CH 323

Azazel looked around the room with the cult members standing behind her and her gaze finally fell on Abel.

“It’s strange. I don’t think she’s dead… but I don’t feel any energy. You must have done something.”

“Well. Aren’t you supposed to figure it out yourself?”

Cheon Sa-yeon covered me with his body so Azazel couldn’t see me. However, Azazel didn’t care and didn’t take her eyes off me, hidden by the Cheon Sa-yeon.

“I knew that stupid girl was going to be like that one day. What I’m more curious about is the energy I felt right before entering this room.”

The cult members stepped out to both sides of Azazel, who smiled as she raised her red lips elegantly.

“I definitely felt a strong energy comparable to the SS-rank. I’m very curious about its identity. Is it from the talented person behind you?”

A shiver of chills ran up my spine. I felt the cold sweat running down my cheeks and narrowed my eyes.

‘This… isn’t good.’

Not long ago, we had been fighting non-stop for over a day. In particular, everyone had already reached their limit due to the fight with dozens of dolls they encountered while coming to this room.

The amount of energy available was far from enough. Not just me, but other team members as well.

On the other hand, Azazel and the number of the cult members was well over twenty and there were many of them with A-rank or higher rankers. This time, it was the worst situation that I had to worry about.

“You have to hold on until El opens the passage.”

There was no way to escape. In this room, I had to deal with the cult while waiting for a passage that would be created. Taking a long, heavy breath, I raised Han Yi-gyeol’s energy once again.

“Well, if I catch you all and drag you away, I can find out more about what happened.”

Azazel, who felt my wind, beckoned and the cult members took out their weapons.

Following Cheon Sa-yeon and Ha Tae-heon, who took the lead, Park Geon-ho and Kim Woo-jin also took out their weapons in turn. Woo Seo-hyuk also turned into a wolf.

Kwon Jeong-han took a position in front of me and Min Ah-rin, who retreated the most. As we hurriedly formed the line up, the cult members used their abilities and the building shook violently with a deafening roar.

“Ugh…!”

Bombs exploded non-stop as if there was anyone in the cult members with similar explosive conversion abilities to Park Geon-ho and hot smoke soared. The building was about to collapse before Elohim opened the passage.

I gathered my energy as much as I could and used the wind so as the team members, who were dealing with several members of the cult, didn’t get hurt as much as possible. I couldn’t do more than this because I didn’t have enough energy left.

I bit my lip as I looked at the team members who were fighting, barely avoiding the enemy’s attack with a tired look. The energy had already gone down. As I forcibly pulled out the insufficient energy, the pain gradually spread from my heart.

‘Hang on.’

There were still a lot of cult members left to defeat. And if I thought about Azazel, who hadn’t stepped up yet… I have to hold on a little longer…

“Yi-gyeol-ssi.”

Min Ah-rin, who was by my side, grabbed my hand as I was panting rough. Min Ah-rin, whose face was as pale and tired as mine, smiled.

Then, as light flowed from the clasped hands, the insufficient energy began to fill up quickly.

“Min Ah-rin-ssi? Wait a minute, this is…”

Confused, as I tried to shake off her hand, Min Ah-rin gave strength to my hand and said while enduring the pain.

“Please let me help too.”

Giving me energy right now was like filling a bottomless pit with water. Min Ah-rin must have very little energy left because she filled me with her energy over and over again while coming here.

Min Ah-rin, who held my hand with her hands to prevent me from rejecting her, closed her eyes. The cool sensation came rushing in like a wave and the insufficient energy was filled up in an instant.

“Cough!”

“Min Ah-rin-ssi!”

Min Ah-rin, who had filled me with her pale face, coughed and vomited blood. I held Min Ah-rin in my arms, who collapsed aat the terrible appearance I didn’t want to see even in my dreams.

Min Ah-rin, who was held by me, was about to faint. It was the moment when I was trying to check if Min Ah-rin, who had lost her consciousness, was breathing properly.

“Hyung!”

The bright red blood spurted from Kwon Jeong-han’s shoulder, who stood in front of me and Min Ah-rin. Avoiding the gaze of the team members who had to deal with three or four people at once, the tip of the spear wielded by the cult member, who pushed in here, pierced Kwon Jeong-han’s shoulder.

Kim Woo-jin, who noticed Kwon Jeong-han’s condition belatedly, ran straight up and put bullets to the spear cult member’s legs. However, Kim Woo-jin also had his arm cut long by the other cult member who rushed at him right away.

‘No…’

Min Ah-rin, who collapsed, and Kwon Jeong-han, who was seriously injured, the danger for team members… The bright red blood that spread on the floor shook my mind.

‘I’d rather…’

Go back to be Kwon Se-hyun. All I need to do was break all of the cult members’ mental control with my intervention ability.

Azazel would find out about Kwon Se-hyun, but there was nothing I could do about it. I had no intention of hiding my intervention ability by sacrificing the lives of the team members as in the space created by Abel.

