IH Ch 65

Chapter 65

“Scared, aren’t you? Go on, squirm a little more. I like that sort of thing. The moment something that’s about to die writhes in fear like a bug—that’s when it’s the most fun…”

The man couldn’t finish his sentence. Because something sharp and slender pierced straight through the center of his head. Jaehyun, who had been struggling all the while, saw through the man’s spread fingers the hole that had opened in his skull. Blood welled up from it and then trickled down the center of his face. As the man’s body slowly tilted backward, Jaehyun’s body was released and began to drop downward.

“……!!”

He was falling. He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the impact—but the blow he was expecting never came.

Still curled up tightly and trembling, Jaehyun slowly opened his eyes upon realizing someone had caught him. Then, as he looked back, he froze at the sight of a familiar face.

“……”

It was the pretty hyung. Though he didn’t say a word, his eyes narrowed slightly as if he understood what Jaehyun had meant earlier. Soon, Jaehyun’s feet touched the ground.

His legs buckled, and he stumbled, only to be caught by a supporting arm. With one arm held gently, Jaehyun stared dazedly at Dohwa and moved his lips.

“…I thought you left with the Guildmaster.”

“……”

“Hunters don’t care about things like this.”

No, there had been another issue. Jaehyun turned his stiff neck to glance downward, but before he could see anything, a pale hand moved in front of his face—as if telling him not to look. But he had already seen the round hole in the man’s forehead and the blood oozing from it, and Jaehyun trembled.

He must be dead, right? Then who killed that man?

Still shaking uncontrollably, Jaehyun lifted his head again. As he met the calm gaze looking down at him, his trembling lips parted—but before he could speak, a loud noise rang out. Boom. At the shock that accompanied the sound, Jaehyun instinctively clung to Dohwa.

“……!!”

The series of explosions that followed sent a wave of heat rolling in from behind. Where had the blast occurred? Could it be… near where his mother was? Blinking through the tears clouding his vision, he quickly looked ahead. But that area was unharmed—then—

“Jaehyun!”

At the scream calling his name, Jaehyun called out for his mother too as he pushed himself out of Dohwa’s arms. His mother, limping toward him, threw her arms around him as if to scoop him up and frantically ran her hands over his body.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?!”

“…Y-Yeah!”

As soon as he caught the familiar scent of his mother, tears poured out uncontrollably. After barely managing to respond, Jaehyun broke down into sobs and wrapped both arms tightly around his mother. She hugged him just as tightly and then lifted her head—only to freeze. She saw Dohwa standing still and the man collapsed on the ground.

“……”

Glancing between Dohwa and the man’s corpse, she took a step back—only to gasp in fright when her back hit something. Turning around, she saw Hwang Jae-i standing there, and she let out a shaky breath as her lips moved with difficulty.

“G-Guildmaster…”

Without looking at her, Jae-i spoke.

“Go inside.”

“……”

“As long as you hold this, you’ll be safe.”

He pressed a yellow gem into the hand holding Jaehyun. She didn’t know what it was, but if Hwang Jae-i said it, she could trust it. Nodding quickly, she turned and rushed back into the building, and Jae-i turned to look at Dohwa.

“……”

The explosion had occurred near the village hall. The building right next to it had gone up in flames, and the fire was still strong enough to send sparks flying all the way here. As Jae-i narrowed one eye and was about to speak at the sight of Dohwa standing alone in the falling embers, he sensed a presence behind him. When he turned, he saw a middle-aged man with a full beard holding a gun. The man flinched in surprise, then stammered as he spoke.

“T-The village hall exploded, and I think all the ones we had captured in there were killed. I’m not sure if I should say it’s a relief, but it seems the villagers who were watching them only ended up with minor injuries…”

The man’s rambling trailed off. He suddenly wondered why he was saying all this to Hwang Jae-i. He wasn’t even one of the villagers and had no obligation to help them. Or did he? Had he really not helped them at all?

As confusion hardened the man’s expression, Jae-i made a gesture in the air. Several potions appeared from his inventory, and he handed them to the man.

