Chapter 49 - Hunting 4

As they entered, the lights flickered, but Eun Ha immediately spotted through the blue lensed monocle, a blurred and distorted version of Ajusshi Confectioner clinging to the Actual Ajusshi Confectioner's neck.

It seemed that this monstrous version of Confectioner Lee was connected to him by the scalp, and perched on his shoulders. Eun Ha realized, in just this quick microsecond glance, that the dark, evil entity seemed to be leeching out the man as if he were a juice pouch. The man, not the monster, had a knife in his hand, and bulging eyes staring blankly at them.

The fairy turned to check the place where she had just seen the faceless ajuhma by the window, but there was nothing there. She didn't even have time to process the information in her head, just be fed with.

The light then went out completely.

She felt a chill on her back, as if she were wet, but was pulled by her hand so fast that she spun awkwardly, but managed to barely hold the monocle with her free hand on her face before falling to the floor. She crouched down, wincing and seeking shelter under a table. She heard movement noise, and tried to focus on what happened when she heard Shin call out to her:

"Jung! Take off the knife from the human! Don't let him kill himself!"

'What-the-hell! Is that why he has a knife ?! Not as a threat, but to…' She sprang to her feet, wielding her magic wand and trying to focus with the blue lens where the possessed Confectioner or whatever it was, has gone.

But the magic item fell from her face just as she spotted the man crawling away from the monster and the hunter.

It seemed like the Hunter was able to free the man from the monster, at least. Her guardian seemed to be having trouble holding the monster, which despite having the Confectioner's constitution, seemed to have the strength of a wild beast. Flabbergasted, she aimed aimlessly and cast a spell, and heard the Hunter's sharp yell: "Jung, what are you doing ?!"

"Omo! Did I hit you, Professor Shin?! Omo !!"

"Just get out of here now! Go!" His voice was drowned out by a piercing feminine scream. For a moment Jung Eunha was so astonished that only then did she realize that it was not the monster, but the voice of the real and panicked ajuhma.

She spun on her heel to obey her Professor's command, but her torso hesitated. If she ran, what would happen? "Damn it, Professor! I can't see you!!!"

She turned, feeling a hand cling to her heel. It was the crawling confectioner, but she was so terrified that she kicked him on instinct; and he rolled to a corner where he remained.

Something rose from where the monster and her tutor were huddled in their fight, and came toward her abruptly. Whether the hunter or the monster, she didn't know in the dark. But she felt a panic so strong that her heart ached, and she closed her eyes expecting the clash and the pain, paralyzed by fear.

But her ear heard the rustle of cloths, and then recognized that it was Hunter Shin. He passed behind her body, hugging her waist and gripping her arm tightly, twisting their bodies in the process.

Eun Ha felt his large hand slide into hers, and intertwine her fingers with his, clutching together her magic wand. He guided the movement of her hand, and she felt the magic pass from the sole of her feet to her toes, and flow through the wand like a spurt.

She widened her eyes, as she felt the heat rising to her head. 'What is going on?!'

The sudden flash of light made her blink, unable to really see. But Eun Ha figured what had happened. She figured out that Hunter Shin took over her magic to strike the creature that was charging against her.

The fairy was still trembling from both experience of magic and fear as she watched the creature dissolve into a dark and gross mist in the air.

The fluorescent light bulbs flickered on again, and returned to normal.

She didn't know if minutes or seconds had passed. It all seemed as though it had been so long and full of detail; while so fast and confusing. Eun Ha just clenched the folds of his coat and buried her face in Professor Shin's chest, her right hand still clasped in his.

She felt the clumsy pats on her head, as her Professor was trying to make her come back to herself.

'Aigoo, you stupid gruff fairy, can't you be a s.e.xy hero once in a while? I'm shaken! I am traumatized! And you're touching my…'

"Omo!" She unhooked her fingers from his, and her wand from contact with the callous palm of his large hand. Shin stepped away with the cue, and turned to examine the humans.

"Is it over… Professor?" Eun Ha quickly put her wand away, rescued the monocle from the floor, and started to check on the human couple. The mid aged woman seemed unconscious near the bathroom door, and with no monster parasitizing her. So Eun Ha went over to make sure she was all right, while the Hunter checked on Confectioner Lee, blankly sitting and leaning against a wall with his absent gaze.

"This man seems to be in shock. How is the woman?"

"I think she passed out. Her pulse is weak, but she breathes well. " Eun Ha responded.

"Let's call the emergency. And get out of here."

Eun Ha remembered that maybe her Professor might be hurt:

"Professor Shin, did I hit you with the knife?"

"Missed. But you tried hard, huh?"

"Oh! Are you hurt?"

He sighed, shaking his head, and stood up. "Let's see if there is something in the restroom before we go."

En Ha wasn't excited about that, but she followed him to the restroom. She noticed that he was limping slightly, but he did not look injured elsewhere.

"What was…?"

"Shhhh. I told you, not today. It's not over."

"No ?!"

"No. One of them ran away. But this kind of creature is never the cause of the problem. They are merely consequences." He opened the restroom door. Eun Ha examined with the magic monocle, but saw nothing. They quickly scanned the remaining rooms, and Eunha realized that, as the Professor had said, the monocle's vision became normal over the minutes, until it didn't really catch the supernatural miasmas anymore. Just the same vision as the other eye.

"Call the doctors using the Confectioner's phone, Jung." The hunter still rummaged through the drawers and cabinets for something. Eun Ha did that, and when she hung up the phone, Confectioner Ajuhma was already coming back to consciousness.

The two fairies came out, and stopped under a sunroom to avoid the constant drizzle. The Hunter turned to her as he lit a cigarette:

"You said the man who came here blackmailed them, right?"

Eun Ha's heart was still pounding and blood was flowing fast. She was sure the fairy adrenaline rush was the same as human's. She'd forgotten about that for a moment, but had a click:

"Confectioner's Lee's gaze at that man… It was the look of one who is anticipating something bad and savoring it… Is that why he was going to kill himself? Because of what he did? To avoid punishment?"

The Hunter just shrugged, looking uncertain.

"The human was going to kill himself, and his parasyte was leaving him to prey on another person to parasitize. It wasn't the real human looking outside for you. You responded to no one."

Eun Ha felt her blood chill all of a sudden. "What?" B-but you said no monster would have interest in fairies!"

The Hunter seemed to be immersed in his on thoughts while the young fairy was freaking out with this realization. "Don't act silly, Jung." he finally let go of his pensive silence, "Tell me what you discovered in there, before we entered together."

The designer summed up for the Hunter what she had witnessed. She added: "Do you think the cause of this whole thing is where this man is going to?"

"We will not know if we don't go there to find out."

"Oh! No! Professor!"

"You're smart enough to deduce that the man is going right away to the old muffin factory after the object he wants to sell, Jung. If we don't go there now, he could die."

She knew they probably didn't have time to waste. Although she didn't want to go, and had millions of questions, En Ha also knew she should cooperate with the Hunter, and questions should be put aside for now.

"It's just me, or things are going to get worse on there?"

He moist his dry lips with the tip of his tongue, and scratched his neck, looking thoughtful, instead of answering directly,

"If I don't go, it can become an even worse problem later. Perhaps too big to handle by a single person. I still don't know what's going on, but I already have a hint of what it might be. But I'm starting to think I'm a bit too late on it..."

He stubbed out his cigarette and twirled the motorcycle key in his finger, giving a sudden half smile and saying," Put on the hood of your fake raincoat, Jung. You're melting."

"…!"