Chapter 106
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: Karmic Flames
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[Kang Se-bin has escaped from the 'Nightmare of Loss'.]
[Remaining ingredients: 1]
[Time until ascending to the Gourmet's table: 5 hours 28 minutes]
'Five hours and twenty-eight minutes...'
It had taken far too long to wake Se-bin from her nightmare. Now, only Choi Min Hunter remained. The key was how much progress Han Jin-woo Hunter and Cha Do-yun Hunter had made in her nightmare.
Thud.
Se-bin and I stood before Choi Min Hunter's nightmare. The entrance was a crumpled iron door, twisted in every direction. I'd felt uneasy sending Han Jin-woo Hunter and Cha Do-yun Hunter inside earlier, and it still gave me the creeps.
I inserted the fork into the keyhole and twisted. With a sharp click, the door swung open. As I reached for the round handle—
"Ow, hot!!"
"You okay?!"
The searing heat jolted me fully awake. I glanced at my palm to see a angry red welt already forming.
What's going on in there?
As I alternated stares between the door handle and my palm, a burst of pure white light enveloped the burn. Thanks to the self-healing boost from the Aiter robe, the mark vanished in moments.
I'd marvel at the item's power later. For now, we had to enter Choi Min Hunter's nightmare. Se-bin used her shadow hand to fling the door wide open and turned to me.
"Let's go."
"Yeah."
With a wave of suffocating heat, we stepped into Choi Min Hunter's nightmare.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
Gigantic fireballs plummeted from the sky, while azure flames devoured the ground. If Se-bin's nightmare had been a vast cosmic void adrift with corpses, this was hell itself.
The inferno was so fierce it seemed it could incinerate the heavens.
"What in the world..."
"Ji-ui, over there!"
A clump of brown fur lay where Se-bin pointed—Han Jin-woo Hunter's Lucky Rabbit's Foot.
KABOOM!!
Dodging falling flames, we raced toward it. Through the acrid smoke, a fresh grassy scent pierced my nose. That had to be Cha Do-yun Hunter's Sky Breeze. Emboldened, we pressed on until ash-covered blonde hair came into view.
"Cha Do-yun Hunter!"
"Shin Ji-ui Hunter...! Ah, Kang Se-bin Hunter made it out safe too."
"Thanks to Ji-ui. But what's the situation?"
Cha Do-yun Hunter grimaced and tilted his head skyward. Following his gaze, I spotted a dust-caked figure unleashing merciless explosions.
That silhouette looks oddly familiar...
Long, lanky build, short hair, wreathed in flames. Yeah, I knew this person.
"That's Choi Min Hunter from inside the nightmare... And that dust means it's probably the source of the nightmare."
Han Jin-woo Hunter, sprawled beside the Lucky Rabbit's Foot, answered as if he'd read my mind. He was panting, his face plastered with Healing Hands. Angry red marks already ringed his neck.
"The real Choi Min Hunter's inside the Air Raid Shelter right now. See it back there?"
"My god..."
"Once we saw her whole nightmare, she moved us straight into the shelter. But, ow ow ow..."
Han Jin-woo Hunter tried to rise but flopped back down. His leg wounds clearly weren't fully healed. Cha Do-yun Hunter sighed and took over.
"By the time we got inside the shelter, Choi Min Hunter was beyond anything we could handle. No matter what we said, she wouldn't recognize it as a nightmare."
"After that, we got kicked out of the shelter, and when we came out... there it was."
I looked up again at the nightmare's source.
Does Choi Min Hunter think she's the nightmare itself?
The source paused its attacks on us, silently gazing down at the earth.
KABOOM!!
Just when I thought it might stay calm, it hurled another fireball at the ground. The meteor-like blaze erupted upward on impact, scattering embers and dirt everywhere. A pitch-black shadow briefly enveloped us before slithering to Se-bin's feet.
We couldn't delay any longer.
I had to pull Choi Min Hunter out of that shelter fast.
"Where's the nightmare entrance?"
"Right next to the shelter. The nightmare itself isn't long. The problem is she won't listen."
Cha Do-yun Hunter bit his lip as he added that. I gripped the Gourmet's Fork tight and stood. Se-bin transformed her bracelet into Shadow and positioned herself beside me.
"While you talk to Choi Min Hunter, I'll handle that thing."
"I'll back you up."
Cha Do-yun Hunter rose slowly as Se-bin spoke. The Healing Hand on his shoulder crumbled away. I nodded to them and bolted toward the shelter with the Bird That Listens to Daytime Words.
BOOM-BOOM!
Explosions tore at my eardrums like thunderbolts. A tsunami of flames surged before me, but I leaped over it without breaking stride. I hurled the Gourmet's Fork toward the shelter; it streaked ahead as I chased after it.
