Chapter 200
Translator: uly
Chapter: 200
Chapter Title: Part 2 Episode 63
Dun woke up inside the gate from the white electric net draped over him, where he had fallen asleep alongside Yeouhui.
Shortly after the electricity pierced through the gate's interior, the gate began to close.
Dun emerged from the gate carrying the unconscious Yeouhui, handed her over to the rescue team, and returned to Daboseok where Byun Woojin was.
Byun Woojin, now fully healed, had been tossed out onto the street.
"Why's Woojin dumped out there like that?"
"We completed his treatment safely and discharged him."
"Tiarin said that since he's healthy now, he should be returned to nature."
"I see."
The elves really didn't hold back with outsiders.
After picking up Woojin, who had been shoved into a corner once his treatment was done, and dumping him in his room, Dun felt drowsiness crash over him again.
*Gonna catch some sleep while Woojin’s out cold,* he thought, heading down to the garden and flopping into the hammock.
*The optional quests are all cleared now, right?*
Optional Quests:
[S-Rank Quest] Pyo Sanghun of B-Class (Completed)
Description: Handle it yourself.
[Rewards Claimed]
-[Legendary] 10x Magic Power Amplification Potion
-Permanent 2% Ability Utilization Rate Increase
[S-Rank Quest] Busan Hysis Gate (Completed)
Description: Handle it yourself.
[Claim Reward]
Dun stared at the "Completed" marks on the quest list. All that remained were two mandatory quests.
Mandatory Quests:
[S-Rank Quest] Re-enter Default Room
Quest Description: Recover the memories presumed lost, as told by Sister Rahee.
[S-Rank Quest] Kill Yi Saebyeok
Description: Kill her to separate her soul from her body and send it back to the past.
With the Hysis Gate closed, it was time to meet up with Sister Rahee next.
Yawn. Dun let out a lazy yawn.
*I wonder what the Hysis Gate reward is.*
He'd thought optional quests offered nothing, but surprisingly, there were rewards.
After finishing Pyo Sanghun's quest, his ability utilization rate had gone up, and he'd gotten the magic power amplification potion.
He hadn't needed that potion, so on the way back, he'd tossed it to Pyo Sanghun, who was set to shine in the Hysis Gate.
Curious about the Hysis Gate reward, Dun selected Claim Reward.
[Your Ability Utilization Rate has permanently increased by 2%!]
The moment the alert appeared, he felt refreshed all over. It was a small number, but raising it by even 1% was incredibly tough, so 2% made a huge difference in how light his body felt.
[Busan Metropolitan City, Haeundae-gu, Songjeong-dong]
35°10'58.1"N 129°12'25.2"E
Another reward popped up—this time, not an item, but a piece of information.
*What’s this, a map?*
It was even around the spot where the Hysis Gate had burst open. Why give him these coordinates out of nowhere?
Dun blinked slowly, lost in thought. Maybe this area rang a bell.
*I’ll think about it later.*
He'd been on edge from the North Pole all the way through the Hysis Gate, so with everything wrapped up, the tension melted away, and sleep came pouring in.
Dun stripped off his outer layer, leaving just his sleeveless top for comfort, and sprawled out on the hammock.
He swept his bangs back from his forehead, mulling over his next steps, then drifted off naturally.
§ § §
*No corpse found, so maybe he didn't die.*
I searched the area near the sea where the Hysis Gate had exploded, along with the search team sent by the Association President.
Unfortunately, I lacked the ability to breathe underwater or channel magic into my legs to slice through strong currents, so I stuck to scouring the beach.
I'd once been able to hold my breath underwater for a full day after taking the underwater breathing potion, but whether my body recovered or not, the ability vanished the next day.
While other hunters dove into the deep waters, I donned goggles and poked around in the shallows.
Still, nothing turned up.
I rewatched the live broadcast featuring the man presumed to be Byun Woojin.
*Floating on the water, then suddenly gone.*
Something felt off. I gave up on the beach and checked every big and small gate in the vicinity, just in case.
*Name...? The director called him Byun Woojin.*
*Can I eat this? Uh.... Thanks...!*
*Everyone teases me whenever I open my mouth because of Yeouhui. You won't tease me, right? Oh, what? Even you.... I hate you. I won't talk to you anymore.*
*But talking to you makes the pressure vanish somehow. I like that.*
Memories of Byun Woojin flooded my mind.
Mostly good ones. I tried forcing myself to recall the fights we'd had, but it only made me more conflicted.
I drew my blade and sliced into the monster flesh around me.
§ § §
After a long, deep sleep, Dun's eyes snapped open.
For some reason, he'd dreamed of his Yi Saebyeok days. It felt unusually vivid.
As he tried to sit up in the hammock, he felt something foreign in his hand.
Someone else's fingers. Thin, long ones interlaced with his own.
He turned his head and saw Byun Woojin staring at him.
"Whoa, you scared me. Fuck."
"......"
Byun Woojin watched him with a tense expression.
Maybe because of the dream about Byun Woojin, seeing him right upon waking felt a bit unfamiliar.
"......Dun."
He looked like he had a ton to say. Dun didn't pull his hand away and instead rubbed his eyes with his wrist.
He'd probably explain the situation. Dun yawned midway and nodded for him to go ahead.
