Chapter 134: What Awakens from the Darkness

“I don’t think that’s it.”

Yoo Hee-ro sounded half-convinced that such a thing was impossible.

“Why not?”

“I’ve never even used it once….”

Abilities were something that, once awakened, could be instinctively controlled and used. When Seong Ji-woo had tried to teach Yoo Hee-ro—who couldn’t use his ability at the time—he’d been unable to find a proper method and had ended up resorting to meditation.

People with good affinity for abilities could even sense the energy of the power dwelling inside their bodies. Lee Hye-rin and Seong Ji-woo were prime examples.

Lee Hye-rin, in particular, resonated strongly with abilities and tended to feel overheated easily. As for Seong Ji-woo, whenever he used or manifested his power, he felt the warm energy of light.

“Sometimes, if the affinity is bad, abilities manifest late.”

“Hmm….”

Yoo Hee-ro still looked unconvinced, offering only an awkward smile. And that made sense—when he thought about the ability called duplication, he couldn’t even imagine how it would be used. There was no instinctive feeling at all.

Just then, Yoo Hee-ro’s pocket began to vibrate.

“Looks like a call?”

At the continued buzzing, Seong Ji-woo gestured for him to answer. After hesitating, Yoo Hee-ro pulled out the phone.

“Huh? It’s mine?”

What he was holding was none other than Seong Ji-woo’s phone. Still, Seong Ji-woo wordlessly held out his hand. He didn’t question why Yoo Hee-ro had it, nor did he seem annoyed.

After glancing at the screen, Seong Ji-woo answered immediately. The caller was Park Soo-jin, the guild master of Knocker.

“Hello?”

[-I heard you woke up at the hospital. Are you okay?]

“Yeah. Better than I expected.”

[-That’s a relief. Things on our end are more or less wrapped up, so I was about to head to the hospital anyway.]

Through the phone, voices and hurried footsteps could be heard. It sounded like Park Soo-jin was weaving through a crowd.

A moment later, the sound of a door opening and closing followed, and the noise faded.

[-I’m in the car now. I’ll be there soon.]

Park Soo-jin arrived quickly. In less than twenty minutes, he showed up—uncharacteristically dressed in a suit. The sight felt so strange that Seong Ji-woo asked,

“What… did you come from a wedding or a funeral or something?”

“Ah.”

“…Don’t tell me someone died.”

“No, no. I’ve just been dragged around to a lot of places.”

Seong Ji-woo let out a relieved breath.

“Good. At least no one died.”

Park Soo-jin began pulling things out of his bag. When a thick stack of documents appeared, Seong Ji-woo looked a bit overwhelmed.

“What’s all this?”

“Proof of being dragged around everywhere. You were curious too, right? About how things turned out.”

“Well, yeah, but….”

“Anything you want to know first?”

Seong Ji-woo thought for a moment. He was curious about how things had been resolved, but not enough to go through all that paperwork.

“What happened to that bastard association president?”

“Minimum dismissal, maximum prison time. The prosecution’s already filed charges.”

“And the experiments?”

“They officially announced permanent suspension and full focus on victim recovery. The government’s cooperating, and the International Hunter Association will be monitoring things. If you want, immigration is also an option.”

At that, Seong Ji-woo looked at Yoo Hee-ro. Yoo Hee-ro shrugged.

“Hyung, do you want to immigrate?”

“Me? I don’t know… I’ve never really thought about it.”

“Then I won’t go either.”

“…I don’t know how that’s related, but fine.”

Park Soo-jin awkwardly glanced back and forth between the two. He’d known, but seeing Yoo Hee-ro talk and act like this was still deeply unfamiliar to him.

“Su-han’s family is preparing to immigrate. Sounds like they’re heading to the U.S.—the International Association is based there, after all.”

“As long as they’re okay, that’s what matters. What about Jedo?”

“That guild had all members undergo drug testing… over 40% tested positive, so they’re moving to forcibly disband the guild. Even those who tested negative are having trouble joining new ones.”

“Sounds like the rot ran deeper than expected.”

“Because of that, other guilds are in chaos too. There’s talk about introducing mandatory annual testing for all registered hunters. That’s what these documents are about.”

Park Soo-jin lifted one of the folders and waved it lightly. Want to see?
Seong Ji-woo shook his head.

“Guildmaster Park Ji-chan is in the ICU. Permanent ability damage—he won’t be coming back.”

Seong Ji-woo listened quietly as the updates poured in. Hearing about their miserable ends didn’t bring him any satisfaction. Knowing it all stemmed from greed, big and small, left a bitter taste in his mouth.

In a world that should’ve ended long ago, was being granted a new future really a good thing? Doubt crept in as Seong Ji-woo idly flipped through the documents on the table.

“What’s this?”

He gestured toward a stack of papers thick enough to rival an encyclopedia.

