Instinctively

It was Saturday. While Lee Ho-yeon was out on a date with Rumi, a gate incident erupted across the capital region, and hunters belonging to the Association rushed out in emergency support.

The Association hunters and those urgently mobilized threw themselves into the fight without reservation. Thanks to them, there were no civilian casualties—but plenty of hunters came back hurt.

And so Baek A-young's ambulance never saw a lull.

"Saint! Thank you! I feel like I could fly! Haha!"

"Oh, honestly, I told you not to call me that."

"Well then, I'll be on my way!"

He bowed and left. Baek A-young saw the man off, then stepped back into the ambulance.

"Hahh, it never ends. Still, I think I can handle about ten more."

"Wow, you're really incredible. You do the work of five other healers all by yourself—no wonder everyone keeps calling you the Saint."

"Ehehe... thanks."

Kim A-ra, Baek A-young's junior, couldn't help but be amazed every time she looked at her. It wasn't just the healing ability that could supposedly bring back the dead—her stamina and mana were staggering.

Recovery magic used mana, of course, but treating anyone beyond a certain severity also demanded the caster's own physical stamina. You gave away a sliver of your life force and amplified it. That was why other healers would be drained after treating just one or two critically wounded patients, while Baek A-young could take on more than ten by herself.

But doing that every single day, right up until she's about to collapse—is that even human?

That ability made her the undisputed number one healer in the world. On top of that she was kind, beautiful, and even her mannerisms were adorable. Calling her the Saint reborn would not have been an exaggeration. Naturally, Kim A-ra loved every day she got to work alongside her.

"Wow, you really treated ten more people after that."

"Mm. But I'm starting to feel it now. You treated three yourself. Good work."

"I always end up overdoing it when I work with you, Senior Baek... Three patients is enough to shave years off my life."

"I'm the weird one, so don't push yourself."

"Come on, don't say stuff like that. Should we start packing up? Looks like we're done."

"Yeah, let's do that."

Even though she had to be exhausted, Baek A-young worked with a smile on her face, and Kim A-ra found herself envious of that willpower.

"Y-yes! I'll treat you to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dinner tonight, so—"

Emergency responders cut her off as they burst in.

"Critical patient! Critical patient! Open the ambulance, now!"

"A critical patient?!"

A crash of motion, and a man came into view on a stretcher.

"S-Senior! His condition...!"

"...Yeah."

The man's condition was horrific. His left arm had been torn away as if something had bitten it clean off, and both legs had been severed below the ankles. It was a miracle he hadn't already gone into shock and died. But the blood kept coming, and it looked as though he would bleed out at any moment.

"Saint...! A monster that had been hiding ambushed him! Please, save him! He just got married!"

The man who had followed the stretcher slammed his forehead to the floor, begging Baek A-young.

"I-I'll contact the nearest branch!"

"No. I'll treat him."

"Senior!"

"You know as well as I do. If we don't treat him right now, this patient dies."

"..."

Kim A-ra knew. In this condition, the patient wouldn't last five minutes. But even for Baek A-young—could she really pull this off?

The man was only alive because he was a hunter. For all intents and purposes, he was already dead. A wound this severe meant a healer had to treat him prepared to take internal damage themselves. And right now, Baek A-young had been healing patients all day. Her mana was nearly gone. Forcing a treatment like this could damage a healer's lifespan, or their mana circuits.

And yet she stepped forward as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Kim A-ra felt a surge of respect. The willingness to sacrifice without a moment's hesitation, for someone else's sake.

Is this woman actually a saint?

That was what Kim A-ra thought as she watched Baek A-young draw up her mana.

Baek A-young, however, was thinking something else entirely.

In her eyes, she saw a dying man. A man who could drop dead at any second and it wouldn't have been strange. She had seen men like this hundreds of times. Thousands.

When had it started? Whenever she treated critically wounded men, she could feel their survival instinct. The will to live. The craving for pleasure. The urge to sow their seed. That tremendous energy radiating off them transferred to Baek A-young, undiluted.

The feeling was strange, but it wasn't something she could ever be proud of. If she said she felt a man's sexual desire with her entire body while treating him, people would take her for some heat-crazed slut. So Baek A-young buried those words in her chest.

