๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐: ๐๐ก๐ซ๐๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐
A countryside town that had become a ghost town after the end of the mining boom.
The town was enveloped in the dimness of the evening, with only the light of the stars and moon dimly illuminating it.
Three silhouettes moved, kicking up the sound of crickets with their feet.
“Have you secured all the portals?”
A man with a hard and businesslike voice asked.
Kaleo, with cold eyes behind round Lloyd-type glasses.
Nod.
The huge bear-like man nodded slowly in response to his question.
“Kaleo~ You’re too harsh! Bicataur is scared!”
“Shut up, Warthog. It’s your fault we’re late because you complained that you were hungry.”
“Kaleo is too mean~ He’s like a boss in a Korean drama!”
Warthog, with a petite figure, comforted Bicataur by patting his back.
“But where did Crow and Raphel go? We were supposed to go to a fancy cafe in Seoul today. . . .”
“They’re busy, unlike you.”
“Hey~! I also ran around until the soles of my feet wore out when I came to Korea, you know?”
“You’ve only ever walked, so it’s about time you did some running.”
Warthog puffed out her cheeks at Kaleo’s uncompromising attitude.
It would have been much better to go with Ivan or Galsiryang than this boring and strict guy, not to mention Crow.
“Don’t make that kind of expression. Crow and Raphel went to Germany and agreed to meet at the hideout.”
“Germany?? Ah, is it the terrorism that was on the news? Did we do that?!”
Kaleo looked down at Warthog with an expression that said he had seen all the stupid people in the world.
At times like this, he really doubted if they were in the same organization.
“. . .Of course not. I explained it to you in detail that we were going to raid the ใPandemoniumใ.”
“Oh~ Oh~ Right! Those bastards have been causing trouble lately! Urgh, so annoying! Right, Bikataul!”
Warthog demanded agreement, and Bicataur slowly nodded with a masked face.
“But did we invite guests today? Come out already, dammit.”
Kaleo raised his glasses and glared into the darkness.
“Huh-huh-huh. I got caught right away.”
A fat old man jumped down from the tree and approached, flapping his red robe.
“I am Qing Zao, a subordinate of ‘Dae-sung’, the master of Asia.”
“. . .I’m Kaleo of IZIZ. What business do Dae-sung’s subordinates have with us?”
“As you all knowใ ก.”
At that moment, someone ran in at lightning speed and swung their weapon.
Kwaaaang!!
Warthog*’s upper body was blown away in an instant, blood and flesh splattering everywhere.
“Are there such shameless bastards!!”
A tall, slender man wearing a similar Jeok-dobok* shouted menacingly.
“Inooom!! Kwai! I’m not finished talking yet. . . .”
“Ha, but hyung. . . The bastards are getting away. . . .”
However, Kwai’s words could not continue further due to Qing Zao’s murderous glare.
“Huh-huh-huh. I’m sorry. My younger brother was rude.”
“. . . . . . .”
Kaleo raised his glasses and observed the two.
Can we beat those ‘three’ with these ‘three’ right now?
‘๐๐๐ ๐ค๐๐๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐จ๐๐๐๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ 10%. ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐’๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ก๐ค๐จ๐ ๐จ๐ค๐ข๐ ๐ก๐๐ข๐๐จ, ๐ข๐๐ฎ๐๐. . . ๐๐ฉ’๐จ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ ๐๐ค๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐ช๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ.’
Kaleo finished his calculations, taking into account the ‘third’ person who was aiming at them from afar.
“From the way Mr. Qing Zao is acting, it doesn’t seem like you came here to fight us.”
“Huh-huh-huh. Of course. If that were the case, Dae-sung would have come in person.”
“Then shall we hear your business?”
Qing Zao cleared his throat before speaking.
“As you know, your people killed two of our Cheong-doboks. So, to receive compensation, Dae-sung sent us directly to resolve the issue.”
“Cheong-doboks. . . you say.”
Kaleo realized that this old man was not an ordinary person.
