Those who were chosen each possessed their own special power.
The mana generally possessed by Superhumans was one such power, and so was the Divine Power Daehyun currently used. Demonic Energy was also one of those powers.
“Aaah…… aaaah…….”
But if there was one thing, just one thing, that made it different,
“Aaaaaaargh!”
it was that if one accepted Demonic Energy beyond one’s capacity, the body and mind could not endure it.
“The revelation! The revelatioooon!”
Yes. Exactly like this.
“Mr. Jeongdong!”
“Jeongdong! Jeongdong! Get a hold of yourself!”
“Ghh, ugh……”
The voices of Lee Jisu and Kwak Jincheol came from behind him. Fortunately, it seemed Park Jeongdong was still breathing.
Daehyun looked at the woman before him with killing intent in his eyes.
‘She is not in a state where we can talk.’
A mental breakdown caused by excessive absorption of Demonic Energy.
Daehyun knew because similar people had existed even in the Demon Realm slums where he had survived.
“Student! Hurry and get away from that woman!”
Lee Jisu shouted urgently.
The situation was one where Student Daehyun and the mysterious woman were confronting each other.
Judging from Park Jeongdong’s condition, he was still alive, but it was not a shallow wound. Jeongdong’s armor, torn apart like paper, proved that.
Whether that existence was human or monster, she was surely quite strong.
She was not at a level an ordinary student could handle.
“……Jisu, wait.”
Kwak Jincheol interrupted her and stepped forward.
‘The one we need to worry about is not that student.’
Because the situation was urgent, Lee Jisu had not noticed, but Kwak Jincheol was different.
The moment Park Jeongdong was ambushed, Kang Daehyun had definitely been behind him.
No matter how quickly he reacted, no matter how quickly he ran over, it was a situation where there should have been a difference of one or two seconds compared to those of them who had already been prepared.
And yet, as if to prove otherwise, Kang Daehyun was standing in front of them.
‘If my eyes were not mistaken…….’
If what he had seen was real, then the fact that this student was now ahead of him could not possibly be a coincidence.
“Student, you saw that attack just now, did you not?”
“Party Leader…?”
“Jisu. Stay still.”
Gulp—.
Kwak Jincheol swallowed heavily.
‘Jeongdong’s condition is dangerous.’
Park Jeongdong was struggling to breathe.
Whether it was first aid or anything else, he needed whatever could keep him alive right now.
“Can you buy us a little time? Just a very little.”
It was an unreasonable request. It made no sense. Leaving it to a student and retreating first was not something an official Superhuman should do.
“I will pay you twice the money. No, I will give you all the allowance from today.”
But there was no helping it.
His instincts were telling him. If he wanted to live, he had to do this. There was no other way.
“……Can you do it?”
“…….”
Daehyun nodded.
There was no need for a complicated persuasion process or a separate explanation.
“……Good. Jisu, let us go.”
“Pardon? But……”
“If I go out alone, I cannot do anything. One person has to look after Jeongdong, and one person has to request help.”
“That is true, but……”
“Hurry! We have no time to think!”
There was no time to explain every detail to Lee Jisu either.
Kwak Jincheol carried Park Jeongdong on his back.
They had to get out of here. That was all he could think of.
“I-I will be back soon!”
With those reluctant words, Lee Jisu moved.
Daehyun heard the sound of their footsteps growing distant behind him.
‘This worked out nicely.’
Was it because they were veteran Superhumans who had been active for a long time?
Their flexibility made things convenient.
He had things to ask this woman, and if those people got caught up in the fight for no reason, it might become troublesome to explain later. Having them disappear first was the most welcome choice.
“Now then…….”
Daehyun’s gaze turned toward the woman before him.
Her face was unmistakably that of a woman in her early twenties, but she was definitely emitting Demonic Energy.
“The revelation…… that person…… the revelation!”
Apparently, this was not an atmosphere where conversation would work.
But that did not mean there was no method.
Daehyun lightly clenched his fist.
“I can simply beat you until you are able to talk.”
It was time for Divine Power to shine.
Kwak Jincheol and Lee Jisu headed outside.
Park Jeongdong’s breathing, while he was carried on Kwak Jincheol’s back, grew rougher and rougher, and Kwak Jincheol’s back was stained with Jeongdong’s blood.
‘There is not much time.’
Perhaps by the time they left the cave, it might already be too late.
The fact that he was running like this now. The fact that he was struggling so desperately. It might all be meaningless.
“……Damn it.”
Because the path they had taken inside was long, the time it took to leave was long as well.
The only fortunate thing was that there were no monsters.
BOOOOM—!
At that moment, the cave shook violently once.
“P-Party Leader, that sound……?”
“……Who knows.”
Lee Jisu felt uneasy, and cold sweat ran down Kwak Jincheol’s face.
Nine times out of ten, something had happened inside the place they had just left, where Student Kang Daehyun was.
‘It is too late to go back.’
Kwak Jincheol erased the question from his mind.
What was the point of worrying, and what would he do even if he returned?
What he had to do now was take Park Jeongdong outside. He had to leave and find someone who could help them.
……How much time passed like that?
Light began to appear beyond his field of vision.
What that meant was the exit.
It meant they could get out.
“Jisu, hurry.”
Kwak Jincheol’s steps became even faster.
Lee Jisu also looked clearly exhausted, but with joy that the exit was near, she quickened her pace.
“W-we are out! We are outside!”
Lee Jisu smiled brightly and raised her voice.
The three of them had completely come outside.
“Jisu. First aid!”
“Ah, yes!”
They were happy, but it was too early to feel relieved.
