“But beneath that tough exterior, your body’s actually so warm… Mmph.”
The flirting was swiftly cut off by the underage crow’s butt in his mouth.
***
They finished sweeping the basement and started escorting the survivors up to the ground floor.
[Survivors found in the Manastone Exchange (11/29)]
[Survivors found in the Manastone Exchange (13/29)]
[Survivors found in the Manastone Exchange (17/29)]
The count of survivors had reached seventeen. After finishing her radio call with Gwak Yoonsang outside, Seo Gaeun gave her report.
“More survivors are still turning up in the Management Center.”
“Same situation as here?”
“Minor injuries, and according to testimonies, the monsters were oddly slow during the initial attack. That part matches too.”
As if they were deliberately giving their prey a chance to escape. Seo Gaeun didn’t spell it out, but everyone was thinking the same thing.
“…Were they trying to stockpile prey to eat all at once later?”
A Hunter from the 7777 Guild mumbled, face pale.
“Like a beast about to give birth?”
“But Giantvine reproduces by fruit, not like that…”
“Could it have mutated or something?”
“You idiot, why would monsters just mutate?”
While the others hesitated, unsure of the monsters’ intentions, Tae Woon gave a casual nod.
“Save the theories for later. Move. We’ve only cleared the first floor.”
“Right. Saving people comes first.”
Seo Gaeun took a deep breath, clearing her head, and led the strike team up to the second floor. Once there, they split into two groups again, survivors included. Their destination was the east conference room—the furthest point from the emergency stairwell—where survivors who’d made contact with the outside world were holed up.
Even the experienced Hunters were starting to show signs of fatigue. Fighting while protecting so many survivors was wearing them thin.
“Let’s take a ten-minute break.”
After driving away the swarm of tentacles clinging to the storage room—drawn to the manastones inside—Lee Sarang suggested a pause. She’d transformed her lower body into metal and casually sat on top of the dangerous tentacles as if it were a chair. Her body ached from tension. She gulped water from her canteen and glanced toward the rear.
While the others drank mana recovery potions or treated injuries, Kim Sibaek—chatting with his young raven—looked perfectly fine. Lee Sarang quietly marveled.
He’s handling rear guard solo while protecting his bird, and he’s not even winded? Is it because he’s S-rank? Well, Uncle Tae Woon’s kind of like that too, I guess.
She wasn’t the only one stealing glances. The other Hunters were also sneaking looks at Kim Sibaek, pretending not to notice. What lingered in their minds was the swordplay they’d witnessed all the way from the basement to here.
At first glance, his swordsmanship wasn’t flashy. Slash, cut, slice—just simple strikes with his sabre. But his blade moved so smoothly, like a gentle breeze flowing effortlessly through space, dominating the battlefield with graceful beauty. Once you noticed it, you couldn’t look away.
And that wasn’t all.
Lee Sarang recalled the battle from about thirty minutes ago. The Giantvine’s “flowers” weren’t true blossoms—they didn’t bear fruit. When fully bloomed, they didn’t release pollen but spewed a toxic liquid far deadlier than its tentacles.
A Gabyeolcho Guild Hunter had noticed one blooming on the ceiling—but too late. The flower opened in a flash, releasing thick venom like a waterfall. But before anyone could even scream, it was already over—neutralized instantly by Kim Sibaek, who had leapt from the rear to mid-position in a blink.
As his hand, glowing with light, touched the falling venom, it turned a pale white, like it had been bleached, and dripped harmlessly to the floor. The deadly toxin had been completely purified.
With a light swipe of his sword, he made a small cut, and the Giantvine flower crumbled to ash, scattering like dust. The brief glow on his blade faded just as quickly, but Lee Sarang felt like she’d never forget that fleeting light.
The Hunters stood there slack-jawed, but Kim Sibaek merely checked to make sure the Gabyeolcho Hunter wasn’t hurt, then calmly returned to rear guard.
When he glanced around and met Lee Sarang’s eyes, he nodded lightly. His normally stoic face softened with a kind gentleness whenever he interacted with people.
Lee Sarang nodded back and continued her thoughts.
He was as cool as Dad and Uncle Tae Woon… What kind of Trait did he Awaken to handle so many different things like Uncle Tae Woon? Did Uncle fall for him because of his swordsmanship? Or because of his warm heart that cares so much for his pet bird? But the way he talks to that bird—it’s not like he’s talking at it, it feels like a real conversation. Makes me wonder if he’s a bit… mentally unstable.
