Chapter 74
‘See? I told you Curry wasn’t a monster.’
When they crossed the Rift Control Agency’s security gate following Woo Nayeong, Eunseong had spoken in a definitive voice, pointing to the machine that showed no reaction to Curry. He wore a proud and happy expression, as if his pet bird’s innocence had been verified.
It was an entity that only he and Eunseong could see and hear. Mujin thought the creature’s energy was so insignificant that it couldn’t be detected by machines.
If it wasn’t a monster… how else could it be explained?
It certainly seemed to be parasitically living off the Hwanghwa energy flowing from Eunseong, and Mujin had judged that it would soon disappear because of that. That’s why he had just been watching. It was also true that he had handled it carelessly since Eunseong seemed to have grown attached to it, even giving it a name.
It was too much of a stretch to think it was Yoo Hwan’s arrangement.
An item with independent will that moved on its own?
He had never seen such a thing with his own eyes, and no records of it existed. If Yoo Hwan had the technology to create such an item, everyone would have been desperate to get their hands on one.
“…”
Mujin looked down at Eunseong and swallowed dryly.
At that moment, Eunseong frowned and shifted his body. Thinking he might be waking up, Mujin hurriedly pulled down his t-shirt, then let out a hollow laugh at the sleep talk that followed. He found himself ridiculous for hastily dressing Eunseong as if he had committed some crime.
“Mujin, I… um…”
Even with a voice heightened by fever, Eunseong called his name first. His murmuring lips were moist. Mujin used an ice pack to cool his forehead and moistened his parched lips with a damp gauze.
Unlike Mujin’s strong body, Eunseong must be in terrible pain. How could he endure the agony of his internal organs melting away? Mujin spread open Eunseong’s small hand and interlaced their fingers. If only his ability were freezing things rather than fire. Or even wind.
“Mmm…”
As Eunseong’s lips moved as if he had something to say, Mujin quickly bent his waist and brought his ear close.
“…don’t go.”
Mujin’s body stiffened at the whisper that reminded him of a certain time. In the days when he lived with a death sentence from Hwanghwa, Eunseong was worrying about him and trying to hold him back, just like now. Even in a fever-induced dream.
Mujin was now realizing how Eunseong must have felt back then. The feeling of becoming utterly powerless before a precious person whose life was burning away like a candle, and continuously blaming oneself.
Constantly searching for methods and making plans… Every day, he must have cried alone, clinging to hope.
“Eunseong…”
Mujin held Eunseong’s hand for a long time, hesitating, before finally kissing the end of it. The words of apology didn’t make it out, dissolving inside his mouth.
* * *
The next morning, Eunseong, who had slept late, was rubbing his swollen eyes when he heard Mujin’s declaration of war.
“I’m going into a rift.”
He said it as casually as if he were going to buy snacks after breakfast. Eunseong blinked with chopsticks in his mouth.
“What rift?”
He mentally counted the dates for a moment, but it was certainly not the Neutral Zone’s Great Rift. Though it was routine for Mujin to go on rift subjugation missions, Eunseong hadn’t seen him participate in any since leaving Huiseon with him. Of course, there was the Changgui subjugation. But weren’t they currently on awkward terms with the Rift Control Agency?
Eunseong put down what he was eating. He stretched his neck over the table to see the tablet screen that Mujin was tapping while resting his chin on his hand. Sure enough, he was accessing the rift situation guidance page.
On the map displayed largely on the screen, there were application marks for subjugation participation standby in each zone. Mujin had selected several areas closest to the Rift Control Agency and put them on standby.
“Why a rift so suddenly? Are we out of money?”
That was the only immediate reason he could think of.
“I said I’d keep my promise to go to the Great Rift too. Has the Rift Control Agency demanded something more?”
“It’s not that.”
They had been together constantly lately. Though he had overslept, Eunseong hadn’t heard Mujin exchange any communications with the Rift Control Agency.
“I want to go too.”
Eunseong said without deep consideration.
“Okay.”
At this straightforward answer, Eunseong opened his eyes wide. Before his mind could change, Eunseong snatched the tablet to submit his own application. After logging in with his hunter information, he immediately moved to the participation standby page, only to find that Mujin had already applied for joint entry. Eunseong’s mouth opened in a circle.
