CH 286

“Here is…”

The headache subsided quickly, but the confusion still remained.

When I looked down, I saw my original body in a black suit, not Han Yi-gyeol, on the pale yellow sand.

But why a suit? Where did the clothes I used to wear go?

‘Is this the effect of the intervention ability?’

I didn’t do this when I was fighting Doctor in space. Is something different because it’s in a book?

It was then that I looked down at my scar-filled hands with a bewildered heart. A chill crept down the back of my neck and a cool breeze blew in.

“……!”

Instinctively, my upper body leaned back as the sharp blade of the sword came close to my neck.

I raised my gaze to the cold blade felt on my skin. Cheon Sa-yeon, who was standing right in front of me, opened his mouth with a haggard face.

“Who are you?”

The black eyes staring at me were filled with strong suspicion and determination to cut them off if they left.

‘I’m screwed…’

How do I deal with this situation? By the way, the ability to intervene was being used. Even if I told him frankly that I came from the future, he wouldn’t believe it.

I was thinking about what excuse I had to make to gain the trust from Cheon Sa-yeon, but Cheon Sa-yeon, who couldn’t wait for that moment, narrowed his eyes.

“Are you the gate boss? If I kill you, they might all come back.”

“What?”

What’s kind of misunderstanding this kid has? I quickly shook my head and carefully pushed the blade away with my fingertips, which had the momentum to cut my throat at any moment.

“I’m not a monster.”

“You’re not?”

“Yeah.”

If I couldn’t make Cheon Sa-yeon understand, all that was left was a lie in the end.

Swallowing a sigh, I raised the corners of my lips and smiled softly. Cheon Sa-yeon saw my smile and raised one eyebrow.

“I’m here to help you, Cheon Sa-yeon.”

As expected, Cheon Sa-yeon’s expression didn’t change at all. Fortunately, the blade pulled back as soon as I pushed it with my hand.

“Elohim and Elahah. You know these two, right?”

“……”

“They saw what you were going through and asked me a favour. I accepted it. That’s why I’m here to help you.”

Cheon Sa-yeon, who heard the names of Elohim and Elahah, frowned and lowered the tip of the sword to the ground.

“Do you want me to believe with just a few words like that?”

“If you have any doubts, go to sleep right away. You can meet Elohim and ask him yourself.”

After saying the name, Cheon Sa-yeon showed a confused look at the answer that included the meaning of ‘he could only meet them when he slept’.

He didn’t believe me yet, but the atmosphere was much better than before. After getting up and brushing off the sand on the suit, I faced Cheon Sa-yeon.

“Cheon Sa-yeon, as you may have noticed earlier, even though I’m a high-rank, I’m not strong because I’m not a combat type. I don’t have any weapons. If you want to kill me, you can do so.”

“You do look weak.”

You son of a…

“Anyway… It means that there’s nothing to lose by cooperating with me for a while.”

“You said you’d help me. What are the benefits of working together?”

“The lives of the guild members you brought.”

Cheon Sa-yeon’s eyes shook for the first time at my resolute answer.

“And how to kill the boss of this gate and how to get out. I can tell you all.”

“…those people who disappeared into the sand are still alive?”

“I’m not such a lazy person who came all the way here to deceive you.”

I continued the explanation while untying the uncomfortable tie and shoving it into the pocket of the suit jacket.

“If you die anyway, time goes back, so would it be worth a gamble like this? You came here many times and died trying to find a way to clear it.”

“……”

“Trust me just once. I’ll make sure you won’t regret it.”

I reached out my hand toward Cheon Sa-yeon with the words I uttered confidently. Cheon Sa-yeon, who blinked blankly, looked at my hand.

After standing for such a long time, he finally made a decision and took my hand with the other hand that didn’t hold the sword. My hand, stained with the scars, overlapped with those of the pure white Cheon Sa-yeon. It was the hand I had often held in the real world.

“Good.”

Having obtained Cheon Sa-yeon’s cooperation, I looked around.

On the other side of the tepid wind mixed with sand, I saw an old castle with the only way out of the gate hidden.

“Let’s go right away.”

* * *

I found a hidden door that could lead us down to the underground through the ruins of the fallen wall.

It was a door that only appeared when a hostage was taken into the sand. I cleaned up the debris that was covering the stairs and looked back at Cheon Sa-yeon standing next to me.

“Use your ability, Cheon Sa-yeon.”

“What?”

“Use your ability. We have to go down the stairs, but it’s too dark to see.”

Of course, I was the only one who couldn’t see. As for the SS-rank Cheon Sa-yeon, it wouldn’t be a problem if it was that dark.

‘Before, Cheon Sa-yeon knew and used his ability.’

I realized once again that he was considerate of me.

Cheon Sa-yeon, who was glaring at me with a displeased expression at the brazen request, cut off the scar on his palm once again.

