The one going crazy between Jaehwi, who was rampaging recklessly, and the dragon, who had caused the trouble and then hid away tightly saying it was scared, was Raon.
“Min Jaehwi. I’ll go out, so you stop. Really stop. If you don’t stop, I’ll die! I’ll really die. And you. Haa. You’re really a dragon, right? Right? If you turn out not to be a dragon when we get out, just know you’ll die by my hands.”
Raon’s heart, rapidly approaching the barrier surface, began to beat madly. It wasn’t time to hatch yet, but if the egg was forcibly broken, would the dragon die? Then. Would I die too, being inside here? Then, should I break this barrier? Or not?
“Both of you say something.”
At the sudden stillness that came, Raon bit his lower lip hard. The barrier surface was right in front, but his hand wouldn’t readily move forward.
“Baby. Right now, you need to do this. I don’t know if Hwiya heard my words or if something else happened, but I need your power.”
He’d clearly told Jaehwi to stop, but when the guy who seemed about to smash everything just moments ago became quiet, that brought another kind of anxiety. It would be fine if he’d stopped and was waiting after hearing his words, but what if a variable had occurred with Jaehwi?
Like going on a rampage, or getting hurt.
Water-type and electric-type. Their affinities didn’t match at all. And even though Jaehwi had frantically attacked, the barrier might have countless cracks but hadn’t broken.
He’d thought Jaehwi would somehow break the barrier, and thought he and the dragon would be in danger… Raon’s fingertips shrank at one thought he’d reached.
Then, holding his breath, he said.
“Hwiya, are you okay?”
Why had he thought Jaehwi would destroy this place recklessly? Why had he thought he’d release all his power? He’d judged that he and this egg would become endangered because of it. That was really an immature thought that knew one thing but not two.
No matter what happened, Jaehwi wasn’t someone who would put him in danger. He was the one who, even while dying continuously in such misery and cruelty, had kept him alive until the end. So even now, this might be an action to protect him and this barrier. Could an existence not yet born become a dungeon’s master?
There couldn’t be two masters in one dungeon. He’d been confused by the discrepancy between the voice that had commanded him to stop at first and the voice he’d heard inside here. As thoughts became complexly tangled in his head, Raon quickly shook his head.
“You… you’re not this dungeon’s master.”
Since no answer would come from thinking alone, Raon parted his lips while caressing the egg. He could feel the egg, which at some point had stopped showing even a bit of reaction, moving faintly.
“Don’t tell me, you brought me here to protect me? Then what about Jaehwi? Our Hwiya?”
Raon’s words, which had been careful and slow because he wasn’t confident in his thoughts, suddenly became fast. The egg only moved a bit more, but nothing was heard.
“If you don’t tell me, I’m going to break this. If I break this, you’ll die, right?”
—Can’t do.
At the words that finally came, Raon squeezed his eyes shut and opened them. At least he’d drawn out the kid who’d been hiding.
“No. I can do it. You seem not to know because you’re still young, but Espers and Guides who’ve formed a bond can share abilities too, you know? Of course, since we’re borrowing the ability the other person has, we can’t fully demonstrate everything, but it’s possible to some extent. I have enough power to break a barrier that’s broken this much.”
It was a lie, but when the egg trembled as if shaken by his words, Raon continued.
“If I break this, you’ll die. And I’ll live. And I’ll meet Jaehwi. I’ll give him guiding while killing this dungeon’s real master. This is what will happen from now on. What you can choose here is whether you die the moment this barrier breaks, whether I break it or Jaehwi outside breaks it, or you remove this barrier and help me help Jaehwi. Ah! You don’t even have to help. Just letting me out of here is enough. That’s the one thing I want from you.”
If he’d threatened this much, now it was time to coax.
“So help me…”
The lightning that had stopped for a while flowed down strongly along the barrier again.
