Chapter 22

In the moment when Si-ho, blinded by the lightning strike, failed to grasp the situation and stepped back.

She let out a choked sound from the shock in her throat.

Her body floated in the air, feeling weightless.

When she slowly raised her head, she saw a woman emitting electricity all over her body.

The unfamiliar military pants, sleeveless top, gloves, and deep blue hair clearly showed she wasn’t Korean.

“Is this the woman?” Russian flowed from her mouth.

“Yes, yes, that’s her. Please hold her tightly so she doesn’t die.”

The man smiled and approached the girl, standing in front of her.

Though he seemed blind, he lightly circled around her, as if checking something.

“Wow, it’s rare for such a Hunter to be born in Korea. S-class Spatial Ability Users are almost nonexistent.”

He grinned with a cheerful expression.

S-class Spatial Ability User.

Hearing that, the girl flinched and bit her lip.

She was none other than Ha Si-ho.

The younger sister of S-class Hunter Seollsan Iri, Ha Seo-ho.

And an S-class Spatial Ability User who had hidden her rank.

No, actually, she hadn’t hidden her rank.

Due to certain reasons, her output was only A-class, so that’s how it appeared in the measurements.

“Who are you guys?”

As Si-ho asked, the grip on her collar tightened.

Si-ho grimaced in pain, and the man slapped her cheek.

*Slap!*

Blood trickled from Si-ho’s mouth as she bit her lip.

Her eyes shook from the sudden pain, and the man casually tapped the cheek he had slapped with the back of his hand.

“Only I ask questions here. All you need to do is answer. We need your power, so you’ll have to cooperate with us.”

Si-ho’s wide eyes glared at him.

Her unyielding demeanor in the face of violence only made the man more sadistic.

“Ah, what a shame. If I could see, I’d fully appreciate that expression.”

Si-ho felt his fingers on her cheek like ants crawling, sending shivers down her spine.

The man, indifferent, removed his hand from her hair and smiled.

“So, where are you continuously using your spatial ability, huh?”

Hearing that, Si-ho’s face stiffened.

This man is a Spatial Ability User.

And a formidable one at that.

As Si-ho tightly closed her mouth, he lifted his black glasses and laughed.

“Ahaha, don’t want to answer? Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ll just cancel your ability.”

“No, don’t!”

Si-ho screamed upon hearing that.

Trembling while being held by the collar, she seemed more terrified than when she was slapped.

But the man only laughed more gleefully.

“We really need your power. Please cooperate with us.”

With that, the man’s outstretched hand disappeared into thin air.

Realizing he was trying to infiltrate her ability through space, Si-ho struggled.

*Crash!*

But as soon as she resisted, the Russian soldier woman tightened her grip on Si-ho’s collar.

Her breath caught, and her consciousness began to fade.

No.

I have to stop this.

Just as Si-ho desperately tried to hold onto her consciousness.

*”God always closes His eyes and weeps beside you. You too shall weep with Him.”*

A beautiful woman’s voice echoed on the summer breeze.

It sounded almost sacred, like a scripture being recited.

“Puhak?!”

At that moment, the two people beside Si-ho staggered, tears of blood streaming down their faces.

They seemed to have received a powerful shock, their bodies trembling violently, allowing Si-ho to break free and roll on the ground.

“Cough, cough!”

As Si-ho coughed, she suddenly felt a floating sensation.

Startled, she looked up to see a man desperately running while holding her.

It was a face she knew well.

“Manager.”

At Si-ho’s call, her manager, Ha-chan, didn’t respond and kept running madly through the mountain path.

How is he here?

She didn’t know, but she noticed his body was drenched in sweat.

Did he come looking for her?

Through the forest in the middle of summer.

Why? The question arose.

Their relationship was formed in a day, merely a manager-subordinate relationship.

If she caused trouble, it might be his responsibility, but this was after work hours.

As she pondered, Ha-chan kept running without stopping, trying to secure the minimum distance Orzia had advised.

His running speed was 8.5 seconds for 50 meters.

Considering it was a mountain path, he had run without falling, so it must have been 50 meters after 10 seconds.

