Chapter 158 - Mission: Save the Hunter (BL)

"Gasp… M-my summoned creatures."

Soo Jaehee said in a terrified voice.

"My summons were forcefully unsummoned. They were scared… I've never seen my summons get frightened before. Am I being affected because I'm scared right now?"

"Damn it…"

Hong Euiyoon quickly flew over to Soo Jaehee.

"Hurry and summon the others."

"Y-yeah, hyung."

Since and couldn't fly, Soo Jaehee summoned the fairies from . Though the fairies were startled by the enormous enemy they could barely make out, they didn't flee.

As the owner of the temple invoked fear, Kwon Jihan flew over to Soo Jaehee.

"Soo Jaehee, give me your sword."

"Huh?"

Soo Jaehee, startled, ended up speaking informally.

"What? Hyung, you're asking for my sword?"

"Get down and summon and , and stay with the healers."

"You're telling me to hide right now?"

"You're likely to get seriously hurt here."

"…"

Soo Jaehee gulped. If it were anyone else, he might have argued, but Kwon Jihan's words carried a lot of weight.

"Your job is to protect the healers with the fairies. Think of it this way: if one healer gets injured, three combat hunters will die. You must guard them no matter what. And give me that 'Heavenly Sword'. My sword is completely broken, and I need to return this one to Hyung Chaeyoon. I'll give it back after the fight."

"Ah, okay. But, hyung, it's fine if you keep using it. The problem is it's a bound item. How do I give it to you?"

['Kwon Jihan' uses the skill .]

['Soo Jaehee's item 'Heavenly Sword' is unbound.]

Kwon Jihan extended his hand. Soo Jaehee, mouth agape, handed him the sword.

"Wow…"

It was , the skill that allowed Kwon Jihan to overcome the dragon's fear.

Kwon Jihan patted Soo Jaehee on the shoulder, signaling him to go down, and then flew over to Yoon Seo.

"Hyung, here."

Yoon Seo received the back and quickly scanned Kwon Jihan's body. The long sword, swirling with a dark crimson energy, suited Kwon Jihan perfectly.

" can also unbind items?"

"Yeah. I'll buy you some time, so go get healed. Also, make sure everyone reorganizes. Let's meet again in 30 minutes."

"What?"

"Hyung."

Kwon Jihan suddenly looked at Yoon Seo with intense eyes and spoke clearly.

"I still have 12 Cool Time Potions left."

Twelve what?

Yoon Seo blinked in disbelief, and Kwon Jihan smirked.

['Kwon Jihan' uses the skill .]

A golden aura enveloped Kwon Jihan's body. Holding 'Heavenly Sword,' he spread his black wings wide and charged toward the dragon.

"That crazy bastard."

Hong Euiyoon muttered, saying what Yoon Seo was thinking.

The dragon was still in an invincible state, so everyone had been waiting in position. But Kwon Jihan made an unexpected move. Right after he dashed in, the Gaia System notified them that the temple's owner had fully revealed itself.

Kraaaah!

To the dragon, Kwon Jihan was like an ant swinging a sword and flying alone. Confused, its three heads roared at him. Ignoring the roar, Kwon Jihan activated , , and simultaneously. One of the heads opened its mouth wide to unleash a flame breath. It took exactly one second to gather and release the breath. To buy that second, the other heads attacked Kwon Jihan.

He jumped off one of the massive heads, slid down its neck, and before the second was up, landed atop the flame-breathing head and plunged his sword into it. All three heads howled in unison, trying to shake him off. But Kwon Jihan held on with tremendous strength, dragging his sword straight down.

The entire sequence of events happened in just three seconds.

Only Yoon Seo's eyes could keep up with the movements; the others couldn't even discern what had just happened. All they saw was a flash of gold, and in the next moment, one of the flame head's eyes began to fall from above.

"Everyone, take cover!"

"Run!"

The Revengers scrambled to avoid the falling eye of the flame head.

[The Watcher is impressed by 'Kwon Jihan's' judgment and movements.]

"What the hell just happened?"

"What is going on…?"

From above, there were still roars, crashes, and clanging sounds, but no one could follow the movements.

"Hah…"

Yoon Seo let out a breath of exhaustion.

"Alec, let's retreat."

"…Yeah, that seems best."

Alec and Park Soobin quickly decided to order a retreat. As they descended to the ground, those waiting below looked puzzled.

Hong Euiyoon voiced his frustration.

"Kwon Jihan seems to be overpowering the dragon right now. Shouldn't we help him?"

Alec shook his head.

"How could we help? Were you able to follow Kwon Jihan's movements?"

"...."

"In his state, we would only get in his way. It's better for the supporters and healers to stay close and heal him immediately when needed."

Following Alec's instructions, Park Soobin and a few supporters who still had energy left to use their skills quickly went up to assist.

Yoon Seo, however, had a different opinion. He thought that if more hunters joined the fight, they might be able to take down another one of the dragon's heads. Others might be thinking the same thing.

But that wasn't why Kwon Jihan used .

'I believe that if even one person dies, I have failed in my revenge.'

'I feel the same way, Hyung. I believe that too.'

Kwon Jihan wasn't using to kill the dragon but to ensure that not a single person would die. The hunters were exhausted, and if they attacked without regrouping, there would definitely be casualties.

