Chapter 250

After confirming Song Hwayoung’s condition with the nurse there, I left the hospital right away.

I hadn’t expected that simply running into Kwon Taehan would yield this much. Seeing a clear next target for the first time in a while made a smile leak out before I could stop it.

“Ah... Taehan, seriously....”

Fuck, it’s miserable and yet fun at the same time... Is my brain soaked in dopamine or something? But this wasn’t just dopamine making it enjoyable.

Starting the car, I dialed a number out of habit.

—...Hello?

“Seowon, did you get some rest?”

—.......

“Everything I told you to look into about Cheonmyeonggyo before, send it all to me.”

—Now?

“Yeah. Now.”

After a brief wait, Joo Seowon’s voice came through—the voice of someone who handled at least one kind of job perfectly every time.

—Sent.

“Thanks.”

—What are you going to use it for?

Yeah. Figured you’d ask.

I answered calmly without hesitation.

“I’m going to meet Jin Haedo.”

—Again?

“We didn’t really get to talk properly last time. Because I ended up clearing the dungeon Jin Haedo had set up.”

—...What kind of conversation are you even going to have if you meet him? No, what conversation is there to have in the first place?

Well, the Jin Haedo I saw back then wasn’t exactly the easiest person to talk to.

But if I managed something even resembling a conversation with Jin Haedo, there was plenty I could squeeze out of it. Usurpation, for one. His ridiculous abilities. And the Cheonmyeonggyo believers who were still going strong even after having half their heads metaphorically chopped off.

“There’s a skill Jin Haedo has that’s been bothering me. I think it might be somewhat similar to something I have.”

—That precognition skill? The one you said he usurped?

Sharp.

I answered readily.

“Yeah. The skill Jin Haedo usurped.”

—This isn’t going to be dangerous again, right?

“Jin Haedo himself was never dangerous to begin with. The most dangerous thing about Jin Haedo is his tongue.”

—You mean he’s good at talking?

“Yeah. Though I doubt it’s just talking.”

If he managed to turn that many people into believers, there had to be something more going on.

—Do you think you’ll actually get anything out of talking to Jin Haedo? You said you couldn’t even really talk last time.

“That’s true.”

—So I’m asking if you’ll be okay.

“Yeah, it’ll be fine. I’m not # Nоvеlight # planning to just talk.”

—Then what?

I smiled faintly and answered casually.

“I’m going to threaten him.”

—.......

“I’ll go through the material you sent carefully... and see if there’s anything I can use to blackmail him.”

—Ha.... Fuck, Seo Jehyun, seriously.

“If threats don’t work, I’ll negotiate.”

—Do you even hear yourself right now?

“And if that doesn’t work....”

I trailed off for a moment.

A cult leader who’s useless because neither threats nor negotiation work?

—...If it doesn’t work, what will you do?

“Who knows.”

If it came to that point, killing him would probably be the best option—but before that, I was confident one of those two methods would work.

“There’s no need to think about it. One of them will work.”

—.......

“I don’t make Plan C.”

After that short reply, Joo Seowon stayed silent for quite a while.

—So where are you right now?

“In the car. I went to the hospital where Song Hwayoung’s admitted and I’m heading back.”

—...How is she?

“She was someone who was supposed to die anyway. Things just got twisted and she survived.”

—Things got twisted... and she survived?

The tone of Joo Seowon’s voice when he asked again didn’t sound very good.

‘Well, he’s the type who worries about that kind of thing.’

I opened my mouth to give him a half-assed attempt at comfort.

“She might actually pull through. Since the injury is related to mana, her abilities will probably get nerfed pretty badly though.”

—.......

“But living is still good, right?”

—.......

“Don’t be too upset.”

That should be enough comfort for him to get the point. And Song Hwayoung was someone both Joo Seowon and I had known for quite a while, so it was a bit of a shame to see her die like this. If she survived, things would diverge from the original story and give me more variables to consider, though.

In a low voice, Joo Seowon asked,

—...You’re not bothered at all, are you?

“About what.”

—About Song Hwayoung dying... You already knew it would happen. She just survived this time because things ‘got twisted.’

I tried for a moment to parse the subtle emphasis in his words, then gave up quickly.

“Not bothered? Well... I don’t think that’s true.”

—.......

“My heart hurts.”

—...Actually.

Joo Seowon started to say something suddenly, hesitated like he was about to continue, then closed his mouth again.

“Actually?”

—No, never mind.

“Why bring it up if you’re going to make me curious?”

