The black thorns shot past the officer and extended beyond the defensive line, piercing straight into the raging flames. Countless monsters were skewered like meat on spikes, their dying screams ringing out before silence fell.
The mass of death cries that had erupted loud enough to rupture eardrums vanished in an instant, replaced by the intermittent crackling of fire. Around the frozen officer, a path made of monster corpses stretched out like a wide boulevard.
“We cleared the line for you. Now get in there and hold it.”
Even after Tae Woon’s cold voice cut through the air, silence lingered for a beat longer. When Kim Sibaek gave him a wry pat on the shoulder—like flipping a switch—the black thorns vanished, and flames of the Anxious Mist began to flicker and bloom in their place.
The officer cleared his throat and looked away. His twisted expression said he had a lot to say, but he kept it all in.
“How’d you pull it off?”
There were too many eyes and ears around for him to mention Na Jungwoo’s name directly, so Sibaek kept it vague. Tae Woon caught on right away.
“I moved him to where the kids are hiding. Once he wakes up, we’ll question him. You good, hyung?”
“Mm, something new’s popped up.”
Sibaek tapped the air lightly as he spoke, gesturing without specifics.
“They said there were two?”
“Huh…”
Tae Woon glanced up at the lone form of the Anxious Mist hovering above.
“Think it split?”
“No signs of other monsters, so probably.”
It was rare, but the Anxious Mist—known for adapting to its surroundings—would sometimes divide after fully forming. If it had split, that would make taking it down even more complicated.
Just as Sibaek was about to say more, the Security Team Leader rushed over.
“We just confirmed via drone—there are two people trapped inside the Ferris wheel.”
“The Ferris wheel?”
“Yeah, we couldn’t see it from here because the Anxious Mist was blocking the view.”
He pulled up drone footage. Midway up the deserted Ferris wheel, a single gondola held two people inside. The door looked warped—probably damaged by flying sparks, leaving them stuck.
The couple inside had climbed up onto the seats, desperately trying to stay conscious. The heat in that sealed space had to be brutal.
“Where exactly are they?”
Sibaek didn’t even hesitate—his intent to rescue them was clear. The Security Team Leader looked relieved. After confirming the coordinates, Sibaek moved out, and of course, Tae Woon followed like it was only natural.
“Aren’t you going to help the Hunters holding the line?”
“All they need to do is stall until the mutation finishes.”
Then he grinned like a mischievous kid.
“Besides, I think I’ll be useful when it’s time to pop the lid.”
“What do you mean ‘pop the lid’?”
Tae Woon just shrugged instead of answering. He looked like a kid hiding a secret, and honestly—it was kind of cute.
The searing heat from all directions made their skin sting. By the time they reached the Ferris wheel, cutting down monsters along the way, even breathing felt like swallowing fire.
The trapped couple, soaked in sweat and barely conscious from the stifling heat, finally opened their eyes when help arrived. Any later, and it might’ve been too late.
[Death and Beauty asks how you plan to pry the door open.]
“With brute force.”
Death and Beauty’s divine power didn’t work on inanimate objects—but the sabre in Sibaek’s hand was another story. It was a high-grade weapon, enchanted by an S-rank blacksmith. He raised it to slice through the hinges, but just then, someone gently tugged at his sleeve.
Of course—it was Tae Woon.
“Hyung, hyung.”
“Mm? Yeah?”
“Let me handle the lid. You climb up on top of the gondola first.”
“You sure?”
He still had no idea what Tae Woon was planning, but when had the kid ever led him wrong?
[Death and Beauty declares that rubbing lips with my Apostle was an egregious offense.]
“……”
Sibaek ignored the divine sass and followed Tae Woon up onto the rotating axis without complaint. Being this close to the Anxious Mist, the metal frame radiated intense heat.
They sprinted toward the gondola where the couple was trapped. As they approached, Tae Woon gestured.
“Hyung, stop there. Just stay put and catch it.”
“Catch what?”
While Sibaek blinked in confusion, Tae Woon climbed up on top of the gondola and leaned down.
“Duck your head.”
The moment the exhausted couple instinctively ducked their heads, Tae Woon’s black coat flared dramatically—then morphed into a sleek, scythe-like shape. In one fluid motion, it sliced clean through the gondola’s roof like a knife through cake.
“Whoa!”