Park Jeongdong had lost more blood than they had imagined, and his wound was deep.
The two quickly cared for Park Jeongdong with the tools they had.
They pressed on the wound and struggled to stop the bleeding as much as possible.
But…….
‘Damn it.’
The medical tools they had brought had been left inside, and his condition was not something they could handle at their level.
‘……To begin with, this is not a wound that can be fixed with medicine.’
He could feel Park Jeongdong’s breathing growing rougher and rougher.
If this continued, he would not last long.
“Damn it, if only we had a healer at a time like this……”
“I-I will go call someone!”
Lee Jisu quickly left.
Had there ever been a time when the healer they had only ever lamented not having in words felt this desperately necessary?
It was not easy for most parties to obtain a healer. That was especially true for a party like theirs, which hovered around low-grade to lower-mid-grade Gates.
“Jeongdong! Jeongdong!”
“Ghh…… ugh.”
Kwak Jincheol’s expression darkened.
Perhaps he had to prepare himself. That thought came to him.
Step, step—.
At that moment, footsteps came from behind him. The footsteps of not one person, but two.
Could Jisu, who had just left, have already brought someone back?
Kwak Jincheol raised his head.
“……?”
His head tilted.
The ones who had approached before him were not Lee Jisu. There were two people wearing robes and covering their faces.
No matter how one looked at them, the word suspicious suited them best.
“P-please help! My party member……”
But what did that matter?
Right now, his party member was dying.
To Kwak Jincheol, they, too, looked like hope.
“…….”
Had they heard him?
The suspicious figures looked at each other’s faces for a moment.
And then…….
“Seol-ah.”
“Yes, Big Sister.”
A woman’s voice sounded, and one of them lightly jerked her chin.
At the same time, the other approached Kwak Jincheol and Park Jeongdong.
“He is still breathing.”
After saying that, the woman reached her right hand toward the fallen Park Jeongdong.
Bright light began to shine from her fingertips.
Slide—.
“U-ugh……”
“……!”
Kwak Jincheol was shocked.
That was because Park Jeongdong’s complexion, which had looked as if he would die at any moment just before, began to return.
Not only that, but his breathing also became stable. And that happened the moment this person placed her hand on him!
As far as Kwak Jincheol knew, this meant only one thing.
‘……A healer!’
And if she could heal a wound of this degree all at once, in a single instant, then that meant she was an incredibly high-rank healer.
“There may be aftereffects, so please take him to a hospital immediately.”
“Aftereffects……?”
“Healing is ultimately no more than forced resuscitation. If possible, it is best to recover through one’s own strength.”
The woman removed her hand and stood up.
Sure enough, the wound that had been on Park Jeongdong’s chest until just a moment ago had healed in an instant.
The other woman, who had been watching the healer’s healing from behind, asked,
“You two. What are your names?”
“Jincheol…… I am Kwak Jincheol.”
“Yes. Mr. Kwak Jincheol.”
As she listened to Kwak Jincheol’s name, she pulled back her hood and revealed her face.
“Then the reason this person was injured must be due to something that happened inside, yes?”
“Yes! Actually, besides our party member, there is one more person inside……!”
“I understand that well. And……”
A beauty with red hair revealed herself.
“In exchange for the treatment fee, I would like to ask you a few questions.”
Whoosh—.
Daehyun dodged the woman’s nails with dazzling movements. One hit would certainly be a fatal wound, but he had no intention of letting himself be struck so easily.
“Aaah……! Aaah!”
Swoosh!
The attacks continued without end.
The woman’s nails cut through the air, passing just barely in front of Daehyun’s nose.
‘A simple pattern tilted toward madness.’
Dodging and identifying her attacks was not difficult.
He had fought this kind of enemy until he was sick of them.
However, what mattered to Daehyun right now was not defeating this woman.
‘Demonic Energy existing outside the Demon Realm…….’
Daehyun’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the woman.
“You are not someone I can talk to.”
The moment he spotted an opening,
Daehyun’s fist lightly struck the woman’s head.
CRACK—!
With a dull sound, the woman’s head was slammed into the ground.
This was already the tenth attack.
He had adjusted his strength because he did not intend to kill her, but even so, it was not at a level one could simply stand back up from.
“Kh, khh! The revelation……!”
Of course, that was only if the opponent was an ordinary human.
“Hmm.”
Watching the woman begin to rise while trembling, Daehyun let out a soft hum.
‘How troublesome.’
Even striking her brain did not knock her unconscious, and no matter how much he beat her, she kept getting back up.
She was a troublesome opponent.
“Kaaaargh!”
[Skill, Divine Shield (LV.2), activates.]
CLANG—!
Because the opponent was human, he could not carelessly use Divine Power.
It would do no good if she healed for no reason.
‘But I cannot keep leaving things like this either.’
There had to be some method.
After activating his shield, Daehyun quickly widened the distance. He could not kill her.
There were things he had to hear from this woman.
‘……Revelation.’
The word this woman had been repeating since earlier.
It smelled suspicious at a glance, and it seemed likely to be related to the reason this person had obtained “Demonic Energy.”
‘Did something happen in the Demon Realm?’
After thinking for a brief, very brief moment, Daehyun shook his head.
That was not what mattered right now.
“Because of you, the request is ruined, so I should collect plenty in exchange.”
How had she obtained Demonic Energy?
No, at the very least, he needed detailed information about the Demon Realm.
“…….”
At that moment.
Daehyun’s ears twitched.
Step, step—.
He heard a sound from the direction the party members had left, toward the cave’s exit.
“……Hm?”
Daehyun turned his head.
Someone was coming.