<Episode 86>
“Ugh, my whole body hurts.”
Feeling as though my muscles were being crushed under a boulder, I screamed internally. It felt like I had spent an entire day training with Instructor Choi Ganggeon…
“Have you awakened?”
A gentle voice came from above my head. The warm tone, tinged with a faint smile, immediately brought me to my senses.
“Hunter Lee Hyunwoo! Are you okay? What about the Basilisk?”
As I shot upright, he brushed my disheveled hair aside as if reassuring me.
“It’s all over. We made it out safely as well.”
“…Haah, thank goodness.”
A sigh of relief escaped me.
The dreadful bloodlust and mind-control skill that had tormented him seemed to have vanished completely.
Looking around, I realized I was lying in the reclined passenger seat of a truck. It seemed that after escaping the gate, he had stayed here waiting for me to wake up in case something happened.
When I looked out the window, I saw the dim evening sky and familiar high-rise buildings. It was the same scenery we had seen from the road just before being sucked into that horrible rift.
Only then did it truly sink in that we had survived an S-rank gate.
“Hunter! We did it!”
Unable to contain the emotions swelling inside me, I suddenly threw my arms around him.
It would be a lie to say I hadn’t been terrified.
But in the end, we had successfully cleared an S-rank gate.
“…I’m really glad you’re safe.”
And we had saved Hunter Lee Hyunwoo as well.
The eyes that had been consumed by murderous intent and lost consciousness had returned to their usual kindness.
I hugged him even tighter.
“Thank you for saving me too, ugh…”
“Huh? Are you alright?”
Startled by his low groan, I immediately pulled away.
Bright red blood was seeping through the tattered gaps in his combat uniform.
“S-Sorry. I forgot you were injured…”
“It’s fine. Wounds like these heal within a few days.”
But the depth of the injuries didn’t look normal.
It wasn’t that I doubted the remarkable physical abilities of an S-rank hunter, but still…
“Wouldn’t it be better to receive proper treatment?”
At my worried question, he shook his head.
“I think that’s something that can wait. Shall we head back to my house first?”
He skillfully started the truck.
At that moment, Hanyang, who had been curled up in the back seat, leaped over and naturally settled onto my lap.
I gently stroked the small cat’s head.
“Hanyang, I’m really glad you weren’t hurt either.”
“You should worry about your own body first, nya.”
Though the words sounded grumpy, the way Hanyang licked the back of my hand was incredibly affectionate.
This adorable little thing really couldn’t be honest.
“Our estimated arrival time is forty-two minutes. You must be tired, so feel free to rest for a while.”
I shook my head.
Or at least, I tried to.
For some reason, my eyelids kept growing heavier and heavier.
“No… I should be driv–”
I should be driving instead of Hunter Lee Hyunwoo, who’s injured.
That was my final thought before I fell into a deep sleep.
A sweet sleep without even a single dream.
***
When I opened my eyes again, I was lying on my own bed.
As I sat up, Hanyang climbed up from beneath the bed and rubbed his head against my arm.
I turned on the phone on the bedside table and checked the time.
“It’s already past ten at night. How did I even get here?”
“Lee Hyunwoo carried you upstairs in his arms, nya.”
“…What?”
I buried my face in my hands.
Not only had I made an injured person drive, but I’d also made him carry me all the way up to the second floor.
“You should’ve woken me up when we arrived!”
“You needed rest, nya.”
“But Hunter Lee Hyunwoo needed rest too…! Ah, forget it. Talking to you won’t change anything.”
Sighing, I looked at Hanyang.
Come to think of it, Hanyang wasn’t looking much better.
The glossy calico fur was filthy with dirt and dust.
“Hmmm. Now that I think about it, you need a bath too.”
“W-What are you talking about, nya? This body maintains cleanliness through grooming at all times!”
“Let’s take a nice bath together!”
I grabbed the fleeing Hanyang and headed into the bathroom.
Hanyang cried out, “Betrayal, nyaaa!” but after rolling around on the underground dirt floor, there wasn’t much choice.
Sure enough, when I washed him, streams of dirty water ran off.
“Don’t you feel refreshed after washing up?”
“Hmph! You should immediately offer this body some Churu treats, nya!”
After presenting the highest-quality snacks as tribute to the thoroughly offended Hanyang, I grabbed a first-aid kit and headed downstairs.
Hunter Lee Hyunwoo was sitting on the living room sofa, looking at a tablet.
“Don’t tell me you’re working?”
“I was organizing the report I need to submit to the Management Bureau. It seems the people we met on the road were arrested for possessing illegal items. They’ll likely receive prison sentences without leniency. More importantly, how are you feeling?”
“I’m perfectly fine. I’m more worried about you, Hunter.”
Unlike Lee Hyunwoo, who had been bleeding profusely, I had only a few minor scrapes from falling.
I placed the first-aid kit on the table and looked at him.
