Chapter 20: A Reckless Rescue and a Calculated Truth

#20

The foreman had a hidden card, which was why he’d insisted on staying. Indeed, he possessed skills formidable enough to confront them.

“I’m about to cast a skill, so please protect me!”

At Ju Uiryeong’s near-scream, the people’s faces contorted in a frown, yet a glimmer of relief washed over them. Scrambling towards Ju Uiryeong, the laborers couldn’t tear their eyes away from the foreman.

“Foreman! Come quickly…! Stop fighting and come here now!”

“Hey, you too, hurry up! Why are you dithering like that, for heaven’s sake!”

Two laborers, their faces etched with desperation, urgently cried out, looking at the foreman and Dokyeom. Only the foreman and Dokyeom were left behind.

Ju Uiryeong had already squeezed their eyes shut and cast their skill some time ago. A crimson light, like a heat haze, crawled up from beneath Ju Uiryeong’s feet, engulfing the surroundings. Soon, it would be over.

Dokyeom ran desperately, glancing back. At the edge of his trembling vision, he saw several Dagon swarming over the foreman’s body, which was still swinging an axe, biting and clawing at him from all sides.

The foreman was already beyond hope. Perhaps knowing this, the others no longer cried out for him.

“Come quickly, quickly!”

Spitting their pleas, the laborers urged Dokyeom to save at least him. Dokyeom gritted his teeth and propelled his legs forward. However, mid-stride, his hurrying foot caught on a protruding rock, and the world tilted precariously.

The moment his vision warped, Dokyeom plummeted to the ground, the impact knocking the breath from his lungs.

[‘Orias’, the demon of ‘Lemegeton’, urgently cries out, saying, ‘Time out! Not like this!’]

In the distance, people’s gazes wavered. As Dokyeom gasped for air, one grotesque Dagon, previously clinging to the foreman, sensed his presence and moved with a strange agility.

It launched itself off the wall, leaping towards Dokyeom.

Seeing the clawed hand extend towards the fallen young E-rank Hunter, people turned deathly pale, closing their eyes and averting their gazes. It was the end. Everything was over.

Even as others slowly succumbed to despair, Dokyeom crawled on the dirt floor, crying out desperately.

“Take me with you! Me too…! Just a moment!”

For a fleeting moment, his gaze met Ju Uiryeong’s. Ju Uiryeong’s eyes were filled with an overwhelming sense of relief at having bought time. Letting out a sigh of relief, Ju Uiryeong ultimately ignored Dokyeom’s desperate plea.

That was all. Before Dokyeom could cry out again, the gathered people were swallowed by the crimson light that surged like a wildfire. Only a metallic-sounding wind remained in their place.

Where the people had stood, only a single forgotten shovel lay forlornly.

****

A profound silence descended. A sense of desolation drifted like the wind, sweeping over Dokyeom’s hand. Yet, in that fleeting instant, his prostrate body deftly rolled to the side. It was the precise moment before the Dagon’s shadow could meet Dokyeom’s collar.

‘‘

Dokyeom, landing after a somersault, quickly scanned the area where the foreman lay. His thought of saving him proved futile; the foreman was already motionless. Moreover, an excessive number of Dagon had overrun his body.

With a heavy heart, Dokyeom slowly rose, his breath trembling. A few steps away, a Dagon sat bewildered, its clawed hand embedded in the ground. Dokyeom’s lips involuntarily pressed together.

“Ah, that bastard Ju Uiryeong. If they said they could save everyone, they should have… saved everyone.”

[‘Orias’, the demon of ‘Lemegeton’, roars furiously, asking how they could leave a perfectly alive person behind, calling them barbaric!]

“Barbaric, indeed. Their relief was a bit infuriating, but… in that situation, even I would have left them behind.”

Of course, only when it came to Ju Uiryeong.

In truth, tripping here was simply a frustrating character moment. And he had, from the start, been secretly hoping for this kind of development. However, he had wished that only the foreman wouldn’t suffer such a fate.

*Screech— Squeak— Click—*

“First, I suppose I need to deal with that Dagon bastard…”

The Dagon, tilting its head, clicked its teeth and turned to look at Dokyeom. With his evasion skill, Dokyeom was confident he wouldn’t die. He had also long since scouted a place to take refuge.

The problem was that he needed to enter ‘that place’ with someone, not alone, if possible.

Dokyeom’s gaze darted around the dark cave. All he could see were the glaring eyes of Dagon; there was no sign of anyone else. Not far away, a pack of Dagon tore at the foreman’s corpse.

*Squeak— Hiss—*

‘Let’s just kill it for now.’

Dokyeom grabbed the dagger strapped to his thigh, orienting the blade downwards. He slowly lowered his body, bracing for the Dagon’s attack.

