CH 317

“We can’t come back now. Let’s get through the door quickly!”

Everyone ran towards the huge door at the end of the hallway, walking through the dolls that flooded in at Han Yi-gyeol’s cry.

They were able to open the door at the last minute and enter the room. Ha Tae-heon immediately closed the door after confirming that all had entered the room without exception. Kuung, a heavy sound echoed through the silent room.

“Is everyone okay?”

“Yes.”

“I didn’t know there were still so many left.”

“What should we do now? It looks like an empty room with nothing here.”

At what Park Geon-ho said, Cheon Sa-yeon and Ha Tae-heon immediately looked around the room. However, even the two SS-ranks couldn’t see what was inside the darkened room.

It was a darkness that someone deliberately created. An ominous feeling came over.

“Ha Tae-heon-ssi, maybe… uh…”

“Han Yi-gyeol?”

Han Yi-gyeol, who was about to ask something, suddenly shook violently. Ha Tae-heon, next to Han Yi-gyeol’s body, who was falling helplessly, hurriedly embraced him.

“Han Yi-gyeol, Han Yi-gyeol!”

No matter how loudly he called and tapped his cheek, his tightly closed eyes didn’t open. Like Han Yi-gyeol, all of the team members fell to the ground one by one except for Cheon Sa-yeon and Ha Tae-heon.

“Ha Tae-heon.”

Cheon Sa-yeon blocked Ha Tae-heon, who tried waking up Han Yi-gyeol. The other team members who had fallen to the ground started getting up and swaying.

It was a bizarre movement as if the body was tied to a string. With their eyes closed, the team members stood up as if they were being led by something, raising their weapons and exhaling the energy containing their lives.

Cheon Sa-yeon, who narrowed his eyes, swung the blade of his flaming red sword in the air. Then he saw a very faint and messy smoke that was hard to notice. At the same time, there was a smell of blood. It was smoke mixed with Kali’s blood.

/“Oh my, I got caught. You’re not so stupid, huh?”/

Abel’s ridicule was heard from somewhere where the location couldn’t be determined.

/“Even so, it’s too late now.”/

Park Geon-ho raised his hand. Ha Tae-heon, seeing an iron ball in his hand, jumped up with Han Yi-gyeol in his arms.

Kuuung, kung! The iron balls that flew without hesitation exploded one after another. Not only Park Geon-ho but also the other team members gradually narrowed the distance and Cheon Sa-yeon clicked his tongue and stopped using his ability. He couldn’t use his blood ability against his team members.

“Go to the corner.”

Cheon Sa-yeon, who pushed Ha Tae-heon and Han Yi-gyeol into the corner of the room, blocked the front of them.

/“Hmm… that insect is still not subject to mind control. Too bad. He’s as expected too.”/

Abel muttered when she found Han Yi-gyeol in Ha Tae-heon’s arms.

/“Well, it doesn’t matter. I can kill him in that state.”/

“……”

/“Cheon Sa-yeon, who will you choose? Two people behind you? Or your precious colleagues in front of you? To protect one, you must kill the other.”/

Abel giggled and let out her delighted laugh.

Cheon Sa-yeon, who calmly looked at the situation without responding to the provocation, said to Ha Tae-heon.

“You need to wake up Han Yi-gyeol.”

Kwon Se-hyun’s intervention ability was necessary to stop the team members who were suffered by being mental controlled.

“Ha Tae-heon, no matter what happens, don’t leave Han Yi-gyeol’s side.”

He was the only one who could properly deal with several people with high-level abilities without killing them. He had to somehow protect everyone and hold on until Han Yi-gyeol woke up.

Cheon Sa-yeon’s black eyes, who had replaced an S-class sword instead of an SS-class Lilith sword, shone coldly.

* * *

“Kwon Se-hyun.”

Yoo Shi-hyuk grabbed my chin with his big hand as I stared into the white light. Forcing me to turn my head to look at him, I furrowed my brow in annoyance.

“Don’t look away and look straight at me.”

“Director.”

“What are you doing this for? Don’t be fooled and explain it properly.”

“……”

There was no easy answer to that order.

My nervous mind, the voice I could only hear, and the white light at the end of the living room kept squeezing my breath.

I didn’t even know what the hell happened. It felt as if I had left something important.

It was then that I hesitated for a while and then tried to answer that it was nothing.

/”Wake… up. If you stay like this…”/

The voice that seemed to be cut off at any moment continued to speak with difficulty.

/“Danger, ous… no one’s gonna last long…”/

The more I listened, the more confused I got.

Dangerous, who the hell? What do you mean can’t last long?

“Kwon Se-hyun.”

/“Wake up.”/

“Focus on me.”

/“Wake up…”/

An unknown voice and Yoo Shi-hyuk’s voice were heard alternately. As I listened to their voices together, a sad feeling came over me. I grabbed Yoo Shi-hyuk’s wrist, which was holding my face.

“Director, I…”

/“…-gyeol.”/

“I’m…”

/“Han Yi-gyeol…!”/

A desperate cry calling for me shook my mind.

Unable to hold back, I bit his lip and closed my eyes. Hot emotions rushed in like waves, making it difficult to breathe.

“I have to go.”

This wasn’t my place to be. I had new people to protect.

The precious relationships that I promised myself to protect this time.

“Kwon Se-hyun.”

“Now… now I understand why you showed up.”

