episode_0083

The moment I saw the body, barely recognizable in the pool of blood…

My vision darkened, and my mind was clouded with darkness.

The past and the present overlapped.

The disciple who had promised to return from the outside world.

The disciple who had promised to return from the outside world, Yi Hayul.

Confidently believing that they would do well, vaguely trusting the disciple.

Feeling anxious but turning a blind eye, believing it was not my place to interfere.

The disciple caught in the dungeon’s rampage.

Yi Hayul caught in the dungeon’s rampage.

The disciple disappearing, leaving only an arm behind.

Yi Hayul, with his arm torn off and impaled in a pool of blood.

“Ah.”

A deep sigh escaped my lips.

Blood dripped steadily from my tightly clenched fist.

I wanted to smash my own head.

I wanted to clench my fist, channeling my unique ability to summon strength and strike my head.

Experiencing hallucinations through a mental attack was not uncommon. One coping mechanism in such situations was to commit suicide in the illusory world.

I wanted to believe it was a mental attack and hallucination.

Despite the vivid senses and intuition telling me otherwise, I wanted to entertain the possibility that it was a hallucination.

– …!

What prevented me was the faint gasp of breath from what I had thought was just a corpse.

Reality hit me like a ton of bricks.

I, standing like a statue, hurriedly approached and knelt beside Yi Hayul.

Thud- as my knee touched the ground, ripples spread through the pool of blood.

I assessed Yi Hayul’s condition.

…It was hard to believe he was still alive. Even with regenerative abilities, it seemed unlikely, but Yi Hayul was undeniably breathing.

He seemed so fragile, as if he could die at any moment, but he was definitely alive.

Alive.

That fact consumed my mind.

With a sense of urgency and caution, I embraced Yi Hayul. I removed my coat to wrap him and quickly pressed him to the ground.

The sky outside the shelter was returning to its original color.

The outer walls surrounding the city were gradually crumbling. This was thanks to Yi Hayul capturing the Alpha entity that served as the core of the dungeon.

I headed towards the commotion near the outer walls.

There, I found the rescue team from the Association, who were trying to breach the dungeon’s outer walls.

Naturally, there was a hero with healing abilities among the rescue team.

While the healing hero stayed behind, the rest of the team entered the city through the collapsed outer walls.

Healing was underway.

As I anxiously watched, the hero performing the healing suddenly grimaced.

“This is beyond my capabilities.”

“What?”

Beyond.

Unexpectedly, cracks formed on my face at the unexpected response.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you correctly. Can you repeat that?”

“…Yes. With my abilities, it’s beyond my capabilities.”

Parsenoph, the advanced healing hero, spoke with a self-deprecating expression, chewing on his lips. Desperation and self-doubt were evident on his face.

“The injuries are too severe. The unique abilities embedded in the wounds are stubbornly hindering the healing process.”

This is beyond my capabilities.

Watching the healing hero repeat the same words, my mind began to spin.

Beyond. Then what should I do? My only healing method was the restorative potion I always carried.

I had tried using it before. It had little effect.

Even though it was a product of sufficient quality for immediate use in emergencies.

The healing hero said it was beyond his capabilities. Then who should I turn to?

I knew the answer. If one failed, then two, if not the advanced hero, then the top-tier hero.

Both options were impossible here.

With a heavy heart, I embraced Yi Hayul once again.

His body temperature was cold, devoid of warmth. It made me feel like my hope was slowly fading away.

The ground was pounded. With a strong determination, the terrain was crossed. Even Ha Yul, in case of any harm, wrapped herself in a strong determination.

Towards the association, towards the place with the gate. From there, no matter where you go, you must receive healing from advanced healers.

– Huh, ugh…

Without a moment’s rest, pounding the ground.

Every time the gasping breath was heard from her chest, Atla’s heart sank heavily.

Unstable. Ha Yul in her chest seemed precarious, as if she could stop breathing at any moment. Right now… she felt like she might die.

The smell of blood wafted through the air. The subtle, warm scent that usually lingered was gone, replaced only by the smell of death that made her nose tingle.

All of it made Atla suffer painfully. It hurt as if her heart was being torn apart.

‘I shouldn’t have sent her.’

Saying she wouldn’t give up. It was a lame excuse to ignore the fact that she couldn’t live with it for the rest of her life. It was a stupid excuse.

Regret.

As always, it was a regret that came too late.

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[Local time, 12:15 pm. A series of dungeon explosions centered around the Shifnaha region of Scotland has occurred.]

The first weekend of April.

The rapidly spreading news struck the peaceful daily lives of the world.

[The World Superhuman Association has announced that the explosions in Shifnaha were an unprecedented event without any warning signs, with five Grade 4 dungeons erupting in succession.]

Dungeon explosions.

No matter how much peace is welcomed, occasional disasters can sometimes claim many lives.

[The number of deaths from the explosion has been confirmed to be over 500, with over 7,000 injuries. These numbers are still being tallied, and are expected to increase as the investigation progresses.]

The news spread quickly throughout the country.

Dungeon explosions and the resulting loss of life are always treated as important news, especially because they are particularly sensational in everyday life.

Sensational news. That’s the end of it.

In the end, unless you are involved, it ends with feeling sorry.

Atla was in a position to be called involved.

Near the entrance to the healing room.

She sat blankly in a chair, listening to the breaking news on the hologram.

