TILN 10

Chapter 10

He was a huge man.

Rather than being truly enormous, he simply had a well-balanced, solidly built physique. But considering my current height, he looked more than big enough.

“Uh……”

The man seemed just as flustered.

He was staring at me with an expression that seemed to ask what kind of creature I was. Apparently, he hadn’t come here because he had any business with me.

“Who are you?”

I was surprised the moment the words left my mouth.

Perhaps because of the side effects, I hadn’t been able to speak informally to anyone except Seohwa. Yet now, the words flowed out naturally without the slightest hesitation.

Come to think of it, that peculiar aversion of mine didn’t seem to be showing any signs of manifesting, either.

So far, there had only been two situations like this.

The first was Seohwa.

And the second was when I encountered monsters inside dungeons.

Flap!

“Ugh?”

I threw the blanket at the man and quickly put some distance between us. Then I asked in a cold voice,

“What are you?”

“What do you mean? I’m just……”

“A monster wearing human skin?”

At my words, the man made a meaningful expression before suddenly beginning to chuckle under his breath.

“Now, that’s some impressive intuition.”

Just as I was hurriedly looking for an escape route, the man scratched his head sheepishly and spoke.

“I guess once you reach this level, your power just leaks out no matter how hard you try to hide it? Sorry for startling you.”

“……”

“Yeah. If you could sense this monstrous power of mine, I suppose that reaction is understandable. Still, being too strong can be a problem in its own way.”

For some reason, the man puffed out his chest and raised his shoulders proudly.

Watching him, I thought,

What the hell is this idiot?

“More importantly, where’s Seohwa? I was told she was here.”

“Uh……”

This time, it was my turn to be flustered.

Was he really not a monster?

“Seohwa went out to attend an event.”

“What? There’s still two hours left.”

Apparently, talking was the priority for now.

Known to the public as “Geumgang,” an S-rank Hunter and Korea’s first Returnee, Choi Hamin opened the door to Baek Seohwa’s lodgings and saw a pure-white girl.

Her silver hair shimmered in the light, while her red eyes resembled jewels.

With a blanket thrown over her head, the girl looked like a fairy straight out of a story.

Then, she suddenly threw the blanket and began acting wary like a stray cat. Apparently, she was the type of Hunter with exceptionally keen senses.

A monster, huh.

Perhaps, in his current state, he really was closer to one than to a human.

Choi Hamin gave a bitter laugh inwardly before beginning a conversation with the girl.

Before long, they learned each other’s identities.

“So, I definitely heard about you before. You’re that Returnee who happens to be Seohwa’s family.”

“……”

Perhaps because the two had gone through similar experiences, Choi Hamin and Baek Eunha quickly became comfortable with each other.

Once their conversation had settled down to some extent, Baek Eunha began asking him questions impatiently.

“How did you Awaken after returning to Earth?”

Although Choi Hamin was a Returnee, he was also classified as an Awakened.

However, he couldn’t understand the question, so he simply stared at Baek Eunha with a puzzled look.

Sensing his gaze, she muttered with an unsatisfied expression,

“…Why?”

“No, I was just wondering what you meant. Aren’t Returnees with power automatically Awakened the moment they return to Earth?”

At least, that was what Choi Hamin knew.

“Huh?”

Baek Eunha widened her eyes and tilted her head as if she were hearing this for the first time.

It wasn’t exactly a gesture that matched Choi Hamin’s tastes, but honestly, she looked quite cute doing it.

After he explained the details, Baek Eunha began complaining indignantly.

“Then why didn’t I?!”

“Who knows? I can’t say for sure. Unless you came over without accumulating any power on the other side, I’ve never heard of someone losing their power while traveling between worlds.”

In reality, he already knew the true reason.

He had heard it from Baek Seohwa before.

All of Baek Eunha’s memories had been altered by herself, and naturally, the power she remembered possessing couldn’t actually exist.

But he couldn’t tell her that.

So Choi Hamin hid his sympathy and simply played along with her complaints.

After calming the whining Baek Eunha for quite some time, she finally settled down and collected herself.

Seeing this, she really wasn’t any different from the way his little sister had been when she was young.

Remembering the day of their reunion, Choi Hamin couldn’t help but smile.

“At least you made it back safely, right? I’m sure Seohwa would think that’s enough.”

“Of course, that’s true, but……”

They had said everything they wanted to say to each other.

Now, it was time to talk about something else.

“So, Seohwa went to Building C?”

“That’s right.”

“…But the event is being held at the hall in Building A.”

“Huh?”

The fact that she had left two hours early was strange enough. Something about this situation was bothering him.

Choi Hamin asked the confused Baek Eunha,

“Want to go pick her up together?”

Two days before the invited event was scheduled to take place.

Helena, an S-rank Hunter whose name was known throughout Europe, looked at the information delivered to her with a puzzled expression.

“This is rather strange.”

If a simple investigation proved impossible, she had intended to mobilize status and influence as well.

Unexpectedly, however, her investigation into Song Hayeon had ended rather anticlimactically.

She had managed to identify the whereabouts of the master who had taught her necromancy.

“To think she simply made contact through an internet broadcast……”

Apparently, they had switched to another means of communication later on, but since there was a record of their initial contact, tracing the rest had been easy.

The owner of the account she had discovered lived in a luxury apartment complex in Seoul.

And that was where the problem arose.

Baek Seohwa.

Helena knew the name.

Baek Seohwa was a famous Hunter not only in Korea, but throughout the world. Helena was also personally interested in her, entirely separate from this matter.

But something didn’t add up.