If he had mentioned drugs or money from the beginning, he could have settled it by passing it off, but it’s a different story when he brings up his dead subordinates.
It is a fact that IZIZ killed them first.
And ‘two’ Cheong-doboks at that.
‘๐ ๐๐ค๐ฃ’๐ฉ ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐ข๐ช๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ๐จ, ๐๐ช๐ฉ ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ช๐ก.’
“I’m sorry. It seems like we had a minor misunderstanding and fought each other.”
“Huh-huh-huh. It’s okay. So how will you repay us?”
The killing intent of the guy sniping Kaleo intensified.
Depending on the signal, either Kaleo or Bicataur would definitely be killed.
‘๐๐ ๐ฌ๐’๐ง๐ ๐ค๐ฃ๐ก๐ฎ ๐ก๐ค๐ค๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฉ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐, ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐๐ง ๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐ค๐ฃ๐๐๐จ๐ฉ. ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ช๐ฅ ๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค๐ค ๐๐๐.’
He pondered for a moment and then spread out two fingers and began to explain.
“There are two things that IZIZ ‘accidentally’ acquired while in Korea. One is a large amount of drugs, and the other is money.”
“Ohhohoho. Accidentally, you say.”
Qing Zao replied with his eyes gleaming.
“I will give you the drugs. How about we end this with this, Mr. Qing Zao?”
“Hmmmmm. I have only one question. What is your intention in offering the drugs over the money?”
“Firstly, we don’t have a distribution network for drugs. If Dae-sung has it, he will be able to sell it for a much better price. Secondly, we need money.”
Qing Zao stroked his long beard at Kaleo’s explanation and then smiled broadly.
The killing intent subsided.
“I understand Kaleo’s explanation. However, we have had two casualties, so it is a bit disappointing that the compensation is only one.”
This sly old man.
Kaleo pointed to the body of Warthog lying on the floor.
“We also had one person die.”
“Kukukukukuk. You’re trying to be funny. This old man understands, so I will take the drugs and leave.”
“Thank you. I hope we don’t run into each other again in the future.”
“Huh-huh-huh. I feel the same way. I wish you all the best on your ‘three’ journey.”
The presence of Qing Zao, Kwai, and the unnamed sniper disappeared.
Bicataur looked at Kaleo blankly as if to ask what he was going to do.
“Let’s get up now, Warthog.”
“ใ กใ กใ กPuh-ha!!”
As soon as Kaleo finished speaking, Warthog’s body reassembled and returned to its original form.
“I only have one robe left.”
Warthog said, covering her chest because her clothes were all torn.
Bicataur took out a robe from his luggage and put it on Warthog.
“That old man is amazing. He even knew that you weren’t dead.”
“Kaleo~~ Couldn’t we have just killed them all and left?”
“No. The two of us can’t come back to life like you, so we’ll have to pass.”
“Hey~~!”
Only then were Kaleo and his party able to head to the mine where the portal was drawn.
๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท
Beepใ ก Beepใ ก Beepใ ก.
Shhh. . . Phew. . . Shhh. . . Phew. . . .
A mechanical sound was heard at a steady rhythm, and the lungs inflated and deflated with artificial respiration.
Hundreds of wires were attached to his body.
It was like the hand that was barely holding on to his soul, which was about to fall down a cliff.
Layla sat on the guardian’s chair.
Her uncle’s thin cheeks caught her eye.
She took out a handkerchief and wiped away the dust and eye crust that had settled on her uncle’s face.
She fixed his pillow, massaged his calves, and covered him with a blanket.
Her uncle didn’t seem much different from when she had come in.
Layla looked around the empty hospital room.
The smell of the hospital room was always the same.
The pungent smell of disinfectant, the cheap air freshener smell coming from the bathroom inside, and the dusty smell of the heater blowing from the ceiling.
Layla grabbed Hans’ hand that was sticking out of the blanket.
His fingers were long and thin like the hundreds of wires attached to him.
“Uncle. . . Don’t you remember that we promised to go to the amusement park together again?”
