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Join the ServerBlinded by an intense light that felt as though it might steal her sight entirely, Lee Hye-rin squeezed her eyes shut. That energy even wrapped around her ankles, holding her in place.
Enduring the stinging pain, she slowly lifted her eyelids—and what greeted her was a massive sphere of light. One that was all too familiar, achingly so.
“…Seong Ji-woo?”
Seong Ji-woo’s light was enveloping Shin Yoon-jae. The violent wind that had been raging moments ago was now trapped behind a barrier of light thinner than a sheet of paper. Lee Hye-rin hurriedly scanned her surroundings.
But Seong Ji-woo himself was nowhere to be seen.
“What is that thing?”
“Who is that?”
Murmurs grew louder among those who didn’t know Seong Ji-woo.
What on earth was going on?
The light was unmistakably Seong Ji-woo’s, yet he wasn’t here. As Lee Hye-rin frowned in confusion, Park Soo-jin stepped up beside her and spoke.
“An artifact.”
“……”
“An artifact Seong Ji-woo made. That kid has it?”
“…Ah.”
Only then did the answer click into place. It seemed the artifact Seong Ji-woo had once handed to them had finally activated.
“But Seong Ji-woo’s ability is—”
His barrier was meant to block attacks coming in. Yet the light before them was doing the opposite—preventing anything inside from attacking outward.
“He probably reversed the structure of his skill and embedded it into the artifact. I heard he was working on something with Gam Ju-an… just didn’t think they’d actually succeed.”
“Then why does Shin Yoon-jae have it?”
At Lee Hye-rin’s question, Park Soo-jin shrugged.
“Let’s ask that after we save your friend first.”
Lee Hye-rin nodded firmly. He was right—Shin Yoon-jae’s survival was the only thing that mattered right now.
“Okay. First, let’s report—”
As the chaos began to settle slightly, people started coming to their senses and discussing countermeasures.
“Rampage management for awakened abilities is the Hunter Association’s responsibility, isn’t it?”
“With things this bad, you’re saying we should report it to the Association? That makes no sense—”
“Then what else can we do? There’s nowhere else to ask for help!”
“Didn’t someone say there was an Association person here earlier?”
At that call, Son Seong-cheol flinched visibly. The more perceptive awakened immediately noticed and turned their gazes toward him. Pale-faced, Son Seong-cheol spoke.
“I… I’m with the Association.”
“Then don’t you know anything?”
“……I’m sorry.”
There was nothing he could do. A collective sigh escaped everyone’s lips. Watching them shake their heads grimly only made Lee Hye-rin’s heart burn hotter with anxiety.
They had managed to contain things for now, but Shin Yoon-jae was still alone, suffering inside. The fear that they might lose him forever if they just stood around gnawed at her.
She had to do something. Or at least be by his side.
Her body moved faster than her thoughts. Just as Lee Hye-rin tried to force her way through the thin barrier—
“Lee Hye-rin!”
A voice like a hallucination called out to her.
“Seong Ji-woo…?”
She turned her head, calling his name again. She had confirmed just moments ago that he wasn’t here—but the voice was far too clear to deny.
“W-What…?”
She couldn’t hide her shock. Her entire field of vision was suddenly filled with an enormous mass of fur.
“Shin Yoon-jae!”
Seong Ji-woo’s voice rang out again—this time from above the fur. It seemed he had finally grasped the situation, calling not for Lee Hye-rin but for Shin Yoon-jae.
The voice drew closer. When the massive furred shape finally filled her vision completely, Lee Hye-rin let out a dazed murmur.
“…Pilgrimage?”
It was an entirely unexpected arrival. Seong Ji-woo leapt down from Pilgrimage’s back and, without giving anyone time to recover, fired off questions.
“What happened here? Why is Shin Yoon-jae like that?”
“…The Association—no, the system—the Je-do Guildmaster tried to… kill us… kill Shin Yoon-jae… and then he rampaged…”
Her broken words never quite formed a proper sentence, scattering uselessly. Lee Hye-rin hated how badly her trembling tongue betrayed her.
But even with just those fragments, Seong Ji-woo seemed to grasp the situation. His expression hardened instantly.
“The Je-do Guildmaster?”
Of everything she’d said, that was the one term Seong Ji-woo couldn’t easily accept.
An utterly out-of-place name. He frowned deeply.
“Why him?”
The more he recalled Park Ji-chan from his previous life, the less sense it made.
The large, solid hand that had once reached out for a handshake. The eyes filled with unshakable conviction. The image of a leader commanding his people without hesitation—all of it resurfaced vividly.
Park Ji-chan had left a strong impression on Seong Ji-woo too. A hunter with such an unassailable position that he was called the Morgan of Korea.
A man who had dominated the top through overwhelming talent in his youth, and through seasoned experience later on.
Why would he be here? Why would he try to kill people—kill Shin Yoon-jae?
“I know it’s hard to believe. I don’t get it either. But first—we have to save Shin Yoon-jae….”
At that moment, something was suddenly thrust in front of Seong Ji-woo.
A limp body dangled in the air, unconscious.
“Uwah!”
Startled, Seong Ji-woo recoiled.
“This guy, right? He was trying to run, so I caught him first.”
“Yes, that bastard! That son of a b*tch!”
The instant she recognized Park Ji-chan’s face, Lee Hye-rin erupted in fury. Yoo Hee-ro casually tossed Park Ji-chan—whom he’d been holding as if for amusement—onto the ground, then stepped close to Seong Ji-woo as if to shield him.