I went down the dark underground stairs using the sticky fire created by the blood flowing through the sword as light. Unlike the ground that was full of sand and dry, I felt the moist underground air.

I looked at Cheon Sa-yeon’s back, who was going down ahead without looking back, and then touched the damp wall.

Previously, it was very difficult to go down this road. Because it was under the influence of the SS-grade boss monster, I couldn’t stand it with the body of A-rank Han Yi-gyeol.

Now, my rank was higher than the SS-rank, so there was no inconvenience. It was really the first time that Cheon Sa-yeon shared his SS-rank energy with others.

“It’s quite long. If we go down here, are there really people who have been dragged down?”

“You just have to go a little longer. And to get the hostage back, you have to deal with the boss monster first.”

“Do you know how to deal with boss monster?”

“To some extent.”

The first time I visited this place with Cheon Sa-yeon was a fresh experience for me, so I vividly remember it.

“Explain.”

“Um… the boss monster’s name is Lilith. It’s SS-grade and has a strong hallucination ability. The hallucination is weakened by cutting off the horns. It won’t work for us.”

“Lilith? Why Lilith?”

Why Lilith?

I was momentarily bewildered and I followed the answer I had heard from Cheon Sa-yeon in the past.

“Be, because it’s female?”

Cheon Sa-yeon looked back at that ridiculous answer for the first time. I quickly added a few more words to his eyes that were asking what kind of guy was this.

“Lilith is the representative female demon that targets humans… I think?”

“I don’t think this is the time for puns.”

“What does the name of the monster have to do with it? You can just do that.”

Cheon Sa-yeon, who looked at me patheticly for a moment, moved again.

When I went down the stairs to the end, the hall I had seen before was revealed.

A large dusty chandelier, a lighted candlestick, and even a statue of an angel with a half-broken face remained the same.

『Huhuhu…』

A slightly husky, seductive laugh resounded throughout the hall.

Clack, clack. The sound of heels came from the other side and a woman appeared from the darkness.

『You insignificant human beings have come all the way here.』

A woman in a gorgeous dress with a beautiful appearance. The two horns that sprouted from her forehead caught the eye.

Seeing the rose-flowered sword she was holding, I whispered to Cheon Sa-yeon.

“That woman is Lilith.”

“It’s definitely a fitting name.”

“If you deal with the monster, you can get to where people are locked up.”

“I see. But why do you keep sticking to me?”

“What? That is, of course.”

As usual, I stood close to Cheon Sa-yeon so that he could easily hold me, but I realized the question later.

Oops. The current Cheon Sa-yeon didn’t know my wind ability.

“Hold me and fight.”

“It’s nuisance just to hear that. I don’t want to.”

“Wait, hang on. The reason for holding me while fighting…”

I was trying to use the wind ability to explain and show it myself, but I noticed that I couldn’t feel Han Yi-gyeol’s energy anywhere in my heart.

I patted my chest in bewilderment, but I didn’t feel the slightest bit of Han Yi-gyeol’s energy. Of course, the wind ability couldn’t be used.

‘Why is it?’

When fighting Doctor, I was able to use both the intervention ability and the wind ability. Han Yi-gyeol’s energy, which had been hiding in a very deep place, didn’t move as if it was sleeping deeply no matter how hard I tried.

“That…”

Having lost my wind ability in an instant, I smiled awkwardly and came up with various excuses.

“I told you I’m not a combat type, so I can’t stand in such a dangerous situation. You have to protect me. The hostage’s place is hidden, so when I die, you probably won’t be able to find it.”

“Then stay in the corner. I will kill it.”

“No. From the moment Lilith is attacked, monsters will come from all directions. If you want to save me, do as I say.”

The more he listened to me, the colder Cheon Sa-yeon’s face became. It was a vicious force that seemed to wield a sword at me rather than Lilith at any moment.

‘It’s kind of hurt to be hated this much.’

I was afraid to say that in the future he would stick to me first, but I stopped. I normally didn’t like it either? After going through it so many times, I got used to it.

I was sorry for forcing the dislike Cheon Sa-yeon, but he was able to win the fight with Lilith without any major problems only by moving with me. Of course, my personal safety is also important.

Knowing that this wasn’t the time to ponder for a long time, Cheon Sa-yeon put his arms around my waist with an uneasy expression in the end. I also put one hand on his shoulder.

“It’s not that uncomfortable, right?”

“I wish you could keep that mouth shut.”

Unlike me, who naturally took a pose because I had done it many times, Cheon Sa-yeon looked somewhat awkward.

In this case, Han Yi-gyeol’s body was definitely more comfortable. Because he was a little thinner and smaller than me. Anyway, we were done the preparation.

『A rat cub carried by a rat cub, becomes two rat cubs, haha! Hahahahaha!』

Seeing us, Lilith ripped her red lips long and smiled and spread her bat-shaped wings on her back. At the same time, the lava-like blood of Cheon Sa-yeon that flowed through the sword grew even redder.