Because Yoo Shi-hyuk is the only person I can’t resist. That fact was the same even now when a precious relationship was born. It probably wouldn’t change for the rest of my life.

But nevertheless… I had to go. I just couldn’t settle for the dream that the past showed me.

I shook off Yoo Shi-hyuk’s cold hand and turned around. I clenched my teeth and ran towards the light I saw on the other side. Then everything around me dispersed like a mirage and turned into pitch black darkness.

The warm air that I had just felt on my skin disappeared suddenly. My body was back to Han Yi-gyeol in no time.

I called out to the owner of the voice.

“Elahah!”

“This way.”

A white light appeared in the midst of the indistinguishable darkness. As I hurriedly moved there, Elahah appeared, eaten by something black and slimy half of his body.

“Are, are you okay?”

It was the price of meddling. As I approached, Elahah, who groaned and spat out black blood once, opened his mouth, pale and tired.

“Go out and… hold on a little. I’ve found a way to break the space.”

You found a way? I had a lot of questions, but I didn’t have time to ask. The white light that came to me quickly began to erase the darkness around me and Elahah’s appearance.

“Wait a minute, Elahah!”

“Don’t worry and get out quickly.”

“However…”

“Go!”

“Ugh…!”

A white light flashed with Elahah’s words.

I closed my eyes reflexively and heard the sound of someone fighting. The mind was forcibly lifted up.

“Han Yi-gyeol!”

Ha Tae-heon called me. When I opened my eyes, I could see the black shield surrounding me and Ha Tae-heon. Beyond that, Cheon Sa-yeon’s figure was fighting alone.

The enemy Cheon Sa-yeon was dealing with was no one else, but our team members. Seeing that, I was able to understand what the current situation was without even listening to an explanation.

“Uh… Ha, Tae-… heon-ssi…”

“Han Yi-gyeol, wake up.”

Even if I tried to get up right away, I couldn’t move a single finger. I was motionless as if my whole body was paralyzed.

Ha Tae-heon immediately realized that my condition was strange that he distorted his face.

‘This…’

Abel must have done something to us. The team members who were fighting Cheon Sa-yeon were moving with their eyes closed as if they were sleeping, unlike when they were simply under mental control.

I calmly looked at the energy I felt in my heart. Like the body, the hardened energy couldn’t be used as usual no matter how hard I tried. It was the same with Kwon Se-hyun’s energy hidden deep inside.

In order to change into Kwon Se-hyun and break the mental control of our team members, I had to release the paralysis on my body first. This kind of debuff attack had been done before.

‘When Han Yi-gyeol’s body entered Lilith’s influence and another time…’

It was also when I faced the boss monster at the Gulupdo Island gate.

Both times, I remembered how I got out of the debuff and stuttered with my mouth barely open as I couldn’t move at will.

“Ha, Tae-heon-ssi.”

“Han Yi-gyeol. Hold on a little. How do I get rid of paralysis…”

“To me, the energy…”

“What?”

“Energy… give me SS-rank energy, please.”

Hearing my words, Ha Tae-heon’s black eyes filled with confusion.

In this situation, I suddenly made such a request, which was embarrassing. But there was no other solution other than that.

“Cheon Sa-yeon.. help me.”

Cheon Sa-yeon, who listened to my powerless whispers in the midst of fighting, smiled annoyedly.

“Haa, if we get out of here, you have to grant one of my wishes.”

Cheon Sa-yeon, who grabbed Woo Seo-hyuk’s collar and threw him to the ground, took a deep breath. He opened his mouth, wiping the blood from the wound on his cheek.

“Ha Tae-heon. Hold Han Yi-gyeol’s hand.”

Ha Tae-heon pondered for a moment at the hard explanation and then grabbed my trembling hand. A warm body temperature spread through his pale, cold hand.

“Raise your energy and send it out with the tip of your palm. Insert it slowly as if you are pushing it towards the opponent.”

A cool energy slowly began to flow from Ha Tae-heon’s body holding me. Chilling energy spurted out of his hand and tickled the palm of my hand.

As Cheon Sa-yeon asked, the energy flowed into my body very slowly. The energy that came in through the palms started from my arms and gradually engulfed my body.

“…hu-ugh!”

Ha Tae-heon’s energy, which had only felt chilly enough to cause goosebumps, reached my heart and became hot like a burning fire in an instant. My upper body rose a bit and my toes scratched the ground.

“Ah, uh… heut, ah!”

It was so hot I thought I was going to die. Ha Tae-heon strongly hugged my body, which was instinctively escaping from his energy, and pushed his energy again with his hand held mine.

Even now, it was hard to endure it enough, but Cheon Sa-yeon that I heard in my ears calmly gave orders.

“More.”

“Kuuk…”

“Ugh, no… gasp…!”

“Add more.”

“Huu, ugh… stop, stop…”

Ha Tae-heon, who gave energy to others for the first time, also distorted his brow as if it wasn’t easy to control and let out a suppressed moan.

My energy, wrapped in the energy that Ha Tae-heon sent, slowly loosened like ice melted. I tried to push Ha Tae-heon’s chest with the hand opposite the paralyzed hand.

“Ah, huut… ah…!”

Ha Tae-heon, who narrowed his eyes, grabbed the hand on the other side of me that pushed him away and gave out his energy one last time. Ha Tae-heon’s energy, which came in full force, soon enveloped my heart.