The Way of Life for a Terminal S-Class Hunter - C107
With that certainty, he felt he could breathe again. Only after taking several deep breaths did Seo-heon realize he had forgotten how to breathe properly until now.
‘I don’t need to take them all down.’
Dealing with them one by one would be endless.
[S-rank skill, Cold Breath is used. Everything touched by the breath freezes.]
Seo-heon covered the ground with ice.
“Get out of this area!”
Those who grasped the situation tried to escape by rising into the air or using movement skills. A few who were late already had their feet frozen. Seo-heon wasn’t one to miss this opportunity. The ice that started from the ground rose like sharp blades, causing those in flight to crash.
[Magic has been used to a dangerous level. Sufficient rest is needed.]
Though a warning message rang in his head, Seo-heon ignored it and continued using skills without limit. As he fled while erecting solid ice walls, Fiesta guild members who belatedly came to their senses couldn’t easily catch up to Seo-heon. If they had fought openly, there might have been a chance to take him down, but chasing a strong opponent who was using skills while escaping was no easy task.
“Where are you going in such a hurry?”
Isabella asked in a soft voice as if singing. Seo-heon’s momentum, which had been forcefully plowing ahead, diminished. Smoke was spreading throughout the space where Isabella stood.
‘She was said to be a hunter who uses smoke.’
If he entered there, he would be trapped in Isabella’s domain. Seo-heon warned in a flat voice:
“Please step aside. I have no intention of harming the guild.”
“Isn’t it too late for that?”
Isabella retorted as if dumbfounded, looking at the buildings damaged here and there by ice.
“You must have expected this much, since you’ve hidden the person I’m looking for.”
Confirming that Seo-heon was certain of Woo-hyun’s location, Isabella judged there was no point in hiding further. If so, she decided to buy even a little more time for Woo-hyun to escape by dragging out the conversation.
“Coming to find someone who’s eloped, isn’t that too old-fashioned?”
Isabella knew well what words were weak to someone in love. As she thought, Seo-heon showed noticeably shaken gestures.
“It’s not such a simple story.”
Seo-heon pulled himself together, his body crumbling just from knowing Woo-hyun was nearby.
“I received help from Woo-hyun, so I want to grant his wishes. I don’t know what you’re thinking or planning, but let me tell you clearly. Woo-hyun wants to avoid you.”
Isabella clearly harbored goodwill towards Woo-hyun. Seo-heon suddenly wondered if Woo-hyun hadn’t been pained, having to go to his death in front of people who held goodwill towards him. The thought that such pain might feel like nothing in that state made his insides ache even more.
“Granting everything someone wants isn’t always the way to move in a better direction.”
Seo-heon gave up trying to persuade Isabella with words. The smoke had already approached close by. But if he fought, the expected result was that he wouldn’t even see the tip of Woo-hyun’s hair.
‘A frontal clash wouldn’t be good.’
He took out an S-rank sleep bomb that he rarely used. An item that mixed sleeping herbs into Isabella’s smoke spread.
“For someone of Ihwa’s guild master’s stature to resort to such cowardice…”
Isabella tried to endure with strong willpower, but soon fell to one knee. She hadn’t fallen asleep, but was in no state to stop Seo-heon. To shake off his hazy consciousness, Seo-heon stabbed his own hand with an ice sword he created. The sword pierced his palm without resistance, staining the floor with blood.
“Crazy bastard.”
Ignoring Isabella’s words as she collapsed, Seo-heon covered the wound with ice to stop the bleeding and ran. Despite the shallow pain, the haziness remained, but he barely maintained consciousness by punching his other wounds.
‘Not a very human-like appearance.’
Though Seo-heon thought he was becoming closer to a monster, he forced a smile. He had to prepare to talk with Woo-hyun. As he got closer to Woo-hyun, sensations that had been like a corpse vividly returned. Woo-hyun’s presence was clearly drawn beyond the long wall.
Desperate earnestness sometimes exerts superhuman strength. Seo-heon was in that state now.
“He’s beyond this.”
Seo-heon placed his hand on the barrier. Without needing to distinguish what was illusion and what was real, ice from that hand spread across the entire wall. The elaborate ice penetrated the wall, shattering it to pieces. Through the collapsing wall, Seo-heon discovered the back of the person he so longed to see.