“Take these, give a little to the injured, and make sure everyone goes inside this house.”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

Only after taking them did the villager realize these were potions worth hundreds of millions per bottle. Without even questioning why he should follow Hwang Jae-i’s orders, the man rushed off. After confirming he had run off toward the village hall, Jae-i looked back at Dohwa—and the dead man behind him. Tilting his head, he examined the corpse, then approached it.

Standing beside the body, Jae-i nudged the massive corpse with the tip of his foot. The man had died without even realizing it, and his eyes hadn’t closed. Blood still flowed steadily from the hole in his forehead.

“……”

A normal person would never have ended up imprisoned in a place like that in the first place. That ridiculous iron mask probably had a hidden purpose now that he thought about it.

When he looked at Dohwa again, he saw the other clasping both hands in front of himself—looking as though he were quietly confessing to a mistake. The forlorn expression made Jae-i narrow his eyes.

“…You.”

He was about to speak when a voice came from the front of the building.

“Come in here. Get inside.”

“That mess back there—wasn’t it that Chairman Jang bastard’s doing? Who knows if more of his men are still around somewhere.”

“Hey now, stop talking nonsense and get inside. You know, Guildmaster Hwang Jae-i told us to go in there!”

“…Is that true?”

“Of course! Why would I lie to you? While we’re inside, he’s going to take care of everything out here. That’s why he gave us those precious potions, isn’t it? I’m scared I might drop them.”

“…If there’s enough, give some to the kalguksu lady.”

“Of course. Let’s share it with the mothers little by little.”

“……”

Now that he had gotten involved, backing out halfway was no longer an option. Everyone had seen him already. If he didn’t finish this cleanly, it would only become more troublesome. He knew all that, so why on earth had he done this?

Brushing a hand through his hair, Jae-i looked askance at Dohwa and spoke.

“You’ve got a lot to explain, don’t you?”

“……”

“Make sure you tell me everything later. If you don’t…”

“Okay.”

If he tried to change his story or keep things from him after this was over, Jae-i wouldn’t let it slide. He might not be able to beat him up, but he’d at least tie him up tight and throw him to the Association. Whatever they did to him after that, he wouldn’t care. Jae-i had been about to say all this, but Dohwa’s calm response shut him up.

“I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

“……”

That kind of answer actually left him speechless. Whether he knew or not, Dohwa turned away with a composed look and pointed upward.

“Before we go, you should put that fire out. It’s hot.”

Then, turning back to look at Hwang Jae-i, his gaze seemed to say, What are you waiting for? The attitude, as if it were only natural to boss him around, made Jae-i twitch at the corners of his mouth.

“You little…”

Jae-i stared at Dohwa, then abruptly disappeared.

Moments later, the flames engulfing the village hall began to subside. When he saw that the fire had finally gone out, Dohwa lowered his head and looked at the dead man. He stared at the hole in the man’s forehead, then slowly moved his hand downward and curled his fingers into a fist.

The brute who had infiltrated the village had been one of Chairman Jang’s men.

The original plan had probably been to release the captives and attack the village together. They were going to wipe out all the villagers, plant explosives in every home, and blow it all up at once. But before they could even start, the brute was killed, and the charges already planted in the village hall went off.

It had been a sloppy operation. If the ones sent during the day had all been captured, they should’ve sent more reinforcements. Did they really think one guy would be enough? Maybe the brute had been a fairly powerful Hunter. He just had the misfortune of being killed in one hit.

“Gkk…”

At the sound of a painful groan, Hwang Jae-i looked up. The open space in the warehouse-style office was now neatly stacked with bodies—people he had taken down in the blink of an eye. Around twenty in total. They might’ve been considered hotshots in this field, but they were no match for an S-rank.

After locating Chairman Jang’s hideout, it had taken less than thirty minutes to beat the hell out of those scattered throughout the building and send the hidden computer files back to the guild. It might’ve seemed incredibly fast, but for Jae-i, it had been nothing special. If he had just killed them all, he could’ve wrapped it up in under a minute.

“…If I let them live, they’ll just cause trouble again.”

Though his muttering was barely audible, the man beside him must have heard it clearly. With a choked gasp, he let out a strangled noise, and Jae-i tilted his head slightly. The man’s face was swollen and discolored, covered in bruises.