When she treated men who were truly on the verge of death, she would see it: a bulge rising at their groin. A man's pheromones grew especially strong when his life was in danger. His cock would stand rigid, radiating the urge to breed. Was it the instinct to leave a seed in the world? It was especially fierce in the young and healthy ones.

She could feel it even now. That this man, even through excruciating pain, felt sexual desire for her. Males were grotesque like that—looking at the woman saving their life and getting hard.

At first that behavior had filled her with disgust. But she couldn't stop treating them. The fulfillment and satisfaction of saving a life gave Baek A-young a sense of peace that outweighed the filthy feeling of revulsion. As she kept at it, she adapted to the lust those males directed at her.

But the more she was exposed to that thick survival instinct and male nature, the stranger her own body became. The way a man's eyes would drift to her chest even as she healed him. No matter how decent a man was, every man hid sexual desire inside him. The urge to pin her down right then and force his cock into her. The only things holding them back were the laws, the morals, and the rational thoughts society had drilled into them over a lifetime.

True masculinity was pinning a woman down, crushing her, and planting your seed. At least, that was how Baek A-young saw it. A man's reproductive drive. The twisted masculinity and lust buried deep inside him. The ugly nature that only surfaced when death was close.

There's a saying: If you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.

Before she knew it, Baek A-young had fallen into the abyss.

A monitor beeped thinly.

On the stretcher in front of her was a patient on the verge of death. She'd treated too many people today and had a slight headache, but she drew up her mana as if it were second nature. For Baek A-young, a critical patient was a rare opportunity that didn't come often.

Warm light spilled from her hands, wrapping around the patient's body, slowly knitting him back together. Her own vitality drained away to replenish his life force. The headache grew worse. Her vision swam. Her thirst intensified. It felt like something was wringing her out from the inside. Baek A-young's body grew more and more defenseless.

Soon the patient lying there would come to, and take in the sight of her. The lust buried deep in his core was speaking.

But the rational thoughts of a member of society, sunk in too deep to uproot, held him back.

A slow, aching squeeze. Baek A-young's pussy grew wet. The instinctive desire to be pinned down by the man in front of her seized her completely. This had to happen now, or never. This moment—when a man felt his most instinctive urges—was what mattered.

But of course, the man looked away from her.

Baek A-young couldn't understand men who rejected their instincts, trapped inside the cage of society.

Why won't you jump me? You keep glancing at my chest, so why? You feel lust looking at me, so why? Why?

As the treatment progressed, her stamina and mana kept falling.

"Hnnnh..."

A moan slipped out at the sensation of losing control of her body. She could barely stay on her feet. But the more her strength left her, the more aroused she became.

If he jumped me right now, I wouldn't be able to do a thing. He'd just shove it in. He could irresponsibly cum inside me and I couldn't even resist—I'd get pregnant with some piece of trash's kid...

Baek A-young's pussy throbbed, but the man only stole glances at her, then looked away with a self-reproaching expression.

Hahh. Another bust.

When the treatment was finally over, the patient and the other man bowed over and over, pouring out their thanks. Even as they thanked her, their eyes drifted to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Baek A-young's chest. That was just male instinct. After a brief rest, once her condition had recovered, she pretended not to notice their gazes and accepted their gratitude with a smile.

If you're going to do that, you should've just jumped me when I was too weak to fight back.

Baek A-young grumbled inwardly for no good reason.

"You worked hard, Senior."

Kim A-ra, who'd been helping out beside her, spoke up.

"Mm, thanks. I'm a little dizzy today, so let's eat later?"

"Yes, yes, of course. You have to go to the orphanage tomorrow. Get some rest!"

"Yeah. I'll head in first."

Last night, I established a secret-friend relationship with Rumi at a motel.

After spending the night with her, I stopped by the dorms briefly on Sunday, talked with Liliana, then left again right away. Destination: Sunlight Orphanage. A place the heroine Baek A-young visited often.

Come to think of it, it's been a really long time since I last saw her.

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hadn't been to the orphanage since the last dungeon practical. Baek A-young had probably been busy with her helper work too, so it wasn't surprising we hadn't run into each other.

"Oh? You're Cadet Ho-yeon, right? It's been a while~! We thought you'd given up on coming!"

I was crossing the yard after stepping into Sunlight Orphanage when a childcare worker I vaguely recognized from last time called out.

