The surroundings were silent. It was the kind of stillness where it felt as though the sound of clouds drifting by might come brushing past one's ears, swish, swish. In that place where the sky, the air, everything in every direction had been dyed black, Song Taewon stood like an old stone statue. Moss greened the shoulder turned northward, and nameless weeds grew thick at his damp feet.
It would be easy, if he thought of nothing.
If he held onto only the things that had to be done, and discarded thoughts about himself like a stone thrown aside on a forest path. If dead leaves piled up, rain fell, and a single acorn that had rolled down took root and vanished forever beneath the roots of an oak tree.
But thoughts could not simply be chopped off like severed limbs.
Creeeak. The closed door opened. Beneath the faint moonlight, a blurred shadow stepped in first. Song Taewon turned his head and looked at the visitor. Golden eyes drove clearly into his field of vision, as though they shone on their own.
"We're changing locations."
"What happened?"
Song Taewon looked at the blood-soaked collar of the coat. The ear was intact now, but judging by the traces, it must have been torn fairly badly. One arm seemed to have been injured as well. The coat sleeve was whole, but the edge of the shirt sleeve that should have shown beneath it was nowhere to be seen. If even the clothes made from dungeon byproducts underneath the SS-rank dungeon item coat had been shredded, then the wound must have been serious.
"Don't tell me it's above SS-rank?"
"No."
As he moved ahead first, Sung Hyunjae said,
"In terms of raw stats alone, it's S-rank. Strength-wise it falls on the weaker side of average for a close-combat S-rank, but it's fast, and its mana control is perfect."
"Then it shouldn't have been difficult to deal with."
"And it can use all the skills of the S-rank Hunters around it."
The Han Yoojin Song Taewon had seen at Sung Hyunjae's residence rose up in his mind.
"That… dragon. Didn't you say it was asleep?"
"I called it, and it woke up. Anywhere from one hour to three hours at most. That's the limit on the skill usage time. Perhaps because he was keeping you in mind, he used his skills sparingly."
Which meant that once he found Song Taewon, there would be no more holding back. Sung Hyunjae swept a glance across the dark street, chose a direction, and began running quietly. Even though he drove off the ground at a terrifying speed, he made almost no sound. Song Taewon followed after him.
"So I planned on dragging things out as much as possible, but as expected, he ended up taking himself hostage."
"How much of Han Yoojin-ssi's ego remains?"
"Most of it."
The crescent moon's influence was there, unquestionably. But Han Yoojin was still Han Yoojin.
"I slipped out while the three of them were holding him off, but he'll be after us before long."
"In that case, wouldn't it be better to go back and join up with them instead?"
More than anything, there was no healer here right now. On the other hand, Han Yoojin had healing skills, all kinds of resistances, poison, and special attack skills on top of that. Song Taewon rapidly analyzed Han Yoojin's combat capability.
"…As expected, it seems it'll be difficult without a healer."
"Which is precisely why we're changing locations, isn't it?"
Sung Hyunjae said that as he sharply reduced his speed. Stopping in the middle of the road, he lifted his head and looked at the building standing before them.
A large department store.
"You said that around this point in time, dungeon goods had become a part of everyday life."
The majority of people had Awakened, even if only to F-rank, and now everyone possessed an inventory. Of course, dungeon goods were still expensive. That was why there weren't many in ordinary supermarkets, but department stores that dealt in luxury goods were different. Entering the first floor of the department store, Sung Hyunjae pulled out a display guide map and unfolded it.
"Second floor, Dungeon & Jewelry."
The two of them went up by way of the stopped escalator. The moment they reached the second floor, a warning sign came into view.
[This floor prohibits the use of inventories. A contract preventing inventory use has been placed over the entirety of the second floor, and by crossing the line below, you will be deemed to have agreed to the contract. Customers with C-rank or higher Curse Resistance are requested to report themselves voluntarily to the attendant on the left, just in case.]
"In just a few short years, the world really changed a lot."
Even now, some Hunter-related stores prohibited inventory use. But of course there was nothing like an entire department store floor frequented by ordinary people being placed under a total ban.
The two headed straight for a potion specialty store. Not only low-grade potions but mid-grade and even high-grade potions were on display. High-grade potions were still fairly rare even at this time, so only a small number were displayed behind special glass, but there were quite a lot of low- and mid-grade ones. In the warehouse behind, they were stacked in boxes. Expensive though they were, they were popular products because they could treat injuries immediately and safely.
