Chapter 145  

As his consciousness slowly returned, Yu-Seong realized he was lying on a stiff and hard bed. While he strained to lift his heavy lids, his nostrils were assaulted by the pungent odor of earth and briny water.

"You're awake, troublemaker," said Helen Mirren as she rubbed her eyes. She was sitting in a wooden chair beside Yu-Seong.

"Where...are we?" asked Yu-Seong.

"We're in my own underground bunker around the Juseok Palace. Up above, there are soldiers armed with guns and hunters with bloodshot eyes," answered Helen. With a bitter laugh, she pointed at the low ceiling with her index finger.

Helen Mirren was an S-ranked hunter known as The Miraculous Alchemist. Her being able to create an underground bunker was unsurprising.

"You had a quite remarkable incident while I was away. The two of you managed to defeat Vincent, an S-ranked hunter, in his weakened condition."

As his consciousness slowly returned, Yu-Seong finally realized the situation that he was in. He exclaimed, "Vincent... Oh!"

The unexpected attack by an outsider at Goryeo Hotel had made Yu-Seong angry at the western man, Vincent, who had been mercilessly slaughtering innocent people.

In a bold move, Yu-Seong had rescued the wounded Kim Do-Jin and had escaped. He had also seized that opportunity to unleash the full power of his Wind Thunder Dragon God Art, which had been his reward for reaching C-rank. Upon activating the technique, he had executed Lance Charging and had ultimately defeated his adversary.

"Was that villain an...S-rank?" asked Yu-Seong.

"Yes, he was an S-rank. He wasn't particularly skilled in basic combat, but if he fought with his life on the line… His Blood Poison made him a formidable opponent even against someone two levels higher."

"...Blood Poison would certainly be frightening if he were to commit suicide."

Vincent’s self-destruction could have certainly been frightening, but Yu-Seong would never have to experience it.

Helen's eyes crinkled with delight as she broke into a smile. She asked, "What on earth have you done, kiddo?"

"That's a business secret. A hunter who reveals their own foundation is only awaiting death. Where's Kim Do-Jin? Ugh!" Yu-Seong yelped after trying to get up with a smile. Although he only applied some force to his arm, he felt a sharp pain shooting up his spine. It was as if all his bones were already broken.

"Don't even consider moving around. When I found you, I thought you'd already died. Your right shoulder and left calf bones are fractured, and your internal organs are slightly damaged. Furthermore, your mana is completely out of control, which even I struggled to manage. To be honest, if it wasn't for the treasure symbol on your shoulder, my healing abilities would not have been sufficient," Helen stated.

"Ugh..." Yu-Seong moaned as he hurt all over.

He bit his bottom lip and tightly shut his eyes.

‘I must have survived thanks to the Insignia of Protection.’

Helen was right. Without the wide-ranging protection of the Insignia of Protection that shielded him from both external and internal injuries, Yu-Seong might already be dead. In that kind of situation, without the protection against attacks and the resistance to pain, he would have perished from the agony.

‘The skill, Wind Thunder Dragon God Art… I thought it was difficult to handle…but…’

Although Yu-Seong had kept it a secret, Wind Thunder Dragon God Art was a reward he had acquired upon advancing to C-rank in the promotion evaluation.

In the original novel, the skill was portrayed as highly dangerous. However, after witnessing its devastating consequences from a single use, Yu-Seong could truly grasp the skill’s overwhelming power.

‘From now on, I’ll need to be careful when I use it.’

Of course, if the situation arose again, Yu-Seong would certainly unleash the Lance Charging blast with Wind Thunder Dragon God Art.

‘If it weren't for that skill, I would have died at the hands of that villain.’?

Yu-Seong had just found out, but his opponent had been an S-rank hunter, a monster who could have entered the territory of being a superhuman. He had never thought it possible for him to defeat such an opponent for a very long time. Just being able to survive against such an opponent made him feel incredibly lucky. ‘If I had been alone, I would have absolutely died.’?

Although he had acted somewhat uncooperative, Kim Do-Jin's help did turn out to be invaluable in many ways.

With that thought in mind, Yu-Seong suddenly widened his eyes and asked, "Kim Do-Jin, what happened to him?"

Kim Do-Jin had been injured by a direct hit from the Blood Rain, so he had lost consciousness before Yu-Seong did. Due to the horrible poison, nobody could guarantee his survival.

Furthermore, for some reason, Helen Mirren did not answer the questions about Kim Do-Jin's whereabouts.

"That guy..." Helen furrowed her brow.

‘No way… Is he dead? Can the original novel’s protagonist actually die?’

Without Kim Do-Jin, who could stop the Demon King Worshipers as an entire group? Above all, Do-Jin had gone out of his way to save Yu-Seong.

When Vincent had unleashed the Blood Rain at the Goryeo Hotel, Yu-Seong would have fallen or died from the attack without Do-Jin’s timely intervention. And by saving Yu-Seong, Do-Jin had gotten himself injured by the Blood Rain.

‘He could avoid the attack by himself. He shouldn’t have cared about me…!’

