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Join the ServerA fire flared up in his chest. Why was it so hot and comforting? Why was it so joyful and brilliant?
‘Hyung, I like you. I really like you. As much as I like Mom.’
The pure white smile was just like a child’s. Pretty and lovable.
‘I want to protect you… so you don’t get hurt.’
Thank you, Dali.
When the blurred letters, as if dissolved in water, appeared, pain came like a tidal wave. A pain qualitatively different from when he fused with Agon seethed beneath his skin. Despite his readiness, the pain was excruciating, gnawing at his flesh and bones enough to make him scream.
“Huh…!”
Something tore and was devoured, then burrowed into the gaps of the wound and fused. In the midst of that series of processes, Dokyeom, who had been writhing, sensed the end of the terrible pain when he heard Dali’s faint crying.
When he opened his eyes, everything was quiet.
It was a forest lush with greenery. Vitality overflowed through his body, and the refreshing scent of life brushed his nose. A nostalgic fragrance crawled across his skin.
But when those things dissipated like fog, Dokyeom found himself back in the moment just before closing his eyes.
Drip-
Instead of the fresh forest scent, the musty and damp air of the cave filled his nose. The smells of blood, dirt, and the cave’s gloom mixed together, stimulating his senses.
The density of faint breaths floating in the air, as well as the killing intent and presence, everything felt unfamiliar and was sensed. It was the smell of the world that Dali felt and smelled.
[You have succeeded in the ‘Characteristic Skill’
Numerous people were reflected in eyes as white as moonlight. Faces pale with shock stared at Dokyeom. When he met one of their gazes.
Dokyeom smiled. And at that moment-
Kwaaang-!
A tremendous roar shook the cave. Its source was the place where the hunter who had been morbidly scratching his throat had been.
The backs of the Chinese hunters standing and looking at Dokyeom stiffened like stone. Horrifying gazes followed toward where the explosion erupted. Their hearts beat uncontrollably.
‘Han Dokyeom’s figure was not visible.’
Until just before they were harmed, they hadn’t even seen Han Dokyeom’s shadow. Each time that furious fist swung, a fierce wind raged around, and a suffocating pressure made the ground beneath their feet sink deeply.
‘Is this… the power of fused Han Dokyeom…?’
Until the snowy mountain footage was first analyzed and the conclusion that it was the original came out, the Chinese Association had dismissed the fact that Han Dokyeom had taken down an SS-rank boss as ‘a rumor.’
But the analysis results were different. At least AA-rank. Or maybe even S-rank, according to the analyzing hunter, and in the heavy conference room, only the S-rank hunters didn’t believe it.
But now, that same Han Dokyeom was cornering an S-rank hunter and driving his own fist into him until his hand shattered.
Blood splattered, and the hunter’s shattered jaw looked grotesque.
Bang! Kwaang!
It was the price for underestimating the snowy mountain footage. The moment they realized it, the frozen Chinese hunters snapped back to their senses.
“No matter what, protect Han Dokyeom. Taeseongyeon is on hold for now!”
The red-eyed hunter, Risin, immediately gave orders to Wiryun, who was quickly gathering monsters with
Kwaaang-!
Dust swirled through the cave. Through it, a pale figure came into the men’s view.
Cheongyeon was crossing both arms to block Han Dokyeom’s fist. His eyes, blazing with anger, were fiercely red. Cheongyeon, defending with so much force that veins bulged on his neck, spat out bloody foam and shouted.
“Wiryun, kill him quickly!”
Risin and Wiryun reflexively moved toward Han Dokyeom. Until the moment the surging blade reached Dokyeom, Risin had been certain of a hit. Yes, until Han Dokyeom suddenly vanished before their eyes.
It was the same as before. The illusion of wind passing by. What followed was the sensation of cutting through empty air, nothing.
Swish-
Risin and Wiryun’s blades touched nothing. The next moment, a dark shadow appeared.
The unfamiliar silhouette had a thicker body line than Han Dokyeom and was fast enough to skillfully evade the surging swords. Beneath the black hair of the man who lowered his body to avoid the attack, greenish eyes gleamed.
It was the search team leader, Hunter ‘Jeong Ilun,’ who had switched positions with Han Dokyeom using the
He was glaring at the S-rank hunters with a terrifying aura.
***
“Ha, haa…”
His vision swayed. It hadn’t even been ten minutes yet, but the mana and energy being drained were enormous. Probably because his body was exhausted.