"Among Han Yoojin-ssi's skills, the one we most need to watch out for is the one that lowers stats through wounds. But if the wound is healed, the skill can be removed, so low- or mid-grade potions should be enough. And antidote potions, and…"
Sung Hyunjae moved on toward the special exhibition area at the center of the second floor. If the store had been operating normally, no, even if it were after hours, a Hunter would have been standing guard there. Now three dungeon items were on display. Among them, a large sign in front of the bracelet placed in the center read Poison Resistance S.
Crunch. Lightly breaking the special glass, Sung Hyunjae took out the bracelet.
"There's a rather useful item here too."
Even someone who wasn't a Hunter would covet a poison-resistance item. Even now, wealthy people often secretly skimmed off poison-resistance and curse-resistance items. Sung Hyunjae tossed the bracelet to Song Taewon.
"Han Yoojin-ssi's poison is a comparatively weak paralysis type, so even with the effect doubled, S-rank should be sufficient. It seems taking it outside is impossible, though."
Looking at the warning message window that had appeared before him, Sung Hyunjae spoke. It said that aside from hunting or raid reward items, goods within the dungeon could only be used inside and could not be taken outside.
"So use it without worry. Since this is meant for ordinary people, it doesn't look like there are any combat items."
They made one round around the second floor's stores. Aside from potions and a few items, there was not much worth using. On one side, various famous-brand accessory stores made from dungeon byproducts stood in rows. Sung Hyunjae lifted up a shirt from some overseas luxury brand.
"The clothes you have on now will be torn apart in an instant. Change."
"There's no need to go that far—"
"It helps with defense, at least a little. It says that with quasi-items, the size can also be adjusted somewhat."
He tossed the clothes to Song Taewon, and Sung Hyunjae likewise changed out of the shirt with the torn sleeve. Then the two of them began preparing for Han Yoojin, who would not take long to find them.
"If moonlight can't enter, I imagine the use of the chains will be restricted. And if there are many obstacles, teleportation is naturally limited in movement as well."
Before, they had needed to stop Han Yoojin, so they could not lure him indoors. But now Han Yoojin had to chase Song Taewon.
So they would move indoors as much as possible. If it looked dangerous, they would relocate using the subway. They would heal wounds immediately, as much as possible. They would not head toward the Han River or anywhere with large amounts of water.
And finally—
"What about earplugs?"
"If I block my senses, my combat ability will drop."
"Then perhaps gagging Han Yoojin-ssi instead."
Sitting on the escalator handrail, Sung Hyunjae said that with a slight furrow of his brows. While readjusting the SS-rank handcuffs Sung Hyunjae had given him, Song Taewon looked at him.
"Was it that bad?"
"The self-harm threats weren't the real issue. That was. As long as his top priority goal is killing Song Taewon, there are limits to the degree of self-harm Han Yoojin can inflict if it starts to interfere with his actions. Though there are also types where the aftereffects show up slowly."
His tongue, on the other hand, could definitely wound Han Yoojin. Knowing how much Han Yoojin cared for his children only made it more dangerous. That was one of the biggest reasons Sung Hyunjae had chosen to separate and join Song Taewon instead.
Because the two people here could be called adults, unlike Han Yoojin.
"I find myself missing Hunter Moon Hyuna."
"…If she were here, the situation would certainly be better."
Song Taewon agreed with Sung Hyunjae. Moon Hyuna would have been able to brush Han Yoojin's words aside lightly. Even while protecting the others.
"But right now I'm more worried about Song Taewon-ssi. Still, wouldn't it be better to block your ears?"
"I'm fine."
"I would say it's also a good approach to protect your own body to some degree, even while entrusting things to me."
As he said that, those golden eyes, narrowing slightly, were carrying a faint excitement. It was a fragment of emotion most others would have struggled to detect, but Song Taewon noticed it at once.
"Are you looking forward to it too?"
"Separate from my worry about Han Yoojin-ssi."
Sung Hyunjae lightly pressed his index and middle fingers to his lips.
"The excitement… can't be helped. Instinctively."
Those silver eyes. The moment he met them, his heart beat hard together with a strong sense of unpleasantness. The crescent moon. It was only natural that a being created by her power could not help but be drawn to it.