Joo Seowon stayed silent for a few minutes again before asking something strange.

—If someone dies... you’d accept it as long as you achieve what you originally set out to do, right?

“That probably depends on who it is.”

—I doubt it.

For once, Joo Seowon’s voice was firm.

—You’d think it can’t be helped in the end... even if I died. Or if Do Yehyun died.

“You can’t die. We’ve got the covenant, remember.”

Besides that, it would feel... pretty fucking awful.

I hadn’t entered many dungeons with Joo Seowon, but I had with Do Yehyun several times. There had been moments when the bastard almost died, and moments when I’d been certain he actually had.

Naturally, the feeling had been far worse than I’d imagined.

‘But I wouldn’t let someone else kill what’s mine in the first place.’

Anyway, what point had Joo Seowon suddenly gotten stuck on this time? Song Hwayoung’s death? But she hadn’t actually died yet. She’d only come close. And there had been countless Hunters who’d come just as close to death before.

In fact, quite a few people had died in that S-rank dungeon this time.

Did Joo Seowon stay sensitive to every one of those deaths? Kwon Taehan had grown accustomed to death itself after repeating his own over and over again.

Right now, there was no way to know.

Then suddenly, Joo Seowon laughed. It sounded faintly incredulous, almost hollow.

“Why are you laughing, Seowon?”

—If a situation like that really comes... I’ll break the covenant.

“Why?”

—Obviously. If the covenant stays in place, you’d die too.

At Joo Seowon’s words, I chuckled softly and asked back,

“You don’t have any romantic idea of killing me when you die?”

‘Seo Jehyun’ had killed Kwon Taehan several times trying to die together with him.

It felt a bit like dragging someone down with you, sure—but it was still a scenario that showed up in media pretty often. The problem was that it could actually be applied in real life here.

Joo Seowon answered in a low voice.

—Sometimes I actually do want to kill you. I’m not just saying that. I really... want to kill you.

“That’s ridiculous.”

—But if a situation like that really came, I’d obviously save you, you bastard.... What kind of stupid thing is that to say?

Still, if death were right in front of you, people’s feelings could change as easily as anything.

Instead of answering Joo Seowon’s words, I said something else.

“I’ll see you at home later.”

With that, the call ended.

***

It wasn’t good to leave too much time between deciding on a goal and acting on it.

I sent Im Haekyung a text immediately.

Where are you?

Since there was no way I’d get a reply right away, I added the conclusion as well.

I’m parked under the Guild Master’s residence waiting, so when you see this come home.

Anything related to Cheonmyeonggyo was probably being handled by Im Haekyung, so contacting this side would be the fastest.

If I talked on the phone, the conversation would go in circles forever. It would be better to meet face-to-face and make him hand over Jin Haedo’s location.

Leaning back comfortably against the car seat while waiting for Im Haekyung’s reply, a message arrived.

Naturally, I assumed it was from Im Haekyung and checked it—but the sender was someone else.

‘What?’

It was a message from Sung Uijae, someone I hadn’t heard from in a while.

So you and the Haeseong Guild Master really are that kind of relationship?

‘What the hell is he talking about now?’

I shoved Sung Uijae’s message aside. But true to form for someone who never shut up, the messages kept coming.

So the thing you two were talking about back then without me was actually a sexual joke? If that’s the case I’d rather not know.

Hey, if you two are actually dating, you might want to reconsider the relationship. Having one antisocial high-rank monster around is already bad enough, but if the two of you get together I might never want to go back to Korea.

You should break up as soon as possible.

I had absolutely no idea what kind of bullshit he was spewing. Even after pushing the worthless nonsense aside, more of Sung Uijae’s annoying texts kept arriving.

I replied to him without much thought.

I’ll handle it myself.

As if he’d been waiting, Sung Uijae replied instantly.

Do two psychopaths even fall in love when they meet?

What the hell is this bastard talking about?

I’m not a psychopath.

Then what are you?

A person who isn’t a psychopath.

What kind of obvious question is that?

You are definitely a psychopath.

After that message, I blocked Sung Uijae’s number.

No sooner had the useless barrage of messages ended than the call I’d actually been waiting for came in.

As expected, it was Im Haekyung.

“Hello?”

—130917.

“...What?”

—It’s the password, so go inside and wait quietly.

What the...

I stared at the phone screen for a moment after the call ended abruptly, then tilted my head slightly.

‘Once you get to S-rank, everyone goes crazy, huh.’