“I’m not a professional, but let me treat your injuries. Please show me the wounded areas.”
At my words, he hesitated and looked troubled.
Following his gaze downward, I saw that his forearm was already wrapped in white bandages.
‘Ah, he already administered first aid.’
Well, he was an S-rank hunter who had survived countless battles. Basic self-treatment was probably second nature to him.
Feeling awkward, I quietly moved to put away the first-aid kit.
Riiip
“Then I’ll leave it in your care.”
Hunter Lee Hyunwoo abruptly tore off the bandages wrapped around his forearm.
He ripped them off so hastily that blood, which had finally stopped flowing, immediately began welling up again.
“H-Hey! What are you doing?!”
“You said you would treat me…”
Who tears off perfectly good bandages for that?
My disbelief lasted only a moment before I burst out laughing at the sight of him shamelessly holding out his arm.
“Haha! You really only wrapped it with bandages?”
It was said that ordinary medicine wasn’t very effective on hunters, but even so, this was a remarkably lazy treatment.
Embarrassed, Lee Hyunwoo let out a small cough.
I shot him a light glare before carefully disinfecting the wound with an alcohol swab and applying the hunter-grade ointment I’d previously received from the Management Bureau.
As he quietly accepted my treatment, he broke the silence in a cautious voice.
“Though it’s late, I’d like to thank you, Hunter Haneul.”
“Thank me?”
“For saving me when I was under mind control. If it hadn’t been for you… I would have remained trapped in that illusion until my death.”
He bit his lip tightly and lowered his head.
I paused while wrapping the bandage and carefully asked,
“If it’s alright… may I ask what kind of illusion you saw? You looked like you were suffering so much.”
I remembered the words he had muttered while staggering around with vacant eyes.
“It’s all… all my fault. I couldn’t… save them…”
Those were clearly the words of someone blaming himself.
What kind of terrible illusion had made him suffer so much?
After a brief silence, Lee Hyunwoo slowly began to speak.
“Mind-control skills stimulate the target’s trauma. They repeatedly force painful memories to resurface, preventing the victim from escaping.”
With a bitter smile, he continued.
“I… saw countless people I failed to save. And I saw the people around me dying at the hands of monsters.”
Lee Hyunwoo raised his head and looked at me.
The careful gaze that swept over me told me that I had appeared in that illusion as well.
Come to think of it, the madman who had pushed us into the rift on the road had also blamed Lee Hyunwoo for failing to save his younger sibling.
‘Just how much unfair resentment and how many crushing burdens has this man carried alone under the title of S-rank hunter?’
I wrapped both of my hands around his large, sturdy one.
“Even if you’re an S-rank hunter, you can’t save everyone. You’re not a god.”
“But if I had only been a little faster…”
“You’ve already saved countless lives by throwing yourself into gates day and night. Please don’t condemn yourself as a sinner. That’s… too painful.”
He stared blankly at me after hearing my words of comfort.
Then, slowly, a gentle smile spread across his face.
My words alone couldn’t erase the deep trauma he had carried his entire life.
But at the very least, whenever he blamed himself and suffered, I wanted to remain by his side and keep telling him:
That it wasn’t his fault.
That even if no one else understood, I did.
We quietly held each other’s gaze for a long time, feeling the warmth of our joined hands.
“How long are you two going to keep holding hands, nya?”
At Hanyang’s sudden, indifferent interruption, I startled and quickly pulled my hand away, retreating backward.
I clutched my pounding heart and forced an awkward smile.
He’d been sulking because I bathed him… when had he come downstairs?
Hunter Lee Hyunwoo also cleared his throat, the tips of his ears turning red as he hurriedly changed the subject.
“By the way, did something happen inside the gate? Your amount of magical power has changed dramatically, Hunter Haneul.”
“Ah… so you noticed immediately.”
Since Lee Hyunwoo was S-rank as well, it was only natural that he could sense the change.
What was fascinating was that I could now clearly sense his magical power too.
That overwhelming presence I had never noticed before.
Now I understand why other hunters found him intimidating.
I didn’t hide my reawakening from him and told him everything.
He nodded with interest.
“A reawakening… I’ve heard it was theoretically possible, but this is my first time seeing it in reality. Judging by your mana capacity, you’re at least S-rank.”
That was correct.
Actually, I was SS-rank.
When I hesitantly told him my true rank, his eyes widened.
“SS-rank? So such a rank really exists.”
“…You’ve never heard of it either, Hunter?”
“No. As far as I know, Hunter Haneul is the first SS-rank in history.”
A momentary look of pride appeared on his face.
Almost like a father watching a beloved daughter get accepted into Seoul National University…
No! What am I even thinking?
However, Lee Hyunwoo’s expression quickly turned serious again.
Lowering his voice, he carefully spoke.
“It’s truly something worth celebrating. However… I think it would be best if you kept the fact that you’ve reawakened as an SS-rank a secret for the time being.”
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