The dark energy that had enveloped their surroundings cleared away, and the original scenery began to faintly appear through the collapsed castle walls.
Igyeol sat down on the floor and stroked the head of the unconscious Kang Yeongwon.
“You survived, you bastard. Now go and beg your noona for forgiveness.”
That’s when it happened.
Step- Step- Step.
The sound of regular, calm footsteps could be heard. At that sound echoing through the quiet hall after the battle had ended, a chill ran down Igyeol’s spine.
What was coming has come.
Igyeol pretended to be nonchalant and made a show of struggling to carry Kang Yeongwon on his back.
“Ugh, my back. Why is this kid so heavy? What did he eat to grow like this?”
The footsteps stopped right behind him.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
It was Sung Yohan’s voice.
The tone was excessively gentle and excessively soft. Igyeol slowly turned his head to look up at him. Sung Yohan stood there in an immaculate appearance without a speck of dust on him. He was smiling faintly, but a subtle anger could clearly be felt.
“Earlier… that was a very impressive tactic.”
Sung Yohan grinned.
“To use the Republic of Korea’s Rank 1 as a throwing weapon. Your creativity is truly remarkable.”
“Ah, well that.”
Igyeol scratched his head while subtly avoiding eye contact.
“I was in a hurry. The situation was urgent. You know?”
“When you’re in a hurry, you throw people? Into a demon’s mouth, no less?”
“Since you’re overflowing with Holy Power, how should I put it… a human holy water bomb? Something like that, I thought it would be definitely effective.”
“A human holy water bomb?”
Sung Yohan’s eyebrow twitched.
“That’s a compliment, right? Just now.”
“Of course! It’s a compliment. Thanks to that, we finished it in one shot. As expected, SS-rank is different~ Your durability is good too.”
Igyeol brazenly gave a thumbs up. Sung Yohan couldn’t hide his trembling lips at that shamelessness. A normal person in that situation would apologize or make excuses, but this man was confidently insisting until the end that it was a tactical decision.
I should feel bad about this, but strangely, I don’t feel that bad. Of course, being indignant was a separate matter.
“The effectiveness was certainly good. But next time, use your words. Flying without warning isn’t my hobby.”
“I’ll try. But I can’t promise anything.”
Igyeol laughed heartily. Sung Yohan narrowed his eyes and stared at Igyeol like that, then looked at Kang Yeongwon carried on Igyeol’s back.
“How is the child?”
“He fainted. Doesn’t seem to have any major external injuries. He was exposed to some Demonic Energy though…”
Igyeol trailed off. There was no need to specifically mention that he had extracted the Demonic Energy.
“Well, we’ll know once we get out and have him thoroughly examined.”
“Sanctum has excellent medical staff. Let’s hand him over.”
“Sure…”
“And, we still have things to discuss, don’t we?”
“What things to discuss?”
Igyeol looked at Sung Yohan with wide eyes. His skill at instantly backing out was amazing. However, Sung Yohan had no intention of letting him go.
“You and I, things for the two of us to discuss.”
“What…”
But that’s when it happened. The watch started beeping with a beep-beep- sound.
[Warning! The magical power density inside the Dungeon is unstable.]
Along with that, a system window appeared.
[Forced Ejection Process Activated. Time Remaining: 50 seconds.]
Rumble-!!
At the same time, the interior of the castle began to shake as if an earthquake had struck. The massive pillars that had supported Hesse’s Castle bent like taffy, and the ceiling began to collapse, with debris starting to fall thud, thud.
“It’s starting to collapse!”
“Evacuate for now!”
Igyeol ran toward the exit with Kang Yeongwon on his back. Sung Yohan chased after him, but before long, he gradually fell behind and grew distant. After running for a while, Igyeol noticed the quiet behind him and turned around. In the distance, Sung Yohan was bent over, clutching his knee. Igyeol quickly ran back to him.
“What’s wrong with you? Are you okay?”
“Huu… Ugh…”
A groaning sound could be heard. His complexion was deathly pale without a trace of color. It was the price of releasing excessive Holy Power all at once—a temporary ‘rebound’ had arrived. The Holy Power that had been briefly calm after being absorbed seemed to be boiling up again.
Igyeol clicked his tongue.
“Can you walk?”
“No… problem.”
“You look very problematic though. Your legs are trembling like a newborn foal.”
Sung Yohan gritted his teeth and staggeringly got up. That pride of his. Igyeol clicked his tongue with a tsk. That pride alone could pierce through the universe.
“Should I help you?”
“…You?”
“Well, if you’re really struggling, I can at least support you.”
“It’s fine. I don’t want to be indebted to you.”
Sung Yohan shook his head while breathing roughly. Igyeol shrugged his shoulders.
“Then I’m going first? Don’t get crushed to death and follow me.”
