108.
A murderous intent appeared on Sehun’s face at the evaluating gaze that looked at him and Jian as if they were mere objects.
The artifacts restraining Researcher Heather began to stir one by one.
“Sehun, killing him now would be too good for this person.”
It was Hyunwoo who restrained Sehun as he was about to lose his reason. At Hyunwoo’s words, Sehun’s eyes, which were turning blood-red, returned to normal. After calming Sehun down, Hyunwoo looked again at the two men, Siyun and Yongho.
“I told you two the truth because I wanted to ask for your help. The reason ‘Jeongho Association’ has been able to sacrifice so many children without being exposed until now is because they have powerful forces backing them that cannot be ignored.”
Hyunwoo paused for a moment and moistened his dry throat. Lately, he had been keenly feeling that his power along with Jian’s and Sehun’s was insufficient to fight against the Jeongho Association.
Although the Darknet Guild had grown noticeably compared to the past, if Keum Heon-jung was really behind the ‘Jeongho Association,’ they were outmatched in terms of power.
Researcher Heather had disguised himself as one of the Blue Dragon Guild members and climbed the tower, but no one noticed until he caused trouble.
They knew about the existence of artifacts that could completely transform someone into another person, but this was the first time they had seen someone actually using one. Such artifacts were so rare that there were only a few in the entire world.
It was horrifying just to imagine what would have happened if Sehun had drunk the awakening potion instead. Moreover, Jian was now fighting for his life.
Although they had fed him a life recovery potion, he still hadn’t regained consciousness. It must be a side effect of using his life force to the limit, and it was the ‘Jeongho Association’ and Researcher Heather who had put Jian in that state.
Hyunwoo clenched his fist as he watched Researcher Heather, who was observing the situation with a relaxed face. Despite being unable to do anything due to the restraining artifact, he showed no signs of fear.
With his mouth tightly shut, Hyunwoo looked desperately at Siyun and Yongho. It would be difficult for the Darknet Guild alone, but if Yongho and the hunter police, as well as Siyun and the Blue Dragon Guild, lent their strength, they had a good chance.
Moreover, if Shin Yoonjae was truly on their side, contrary to his previous misunderstandings, the probability would rise even further.
“I want to fully expose what the ‘Jeongho Association’ has done and ensure that all those involved receive appropriate punishment. Please help me.”
Hyunwoo bowed deeply. Yongho quietly took out a new robe from his inventory and put it on. His thin fingers twitched thoughtfully under the elongated sleeves.
“Of course I’ll help. It’s too horrific that this has been happening in our country. Besides, this guy messed with our guild member. How could I stand by when my people are attacked? I need to pay him back tenfold.”
Surprisingly, Siyun promised to support Hyunwoo without much hesitation. His grip on Researcher Heather’s arm was rough as he shook it.
“Hmm…”
“Hyung!”
Just then, Jian also regained consciousness. As he opened his eyes hazily, Jian flinched and curled up. Tremendous pain struck his entire body as if his body had been shattered into hundreds of pieces and then put back together.
Tears fell without any chance to stop them. The pain was so severe that he couldn’t even properly groan. He was clenching his jaw so tightly it made a creaking sound when something dropped onto his cheek.
“Hyung…”
He tried to come to his senses at the desperate voice. As he breathed slowly and deeply, his vision somewhat recovered.
He couldn’t see clearly the face of the person embracing him, but he immediately recognized who it was. And also the identity of what was falling on his cheek.
“…I’m fine.”
He barely spoke with a hoarse voice. Although his mind hadn’t fully returned yet, he could feel with his whole body how shocked Sehun was.
Even after telling him he was fine, Sehun’s trembling grew worse. Jian moved his shaky arm and barely managed to embrace the much larger frame.
In that state, as he stroked Sehun’s hair, Sehun buried his face in Jian’s neck and cried silently.
“Are you feeling better? How’s your body?”
Hyunwoo also approached Jian. Jian smiled to indicate he was fine, then noticed Researcher Heather standing behind them.
“How is that person here?”
It was a face he had yearned for even in his dreams. A man he had killed more than ten times in his dreams. There were more wrinkles on his face than the last time he saw him, but his uniquely unpleasant gaze was the same.
“He came in disguised as someone else. I think he’s the reason Sehun became strange.”
Looking at the man who felt no remorse at all, Jian’s stomach churned.
