CH 38

Han Cha-soo was running like crazy in his dream. He doesn’t know why he’s running. Whenhe realize, he was already being chased.

‘From what?’

The obvious question filled his mind and he felt a weight in his hand and looked down to see a pistol.

“Ah.”

It was a familiar gun. It was an entry-level pistol, black with a silver eagle.

And the memory rearranged itself.

The black figure chasing him was nowhere in sight. He wasn’t being chased, he was protecting.

Protecting what?

“H, help me.”

A small cry leaked out from behind him, and he realized what he was guarding.

Thump, thump!

He aimed his rifle at the man running in a straight line.

Kerchak.

Blue light boiled down the barrel as he placed his finger on the trigger.

Wooo-

As the barrel vibrated, a small breath was heard. The tears flowing down his soft vocal cords made him unable to move.

Kyaaaaak!

Red eyes quickly closed the distance. One, two, three. With the last number, he calmly squeezed the trigger.

And then.

“Kerk!”

A heart was ripped out. No, a limb was ripped out. What is this? It hurt, it hurt so much.

Before he knew it, he was lying in a cave. A severed limb and a scream that pierced his throat. This was Han Cha-soo. Han Cha-soo’s memory, his past, no. Is this the novel?

Thoughts bounced back and forth like disoriented bullets.

“Urgh, aaaaackkk!”

Pain coursed down his throat. In the dank cave, Han Cha-soo screamed, because it was all he could do with his will.

Thud, thud. Footsteps echoed in the distance. Footsteps that bounced off the cave walls and struck fear into Han’s heart.

‘They’re coming.’

Damned bastards, devils to chew on! Han Cha-soo despaired in anger. He’d have a good job and a good life. It’s not like his life is going to fall apart because their brothera are missing!

“Today is the last day.”

“…Isn’t it too soon? A little longer.”

“Until when?”

“…….”

“How long do I have to keep that shit alive under the name of venting?”

A low, emotionless voice. A cold voice that echoed off the walls of the cave, not a single tremor permeating it.

“Han Cha-soo.”

Red eyes stared at him. The gaze of an enemy. No, it’s not.

This is not the Jung Yiheon. This was not the man he knew.

“And now this tiresome time is over.”

A grim face looked down at himself, the shabby-looking man behind him unmistakably… Baek-dam.

At that moment, a bolt of lightning struck his head. The tangled threads came together in a single line.

The tangled threads led to Baek-dam’s house, to Baek-sun’s home, and to the attack that followed. There, he fended off the monster attack on behalf of Baek-sun. Oh yeah, and some kind of system window popped up like crazy.

Puk.

“–!”

A heavy dull pain pierced his chest. Jung Yiheon wiped the blood off his sword with an indifferent face. Baek-dam said nothing, just looked down at his own collapsing body.

There was an indescribable contempt in his gaze, a cold stare that made him feel no better than a bug.

It was natural to be angry.

Anger surged through his closing vision. At this rate, he would wake up in a dream. The real Baek-dam would help him rather than despise him, and so would Jung Yiheon.

But that doesn’t take away the pain I’m in now, does it?

“These… ungrateful bastards.”

Perhaps it was the nature of dreams, but Han Cha-soo, whose reason was half crushed, was easily enraged.

“Who am I doing this, keuk… bullshit for…!”

Or maybe it’s because nothing is pressing him anymore.

“What is he saying now?”

“I don’t know, is it a near-death experience?”

“Shit, of all things, by chance, I’m possessing this kind of person, huff, huff…!”

It would have been easy to be the villain in any other novel. It would have been nice if it was just a normal romance novel, but even if I was possessing, I was stuck in a novel with a bunch of crazy people, and I was the one who…!

“Hunter Han Cha-soo, are you okay? Hunter Han Cha-soo!”

“——!”

“Don’t move! Assistant Manager Lee, go and call everyone in the medical center. Manager Ki and the Heavenly Spirit Guild, tell them that Han Cha-soo is awake. Oh, and Philosso! Ugh, Hunter Han Cha-soo, you must not move!”

“——!”

“Wait a minute, calm down, or you’ll bite your tongue!”

Struggling with anger, Han Cha-soo soon realised something.

‘My voice… isn’t coming out.’

At the same time, a dull beeping sound assaulted his eardrums.

[Warning!]

[Insufficient energy for the passive skill ‘Regeneration’!]

[Constraints are imposed to conserve energy]

[Constraint in effect (1) : watch your language]

[If you expend more energy than is required to maintain your skill, you will enter a coma state again]

A constraint to conserve energy? And then back to coma state.

‘I’ve been coma all this time?’