Orzia had requested 30 meters.

Having surpassed the safe 50 meters, Ha-chan shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Orzia!”

And the moment his voice rang out, the sky split.

A bundle of pitch-black tentacles poured from the sky, and black lightning surged.

It was the moment Returner Orzia entered full combat mode.

*Boom boom boom!*

The sound of explosions, unimaginable to ordinary people, echoed from behind.

The battle between blue lightning and pitch-black tentacles was a spectacle even from a distance.

But I had no time to watch.

My priority was to escape from here as soon as possible.

In a fight between Returners, there’s little an ordinary person can do.

Especially when it’s a fight to the death, not just a battle between Orzia and Cheonma Cheon Hong-ryun.

‘Whoever those Returners were.’

They were after Si-ho.

So, I had to prioritize Si-ho’s safety.

Seeing Si-ho in my arms with her reddened cheek made me feel sorry.

Holding her, I realized.

Si-ho was really small.

And still so young.

At 19, she was on the verge of adulthood, but she was still a child who needed society’s protection.

Whatever those people were thinking, I felt angry.

“Manager, put me down.”

“Huh? Si, Si-ho! It’s still dangerous!”

Running, I barely managed to answer, out of breath.

She shook her head and said,

“I’m a Spatial Ability User.”

Right.

In the urgency, I had forgotten.

With her power, we could escape from here in an instant.

“Are, are you okay?”

“I’m Ha Si-ho.”

I know that well.

For some reason, I stopped running and put her down, and she firmly stepped on the ground.

“Ah.”

Immediately, Si-ho staggered, and I panicked, quickly catching her.

She had just endured such violence with this small body.

Of course, there would be aftereffects.

“I, I’m okay. Thank you.”

But she seemed embarrassed to show such weakness, her ears turning red as she straightened up.

“I’ll move us.”

With that, our vision suddenly changed.

As my eyes widened at the sudden shift, I felt a floating sensation.

Huh?

Are we falling now?

“Si, Si-ho?!”

“Huh?”

As I shouted in surprise, Si-ho also widened her eyes, flailing in the wind.

Looking down, I saw the cityscape far below, realizing we had moved to a considerable height.

“Why, why is this happening?”

Si-ho also seemed confused, her face panicked.

But if she panicked here, we were done for.

I quickly reached out, grabbed her, and pulled her close, shouting,

“Move us again!”

For some reason, her condition seemed unstable.

But falling from this height meant certain death.

Si-ho bit her lip, holding onto my arm, and activated her spatial movement again.

Our vision changed once more.

But this time, I felt my breath catch.

Because water was rushing into my mouth and nose.

It was so dark, even underwater, that I couldn’t see anything.

A river?

No.

This saltiness.

It’s the sea!

“Ugh!”

I held my breath and pulled Si-ho closer.

Wherever we were in the sea, the waves were threatening to sweep her away.

Si-ho also seemed panicked, flailing in the water before activating her spatial movement again.

*Crash!*

And finally, I rolled on the ground.

The pain in my back suggested we had fallen from some height, but thankfully, it wasn’t from a great height or the sea.

Though soaked in seawater, I wasn’t dead.

I quickly checked on Si-ho.

“Cough, cough.”

Spitting out seawater in my arms, Si-ho looked miserable.

As I patted her back, she slowly raised her head.

“…What just happened?”

Perhaps due to the consecutive failed spatial movements.

Her eyes were filled with deep confusion.

My guess was the shock of the ordeal, but her expression suggested something else.

“That man earlier.”

As if remembering something, Si-ho clenched her sandy fist.

Hearing that, I noticed the sound of waves brushing past my ears.

We must have moved near a beach, given the seawater.

Since we were in Seoul, maybe near Incheon.

But why does it feel so bright behind me?

Feeling strange, I looked up and blinked at the sunlight filtering through palm trees.

It was night just a moment ago, so why is the sun up?

And what are these palm trees that definitely don’t exist in Korea?

“Uh, Si-ho, where are we?”

“…”

Si-ho also looked dazed, staring up at the sky.

We were stranded on a deserted island.