The Dagon, which had been grotesquely twisting and tilting its head, lunged without warning. Its teeth, bristling like a sea urchin, were menacingly bared, and the scales all over its body stood up disgustingly. Pure malice resided within the Dagon’s bulging, fish-like eyes.

A primal killing intent choked his breath. Dokyeom gritted his teeth and met the incoming clawed hand with his dagger. The disparity in strength was so immense that his blade was simply flung away. No sooner had he ducked than the Dagon’s hand swept past the back of Dokyeom’s head with a terrifying, whistling speed.

*Whoosh—*

“Ugh…”

For an E-rank, he had fought well enough. Dokyeom, looking terrified, stumbled back, his legs giving out as he collapsed to the ground. The Dagon’s zombie-like maw was suddenly right before his face. It was too fast, too close to evade.

Resigned to injury, Dokyeom raised an arm to shield his face. *Plop*, the sound of falling water droplets echoed. It was the exact moment the Dagon’s steel-like teeth were about to rip into Dokyeom’s arm.

Then, just as Dokyeom braced himself for pain, jaw clenched, a light streaking with a long tail blossomed before his eyes. It was a silver thread. The light grazed and swept past the Dagon’s neck. No, not light. It was the trajectory of a sword.

The Dagon’s head began to tilt precariously from its neck. From that point, flashes of its form appeared everywhere.

*Slice, slice—*

The sound of flesh being cut echoed like an aural reverberation throughout the cave. A sharp blade moved deftly in the darkness. Only after decapitating a dozen Dagon in the vicinity did its wielder reveal themselves.

A pale face emerged from beneath black clothes. It was a man so neat and elegant, he resembled a finely honed blade. Pristine white blades extended from both of his hands, gleaming.

It was Han Yuseong. The man whose worn military boots had suited him so well.

Han Yuseong, an A-rank Hunter and instructor from ‘Sahyeon Guild’ who had spent days guiding educators through gates alongside Dokyeom, now stood amidst the Dagon corpses, looking at Dokyeom.

“…Why were you so reckless?”

These were his first words. His voice was low and hoarse, as if he hadn’t spoken in days. He also seemed somewhat gaunt.

“…Han… Yuseong…?”

Dokyeom blinked in surprise, staring at Han Yuseong. He even rubbed his eyes vigorously with his arm.

“Han Yuseong… How did you get here…?”

“Hunter Han Dokyeom. You can stop; I know you’re aware of everything.”

Han Yuseong flicked the Dagon’s blood from his blade, speaking with a dryness that bordered on dismissive. The faint disdain in his eyes was precisely as it had been days ago.

Knowing that any further conversation would only deepen his animosity, Dokyeom decided to abandon the attempt early. Instead, he rose from where he’d been sitting, brushed off his clothes, and subtly inquired.

“Why did you stay behind, instead of going with the others? I’m confident I can survive perfectly well on my own.”

“How did you know?”

“Did Taeseongyeon threaten to kill you if you just came out?”

“That sounds like you knew from the start, Hunter Han Dokyeom.”

“You’ve been watching everything from the beginning, then? Ah… does that mean you saw me sleeping too? My sleeping habits, wow… they’re not great.”

The two continued their conversation, though on entirely different topics. Eventually, Han Yuseong glared at Dokyeom like a beast wrinkling its snout. His expression remained serene, yet his gaze felt as though it could tear flesh.

[‘Orias’, the demon of ‘Lemegeton’, crouches low and growls!]

“Hunter Han Dokyeom. Do I look like I’m joking right now?”

Despite being a question, his tone remained low. It was less a query and more an interrogation. Dokyeom simply observed the simmering rage beneath his calm demeanor.

At first, Dokyeom hadn’t realized someone was following him.

Then, Taeseongyeon’s words about assigning someone to him in the dead of night suddenly came to mind. Doubt upon doubt accumulated until, instinctively, he realized Taeseongyeon might indeed do such a thing, leading to the current situation.

The fact that Han Yuseong had been following him ‘from the start’.

His strong suspicion stemmed from checking Han Yuseong’s skills when he acquired the ‘‘ skill. Among Han Yuseong’s four skills, ‘‘ occupied the first slot.

If it aligned with the literal meaning of the word, he presumed the skill’s characteristic would undoubtedly be an ability akin to ‘camouflage,’ used by animals for disguise.

Therefore, since Taeseongyeon had specifically mentioned assigning someone, and yet no one assigned was visible, Dokyeom had merely deduced that Han Yuseong, possessing that skill, would be the suitable candidate.

Of course, this was merely a personal theory, not an official confirmation. It wasn’t quite certainty, but rather a strong hunch.