'Hey!'
“Hey!” Yeo Min-seo shouted at Do Seon-woo. Her breath was ragged from chasing the demon beasts. She collapsed to the ground after those words, catching her breath for a moment. Whenever she fell behind while pursuing them, she'd use a blessing to match their speed. When exhaustion hit, she'd force her body up with healing. It wasn't some noble resolve to save the other kids. No, it was just to prove one hypothesis nagging at the back of her mind.
“Hey, you. Huff... flashlight, no. Phone. Got a phone? Or a laser pointer or something?”
“……”
But Do Seon-woo wasn't listening to Yeo Min-seo. He just stared blankly at the flying demon beasts, his eyes unfocused yet piercing. No telling what was going through his head.
Yeo Min-seo scowled at Do Seon-woo, who seemed to be half-hearing her. “I said, got a phone? Are you dea— ”
“Shut up.”
“What the fuck kind of psycho... what the hell are you doing?”
Yeo Min-seo gawked at him in disbelief. Do Seon-woo, eyes fixed on the demon beasts, picked up a rock from the ground. Fist-sized. He gripped it tight in his right hand and crouched into a pitching stance. Planning to hurl it at the beasts, apparently. It was beyond reckless—straight-up stupid. No way a crude pebble could hit demon beasts already dozens of meters up.
“What a fucking retard. Like that's gonna work...”
Rumors were always bullshit. So she'd figured the hype around Do Seon-woo was all exaggeration or lies. But this guy was even dumber than the rumors.
Yeo Min-seo shook her head with a deep sigh. Do Seon-woo ignored her and threw the rock.
Splat.
A dull, wet thud echoed through the sky right after. Yeo Min-seo, who'd been lamenting his incompetence and rethinking her plan, snapped her head up.
It was the sound of the rock piercing a demon beast's heart.
Do Seon-woo grabbed another rock and flung it immediately.
Splat.
The same sound rang out. The two heartless beasts lost power, their wings stilled. Kim Jin-seo and Gu Jun-hyeok, dangling from their beaks, plummeted toward the ground.
Do Seon-woo crouched low, ready to sprint. Looked like he meant to catch them with his body.
This was straight-up suicidal. No matter how fast he was, catching two people at once was impossible. And even if he did, he'd take serious injuries.
Yeo Min-seo didn't think—just blasted out divine power on instinct. No time to stubbornly chase hypotheses now. Her divine power was depleted from the chase, but she had enough left for two blessing circles.
Now.
She counted silently in her head, deploying the circles at the perfect moment. Mid-level Peace blessing circle. Mid-level Solitary Yang blessing circle. She fused them.
Peace and Solitary Yang—two incompatible blessings intertwined. Lines warped and twisted. The circle lost its form, spewing raw divine energy instead of blessing light.
Boom—!
An explosion erupted. The massive blast rang in her ears like tinnitus, and Gu Jun-hyeok and Kim Jin-seo's falling bodies floated briefly.
The shockwave had halted their descent. It'd hurt like hell, but better than dying.
“Fusions don't work, but collisions go off like fireworks. Fucking annoying.”
Yeo Min-seo muttered to herself with a self-mocking chuckle.
Do Seon-woo seemed startled by the sudden blast but sighed in relief seeing Gu Jun-hyeok and Kim Jin-seo land without major injury. Yeo Min-seo stared at him in utter disbelief.
“Hey.”
Before Do Seon-woo could respond, she barreled on. “What the fuck are you doing? What kinda plan was that? What if you'd hit the kids?”
He looked a bit flustered by her rough tone but soon composed himself. “Didn't hit 'em, did I?”
A brazen tone that didn't even consider the chance of a miss. So cocky it came off as confident.
Yeo Min-seo stared blankly before letting out a scoffing laugh. This guy's completely nuts.
*
“—What kinda plan was that? What if you'd hit the kids?”
Yeo Min-seo's voice was rough, faint. Only my heartbeat and breathing rang clear. My body burned like boiling blood, muscles itching and aching. Bosu's power at work. The authority, restored through sacrifice, far exceeded my expectations in strength.
“Didn't hit 'em, did I?”
My eyes tracked only the demon beasts; the rocks pierced their hearts dead-on. I trusted Bosu, trusted his power—so missing never crossed my mind.
The mystery was the explosion right after. Its shockwave stopped Gu Jun-hyeok and Kim Jin-seo's fall, letting them land unscathed. But why the blast?
Well, I had a guess.
“Yeo Min-seo.”
“What.”
“How'd you do that?”