It was then that I, making up my mind, tried to raise Kwon Se-hyun’s energy again. A white light shone through the darkness on the other side.

It was the light I had seen in my dreams. A single point of light that fell from the sky like a snowflake soon turned into a large oval.

‘The passage!’

It must have been the passage Elohim said. I shouted loudly while holding Min Ah-rin.

“Everyone, come this way!”

I used Han Yi-gyeol’s energy, which Min Ah-rin generously filled in. The team members wrapped in the stronger wind around their bodies and ran toward the passage.

Woo Seo-hyuk carried the injured Kwon Jeong-han on his back and ran into the passage first. I handed Min Ah-rin to Park Geon-ho and the wind obstructed the cult members following them.

“Go first!”

All sorts of abilities were pouring down on us. I managed to block them with my wind and Ha Tae-heon’s black shield, and let Park Geon-ho and Min Ah-rin safely enter the passage.

Now all that was left was me, Kim Woo-jin, Cheon Sa-yeon, and Ha Tae-heon. The light in the passage faded and shook unstable as if it would disappear at any moment. I couldn’t delay any longer.

“You think I won’t get you!”

Realizing that we were running away, Azazel screamed sharply and pulled something out of her arms. It was a long whip made of black leather.

The tip of the whip was swung strongly at me exactly like a snake that was trying to catch its prey. As I was focusing my attention elsewhere to stop the cult members, I found the whip belatedly.

A strange energy was felt from the whip. It was no ordinary whip. Maybe it was a shutter item? Then if I got caught by that whip…

“Han Yi-gyeol…!”

An urgent voice echoed in my ears and someone pushed me with strong force. I could see the messed up red hair.

A black whip wrapped around Kim Woo-jin’s arm several times instead of me. And he was pulled in once. In the blink of an eye, Kim Woo-jin, caught by the whip, was dragged to the side of the cult.

“Wa, wait… wait a minute!”

Ha Tae-heon caught me as I reflexively ran to catch Kim Woo-jin.

“N, no. No! Kim Woo-jin is still…!”

With the struggling me in his arms, Ha Tae-heon flew through the passage. Kim Woo-jin, who was lying at Azazel’s feet, quickly moved away.

“Kim Woo-jin, Kim Woo-jin!”

No matter how desperately I shouted, the situation didn’t change. The narrow passageway was completely closed when Cheon Sa-yeon came in at the end.

Kuung! My back hit hard against the hard floor. As I quickly raised my upper body, a familiar interior scene was revealed. The place connected to the passage was none other than the living room of Cheon Sa-yeon’s house.

I looked around just in case, but Kim Woo-jin was nowhere to be seen. A shiver ran up my spine. My cold hands trembled.

“Han Yi-gyeol…!”

The last voice I heard was Kim Woo-jin’s voice, which was constantly repeated in my head. I couldn’t take it any longer and lowered my head deeply.

‘I have to save him.’

I had to do anything to get Kim Woo-jin back. Kim Woo-jin, in Cheon Sa-yeon, already, once…

“Se-hyun-ah.”

A voice filled with bitter emotions called out to me. When I looked up, I saw Elohim staring at me with a sad expression on his face.

“El…”

Tears streamed down my face when I saw him. Swallowing up the burning hot emotions, I opened my mouth with difficulty.

“The price… I will pay the price.”

“Se-hyun-ah.”

“So can you…”

In the previous time period, Kim Woo-jin was taken away by the Praus Cult and died. I also saw Kim Woo-jin’s funeral, who returned to the corpse, in Cheon Sa-yeon’s book.

I couldn’t let him die like that. Somehow… I had to rescue Kim Woo-jin somehow.

“Help me, El.”

“……”

It didn’t matter what the price was. I couldn’t even imagine a future without one person.

Elohim, who looked down at me with a complicated face, approached me. Then he bent down on one of his knees and made eye contact with me.

“…don’t cry.”

A white hand reached out and wiped the tears from my cheeks. Elohim, who had been staring at me for a long time with unknown eyes, raised his head and said to the others.

“Everyone is thinking the same thing. Kim Woo-jin, you will pay any price to save that child.”

Except for Min Ah-rin and Kwon Jeong-han, who were faint, the team members quietly agreed with Elohim. Elohim with a bitter smile continued the explanation.

“Se-hyun-ah. As you guessed… if you leave him like this, he will never come back alive.”

“……”

“So the price is that high.”

“It doesn’t matter. Whatever… it’s okay. If only I could go to where Kim Woo-jin is…”

My heart ached so much that I couldn’t breathe properly.

Even though I knew Azazel wouldn’t let us run away, Kim Woo-jin’s life was in danger because I foolishly gave her a chance. It was a very painful mistake.

“I get it.”

Elohim who got up said with a smile on his face.

“I will pay the price.”

“What?”

“Go and save the child, Se-hyun-ah.”