The Devil Hunter's clubroom buzzed with activity.
There was a mixture of shuffling furniture, the clatter of tools, and the occasional burst of chatter filling the space. I stood in the corner, hefting a stack of strange, rune-etched plates that Hajin had instructed me to set up.
The plates were heavier than they looked, but with magic power augmenting my strength, it wasn't much of a chore. The clubroom itself was modest but functional, large enough to accommodate our plans without feeling cramped. The fact that we had a room like this at all was undoubtedly thanks to the combined clout of the Rank 1 and Rank 2 cadets. And, if I'm being generous, maybe my name carried some weight too. After all, the four of us had played key roles in resolving the museum terrorism incident. That had to count for something.
Still, I felt a twinge of guilt for Yeonha. She'd been left out of the club's founding, not because she lacked the skills, but because her priorities lay elsewhere. She'd understand, I hoped.
Hajin worked nearby, his expression a blend of concentration and faint amusement as he arranged an odd contraption that looked like it belonged in a mad scientist's lab. The apparatus clicked into place between the refrigerator and what could only be described as an alchemical workbench. Hajin's mutterings drifted over to me as I adjusted a set of chairs against the far wall.
"I know who's going to be the next target," he said softly, his voice almost lost beneath the hum of the clubroom's newly installed equipment.
Of course he knew. Hajin always knew. "Is that so?" I replied offhandedly, though my ears perked up. Anything he said could be important. Hajin wasn't just a strategist; he was the Author, the one who'd set this whole world in motion.
"I still want to save them," Hajin murmured, his fingers tapping a rhythm on the edge of the workbench. "Attacking the Djinns in a bloodbath might be too reckless. But it's the easiest method I can think of to save the others. If Nayun and Suho manage to take out Yun Hyuk, all the better. But we're lacking manpower."
I watched as Hajin picked up another piece of equipment, this one even more obscure than the last, and slotted it neatly into place. He moved with the precision of someone following a carefully laid-out blueprint, though I doubted anyone but him could make sense of it.
"We can't place bodyguards on everyone 24/7, even though I know who the next victim will be," Hajin continued. "Instead of sticking you on Yeonha duty, I should have you doing something more meaningful. But I can't risk it. Remember, Hyon… Yeonha must not die. Among the protagonists, none of them can die."
I snorted, shifting a table into position. "And what could be more meaningful than babysitting Yeonha? Don't get me wrong, but bodyguarding sounds boring as hell."
Hajin chuckled, a dry, knowing sound. "Yeah, but boring is best. I've thought about it, though. If you're looking for excitement, how about assassinating Yun Hyuk instead? Sounds better than bodyguarding, right?"
I froze, the chair in my hands halfway to the floor. Assassinate Yun Hyuk? It wasn't just a casual suggestion—it was a serious proposition, and the weight of it hit me like a truck. My mind churned as I considered the idea.
"You're not joking," I said slowly, setting the chair down. My voice was calm, but my thoughts raced. Assassinating Yun Hyuk… could I do it? My gift left no traces.
Combined with Hajin's Setting Intervention, it might actually be possible to pull off the perfect kill. No evidence, no suspicion, just a clean removal of one of the biggest threats we faced.
Hajin didn't respond immediately. Instead, he watched me with that same calm, calculating gaze he always wore when he was testing an idea. "It's feasible," he said at last. "But it's dangerous. I wouldn't ask you to do it lightly."
I nodded, more to myself than to him. Dangerous? Of course it was. But the more I thought about it, the more the idea took root. If anyone could do it, it was me. And if it meant saving the others, maybe it was worth the risk.
The clubroom looked surprisingly nice after we had finished tidying it up.
I sighed, letting the weight of our situation settle in. "Assassinating, huh?" The word felt foreign in my mouth, heavy with implication. I slumped onto the comfy sofa we'd just moved, the edges of it still awkwardly stuck in the doorway. "I think I can do it," I muttered, more to myself than anyone else. As the words left my mouth, they started to feel real. "I will do it."