‘……’

It had been over a day since Ha Yul entered the specialized healing center.

Even after receiving healing from dozens of professional healers in a single day, Ha Yul still hadn’t regained her senses.

It was that serious of an injury.

Especially frustrating was the fact that the unique ability that caused the damage was so insidious that even professional healers found it difficult to remove its remnants.

– Thud, thud

Footsteps that didn’t hide their presence were heard. Atla looked up.

A man in a formal attire was crossing the hallway towards Atla. It was a familiar face.

Maxwell.

As a superhuman from the Association’s Disaster Management Department responsible for handling the aftermath of the dungeon incident, he was somewhat acquainted with Atla.

“Long time no see, Clyde. It’s been two years.”

“…Yeah.”

In the brief moment, his hair had turned gray and his voice lacked any strength.

His complexion was ashen and his eyes had lost their sparkle.

Seeing him, Maxwell inwardly sighed deeply. He had expected it, but Atla’s condition was not good.

Maxwell also knew about Atla’s situation. The past tragedy that befell her disciple, and the current relationship with Ha Yul.

He also had some idea of how she might be feeling right now.

After hesitating for a moment, he knew he had to do what needed to be done.

“Atla Clyde, top-ranked hero. As the guardian of Ha Yul, would you accompany me to view the observation records of the accident scene?”

The accident scene, observation records.

Atla’s eyes flickered.

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.

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The overall atmosphere was somber. Atla chewed on this thought carefully as she stared at the hologram floating in the center of the room.

The hologram displayed the scene just before the dungeon went into a frenzy… more specifically, it showed the appearance of Yi Hayul.

It was a magical device imbued with the power of the Observation Tower that captured the scene at that time.

During the time of isolation, the transmission could not be sent, but now that the isolation was lifted, it could be replayed.

In the video.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t the appearance of Yi Hayul. The figure of a person with completely different physique and appearance was captured.

“At that time, it was confirmed that Yi Hayul was carrying a perception impairment magical device,” Maxwell explained, and Atla nodded in agreement.

Bang! A loud noise echoed in the video. At the same time, Yi Hayul staggered. Grimacing, he grabbed his head.

Atla suspected that the ability Yi Hayul mentioned, ‘Spatial Perception,’ was the culprit.

The dungeon’s frenzy seemed to have an impact on space, and perhaps it was through spatial perception that he suffered.

The video continued.

As the dungeon went into a frenzy, the sky turned ashen.

In such a bewildering situation.

Yi Hayul first headed towards the shelter where a child nearby was taken care of. In the meantime, he was reducing the number of monsters by killing them with magic.

The video continued.

After sending the child to the shelter, Yi Hayul did not enter the shelter himself.

Being just a novice, having awakened only two months ago, he jumped into the midst of the frenzy without hesitation, killing monsters and saving people.

A monster’s claw scratched Yi Hayul. A tattered cloth barely blocked the attack.

There were too many monsters. There were too many people to save. Yi Hayul had no room for leisure.

Yi Hayul dealt with monsters from a distance with magic, but there were moments when he had to fight up close.

And there were moments when he had to put himself forward to protect civilians.

He did everything. With artifacts, with bare hands, without even having time to unfold his strength, he fought, and there were moments when blood splattered.

‘……’

The injuries were minor. There was no chance of sustaining injuries like now.

The video accelerated. For hours, Yi Hayul did not stop killing monsters and saving people.

The acceleration stopped. In a corner of the video, a familiar monster appeared.

The monster whose head was shattered and collapsed next to Yi Hayul, the alpha creature maintaining the dungeon’s frenzy.

Thud! The monster in the video slammed the ground. It was a fairly fast speed. It was a speed that was difficult for Atla to react to as the Yi Hayul she knew.

A huge front paw pulled back. The front paw trembled with condensed power.

The next moment, Atla anticipated what would happen and clenched her teeth.

Thud! With a huge impact sound, Yi Hayul’s figure was slammed onto the road. Atla’s fingertips trembled.

Yi Hayul, sprawled on the asphalt, writhed.

It was not the appearance of a perception impairment, but his true appearance was revealed. The perception impairment magical device had been stripped off by the recent blow.

‘……’

Through Atla’s eyes, Yi Hayul’s face was clearly visible.

A face stained with agony and distorted by fear.

She understood. It was natural for Yi Hayul, who had not experienced a real battle, to react this way.

Her foot dragged back. She took a step back. It was natural. It had to be that way. She had to run away, of course.

Atla prayed for her to run away as she wished.

And then, her legs stopped.

It was a moment. It was a fleeting moment that lasted only a few seconds. Yi Hayul’s face contorted suddenly.

Fear and pain.

With a face filled with both, Yi Hayul slammed into the ground.

Forward.

Tangling with strength, he stood in front of the monster.

As Atla stared blankly at Yi Hayul in the video, a question and answer from one day passed through her mind.

It was a question about how to deal with a major accident.

At that time, Yi Hayul scratched her head and replied with a hologram, glancing at her surroundings.

– [Perhaps I will run away. I am a coward and I do not have the courage to fight for my life.]

After answering like that, Yi Hayul, who was glancing around in case she would disappoint herself.

‘Why…’

Even as her body turned into rags, the sight of Yi Hayul facing the Alpha entity with gritted teeth overlapped.

Why didn’t she run away.

The person who could solve that question had not yet regained consciousness.

She regretted.

It was too late, far too late.