Chapter 75: The Price of a Kiss

Yeowon thrashed like a salmon swimming upstream, landing on the ground. If both were to make a spectacle, it was better to be the unsightly one making an escape.

It was the right decision, yet also a delayed one. The slightly prolonged moment carried a heavy price. Immediately after his awkward landing, his gaze involuntarily fell upon Sagyeol’s front. Upon seeing the tell-tale bulge, he simply closed his eyes.

‘Did it really get hard? You absolute madman.’

Sagyeol chuckled languidly, then rummaged through his clothes for a potion. Popping the cap, he heartily gulped down the liquid.

‘What is it? Is he hurt somewhere?’

Yeowon’s concern proved fleeting. Mid-drink, Sagyeol suddenly grabbed Yeowon by the collar and crashed his lips against his.

The potion, which Yeowon had believed swallowed, flowed into his throat. He pushed away Sagyeol’s tongue, which had been trying to slip in, and glared. Sagyeol merely smirked brazenly.

“I figured you wouldn’t drink it if I just gave it to you.”

“And the tongue?”

“Just for good measure.”

‘Good measure, my ass.’

Yeowon scoffed, seizing Sagyeol by the collar with one hand.

While many were unaware due to his naturally detached personality, he was, at heart, someone who always repaid what he received.

Sagyeol was momentarily flustered by the sudden press of lips, but his surprise quickly faded. A roguish grin soon spread across his face as his hands wrapped around Yeowon’s firm waist.

Just then, a suspicious sound echoed from the opposite side.

Gurgle.

Both their expressions simultaneously stiffened. Instantly shifting into battle stances, they faced Bae Gil-su. He, who had been crumpled on the ground, began to rise.

His feet first found purchase, then his spine, bent unnaturally backward, cracked as his upper body straightened.

His arms were twisted at impossible angles, and a pale bone protruded from his half-severed neck. The parasite, its eyes milky white, gnashed its teeth.

“You… you… need… you.”

Perhaps it was due to being a parasite, but its vitality was incredibly tenacious. Yeowon and Sagyeol immediately assumed defensive postures, vigilant. The moment Yeowon straightened, he swayed.

His chest felt as if it were burning. It wasn’t a wound; the contract of subjugation was writhing, growing increasingly distinct.

Sagyeol steadied him. Yet, the words he intended to ask—if he was alright—never left his lips.

Bae Gil-su’s body began to swell, bulging. His skin shifted from crimson to white once more. His body, barely enduring the rampaging attribute, had reached its limit.

The immense amount of magical energy condensed within an S-rank hunter’s body began to gnaw at him from within, like a grinder, heating up.

Yeowon instinctively thrust both hands forward. Immediately after a thick, wide veil of Void enveloped them, Sagyeol turned and pulled him into a tight embrace.

Held firmly in Sagyeol’s broad arms, Yeowon’s eyes widened.

CRASH!

It was an explosion that shook the flooded forest. A storm of heat surged through, sending the base camp’s tents scattering in every direction. As soon as the aghast S-ranks lowered their arms, which had been shielding their faces, they searched for Sagyeol and Yeowon.

“Boss!”

“Returnee!”

Sagyeol was the first to be seen. He hung limply, held in Yeowon’s desolate embrace. The S-ranks halted, their steps arrested.

They gasped.

Sagyeol’s back was severely mangled and deeply caved in, exposing bone. Yeowon, at a loss, clung to Sagyeol as if to crush him. His embracing arms trembled faintly.

Yeowon swallowed all screams and horror, remaining utterly still. He feared that if he moved incorrectly, Sagyeol’s back would collapse entirely.

“…Sagyeol.”

No reply came. His voice trembled helplessly. Everything felt distant, blurred.

The ringing in his ears, the acrid smell of burning that stung his nose—all faded. Instead, only a limp, trembling white hand and a pallid cheek filled his vision.

“Sagyeol!”

At the near-scream, the man finally opened his eyes weakly.

“No pleading… that’s good too. Hearing you call my name so earnestly.”

Even Sagyeol’s usual lighthearted banter couldn’t elicit his usual exasperated look or a laugh. All color had already drained from his face. It was painfully obvious that he was struggling just to speak.

“Don’t speak.”

“Then I’ll stay quiet. Call my name again…”

“Sagyeol.”

His eyes, which had been closing faintly, opened a little wider.

“Sagyeol, please. Just stay still.”

“I will.”

His weakly raised arms pulled Yeowon into a mutual embrace. Yeowon stopped breathing. He couldn’t explain why, but it felt as if his heart had seized.

“Just keep holding me like this.”

“……”

Yu Seong and Jaehyeon, who had been frozen, finally moved.

“Medicine!”

“Where’s the emergency kit?!”

However, the base camp had already been obliterated. Dirt, trees, and debris were mixed together, making it impossible to discern what was where. Even if something were found, the chances of it being intact were slim.

As the cries to awaken the Guild Master from the rear grew more frequent, the hearts of the two S-ranks burned with anguish.

GRRRRRR!

It was at that very moment a fierce roar echoed. Both their expressions twisted as if on cue.

‘What now?!’

The trees directly ahead violently snapped from a distance. It was a dramatic entrance, as if a monstrous beast were approaching, but what actually emerged was a black horse.

Though its size was nearly double that of a normal horse and its body was an abyssal black, as if absorbing all light, its form was unmistakably equine.

From its back, a mane like black flames streamed. Yeowon was momentarily captivated. All Lepta were supposed to look identical, yet somehow, he recognized this one.

“…Rep.”

It was the very creature he had raised during his time as lord.