For a brief moment, I felt a flicker of confidence, a wild spark that maybe, just maybe, I could pull this off. But Hajin shook his head, his disapproval immediate and unyielding.
"Your life will be put at too much risk," he said firmly. "We don't know Yun Hyuk's exact power level, especially with the changes in the timeline. Even if you manage to infiltrate, there's almost a guarantee of a fight breaking out. The ruckus it'll create will be bad for you... and for us. No amount of tampering will help unless we time it perfectly. If we're going to do this, we need to hit him with our full force to avoid complications. And remember, we'll be working under a strict time limit, which makes it even harder."
I couldn't argue with his logic, but frustration still bubbled under my skin. "So, basically, if I were strong enough, I could assassinate him by myself, interrogate him, and figure out where the hell the Devil's Seed is hiding," I replied bitterly, my words dripping with self-deprecation.
Hajin scratched his chin thoughtfully, his gaze distant. "Yeah, it's basically that. But even if you did manage that, it wouldn't solve the problem of the Devil's Seed itself. Killing Yun Hyuk is just the first objective. If that fails, we'll have to scour Cube systematically to eliminate the Djinns. Either way, we're committing a lot of crimes when D-Day comes."
The weight of his words pressed down on me. My confidence wavered as I imagined what "D-Day" would look like. "Now that Kum Seungyeon has disappeared, Yun Hyuk must already be on the move," Hajin continued. "Killing him won't completely solve the problem. The Devil's Seed could already be far along in its development. Cleansing Cube of Djinns might be our safest choice."
The idea of a massacre sat uneasily with me, even if it was the most practical option. The thought of taking so many lives, even Djinns, made my stomach churn. But I understood why Hajin felt it was necessary. The story had already diverged too far from the original. There was no point in preserving the timeline anymore. We had to act decisively, regardless of the consequences.
This wasn't what I'd envisioned when I'd first worked to bring the main cast together. My gamble—befriending and aligning Kim Suho, Chae Nayun, and Hajin—had paid off in ways I couldn't have imagined. Together, they were a force of nature, strong enough to topple nations if they wanted to.
But with the threat in front of us, world domination wasn't even on the table. Instead, we were focused on survival and stopping a potentially world-ending disaster. The pressure was immense, but there was no room for failure. A single mistake could mean catastrophe, and that thought terrified me.
"Stop lazing around, will you?" Hajin's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
I looked up to see him glaring at me. I had sunk deeper into the sofa without realizing it. "Yeah, sorry about that," I mumbled, pushing myself to my feet.
We got back to work, moving furniture and organizing the room. At one point, I found myself lugging a coffee vending machine to the corner. My arms ached, but my thoughts kept running in the background, circling back to the same issue—our lack of manpower.
"Then what if we involve Rachel?" I suggested, breaking the silence. "We're short on people, and it'd be safer for Yeonha if she knew the danger she's in. I mean, I'm the one who suggested using Yeonha as bait, but if it saves lives, it's worth it, right? We could assign another bodyguard to one of the potential victims."
"No," Hajin said sharply, shaking his head. "We can't risk their lives. Not yet. Not until they've reached their full potential."
His paranoia was evident, and I couldn't blame him. Yun Hyuk's motives were unclear, and the stakes were too high to take unnecessary risks.
From Hajin's notes, I knew that Yun Hyuk kidnapped women to sacrifice them and strengthen his Djinn powers. But what if, in this timeline, his reasons were different?
"Hajin…" I hesitated, unsure if I wanted to voice my concerns. "Is there something you're not telling me?"
Hajin looked conflicted, his usual confidence replaced with hesitation. But after a moment, he spoke. "We need to consider the worst-case scenario."
"And what's that?" I asked, my voice quieter now.
Hajin's answer was grim. "The worst-case scenario is that Yun Hyuk is using the women he kidnaps to accelerate the incubation of the Devil's Seed."
The words sent a chill down my spine. My hand instinctively went to my smartwatch, checking Yeonha's location. Hajin had hacked into her device earlier, using his SP to help me keep an eye on her.
If Hajin's theory was right, we were already racing against the clock. The thought of Yun Hyuk growing stronger, of the Devil's Seed reaching maturity—it was almost too much to bear.