Kindness Holy Mark holder, Yeo Min-seo. Just before Kim Jin-seo and Gu Jun-hyeok hit the ground, she'd deployed two blessing circles. Forced a fusion. Collision occurred, explosion followed. She'd intentionally triggered the clash for the blast.
[A gamble with lives on the line.]
One miscalculation in that process, and Gu Jun-hyeok, Kim Jin-seo—even Yeo Min-seo herself—would've been caught in the explosion and died. A bet staking three lives.
“How? Just did it.”
Yeo Min-seo shrugged it off. Too calm, too nonchalant for someone who'd bet three lives, including her own.
“What if you'd gotten caught in it?”
“What if, what if— you've been on this bullshit since earlier. Look at the results. It worked out fine.”
Yeo Min-seo scowled and cursed at me. Kindness Holy Mark, my ass—her mouth was anything but kind. She twisted her lips into a creepy grin and continued.
“And without me, those two would've been goners. Shouldn't you start with thanks?”
“I'd have handled it without you.”
“Bullshit.”
Yeo Min-seo sneered. True, she'd made things easier, but I'd have managed regardless.
I left her muttering profanities and headed to Kim Jin-seo and Gu Jun-hyeok.
Gu Jun-hyeok had gotten up on his own, brushing off dirt and leaves. Tough build—no need to worry about him.
Kim Jin-seo was the issue. She'd clearly hurt something bad in the fall and couldn't stand easily.
“You okay?”
I offered my hand. She grabbed it like she'd been waiting and hopped up. Now I saw—no injuries, perfectly fine. Didn't even need the hand.
“Not hurt.”
“Then why not get up?”
“……Yeah, why.”
Kim Jin-seo dusted her clothes with a resigned tone. Her eyes drooped unusually, face a bit downcast. On closer look, the bracelet she always wore was snapped. Impact from the fall, probably. She clutched the pieces tenderly in her left fist.
I stared; she hid her left hand behind her back, embarrassed. She worked her lips for a long moment.
“This—”
Flash.
A gleam cut her off. I looked up. New demon beasts circled overhead, flying menacingly. Thin sunlight leaked through the thunderclouds—the only light.
I carefully picked up a pebble from the ground. Planning to down the birds like before.
Flash.
Before I could grip it, another gleam. A demon beast veered sharply, diving through the pitch black at incredible speed. Its sharp beak aimed straight at me.
Crack!
But it smashed an innocent rock instead. The rock shattered to powder. If Kim Jin-seo hadn't yanked my wrist, it'd have been me crumbling.
Throwing rocks like before wouldn't work anymore.
“You okay?”
She gripped my wrist like she meant to crush it. Hurt a bit.
“Fine, but loosen up.”
“Oh, sorry.”
She let go quick. I checked my wrist was intact, then looked at her. She glared sharply at the high-flying beasts.
“See 'em?”
Thunderclouds blocked the sun. Even with light leaking through, it was dark as hell. Yet she'd pulled me from the attack in this gloom.
She'd seen and read the beast's moves in the dark.
“If I focus.”
She nodded. Insane dynamic vision. Her eyes still tracked the beasts.
The beast pulled up post-dive, circling the sky again. Its massive wings flapping like a dragon, not a bird.
They just flew overhead for ages.
“What the fuck is this? Seriously.”
Gu Jun-hyeok approached from afar, fiddling with his shoulder, sighing at the beasts above.
“Feels like a bunch of dragons flying arou—”
Flash.
Gu Jun-hyeok's words cut off. A gleam, and a new beast dove beak-first at his head. Too fast to follow with the eye.
Crack!
“Ow, huh? What the—?”
Gu Jun-hyeok lucked out, dodging the attack. He'd tripped on a rock just as it dove, so the beak hit another innocent boulder, crumbling it to dust. Miracle-level luck.
“Whoa, what. I almost died just now, right? Holy shit.”
Gu Jun-hyeok clutched his chest, panting hard. Even now, the guy couldn't be serious. Consistent, sure—but idiot fit better.
“Nah, wait—thinking back, from the moment that beast grabbed me earlier, I've been—”
“Don't move.”
As Gu Jun-hyeok approached us mumbling nonsense, Yeo Min-seo's gravelly voice cut in. He froze instinctively.
“Nobody move.”
Yeo Min-seo said it dead serious. Gu Jun-hyeok, me, Kim Jin-seo—we all obeyed. No one moved, no one spoke.
Flash.
Another gleam. But the beasts didn't dive. Just circled like before.
That's when I looked at Yeo Min-seo. She was smiling. Mouth split ear-to-ear, eerie and twisted. Her gleaming eyes shone with ecstasy.
“……Found it.”
Madness plain on Yeo Min-seo's face.
(To be continued in the next installment)