Dokyeom caught his breath while looking at the back of Jeong Ilun, who had switched places with him in the distance. Even if he couldn’t take on three S-ranks, Jeong Ilun had evasion skills to guarantee his life.
He didn’t know if Jeong Ilun switched places because he thought Dokyeom was cornered. More importantly, for now, the fact that he had expressed his willingness to cooperate was crucial.
He had to kill one of them as fast as possible.
Dokyeom drew the sharp dagger strapped to his thigh. The explosive power swirling around his body was rampaging like this, but separately, uncontrollable saliva pooled in his mouth.
Something was different from when he had assimilated with Agon. It wasn’t that the rank was different either. The rank he acquired through S-rank Dali and
Yet every second, emptiness and thirst surged. Even his reason was paralyzed by hunger. Something writhing at the bottom constantly attacked his mind to devour his body. It was a precariousness where he might stumble and fall at any moment.
The result of borrowing the power of ‘Appetite’ was this harsh.
“Quickly… finish… and…”
He had to save Han Yuseong.
The image of Han Yuseong, who stayed alone to protect his comrades without any support and fought to the end, made his chest throb. Still… it was okay for now. Because Han Yuseong’s life was still pulsing on the watch on his wrist.
Suddenly, a loud sound of rock colliding came from ahead.
Kwaaang-!!
Dokyeom’s gaze quickly turned toward Jeong Ilun’s location. Jeong Ilun was retreating rapidly. His feet scraped the ground, leaving a long line.
In an instant, Dokyeom and Jeong Ilun’s eyes met deeply. In that brief moment, the two grasped each other’s intentions and nodded.
“An A-rank bastard, heuk… where do you think this is…”
As those words spat out with bloody foam hit the air, Dokyeom was already charging forward. Lamias swarmed from all directions toward Jeong Ilun. All were monsters infected by
Dokyeom gripped his sword until it seemed to shatter, put strength into his toes, and leaped.
‘Hyung.’
Somewhere, Baek Jiyun’s voice faintly reached him. Dokyeom did not look back. He stepped off the wall and launched himself into the air again. The Chinese hunters, their expressions changed, also lunged toward Dokyeom as if surging.
‘Hyung was pretty good after all.’
A chuckle escaped him. That voice mumbling somewhat proud words was very much like Baek Jiyun.
As soon as his feet touched the ground, a flash came before Dokyeom’s eyes. It was Cheongyeon’s sword aura, whose jaw had been shattered by Dokyeom’s punch. Its momentum was as if it would cut his body in half.
But at the moment that sword aura entered below his neck, Dokyeom’s vision changed. To a dizzying height above.
It was where Jeong Ilun had been. It was overwhelmingly high. From there, where the entire inside of the cave could be seen at a glance, Dokyeom looked to where Baek Jiyun would be. Lying down as if exhausted, Baek Jiyun’s mouth grinned.
‘So don’t worry about me and go wild. Well, I’ll forgive you if you come back a little hurt.’
He’s cheeky.
Suppressing the surging thirst, Dokyeom controlled his rampaging senses. He exhaled and surrendered to the feeling of floating. It had been a while since he had already grasped the hunters’ positions.
It was the moment Dokyeom’s body was falling.
‘
This was a skill created by Dali’s wish to protect his mother. A wish born from the hope of being able to hide his body when encountering natural enemies, an aspiration for the safety of his kin.
Therefore, this skill exerted strong power when there was a target to protect.
At the end of a beam of light falling vertically from the ceiling, fluttering feathers appeared. Those pure white feathers didn’t resemble Dali’s black wings at all. They were simply white, fluffy, and warm like snow.
When there became dozens, hundreds, thousands of them, the surroundings became turbid as if a snowstorm was raging, making it impossible to see an inch ahead.
As the gust of fluttering feathers grew fiercer, it cut, stabbed, and bit into the enemy’s flesh like a living beast.
“Wha, what…!”
“Don’t move! Stay still in your place!”
The Chinese hunters swallowed by the feathers screamed and swung their swords wildly, but they only got scratched by the sharp feathers, emitting a stench of blood.
Somewhere, the cry of a bird of prey rang out. Something moved quickly through the feathers, leaving a dark afterimage. No one noticed, no one saw.
It was around the time one of the fiercely raging feathers settled onto the ground. Even the strange phenomenon that seemed eternal subsided as if its lifespan had ended.
Countless feathers were swept away by the wind and disappeared as if corroding. When those feathers no longer fluttered, the surroundings fell silent.
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