Yu-Seong was surprised by how Do-Jin had pushed him out of harm’s way at the last moment and had shielded him from the Blood Rain. The man had ultimately sacrificed his own safety, so he had instinctively done the same in return.

What if Kim Do-Jin, who had ultimately been poisoned, had failed to endure the poisonous effects and had died? That would be understandable since his poison resistance had only been at B-rank and was incapable of resisting an S-rank hunter’s poison attack.

‘Please…’

Yu-Seong gazed at Helen's face intently.

"Why are you looking at me with such a serious expression? Do you think that he’s dead?”

"Isn't he?"

"Ha..." Helen sighed, then offered a bleak smile. “Well, I’d personally be better off if that unresponsive bastard is already dead… I last saw him alive a few days ago.”

"A few days ago?"

"He expelled the poison on his own just three days ago. Then, he left this place upon waking up.”

"Three days… Wait, how much time has passed since I lost consciousness?"

After confirming that Kim Do-Jin was alive, Yu-Seong started to focus on something else.

"You’ve been unconscious for exactly seven days,” answered Helen.

"...Oh my."

The aftereffect of the Wind Thunder Dragon God Art had been longer than expected. This trip to Pyongyang had originally been planned to last for only three days, but it had now been prolonged by twice that length of time.

'Jin Yu-Ri and everyone will be very worried.'?

Whether she knew about Yu-Seong's thoughts or not, Helen clicked her tongue and slowly rose from her seat. She said, "I am keeping you alive because you’re the only one who knows the location of the Philosopher's Stone, but things have gotten more complicated."

"It was an unavoidable situation."

"I understand. And your opponent was Vincent, so you’re lucky to have survived.”

"Then, what about Kim Do-Jin…?"

"I don't know! As soon as I woke up, he checked on your condition, mumbled to himself, and ran away. Whether he’s outside causing an incident or already dead..." Helen said with a cold smile. Without finishing her sentence, she slowly walked towards the closed door. Confused, Yu-Seong wondered what he should do about this situation.

Helen, who was about to leave Yu-Seong alone, suddenly called out without turning back. "Hey, kiddo."

"Yes?"

"No matter how weak an S-rank hunter is, an S-rank hunter has never been killed by a C-rank hunter. I’ve never heard of it happening it before.”

"It was a complicated situation…"

"How did it happen?”

"...it would not have been possible alone."

"Nonsense. When I discovered you two, Kim Do-Jin was already in a state where he couldn't even move his fingers from the poison. You must have delivered the fatal blow to Vincent by yourself. Despite the fact that there were many unfavorable elements..."

Finally, Helen turned to look at Yu-Seong with a curious look. She added, "Your shining talent and character are at a level that no one I know can compare to.”

Yu-Seong widened his eyes and looked at Helen, whose face was not visible from her hood.

"Yes, even if Kim Do-Jin has more power and talent than you, he is still different from you. He emits such a strong bloody odor at B-rank… I've never seen anyone like that in my lifetime. So, it's best to keep him as far away as possible. He is a type of demon that does not match your character.”

Then, with a cold smile, Helen said, "It's funny that I should say such a thing, especially since other people call me a demon.”

Helen turned away and said, "Rest, you little Choi.”

Yu-Seong could read between the lines. Understanding what Helen was trying to say, he replied, “Don’t worry. I am someone who treasures his own life.”

Helen thought that Yu-Seong would want to leave and find Kim Do-Jin immediately. Of course, that would be inadvisable with him being in his current state.

"Hmph." Helen snorted, pushed open the door, and left the room.

'Hmm. If he had seen his own expression just now, could he have blamed me for thinking so?'?

With a chuckle, Helen walked through the narrow hallway and entered the room she had made next to Yu-Seong’s. Once she sat at her desk, she took out paper and a pen and began writing.

‘It may be nothing, but…’

Surprisingly, the words Helen wrote on the paper began to float up and scatter away like dust in the wind. They were heading somewhere.

Thinking that the strange sight was not a big deal, Helen continued to write.

‘It can't be bad to prepare for what-ifs.’

The motion of her pen got faster and faster.

***

It was a dark night with thick clouds, which prevented moonlight from shining down on a dark alley.

The murderer, who was wielding a silver blade, splattered red blood on the wall. They passed a dead body, then remarked, "...how weak."

After mumbling a bit more, the murderer turned to leave.

Only then did another person slowly emerge from the alley’s entrance. He looked at the corpse who had its throat slit, and the murderer with a surprised expression. He murmured, "Comrade, Lee In-Hyeok?"

Just as the murderer stomped on the floor, a silver flash swung toward the surprised man. However, he managed to escape from suffering any serious injuries.

"This bastard! I dare you to say who...!"

"A-rank, Lee Jeong-Cheol."

The murderer, Kim Do-Jin, had his eyes burning with blue flames. He once again twirled his sword in the air.

Lee Jeong-Cheol attempted to demonstrate his skills while evading Do-Jin, but he failed to react quickly to the sudden flash of Do-Jin’s sword. His throat was slit and he could no longer breathe.

The moment lasted for less than a minute.

Kim Do-Jin, having killed a hunter of a higher rank than himself, wiped the blood from his sword once more and bit his lower lip.