But it doesn’t end there.

[Beware, entering coma state may disable any attributed items you are wearing!]

His grey eyes flickered helplessly as he stared at the message window.

Meanwhile, the medical staff, noticing that Han Cha-soo could not speak, became thoughtful.

“There’s nothing wrong with his neck….”

“Could it be a traumatic event?”

The faces looking at Han Cha-soo through the window in the corridor were disturbed. He had been laughing helplessly with unfocused eyes since the moment he realized he couldn’t speak.

‘The heavens are indifferent, how can they do such a harsh thing to such a good person….’

He was a patient who was forced to take over by Baek-dam, but he still saved his life with his own hands.

Furthermore, I know what kind of person he is and how he got hurt.

The hunter who saved Jung Yiheon’s brother and maimed his body. Once again, he saved a life by giving his own. Not just anyone, but the only S-class healer in the country.

For a civil servant in the Awakening Management Bureau, there could not have been a greater benefactor.

“…There must be a way.”

“Exactly, if you let go of your hands like this, the libertarians will think it’s a good thing.”

Everyone’s faces stiffened at the mention of unregistered awakeners.

In total, six people were taken to the detention center with their lives in their hands. Four of them were foreign hunters who had entered the country illegally, and the other two were unregistered awakeners.

After confirming that the two Koreans were unregistered awakeners, the Awakening Management Bureau quickly began interrogating them, but to no avail.

“I thought you said they were out of their minds?”

At some point, the captured criminals lost it. They were frantic and jumping, but there was nothing they could do about those who had already lost their minds.

Eventually, the Awakening Management Bureau made a last-ditch effort.

The guilds in the Liberal Alliance had begun summoning like crazy.

Today, the Master of Icarus had gone to the Awakening Management Bureau.

“You said the head of the Heavenly Spirit Guild was present at the interrogation. Did you hear anything?”

“They came out saying they had nothing to do with the killer. They said they’re not interested in Baek-dam, that they’d rather search the red wind than waste their time….”

“Oh, my God! Yes, there’s nothing to be afraid of once they’ve properly closed their mouths.”

The sharp-eyed employee had already pointed to Icarus as the culprit. The shorter one scratched the back of his neck.

“Come to think of it, the red wind is tomorrow, right?”

“Uh, they’re summoning them one by one. They must be grinding their teeth up there.”

It was a bit of an arsehole, to be honest, but it was a reasonable conclusion.

“But what about the awakened who don’t belong anywhere? Aren’t we just wasting our time?”

“I don’t care if it’s a waste of time.”

The bespectacled employee smirked.

“If you keep bothering him like this, they have no choice but to get help from Haetae.”

“Ah.”

The shorter worker breathed out in realisation.

Haetae, the ‘enforcer’ of the Liberal Alliance.

They were the harvesters of the throats of those who would harm others in the name of freedom.

For now, they sit back and watch, but if Haetae rises, it will be a problem for the entire Liberal Alliance.

The culprits, as well as those who have been sneaking around unnoticed, would be rounded up and cleaned up in one fell swoop.

The awakeners know this, and they are issuing a warning.

If you don’t want to die together, spit out information about the culprits quickly.

“Alas, Haetae will have to step up, thank goodness.”

“What’s the point of being lucky, man? A bunch of criminals who don’t even register as awakeners, acting like they’re something.”

The employee with the wrinkled mouth muttered something in displeasure.

A gust of hot wind blew in from the distance. The coffee in his hand instantly burst into flames.

“Heuk, what is this…!”

“The head of the Heavenly Spirit Guild.”

From the other side of the corridor, it was Jung Yiheon, leading the heat, and a collective gasp erupted from the mouths of the employees who saw the fire in his eyes.

But the surprises didn’t end there.

“Weren’t you going to see hunter Baek-dam brother?”

“Y, yes?”

Baek-dam was following him, smiling with a very benevolent face. Goosebumps rose on the arms of the medical centre staff.

They knew. Behind that angelic face, a temper like Yaksa’s.

The day Han Cha-soo been brought to the Awakening Management Bureau, he hadn’t trusted them, and he’d gone on a rampage with his whip.

If he hadn’t realized Han Cha-soo was cursed, the infirmary would have split in two that day.

Terror filled the staff’s eyes as they looked at the approaching S-ranks.

“…You were the one who agreed to explain Han Cha-soo’s condition, weren’t you?”

“Huh? Me? No, I thought it’s Su-jin.”

“Since it’s me?!”

“Now is not the time for you to fight amongst yourselves, you two. Let’s get back to making sure Han Chasoo-ssi is okay!”

The front of the treatment room instantly became an uproar.