“You’re not thinking of going in there, are you?”
Remembering how Seong Ji-woo had fearlessly charged at a rampaging Jung Soo-han earlier at the lab, Yoo Hee-ro’s vigilance sharpened.
Caught off guard, Seong Ji-woo made an awkward expression. Yoo Hee-ro firmly grabbed his arm.
“After seeing that mess, you still think you can go? Hyung, seriously—!”
His voice rose. And he wasn’t wrong. Inside the barrier was utter chaos. Shin Yoon-jae’s clothes were torn to rags, and debris was whipping around at speeds too fast to track with the naked eye.
Going in there was practically suicide. Seong Ji-woo knew how serious the situation was.
“You really don’t think about yourself at all, do you?”
“……”
Seong Ji-woo fell silent. At the same time, he realized just how much he had changed.
He used to think this kind of reckless act was something only people like Lee Hye-rin would do. He had sworn he’d never be that foolish.
“If you won’t think about yourself, then at least think about me.”
“…What?”
“Think about me and don’t do it. I’ll go instead.”
Yoo Hee-ro shoved Seong Ji-woo back. As Seong Ji-woo staggered, he snapped back to his senses and grabbed Yoo Hee-ro.
“What are you saying? Why would you go in there?”
Turning away, Yoo Hee-ro looked exhausted. He sighed.
“Exactly. Why would you go?”
“……”
Seong Ji-woo inhaled—but couldn’t exhale. His breath stopped there, leaving him staring blankly at Yoo Hee-ro.
Yoo Hee-ro’s eyes gently soothed him. Seong Ji-woo thought they looked strangely painful.
He pulled Yoo Hee-ro back—and realized something. He had become someone who could only say the same words now.
“Don’t go.”
“……”
“It’s dangerous. So don’t go.”
Yoo Hee-ro’s eyes softened at the corners.
Seong Ji-woo repeated the words like a broken machine. Don’t go. It’s dangerous.
“I won’t go. So you don’t go either, hyung.”
At that moment, Seong Ji-woo realized Yoo Hee-ro had grown—grown far more than he’d noticed. He was no longer someone who needed constant protection. His thoughts and feelings were no longer just reckless impulses.
And Seong Ji-woo himself wasn’t the same either.
“Let’s… let’s find another way.”
Murmuring while avoiding Yoo Hee-ro’s gaze, Seong Ji-woo spoke. Yoo Hee-ro finally let out a sigh of relief.
“If needed, I’ll restrain him.”
“No attacks.”
“I know.”
“You can’t get hurt either.”
“You too, hyung.”
“Yeah.”
After answering obediently, Seong Ji-woo turned to Lee Hye-rin.
“When did the barrier activate?”
“…About ten minutes ago, I think.”
“Then soon—”
Before he could finish, the barrier’s light scattered and vanished. As if releasing pent-up resentment, the wind roared madly once more.
Yoo Hee-ro’s shadow tightly wrapped around Shin Yoon-jae’s ankle. Seong Ji-woo clenched his teeth. Yoo Hee-ro wasn’t stable either—they had to end this as fast as possible.
Blocking Lee Hye-rin, Seong Ji-woo cast a barrier behind himself. When Shin Yoon-jae’s attack bounced off it again, enraged, his ability changed direction—toward Yoo Hee-ro.
Razor-sharp wind poured down as if to shred him apart.
“Yoo Hee-ro! Back up—move back!”
Just three steps. Three steps back and he’d be inside the barrier. But Yoo Hee-ro was too busy deflecting the attacks to move.
“Yoo Hee-ro!”
Seong Ji-woo called again, but Yoo Hee-ro couldn’t budge—he had bound even his own body with darkness to maintain balance.
Attacking and getting hurt were both forbidden for him. If only he’d been told to die, he could’ve ended it instantly.
Yoo Hee-ro’s gaze sank heavily.
In his vision lay Shin Yoon-jae, collapsed and out of his mind. His uncontrolled ability rampaged as if it had a will of its own.
It was an infuriating situation. Yoo Hee-ro decided to endure until Shin Yoon-jae’s power was completely exhausted. He had ended his own rampage that way once before.
On the lowest floor of the X-Gate he’d faced for the first time, Yoo Hee-ro had rampaged alone—and survived alone.
Once all his power had been poured out, once everything had been emptied, it ended.
He didn’t know how long recovery had taken. Time inside that place flowed differently from the outside.
Still, he’d lived. Whether that could truly be called living was another matter.
Yoo Hee-ro provoked Shin Yoon-jae’s ability further—countering, placating, blocking. The more Shin Yoon-jae tried to kill him, the faster his power would drain.
Then suddenly, the attacks stopped.
More precisely, they changed direction.
As the raging wind vanished and an eerie silence fell, unease seized Yoo Hee-ro.
If it wasn’t him—then the next target would be Seong Ji-woo.
“Hyung…!”
He whipped his head around.
“….”
Thankfully, Seong Ji-woo was unharmed. Instead, he stared past Yoo Hee-ro with a stunned expression.
Following his gaze, Yoo Hee-ro turned.
Pilgrimage stood there.
The savage wind that had surged toward the beast vanished without a trace.
No—more precisely, it was being drawn into the small child lying unconscious on Pilgrimage’s back.
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