“Wait.”
Sung Yohan staggered and blocked Igyeol’s path. His eyes persistently targeted Igyeol. Even as cold sweat dripped, only those eyes shone brilliantly.
“When we get out… I have things to say. There are also things to settle… so don’t even think about running away.”
“Ah, I got it already. You’re going to give me calluses on my ears.”
Igyeol answered half-heartedly and took out the hat he had given him earlier and handed it to Sung Yohan again. A shabby bucket hat.
“Just wear this.”
“…?”
“There are probably reporters swarming outside, right? Since a C-rank or higher Dungeon appeared. If you don’t want to get tired from having that pretty face of yours sold, just obediently wear it and come out.”
Igyeol pressed the hat firmly onto Sung Yohan’s head. Sung Yohan tried to object, but Igyeol didn’t listen and moved forward.
Fwooosh-!!
As they approached the exit, with a strong pressure, their vision flipped. The sensation of being ejected out of the Dungeon swept through their entire bodies.
***
[Huntranet Real-time Best]
- [Breaking News] Dumang Mountain C-rank Dungeon -> Upgraded to B-rank (Views: 45,201)
- Yo I’m in front of Dumang Mountain right now and Sanctum Guild vehicles came;;; (Views: 38,992)
- Speculating on why Sung Yohan entered a C-rank Dungeon.txt (Views: 41,005)
◈──────────◈
Title: Real-time in front of Dumang Mountain, what is this right now
[Photo: Black smoke visible beyond the police control line and a limousine with the Sanctum Guild mark]
See the photo? UNP control lines are up and it’s chaos right now. Just now I heard a boom-crash sound from inside and black smoke rose up. There’s a weird smell like rotten eggs, it’s terrible, I’m gonna puke uweeek. But what’s even more amazing is that Sanctum Guild vehicles are at the entrance lololol. Did Sung Yohan or someone come? Why would they come to a C-rank Dungeon? To stomp noobs? Or did some hidden piece pop up inside??
[Comments]
└ Crazy, why would Sung Yohan go there? If Rank 1 goes to C-rank, that’s a legendary international waste
└ ㄴㄴㄴ I heard a border hunter saw him. A verification post went up. It’s definitely Sung Yohan. But apparently his expression was really bad.
└ Didn’t he go to catch the Boss? Lots of mutants have been appearing in C-rank lately.
└ From the post that went up earlier, they said a demon appeared. The grade was already raised to B-rank too
└ If it’s a demon, isn’t it B-rank or higher? Reporters set up camp and it’s chaos, where’s the popcorn?
└ Our Yohan-nim can’t get hurtㅠㅠㅠㅠ Some brother-in-law opened the Boss Room in the middleㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└ But who’s the person who supposedly went in with Sung Yohan? Never heard of them?
└ Definitely never heard of them ㅇㅇ Probably just a porter. Seems right since there’s no talk about them.
◈──────────◈
The entrance to Dumang Mountain Dungeon was truly pandemonium.
“They’re coming out! The entrance is rippling!”
“Camera! Roll the camera!”
“Turn on the lights! Standby with the mic!”
Dozens of reporters pushed against the control line, raising a clamor. UNP staff and police desperately tried to block them, but they were no match for the momentum of hyenas who had caught the scent of a scoop. Border hunter Kwon Seonghyeon was in the distance making a tearful face saying, “Oh no, my written statement…”
Wooong-!
The waves of the blue gate intensified, then space tore and the shapes of two people burst out.
Thud!
Igyeol landed on the ground with Kang Yeongwon on his back. His sense of balance was excellent. Soon after, Sung Yohan staggered down beside him.
“Huk… Huk…”
Sung Yohan staggered the moment he landed. The headache and tinnitus from the rampage of Holy Power struck his head.
Flash-flash-flash-! Pop! Pop! Pop!
A barrage of flashes poured down enough to blind their vision white.
“They’re out!”
“It’s Sung Yohan! Guild Leader Sung Yohan came out!”
Reporters rushed at them like a zombie horde.
“Guild Leader-nim! What’s the reason you entered a C-rank Dungeon!”
“Is it true that a demon appeared!”
“What’s the cause of the Dungeon grade being upgraded to B-rank!”
“Who is the person next to you? A rescued survivor? Or a colleague?!”
Questions poured down like arrows. Igyeol frowned and lowered his head deeply. He pressed his hoodie down even further. I expected this, but to this extent. At this rate, having his face exposed was just a matter of time.
Looking to the side, Sung Yohan had his bucket hat pressed down firmly and couldn’t lift his head. He seemed unable to gather his wits from the pouring crowd and noise, sweating coldly and staggering. His usual lofty appearance was nowhere to be found.
‘This is my chance.’
Igyeol’s eyes flashed.