In the blink of an eye, Raon, who had returned from the bright space to a dim space again, quickly looked around. The pleasant space where he’d felt no scent, temperature, or humidity had somehow changed into the dank cave where he’d first set foot.
Raon, who closed his eyes a bit longer to get used to the darkness as quickly as possible and then opened them, hastily drew in breath. It was because of the existence showing its back in front of him. Would he not have been so startled if it had been standing showing a broad back? Or would he have been less anxious if the air he hastily inhaled hadn’t been permeated with the smell of blood?
Energy naturally extended toward the person who was kneeling on one knee with body bent, a long sword tip planted in the ground. Unlike his urgent heart, his body wouldn’t move as he wanted.
Was it because of what was in front of Jaehwi who was kneeling? It seemed like everything from head to toe, down to every small hair, was screaming danger. Moreover, his own energy flowing into Jaehwi was also unstable. He’d never felt like this while guiding before.
Literally caught in the vague sensation of pouring water into a bottomless pot, Raon’s eyes trembled palely and moved slowly. His pupils, which had been rising slowly from bottom to top, couldn’t contain everything visible.
“Hwiya.”
Something that could barely be called a sound, just lips barely moving with all the wind completely gone, flowed along his lips. Though his breath was completely blocked and he didn’t have the courage to move even a fingertip, he had to go to him. That energy was flowing in meant he was still alive. What the monster in front was didn’t matter.
Right now Jaehwi was alive, and he could ease his pain. So even if he died, he had to embrace him and transfer all his energy to him. Raon, who was about to reach out to Jaehwi, finally noticed he was holding something heavy.
The egg. It was the white egg he’d been holding from inside the barrier.
Wasn’t it broken? He’d clearly seen, heard the lightning striking down the barrier from outside, felt the violent shaking?
“Ppying.”
Raon’s eyes widened, unable to quickly make any decision or move, his breath completely blocked by the fear that wrapped around his entire body. Feeling a small breeze on his shoulder, a familiar scent, and soft fur tickling his face, he gulped down the saliva pooled in his mouth. The egg he’d been holding had disappeared, and before he realized he’d moved, Raon was in front of Jaehwi.
“Hwiya. Min Jaehwi.”
As if his body had never been frozen unable to move, Raon, who lowered himself in front of Jaehwi as quickly as flowing water, hastily reached out to him. The moment his hand touched Jaehwi’s shoulder, the energy that had been flowing very thinly as if through a small thread connecting them was suddenly sucked out in a rush.
In all the guiding he’d done until now, he’d never once felt pain or difficulty. But for the first time, Raon felt pain like his bones were being crushed. In the unfamiliar and violent pain as if everything in his body was being wrung out, not even a scream came out.
In such pain, what Raon chose was not removing his hand from Jaehwi’s body but embracing him instead. He was wearing dark clothes, and though it was dark and hard to see, he could feel it. The reason why the protective gear touching his palm was damp. He thought he also knew why, even though he was in front like this, Jaehwi wasn’t moving and wasn’t calling his name.
“Jaehwi…”
Tears flowed ceaselessly from Raon’s eyes as he called his name while suppressing the groan bursting from the pain. A cool wind whirled around the two of them. The wind was filled with a thick burnt smell and ash so thick it was suffocating. Raon, who embraced Jaehwi with his back to the monster, hugged Jaehwi tighter the more his body hurt.
The energy that had been flowing out in chunks as if gnawing at his life force fluctuated irregularly. His small and deep spring pool had probably been revealing its bottom from the start.
“Come back. I’m here.”
When the harsh wind that had blown strongly like a whirlwind for a brief moment disappeared, the rippling black energy flowing from Jaehwi gradually extended to Raon as well. Soon the black rippling energy instantly hid the sight of Jaehwi motionless in the same position and Raon embracing him.
“Ppiyuung. Ppiya. Ppya.”
In the space where stillness had descended, Bbobbo’s small crying sound spread faintly as it wrapped around the egg several times larger than its own body.
