The Way of Life for a Terminal S-Class Hunter - C105
Merely being frustrated would only make the situation worse. This time too, there wasn’t much time left, similar to before. The difference was that Woo-hyun had left Seo-heon ‘of his own will’. That was enough to shatter his mind that had been pretending to be sane. It meant Woo-hyun had pushed away both life and Seo-heon.
‘I have to find him. And then…’
He couldn’t grasp what to do after that. It felt like he had stepped onto the wrong bridge, and when he turned back to return, it was already burned and too late.
‘If I can just save Baek Woo-hyun, if I can just save him…’
He had thought the same thing before. After losing Woo-hyun again, he realized he hadn’t properly accomplished the act of ‘saving’.
‘Just keeping the body alive was meaningless. Now he might be thinking of dying at will anytime, without even waiting for his life force to run out.’
But Seo-heon wasn’t just watching the burning bridge. Even if it meant falling off a cliff and having to climb back up that far, he couldn’t give up. Though no way to change Woo-hyun’s mind came to mind, he abruptly got up and moved. The first thing he did was to frantically search for traces of Woo-hyun in the room like a mad dog.
With bloodshot eyes, he searched everything from traces of magic to places where Woo-hyun’s scent remained. Woo-hyun had left almost nothing behind. This fact proved that Woo-hyun had been preparing to leave from the moment he entered this house.
‘He might not have gone far.’
While knowing rationally that it wasn’t possible, Seo-heon headed towards the entrance with hopeful steps. His stride gradually widened until it was almost like running. The remaining magic at the door was clear.
[So you tore through the barrier and left.]
Seo-heon had never lost track of Woo-hyun’s traces because he always felt warmth in Woo-hyun’s magic. It wasn’t just because Woo-hyun had the power of fire. It was more accurate to say it was an animal instinct not wanting to lose what was his, as everything originating from Woo-hyun always had warmth. But now that heat turned into a raging fire that attacked him.
‘Does this mean you want to completely tear apart your relationship with me, Woo-hyun?’
His thoughts progressed in a bad direction. Anxiety that he might have lost his last chance this time gripped Seo-heon’s ankle. His trembling hand opened the door. Seo-heon couldn’t find words to express the complex emotions rushing in like a storm, but he keenly noticed the abnormalities occurring in his body.
‘My whole body is shaking, and I have a headache and stomachache. But not to the point where I can’t move.’
His concern was whether it would be possible to catch up to Woo-hyun alone in this state. Woo-hyun was an excellent hunter, and there were many people who would welcome and help him if he just contacted them. So tracking him in an incomplete state wouldn’t be easy.
Seo-heon gritted his teeth so hard he tasted blood in his mouth as he opened the front door. Woo-hyun had left slight traces, perhaps unable to perfectly conceal his magic for a moment after disabling the barrier. Seo-heon followed these traces to the end, and his heart felt like it was burning at the faint remains of another presence. Someone, though he didn’t know who, seemed to have stood there for a long time.
‘It’s either Shin Ihan or Halo.’
Like someone groping around in a dark place to find their way, Seo-heon slowly continued his thoughts.
‘Halo cooperated in saving Woo-hyun. There’s no reason for him to do something to nullify that.’
Seo-heon decided to narrow down the person who helped Woo-hyun escape to Ihan.
‘He seems to know I saved Woo-hyun, but doesn’t seem to know that I need to be by his side. As a person desperate to act like a loyal dog, he likely followed Woo-hyun’s words without knowing anything.’
Seo-heon considered whether Woo-hyun had requested help first or if Ihan had sensed something and come looking. The search range would differ greatly depending on which it was.
‘Do you intend to not show me even the tip of your hair and die by Shin Ihan’s side?’
Reason was swept up in emotions jumping here and there. His knee buckled and one touched the ground. As if waiting for this, a dark chill spread across the floor.
‘Maybe Woo-hyun got sick of me and left to find a way to live with Shin Ihan.’
If so, what should he do? Seo-heon unconsciously tried to grasp the traces of magic Woo-hyun had left. Of course, the intangible traces couldn’t be held in his hand and scattered futilely.
