The world after the Gates opened.
It was a hell of people thrashing desperately just to survive.
In a world like this, no one was left who would sacrifice themselves to save others.
That’s what Yeom Hajae had thought.
And yet….
“If all three of us can’t escape together, you can just leave me behind.”
The moment he heard those words,
Twinge.
His heart gave a painful pang.
“Look.”
Seo Sinwoo let go of Yeom Hajae’s arm. Then he grabbed the shirt that had been torn by Choi Haegang’s blade.
Thanks to having unbuttoned it earlier to stop the bleeding, the shirt fell open easily. Through the gap, a cut about a hand’s length long was visible.
A wound inflicted by Choi Haegang.
The bleeding didn’t look like it would stop easily.
Once he confirmed the other man’s gaze was fixed on the wound, Seo Sinwoo spoke.
“I’ll just be a burden to everyone else.”
Yeom Hajae swallowed.
Maybe it was the blood loss, but Seo Sinwoo’s face looked pale. That man, with a face drained of color, was telling him to leave him behind.
“There’s no point in running while dripping blood all over the floor, right?”
He knew. Years of being a Hunter had taught him that all too well. That’s exactly why, up until now, he’d tried to move without leaving traces wherever possible.
But—
Thud!
Thud!
The monster kept getting closer.
Yeom Hajae could no longer distinguish between the monster’s footsteps and the sound of his own heartbeat.
Choked with frustration, he pressed a hand to his chest. And forced himself to think rationally.
“…This isn’t something for a civilian to decide.”
Using an injured civilian as bait while running away — that was out of the question. If it came to that, it would be better for everyone to stand and fight together.
Surely the man’s judgment was clouded from excessive blood loss, and he didn’t really mean what he was saying.
Otherwise, it didn’t make sense.
From the brief conversation they’d had, “Kim Cheolsu” hadn’t seemed like a particularly good person.
Someone with Dungeon trauma, light fingers, and — despite appearances — a soft heart.
His smiling face nagged at him, resembling someone from his memories, but that was all.
Yeom Hajae had no reason to give his life for people he’d only just met.
With resolute eyes, Yeom Hajae placed a hand on Seo Sinwoo’s waist to support him. He planned to leave him in the youngest’s care.
At that moment, Seo Sinwoo grinned.
“I’m not actually a civilian.”
Crackle.
A current too strong to be static electricity tickled across his arm and dispersed.
“…!”
“Still think that’s static?”
Yeom Hajae’s eyes widened.
“Sorry for lying. I’m a draft dodger.”
Seo Sinwoo gently removed Yeom Hajae’s hand.
“Better that just I’m in danger than everyone, right?”
Even as he said this, Seo Sinwoo’s smile didn’t waver in the slightest.
He was truly trying to sacrifice himself. Even revealing his own secret in the process.
So then — should he respect that resolve?
It was a difficult question to answer. But there wasn’t much time left.
Creak—.
The wooden door opened.
At the same moment, Seo Sinwoo pushed Yeom Hajae back and stood up straight. Wind blew through the open door, fluttering his clothes.
“Run.”
As always, an easygoing smile.
“You can do that, right?”
He looked so genuinely fine that—
Yeom Hajae found himself nodding without realizing it. Seeing that, Seo Sinwoo crinkled his eyes into a smile, as if praising him.
For a moment, a memory overlapped with that image.
“You can run, right?”
His blankly parted lips murmured softly.
“Hyung….”
Thwack.
Without finishing his sentence, Yeom Hajae’s eyes closed.
***
I figured convincing Yeom Hajae wouldn’t be easy.
Plenty of Hunters out there would throw a civilian to a monster as bait and bolt. But Yeom Hajae seemed like a rare type of Hunter — one with an unusually strong sense of self-sacrifice.
So I talked my heart out as best I could.
“I’ll just be a burden to everyone else.”
Honestly, the wound wasn’t that big. Because of where it was, it looked worse than it actually was — it had only grazed me.
I’d only said that to get him to leave me behind quickly.
“Sorry for lying. I’m a draft dodger.”
Normally, once you Awaken, you’re required to belong to the Association for a set period and take on mandatory assignments. It’s not uncommon for people who don’t want that to hide the fact that they’ve Awakened.
Plus, Yeom Hajae was currently under the impression that I had Dungeon trauma.
It was the perfect situation for him to assume I’d hidden my ability because I didn’t want to go into the Dungeon.
So I used that and confessed to being an Awakener ahead of time. Of course, leaving out the part where I’m operating illegally.
The fact that I’m an Awakener was bound to come out eventually anyway.
There’s no way an ordinary person could’ve held out against a Hunter for that long. And if you looked closely later, there’d be traces of my ability used all over the place.
If the truth came out afterward, it would feel like a stab in the back to Yeom Hajae. No telling what kind of suspicion that might raise. Better to come clean myself.
It was a bit of a shame that my face got linked to my ability too, but—
There was nothing to be done about it. It’s all that lunatic Choi Haegang’s fault. Still, all things considered, I’d wrapped this up pretty well. At least I wasn’t going to die on the spot.
On top of that, I’d given off the vibe of “I’m revealing my secret to protect you guys.”
He probably won’t hold a grudge against me because of this.
…I did rough up Choi Haegang a bit, but I trust Yeom Hajae isn’t petty enough to hold a grudge over a little fistfight.
With that thought, I wrapped things up as gently as I could.
Yeom Hajae didn’t react much. Maybe he didn’t quite believe me, what with the blood dripping everywhere.
