Possessor #2 Just Wants to Fangirl Chapter 183

Floor 9 is progressing smoothly.

All the cadets cleared their stages without problems, and our team, going last, has also entered ‘Medusa’s Cave.’

‘This doesn’t really look like a cave.’

The floor has uniformly sized stones laid like tiles, making it easy to walk. Whether they used volcanic rock, there’s no moisture and it’s not slippery either.

“J-just a little more and I’ll be done!”

Boram is busily brushing away while walking. She says she’ll deliver the item I requested before the war no matter what.

I shouldn’t disturb her… but with no one to keep me company, I’m bored.

Beep!

A sharp sound echoing in my head.

“100 meters ahead!”

“What is?”

“‘Medusa’s Chamber!'”

“How do you know that?”

Turns out my ‘Hot Bean Detection!’ radar has a voice notification function. I only found out when Junhwi told me to disable the mute setting.

“Didn’t I mention? I got a new feature installed!”

Thanks to the Awakened Personal Information Protection Act, I can skip the details. When I roughly explained that something gets detected within a 100-meter radius, Go Daesik jumped around excitedly.

“100-meter radius? You mean diameter, right? Wait, let me model the movement path!”

Go Daesik displayed the 10th floor map on his hologram and consulted with Junhwi, then shortly came to this conclusion.

“If we have the radar, we can find the sacred object within an hour!”

“If Sora comes along, that is.”

“Of course she has to come! Without Yeon Sora, we’d wander for a week and still not find it, you know?”

“That’s true.”

Junhwi turned his body and looked at me. His two eyes curved gently.

“We can’t do anything without Sora.”

…I let my guard down!

I took a direct hit from a devastating smile deliberately aimed at my heart. Not a business smile but a beauty-that-topples-kingdoms smile.

Just as my breathing was about to stop—

“Be careful.”

A deep navy appeared before my eyes. The same color as the uniform. Looking up, Hyeonmin was standing between me and Junhwi before I knew it.

“There’s a downhill section coming soon.”

“Ah, right! The water park!”

We soon arrived at the downhill path, and the team members pulled out their supplies.

Meanwhile, I sneakily looked down at the incline.

“They expect us… to walk down this?”

It looks like a giant water slide you’d find in the middle of a water park.

There’s no volcanic rock laid on the floor here. The moisture-laden ground glistens as if oiled.

“Yeon Sora! If you fall, you die!”

If I fall on my butt here once, I’ll end up sliding down the slide. The acceleration builds up so I can’t stop. Then I’ll fly off at the end and go splat against the stone wall!

“Sora will be at the very back, so it’s fine. Juwan and I are here too.”

Juwan wrapped rope tightly around my waist while reassuring everyone.

From now on, we’ll become strings of dried corvina tied together.

The corvina right in front of me is Hyeonmin, and in front of him is Juwan. If those two hold firm, even if I fall, I can dangle safely and descend.

But the moment Juwan transformed me into corvina—

“Huh-huh-huh?”

My body levitated. Because Hyeonmin had lifted me up.

“Eliminating risk factors.”

“That’s better.”

“Huff….”

The team members relaxed, saying they’d removed the bomb, and held hiking poles in both hands. They’ll have to descend while poking those into the ground.

But Hyeonmin can’t use poles. Because he’s using both hands to carry me princess-style!

‘Why isn’t it a potato sack today?’

This curiosity must absolutely not leave my mouth.

Free luck shouldn’t be questioned. It’s the same as calling the bank when money mysteriously appears in your account.

Just quietly enjoying this moment is best.

‘What a windfall~!’

While I cheerfully cast away all curiosity, Hyeonmin began descending the slide. As if he has spikes embedded in his shoes, he walks down the 70-degree incline as stably as flat ground.

Swish.

I sneakily looked down. Even knowing I shouldn’t. The cliff-like descent made my body tremble involuntarily.

I hastily turned my head and hugged Hyeonmin’s neck tight with my eyes closed. I felt steady footsteps and swaying. …So reassuring!

Trusting that reassurance, I looked down again. This time it’s thrilling! This is excitement!

While I was repeating the same process, exploring the conditions for thrills—

“This is a first.”

Suddenly a husky voice tickled my eardrum. When I turned my head, Hyeonmin’s mouth was firmly closed.

‘…Was it a hallucination?’

Right, there’s no way my baby would deliver such a shoujo manga male lead line.

“Coming this far… with someone is a first.”

