Chapter 129: Where Light and Darkness Collapse

It was the exact same sight they had witnessed moments ago in the underground laboratory. Before anyone could intervene or even try to stop it, Jung Soo-han absorbed Shin Yoon-jae’s ability like a black hole.

The backlash made his small body convulse violently. The ferocity of it looked as though Jung Soo-han might burst apart at any moment.

Shin Yoon-jae’s explosive power was far beyond what Jung Soo-han could endure. Even as he absorbed it, Jung Soo-han’s body was pushed backward by the sheer force.

“Into the barrier—get inside the barrier…!”

Unable to reach him through the raging storm, Seong Ji-woo frantically gestured for Pilgrimage, who was carrying Jung Soo-han, to retreat. But Pilgrimage stood its ground, unmoving.

“At this rate, that kid’s going to die!”

Lee Hye-rin screamed from behind, her face drained of all color. She couldn’t bear the thought of watching an innocent child die.

Driven by desperation, Lee Hye-rin thrust her hand into the storm—only to collapse to the ground with a scream moments later. Blood poured from her hand, sliced open by blade-like wind. Had she gone any closer, flesh and bone might have been torn away entirely.

“Y-Your hand—you’re bleeding…!”

“…Shin Yoon-jae.”

What was pouring out now was too powerful to even be called Shin Yoon-jae’s usual ability.

Though his role had been that of a damage dealer, he had always worked alongside Lee Hye-rin, acting more as support than a main attacker. He was someone who relied on speed and precision rather than raw destructive force.

Shin Yoon-jae had often said that the stronger the wind, the wider its range, the more strain it put on him. That was why, since childhood, he had trained himself to handle his power delicately. Charging in recklessly was never his style.

Yet now, he was unleashing his ability as if intent on erasing everything in existence.

Death was drawing close.

Lee Hye-rin didn’t even feel the pain in her mangled hand—she just cried, tears streaming endlessly down her face.

“Stop the bleeding—someone stop the bleeding…!”

Ironically, it was Seong Ji-woo beside her who panicked, tearing strips from his own clothes. After tightly binding her wound with the shredded fabric, he shoved Lee Hye-rin into the barrier.

She tried to resist, saying something—but a sob far louder than her words swallowed them whole.

“Get her to the hospital first.”

Seong Ji-woo spoke calmly to the hunters waiting behind them. Chae Min-jung rushed over, uncorked a healing potion, and poured it generously over Lee Hye-rin’s hand.

Only then did the pain seem to register. Lee Hye-rin clutched her wrist and screamed.

“……!”

Flinch.

The sharp cry triggered a response from Shin Yoon-jae. Half-unconscious, he staggered upright. His unfocused eyes searched desperately for something.

After nearly collapsing several times, Shin Yoon-jae barely managed to steady himself. His chest heaved violently with ragged breaths, his vision blurring.

When his eyes finally found Lee Hye-rin buried among the crowd, he lost consciousness once more and crumpled.

Watching it all, Yoo Hee-ro let out a short sigh.

Perhaps because it didn’t feel like someone else’s problem.

Though he showed no outward sign, Yoo Hee-ro was already at his limit. His entire body screamed warnings. Push any further, and you’ll end up just like him. Cold sweat traced down his skin with that brutal message.

The shadow binding Shin Yoon-jae had already dissipated. If Shin Yoon-jae hadn’t lost all will and strength and collapsed, the situation might have been far worse.

It could have been Seong Ji-woo bleeding and writhing in pain instead.

The moment that thought crossed his mind, it was as if ice water had been poured over his head.

Yoo Hee-ro’s eyes darkened completely. His heart tightened sharply, and in that instant, all his power unraveled. The shadows vanished, and Yoo Hee-ro clutched his chest, gasping for breath.

“…You—what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Seong Ji-woo’s shaken voice reached his ears. Even then, Yoo Hee-ro raised a hand to stop him from coming closer.

There was no more time.

The darkness beneath Yoo Hee-ro’s feet deepened, then expanded in an instant. The shadows stretched out like fangs and engulfed Shin Yoon-jae.

As though a hole had been punched through reality itself, only pitch-black darkness remained—so deep that even light could not reflect. It was as if Shin Yoon-jae had vanished entirely.

Silence fell over the world.

They had gained only the briefest moment to breathe.

The barrier Seong Ji-woo had cast also collapsed as time ran out.

“Now! Evacuate immediately!”

Under Lim Chang-won and Park Soo-jin’s direction, people retreated to a safe distance.

“Any more injured?”

The wounded, including Lee Hye-rin, were rushed to the hospital in private vehicles.

Park Soo-jin and Lim Chang-won kept Park Ji-chan restrained, watching closely to ensure he couldn’t try anything.

