LTTH C69

Chapter 69

“I don’t know how much you trust that man, Hansol, but he’s dangerous. To be blunt, if he ever made up his mind, someone of your level could be killed in an instant.”

“What?!”

“What did you just say?”

At the Tower Master’s chilling words, both Kassie’s and Hansol’s eyes widened.

Hansol raised his voice as if he had just heard the most absurd thing in the world, while Kassie trembled as though he had suffered a grave insult. Their reactions differed, but both were undeniably shocked.

‘What is he even talking about? Kassie killing me? If he wanted to, he would’ve done it long ago.’

Back when Hansol first arrived in England, he had been nothing more than a slightly unusual healer. If Kassie had actually intended to get rid of him, Hansol would never have made it back to Korea.

“Kassie would never do that. What are you even talking about?”

“Hansol. Not to boast, but I’ve taught mages for many years, and I’ve seen their successes and their failures. Yet even with my experience, I cannot gauge that man.”

“And… why exactly is that a problem?”

“It means one of two things. Either he’s stronger than I am, or he has made a deal with a demon.”

“A demon?”

Why was that suddenly entering the conversation?

“I think I understand the misunderstanding now.”

“Kassie?”

“It’s fine, Hansol.”

Having regained his composure, Kassie let out a faint sigh before snapping his fingers. A clear sound rang out, and a light breeze encircled him.

“Try detecting me again. You’ll see it properly now.”

Though still displeased, the Tower Master once more scanned Kassie from head to toe.

“…I can see you very clearly now.”

His eyes narrowed sharply for a brief instant, then returned to normal.

“I always keep up a barrier out of habit. In the England I lived in, every day was dangerous.”

Kassie explained in a tone that sounded almost like an apology to Hansol, ending with a small smile. It was the Kassie they all knew.

‘So the misunderstanding is cleared up…?’

Judging by the Tower Master’s lingering doubtfulness, he wasn’t fully convinced, though he seemed to accept it for now. Still, his gaze toward Kassie remained frosty.

Hansol had thought they would get along well as fellow mages. He had clearly been mistaken—severely so.

“Are we done now? Can I talk?”

Seizing the slightly relaxed moment, James slapped the table and yanked the attention toward himself.

“Darling, you know that dark zone in the U.S., right?”

“Oh, yes. Let’s go finish purifying it when we have time.”

Come to think of it, he had rushed back in the middle of purifying it. Granted, it was the fault of the American officials, but it still bothered him. They should return and check on it.

“No, no, that’s not it. I’m really grateful, but the dark zone is fine now.”

“……?”

But they had only purified a fraction of it. Judging by James’s face, he wasn’t joking. So… it really was fine?

“It’s purifying itself.”

“What?”

Hansol’s mind spun at the unexpected words. A dark zone purifying on its own? Why? The dark zone had likely been Berthel’s domain. When they purified the American dark zone, the masked message had revealed itself as “Berthel” back in England.

It was possible that another creature ruled the American one… but the idea of two Berthel-level beings existing in the world was too horrifying. Better to assume otherwise.

Either way, the creature was gone, so the dark zone it created naturally vanished as well—just like the one in England.

“But unlike the dark zone purifying on its own, the infected people aren’t. That’s why… I need help.”

In England, the infected had been purified all at once by the Sanctuary. But in America, Hansol had never used a Sanctuary. He couldn’t. Naturally, aside from the few he had purified before, the rest of the infected remained trapped inside the dark zone.

“And… could you help?”

And the problem wasn’t just America. Every dark zone in the world. All who were infected would eventually become sources of new dark zones unless Hansol personally purified them.

Of course, any dark zones created by infected humans would also auto-purify quickly.

‘But the infected would still be trapped.’

If they were merely trapped, that would be fortunate. More likely, certain countries—especially the extreme ones—would see them as liabilities to be eliminated.

Hansol shut his eyes as unwelcome futures played out in his mind. As a Hunter, he had seen more than enough of human nature. Those who held national power were often even worse.

‘…It’s going to be a long journey.’

“It’s probably too much, right? There are so many people… Yeah, that makes sense.”

Seeing James fidget anxiously like a giant nervous puppy made Hansol let out a soft laugh. Looking at him like that, it was impossible to connect him to the legendary tank he supposedly was.

“I already said I would help. A while ago.”

The dark zone and the infected came as a set. And Hansol had already promised to help James.

“Thank you! Really, thank you!”

With Hansol answering without even a flicker of hesitation, James’s expression brightened immediately. Among the four of them, the only ones not pleased were the Tower Master and Kassie.

“Does it have to be Hansol?”

“Most likely, yes. The infected in England were the same, and other healers won’t work.”

Hansol replied casually to Kassie’s disgruntled tone. As far as he knew, he was the only person in the world who could purify dark-zone-corrupted humans.

“Hansol, what level is your Purification?”

‘Why is he asking that out of nowhere?’

Tilting his head, Hansol summoned his skill window. Purification was still at level 1. Thanks to the enhancement stones, its effect was vastly stronger than normal, but the base level had never changed.

“If it’s still low, you should raise it first. I’ll give you enhancement stones.”

“You can raise skill levels with enhancement stones?”

“Yes. It takes a lot, but it works.”

Unbelievable. Normally, skill levels—representing mastery—were incredibly slow to raise, even if one used the skill obsessively. Hansol’s Heal was high only because he had spammed it day and night for five years. Most healers would have all their skills stuck at level 1.

“You probably have enough, but if not, tell me.”

Kassie handed Hansol a small pouch, light enough to hold in one hand. It felt empty—maybe one enhancement stone at best.

Of course, there was no way Kassie would give him only a stone or two.

‘A spatial pouch…!’

The thought came naturally. And at that exact moment, the pouch, soft and made of fine fabric, suddenly felt heavy. Hansol gripped it with both hands, stunned.

“This… this is a spatial pouch….”

“Oh, it’s yours, Hansol.”

“…What?”

Kassie handed it over so casually that Hansol blanked out. A spatial pouch’s value depended on its capacity, but even the smallest ones cost astronomical amounts. And Kassie was just… giving it to him?

“If you try to give it back, I’ll burn it.”

“……”

Extremely drastic. Why so extreme?

“If you don’t use it, it’ll become ashes. So you should use it, right?”

Kassie smiled sweetly, as if he knew exactly how to corner Hansol into accepting it.

“Anyway, hurry and try enhancing.”

Steering the conversation away, Kassie urged him on. Reluctantly, Hansol opened the pouch and slipped his hand inside. Spatial pouches allowed the user to pull out whatever they thought of. The problem was—he had no idea how many enhancement stones were inside.

Hansol thought of an enhancement stone.

The number that surfaced was… unnatural.

‘100… 200… 281?!’

Good heavens.

Was he really allowed to accept this? Horrified by the ridiculous number, Hansol hurriedly closed the pouch. Surely returning it was the only reasonable choice.

“Kassie… it says there are 281 stones. Is that right?”

“I suppose that’s about right. Use them all.”

He sounded completely unfazed. Apparently Hansol was the only one whose heart was racing.

The wealthy were rumored not to know how much money they carried—he never imagined that mythical creature would appear right before his eyes.