“Kuk, cough, ptui, ptui…”
I spat out the blood pooled in my mouth.
When my mouth had been covered, the blood from my nose had run down my throat, and I’d genuinely thought I was going to die. Not a stomach full of water, but a stomach full of blood. If I swallowed any more, I’d really throw up.
This was all Jang Ijung’s fault.
Fucking bastard…
I glanced over. Jang Ijung’s profile was reflected in the mirror. He was quietly looking at the blood I’d spat out. His expression unreadable.
…Our eyes met. I hid my anger behind a smiling expression.
“This is just a nosebleed. A nosebleed… haha.”
The excuse came out reflexively.
Recalling his blank face as he’d roughly clamped my mouth shut, Jang Ijung didn’t seem as stupid as before.
He seemed even more stupid than before.
Calling that “first aid”—was his brain seriously empty? I’d genuinely thought I was about to die helplessly. I’d been too out of it to even properly resist… It had been humiliating in every way.
If I ever get around to killing you, Jang Ijung, I’ll make sure to strangle you.
Checking the mirror again, I looked like a wreck.
My gray suit was a mess of dust and blood, and my sweaty face had dried blood from my nose all over it. My jaw bore red marks—he must have grabbed it hard. No wonder it felt numb.
I turned on the cold water and washed my face. As I wiped off the dried blood and buttoned up my shirt, a quiet voice spoke.
“Hey…”
“Yes?”
Jang Ijung crunched down on the candy in his mouth.
“How old were you when you joined the organization?”
“Hmm.”
I put on the mask sitting on the sink.
“I don’t actually know my exact age.”
To be precise, it wasn’t that I didn’t know—I just couldn’t remember. When you live a busy enough life, at some point you forget how old you are.
And on top of having lived a busy life, I’d recently gone through a regression, so of course I’d forget.
“Why do you ask?”
“…Never mind.”
“?”
I wondered if I should try to calculate it now, but Jang Ijung shook his head.
What a letdown…
Leaving the now-quiet Jang Ijung be, I opened the Karma window.
[Quest: Settle Your Karma.
!If a certain amount of time passes without completing the quest, a penalty will be applied.]
[Karma: 59395 (-5)]
From this incident, I personally learned that penalties could stack.
Setting aside “Purifying Flame,” which disappears once Karma drops—the “Prohibition” penalty was genuinely threatening. I’d need to be careful not to use my ability on people out of habit.
The System caused way too many unexpected situations. After being humiliated like this, I wasn’t even sure anymore if just pushing through the quest was the right call.
“…….”
If Jang Ijung had actually had ill intentions, I would’ve died helplessly.
I’m signing up for a gym membership the second I get out of here.
Just as I was firming up that resolution in my mind—
“…!”
“Eek…!”
BOOM!
Suddenly, it got noisy outside.
Jang Ijung and I exchanged glances. He quickly put his mask back on.
After one last check of my appearance, I stepped out of the restroom to a strange sight. People were pressed against the walls, away from something.
And at the center stood Yeom Hajae, sword in hand.
How is he standing?
He couldn’t even walk earlier. What happened during the short time I was away?
There was a clear sword mark on the wall beside the restroom. I wondered if a monster had appeared, but there was no griffin in sight. Instead, scattered stone debris was visible around Yeom Hajae.
My first thought went to suspecting the people nearby. I looked around. I spotted a group of people huddled in a corner, trying not to stand out.
Listening closely, I caught faint voices.
“You’re a Hunter, aren’t you! Do something about it!”
“Well, there are ranks among Hunters too, how am I supposed to stop Yeom Hajae? Stop poking me.”
It seemed unlikely that the people cowering over there had provoked Yeom Hajae.
While I was watching them pathetically, someone tugged at my sleeve.
“P-please help.”
It was the woman with the radio. When our eyes met, she flinched and looked down, but pressed on in a trembling voice.
“That person, the moment he opened his eyes he seemed to be looking for someone, and then suddenly he started attacking…”
Then, trembling, she quietly hid behind me. I wasn’t thrilled about being used as a human shield, but this once, I let it slide.
Her words gave me a clue. I remembered Yeom Hajae whining about not wanting me to leave.
Ah-ha.
So this whole mess was because “hyung” disappeared. Yeom Hajae was still muttering strange things to himself.
“You… you took him away.”
I’d thought something was off with him, but I hadn’t expected it to be this bad. He looked possessed.
I carefully studied Yeom Hajae’s face. His eyes were unfocused. Maybe seeing me would snap him back to his senses, so I tried calling out to him first.
