When the Fox Smoked Cigarettes (2)

"...So."

"Huh?"

"What the hell is going on... right now?"

She'd finally reunited with her sister after they'd split up so suddenly earlier, but Kim Arin was still full of questions.

Where the heck had Lee Jiwoo been hiding while she was frantically searching everywhere?

Where could she have hidden that even an S-rank hunter like Kim Arin couldn't find a single trace?

How had she just popped out of thin air like that?

And.

-Perk.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

-Swish swish.

-Swish swish.

Okay, fine, the pointy fox ears sprouting from her head made some sense, but why the heck did she have nine tails?

Kim Arin stared down at Lee Jiwoo, who was looking up at her innocently, her mind buzzing with questions.

But.

"...No, let's get out of here first, unnie. This place is too dangerous."

All those questions would have to wait. The current Haeinsa Dungeon had become an utterly perilous spot.

No matter how curious she was about Jiwoo, it was smarter to escape the dungeon first and ask in a safer place.

Especially since a hidden boss had appeared in the Haeinsa Dungeon right now.

'...Should I tell her about this?'

Jiwoo, who had just been chatting amicably with that hidden boss moments ago, hesitated.

Should she escape the dungeon with Kim Arin like this?

Or wait here until Hwaran, who had vanished somewhere, returned?

-Mumble.

"Data View."

"...What a shame..."

If she could raise Hwaran's affinity by just 15 more, she'd unlock a new manifestation skill.

If Kim Arin saw Jiwoo's new manifestation skill, she might drag her straight to the Haetae Guild for scouting.

"Let's go, unnie. Hurry."

"Wait a sec."

After some quick calculations,

Jiwoo decided to wait just a little longer. She was only 15 away from 100 affinity—quitting now would be such a waste.

Either way, she'd come to this dungeon to prove she could live as a hunter.

If she showed she was safe even in front of a hidden boss, wouldn't Kim Arin's mind change in an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠instant?

'She would've attacked us already if she wanted to.'

With that, Jiwoo opened her mouth to persuade Kim Arin.

She wanted to explain that the situation wasn't as dangerous as Arin thought.

"Ahem... Lady Hwaran!"

"...? Unnie?"

Instead of following Kim Arin, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Jiwoo stood rooted in place and shouted loudly at... someone.

Of course, to Kim Arin, this looked utterly bizarre.

Every minute, every second counted right now.

What was she doing not following? Kim Arin steeled herself to piggyback Jiwoo out if she had to and dashed back toward her in a flash—

-Rustle...

"You called for me, child."

-Chill.

The air crumbled like sand, and someone entirely new emerged from the rift.

Pointy fox ears and nine tails, just like what Jiwoo had.

But an overwhelming pressure and intimidation incomparable to Jiwoo's.

A distinctly inhuman dissonance, despite the human form.

-Flash—!

Before she could even judge who—or what—this was, Kim Arin's body moved first.

Mana maxed out in an instant.

Crackling lightning enveloped her body, and she shot forward to stand in front of Jiwoo, as if to shield her from the otherworldly being.

"Uh... Arin?"

"Hah, hah..."

Her tense eyes locked on the figure ahead.

Storm clouds gathered from all directions, writhing as if ready to unleash azure bolts.

Even amid it all, the hand gripping Jiwoo kept pulling her sister behind her back.

Her fingertips trembled from the surging tension. Gazing steadily at such a Kim Arin, Hwaran spoke.

"So you're the child's younger sibling."

-Stroke...

"!!"

"Indeed, you cherish the child deeply."

A delicate hand approached in a flash, gently stroking Kim Arin's bangs.

Unfazed by the razor-sharp hostility radiating from Arin, Hwaran shifted her gaze to Jiwoo behind her.

The threat from this woman was meaningless to her anyway.

She had something to tell the child now.

-Swipe.

A hand swept through the air.

Bubbles bloomed, floating visions of scenes from somewhere in the dungeon.

The men Jiwoo had begged Hwaran not to kill earlier appeared in the bubbles.

"Behold, child."

With those brief words, Hwaran's bubbles spread out everywhere.

Thanks to that, both Kim Arin and Jiwoo could see what the men were doing right now.

Even Kim Arin, who had been on high alert against Hwaran, naturally glanced at the scenes in the bubbles.

"Grab the goods and get out—! We'll hold them off here as long as we can!"

Mysterious men frantically fleeing with iron boxes containing something from inside the dungeon.

The scene stirred vague suspicions in Kim Arin, her eyes wavering.

The only people scheduled to enter the Haeinsa Dungeon today were herself and Jiwoo.

She knew nothing about these unfamiliar men.

But more than anything.

"P-please... spare me..."

"Don't worry, kid. We need you alive if we're gonna make it out."

"Hic...!"

A familiar figure trembling in the grip of one of the men.

At the same time, a girl who looked exactly like the Jiwoo standing right here caught Kim Arin's eye.

"U-unnie?"

"Huh? Who's that?"

"Uh, it's unnie."

"...I'm right here?"

