Let You Down (11)
"Phew!"
Kim Du-gyeom let out a long sigh. The battle was over. The enemies had retreated, and the mining site was secured. Though Kim Du-gyeom loathed to admit it, Seol Ha-woon had played a massive role.
Harnessing all kinds of strategic weapons by linking them to his magic formulas, Seol Ha-woon's firepower was nothing short of a "glass cannon."
A glass cannon was an actual class. It meant possessing outstanding offensive power at the cost of fragile durability—a position perfectly suited for a guy with one crippled leg.
"Um, Kate..."
Kim Du-gyeom sheepishly approached Kate.
"You worked really hard today."
Kate glanced at him and nodded.
"Yes. You too, Du-gyeom."
Then, she looked toward something. It was the rocky mountain.
Kim Du-gyeom offered a faint smile and spoke.
"Shall we go together? To look for Ha-woon."
No matter how often Seol Ha-woon picked fights or acted like a total piece of shit, Du-gyeom just had to do the opposite. Public opinion would naturally deal Seol Ha-woon the hammer blow he deserved.
"Yes. Let's go."
The two of them climbed the rocky mountain together.
They reached the vicinity of the summit, but Seol Ha-woon, who had entrenched himself there, was nowhere to be seen.
"...Ha-woon? Where are you~?"
Kim Du-gyeom called out for him while thinking to himself:
I hope that son of a bitch is dead. He's probably rolling on the ground after getting beaten to a pulp by Kang Hyun, right? If the cameras weren't here, I'd finish him off myself.
Hiding his malicious thoughts, Kim Du-gyeom searched here and there on the rocky mountain. Just then—
"...Huh?"
He discovered blood. Splatters of blood were scattered all over the mountain path. Following the trail, he found a spot where it had pooled like a small puddle.
There was no way Kang Hyun would lose to Seol Ha-woon, so this had to be Seol Ha-woon's blood.
"Kate!"
He hurriedly called out to Kate. She ran over quickly. Her eyebrows twitched as she stared at the pool of blood.
She estimated the volume of blood loss with her eyes. It wasn't enough to cause instant death, but it was certainly enough to render someone combat-incapable. If left unattended for too long, it would lead to a blackout, and eventually, a threat to life.
"Kate. It looks like..."
Kim Du-gyeom trailed off, feigning sadness.
"Yes. It seems he was Forced Recalled."
In other words, eliminated once. With injuries of this caliber, he might not even recover for the entire duration of the labyrinth.
That meant Seol Ha-woon would naturally be disqualified.
"...What should we do?"
Kim Du-gyeom asked. Kate replied curtly, as if wondering why he was even asking such a thing.
"We should head back."
Kate and Kim Du-gyeom returned to Seer's office. Seer looked between the two of them, tilting his head. He seemed to be searching for Seol Ha-woon, who was missing from their group.
Kate spoke.
"It's just the two of us."
"...It seems there was an unavoidable loss of personnel. I am sorry to hear that."
Quickly catching on, Seer picked up a bottle of whiskey.
"You both did well."
Pour. He poured the liquid into glass cups. The sharp aroma of alcohol wafted through the air.
"Before we proceed, would you like a drink?"
Kim Du-gyeom looked slightly tempted, but Kate shook her head.
"I'm fine."
"Understood."
Seer swirled his glass. *Clink, clink.* Staring at the ice cubes clinking transparently against each other, he murmured casually.
"The excavation of the labyrinth will be completed soon. Aren't you curious about what lies beyond?"
Kate wasn't curious in the slightest. After all, these people were nothing but fakes inside a labyrinth.
"Congratulations."
Kate simply offered her congratulations. Kim Du-gyeom clapped his hands as well.
With a faint smile, Seer took a sip of his whiskey.
"However, before I let you go... there is one thing I am curious about."
Kate checked her wristwatch. She felt it was a waste of time to dally with words. For some reason, the quest completion notification had not appeared yet.
"Where did you all come from?"
*Clack.* Seer's voice scattered coldly, like an ice cube falling and shattering on the floor.