Believe me, come on.
I forced the corners of my mouth up.
The faster you guys bolt, the faster I can swipe the Artifact.
Yeom Hajae finally seemed to accept it and nodded.
And then got struck on the back of the neck by Choi Haegang and collapsed.
I tried to catch him as he fell toward me, but got shoved aside. Choi Haegang caught him with one arm.
“And here I went through all that trouble talking him into it….”
I muttered regretfully, and our eyes met.
I reflexively threw out a jab.
“Don’t tell me you want round two?”
Choi Haegang’s expression was as unreadable as ever.
What are you up to, Haegang?
Instead of answering, he threw a question back at me.
“What’s your angle?”
“Ha, what angle?”
I shrugged.
“I just want Hajae to be safe, that’s all.”
Half true, half a lie.
As expected, no response. Choi Haegang silently slung Yeom Hajae over his shoulder. Worried he might attack me again, I put some distance between us and said,
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that? Knocking out your own ally in a situation this urgent.”
“…..”
Choi Haegang ignored me and put an arm around the youngest’s shoulders. The movement carried not a hint of hesitation.
“Uh…. Are we good now?”
“Let’s go.”
The youngest, who’d been glancing nervously at me, spotted the monster and immediately took off flying.
I watched the three of them grow distant.
Yeah. Get out of here already.
By the way, Yeom Hajae — he seemed like he was trying to say something at the end…. And his eyes looked kind of strange too.
Eh, probably nothing.
Thud!
A vibration strong enough to shake my whole body snapped me out of my thoughts. I turned my head.
A monster with a body as gaunt as a mummy came into view. Its head was densely covered in golden strands, like hair.
The strands hung down to its neck, completely hiding its face. Still, I could roughly tell where its gaze was directed.
The monster had spotted the three flying off like gnats and was walking this way.
Standing in a giant kitchen, facing an equally giant monster, I felt like a rat that had broken into the place.
With my back to the three of them, I stretched and loosened up my body for no real reason.
Then I recalled what I knew about this monster.
First, it’s very curious. It swallows anything that looks interesting.
Second, its stomach is overflowing with trash and treasures it’s swallowed that way.
Third, its digestion isn’t great.
In short — big in size, but not as threatening as it looks. Getting eaten doesn’t kill you instantly, and as long as you don’t stand out, it won’t attack you in the first place.
I was planning to draw its attention and get eaten on purpose.
Because there’s something valuable inside it. I had no intention of letting Yeom Hajae burn it, or letting the guild take it.
Once I was about five meters from the monster, I raised my hand high.
Then I touched two fingers together and set off a flash of light.
Flash!
The blinding light made the monster stop moving. Its head, which had been turned toward the fleeing Hunters, tilted slightly.
It seemed to have only just registered my presence.
Crackle. Crackle.
I set off a few more sparks for good measure.
The monster seemed to inch a little closer, then stopped, leaving some distance between us.
Then it bent its legs down in front of me.
“…..”
The face wrapped in golden strands suddenly drew close.
The monster stretched its neck out and crouched low to the ground. It looked like it was analyzing me.
Feels like… it wants to see something more.
I pulled out the tricks I’d practiced whenever I was bored.
Making tiny lightning bolts with my fingers.
Drawing pictures with electricity.
Floating a safety pin on my palm.
…….
Pop!
For the finale, I set off a spark like a firework, scattering it prettily.
I watched the monster’s reaction.
It looked completely captivated by my little performance. I couldn’t see its expression, but I could tell its face had gotten closer.
Having confirmed the plan worked and successfully drawn its attention, I glanced back. The gnats were nowhere in sight. Looked like they’d gotten away safely.
Good.
Now I just had to get eaten.
The only issue was that, instead of eating me, the monster seemed to be sitting still, waiting for the next show….
But that wasn’t a big problem.
I spun around, turning my back to it.
There’s a superstition that you shouldn’t show your back when running from a wild animal.
I don’t know if it’s true or not, but supposedly, the sight of someone running away triggers a predator’s hunting instincts.
So.
Tap!
I deliberately turned my back to the monster and ran forward.
Startled by the sudden flight, the monster flailed at me with its hands while still on its knees, trying to grab me.
I dodged a few times for show, then let myself get caught by the monster’s hand at just the right moment.
Squeeze.
“Ugh….”
The grip was stronger than expected, pressing into my stomach. Good thing my stomach was empty. Otherwise, I’d definitely have thrown up.
Didn’t think about dying from being squished….
I braced myself to turn into a Pika-splat if the monster’s grip got even slightly stronger.
Shhk—.
Thankfully, the monster eased its grip and lifted me up with moderate force.
It’s about to put me in its mouth now.
I waited for the next move.
“?”
But contrary to expectations, the monster didn’t eat me right away.
Instead of putting me in its mouth, it carried me carefully, walking somewhere.
With its other hand, the monster pulled something out of a cabinet about its own height. It was a glass jar, like a jam jar.
Is it planning to swallow me along with water?
I could see the wide opening of the giant jar.
And then….
Huh?
Wait.
Wait, wait.
Fuck, you want me to get in there?!
I held onto the rim of the jar, trying to resist, but the giant hand forced me in anyway.
I slid all the way down to the bottom of the jar in one go. I lay there sprawled on the bottom, staring blankly as the lid closed.
The jar was then placed on a table by the wall. It looked like a food prep area — there was a knife and a wooden cutting board in front of it.
I watched the monster walk away, then knocked on the glass with my hand.
Why won’t you just eat me.