‘Always that cold back that leaves me behind.’
Seo-heon now knew well that he had made it so. So he reminded himself not to blame Woo-hyun.
Crash!
Woo-hyun, finally faced after the wall broke, was with Lee-han as expected. What Seo-heon hadn’t expected this time was his own state. Seeing Woo-hyun looking startled in another’s arms, Seo-heon felt the thread of reason he had been barely holding onto completely unravel.
‘Did he really choose Shin Lee-han?’
Seo-heon’s magic burst out in all directions. The power spreading without restraint didn’t care about injuring even himself.
‘I shouldn’t frighten him.’
Seeing Woo-hyun’s shocked expression, Seo-heon desperately tried to regain control of himself.
“Woo-hyun.”
He called Woo-hyun’s name gently. Putting affection into Woo-hyun’s name was not difficult, as it had become a habit beyond just mannerism.
“If you wanted to go on a trip, you should have said so.”
Seo-heon also spoke the next line as a light sentence to avoid threatening the other. However, this caused the listener to feel a severe sense of dissonance, rather intensifying anxiety. The moment Woo-hyun heard those words, he realized that Seo-heon was indeed not in his right mind.
‘Is this a failure?’
Seeing Woo-hyun’s expression become more serious, Seo-heon evaluated himself. Realizing he couldn’t follow an ordinary person’s way of thinking without others’ feedback, Seo-heon felt like he had returned to childhood.
“Do you know what you’re doing, spouting nonsense? If Fiesta Guild raises an issue, this could escalate into a guild war.”
Meanwhile, Woo-hyun discussed practical issues. He didn’t know that this argument was counterproductive to Seo-heon, who wasn’t calculating anything beyond capturing Woo-hyun.
“If you come back now, we can overlook everything.”
Even as Seo-heon said this, he thought he didn’t care what happened to other matters as long as Woo-hyun returned. He was confident he would be a complete being with just Woo-hyun, even if he lost everything else.
“I have no intention of going to you. If I had, I wouldn’t have run away. Stop wasting your energy and go back.”
Seo-heon noticed Woo-hyun signaling to someone else after saying this. Seo-heon, who had intended to talk calmly and ask Woo-hyun for forgiveness, babbled whatever came to mind, gripped by fear that he might not even get a last chance.
“You think I’ll let you escape?”
‘I shouldn’t say this.’
For Seo-heon to speak considerately and respectfully of others, he needed to process it through his brain once. In his current state where only instinct remained, such processing couldn’t occur. Lee-han stepped forward, pushing Woo-hyun towards Antonio. It was an action showing his will to confront Seo-heon.
“Even if you don’t leave now, that guy’s rampage won’t change. I’ll escape using a teleport item after making sure you’ve gone, so trust me and go quickly.”
Though Seo-heon heard Lee-han’s words, he couldn’t respond quickly. He didn’t even guess the reason himself, but it was actually because he wanted to hear what answer Woo-hyun would give.
Lee-han took off the watch he was wearing and held it out.
“Keep this. In return, give it back to me next time we meet.”
Though he was going crazy wanting to tear the two apart right away, Seo-heon endured the stabbing pain in his stomach and just stared at Woo-hyun’s mouth.
“I’ll definitely return it.”
And the words that fell from Woo-hyun’s lips were completely different from Seo-heon’s expectations. He had to acknowledge the fact that he had been abandoned.
‘Since I never threw myself at Woo-hyun in the first place, do I not even qualify to be abandoned?’
His dazed mind was busy only warning that it would be over if he lost Woo-hyun now. Seo-heon decided to follow that instruction.
“Woo-hyun.”
Woo-hyun’s eyes shimmered as he looked at Seo-heon. It seemed like he might drop tears at any moment.
‘It’s a look of contemplation.’
Thinking that perhaps all wasn’t lost, Seo-heon tried to take a step. If the next death sentence hadn’t fallen, he might have rushed to Woo-hyun right then.
“Let’s never see each other again.”
With that, the world turned upside down. Seo-heon checked if he had fallen to the ground. The world remained the same. Only his world rushed towards destruction.
‘No.’
Nothing but that short word came to mind.