It seemed the Guild Leader would not back down until he heard a proper answer. 'Of all times to return, why now of all times!' Any warmth she had felt at his arrival evaporated in an instant. With her eyes tightly shut, Kang Jisoo spoke.
"J-nim went straight into the monster's gaping maw. He slipped inside so cleanly there wasn't even a chance to stop him. I contacted the Rift Management Bureau and asked them to capture it alive, but we couldn't take any other measures. I got the call while I was in the middle of dealing with Prometheus acting up."
Sa-young nodded, urging her to continue. Ji-soo pointed toward the swirling white hole in the sky.
"As you can see, that thing is going wild again. The Pado Guild is handling rifts opening all over the place. Romantic Opener is working with the government to evacuate civilians, and Seo Min-gi got dragged off by Team Leader Jung Bin."
"How long has it been since J went inside?"
"Let's see… about twenty minutes now."
Only twenty minutes. Just a hair's difference. If he had been a little faster, he might have caught him. Sa-young sorted the information Ji-soo had given her and then asked.
"And Prometheus, what is that supposed to be?"
"Another doomsday ritual, they say. Something about 'it's not time for him to awaken, yet he has opened his eyes'? Because of that, gates are opening everywhere, rifts forming, people mutating, it's chaos."
"..."
"So we really have to go back. And supposedly Matthew is the one behind it all."
"You brat! Don't say things unless you're sure."
"Ow!"
Ji-soo clutched her head where she had been smacked and grumbled.
"Why! If Honeybee said it, then it's true."
"Honeybee?"
"She went to kill Matthew."
Sa-young furrowed his brow slightly. 'In the previous world, Prometheus hadn't even existed. Matthew had died saving people. What was the anomaly in this world?'
Eight years of emptiness without J.
Could the absence of just one man really twist the world this much? And yet… it made sense. His own life had been reshaped because of Cha Eui-jae. Sa-young weighed two options in his mind: go after Cha Eui-jae, or follow Honeybee to Prometheus' stronghold. But in truth, there was no need to weigh them. The scale always tipped toward Cha Eui-jae.
Always.
Then all that remained was to trace the flow of thought.
What would Cha Eui-jae be thinking, deciding? That much was obvious. Before the thing above their heads could destroy the world, he would have rushed to strike at the source. Always so recklessly simple, so stubbornly consistent. He both admired and hated that about him.
"Hah…"
Sa-young let out a small sigh and lowered his head. Hunger gnawed at his stomach, an unfamiliar feeling he hadn't felt in a long time. He reached out to Bae Won-woo.
"Huh? Wh-what?"
"I'm hungry. Got anything to eat?"
The demand came as if it were only natural.
"Uh, I've only got an energy bar right now…"
His eyes darted around, scanning storefront signs. He pointed toward a franchise burger shop.
"Should I… grab a burger real quick?"
At that very moment, thunk, the flickering sign crashed to the ground. A tattered burger poster flapped out of a shattered window. No chance that place was open. Sa-young flicked his fingers.
"Don't bother. Just give me that."
Won-woo quickly pulled an energy bar from his pocket and handed it over. Sa-young unwrapped it and bit off a chunk. Still tasteless. He chewed the dry nutty lump mechanically, thoughts running elsewhere. 'Did he eat before rushing in? Or did he leap in recklessly, without even a plan?'
'Of course he didn't eat.'
He clicked his tongue and sealed the wrapper around the two-thirds that remained. If he hadn't eaten anything, at least he could give him this.
"Tastes bad?" Bae Won-woo asked cautiously.
"What kind of dumb question is that, Won-woo-jjang? Of course it tastes bad. I can't taste anything."
"That's not what I meant, you brat!"
'Would this be enough for him? He didn't seem like the type to eat much, but still…' He turned the small bar over in his hand and then looked at Ji-soo.
"You got anything?"
"M-me?"
Her shifty eyes said it all. Come to think of it, Ji-soo never seemed to miss a meal. Whenever Lee Sa-young skipped one, Ji-soo would gasp as if it were unthinkable.
'She must have something.'
Sa-young jerked his chin toward Won-woo. The signal was clear: take it. But Won-woo scratched at his jaw, looking troubled.