Now it all made sense—“pop the lid” and “catch.” The severed gondola, now open at the top, immediately began to drop under its own weight. The couple’s screams pierced the air, but within a split second—barely a tenth of a second—Kim Sibaek had caught them mid-fall, cradling one under each arm.
“You almost got them killed! A little heads-up would’ve been nice!”
“But I believed in you, hyung. I figured you’d get it just from my eyes.”
“Well, I didn’t. So how about speaking up before you pull stunts like that?”
“Come on, you caught them, didn’t you? So it worked out.”
Tae Woon flashed an innocent grin. Sibaek had a whole list of things he wanted to say, but the thunderous crash of the falling gondola and the couple’s continued screaming were already drawing the attention of nearby monsters. With a sigh, he jerked his chin toward the defensive line.
“Let’s move.”
Once they were safely out, Sibaek got to work healing them. But the boyfriend firmly declined.
“I’m fine. Just take care of my girlfriend… You need to save your strength, Hunter.”
After a few rounds of polite refusal, Sibaek finally relented. Following the man’s wishes, he healed only the unconscious woman—who was still clutching her laptop like a treasure—then moved her into a protective magic circle.
When he returned, Tae Woon was still casually dusting off his coat. It was pitch black, as if it swallowed all surrounding light—just like his eyes.
“Hey, Woon-ah. That coat—it’s your ability, isn’t it? Something you materialized from darkness?”
“Yeah. It’s easier to carry around this way. For me, it’s basically the same as your sword, hyung—just another weapon.”
“That’s… incredible.”
The awe in his voice was genuine. Awakeners with elemental traits could sometimes materialize items using their mana and control. But it was rare, and even then, the items were usually small—like weapons or tools. Yet Tae Woon had manifested a full-sized coat. A wearable one.
[Death and Beauty expresses shock, asking: doesn’t it usually take decades of practice to materialize anything using your Trait?]
“Woonie’s always been a smart one.”
[Death and Beauty retorts that elementary school grades have nothing to do with Trait mastery.]
While Biendeoé grumbled in the background, Sibaek continued healing the injured Hunters. At first, they flinched from the strange sensation of divine power flowing through them, but when their wounds closed in an instant, they were left speechless. Even the hushed comments—calling him a “benevolent cultist” or something along those lines—were no longer surprising. He was used to it.
The Security Team Leader, after closely reviewing the drone footage, gave a deep nod.
“Everyone who got left behind has been rescued. Thank you. From here on out, it’s just a waiting game. Please rest up until the Anxious Mist finishes mutating.”
The Hunters stationed at the park, members of the Jeongmyeong Guild, were all B-rank at best. Their original mission had been to stall until their support team arrived. But now that two unexpected S-ranks were involved, there was no need to stretch things out.
“Sir, seriously—thank you.”
Pi Minhyung had rotated out of the defensive line and approached Sibaek, panting. He handed him a water bottle and took a long drink from another.
“Ugh, it’s so damn hot. Can’t we just blast the Anxious Mist all at once like we did during the last Eid Portal?”
Sibaek gave him an Earth-style excuse: a lack of divine power.
“I haven’t received quite enough praise yet…”
There was a brief pause—then Minhyung let out a laugh, loud and exaggerated. Maybe it was just his imagination, but the corners of the man’s lips seemed to twitch unnaturally.
“I’m good! Tae’s strong enough for both of us!”
“……?”
Sibaek raised an eyebrow just as he heard a soft fluttering sound—like the wings of a baby crow rustling above him. His head snapped toward the direction of the Anxious Mist, face hardening the moment he sensed the shift in demonic energy.
[Death and Beauty informs you the mutation is nearly complete.]
A beat later, a Hunter gripping a scanner shouted out,
“The mutation’s almost done!”
The monsters made of flame froze in place—as if obeying some unseen signal. At the same time, the Anxious Mist at the center began to twist violently, churning like a vortex.
The Hunters waiting nearby swallowed hard. The Anxious Mist always mutated to match its environment. Would it become a dinosaur, like the Jurassic-themed section of the park? A giant kaiju from one of the anime collabs? Or maybe the upside-down ghost from the haunted house?
Their minds raced with every grotesque possibility, each worse than the last.
And finally—the mutation completed.
“……Huh?”
What appeared before their eyes wasn’t a dinosaur, or a monster, or a ghost.
It was a rollercoaster and a viking ship—both entirely made of fire.