She muttered as if something had suddenly come to mind.
A little girl with a shiny ribbon headband and a pink balloon. . . Holding her uncle’s hand and smiling brightly.
That day, her uncle had definitely said it.
No, he had promised.
โLet’s go together again next time.
โOkay, pinky promise!
It was an ‘our’ oath that should never be broken.
Beepใ ก Beepใ ก Beepใ ก.
Like the notification sound of a frail life support device, tears fell from her eyes at a steady beat.
For a while, it was bright and then gone.
It didn’t go as well as she thought today.
“Uncle, there was a terrorist attack in our country. There were many more victims. I was also at the scene. . . I thought of you.”
Germany’s Superman.
A symbol of the German Hunter community who had saved countless people and always fought on the front lines.
“We save them, and then another incident happens. . . And when we deal with that incident, someone else dies.”
She recited as if lamenting.
Is it meaningful if the breakwater, built with countless sacrifices, shakes every time a wave hits and allows invasion?
Layla recalled the last faces of those she had failed to save.
No, they bubbled up like bubbles.
If only my uncle had been there instead.
If it had been Siwoo instead of her, those people would have been saved too.
She knew all too well that it was a stupid thought, but she couldn’t stop thinking about it.
“Miracles. . . seem to appear only to special people.”
Layla wiped away her tears.
She had rushed in with the sole determination to revive her uncle, but the more she did, the more hope felt like it was slipping away from her.
Who will care for the sandcastle that will soon collapse?
It will crumble down anyway once it gets wet.
“Maybe I should just do it moderately. It’s too hard. I didn’t even do anything in this terrorist attack.”
She opened Hans’ palm and rested her cheek there.
It was warm.
Layla couldn’t help but feel sleepy, as if the tension had eased.
A few seconds later.
Creak.
The door opened and two people came in.
It was Siwoo and Benedict.
“Thanks for the skill.”
“You’re welcome~ Grandmaster’s subordinate.”
Layla had fallen asleep thanks to the skill that Benedict had secretly used.
Siwoo slowly approached her and poked her cheek with his finger.
Layla frowned and mumbled something, but she didn’t wake up.
Siwoo chuckled.
And he affectionately opened his mouth, stroking her messy hair.
“What we humans need is not heat, but warmth.”
Siwoo smiled broadly and gathered his magic in his palm.
Kugugugugug. . . .
A violent current, like the sea pouring from the sky, enveloped the entire hospital room.
Geometric patterns, motifs, symbols, and characters filled the floor, forming a beautiful ritual that was more than enough for a thousand.
Soon, all of them harmonized with the caster’s will and responded to his imagination, and a brilliant golden light filled the space.
It was a warm sensation, like someone’s warmth.
Benedict opened his eyes wide in astonishment at an experience he had never had before.
This was beyond the realm of a healer, something more than that.
The shards of that brilliant light seeped into Hans’ body like a breath.
His complexion gradually became more comfortable, and his face was filled with vitality.
The eyelids of Hans Schrรถder, who had been asleep for more than 5 years, trembled and opened.
He was dazzled by the sudden light.
Hans frowned.
For a moment, just for a moment.
He thought he saw the face of an oriental man smiling at him.
He raised his left palm.
And then he tried to raise his right palm.
It was heavy.
There was a strange woman lying there with her palm cut open.
“Excuse me. . . Miss?”
His voice was very hoarse, as if he had been sleeping for a long time.
When she still didn’t get up, Hans shook her palm slightly.
The woman woke up, looking dazed and confused, as if she had been in a very deep sleep.
Her eyes met Hans’ eyes.
โIโm sorry, but sleep with your hand on me. . . .โ
Hans stopped talking.
He found the face of his most beloved niece in her appearance, with her lips trembling and her eyes filled with tears.
“La. . . Layla?”
“U-Uncle!!”
She hugged Hans tightly and cried out loud.
As if letting go of the emotions she had been unable to shed for 5 years,
Or as if she was going to jump into the sea whether the sandcastle collapsed or not.