‘If I have to be satisfied just with Woo-hyun being alive and live like that?’
His other knee fell to the floor. He reached out following the scattering traces. Thinking of Woo-hyun not choosing him made him nauseous. At the same time, he fundamentally questioned why he was so certain that Woo-hyun’s heart, which was impossible to obtain, was his.
‘I must have thought it was clear and true enough to believe it wouldn’t change.’
That’s why Seo-heon believed without doubt that his love would be directed towards him, even though he created situations that tested it many times.
Before he knew it, he had come to revere the unchanging. Woo-hyun’s unchanging heart, the will to return to the original state. Not knowing that it might have originated solely from his own greed.
‘I was chasing something illusory.’
Seo-heon gradually realized what had been wrong. But that didn’t change what he needed to do.
‘Woo-hyun being with someone means he’s at least staying alive.’
The assumption that Ihan and Woo-hyun were together brought pain like being stabbed with kindling, but it was also hope in that it increased the chances of survival.
He needed to meet Woo-hyun just once.
Seo-heon headed to the guild and personally tracked Woo-hyun’s movements. When he checked using Ihwa’s name, there was a record of departure, but it was clearly bait without needing deep investigation. Woo-hyun wasn’t a fool, so he wouldn’t have left such an easy trail.
‘He might be thinking of catching me off guard like that, but that’s not the kind of thing Woo-hyun, who prefers orthodox methods, would do.’
In that sense, Seo-heon decided to respond to this invitation for now. He aimed to make others let their guard down from the moment they thought he had fallen for the trap. The next step was to issue a wanted notice.
[I’ll put out the bounty. If this happens, there will be a commotion if he’s not receiving help from anyone, and if there are forces hiding him, it will be quiet. Then we gradually narrow the net. Please start contacting nearby places. I’ll start from Italy and gradually spread out.]
The goal was double tracking. Hearing this, Mi-yeon looked troubled and glanced back and forth between Seo-heon and the wanted notice.
[Do we really need to go this far? Even if Woo-hyun did something wrong, he’s contributed significantly to the guild, so it seems better to handle this gently. It’s also not good to show signs of the guild splitting.]
Mi-yeon rarely expressed opposing opinions. Originally, Seo-heon rarely made bad moves, so there wasn’t much need for persuasion. For Mi-yeon, there were not infrequent cases of being asked to do incomprehensible things, but they had achieved good results in the end. But this time was different. Putting out a bounty on Woo-hyun was clearly a bad move without needing deep thought.
[I’m not doing this to threaten Woo-hyun. Rather, I want to save him.]
Mi-yeon was the type who became efficient in her work when her heart was moved. Knowing this, Seo-heon decided to spend some time explaining while holding his throbbing head.
[If we don’t find him quickly, Baek Woo-hyun will die. Think of it as saving one person.]
Since Seo-heon was a man who could speak lies as if they were truth, Mi-yeon didn’t immediately dispel her doubts.
‘But this is the first time I’ve felt like he can’t control his emotions like this. That appearance isn’t an act. He doesn’t even have the energy to hide his true feelings.’
Seo-heon had a crazed look in his eyes like never before. Even when Woo-hyun was lying in the hospital bed, he didn’t seem normal, but now it looked like he had completely let something go. There was no way words would get through.
‘He seemed to care for Woo-hyun at least. I can believe that much.’
Mi-yeon decided to follow orders for now, thinking that if by any chance the guild master tried to harm Woo-hyun later, she would help secretly.
[Then I’ll depart.]
Seo-heon departed noisily, hoping that Woo-hyun and his companion would let their guard down even for a moment. The reason he took a plane instead of using teleportation was also to make a ‘noisy’ fuss.
It was unexpected. As soon as he arrived at the airport, assassins sprang up around Seo-heon. Since entering the country itself was intended to be a kind of show for Woo-hyun, Seo-heon was naturally alone and was instantly surrounded.
[You’ll have to die here.]
[Why did you make so many enemies?]
A mix of languages from around the world sprang out. They were skilled killers with no intention of hiding their killing intent.
‘Instead of Woo-hyun, I caught small fry.’