“That’s enough. Stop now. You’re pushing yourself too hard.”

With the situation somewhat stabilized, Seong Ji-woo tried to stop Yoo Hee-ro.

“Yoo Hee-ro…?”

But there was no response. The power wasn’t retracting either. When Seong Ji-woo grabbed his shoulder, Yoo Hee-ro cried out in pain and shook him off.

“Wait—Yoo Hee-ro! Yoo Hee-ro…!”

The darkness around him swelled rapidly—then exploded with a thunderous roar. In an instant, the shadows turned on Yoo Hee-ro himself and swallowed him whole.

Seong Ji-woo stared in horror as Yoo Hee-ro was consumed.

At that moment, a violent gust slammed into him, sending Seong Ji-woo rolling across the ground. His body struck a loose stone, pain shooting through him. He tried to regain his balance, but a sharp agony surged up from his ankle, and he collapsed helplessly.

He must have twisted it while rolling—he couldn’t put any strength into it at all. The pain was so intense he couldn’t even scream. Seong Ji-woo clenched his teeth.

The explosive wind was drawn once more into Jung Soo-han—and then, as if that had been its final struggle, it died down completely.

No one spoke as they looked at Shin Yoon-jae lying motionless, as though lifeless. Only the sound of someone sucking in a sharp breath broke the silence.

“…….”

In that stillness, thick darkness crept in again. Shadows like dusk stretched toward Seong Ji-woo. Sitting where he had fallen, he silently accepted the approaching dark.

The instant darkness touched his fingertips, Seong Ji-woo’s light surged outward in defiance—brighter, greater than before.

Like afternoon sunlight. Like the sky of a white night.

The blazing light shone magnificently, as if it might embrace even the darkness itself.

A moment of radiance.

Light and shadow, locked in fierce opposition, scattered simultaneously—vanishing like dust.

Seong Ji-woo and Yoo Hee-ro lost consciousness at the same time.

It all happened in an instant. Everyone present could only stare in stunned silence. Even if they’d had more time, there was nothing they could have done.

Their bodies felt utterly overwhelmed—so much so that blinking felt impossible. Those who finally exhaled the breath they’d been holding wore solemn expressions.

The long yet fleeting battle had finally come to an end.

Lim Chang-won was the first to rush over and check Shin Yoon-jae. He placed his fingers beneath his nose—no breath.

Slowly, he opened Shin Yoon-jae’s outer clothing and pressed his ear to his chest. There it was—faint, but unmistakable movement.

“…Haa.”

He released a deep sigh. The waiting hunters loaded Shin Yoon-jae into a prepared vehicle, which sped away without delay.

Meanwhile, Park Soo-jin attended to Seong Ji-woo and sent him to the hospital as well. Even unconscious, he groaned in pain when his ankle was touched.

“I’m sorry.”

Murmuring comfort, Park Soo-jin snapped off a fallen branch and fashioned a splint, securing it to Seong Ji-woo’s leg. Even the slightest touch made him cry out, and Park Soo-jin grimaced as he wrapped cloth around the ankle.

Tears spilling from eyes filled with tangled emotions, Park Soo-jin apologized again and again.

Old, buried matters were peeling away, leaving behind ugly scars.

And those scars weighed heavily on Park Soo-jin as guilt.

With a swollen face, unable even to sob aloud, he begged—again and again.

Without knowing whom he was begging, or for what.

“…Hng… ugh.”

Then, a faint sound escaped Seong Ji-woo’s lips.

“Yoo Hee…ro… please… save him…”

Spoken like a groan, it was Yoo Hee-ro’s name.

Park Soo-jin immediately ran toward him.

Lim Chang-won, carrying Jung Soo-han in his arms, passed by and gave a brief nod. But Park Soo-jin only lowered his head like a sinner and ran faster.

The limp, corpse-like figure before him looked exactly like the last time he had seen Yoo Hee-ro weeks ago.

“…I really am your bad fate.”

Park Soo-jin whispered the words as if confessing his sins. Unable to look at Yoo Hee-ro being consumed by darkness, he turned his gaze away and lifted him.

“…Is hyung… safe?”

The unexpected question froze Park Soo-jin in place.

Yoo Hee-ro, who had seemed dead, was still clinging to consciousness—barely holding on to his last shred of awareness. He was asking about Seong Ji-woo.

“…For now. For now, he is.”

Neither a lie nor the full truth.

That answer seemed enough for Yoo Hee-ro. He didn’t ask anything more and simply closed his eyes.

“…….”

And then Park Soo-jin noticed it.

Yoo Hee-ro’s hair—shimmering with a pale, light-brown glow.

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