The ominous weight carried in his tone sent a shiver down Kate's spine.
"...Huh? What do you mean, where?"
Kim Du-gyeom tilted his head.
"I am asking about your origin."
At Seer's words, Kim Du-gyeom smiled brightly.
"Ah~ We... came from somewhere pretty far away."
"Perhaps... from beyond the Outer Sea?"
"The... Outer Sea?"
Kim Du-gyeom seemed to have no idea what the Outer Sea was, and neither did Kate. Seer stared intently at the two of them. After a long silence, he gave a slow nod.
"I keep track of all political affairs on this continent. It has been a habit of mine since childhood... Childhood. Now that I think about it, even those memories are highly suspicious."
Seer continued, letting out a dry, self-deprecating chuckle.
"But lately, strange things have been happening. Not just in Raynos, but in other cities as well. People with unfamiliar names, whom we have never seen before, have been popping up like mushrooms after rain."
*Clink. Clink.*
The ice in his glass swirled.
The surrounding air grew freezing cold.
"At first, I thought it was merely a coincidence... But for a moment—just a brief moment—I pondered it deeply. Before falling asleep, like a small dream."
Seer's eyes drifted toward the empty air. As if measuring something invisible, or repeating a question he had once asked himself.
"The more I chewed on it... the more familiar the progression felt. It was so familiar that it felt uncanny."
Kate sensed danger from him.
Seer looked out the window.
"So, I decided to voice a hypothesis that had been lingering in my mind—one that I absolutely loathed to admit."
A shadow fell over Seer's face. In a deeply sorrowful, dark tone, he whispered the words he didn't want to accept.
"Ah... when we conquer a labyrinth."
Beyond the glass windows of the high-rise building, the neon lights mixed with moonlight washed over his collar, casting an eerie shadow across the faces of the two explorers.
"To be precise... when we enter a World Labyrinth."
Seer grit his teeth.
"At those times, we acted exactly like that."
A chill radiated from Seer. A shiver ran down Kate's spine. Her heightened senses picked up external noises.
Outside, there was a considerable number of people.
"It was strange. Why are such things happening to our world? They... why did you..."
Seer glared at Kate and Kim Du-gyeom in turn.
"Why did you come to us?"
A sigh escaped from between his teeth. It was a lamentation that settled heavily, like thick smog.
*Grit.* He clenched his jaw.
"I pondered it hundreds of times."
He stared at Kate. The light in his eyes gleamed calmly behind his rimless glasses.
"In truth, it wasn't pondering, but an effort to deny it."
Mana surged into Seer's hand.
"However, in the end, there was only one hypothesis that could be the answer. The solution left after eliminating all impossibilities."
With a face full of resentment, he spat out his conclusion.
"You all... are people from a higher dimension..."
Kate nudged Kim Du-gyeom's shoulder. Kim Du-gyeom swallowed hard.
"Let me ask you."
Seer gripped his glass. *Shatter!* His bare hand crushed the glass to pieces.
"Am I... a Labyrinthin?"
Meanwhile, Kang Hyun received a message at a restaurant on the outskirts of the city. He tapped on his terminal to send a reply.
"Here you go~"
Just then, a dish resembling a taco was served. Kang Hyun picked it up and stuffed it into his mouth. The failure of the mission was painful, but his mind was entirely occupied with reviewing the battle.
Seol Ha-woon.
Should he have cut him down back then? Could he have withstood a spellcaster's life-risking spell?
Or, what if he had ignored Seol Ha-woon and focused on the main force?
Even then, they would have lost.
The spellcaster Seol Ha-woon's Cognitive Image was specialized for multi-target combat. Winning the battle while leaving him alive was impossible.
Seol Ha-woon had fought a battle he had already won.
The best move to turn the tide of battle would have been to cut Seol Ha-woon down and endure his spell.
But he lacked the physical capability to withstand Seol Ha-woon's self-destruction.
In the end, my skills fell short of Seol Ha-woon's.
