The Original Protagonist in a Twisted Original

"What the hell happened?"

At Lamia's words, I started to spread my senses, intending to check what kind of situation Lee Ha-yeon and Han Se-hee had gotten themselves into. But Lamia spoke again before I could.

Just how badly had things gone off the rails that two of the original heroines were staring down death five years before the story was even supposed to start?

The original protagonist really is useless.

Granted, this was five years before the original timeline, so he was weaker than he'd been at the start of the main plot. But I had zero interest in thinking well of Baek Seo-jin, so his circumstances meant nothing to me.

Clicking my tongue inwardly at a Baek Seo-jin who couldn't even protect his own heroines, I hurriedly spread my senses to check on Han Se-hee and Lee Ha-yeon's condition. Since I was still inside South Korea, the information came to me at once.

"Gye Un-jik."

An SSS-class villain who appeared as one of the early bosses in the original story. That bastard had shown himself five years before the original was even supposed to begin.

"So it's this guy."

In the original, Gye Un-jik hadn't been an easy opponent even for the early-story Baek Seo-jin. Even among SSS-class hunters, a fight wasn't simply a matter of experience. Being SSS-class didn't mean everyone sat on the same level. They were all lumped under that single label, but the gaps within it were enormous.

There were cases like Choi Kang-in, classified as National Power Level.

Choi Kang-in was so overwhelmingly stronger than other hunters that ranking him within SSS-class had been deemed meaningless, so he'd been given his own designation: National Power Level. Set him aside as an exception and divide SSS-class into roughly five tiers, and Gye Un-jik sat around the third.

And a fully matured one, even within that third tier.

Baek Seo-jin had already been an SS-class hunter at twenty when he entered the academy. Choi Kang-in, who'd taken notice of his talent, named him heir to the Kangin Guild. With the guild's full backing, he'd grown into an SSS-class hunter. Pushed forward by Choi Kang-in's favor, he'd gone on fighting villain after villain, building his reputation — and the walls standing in his path had been the SSS-class villains.

Even in this timeline, Baek Seo-jin would naturally have been fighting villains and honing his own skills.

He won't die immediately, at least.

Han Se-hee and Lee Ha-yeon weren't in immediate danger of dying. But if things continued like this, in twenty minutes they'd be offered as sacrifices to The Fox that Devours the World — a fate worse than simply dying in this world. I couldn't just leave them to that.

"Seo-jun, are you going to go save those girls?"

Seomun Ye-jin, who'd also been watching the breaking news, asked me. She might not have known Lee Ha-yeon well, but she was at least slightly acquainted with Han Se-hee. That made sense — Han Se-hee had added both of us as friends on messenger. And whenever Ye-jin and I had business in Gaeseong, we'd run into her from time to time. Of course she couldn't just stand by and let the girl die.

"That's the plan."

"Then take me with you."

Seomun Ye-jin, who would turn nineteen after today, placed a hand over her chest.

"I've gotten a little stronger now... I won't get in your way."

At her words, I looked at her in silence for about ten seconds.

"It should help with your growth."

A deafening boom tore through the air.

The man who appeared was dressed neatly in a black long coat, a white scarf draped over his shoulders. Combined with his glasses and an impression that somehow looked intellectual, he resembled a man of the cloth far more than a villain.

"Gye Un-jik!"

The moment Baek Seo-jin saw him, he screamed the name like a shriek.

Gye Un-jik. One of the most notorious SSS-class villains, a man who had barely been active in recent years. But he was still SSS-class. Even if years had passed since his last appearance, Baek Seo-jin — who remembered the names and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠faces of every SSS-class villain in the country — recognized him instantly.

"Let us pray."

Having revealed himself, Gye Un-jik clasped his hands together like a devout monk and offered a prayer to someone.

There was no mistaking what those sacrifices were.

"Young lady!"

"It's dangerous! Please get out of here!"

Lee Ha-yeon looked shaken by the unexpected turn of events.

"Why would an SSS-class villain...?"

If he showed himself now, the Kangin Guild would immediately tighten their encirclement and try to kill him. Even for an SSS-class villain, revealing himself publicly on South Korean soil — and in the southern region, no less — was as good as suicide. And yet Gye Un-jik had stepped into the open as if his own death meant nothing at all.

"So ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠many interlopers."

Gye Un-jik said this as he slowly raised his hand.

"Stop him!"

"Hurry!"

The hunters of the Baekho Guild and the Angel Guild, who knew what kind of attack technique he used, all launched their mana-charged attacks at Gye Un-jik at once. Strikes of every attribute — fire, wind, lightning — flew toward him, along with weapons imbued with mana hurled directly at his body.