"Haha... hello. I've been pretty busy lately. Where's the director?"

"She should be playing with the kids in the backyard around now? A-young is here too, so go take a look!"

"Thank you."

Nice. Good news. Looks like Baek A-young stopped by today as well. Lucky timing.

"Hello!"

I could see Baek A-young and the director watching the children play. Baek A-young, with that generous, wholesome figure of hers, and the director, with her equally wholesome face, turned this way and welcomed me.

"Well now, Ho-yeon. It's been a while. A-young dropped by after a long time too—is today some kind of special occasion?"

"I'm sorry. I've had so much going on lately, it's been a while since I could visit. Hello to you too, A-young."

Baek A-young took my hand in surprise at my greeting and spoke.

"Ho-yeon! I saw the article about you fighting a Fiend. Are you okay?"

"A F-Fiend? What on earth are you talking about?"

I guess being active in the field means she gets news fast. Or maybe the director is just slow on the uptake? Perhaps the Academy worked hard to keep it from becoming a big issue among civilians.

"Well, I'm fine. I wasn't badly hurt, and I'm standing right here, aren't I?"

"Phew, that's a relief. I was so worried when I saw your name in the article."

Baek A-young had that aura unique to genuinely good people. Talking to someone like her made even me feel like my heart was being cleansed.

...Or maybe not.

A man led by instinct, huh. I think I had a rough idea of what I needed to do.

Because of the name Saint, Baek A-young had never been able to fulfill her dearest wish—getting raped while completely defenseless. The holiness that clung to that title made it nearly impossible to steer things in that direction.

"Big bro~!"

The little kid who'd loved my juggling last time came running over.

"It's been a while, huh?"

"Big bro! Why'd you take so long! Show me that thing from last time again!"

"Alright, alright. Let's play."

The kid grabbed my hand and dragged me into the crowd of children.

"Sniff sniff. Big bro, how come you smell like candy?"

"Huh?"

What the hell was she talking about?

I treated the kids to my secret five-ball juggling show and played with them for a while. Before long the director announced it was time to eat and herded the children back inside.

Baek A-young and I sat down on a bench in the yard and talked.

"You worked hard. And once again, it was nothing but juggling. Heh."

"I got a lot better than last time, though, right?"

"You did. Your skill's improved so much it's obvious. And the kids kept crowding around you, saying you smelled nice... I'm a little jealous."

"Come on... way more kids were stuck to you, A-young."

"Hehe. Were they?"

The reward I'd gotten for clearing Rumi's quest: Sweet Body. Thanks to that effect, the scent coming off me had turned sweet. I'd even licked my own arm just to check, and my arm tasted sweet too. What was I, some kind of chocolate man?

"The dungeon practical is next week. Are you preparing well? I hear this exam is supposed to be a tough one?"

She was beaming. Whether it was the thought of seeing me next week that had her in such a good mood, Baek A-young was grinning from ear to ear. She probably wanted to show off that grown-up look in a formal suit again. She'd been so happy when I reacted to it last time.

The next dungeon practical was going to go wrong because of a terrorist attack. There was no point dragging this topic out. Time to change the subject.

"Come to think of it, what kind of work do you actually do when you go out as a dungeon helper?"

"Ah... all sorts of things. Support deployments and so on. Of course, most of it is healer work."

"I see. I've heard your healing ability is incredible. They call you the Saint reborn."

"Please don't call me that. It's honestly embarrassing. A saint, of all things."

"Don't healers take a lot of mental strain, though? Places like dungeons must have a lot of wounded."

Of course, that didn't really apply to Baek A-young. The truth was she wore herself out because she overdid the healing every day. If she paced herself even a little, she wouldn't feel fatigue at all.

"That's true. On the days I push too hard, I end up with a full-body ache that lasts the entire day."

"Wow. You'd be completely defenseless at a time like that. You'd have to be careful."

I said it on purpose—something that might have been a little rude. Baek A-young actually liked that kind of thing.

"...I suppose so."

"If someone timed it and jumped you then, that would be a real disaster."

She loathed the way men treated her as something sacred because of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Saint title. Piquing a woman like that's interest was easy. I just had to be the same bad-boy Lee Ho-yeon I always was.

"Y-yes... that would be terrible. Really terrible..."

Something in Baek A-young's eyes shifted, just a little.