*Snap!*
Someone snapped their fingers. Kang Hyun looked in that direction. A man in a black robe was sitting at a table. He called a server and ordered some food.
*Clink.*
Right on cue, the restaurant door opened with a chime. Armed men walked in. Among them was a face familiar to Kang Hyun.
"Ah. There you are."
A bald man. With a tattoo around his eyes, he sat down next to Kang Hyun.
"Where's your friend?"
"It seems he was captured."
Kim Dong-ha had been captured by them. Since his opponents were Kate and Kim Du-gyeom, he probably wouldn't suffer too badly.
"This is getting annoying. That bastard Seer hired a troublesome spellcaster. I heard you killed him?"
"..."
He hadn't killed him, but he didn't bother correcting the man.
"Follow me for now. It's dangerous here. Seer's search party is hunting you down."
Nodding, Kang Hyun stood up. He followed them out the back door. Two vehicles were waiting.
"Get in."
Kang Hyun climbed into the passenger seat.
"Put on your seatbelt."
The bald man kindly reached over and buckled the seatbelt for him. Kang Hyun looked at him with a strange expression.
"You're very kind."
"I've always been like this."
Letting out a chuckle, he stepped on the gas. *Vroom.* As the car sped forward, Kang Hyun asked.
"Are we doing the mission again?"
Once.
Just one more clash, and he felt he could crush him this time.
"Well... who knows?"
Who knows.
A mere phrase, devoid of any real emotion.
At that voice, Kang Hyun's intuition flared.
He silently glanced at the rearview mirror.
Three men sitting in the back seat. Another vehicle tailing them closely from behind.
Sensing Kang Hyun's shift in demeanor, the bald man smirked.
"Quick on the uptake, aren't you?"
"..."
Kang Hyun placed his hand on his waist. *Click.* At that moment, the sound of a gun being chambered echoed from behind. A gun barrel was pressed against Kang Hyun's temple.
The bald man's forehead wrinkled as he spoke.
"It's useless. Our world has technology, you see. Ever heard of a new synthetic fiber that suppresses mana within the body?"
Kang Hyun looked down at the seatbelt binding him.
Just as he said, his mana wouldn't circulate. The seatbelt was locking down his mana.
"Don't worry. We won't hurt you. I heard that if you lose a limb or something, you get Forced Recalled? Just stay still before things get uglier than that."
Someone had already spilled the beans about the system. It was probably Kim Dong-ha.
The bald man twisted his lips into a sneer.
"So, if you just keep your mouth shut and stay still—"
*BOOM—!*
An explosion erupted from the bottom of the vehicle. The windows shattered. The bald man gripping the steering wheel was thrown violently forward. He was launched over the front bumper and scraped across the asphalt, while the men in the back seat were thrown forward, slamming into the car's frame.
*Crash! Bang!*
The jeep bounced like a spring and rolled over and over on the ground. With every roll, the men inside were battered into a pulp.
*Thud! Crash!*
Amidst the violent thrashing, Kang Hyun was relatively safe. It was thanks to the seatbelt.
"...Ugh."
Inside the completely overturned car, Kang Hyun furrowed his brow in pain. It felt like his ribs were broken.
"Ah, fuck, goddammit, what son of a..."
One of them was still breathing. He spat out curses and tried to push himself up, but—
*Whoosh.*
A vibration in the passing wind.
A magic bullet flying through the shattered rear window pierced right between his eyes. His instantly lifeless body slumped like limp seaweed.
*Thud— Thud—*
The sound of a cane tapping against the ground echoed from somewhere.
Kang Hyun looked at the rearview mirror. A man in a black robe. The same man whose back he had seen in the restaurant was limping toward them.
*Thud— Thud—*
Before long, he stood in front of the car. Looking through the shattered windshield at Kang Hyun, who was hanging upside down from his seatbelt, the man smirked.
"You alright?"
*Fling.* Throwing off his hood as if casually asking how he was doing, the man was—Seol Ha-woon.
He spoke nonchalantly.
"The seatbelt saved you."