"Sa-young, isn't it too heartless to snatch food from the kid? We all have to eat, you know."
"Exactly, Guild Leader! I'm a starving college student!"
Actions always came faster than words. Sa-young pulled out his wallet, flicking two 50,000 won bills in front of her.
"100,000."
"Yes, sir! Here you go, a chicken breast chipotle sandwich and an ion drink. Bought it just before all this started, so it's super fresh and cold."
Ji-soo respectfully handed him a black plastic bag and pocketed the bills. Bae Won-woo looked down at the red-haired girl with an incredulous face.
"You said you waited an hour in line for that? That you were going to savor it?"
"Hey, I just found a better owner for it, that's all."
She fanned herself with the money, grinning. Sa-young straightened up inside the ambulance. He had secured food for the reckless one, now it was time to go fetch him.
Just then, a hunter from the Awakened Management Bureau approached, having just finished a call. He glanced nervously at Sa-young.
"Uh, excuse me. Team Leader Jung is asking for your cooperation…"
"..."
"I know it's sudden, but he requests your help."
Lee Sa-young tilted his head slightly.
"Me?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Is the situation that bad? Bad enough to need me?"
His ability was poison. Useless for saving lives, good only for killing. That's why it was almost always reserved for dungeons. Yet the hunter nodded firmly.
"Yes. Civilian evacuations are mostly complete. There's a district with a cluster of gates, and he asks you to handle it."
"Heh…"
His hand brushed his lips, and a smile crept across them.
"What if the asphalt and buildings melt in the process?"
"That's acceptable."
At that smile, Bae Won-woo instinctively stepped back.
"And if unforeseen accidents occur?"
Kang Ji-soo also took a step back, stuffing the bills deep into her pocket.
"That too is acceptable."
"And the responsibility?"
"Team Leader Jung said he'll take full responsibility."
His grin widened. That was music to his ears. He nodded.
"Location."
"Ah, yes! I just sent it to your device!"
"So close… good."
No wonder it had sounded so noisy, that was hunters struggling to shut the gates. Sa-young's voice came languid.
"Clear out all the hunters fighting over there. They'll just get in the way."
He slipped off his one remaining glove, revealing the pitch-black hand, and pointed at Won-woo.
"Bae Won-woo, call Jung Bin and record exactly what I just said. I don't want him going back on it later."
"Uh? Oh, yeah. Got it."
"And Ji-soo. You've got a bike, right?"
"Yeah, but the roads are wrecked. Will it be okay?"
"Bring it when I call. I won't be going far."
"Where are you headed?"
"Where else?"
He tossed the blue blanket he'd been draped in back into the ambulance and rose to his feet. The black bag dangling from his wrist swung lightly.
"To fetch a fool."
The place Jung Bin had requested was a park overtaken by a cluster of gates. From the brilliant white gates, monsters poured endlessly. The ground was blanketed in ash from their corpses.
'They must really be short on manpower.'
Once Sa-young closed the gates, the park would become a wasteland drowned in poison. Not a single blade of grass would survive. Jung Bin had chosen lives over greenery, as anyone would.
"It won't take long…"
White monsters charged at him from all directions. Sa-young did not dodge. Instead, he sank to one knee, pressing his blackened left hand to the ground.
From the point of contact, a dark liquid spread outward. Like water, it consumed everything it touched: grass, bricks, benches, fences, lampposts, even the trees. Monsters too, those that stepped into it screamed as their legs dissolved, thrashing in agony.
Slowly, Sa-young rose. The park's former shape was gone, replaced by a pool of black poison. He walked across it toward the gates. He stretched his blackened hand toward the glowing rift.
"Now… let's end this."
Through the cracks between his black fingers, violet eyes gleamed.
"Someone is waiting for me."
The moment his hand touched the light
Pshhhhhh
The black liquid devoured the gate. Its shape melted away, collapsing into a thick, tar-like lump that splattered onto the ground. He carefully checked inside the bag. Fortunately, the sandwich and the ion drink had survived intact.
Pulling out his phone, he spoke calmly.
"It's me. It's done. Come to the park entrance."
Step, step, his feet splashed through the black mire. He glanced back once.
"Ah, and issue a no-entry order for the interior."