“I’m really going too?”
Without answering verbally, Mujin nodded repeatedly, and at this sight, Eunseong’s heart raced.
Going into a rift with Mujin!
He had practiced buff skills sufficiently with Park Jiwon. It was true that his skill grade showed up somewhat low, so he had thought it would be good to practice with Mujin before going to the Great Rift. But now he had the opportunity to use it in actual combat. What else should he prepare?
While Eunseong was pondering, Mujin finished his meal, cleared the table, and brought out drinks. Then he went to the bathroom to brush his teeth.
Rifts occur without warning. Taking applications was merely about securing a list of reserve forces in advance. Although a system based on years of accumulated big data was operating to predict rifts, its accuracy was worse than weather forecasts.
This was because almost nothing was known about rifts except that they opened toward humans, their “prey.” Rifts don’t open where there are no people. That’s why people in the tent camps of the Bottom couldn’t live in large groups.
Despite the clear class structure of “residential districts” and “the Bottom,” the reason there was no rebellion from the Bottom was due to an environment where the concept of a leader couldn’t be established in the first place. When people gathered together, rifts would promptly open as if they had been waiting for it. Rifts swallowed groups of humans as if they were “lunchboxes.”
But the resources of the residential districts weren’t abundant enough to accommodate all people either. In the end, the people of the Bottom were abandoned on the ground where rifts opened, ignored by society. That was the cold reality of this world.
Eunseong flipped through the tablet screen, examining the application status graph. Since Mujin was Mythical grade, they were invariably first priority. This was true even though they had no affiliated guild.
During this time, Mujin finished washing and came out to change his clothes. Then he took out all the items and clothes for Eunseong to wear, placed them on the table, and began to examine them. Since most of them were worn on the neck, ears, wrists, and fingers, when collected together, he looked like someone obsessed with accessories.
“Do I need to wear all of these to the rift?”
They were identification interference items that had no effect on monsters anyway.
“You’ll attract attention from other hunters.”
“Because I’m with you?”
“No, you yourself…”
Mujin swallowed his words and stared at Eunseong. He reached out and messed up his silver hair.
“Anyway, wear them all.”
“Yes. I understand.”
His words had a point. Many hunters would gather, so it would be better to be careful. While Mujin was organizing the items, Eunseong also finished washing up. Before he could put on all the clothes laid out, an alarm sounded. They were first priority dispatch to the starting point of a rift, with the earliest expected entry time.
“But you still haven’t told me why we’re going.”
The moment he asked this question, a thought crossed Eunseong’s mind. Could he be going to look for Baek Sangyeon? If that was the case, he didn’t need to hide it from him.
Eunseong grabbed Mujin’s wrist and looked at him, waiting for an answer. Mujin stared down at his caught wrist and clicked his tongue.
“It’s not that we’re out of money…”
The captured wrist tickled, making it difficult to continue speaking. He clearly knew this tactic worked. Looking up at him with round eyes that seemed like they would grant any request. Mujin felt his defenses crumbling and laughed weakly.
“We need to find Curry. Curry escaped into the rift, right?”
Eunseong’s eyes widened at this unexpected answer.
“Why are you so surprised? Weren’t you planning to look for it?”
“No, no, that’s not it. Didn’t you dislike Curry?”
“I do.”
Just as his curt answer ended, alarms rang consecutively. It was an alert that rifts had begun expanding at the points that had been floating as prediction candidates. The time was much faster than expected. Large and small purple stains on the map began growing from dots into circles.
Among the activated locations, the place where Eunseong and Mujin would enter seemed quite distant from the coordinates Mujin had initially applied for as first priority. While examining the map, Eunseong finally noticed the reason for Mujin’s first application point and let out an exclamation.
It wasn’t certain whether rifts occurring on the ground operated in the same way as the rift he had created at the Rift Control Agency. But the first priority entry point Mujin had selected was none other than the place where Curry had disappeared—the location closest on the Z-axis to the experimental bunker inside the Rift Control Agency.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