"Ji-ui, don't get hurt!"
"You too!"
We flashed grins. Se-bin leaped high, slashing Shadow across the void to carve space itself. As she engaged the nightmare's source, I sprinted for the iron door beside the shelter. The fork scratched frantically at it, urging me on, and flew into my hand the moment I landed.
I steadied my pounding heart and stepped into Choi Min Hunter's nightmare.
Chirp, chirp-chirp.
The sound of flowing water mingled with occasional birdsong. Pebbles clattered as they tumbled away. Each cool breeze on my skin felt like burying my face in a pile of fallen leaves.
"Ah."
My whiteout vision cleared quickly.
This place feels familiar...
A clear river flowed by, lined with quaint pensions along the gravel shore. Restaurants, karaoke bars, and a large cafe dotted the area. Turning slowly, I spotted a huge sign in the distance: "Nami Island Dock."
It was the entrance to the Gapyeong S-Rank Gate.
Choi Min Hunter's nightmare began right where she'd awakened—at her most horrific moment.
"Choi Min~ Grab some charcoal from the trunk!"
"Come on. It's Choi Min-i to you from your big sis!"
"Ack! Dad!"
A young man's voice rang out. Turning toward it, I saw a guy my age waving from the second-floor deck of a pension.
Whoosh.
I bounded across the slippery gravel in one leap, arriving at the car. There was a younger-looking Choi Min Hunter unloading charcoal from the trunk.
"The real Choi Min Hunter..."
Aside from her black hair and slightly shorter stature, she looked exactly like the one I knew. She hefted a huge bag of charcoal and glanced at the terrace, where her little brother was getting an earful from Dad. A faint smile played on her lips.
She can smile like that.
Remembering how she always hid her smiles made my chest ache.
Vrrr—
"Huh?"
The Gourmet's Fork vibrated fiercely, darting busily over young Choi Min Hunter's head.
Is this the real Choi Min Hunter?
I blocked her path into the pension. She startled and stepped back.
"Choi Min Hunter! You see me, right? You can see me?!"
"Who... are you?"
"Snap out of it! This is your nightmare!"
[Eloquence increased]
[Awakener 'Shin Ji-ui's' words unsettle Awakener 'Choi Min'.]
Choi Min Hunter clearly registered me. This had to be the real her. I grabbed her arms and drew a deep breath.
"This is the Gourmet's nightmare. Everyone else has woken up—they're all waiting for you!"
"Min-ah~ What're you doing standing there alone?"
A woman's voice called from above.
[Speech result: Irritated]
Choi Min Hunter scowled at me for a long moment, then looked up and called out.
"Nothing, Mom. Coming up."
"Wait, hold on. Choi Min Hunter!"
"...You must be tired lately."
She left me stranded in the yard and headed inside.
"Hyuk-ah, let's grill all the meat and then fry some rice."
"If you do the dishes, sis."
"So stingy."
Upstairs, a cheerful family dinner was underway. I leaped up with the Bird That Listens to Daytime Words, hit by the savory aroma of grilling meat. Choi Min Hunter's little brother strutted around, slapping cuts onto the hot plate, while she and her parents doted on him amid the feast.
She has dimples.
I only noticed now how shallow dimples formed on her cheeks when she smiled.
"Eat up, our girl."
"Yeah. It's been ages since you got leave—rest well. Tomorrow, we'll bike around Nami Island."
Choi Min Hunter's parents patted her shoulder, gazing across the river. The twilight sun made the water sparkle like jewels. The scene around them was so serene, yet so precarious.
Maybe because I knew this peace would soon shatter into blood and despair.
"Hmm..."
"What's over there? Why do you keep looking that way?"
Choi Min Hunter met my eyes.
Get up now.
I mouthed the words. Her brow furrowed deeper. Her brother glanced my way too, but saw only the mountain behind me and gave his sister a weird look instead.
Choi Min Hunter looked away from me and chugged her cola.
"Nah. Just tired, I guess."
"Choi Hyuk, what did Dad say about using nice words with your sister?"
"Whiiiine. Aren't you too harsh on your youngest son?"
It was a fragile peace that could shatter at a touch. Tearing my eyes from the tender scene, I turned toward the container box housing the gate.
Vrrr-vrrr—
The Gourmet's Fork wailed like a siren. A harbinger that something massive was about to happen here soon. I closed my eyes and drew a deep breath, clutching the fork amid the laughter and my quickening heartbeat.
Vrrr—
The fork rang out again, and for an instant, every sound around me halted.
KABOOM!!
A deafening roar ripped through space, accompanied by a gale that nearly bowled me over. Cautiously, I opened my eyes and turned toward the pension where Choi Min Hunter had been.
All that remained was the scar where someone's happiness had been carved away.