“Ah, that. All the experiment records left in the lab. We salvaged everything we could—even the most recent ones.”

“Is it okay to bring this here?”

“What I have is a copy. Like I said, we’re focusing on victim recovery. I volunteered to be in charge. I brought this to investigate side effects, but….”

“Didn’t the side effects disappear?”

Seong Ji-woo pointed at Yoo Hee-ro’s hair. Park Soo-jin nodded, looking conflicted.

“Right. That’s exactly why we need to investigate. There’s never been a case like this.”

“I told you—it’s because of hyung.”

Yoo Hee-ro cut in as if he’d been waiting for the chance. Seong Ji-woo shot him a disbelieving look.

“No. That makes no sense.”

Park Soo-jin carefully joined the conversation.

“Uh… well, you see.”

“What?”

“It’s not entirely impossible.”

“…What isn’t? That I turned his hair like this?”

Seong Ji-woo’s hand hovered awkwardly in the air, and Yoo Hee-ro leaned in, rubbing his head against that frozen palm.

Seeing that, Seong Ji-woo’s expression subtly changed.

For some time now—no, for quite a long time—he’d been seeing something overlap with Yoo Hee-ro.

“We already know that abilities can influence each other. And since your attributes are basically opposites—”

“…So?”

“Not in terms of skills, but if we look purely at the abilities themselves, their energies could cancel each other out.”

Seong Ji-woo gently pushed Yoo Hee-ro’s head away with his palm.

“Then if I changed him like this… are you saying the opposite is possible too?”

“If that hypothesis is correct, then theoretically, yes. But you were already black-haired, so it wouldn’t matter much for you, would it?”

At Park Soo-jin’s casual remark, Seong Ji-woo stared at him blankly.

“I’m kidding. Your ability’s purity is too high for that to happen anyway. Skill-wise, Yoo Hee-ro is overwhelming, but in terms of raw ability itself, you’re far superior.”

“……”

At some point, Yoo Hee-ro had started kneading Seong Ji-woo’s hand. He murmured that hyung was really amazing, but Seong Ji-woo pretended not to hear.

“Let’s set that aside. You’re sure Yoo Hee-ro only has one ability—darkness?”

“That’s sudden. Why?”

“Because Su-han used two abilities at the same time that day.”

“Oh, yeah. I heard about that too. Other researchers are looking into it, but Yoo Hee-ro doesn’t fall into that category—”

“…He doesn’t?”

“The experiment itself was incomplete and full of issues. Plus, Yoo Hee-ro and Jung Su-han’s cases aren’t identical. Yoo Hee-ro was interfered with during the modification process, while Su-han received the transplant afterward.”

“……”

“Why? Does something come to mind?”

It was unusual for Seong Ji-woo to keep pressing a topic he normally would’ve let go. After hesitating, he nodded.

“There is… something. You said the transplanted ability was duplication, right?”

“Huh? Yeah.”

“Ha… but does that even make sense.”

This time, Seong Ji-woo turned to Yoo Hee-ro.

“When did your side effects first appear?”

“When they became noticeable… it was inside the X-Gate.”

“Right. You were fine in high school.”

At that, Yoo Hee-ro let out a soft ah, as if something had just occurred to him.

“What is it?”

“I collapsed once back in high school.”

“What? When?”

“…Not long after you graduated.”

At that answer, Seong Ji-woo muttered to himself.

“…That’s right. It was exactly around then.”

“What is it?” Park Soo-jin asked, frustrated.

Yoo Hee-ro quietly waited for Seong Ji-woo to continue.

After a long pause, Seong Ji-woo asked Park Soo-jin,

“Where’s Sunrye?”

“…Why Sunrye all of a sudden?”

“She was there too back then. Have you seen her?”

“Not sure….”

At the unexpected mention of Sunrye, Yoo Hee-ro pouted.

“Why that dog again— ngh…!”

Mid-sentence, Yoo Hee-ro suddenly clutched his chest in pain. The chair jolted back as he half-collapsed to the floor, breathing raggedly.

Darkness began to seep out around him. Like thick fog, it spread outward, then converged around his heart.

“Doctor! No—wait, not a doctor—can you use your ability right now?!”

Park Soo-jin grabbed Seong Ji-woo’s wrist. Startled by the emergency, Seong Ji-woo quickly wrapped an arm around Yoo Hee-ro’s shoulders and tried to manifest his power.

But it wasn’t necessary.

“…Ugh!”

Without warning, Sunrye burst out of Yoo Hee-ro’s chest.

“Aaah!”

At the sudden appearance of the massive ball of fur, Park Soo-jin yelped and fell backward, while Seong Ji-woo barely managed to catch the charging Sunrye.

“Yeah… I knew it.”

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Could It Be That I’m Actually the Strongest Final Boss?

ComedyFantasyFemale Protagonist

Read Now →
Not interested