Chapter 180: The Scheme

Grrrrr-!

A beast with its mouth wide open burst through the swirling snow, tearing through the air. Two tigers leaped over the fence in an instant, entering the yard, and swung their claws toward one spot.

Where Dokyeom stood.

“Hyung, move back!! Quickly!”

Baek Jiun grabbed Dokyeom by the waist and flopped him onto the wooden veranda. At the same time, Dali and Agon clashed with the tigers.

“Dokyeom!”

Beom Yeonhu’s voice, laced with the ring of metal, called out from a distance. Dokyeom scrambled to his feet and gasped.

“Hyung, please protect Eomdongi! And Ms. Yisaein, make sure the house doesn’t collapse!”

“Jiun, take Dokyeom inside the room now!”

Beom Yeonhu’s face twisted with anxiety as he scanned the surroundings. Killing intent filled the air. The yard had long become a living hell from the tigers’ kicks that tore through the night air.

Perhaps sensing the danger, Baek Jiun wrapped his arms around Dokyeom’s waist and hurriedly dashed into the room. The mother, who had been crying out for Eomdongi, was also pushed inside by Yisaein’s hand.

“Eomdongi! Please, save my Eomdongi!”

“I know, so please stay inside. I’ll definitely save him, okay?!”

Yisaein shoved the mother, who was reaching out to come back, into the room, then firmly closed the sliding door and tied the handle with a handkerchief.

This house was the home of Eomdongi and his mother. These strangers had no right to harm it.

‘‘

A wind sound flowed from Yisaein’s lips. It didn’t take long for that breath, that sigh, to grow enormous among the snowflakes.

Whoosh-

It was a white wind that swallowed the snow. It became a huge vortex, engulfing the house and creating a blade of wind. The outside might be like that, but the center of the vortex would be calmer than ever.

Boom-!!

Suddenly, thunderous noise came from somewhere ahead. Yisaein quickly turned her head, checking Beom Yeonhu’s location. A tiger, with eyes rolled back like a zombie, was impaled alive on stone blades that rose like spears.

Even as the sharp rock tips violently pierced and crushed the tiger’s body, it didn’t die but struggled as if screaming.

‘It won’t die.’

No, could this even be called a living thing in the first place?

Beom Yeonhu frowned, staring at the grotesque monster writhing in its bizarre form. Its eyes were rolled back white, and rotten-smelling blood dripped from its mouth.

Grrr!

It was the same for Agon and Dali, who were behind Beom Yeonhu. The rotten smell was about the only difference.

Blood so dark it was more black than red seeped into the snow, exuding an ominous energy. Something felt uneasy.

Beom Yeonhu gripped his sweaty hand tightly and spat out a skill through his teeth. He had to end this quickly.

Boom-! Bang!

Dozens of sharp stone spears pierced the monster’s head, body, and legs countless times. That horrible noise only stopped when the monster’s carcass was crushed beyond recognition.

The surroundings were filled with nothing but black blood. By the time Beom Yeonhu turned his head, Dali and Agon had already beheaded the monster and slaughtered it until it could no longer move.

All that was visible was the fierce vortex sweeping away the blizzard. But an unknown sense of dissonance made Beom Yeonhu’s heart sink.

“Ms. Yisaein, please deactivate your skill!”

Beom Yeonhu shouted urgently and quickly headed toward the thatched house. As soon as Yisaein confirmed the safety of Eomdongi’s mother, who had collapsed with weak legs, she deactivated her skill.

It was too quiet. That silence felt so unpleasant that Beom Yeonhu roughly flung the door open.

“……”

The woman’s crying spread like tinnitus. In the room where three people should have been, only two were left. The backs of the two people, who had sunk down in despair and were wiping their faces, turned toward Beom Yeonhu. They were Baek Jiun and… Eomdongi’s mother.

“…I’m sorry, hyung.”

Baek Jiun’s mouth opened slowly. His eyes were fixed on the floor, ashamed.

“I didn’t want to let him go either… But Ju Uiryeong… that bastard suddenly appeared and took the lady hostage…”

Ju Uiryeong.

Beom Yeonhu gritted his teeth. His nails dug into the palm of his clenched fist. Baek Jiun’s words now felt like a knife probing his wound.

“And you specifically told me to protect the lady…”

Thump-

Beom Yeonhu let go of the door he was holding. His hand slipped down limply. The voice of Eomdongi’s mother, sobbing that it was all her fault, echoed through the empty room.

So it came to this after all.

Beom Yeonhu let out a short breath and looked back at the bloody scene. Everything seemed to have stopped. His heart, which had been pounding just moments ago, and his mind, faced with this situation flowing as if by design.

