Time for the Heroes!
“Friendship bowl?”
“Yeah. Testing our organization's unity and harmony.”
I grabbed the washbasin. I dumped every last drop of soju, beer, whiskey, champagne—whatever booze we had left—right into it.
“Ugh! Boss! That's poison!”
It was a monstrous sight, signaling the end of the drinking party.
“Who said you have to drink it all alone?”
“Right! I know this game! Rock-paper-scissors to decide the order. Each person drinks their share in turn, and the last one finishes whatever's left. A true loyalty game!”
Adel rattled it off with her already slurring tongue.
“Ooh! Sounds fun!”
Rock-paper-scissors commenced, and everyone fulfilled their duty in turn. Kim Sil-jang passed out midway through scooping it with a paper cup. Dokki managed one more cup than him before dashing triumphantly to the bathroom. Black Rose elegantly sipped with a spoon before raising her hands in surrender.
And then... it was my turn. The basin still overflowed.
“Lee Han...”
Adel looked up at me with a pitiful face. As the last in line, her eyes glistened with moisture.
“You're... gonna drink it all, right? Our friendship's real, yeah?”
“Hmm.”
I pretended to ponder as I lifted the basin.
“Drinking all this would probably kill me too.”
“Hey! You've got the Dragon Heart! Your detox is insane! I'm just a fragile mage!”
Adel grabbed my pant leg and begged.
“Please... save me... If I drink this, I can't research tomorrow... Can't make the dimensional variant manipulator...”
“Blackmail?”
“It's a plea! Waaah!”
Adel looked like she might actually burst into tears.
“Fine.”
Gulp, gulp, gulp. My Adam's apple bobbed relentlessly. The booze vanished at a monstrous pace. In proportion, awe filled the eyes of my organization members.
“Whoa... Boss...”
“As expected... a monster...”
Clunk. I set down the empty basin. Leaving just a tiny splash at the bottom.
“Now, finish it off and complete our loyalty.”
“Lee Han!!!”
Adel shouted, moved to tears. She... dipped her pinky into the remnants and licked it.
Slurp.
“Kuh~ I'm drunk!”
“......”
I stared at her in disbelief. Still, her flushed face from the alcohol didn't look so bad today.
“Yeah. Get drunk. We'll be busy starting tomorrow.”
The deepest part of the Holy Church. A forbidden zone no ordinary believer could approach in their lifetime.
The Cave of Repentance.
A heavy silence hung before its entrance. Even that silence was swallowed by the massive ironwood door. It hadn't opened once in the past century. A place of isolated asceticism, permitted only when successive saintesses sought to surpass their limits.
Isha von Estel stood before that colossal door. Behind her stood high priests and the elite knight order, their expressions uniformly somber. It was like bidding farewell to a general heading to battle—or someone departing on a path from which they might never return.
“Saintess.”
Priest Yohan broke the silence with a trembling voice. His eyes were already welling up.
“Are you... really going?”
Isha nodded without turning.
“Yes.”
A firm reply.
“I've thought it over deeply, Yohan. I've been too complacent all this time.”
“Complacent? You've performed your duties more splendidly than any saintess in history! You've sealed countless gates and purified hordes of mana beasts. Complacent? Nonsense!”
Yohan jumped in denial.
“No. That was just maintenance. I got complacent in the peace.”
Her hand unconsciously rubbed her solar plexus. The spot where Lee Han's fist had stopped in that ruined house days ago. The sensation was still etched vividly.
The feral killing intent of a beast charging with no regard for defense. The mad eyes screaming I'll kill you, even if it kills me. Before that, she had halted her holy sword.
Saintess's mercy? No. Closer to fear of death.
“I forgot, for a moment... that if I fall, the world falls.”
I am God's proxy. My defeat means humanity's defeat.
And she had been defeated. The world might not know, but she and that man did.
So, to ensure it never happened again, she had to endure bone-carving pain.
“But Saintess... it's 100 days. In a place without a single ray of sunlight...”
Yohan wiped tears and pulled something out. A well-sealed translucent container.
“At least take this.”
Isha's gaze fell on it. Green, viscous liquid sloshed inside.
“......What's this?”
“Yes. My 'Yohan Special Nutrition-Packed Porridge,' boiled all night. The cave lacks food, right? This should hold you for at least three days. No salt for detox effects too...”
Isha solemnly shook her head.
“I truly appreciate the thought, Yohan. But... rules are rules.”
She refused firmly.
“The moment you enter, no external items are allowed. Only true training comes from self-sufficiency with holy power.”
“However...!”
“Don't worry. I won't starve to death.”
Isha spoke resolutely on the surface but sighed inwardly in relief.
If I took that, I'd bolt after three days, training be damned.
How could she forget the taste now that she'd known it? Besides, no such rule existed—she'd improvised in the heat of the moment.
She subtly pressed her inner pocket. The hard glass bottle's shape pressed back.
The pill bottle Lee Han had tossed her. One per day. Enough for 100 days. A spirit pill that cleared mana circuits—and his parting homework.
Somehow... reassuring.
More comforting than cursed porridge, the devil's gift. Ironic.
Kreeeeak. The massive door groaned open. Heat billowed from the cave, tousling Isha's hair.
“I'll be back.”
“Saintess!!! You must return safely!!!”
Leaving Yohan and the knights' tearful farewells, Isha stepped into the darkness.
Thud. The door sealed, perfectly isolating her from the world.
Now, only 100 days remained. And her battle with herself.
Clicking the link brought up a brain-melting article.
Comments flooded in real-time.
The Holy Church's pursuit halt sent massive shockwaves through the hunter world.
In truth, despite the 100 billion won bounty on Lee Han's head, A-grade named hunters had hesitated to move. The reason? The saintess's exclusive claim.
Lee Han was the enemy who slew Desolatus, the ancient dragon Isha cherished. And hunter society had an unspoken rule: 'Don't touch prey with deep personal grudges.'
Especially against the Holy Church.
Lee Han's capture, judgment, and execution belonged solely to Isha von Estel.
If some half-baked hunter snagged him for the bounty and botched it? Incurring the saintess's wrath meant no bounty—just getting ground to dust by the knight order.
So everyone watched and waited. Once the saintess hanged him in the plaza, then they'd throw stones.
“The Holy Church backed off?”
A luxury bar in Gangnam. A party of A-grade hunters. The leader of [Rusty Nail] guild swirled his whiskey.
“Reliable intel?”
“Yes, boss. Official announcement. Heaven's Net lifted. Saintess in seclusion. Holy Church stepping back from Lee Han for now.”
Greed lit the leader's eyes at the report.
“Meaning... anyone's fair game now.”
100 billion won. But more than money, it was honor. Catching the infamous criminal, Dragon Slayer Lee Han, whom even the saintess couldn't nab? Skyrocketing fame, top of the industry guaranteed.
“No more tiptoeing. The saintess put down her spoon, so first to grab wins.”
The leader drained his glass.
“Prepare. The hunt begins.”
Top guilds, mercenary bands, assassin groups worldwide stirred. With the Holy Church restraint gone.
The era of great hunters had dawned.
“Boss! Big trouble!”
Kim Sil-jang staggered into the Seongbuk-dong hideout, tablet in hand.
“Look at this! Chaos! Hunters worldwide coming for your head!”
The screen overflowed with [Heretic Hunter] recruitment posts. Murderous comments.
Lounging lazily on the sofa, I yawned indifferently.
“So?”
“So?! Every guild's mobilizing!”
“That's exactly what I wanted.”
“Huh?”
I closed my eyes to nap again.
“Random item boxes walking right to me. Why say no?”