This time Hyeonmin’s lips moved.

I saw it clearly with my own two eyes.

“Sharing time… with this many people is also rare.”

The corners of his mouth twitch slightly. An expression like he bit his tongue. Hyeonmin, who had laboriously pulled out each word, turned his azure eyes to look at me.

‘He’s asking for a response!’

“Are you uncomfortable with so many people?”

“…It’s bearable.”

“How long has it been?”

“……?”

“Earlier, you said it’s been rare. How long?”

His eyes rounded for an instant. Hyeonmin slowly lowered his gaze.

“Well… 15 years? I’ve even lost track of time now….”

Hyeonmin, we’re officially 17 years old.

He seems to have made a careless mistake, but at times like this, covering for him is the Devoted Reader’s role.

Random chatter mode ON!

“You must be an only child? My family has lots of members so it’s noisy. But I’m also new to dormitories, so it’s hard to adjust, you know? The bustling part is one thing, but what’s most fascinating is how people I know keep popping up even after class.”

“That’s true.”

This time Hyeonmin chuckled softly.

“You end up figuring out even the schedules of people you don’t want to run into….”

His tone has loosened too. There’s even a hint of wistfulness in his expression. Though unintentional, it’s an extremely devastating look.

‘Maybe….’

Hyeonmin might have also felt unfamiliar and excited when he first entered the dormitory. Even if he grew up in unfortunate circumstances, on his first enrollment he was an ordinary teenager.

‘If only it weren’t for the regression, he’d probably still be…’

It feels both pitiful and infuriating.

No, seriously, making a 17-year-old child shoulder the fate of the world—isn’t that insane? Couldn’t it have started at 30 at least? My baby, couldn’t he enjoy his school days, have all his fun, and then save the world?

The various emotions swirling inside me produced a single sound.

Sniffle.

Hyeonmin’s shoulders and neck suddenly stiffened.

“Having multiple people around isn’t bad either.”

He’s returned to regressor mode. At times like this, pretending not to notice is also the Devoted Reader’s role.

“But having people around is comfortable and reassuring, right? Good for dividing tasks too.”

“That’s true.”

“So endure it even if it’s a bit hard. We’re going to keep going like this, continuously!”

“Can you promise that?”

“……?”

Suddenly Hyeonmin’s gaze pierced through me.

A gaze that yielded not an inch.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“N-no! I promise!”

Hyeonmin nodded satisfactorily, then closed his mouth after that. Even when I kept talking to him, he only moved his head.

I also stopped chattering before long and briefly organized this situation.

‘This is a relationship-transition talk, isn’t it?’

It’s definitely a conversation where our relationship deepens. Maybe Hyeonmin is thinking of abandoning his solitary lifestyle. But—

‘Why now of all times?’

In this kind of cave, without any particular event? It feels somewhat out of the blue.

But at times like this, diligently doing construction work and designing the logic myself is also the Devoted Reader’s role.

‘It’s the first war with the mastermind! He’s conveying his sincerity in advance in case of the worst!’

It feels a bit like shoddy construction… well, a building doesn’t immediately collapse just because one steel plate is misaligned.

Let’s endure with this for now and properly patch it later, I was soothing my unease when—

Beep!

“10 meters ahead!”

We’ve arrived at ‘Medusa’s Chamber.’

* * *

‘Medusa’s Chamber’ has a curtain instead of a door, and this curtain is made of chiffon material so the interior is clearly visible.

“That’s Medusa….”

“The three Gorgon sisters….”

The Medusa in the Tower isn’t some beautiful woman. She’s a perfect monster with snake hair, boar tusks, lion legs, and even eagle wings.

Medusa’s two older sisters, the Gorgons, are giant cobras…

GRRRROOOAAR—

SCREEEEEEECH—

No, they’re dinosaurs. Calling that size a cobra isn’t polite. Looking closer, their faces even resemble T-rexes.

Fortunately, those monsters can’t come outside the curtain. We were cautiously observing with the mindset of Jurassic Park tourists when it happened.

“Should I throw a sleep grenade?”

Seong Hayul was trying to pull the pin off the grenade with a tense voice when Hyeonmin stretched out one hand and stopped her motion.

“Save it. I’ll handle them directly.”

“Huh? But the Gorgons are….”

Before Seong Hayul could finish speaking, the chiffon curtain fluttered. Hyeonmin had entered Medusa’s Chamber.

SCREEEEEEECH!

