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Join the ServerOrias’s warning gaze fell on the bed. Dokyeom’s eyes also turned to Nam Yuseong. He still looked peacefully asleep.
[If you’re thinking of saving him, forget it. I can’t do anything about that. He has no soul at all.]
It wasn’t that Dokyeom was doing this because he didn’t know. He had already realized that Yuseong had no soul. However, the way Nam Yuseong died was not an ordinary process. This time, Dokyeom didn’t want to accept that he was dead. He wasn’t dead. Yuseong had merely had his soul ‘taken away.’ If he could return it…
“…Just take care of it for now. As long as his body doesn’t decay.”
Maybe he could save him.
Orias, who had been watching Dokyeom with an unreadable gaze, finally sighed instead of answering and moved. They uncrossed their arms and made a sweeping motion. At that moment, a chill swept through the room, and Nam Yuseong’s body rose into the air, its arms dangling.
Dokyeom took in the sight completely. He watched for a long time, as if engraving it in his mind, then closed his eyes and let him go.
By then, Orias had already turned away. Only dark footsteps echoed in the room. From afar, the neighing of horses and the sound of chariot wheels mixed together. It was Orias’s chariot that would carry Nam Yuseong away.
Beyond the curtain, a huge shadow began to fall. A muscular horse, snorting, and a splendid chariot flickered outside the window.
Orias, heading toward the terrace, seemed to recall something. They stopped and half-turned toward Dokyeom. Then they tossed something.
[Take this. If you’re going to look weak again, at least eat that. It’s annoying that you ordered me around, but if not me, who would take care of you? Where else in the world would you find a benefactor as good as me?]
What came flying back through the air was some kind of leather pouch. He barely caught it, and when he opened it, a transparent bottle the size of a pinky finger caught his eye. There were over ten bottles filled with a pitch-black liquid.
“What is this, medicine?”
[What, did you think it was water? I had to search high and low to get this medicine, so only drink it when you can’t bear the pain. It’s bitter, so swallow it all at once, and don’t ask about the ingredients. Even though you have strong resistance, considering the effects, it’s worth the risk.]
After finishing the long speech, Orias turned back to their path. The fine horse hidden behind the curtain snorted and stomped its hooves angrily.
[Keep your thanks to yourself. Gratitude is poison to a demon.]
“Well… I’ll drink it well anyway.”
That was the last greeting. Orias, smiling faintly, turned their gaze away completely. The horse pulling the chariot with Nam Yuseong snorted angrily, but only when Orias climbed aboard did it finally pull the dark shadow.
He felt the presence fading away. The huge shadow before his eyes remained, but the sounds, smells, and presence scattered like smoke. Only the faint sound of horse hooves running through the air in the distance could be heard. Soon, only silence remained in the dim room.
The pain that had been eating his entire body was quiet for now. All that remained here was the empty bed and Dokyeom. The sensation of holding Nam Yuseong’s hand was still vivid. Clenching that hand tightly, Dokyeom turned around. Toward Tae Seongyeon, who had been waiting, generously closing his eyes without a sound.
Click. The door opened wide as soon as the doorknob turned. Dokyeom looked at the hallway flooded with sunlight. Tae Seongyeon was leaning against a wall in the empty hallway, on the phone with someone. It wasn’t far, but the voice was faint. About ten steps away.
Tae Seongyeon, who had been saying something, suddenly turned his head. Their eyes met in the air. Tae Seongyeon smiled briefly and tapped the phone with his finger.
“Yes, Secretary Lee. You said a fax just came in?”
There was no time to figure out what he meant. The call was immediately switched to speakerphone, and then the deep voice of a man he had heard that morning echoed through the hallway.
– Yes. It’s a fax received from overseas. Looking at the sender record, it wasn’t a company or organization. The name ‘Ellen Brown’ and the sending country are indicated. I requested a background check from the overseas association, and one hunter of Swedish nationality came up. They seem to have moved to the US now.
‘Ellen Brown.’ Dokyeom unconsciously took a step toward Tae Seongyeon.