But I pushed the fear aside. There was no room for doubt. We had to act.
***
The evening air carried a faint chill, signaling the end of another day at Cube. Classes had been dismissed, leaving cadets to their own devices, and Kim Suho and Chae Nayun walked side by side through the quiet pathways. Their destination: Yun Hyuk's dormitory.
They moved with purpose, their faces set in grim determination. Tonight, they intended to confront Yun Hyuk directly, pressuring him into admitting his Djinn origins. Once he confessed, they would deal with him as necessary—extermination, if it came to that.
"Hey, Suho," Nayun broke the silence, her voice tinged with worry. "Are you really okay with this?"
She glanced at him, her brow furrowed. Suho's unwavering sense of justice was well-known. Assassination was a far cry from his usual methods, and Nayun couldn't help but wonder if he was truly prepared for what they might have to do.
Suho shook his head lightly but offered her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. Killing someone isn't beyond me."
His words were calm, but they carried a weight that Nayun couldn't ignore. She knew about his time in Akatrina, where war had left its mark on him. He had taken lives before—out of necessity, out of duty.
"Besides," Suho continued, "I'm not planning to rush into killing him. Interrogation comes first. If we can avoid unnecessary bloodshed, that's always the better path."
Nayun snorted softly, her expression hardening. "Nah, I still think Hajin's right. It's better to kill all the Djinns hiding in Cube. If they're really converting cadets, Cube's already infested. We can't just cut out one tumor; we have to cure the cancer completely."
Suho glanced at her, surprised by the venom in her tone. "I never took you for someone so bloodthirsty," he remarked, his voice edged with curiosity.
Nayun met his gaze evenly. Her motivation wasn't something she had shared openly, but Suho had an idea of where her hatred stemmed from. Her brother's affliction with the Devil's Seed was a wound that hadn't healed, a pain that fueled her determination.
Suho felt a pang of guilt at the thought. He knew that, after their mission at Cube, he might have to face Nayun's brother. The Devil's Seed couldn't be allowed to spread further, and if it meant killing him, Suho would do it. The burden of that decision weighed heavily on him, but he pushed it aside for now.
The pair reached Yun Hyuk's dormitory, the sleek building blending into Cube's modern architecture. Suho stepped forward and pressed the electronic buzzer by the door.
~Bzzzt ~Bzzzt
The sound echoed in the stillness of the evening. Suho waited, his finger poised to press the buzzer again. Several minutes passed, and despite his persistence, there was no response.
"Is he ignoring us?" Nayun muttered, her frown deepening.
Suho's eyes narrowed, his instincts tingling with unease. He pressed the buzzer again, holding it down longer this time. Still nothing.
A voice called out from behind them. "If you're looking for Yun Hyuk, he's not here."
The two of them turned to see a third-year cadet approaching. He wore the standard uniform, his expression neutral but vaguely curious.
"Where is he?" Suho asked, his tone polite but firm.
The senior shrugged. "He's outside Cube, taking care of personal matters. Left earlier today."
Suho and Nayun exchanged a glance, their unease growing. Yun Hyuk leaving Cube unannounced was suspicious. He was supposed to be one of the most diligent cadets, someone who rarely missed a day of training.
"Did he say when he'd be back?" Nayun asked.
The senior shook his head. "No idea. Could be tomorrow, could be next week. He didn't give details."
As the cadet walked away, Suho and Nayun lingered in front of the dorm, their expressions mirroring each other's concern.
"This doesn't feel right," Suho murmured.
"Yeah," Nayun agreed, her voice low. "It's like he's deliberately avoiding us."
Suho clenched his fists, his mind racing. If Yun Hyuk truly was a Djinn, his absence could mean he was preparing for something—or worse, already in the middle of enacting a plan.
"We need to tell Hajin," Suho said, his voice resolute.
Nayun nodded, her earlier bravado replaced by a growing sense of urgency. They turned away from the dormitory, their mission delayed but far from over. Something was brewing, and they couldn't afford to let their guard down.