“Hunter.”
“Hyung…”
Fwoosh—
“…took him away.”
Yeom Hajae swung his sword through the air. He clearly didn’t recognize me. Maybe my mask’s effect had kicked back in while we were apart.
Sword in hand, Yeom Hajae kept swaying precariously. Looking closely, the way he swung the sword almost resembled Choi Haegang’s style. Though slow, and not particularly threatening since he clearly wasn’t in his right mind.
Should I just leave him be for now?
The instant I thought that—
Whoosh—
“Uh-oh.”
Flames crawled up the blade. Like he’d entered some kind of phase two.
This is dangerous.
If he started a fire in an enclosed space like this, people would suffocate to death. Carbon monoxide? Carbon dioxide? I’d heard something like that was dangerous.
Harboring a small hope, I looked back. Jang Ijung was watching Yeom Hajae with a blank, stupid-looking expression. Sensing my gaze, he pulled the candy stick from his mouth.
“What?”
“Shouldn’t we, like, do something about that?”
“Guess so… go ahead. Kill him while you’re at it, if you want.”
“…….”
I’d have to give up on getting off easy.
While I hesitated, Yeom Hajae’s sword kept blazing.
At this point, forget the collapse—opening up an escape route was the priority. But I couldn’t exactly use my ability openly either.
For now, I quietly analyzed Yeom Hajae’s behavior.
“Hyung… where…”
Even in that state, his obsession with “hyung” was strong. If I wanted to provoke a reaction, mentioning “hyung” was the way to go. Carefully, without making him angrier.
And from what I could tell, Yeom Hajae’s current mental age was below that of an elementary schooler.
“Ahem, ahem.”
I cleared my throat, preparing for some serious age-appropriate communication.
I thought back to a kindergarten teacher I’d once met. Approaching just close enough that the sword couldn’t reach me, I asked gently.
“Yeom Hajae, sweetie? Why are you so upset?”
“…….”
“Where did our friend’s mommy go?”
As soon as I said it, it sounded oddly insulting, though that wasn’t my intent. Reacting to my voice, Yeom Hajae slowly turned his head toward me.
“Hyung…”
I scrambled to pull together everything I knew about the “hyung” Yeom Hajae kept referring to. Said to resemble me, so roughly…
“Hyung? Ah. You mean that handsome hyung who’s always smiling and cheerful?”
I clasped my hands together exaggeratedly, as if I knew exactly who he meant. Yeom Hajae nodded silently. More docile than expected.
“I saw him. That hyung went off over that way.”
I pointed toward the collapsed exit.
“Is he stuck in there and can’t come back to our little Hajae?”
“Over there…”
As if entranced, Yeom Hajae muttered something while looking in the direction I’d pointed.
I wasn’t sure this would actually work, but I decided to trust just how low Yeom Hajae’s mental age had dropped.
Yeom Hajae approached the collapsed corridor. Meanwhile, I subtly backed away, putting distance between us.
For the rest, I’ll just have to hope the Association built this place sturdy enough…
“Hyung…”
Muttering with unfocused eyes, Yeom Hajae swung his sword in a wide horizontal arc.
BOOM!!
With a deafening sound, a massive cloud of dust kicked up. For a moment, Yeom Hajae disappeared from view entirely.
…Did it work?
A moment later, the dust slowly settled, revealing Yeom Hajae’s silhouette. He stood still, gripping his sword.
“!”
His red hair fluttered. Meaning air was getting through.
The view had opened up. On the other side, Hunters in combat-ready stances were staring at us. Realizing their opponent was a human and not a monster, they began lowering their weapons one by one.
“Ohh…”
Applause broke out spontaneously.
This actually worked.
***
[Monster Terrorism at the Heart of Special Ability Command… Public Anxiety Spreads.]
Thud.
A newspaper was tossed onto the desk.
“Good… good.”
Hff—
The Boss exhaled a cloud of smoke and spoke dryly.
“Better results than expected.”
I wished that would be the end of it. But even before the Boss opened his mouth again, I could already predict what he’d say next.
“But, you know…”
Four fingers wrapped in black gloves drummed against the desk one after another. A habit that came out whenever the Boss was lost in thought. Just hearing that tapping sound made me break out in a cold sweat.
The Boss’s gaze, after briefly sweeping over Jang Ijung and me, settled on the photo in the newspaper.
“Yeom Hajae.”
“The Hunter who helped with the evacuation.” Above the bold caption was a photo of Yeom Hajae. The Boss ground his cigarette out on it. The face staring straight ahead burned black.
“Why is this bastard still alive?”