Both Gorgons roared simultaneously.

While the air vibrated, the two monsters switched positions to take places on Medusa’s left and right. The composition of loyal knights protecting their queen.

Thud thud.

Each time Ki Hyeonmin moved his steps, murderous intent increased in the Gorgons’ eyes.

Swiiish—

The two dinosaur-class monsters simultaneously raised their tails. One tail is a subway Line 9 train.

The moment Hyeonmin took one more step—

WHAM!!!

The two subway trains struck the ground. The earth shakes. The vibration alone raises goosebumps.

This weight, this speed… even grazing it means death.

The Gorgons lifted their tails again.

WHAM-WHAM-WHAM-WHAM-WHAM!

This time they’re pounding the ground by striking their tails repeatedly at tremendous speed. Though invisible to the eye, it’s a ferocious attack.

Jump rope from hell.

Entering that radius means death. Even the wind reaching here carries murderous intent.

For a human to pass between those is impossible… but Hyeonmin’s afterimage is visible.

Thud.

The monsters’ tails stopped. Because Hyeonmin entered their blind spot.

Before I knew it, one Gorgon stands before Medusa while the remaining one opens its mouth wide toward Hyeonmin.

SCREEEEEEECH!

Saw-like teeth.

Vicious fangs charging to bite Hyeonmin…

CLANG!

…then bouncing away. Hyeonmin’s right hand holds the golden sword.

However, the Gorgon doesn’t know giving up and charges even faster.

CLANG! KA-CLANG! CLANG! CLAAAANG!

The tremendous recoil from the final collision.

Hyeonmin pushed back the dinosaur-sized monster with force.

The Gorgon’s jaw is slightly lifted.

Its body tilted backward. The moment it lowers its head again to regain balance—

Tap—

It touches something. Hyeonmin. Before anyone knew, Hyeonmin is standing directly beneath the monster.

His left hand stretched straight toward the sky.

What’s held in it is….

BANG! Rummmmmble—

One Gorgon collapses. The second Gorgon, witnessing this, silently concealed its fangs and ambushed.

Swish—

Hyeonmin dodges the attack by a hair’s breadth.

He lightly rotates his body while aiming the gun barrel at the monster’s head.

BANG!

Using the gun’s recoil to rotate another half-turn in midair, Ki Hyeonmin finally fires a direct hit at the hiding Medusa’s abdomen.

BANG!

Rummmmmmmble—

All three monsters collapsed.

“……”

“……”

“……”

We tourists all lost our souls.

We’re well aware of Hyeonmin’s combat skills… but today is different. Because it wasn’t the usual fast and efficient processing method.

Manga? Movie? CG? It was combat that rejected reality to the point I wondered if some trick was used. That means there were that many incredible choreography, poses, and compositions.

‘As expected, Hyeonmin is a god! No, a crusader who received God’s calling!’

This overwhelming combat power! Solid yet somehow delicate. Plus there’s even something noble about it!

Just as I was floundering in ecstasy—

“Could’ve saved stamina if we used a sleep grenade….”

Junhwi’s voice pulled back my soul. I instantly returned to cold reality.

“Hmm, come to think of it, that’s true?”

“Actually, there was no need to fight at all. Only risk with nothing to gain.”

“W-we could’ve even shot from the entrance with Incapacitation guns!”

The coolness is unchanged, but it was an unnecessary act. That fact alone shattered the magic completely.

It even became slightly embarrassing.

‘Junhwi, did you just… diss Hyeonmin?’

No, that can’t be. Junhwi must have made a mistake because he’s on edge about the war.

I was diligently doing logic construction when Junhwi smiled sweetly and continued.

“It’s not like there’s nothing to gain. Better to warm up here.”

“Is that so?”

“And doesn’t seeing it directly reassure you? We haven’t seen Ki Hyeonmin fight much lately, so we were forgetting.”

“True, I briefly forgot too.”

“Ki Hyeonmin and Yeom Juwan do a lot of separate unit actions.”

Junhwi persuaded the team members that it wasn’t pointless, then smiled brightly while looking at Hyeonmin.

“As expected, having Ki Hyeonmin makes me feel reassured.”

“……”

The two people’s gazes tangled in midair.

But something… is strange.

‘…Sparks?’

No way.

The war with the mastermind is coming soon. These two are core personnel who’ll lead the war. There’s no way Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu would throw sparks right before battle.

Right, I must have seen wrong.