Seneos needn't even turn around, he heard Kang Tae-Yeon and immediately registered something was wrong. He heard the repetitive noise that followed a trembling and a runny nose.
He turned around, sat down, and looked up. There he almost saw himself in what faced him. There was exhaustion mixed in with emotions that had been stirring inside a heart that had been denied attention for long enough.
"Please, don't tell me you really went into a dungeon with that kind of pain inside of you, thinking it was a good idea." Sen said, a small chuckle leaving him. He knew it was not the right moment, but he couldn't quite lie to himself about the situation. He felt quite reassured, seeing that kind of reaction in someone he saw as invincible. Becoming a hunter couldn't possibly kill off the emotions that humans just had to live with, he had told himself that constantly.
Never would people truly change by simply taking that mantle. Never would he change. Perhaps.
Tae-Yeon simply crashed down on top of the corpse, his tears slowly staining his outfit. No one saw what was happening, and no one would. From afar it simply would look like the healer was exhausted, or perhaps still had difficulties dealing with the pain he had just gone through.
That was until he crossed his legs, put his forearms on them, and threw a glance at Sen.
"A reversal of roles, pretty funny huh?" The healer began. Sen frowned before the man even finished his sentence, but kept to himself.
"I am starting to think willpower is really all there is to this job. Taking that mantle just means having a will of iron. Strength just never really means anything. You will still face foes stronger than you, you would still have problems....."
He ran a hand through his admittedly short but thick black hair and tried to keep his tears from falling anymore. He failed.
"It's really just another set of shitty flavours that seem good because they are new. I guess we like novelty so much we can put up with that. We can until our mind just doesn't follow anymore." He choked out. His cheeks were already as red as they could be while he took difficult gulps.
His monologue was surprisingly interrupted by the humming of a childish tune. His head shot up and he saw a smile on Sen's serene face.
"Well that sounds sad as fuck, but you can keep on going. You're not dead, you got rewards" He eyed a small piece of blue-ish metal hanging out from Tae-Yeon's breast pocket. " And you have no long-lasting damages. I would wager this is not as bad as it could have been."
Tae-Yeon put a hand to his breast, looked down at Sen and sighed.
"You *Sniff* got nothing, huh? I never understood how that whole reward stuff worked...That voice knows exactly how the fights went, and it knows our names too. I guess I can see why it feeds the many conspiracy theories that you can find on the net these days." He tried his best to smile but quickly stopped, earning him a scoff from Sen.
"Feeling weak, am I right?" He was sent a saucy grin, as all sadness was blown away for a second. His eyes widened before something hit him.
"Oh...Right." He looked down and a small giggle left him, followed by more sniffling. "You have been experiencing this a lot more than me. Sor-"
A hand appeared in front of his face. He looked at Sen who now frowned and furrowed his brows in confusion.
"Don't start apologizing. I am feeling better than I should right now. Being jealous of your power does that. Well, that and my previous views on your group. You all seemed invincible, but I guess it ain't the case. But really, don't start to feel bad for someone who would most likely just mock you if the roles were reversed. Fuck if I know how horrid I would be if I had your power." Sen chuckled, a full smile on his face as he rocked back and forth.
Unbeknownst to the healer, Sen's eyes followed his and the newly awakened knight's giggle only got stronger once he saw that the tears had stopped.
"You...You're kind of an asshole, right?" Tae-Yeon asked as Sen got up.
"Of course not! The weak just has a tendency to be cruel to those whom they expect kindness and protection from. Call it the instinct of a bunch of worms."
Sen twirled around before his index touched Tae-Yeon's forehead.
"But well, If someone like me can still go on...You probably should. You suffer, I suffer...We suffer. Should you even give a fuck about it? I highly doubt that. I got a path, my depression is forgotten for the time being....Just constantly do stuff that makes you forget about your pain...I guess." With this, Sen turned around, made a two fingers gesture to Tae-Yeon and jumped off the massive corpse.
Seeing the man who had recently been nothing but a gloomy porter take off, Tae-Yeong sighed once more as the tears came back to him. This time his face showed nothing and his eyes never left the retreating figure.
"So....Full-on degeneracy to satisfy my desires and just forget? Perhaps drugs? Hahaha...." He looked at the ceiling and took a deep breath." I should know it doesn't work...And they should too. Never turn to that, scaredy porter."
******************
The air of the city hit once again, but this time he could appreciate it fully. This time he harboured no fear in his heart. He was.....Free of worries, for just a few seconds. The sounds anyone who lived in the city got accustomed to, he loved them. He allowed himself to get lost in a cacophony that could never sound worse to him than what he heard in dungeons, or in the back of his mind.
He couldn't believe his hypocrisy, but he allowed a lone tear to escape and then opened his eyes. The agents of the KHG, the searchers of that same organization, he saw them move around to fulfill their mission and he smiled.
"So that's what a purpose is. I guess being drunk on that euphory and wanting more is better than nothing."
He had apparently been standing in front of the portal for a longer time than he believed, for the other hunters of his group came out right after his words. The ones who hadn't found the boss had already been out long before him. There was no need to stay in such a basic dungeon after it was completed after all.
A hand clapped his back and he frowned as he saw the martial artist housewife, Ms.Moon, smile at him as she walked away with her teammates. He wanted to ask how she was connected to him. He wished to know more, but perhaps he finally realized something. Perhaps it was what Jeol had been hinting out. He couldn't quite go on with just a desire to know his past. It was a purpose that would fade away quickly now that Jeol had attained new heights. So...
Could he simply let everything go slowly? Could he do that just to not lose his raison d'être?
He could, but it appeared that something would not let him.
A mop of blonde hair moved through the crowd of hunters and a small figure reached out to Miss Moon.
The woman looked down and saw someone that Sen could have never imagined he would have seen here of all places.
"The daughter of the landlady? What...." He whispered and shivered as a soft voice entered his ears.
"I think not, Overlord."
He looked as Miss Moon looked at the small figure, showed immense surprise, and then suddenly lifted the girl in the air.
Her exclamation was loud enough for him to hear it, and his jaw dropped.
" Soo-Hi! How have you been!? My sweet little princess is finally back!" She smothered the girl with her chest as Vodka hummed beside her overlord.
"Could you be so kind as to broaden my database, overlord? To put it in your words...Who the hell is that?"
His mouth trembled as did his entire body. He blinked once and then some more, just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. Then he just wished he could kill himself right here and there.
"....This ain't the fucking landlady's daughter....A blonde midget that looks dignified at all times, I should have known! With Jeol and another guy, she was part of our group when we were just kids...In a time I can hardly remember. Of all people who could show up at the worst moment to bring back the only memories I do not want to think of...."
He slapped his own face with his own two hands.
"Han Soo-Hi, the noble wannabe."