He had opposed it so much. He had tried so hard to persuade.

“Haa…”

In the end, everything went according to Dokyeom’s wishes. According to that reckless plan.

Beom Yeonhu pressed his forehead with a sigh that seemed to fade away.

***

“If the head is bad, the limbs suffer. They don’t even know who I targeted and separated themselves willingly. Such loyalty. I wonder why they even bother having heads, like idiots. Don’t you agree, Han Dokyeom-ssi?”

That’s what I want to say.

“And you too, Han Dokyeom-ssi. What did I tell you? If you’re E-rank, act like an E-rank and stay out of trouble. But what is this?”

Ju Uiryeong looked down at Dokyeom, who was lying face down on the snow, gasping for breath, as if he were pathetic. He couldn’t understand why everyone followed someone like this, someone who couldn’t even control his own body just because his hands were tied. Someone who couldn’t do anything properly.

“Ah, my poor tigers! Why did you have to tear them apart like that when you killed them? Now I can’t reattach them! What do I do now, Ju Uiryeong-ssi?”

“Can’t we find more nearby? Maybe catch one… Ah. Actually, there’s a perfect one where we’re heading.”

It was near a densely wooded ridge. Dokyeom lay face down with his hands tied behind his back, in a place where no human footprints seemed to have ever touched. In front of him were Ju Uiryeong and Lee Jihyun, a hunter from the Uhwa Guild. The wind blowing with the snow was so sharp it froze the tip of his nose.

“Since it’s come to this, let’s get going before they chase us. From the look of it earlier, they seemed like fanatics. Who knows, they might be coming with their eyes wide open by now.”

“How would they get here? At best, they’re just flailing around. Rather, shouldn’t they be thanking me? I’m helping them out personally.”

Dokyeom steadied his wavering vision and looked at the black shoes approaching him. The feet that trudged through the snow stopped right in front of his nose.

Ju Uiryeong’s teleportation skill took a long time to move many people, but moving one or two took only a few seconds.

That was why it took only a few minutes to reach this mountain peak.

Since there were no signs of anyone else besides Lee Jihyun, this situation was likely a scheme planned by the two of them.

“They say they’ll help me get out of here quickly, so you should be grateful.”

Looking at Ju Uiryeong’s white smile, Dokyeom laughed quietly. Actually, I’m the one who’s grateful.

He was under a misconception right now. Or maybe he underestimated the power of an S-rank too much.

Who would have thought that ‘Beom Yeonhu’ was listening to everything they said while hiding behind a tree?

[We need to lure them here and get rid of ‘Eomdongi’ and his mother.]

Ju Uiryeong’s biggest mistake was overlooking the range that S-ranks could hear. He should have moved far away and had a private conversation. Instead of chattering away, unaware that Beom Yeonhu’s sensory perception was this exceptional.

It was two nights ago. The night when Dali was pacing and crying ‘Eep, eep.’ As soon as a shadow appeared outside the door, Dokyeom kicked the door open and saw Agon and Beom Yeonhu standing there with stunned faces.

Both of them shared their joy at reuniting with Dokyeom as if they had been separated for a hundred years. It was about the time when Baek Jiun, unable to contain himself, flipped a basket and got yelled at by Agon, then was chased to the corner of the room, shut his mouth, and curled up.

Amidst the chaos, everyone suddenly froze and stared at the door. Into that silence, someone’s voice seeped in.

[…Uh, Eomdong-ah… I’m here….]

A visitor who came every night, leaving a few words. But only the hunters who came from outside the gate could hear them, so Eomdongi and his mother didn’t hear even that one sad word.

The ‘Authority’ probably didn’t know either. That there was someone who could hear its words.

Dokyeom knew that the ‘Authority’ envied him. He had been eavesdropping on it every night while lying in bed, saying it wanted to take over ‘Han Dokyeom’s body.

Of course he knew. What kind of ‘Authority’ it was.

An unexpected variable appeared next. After the ‘Authority’ left its spot, Beom Yeonhu frowned.

‘…Dokyeom, wait a moment.’

Beom Yeonhu sat close to the door and listened intently to the faint sounds, focusing with terrifying concentration. Ju Uiryeong probably didn’t know that an S-rank could distinguish all sounds and presences within 20 meters if they put their mind to it. Or even if he knew, he didn’t include Beom Yeonhu in that category.

Beom Yeonhu relayed every word Ju Uiryeong said to Dokyeom without missing a single one, and Dokyeom shared his thoughts with everyone based on that.

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