Round pupils looked alternately at him and Sehun, smiling. His entire body trembled with anger.
Sensing something was wrong, Sehun raised his head. His tear-soaked eyes examined Jian and then moved toward Researcher Heather.
Researcher Heather suddenly made a choking sound and staggered in place. The artifact covering his mouth was instantly shoved deep into his throat.
“Jian, stop Sehun.”
Jian found Sehun’s hand and interlocked their fingers. The artifact that was moving as if to burrow into the man’s body stopped its movement.
Though he also wanted to kill Researcher Heather a hundred times over, the man needed to receive punishment for what he had done. Looking into Sehun’s eyes, his heart swelled.
“Are you really okay now?”
“…Yes.”
Sehun’s eyes were wholly fixed on him. It truly felt like the Sehun he knew had returned.
He had been afraid he might never see Sehun again after using his ability until he lost consciousness.
But miraculously, he had awakened, and Sehun also seemed fine. And they had captured Researcher Heather, who had been causing anxiety all along.
Jian struggled to raise himself from the bed. While leaning against Sehun, he signaled Hyunwoo with his eyes.
He was signaling to go somewhere else to talk about Researcher Heather, since Yongho and Siyun were nearby.
“We can just do it here. I just told them everything. I asked them to join us.”
At Hyunwoo’s words, Jian was surprised and examined the expressions of Siyun and Yongho. It wasn’t that he doubted the two, but he couldn’t trust them like Hyunwoo did either.
“…Shall we organize the situation a bit and then continue the conversation? It seems like it will be a long talk anyway.”
Yongho, who had been silent until then, suggested.
As the guild masters gathered and talked with serious faces, those waiting outside the barrier were also unable to rest, remaining tense.
As soon as the barrier disappeared, Hyunsu ran to Jian and hugged him.
“Hyung…”
Jian stroked Hyunsu’s head as he cried like a child, wearing an awkward smile. This was because Sehun, who had been suddenly pushed aside, was looking at Hyunsu with cold eyes.
“I thought you were really done for. I’m so glad you’re safe.”
Jian was at a loss for words at Jihwan’s statement, who sighed deeply with a face that seemed to have aged several years. His face flushed at the thought that he had unintentionally worried those close to him.
“I’ll briefly explain the situation to my guild members first and come back.”
Siyun asked Hyunwoo for understanding. He also needed to find out what had happened to Hyunmin, whom Researcher Heather had impersonated.
“Haven’t any more Cerberus appeared?”
Jian, after greeting Siyun with his eyes, asked Hyunwoo. With an uneasy heart, he examined the place where the door was.
Though the form of Cerberus wasn’t visible, the empty space was rippling blackly. It seemed as if Cerberus might rush out at any moment.
“Not yet. But that doesn’t mean the dungeon has been cleared. This floor might be the last one.”
Hyunwoo spoke while putting a gag back in Researcher Heather’s mouth. He had just finished emergency treatment because Sehun had torn the inside of the man’s throat to shreds.
“For now, we should go down the tower since we need to resolve this guy’s issue too. We can’t communicate with the outside from in here.”
Jian nodded. Fortunately, it seemed that no one had died, but many people were injured. Both Sehun and himself had been driven to the brink of death before barely surviving.
It was certainly unreasonable to continue fighting in this state. Jian detached the puffy-eyed Hyunsu from his embrace and stood leaning on Sehun.
Checking his status window, he saw that his life force, which had been 10 million, was barely at 1 million. After confirming that the cooldown time for his attack skills had been recharged, he used his ability without hesitation.
“Kuhuk…”
Researcher Heather, who had been standing fine, twisted his body. His eyeballs rolled back dangerously as his body trembled.
“Don’t kill him.”
Hyunwoo, who was looking at Jian with an expression that seemed to say “Is it you this time?”, shook his head. He had justification to stop him but limited himself to a mere warning.
Even Hyunwoo wanted to tear Researcher Heather to pieces right now, considering the pain Jian had gone through.
White foam leaked through the gag. As Researcher Heather’s body finally went limp, unable to endure, Sehun lifted his body with telekinesis.
“Haah…”
Jian, who exhaled a long breath, rested his forehead on Sehun’s shoulder. Even though he had used only a little of his life force since he shouldn’t kill the man, his entire body was drenched in sweat.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