“Is he a hunter affiliated with an organization?”
– It seems he operates independently; he’s only registered with the association and not a member of any guild. They say he’s an A-rank hunter… This person, ah… he’s planning to set foot in Korea soon and wants to meet with the representative. He says he wants to propose a deal.
Dokyeom took another step toward him. This was a one-time opportunity. If not now, it would be impossible to get such a meeting easily. If this deal fell through, he would have to search for that person later in a tangled situation, just like Geon Ita did in the original story. So he had to seize it here.
Dokyeom held Tae Seongyeon’s gaze and nodded with certainty. That seemed to be his answer.
“I was planning to go to the guild anyway, so I’ll check it out.”
– Yes, I’ll put the fax on top of the approval documents.
When the call ended, the space became quiet. At that moment, the wind brushing past the window caressed Dokyeom’s hair. Through the softly moving strands, Dokyeom smiled quietly. It wasn’t a peaceful feeling.
“Mr. Tae Seongyeon, if you schedule a meeting, let me know.” It was more like a smile that surveyed the situation before something began.
Fifteen days from now. If Tae Seongyeon proceeded with the meeting with the person called ‘Ellen Brown’ as planned, Dokyeom would encounter him within that time.
However, it would be a mistake to think that the fax had come only to Tae Seongyeon.
“Please call me to that meeting too. Ah, one more person will come, so leave one seat open. No, two people will come.”
Geon Ita, who had the ‘Power of Wrath,’ was also likely to have received the same fax as Tae Seongyeon. Unlike the Geon Ita in the original story, who missed the opportunity, the Geon Ita of this world would surely appear at this meeting. Of course. After all, Ju Uiryeong was by his side.
The scene where Ellen Brown proposed a deal to Geon Ita was a key episode in the early to middle part of the novel. However, Geon Ita refused the offer and moved on his own. Dokyeom had only left a hint that that proposal was a regrettable missed opportunity. If Ju Uiryeong remembered that, he would definitely show up.
“Let me tell you in advance. No matter what is discussed, you absolutely must recommend only me. Just push for me unconditionally. If you do that, I’ll devote myself to working for you, Mr. Tae Seongyeon.”
This was an opportunity and a proposal given to a hunter with a ‘Power.’ Of course, even that was a one-time chance.
Considering the path he had walked and the road ahead, the place Dokyeom stood now was the perfect central point. It was also the time to dive into the core of the story. He had only walked half the way. The remaining half would flow faster than any moment he had experienced so far. All that was left was to build up solid foundations, piece by piece.
It was a day when Tae Seongyeon’s unwavering gaze seemed like an answer.
****
Thud. “Ugh, you came to pick up Nam Yuseong’s remaining… I mean, belongings, right? This is probably everything left in the guild. He used the guild dormitory like his own home more than his actual home, so he kept all his important items in a locker. Ah, and this is the key card to the guild hotel where he was staying. He lived in the hotel, so he didn’t have a separate house.”
Dokyeom took the key card handed by the management team staff and looked at the box on the desk. It was just a small box used for office cleanup. The items inside were nothing more than daily necessities, a notebook, a medicine box, and an old broken phone.
“Nam Yuseong’s personal funds are frozen by the guild, so the account can only be viewed. No withdrawals or transfers are possible, so please keep that in mind. Normally, family members should come to collect, but… that seems unlikely for Nam Yuseong.”
Dokyeom, who had been close to Nam Yuseong, took charge of organizing his belongings. The management team initially seemed reluctant, but when an order came from the representative’s office, they quickly handed over everything they had kept. Inside were also documents related to personal assets, such as bankbooks and guild contracts.
Dokyeom took the box and went down to the 6th floor welfare center where Dali and Agon were. He opened the box in the lounge overlooking the swimming pool and took out the items one by one to examine them.
First, the much-worn medicine box. Click, when he opened it, neatly arranged medicines were visible. All showed signs of use. He was the kind of person who, even if injured, would treat himself rather than go to a hospital.
“…This guy needs to get slapped on the back to come to his senses. Just wait until he comes back.”
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