If it were the crescent moon's power itself, he might have felt only hostility. But the one who had accepted that power was none other than Han Yoojin. A weak, ordinary human, and at the same time one who wanted to stand beside him.
And then the crescent moon's power settled into that human, bringing him up beside him, even one step above.
"I've been restraining myself hard."
It felt like finally reaching the end after endless time and countless worlds. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say he had finally encountered his one and only kin. That was probably because he was so deeply entangled with the crescent moon, but even knowing that, he could not help but feel excited.
"It's fortunate that physically there's no problem."
Then he could tear him apart as violently as he pleased. Slowly dig into him, take him apart piece by piece. Sung Hyunjae pulled one leg up over his knee and propped his chin on his hand, bent forward.
"Perhaps when you like something too much, you want to break it."
"…What absurd nonsense are you talking about?"
"If you don't remove it, it becomes a threat to your very life. Positively or negatively. It's similar to how you can want to kill someone you truly cannot stand."
Song Taewon's brows drew together slightly.
That was when—
Thud.
A deliberately loud footstep rang out.
"Now where could you be?"
A voice, as if humming to itself, came from the first floor.
"Hide, hide, hide well, or your hair will show."
Again, thud, a heavy sound rang all the way up to the high ceiling.
"Sung Hyunjae-ssi~ Chief Secretary Song~."
Sung Hyunjae took Hunter-grade painkillers out of his inventory and handed them to Song Taewon. They were for preparing against Silent Scream.
"You went on and on about the aquarium, so why a department store? Don't tell me you want to look at the seafood corner in the department store? Is there even a seafood section in the food hall? Or maybe the fish tanks at a sashimi place?"
Han Yoojin slowly crossed the first-floor shops while looking around. With moonlight drifting near him, all kinds of accessories glittered. Han Yoojin picked up a bottle of perfume, gave it a light shake, and then flung it away. Crash! With the sound of glass breaking, a thick scent rushed up even to the second floor.
"This really doesn't suit Chief Secretary Song at all. You didn't not join up, did you?"
Once more, crash, another perfume bottle broke. The sound of stepping on the wet floor rang out softly.
"Now where are you hiding? Let's see your face."
Whiik. The wire swung wide. Glass burst apart, and cosmetics were swept away not only outside the display stand but within it as well, falling to the floor and shattering as liquids with all kinds of mingled scents spilled over. Bead by bead, the sticky, fragrant liquid rose into the air.
And then, with a whoosh, it began to spread widely. After sweeping across the whole first floor in an instant, Han Yoojin tilted his head.
"Food halls are usually on basement level one, right? Then is it underground? Is this place connected to the subway? Chief Secretary Song feels like he'd be underground, while Sung Hyunjae-ssi feels like he'd be upstairs."
The tracking item's trace had vanished at the department store entrance. Up or down? Han Yoojin stretched out a hand. Droplets of water brought over a department store guide booklet and placed it in their master's hand. Opening the booklet, Han Yoojin tipped his head upward.
"Dungeon & Jewelry."
Crunch. Strength went into Han Yoojin's feet, cracking the glossy floor. At the same time he drew his sword and leapt upward. Passing straight through the open central space, Han Yoojin reached the second floor in a single bound and spread the droplets wide. The heavy scent filled the second floor, and Sung Hyunjae and Song Taewon started moving.
At the sound of approaching footsteps, Han Yoojin's lips curved faintly upward.
"So you're both here."
Sliding across the luxuriously marbled floor, Han Yoojin called out toward them.
"Were you two shopping leisurely together? What next, the restaurant floor? A café?"
With a squeaking sound, the two of them stopped. Han Yoojin slowly approached them. His silver eyes swept over Sung Hyunjae, then Song Taewon.
"You even changed your clothes. They must've been expensive."
"Han Yoojin-ssi."
Meeting Han Yoojin's eyes, Song Taewon called him in a low voice. Han Yoojin smiled brightly.
"My dear Chief Secretary Song. Would you commit suicide for me?"
"I refuse."
"Then it can't be helped."
Whoosh. Flames rose around Han Yoojin's body as though wrapping him, and the sword in his hand drew a long line across his own arm.
"Then I'll have no choice but to cut off your head myself."
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