Since it’s a residential area, jumping over rooftops was actually safer.

‘Siho.’

Meanwhile, I checked on Siho’s condition again.

Siho, who had her eyes closed and was trembling, started to make faint groans.

It seemed like she was about to wake up.

I decided to move to the next building and opened the window.

Just as I was about to jump to the opposite building, a sudden black wall blocked my path.

The black wall was none other than a shadow.

“Damn, already!”

I quickly pulled out Keraf and fired, but the shadow wall didn’t budge.

At this low output, it was useless.

Thud-

At that moment, footsteps echoed from the stairs.

The sound seemed to signal the end for me.

Shadow Declaration.

Using his signature technique, Song Hyuk-seo touched his face, where bruises were starting to appear.

Domi, you bastard, if I hadn’t controlled the shadow, your head would’ve flown off.

‘More than that, this guy’s energy is strange.’

Song Hyuk-seo, who called Ha-chan’s aura “energy” in his own way, removed his hand from his chin.

The total amount of energy was the most he’d ever seen, but the ability to control it was severely lacking.

Could he have awakened as a Hunter?

‘But even Hunters can control energy.’

Hunters, upon awakening, learn how to use their power through the Tower of Apocalypse.

Of course, there are differences in proficiency, but they don’t have trouble controlling energy.

‘Could it be because he has too much energy?’

Possibly.

Ha-chan’s output was abnormally high.

The sight of him wiping out dimensional beings covering the sky with a single red lightning bolt was truly astonishing.

In terms of pure output, it surpassed even Erebus.

“Anyway.”

Song Hyuk-seo cracked his neck and climbed the stairs to face Ha-chan.

Ha-chan, with Siho behind him and a gun pointed, was clearly tense.

“Done running?”

“Hyuk-seo hyung, shall we talk this out?”

“You, who left a blue bruise on my jaw, dare say that?”

“Honestly, I think you deserved it. And you need a few more hits.”

This guy has always said whatever he wanted.

Of course, that’s part of why I like him.

But right now, Ha-chan and I are enemies.

“I need to save Se-hee.”

“I want to save Eva noona too. Didn’t Se-hee noona go to persuade you?”

“She came. I heard from Se-hee. That if your acquaintance brings back Se-hee’s body, there’s a way to save her.”

“Se-hee noona didn’t tell you who that is, did she?”

Apparently, Se-hee didn’t mention it because she thought Song Hyuk-seo would target Juk-sim.

From her perspective, she didn’t want to burden Juk-sim.

“But I also heard that the premise is the same.”

The premise that Siho must bring Se-hee’s body.

That’s why this mess happened.

“Domi, doping doubles your abilities. Temporarily, but with that one shot from Giraseong, Ha Si-ho will handle spatial abilities twice as well.”

Giraseong’s awakening inducer is a drug that forcibly brings future abilities to the present.

Although it consumes vitality, it can make abilities twice as efficient.

Of course, it’s hard to obtain and illegal.

Giraseong even specially ordered it at great cost for Ha Si-ho.

“You must have heard it too. The probability of Ha Si-ho at her current level bringing back Se-hee’s body isn’t that high.”

Ha-chan had heard about it through Siho and Juk-sim.

Honestly, the probability of safely retrieving Se-hee’s body is uncertain.

Even Siho, being a novice in this area, couldn’t confidently assure it.

Siho said the probability is about fifty-fifty.

‘And in the Baek-san world, Hyuk-seo hyung injected Siho with the drug to awaken her, increasing the probability, and eventually retrieved Eva noona’s body.’

But without Juk-sim, Song Hyuk-seo in the Baek-san world ultimately failed to save Se-hee.

Despite doing things one shouldn’t do as a human, he still couldn’t save Se-hee.

Ha-chan didn’t want to see that world repeat itself.

“…I don’t plan to side with Giraseong either. I’ll steal the drug myself. Can’t we work something out? As long as Se-hee’s body is intact.”

Doing so would ensure Se-hee’s body is safely retrieved.

With Juk-sim here this time, we could save her immediately.

But Ha-chan’s stubbornness matched Song Hyuk-seo’s.

“Absolutely no harm can come to Siho.”

Seeing this, Song Hyuk-seo squinted his eyes, and Ha-chan shielded Siho.

“I’m not done talking. Listen to the end. I listened to you too.”

Did he intentionally listen to my story to tell his own?

This guy has always been good at handling conversations.

“Hyuk-seo hyung, the acquaintance Eva noona and I mentioned is Juk-sim.”

The following words made Song Hyuk-seo tilt his head.

“Moreover, Juk-sim is a constellation from the heavenly realm, like Giraseong’s Erebus.”

“…What?”

Song Hyuk-seo’s eyes widened at those words.

A constellation from the heavenly realm.

He knew all too well how monstrous that was.

“Eva noona asked Juk-sim. If Hyuk-seo hyung ever kidnaps Siho, to absolutely not save her.”

If Se-hee had told Song Hyuk-seo this directly when they met, it would have been harder to persuade him.

Se-hee knew this well, so she didn’t tell Song Hyuk-seo.

She kept it as a bargaining chip for someone to persuade him.

“Are you crazy? This is your own business!”

“It’s your business, hyung. You’re not thinking straight because you’re anxious about Se-hee noona dying.”

Ha-chan saw through Song Hyuk-seo’s heart better than anyone.

“If it were about my sister, I might have done the same as you. But hyung, you know this isn’t something that can be solved recklessly.”

Song Hyuk-seo bit his lip.

He knew that, yet he had come this far.

“Se-hee noona definitely didn’t want you to act like this.”

He knew that well.

Se-hee herself had come to stop him.

Ironically, because Se-hee came to stop him, Song Hyuk-seo couldn’t stop.

It seemed like she was willing to sacrifice herself, which made him frantic.

“Se-hee noona has never thanked you for doing this.”

Ha-chan’s words pierced Song Hyuk-seo’s heart like a dagger.

‘Am I doing the same thing again?’

Se-hee never once thanked him for living for her during the war.

Of course, it wasn’t for gratitude but simply because he wanted her to live.

But the way Se-hee looked at him was exactly like during the war.

Please stop.

It’s stubbornness, obsession.

Knowing that, the fear of Se-hee dying kept tormenting him.

To him, Se-hee was the last precious person left.

Having lived his whole life to protect her, Song Hyuk-seo knew no other way.

To him, that was all.

At the age of ten, thrown into another world, without the determination to protect Se-hee, he wouldn’t have survived.

For his own survival, he had to protect Se-hee.

And that determination seemed to fade upon meeting Ran during the war.

But that Ran died.

To Song Hyuk-seo, Se-hee was a trauma.

At ten years old, he still hadn’t escaped from that day.

“Oppa, where are we? I’m scared.”

That voice had haunted Song Hyuk-seo his entire life.

During the war and on Earth, Song Hyuk-seo knew nothing but protecting Se-hee.

But that kept being denied.

Is what I’m doing now for Se-hee, or for myself?

Am I just acting out my own insecurities under the guise of saving Se-hee?

Despite promising Ran not to fight with his sister again, here I am doing the same thing.

“Hyung.”

Then Ha-chan called me.

“Let’s save Eva noona together. We can do it.”

Ha-chan reached out his hand.

Someone who, after Ran, offered to protect Se-hee together.

That person was right in front of me now.