As far as Helena knew, Baek Seohwa was a highly skilled spearman.

Was the spear fighting merely a smokescreen?

No matter how she thought about it, that seemed unlikely.

Still, there was always a possibility.

Just as she was continuing to ponder the matter, new information arrived from the information-based Awakened she had hired.

Information regarding another person living in that house.

“…Interesting.”

They hadn’t been able to determine whether the person was male or female.

However, one thing was certain.

The person was a member of Baek Seohwa’s family.

If that’s the case, I’ll start with the one who is closer.

Having made her decision, Helena contacted Baek Seohwa with a seductive smile.

She told her that she wanted to have a conversation regarding her secret.

And that was how today’s meeting had come to be.

“What did you call me here for?”

A special training facility in Building C.

The place had originally been designed for a different purpose, but it had been specially modified for the training and social activities of high-ranking Hunters.

“Well, what do you think my business is?”

“I’m sorry, but I didn’t come here to make small talk.”

Baek Seohwa’s demeanor was cold.

She had probably already realized that Helena had investigated her background, so her reaction wasn’t surprising.

“Please don’t be so impatient. I simply don’t know yet, either.”

Helena smiled faintly as she observed Baek Seohwa’s reaction.

And she thought,

Perhaps this isn’t the one after all.

If Baek Seohwa truly possessed a deep understanding of necromancy, she wouldn’t be calmly standing off against Helena like this.

[Groooan.]

[Kehehe…….]

[Grrrrr.]

At the very least, not if she could sense the presence of the dead filling the training facility.

“I’m a little disappointed.”

In the situation just now, Helena had had more than ten opportunities to kill Baek Seohwa.

Apparently, the rumors that she was close to S-rank were nothing more than gossip spread by impatient people.

Just as Helena was about to lose interest and end the meeting, Baek Seohwa responded with a mocking smile.

Heh.

“If you want to test me, I don’t particularly mind.”

Then she briefly glanced toward a certain spot.

There, one of the dead was twisting its body restlessly, desperate to devour a human soul.

It meant that she had noticed everything from the very beginning.

“Ah……”

Helena’s expression changed when she realized this.

An ominous red glow began to seep into her beautiful jewel-like green eyes.

And, unable to resist any longer, she finally spoke.

“We happened to meet by chance before the event, and decided to get a little exercise together……”

An aura of death so overwhelming that it made one’s mind go blank.

“Let’s go with that story.”

“Ghk! W-Wait a second! Slow down! Ugh.”

Thud. Thud.

BOOM.

For some reason, while we were on our way to Building C, Choi Hamin suddenly hardened his expression and started running while carrying me.

In what people commonly called the princess carry.

“At least…… huff. Carry me on your back!”

“We don’t have time. Seohwa is in danger.”

“What?”

I had no idea where that had come from, but Choi Hamin’s expression was serious.

So I had no choice but to grit my teeth and simply leave myself in his hands.

Bang!

KABOOM!

When we finally arrived at the training facility in Building C, explosions that sounded like something straight out of a war movie were echoing through the place.

“Tch.”

Choi Hamin clicked his tongue, hurriedly manipulated the controls to release the lock on the entrance, and we entered the building after passing through a long corridor.

Whoooosh.

Rustle.

The scene inside was horrific.

The interior of the building, which had clearly been constructed from sturdy materials, had been utterly wrecked.

“Just the two of them did this to the place……”

With a shocked expression, Choi Hamin swept his arm forcefully.

Whoooosh!

The cloud of dust cleared, revealing the figures of two people.

One was, of course, Seohwa.

The other had a strangely familiar face.

It was the woman we had encountered in the busy downtown area.

“Huff, huff. Oppa? What are you doing here……”

Seohwa asked in surprise, but I was in no condition to answer after being subjected to the aftereffects of that express train.

“…Impressive.”

After a brief silence, the woman spoke to Seohwa, who was leaning against her spear and catching her breath.

“I heard you were close to S-rank.”

“……”

“But from what I can sense, it doesn’t seem like you’re merely close, does it?”

The woman wore a seductive smile before continuing with a quiet laugh.

“But in the end, you were the wrong answer.”

Then she turned her gaze toward me.

Intensely.

Choi Hamin’s face twitched when he noticed her gaze, and he responded,

“Helena. What kind of stunt are you pulling?”

“A stunt? We simply spent some time together.”

“Do you really think wordplay like that is going to work?”

Choi Hamin seemed quite angry.

He felt like an entirely different person compared to the man who had been joking around with me earlier.

Seeing this, Helena waved a hand as though trying to calm him down.

“Please don’t be so upset. I was simply curious about something. In the end, neither of you has any noticeable injuries, right?”

She was certainly right about that.

Considering the traces of what had appeared to be an extremely fierce battle, their bodies had surprisingly few injuries.

Which meant that both sides had been holding back their strength while fighting.

“My, my. The event hasn’t even started yet, so it would be troublesome if you caused problems already.”

“I’ll be careful.”

Helena left those words behind and walked away.

In the final moment, she once again sent me a gaze filled with longing.

A brief silence followed.

Then Seohwa strode over and immediately turned her fury on Choi Hamin.

“Do you have any idea where you are? Why did you bring Eunha here?”

“Huh? No, well……”

“Did you forget everything I told you? I said she needs to be managed at the same level as a newborn baby who needs an incubator.”

“Hey, even so, I’m not quite that……”

“You’re a problem, too. Didn’t I tell you not to follow just anyone around? Why did you follow someone this suspicious?”

“Th-that’s……”

In the end, I once again watched as Seohwa completely chewed him out.