If asked what was more efficient, opinions would be divided. Even among the Revengers, some would likely find this approach inefficient. But no one voiced any objections because they believed it was the right thing to do. Even if it was inefficient, it was the right thing to do.

Thanks to Kwon Jihan, the group gained some time to regroup and had gathered at a safe distance from the dragon's reach.

Couples held each other tightly while staring up at the sky where the dragon couldn't be seen. Yelena and Furka focused on calming their trembling bodies, still shaken by fear, instead of looking up. Jo Mani and Chris Kyle, pale-faced, shivered as they struggled to shake off the terror they had felt.

"Hunter Seo Chaeyoon, let me check your wounds."

Kim Jinhae approached with a healer who was a former doctor. Yoon Seo sat on a rock as they treated his burns. His self-recovery was quick, and thanks to Kwon Jihan's treatment, his injuries weren't severe.

After receiving treatment and hearing the situation from Do Deungsoo and Alec, Yoon Seo realized even more that Kwon Jihan had made the right choice. Though no one had died, everyone was battered, and there were just over a hundred able-bodied fighters left. Many healers had been injured, making it impossible to place one at every attack point as planned. This meant that now, someone could very well die.

'I should have brought more healers.'

Yoon Seo wondered if he should have brought in 500 people, just like Yoo Juncheol had suggested. But if he had, someone might already be dead.

As Do Deungsoo and Alec reassigned the battle-ready fighters, Yoon Seo, still injured, rested and thought.

'Can Kwon Jihan cut off one of the heads?'

Yoon Seo gazed up at the seemingly unreachable sky, where only flashes of golden light and deafening roars echoed.

Please.

Please cut it off, Jihan.

It would be ideal if all three heads could be severed, ending the first phase, but that was too much to hope for.

If Jihan could just cut one, the rest of the fight would become much easier. No one else would have to die.

This dragon was so powerful that even the shockwaves from its movements shattered a fully reinforced in an instant, and a direct hit wouldn't just leave behind pieces of a body—there wouldn't be anything left at all. Sometimes the three heads would merge their flame breath into one, and that combined breath was enough to crack even .

Though Yoon Seo had enough mana to deploy at full capacity, he couldn't use it because of the strategy he had planned for the black portal. For now, was the best defense, but even that couldn't block more than two flame breaths.

'Kwon Jihan, please cut off one of the heads.'

Yoon Seo muttered to himself.

At the same time.

'Even if you can't cut it, just don't die.'

Rationally, Yoon Seo knew it was best for Kwon Jihan to sever one of the heads, but emotionally, it was a different story. He wanted to pull Jihan back down right now and stop him from fighting alone.

Seeing things from a perspective he'd never experienced before, Yoon Seo suddenly thought of them.

Ten years ago, Yoon Seo had fought the dragon almost alone. What must those who had only been able to watch feel back then?

'Chaeyoon, even if you can't kill it, don't die.'

That's what they must have wanted to shout at him, but couldn't.

Yoon Seo took out some medication, but instead of drinking it, he just rolled it around in his palm before putting it back. He wasn't trembling because he needed the medication.

He checked the time. There were ten minutes left until ended.

At that moment, Hwashim approached and spoke in a low voice.

"Seo Chaeyoon. The final medium notification hasn't come yet."

"…"

Even though Yoon Seo was wearing a mask, Hwashim seemed to read his expression.

"You forgot, didn't you?"

"Well, I have to deal with what's right in front of me first."

"Seo Chaeyoon, you…"

"…"

"Even after everything that happened, do you still want to save the world?"

Yoon Seo stared at Hwashim.

Hwashim had a complicated expression, as if he were facing an unsolvable puzzle.

By "everything that happened."

Hwashim was clearly referring to what had happened with Lee Kangjin and Lee Domin.

Yoon Seo didn't understand why that event should make him not want to save the world.

As Yoon Seo remained silent, with the same puzzled expression as Hwashim, the latter sighed.

"Yeah. You're right. First, let's deal with the problem at hand."

Hwashim walked away. Yoon Seo frowned as he watched him leave.

Just then, Soo Jaehee and Hong Euiyoon approached Yoon Seo. Hong Euiyoon was limping.

"It's still hard to believe that Hwashim was secretly powerful all this time."

"But even though he's an S-rank, his attack power is weaker than mine."

"Yeah, but he has a Gaia skill. I'm honestly jealous."

"Speaking of which, Soo Jaehee, didn't you bet on Hwashim winning?"

"What? No way. I bet on Hong hyung."

"Don't lie. I heard you said I was unlucky at first."

"Who… who told you that nonsense…?"

"Seo Chaeyoon's fan couple."

"Why do that noona and hyung always spread such lies?"

Yoon Seo glanced at Hong Euiyoon's leg. Even though it had been healed, he was still limping. Yoon Seo thought that maybe the injury had been severe, possibly even a full amputation. The lighthearted conversation was likely just a way to ease the tension.

"Oh, Hong hyung. Your former teammates have all gathered over there."

At Soo Jaehee's comment, Yoon Seo looked up. The temporary team members were gathered around Hwashim. Namgung Simhae, Kim Jinhae, Lee Jungin, and Park Kang were asking questions about the Gaia skill. He also heard Seo Chaeyoon's name mentioned a few times.