Her thoughts were starting to wander in dangerous directions when—
A Hunter from the Jeongmyeong Guild, gifted in scent-based tracking, cautiously approached after heightening his sense of smell.
“Hunter Lee Sarang-nim, I smell human blood down the hall.”
The isolated staff members in the Management Center had grown weaker with each passing moment, clinging only to the hope that rescue would eventually come.
No one knew how much time had passed.
Finally, the last drops were drained from the water bottle they’d been carefully rationing, found in someone’s desk drawer.
“Over here! Unidentified survivor found!”
A small figure burst into the room, ripping the door completely off its hinges. The conch shell emblem embroidered on her guild uniform identified her as a member of the Gabyeolcho Guild. Only then did the survivors realize—it was Lee Sarang, the guild heir.
The moment the realization sank in, sobs of relief and sighs of gratitude rippled through the room.
The Hunters quickly moved in, injecting survivors with the serum to counteract the Giantvine’s poison and checking their condition.
“Will… will they survive?”
“…We’ll do everything we can.”
The Hunter’s voice was heavy as he dressed the critically wounded woman’s injuries—wounds that had only just stopped bleeding. Though they’d all feared this outcome, no one could offer false hope with empty reassurances.
Even as the joy of rescue washed over them, grief and pain still hung thick in the air. That’s when a calm, soothing voice cut through the tension.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
A tall young man stepped forward.
…Saint Kim Sibaek?
The absurd thought popped into the wounded staffer’s mind. It was the same thought she’d had right before nearly being caught by the Giantvine—perhaps that was why it had left such a strange imprint.
The man approached, his long, steady fingers—clearly a swordsman’s hands—brushing lightly over the unconscious woman’s bandaged wound. He gave the injury a brief once-over, as if reading its condition.
Light bloomed. Not the harsh, blinding beam of a phone flashlight, but a warm, gentle radiance that softly illuminated the space. Slowly, the patient’s eyelids fluttered open, the light reflected in her eyes.
It was nothing short of a miracle.
In theory, if all monsters were eradicated, the world would finally know peace—but that was impossible. Even if they were wiped out, the demonic energy saturating the atmosphere would only birth new ones unless it was purified with manastones. Without manastones, slaughter alone solved nothing.
Unlike Earth, where Barriers cordoned off monster habitats, Mak Slechth sheltered human settlements under protective domes. The monster density there was far higher, and Kim Sibaek had spent years hunting them.
But the first injury he encountered here in the Manastone Exchange immediately struck him as odd.
Unwrapping the bandage, Kim Sibaek calmly examined the wound—ignoring the sharp gasps from the surrounding staff as the fully healed flesh came into view.
This was caused by Gett? Something’s not right.
The woman’s thigh had been slashed open along a long, narrow cut, narrowly missing a major artery. Kim Sibaek traced the wound slowly, his sensitive fingertips detecting faint, brittle resistance—like tiny shards of glass.
The divine healing had pushed out the embedded glass fragments as the tissue regenerated. Likely, countless microscopic splinters still clung to the surface. The true cause of injury was shattered glass.
Gett secretes acid through its outer membrane, dissolving prey upon contact. It reacts instantly to living tissue—it should’ve corroded the skin the moment it touched. This doesn’t fit.
It seemed unlikely that someone had thrown broken glass at Gett while trying to defend themselves. Yet the rash-like irritation around the woman’s waist clearly indicated she’d been wrapped tightly in the creature’s tentacles.
If he went purely by the circumstances, it suggested that the Giantvine had deliberately restrained her and inflicted a glass wound on purpose.
…But why?
Giantvines weren’t creatures that toyed with their prey. Driven by primal hunger, they spread their roots endlessly, devouring anything they touched. Wasting time toying with prey went against their very nature—they would’ve simply moved on to devour something else.
“Hunter Kim Sibaek-nim…?”
At Lee Sarang’s cautious voice, Kim Sibaek finally lifted his head. Realizing he was still touching the wound even after treatment was complete, he quickly pulled his hand away.
“Ah. My apologies.”
But that wasn’t why she’d called out. Aside from the barely conscious patient, everyone else—staff and Hunters alike—were now staring at him in shock.
Lee Sarang’s voice trembled even more than it had when she’d faced down the monsters.
“C-Could it be… your Awakened Trait is… healing?”