Kim Arin was shocked, of course, and even Jiwoo herself was stunned.

Was that a doppelganger?

The kind where one dies for sure when it meets the original?

"Pfft, merely a simple clone. Child."

"A clone?"

"Yes. I had a strange feeling about those men, you see."

Hwaran gazed down at the scenes in the bubbles with amusement and explained.

Her instincts had been off, so she'd tested them lightly with her clone.

"In this one's view, those men came to harm you... Shall I dispose of them now?"

Stunned by Hwaran's unexpected revelation, Jiwoo's eyes naturally turned to her own clone.

To the fake Jiwoo, identical in every way, created by Hwaran.

-Twitch twitch.

"...Freakish bitch."

Park Jeonghun, the leader of a nameless small-time criminal outfit, gripped his hand tighter.

His hand had been shaking nonstop ever since witnessing those countless bolts of lightning.

Even forcing himself to stay calm, facing an S-rank hunter's real power up close kept rattling him.

How long could they hold out against Kim Arin, who had massacred hordes of monsters?

"...Haa..."

Thinking those insane lightning strikes might turn on them next drew a heavy sigh unbidden.

At least it wasn't utterly hopeless.

-Squirm squirm.

-Squirm squirm.

"Ugh, let go! What are you old creeps...!"

"Stay still, stay still! Shut your trap! Call me old man one more time, punk!"

"Ease up, ease up. Don't scare the kid too much."

Park Jeonghun and his men hadn't let go of the white-haired girl they'd stumbled upon purely by chance moments ago.

The kid who'd entered the dungeon with Kim Arin earlier.

If she seemed close to Kim Arin, she'd definitely be their lifeline.

No matter how fierce Kim Arin was, she wouldn't attack easily with the kid as a hostage.

"Grab the goods and get out—! We'll hold them off here as long as we can!"

After ordering them to move the illegal drugs hidden deeper in the dungeon, he left only the bare minimum manpower behind.

The smallest force to buy even a little time if Kim Arin showed up.

Stalling against her as long as possible was the goal right now.

That way, the truck loaded with illegal drugs could escape just a bit farther.

"Hyun-seok, get ready for sniping. Park Su-hwan, prep that B-rank magic."

"Boss, shouldn't we just run now...!"

"You dumbass, you think Kim Arin just watches if we bolt?"

Trying to outrun an S-rank with speed was pure idiocy.

Especially one with the power of lightning.

Even if they all fled together, they'd get caught quick. Better for a few to stay and stall—their only shot.

Once the drugs were delivered, the money would hit their accounts for sure.

"...Haa."

Swallowing his rising fear, Park Jeonghun reminded himself why he was risking this.

His daughter, suddenly struck with mana addiction syndrome one day.

Treatment costs a mere office worker couldn't shoulder.

His wife sniffling daily by her bedside.

"...It's done now. If we pull this off, the treatment bills are paid in full."

"W-what...? For real?"

"Yeah. Our Hayeon can finally get treated."

He imagined the day he'd clear all the overdue hospital and surgery fees.

His wife smiling after the long ordeal.

His daughter faintly smiling from her bed.

"...The surgery went perfectly. No aftereffects. She'll wake up healthy soon."

The doctor's voice announcing his daughter's long illness cured echoed in Park Jeonghun's ears.

Soon after, his daughter rising energetically from the bed.

"Hic, Hayeon..."

"Yeah, Dad? Why are you crying...?"

"...Nothing, Dad's not crying. Yeah. Can't cry on a happy day like this."

Forcing a bright smile, Park Jeonghun clasped his daughter's hand.

Now he could take her.

To the famous amusement park she'd begged to go to from her sickbed.

"Daddy, Daddy! I wanna ride that one!"

"Hayeon, no running. You can ride it going slow~."

"Our Hayeon sure wanted to come here bad. Wish granted at last~."

His daughter dashing excitedly amid the park's rides.

His wife walking beside him with an indulgent smile.

Yes, this was the future he was fighting for...

-Twitch.

"Daddy?"

...Something was off.

His daughter's face, waving from afar, wasn't visible.

The little face that soon toddled over, grasping Daddy's hand preciously and looking up.

But somehow, he couldn't recall her eye shape.

How pert her nose was. Her pale lips shyly pecking his cheek. The hair tied in pigtails.

Her features wouldn't come to mind at all.

-Twitch twitch.

-Twitch twitch.

The subconscious dissonance.

The illusions devouring Park Jeonghun shattered faintly.

-Blink...

As the eternal fantasy briefly broke, what confronted him was the massive form of a yokai.

"Ah..."

At the same moment, thick demonic energy permeated the air.

A dense illusory mist that blurred fantasy from reality.

"...Daddy!"

-Mumble.

"Y-yeah, Daddy... I'm right here..."

Park Jeonghun.

Or rather, what had been Park Jeonghun ■■■'s eyes turned pure white once more.

After that, only endless falling remained.

"■■■■■■■■..."

The happiest voice echoed quietly in the most silent illusion.

■■■ lost his mind just like that.