The creature, roaring like a wild beast, stomped its front hoof down on Bae Gil-su’s head, the only remnant of the explosion. With a gruesome crunch, the head shattered.

Lepta slowly approached and stopped before the two. Yeowon said nothing. Lepta—Rep—bowed its head.

A hesitant hand reached out, touching its muzzle. The creature rumbled contentedly, then shifted its mane to cover Sagyeol’s back.

A stream of pitch-black mist poured down, falling to the ground. The clumps soon evaporated like dry ice, vanishing. From the side, it was an utterly ominous sight.

Yet, Sagyeol’s breathing steadily eased. Yeowon felt his life force surge back through their touching skin. He was profoundly surprised.

The healing power of Lepta he had experienced before was merely enough to mend superficial battlefield scratches.

This was because Yeowon had never been severely wounded in battle until now.

‘And I left him behind when I went to Kratus’s castle.’

Had he come along, far from healing him, he likely would have been killed in less than a day. It was with this same thought that Yeowon had left everything, including Rep, behind then.

Yeowon was filled with a strange feeling anew. He had made that choice for Rep’s sake, but what could a mere beast understand?

He would have no grounds to protest even if Rep resented being abandoned, yet the creature stood silently before him, having transcended ten years as if nothing had happened.

“Thank you.”

Such loyalty was more akin to a dog’s than a horse’s.

Rumble.

Yeowon continuously stroked Rep’s outstretched muzzle. As he did, he could discern Rep’s expression. ‘…Wait. Do horses have expressions?’

He wished it were a misunderstanding, but the creature’s face clearly read: ‘This bastard annoys me, but I’ll heal him for your sake. So praise me more.’

“…Right.”

Yeowon held Sagyeol tightly with his remaining hand. Life force surged. It was visually clear that the critical moment had passed.

Once they returned and used potions, he would be as good as new.

He bit down on his lip. Red blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. He felt not even a hint of pain. They say humans can only feel one pain at a time, and it was true.

Yeowon clutched his chest with his free hand.

‘My heart. It aches.’

He had always thought his heart ached whenever he recalled the contract of subjugation, but he was wrong. Compared to what he was experiencing now, that had been merely a surface-level discomfort.

The Returnee, slow and obtuse about everything, had learned the most important emotion last of all.

He could no longer hide behind the excuse of ‘not knowing.’ Something he had never experienced in over thirty years of life now confronted him.

Something heavy and immense, shaking the very core of his existence. Yeowon groaned under its presence, yet simultaneously frowned at the surging elation within him.

In the end, everything had unfolded just as Sagyeol had said. Yeowon sighed.

“You’re the first of your kind I’ve ever met.”

Despite the rebuke, the man smiled faintly.

“Don’t smile.”

His smile only deepened at the command to stop. Behind Sagyeol, Rep raised a front hoof. Just as Yeowon tilted his head in bewilderment…

*WHUMP!*

The hoof struck Sagyeol’s nape. He, who had been on the verge of death moments before, was knocked unconscious without a sound.

“Wait, Rep!”

Its undulating, long mane wrapped around his entire body.

“Oh.”

“Hm?”

In an instant, his body was lifted and seated upon Lepta’s back. The black mane tightly bound Yeowon’s body to its own. Then, in a single burst, it galloped deeper into the flooded forest.

“……”

“……”

No one spoke. A heavy silence settled. Just then, Lee Hyun-su, who had been unconscious throughout, awakened.

“Ugh… where’s all this burning smell coming from?”

The surroundings were eerily quiet. The B-ranks, who had been pushed to the edges by the heat storm and gathered in a huddled group, stared at Lee Hyun-su as if he were their savior.

“What? Why do you all look like that… Huh?! What in the world is this mess?!”

His bewilderment was brief. Soon, his face twisted like a demon’s as he scanned his surroundings.

“Oh, right. Yu Seong! Jaehyeon! Where are those bastards?!”

His shouts echoed resoundingly through the chaotic clearing. However, as his voice faded, an even deeper silence than before filled the air. Lee Hyun-su felt an unspeakable sense of dread.

“Gasp. Boss?!”

Lee Hyun-su spotted Sagyeol, lying prone. His pallid face looked exactly like a corpse. Moreover, his utterly ruined appearance fueled Lee Hyun-su’s anxiety.

“I always knew retribution would come for him someday, but to end so vainly…”

“…He’s not dead yet.”

“Oh. Really?”

Lee Hyun-su slowly approached to wake him, but then felt a sense of foreboding and turned around. His already narrow eyes narrowed further.

“Aren’t you going to wake the Boss?”

“And what have *you* been doing without waking him?”

Yu Seong stammered, unable to answer immediately.

“Well… the Returnee was kidnapped.”

“Kidnapped?”

“Yes.”

“By whom?”

“By the Returnee.”

“By whom?”

“……”

His denial didn’t last long.

Lee Hyun-su suddenly realized something, flapping like a chicken as he quickly scrambled away from Sagyeol. Then, pointing a stern finger at Sagyeol, he looked at Yu Seong and Jaehyeon.

“Wake him up.”

“…Vice Guild Master.”

“Oh, you’re defying me?”

“Of course we are. We only have one life.”

“……”

Both were resolute. It was abundantly clear that confronting Lee Hyun-su was preferable to facing Sagyeol’s wrath head-on.

Even as they stood there, Yeowon was drifting further away. Lee Hyun-su squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them, raising a determined fist.

“The loser has to wake the Boss.”

Yu Seong and Jaehyeon glanced at each other, clenching their fists.

Rock. Paper. Scissors!

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