Chapter 68

Damn, how did things end up like this?

With a pounding heart, Lee Soo-ho clung to a tree, hiding his body and holding his breath.

Anyone could see that the creatures, clearly declaring “I’m a Dimensional Being,” were stumbling around the forest, searching for him.

“Oppa, oppa, what do we do?”

Meanwhile, his girlfriend Kim Seo-ah was crying, tears streaming down her face, unsure of what to do.

Terrified, she seemed to be in a state of panic.

“Shit, can’t you be quiet? Stop crying. If they find us, we’re both dead.”

Normally, he would comfort her gently, but with his life on the line, his usual calm demeanor was replaced by raw irritation.

“Hiccup.”

Perhaps because her boyfriend was acting so differently from usual, she let out a hiccup, becoming even more frightened.

The man she trusted most was acting like this, which only deepened her fear.

“Damn it, cover your mouth. Hiccuping here? Are you crazy?”

“Hiccup, hiccup.”

Seeing Lee Soo-ho, who was usually so kind, now furious and unlike himself, she quickly covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face.

But the hiccups wouldn’t stop, and Lee Soo-ho’s irritation only grew.

“Damn it, you’re such a nuisance…”

As he tried to cover her mouth with a curse, his body froze.

A vine had wrapped itself around the tree they were hiding behind.

His face turned pale in that instant.

Crunch, crunch, crunch!

As the tree was torn apart, the two of them were left exposed.

At the same time, Delpharis came into Lee Soo-ho’s view.

The moment it saw them, it lashed out with its vines and let out a roar.

“Kiiiiiiik!”

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

As soon as Delpharis screamed, Kim Seo-ah let out a shriek and collapsed on the spot.

“Oppa, oppa, what do we do?”

Trembling in fear, she frantically waved her hands, searching for Lee Soo-ho, only to realize he was no longer beside her.

When she looked up with tear-streaked eyes, she saw Lee Soo-ho running away like a madman.

“O-oppa?”

Seeing Lee Soo-ho already far away, her face turned pale.

“Where are you going? Oppa, what about me?”

She tried to stand and call out to him, but Lee Soo-ho didn’t respond, running desperately.

Meanwhile, her legs, paralyzed with fear, kept giving out, causing her to stumble.

And at that moment, the area above her head began to darken.

“Hiccup, hiccup.”

Her teeth began to chatter.

When she forced herself to turn her head, Delpharis was right in front of her.

“N-no!”

As she tried to crawl away, Delpharis’s vine swung down toward her.

Sensing death, she scrambled to escape, but her movements were too slow.

“Kyaaaaaah!”

Thud!

In that instant, she felt her body being lifted into the air.

As confusion flashed across her face, she realized someone had grabbed her.

“Stay still.”

With those words, the man holding her by the waist and landing firmly on the ground was someone she knew well.

The guy who always clashed with Lee Soo-ho.

It was Kang Ha-chan.

“Ah!”

At that moment, Lee Soo-ho’s scream echoed from the distance.

While desperately trying to escape, he had been caught by Delpharis’s vine and slammed to the ground.

“Si-ho.”

Just as Kang Ha-chan called out, Si-ho appeared near Lee Soo-ho.

Leaving that area to her, Kang Ha-chan immediately stomped on the ground.

Delpharis, realizing it had lost its prey, swung its vines again.

“Kiiiiiiik!”

In that instant, a vine wrapped around his wrist.

A life-or-death moment.

Crack!

The vine in his hand began to crack, and with a sizzling sound, it shattered.

“0.1% output has this effect, huh?”

“Kieeeek!”

Delpharis let out a painful scream and swung another vine.

Skillfully dodging the vine, Kang Ha-chan immediately aimed a white gun at it.

Bang! Bang!

Bullets with 0.1% output, not the usual Thunderbolt, were fired in rapid succession.

The bullets embedded themselves one by one into Delpharis’s body.

At that moment, red sparks erupted from Delpharis’s body.

Sizzle!

Thanks to that, Delpharis’s body stiffened and trembled for a moment.

Seeing this, Kang Ha-chan stopped as if dragging the ground and set Kim Seo-ah down.

“Wait here.”

As soon as he said that, a red bullet began to form in Kang Ha-chan’s hand.

A Thunderbolt bullet infused with an aura completely different from before.

With just one shot, all the aura in his body began to be sucked in.

“Kiiiiik!”

As Delpharis’s body began to move again, red sparks began to fly around Kang Ha-chan.

Kim Seo-ah, sitting on the ground, watched with wide, shaking eyes.

It was understandable. The immense power emanating from him made the Delpharis she had been trembling before seem like nothing.

She was a Hunter too.

Seeing this level of output right before her eyes, she felt something beyond fear.

Click—

And at that moment, with the sound of metal clicking, a flash erupted from the barrel of his gun.

Kwaaaaaaaah!

As the light ignited and the deafening noise hit her ears, she couldn’t regain her senses from the ringing.

When she finally managed to lift her head, she realized the sky was visible.

The trees that had been there just moments ago were all gone, revealing the horizon with a sunset.

“Uh, ah, ah.”

Delpharis, which had filled the forest, was nowhere to be seen, as if it had turned to ash.

Kang Ha-chan, as if it were natural, lowered his gun and looked at her.

“Are you okay?”

Then, he spoke in a gentle tone, completely different from his earlier rough speech.

Staring blankly at his face, tears welled up in her eyes, and for some reason, she couldn’t meet his gaze.

Despite their strained relationship, he had helped her without hesitation.

But it wasn’t just that.

She felt ashamed of her previous prejudiced behavior.

And strangely, seeing his face under the sunset, an indescribable emotion welled up inside her.