"Dun, were you...... an angel?"
Dun choked.
"Or a grim reaper? You're in heaven, so angel fits, but do angels moonlight as reapers too?"
"What?"
Dun played dumb. Just like when he'd dodged questions about user info sources, feigning innocence with a straight face.
Byun Woojin narrowed his eyes.
"The person I saw in my room last time—you, right? You dropped right on top of me."
"......"
"Were you there to warn me and Serim about dying, or just me?"
"What......?"
Dun's pupils trembled in confusion.
How did he arrive at that conclusion?
The misunderstanding was wrong from the root. Too much hassle to clarify, so Dun just blinked wide-eyed and scratched his belly.
"Th...... think whatever you want."
As Dun fumbled an excuse, Byun Woojin nodded. Seemed like a non-disclosure rule was in play.
The angel stood, stretching languidly. Byun Woojin, still holding his hand, ended up raising his arm too.
He fidgeted, wondering how far he could pry, then spoke up.
"Saebyeok can come here too, right......?"
"?"
"The friend I mentioned. Saebyeok.... She can come here if she dies, yeah?"
"Ah."
Dun got it.
Byun Woojin thought he was dead now, hence seeing Dun as an angel or reaper.
Maybe he figured Daboseok was some paradise for the afterlife.
"This place is for her."
"?"
Byun Woojin tilted his head, not following.
"Anyway, let's head back. You're not dead."
Dun grinned and slung an arm around Byun Woojin's shoulder amiably.
Talking with him made the map reward click.
*What a clever reward.*
Dun chuckled dryly. It was for his past self, not current, but close enough.
Was it even a reward, really?
"......I'm not dead?"
"Yeah. What, don't wanna go back?"
Dun turned, smiling as he gazed at Byun Woojin. They walked the garden in silence until Byun Woojin shook his head.
"Don't wanna be here alone. I'll bring everyone later."
"Suit yourself. Bring Yeouhui or not?"
Byun Woojin flinched hard at Dun's teasing. He pondered deeply as they walked.
After an eternity, he forced the words out.
"Bring her anyway. But house her far away."
Dun dropped his head and burst into laughter.
"Pfft, got it. Heh. Ahem. Still so sweet."
Byun Woojin eyed Dun's prolonged chuckling warily, struck by a strange déjà vu of Yi Saebyeok.
She'd probe just like that, then crack up. Push with her nemesis Seol Doyun, and she'd get serious.
"If you wanna go back, I'll send you home. Close your eyes."
Dun raised a hand to cover Byun Woojin's eyes. The rough but warm palm pressed against his lids.
He regretted not spending more time with Dun, but Yi Saebyeok's anxiety weighed heavier.
She'd sacrifice herself easily to shield Yeouhui and the others from ruin. Who knew what she'd do if he vanished.
He hadn't realized how much Yi Saebyeok cherished the Abyss kids. Recalling the school incident, he'd thought her ruthless.
The image of her scarred body still gave him chills and blurred his vision.
He both loved and hated that about her.
Anyway, time to go.
"Open when I say."
Dun's voice came from beside him, and his body floated weightlessly.
* * *
As Dun instructed, Byun Woojin kept his eyes shut until told otherwise, standing obediently.
Kieeeek!
He heard monsters dying around him.
He couldn't pinpoint the location with eyes closed, but disobeying the angel might send him to hell or kill him again, so he stayed put.
Better to follow blindly without knowing afterlife logistics.
Kieeeek!
Earlier, monsters dying by Dun's hand sounded close; now, they echoed from afar.
"......Ah, shit. Covered in blood."
With sharp ears, Byun Woojin caught a familiar voice from the distance.
*Yi Saebyeok?*
He focused on it.
It didn't repeat, but monster deaths rang out nearby instead.
The sounds drew closer, reaching his area.
Something approached, though eyes closed hid it.
"!!! B-Byun, Byun Woojin!!!!"
It spoke. No doubt now—Yi Saebyeok's voice.
"Hey, what're you doing!! Eyes hurt? Open them!!"
Debating, Byun Woojin lifted his lids at her words.
No scolding from Dun thankfully.
Yi Saebyeok's face filled his view, etched with shock, relief, joy, and fury.
"You fucking XXXXXXXXX!!!!"
A torrent of curses followed as she crushed him in a hug, forehead to his shoulder.
Byun Woojin widened his eyes at the fierce welcome, then hugged back tightly.
Tears streamed from Yi Saebyeok's eyes.
She'd found her vanished Byun Woojin in the unlikeliest spot.
No clue how he appeared healed, but it didn't matter.
"What the fuck. Thank god. Ah, fuck. Thank god. Ah, really, ah. Fuck. Cough, cough! Hah, fuck. Really. You have no idea how...... Ah. Fuck, terrifying."
Clinging fiercely, Yi Saebyeok sobbed raggedly, voice hoarse and broken.
In mad relief, she laughed like a lunatic.
Everyone was alive in the end. Back to square one.
She'd lost nothing now.
*I can do it. Even without power, I can protect them. They're all alive. Thank god they're alive. But this was pure luck. No more close calls. Never again.*
Iron determination gleamed in her teary eyes.
*So even if I have to die, I need to awaken.*