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Seojun, suffering from hallucinations, was the last to grasp the situation. He couldn’t even distinguish whether the sensation of being sucked into the ground was real or an illusion.
[Han Siwoo!]
His vision briefly cleared at the sound of his hyungs calling out for Siwoo at the top of their lungs. By then, Seojun was already submerged up to his waist in the swamp. The secretary who had been holding onto him was only ankle-deep.
Seojun immediately grabbed the secretary’s leg and threw him out of the swamp area. Thanks to this, he was able to escape.
I should have thrown Guide-nim.
Although he felt sorry for the secretary, Seojun despaired at the fact that the person he had thrown out of the swamp wasn’t Siwoo. The only consolation was that Siwoo wasn’t sinking alone. He was relieved that Jihan hyung was with him.
“Ha Seojun.”
Seojun, who had been worrying about Siwoo while unconscious, opened his eyes at the deep voice. Someone was calling him. He frowned and inhaled, unable to focus his vision.
As he breathed in the ragged air, the pain in his stiff neck worsened. It seemed he had been attacked on the nape. Which bastard—
“Get up now.”
Recognizing the owner of the voice, Seojun abruptly sat up. He reflexively followed the order, even though he could barely open his eyes.
“Lea, der…”
Seojun looked up at Taebeom standing in front of him, letting out a dry cough. Without even time to look around, he immediately searched for Siwoo.
“Where’s Guide-nim?”
Taebeom didn’t answer. He silently helped Seojun to his feet. They needed to move quickly. They had already wasted quite a bit of time waiting for Seojun to calm down after showing signs of an outbreak.
He didn’t know the exact time. The second hand of the clock had stopped, and no matter how much he pressed it, his phone wouldn’t work. The pager was the same.
“Did only the two of us get separated?”
Seojun asked, rubbing his throbbing nape. It felt like he had just closed his eyes for a moment, but his energy was already depleted.
He didn’t remember, but just before being submerged in the swamp, Seojun had shown symptoms of an outbreak. His wave readings had risen sharply, and the scales visible on his body had spread even faster.
Seojun had screamed in pain in the swamp. It felt like his body might burst at any moment. The plant stems that began to grab him seemed to press on his heart, urging the rampage.
That’s when Taebeom struck his neck. He moved through the blind swamp, following Seojun’s screams. Unlike Seojun, whose limbs were bound by stems, Taebeom’s body was free.
The moment Taebeom grabbed Seojun, they fell below the swamp. It was like a long cylindrical passage with no visible end. With just the information visible to the naked eye, it was impossible to tell where they were.
But Taebeom sensed it through the energy. This was inside a gate.
“Don’t lose your mind.”
Taebeom cautioned Seojun as he turned around. The corridor-like structure extending on both sides made it efficient for them to split up and scout, but for now, they needed to move together.
The one who created the swamp area was targeting beastkin. While Geonho and Seojun had sunk first, Taebeom and Jihan had had a chance to escape. If both of them had been in good condition, they could have gotten everyone out. Although they hadn’t managed to do so.
In any case, Geonho and Seojun were clearly the targets.
“Move quickly.”
“Yes…”
Seojun, barely managing to get up, struggled to follow Taebeom who walked ahead. Of all people, to be left alone with the most difficult person in the world. Seojun lowered his gaze to the ground, seeing Taebeom not even glancing at him as he staggered along.
While the discomfort was great, he also felt reassured by Taebeom’s presence. It made him think he wouldn’t go berserk.
Seojun reflexively suppressed his waves just hearing Taebeom’s voice. Even in an unconscious state, he calmed his waves while terrified. It was a habit ingrained through long training.
“Leader, could you slow down a bit…”
Seojun, following Taebeom while sweating profusely, hesitantly spoke up. The distance between them was growing due to Taebeom’s fast pace. However, Taebeom continued forward without even looking back.
“Haa, Leader, just a moment please.”
Seojun finally stopped. He couldn’t walk anymore due to shortness of breath. Fearing his waves might rise again, he bent his knees and caught his breath.
The air was so polluted that even he, an Esper, had difficulty breathing. Although no monster presence could be felt, their energy permeated the air.
Thinking that Siwoo might have fallen into the same space made him more anxious. Just imagining bad air entering his already weak body made him furious. He could only hope that Jihan hyung and the barrier stone were keeping him safe.
“Can’t you walk?”
Startled by the sudden voice, Seojun plopped down. With his head bowed towards the ground, he hadn’t noticed the approaching leader. Above all, he was excessively surprised because he hadn’t expected it. To think the leader would come back just for him.
“I asked if you can’t walk.”
Taebeom asked again. Seojun, who had been looking at him with a dumbfounded expression, suddenly narrowed his eyes. Something felt off.
“Leader, by any chance.”
Seojun carefully observed Taebeom’s black eyes while trailing off. The leader’s gaze was directed at his mouth, not his eyes. As if trying to read his lip movements.
“Can you not hear?”
* * *
“Come here, damn it.”
Siwoo opened his eyes, flailing his arms. In a brief dream, he had been punishing Kwak Seokjin and the Seowol guys. He dreamt of flying kicks and whipping those trying to escape.
“Guide-nim, can you see me?”
Jihan immediately grabbed Siwoo’s hand. He had been preciously holding Siwoo, who had briefly lost consciousness while being sucked into the swamp area. Fortunately, Siwoo regained consciousness quite quickly.