"We need to get out of here. Now."

Lee Ha-yeon said this to Han Se-hee beside her. She could feel that this was no time for pride or stubbornness. Gye Un-jik had named her and Han Se-hee as his targets, which meant they needed to get away as fast as possible. If they stayed, the other hunters would likely be slaughtered. But if she and Han Se-hee fled, he would ignore the hunters and chase after them alone. So the right move now was to run — every second counted.

"Okay."

Han Se-hee, who understood this as well, nodded. Just as Lee Ha-yeon hoisted her up and was about to kick off the ground—

"Fools who cannot comprehend His will."

Gye Un-jik looked at them with pity as he blocked every last attack flying toward him. Something invisible spread around his body, intercepting every type of strike and shielding him completely. And then that something rippled outward in every direction.

"Cough!"

"Gah!"

"Urgh!"

The combatants of the Angel Guild and the Baekho Guild coughed up blood and collapsed without a fight. They hit the ground and didn't move again, as if they'd lost consciousness on the spot. Gye Un-jik smiled down at those who had fallen.

"I have not killed you. Please, do enjoy the day the end arrives."

Radiating the air of a fanatic, Gye Un-jik looked at those who remained.

"Ah... nngh!"

"Nnh!"

Han Se-hee and Lee Ha-yeon had both fallen to the ground. But unlike the others, though they'd gone down, they hadn't lost consciousness.

"Ohh! To think you blocked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that attack! As expected of the sacrifices — truly remarkable! What extraordinary talent!"

Gye Un-jik poured out admiration as if genuinely astonished. The wave-form mana he'd just released was his specialty — a technique that sent ripples of mana spreading outward in every direction, burrowing into the insides of nearby living beings and shaking them to pieces. Those whose insides had been ravaged by the invading waves coughed up blood, collapsed, and lost consciousness. But Han Se-hee, in that moment of crisis, had spread a defensive layer of mana that protected ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not only herself but Lee Ha-yeon, who was in contact with her.

She hadn't blocked it completely, though. They hadn't coughed up blood, but they'd still tasted the nauseating pain of their insides being shaken and their mana thrown into chaos. Considering Han Se-hee was only fifteen, she'd shown outstanding talent not just as a healer, but as a support-type with defensive capabilities as well.

"This talent, this beauty. Without a doubt — the finest of sacrifices...!"

Gye Un-jik's mana stretched toward the two of them, and before long, Han Se-hee and Lee Ha-yeon's bodies were bound by his power.

"L-Let go of that mana right now!"

And there was one more person who hadn't lost consciousness.

"Ohh, now this... this little one has quite a fine artifact."

Gye Un-jik smiled like a priest as he watched Baek Seo-jin stagger toward him. Seo-jin approached with his sword in hand, pouring mana into the blade, but even the self-defense artifact he carried had only managed to reduce the power of Gye Un-jik's attack. His mana was tangled. The sword in his grip held barely half the power of his usual ability.

"However, you are an interloper in this sacred ritual."

"Aaaagh! I said let them go!"

Baek Seo-jin charged forward with his sword raised, even as he coughed up blood.

I'll protect them! I will protect them!

He had come here to protect Lee Ha-yeon. And he would protect his childhood friend Han Se-hee as well. His sword, charged with that fierce will, swung like the blade of a hero from a story...

A fist drove into his face, wave-form mana coiled around the knuckles, and Baek Seo-jin's insides were crushed. He coughed up blood and went flying.

"Guhhh..."

He crumpled to the ground, his face a wreck, pathetic. Gye Un-jik's foot, laden with mana, came down on his right leg.

"Gaaaaah!"

The pain of his leg bone snapping sent Baek Seo-jin writhing on the ground before he lost consciousness.

Lying there in that wretched state was a man who, in the original story, would have fought Gye Un-jik in a fierce battle five years from now — protecting the heroines and everyone else, impressing upon the world that he was a hero. But in this twisted original, having met Gye Un-jik five years too early, he lay there in a state so miserable and pathetic it was hard to believe he was supposed to be the original protagonist.

And Han Se-hee, who in the original would have supported Baek Seo-jin and played her role as a heroine, didn't even glance in his direction. Unlike him, who'd spent four years deluding himself that they were friends, she never associated with him outside of official business — and she felt not a shred of goodwill toward him.

Seo-jun Oppa...

Faced with the thought that she might die, the person Han Se-hee thought of was Baek Seo-jun.

The twisted original had warped a great many things.