“Han Siwoo, are you awake?”
Just then, Geonho’s voice was heard from afar. Thankfully, it seemed they had fallen together.
Siwoo’s ears perked up at the sensation of Geonho rushing towards him, and he opened his eyes wide.
“I can’t see well.”
Jihan’s face right in front of him was barely distinguishable in form, not clearly visible. Geonho’s face, touching his forehead and cheeks to check his temperature, looked like a black ball.
“It’s because it’s dark. We can see fine.”
They had fallen into a space so dark that even a cat beastkin couldn’t see well. Jihan and Geonho could only distinguish expressions to a certain extent. Still, Geonho had briefly scouted the surroundings as he could see enough to look around.
“Are you hurt anywhere? Can you breathe okay?”
Geonho asked, rubbing Siwoo’s pale face to transfer his own warm body heat. When he was completely submerged in the swamp, he had torn off the plant stems holding his body and searched for Siwoo.
It was Geonho who had grabbed Siwoo’s wrist, sensing his flailing waves. In his urgency, he had failed to control his strength.
“Does your wrist hurt?”
Siwoo covered Geonho’s hand in response to his worried voice. He shook his head to indicate he was fine, not giving him a chance to ask more questions.
“It doesn’t hurt. I’m fine.”
It wasn’t just to reassure him. Siwoo was genuinely okay.
Thanks to the barrier stone Jihan had given him, he had no difficulty breathing. Moreover, with the healing acorn, his body was recovering quickly.
“Are you guys okay?”
Siwoo felt around and grabbed both their arms. Not only could he not see their expressions, but it was also hard to distinguish who was who. He had to rely on their voices.
“Yeah, we’re fine.”
Jihan, who answered first, stood up. He helped Siwoo up as well and asked Geonho about the surrounding situation.
“Is there only one path?”
“Yeah.”
They both instinctively knew they had entered the inside of a gate the moment they fell below the swamp.
Geonho said it felt like they had fallen into an ant colony. Small caves were connected to a main path. There were no living beings around. Most of the caves were empty.
“I can sense monster energy though.”
“There’s none. It’s probably just their lingering smell since this is their home.”
Jihan nodded, agreeing with Geonho’s answer. As he said, no living monsters were detected. It seemed they were the only ones in this space.
They couldn’t use their abilities as if wearing control bracelets. Fortunately, Geonho’s psychic power was gradually activating, but Jihan’s was completely blocked. Even temporarily binding Geonho, an SS-rank, was unthinkable.
What kind of bastard was pulling this stunt? Jihan swallowed a sigh while rubbing his eyes.
“Yoo Jihan, are you not in pain?”
Siwoo, pulling Jihan’s hand, suddenly sniffed. Jihan smelled of blood.
He wondered if it was Kang Taebeom’s blood, but it didn’t seem so. Jihan’s voice also sounded strangely weak. His breathing seemed a bit rough too.
“It’s bearable. Let’s go for now. We need to find the leader and Seojun.”
“Hey, Kang Geonho.”
Siwoo, holding Jihan even tighter, called out to Geonho. Instead of asking Jihan, who was good at lying, he asked Geonho.
“Is Yoo Jihan bleeding right now?”
Of course, Siwoo’s heart felt heavy thinking about the leader and Seojun. However, it was clear that it would take time to meet them. For now, he had no choice but to take care of those with him first.
“Don’t lie, tell me honestly.”
“Yeah, he’s bleeding.”
Geonho confessed the truth. The reason he hadn’t answered when Siwoo asked if they were okay was because of Jihan. Geonho wasn’t injured, but Jihan’s condition was quite serious.
“His side is torn and leaking.”
“Why exaggerate?”
Jihan chuckled softly and gently interlaced his fingers with Siwoo’s. As he pulled his hand, signaling to leave, Siwoo touched his side.
“Not there, here.”
Geonho took Siwoo’s hand, which couldn’t see, and placed it on the wounded area. Just from the touch, Jihan flinched and held his breath. It was the first time he had shown such a pained reaction.
“…It really is leaking.”
Siwoo muttered fiercely, gritting his teeth. Jihan’s side was damp. Even now, the flowing blood soaked Siwoo’s hand.
It was natural for his recovery to be slower, having used teleportation with a body already at its limit. It wasn’t a state that could be revived with a short kiss.
“I’ll be fine if I take medicine.”
To reassure Siwoo, Jihan took out a green pill he had kept as a last resort from his pocket. It was a medicine that artificially boosted recovery. The very same pill he had given to Lee Ho-il.
He had been avoiding taking it until the end due to side effects. He had planned to take it only when he absolutely couldn’t bear it anymore.
“It’s a dangerous medicine, isn’t it?”
Siwoo, with his good intuition, asked Geonho again.
“Probably.”
Although it was the first time Geonho had seen the pill, he thought the same as Siwoo. There must be a reason why Jihan hadn’t taken it earlier.
Siwoo pressed his lips together, then relaxed them, looking determined. Then, before Jihan could dodge, he quickly pushed down on his shoulder.
“Take off your clothes.”
Geonho, who was watching this, hesitated and parted his lips. Surely not.
“You’re going to… do it here?”
“Where else would we do it?”
Siwoo firmly grabbed Geonho’s arm and pulled it down too. There was only one way to complete the guiding quickly in a short time.
“You receive it too.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
