YuSung was recovering his lost energy with cakes and drinks. EunAh tutted and shook her head at the sight.
"Don't choke. Are those really that delicious?"
"Very."
YuSung scooped up a piece of tiramisu and shoved it in his mouth. She watched him do so with a haughty expression on her face.
"Why do you like tiramisu if you hate coffee that much?"
It wasn't a question that YuSung could answer, though. The taste was indescribable: Soft cream cheese, sweet cake drenched in syrup, bitter coffee powder that cut through the sugar.
"Can I order another one?"
YuSung was in bliss from having a cake put in front of him. Considering everything, it was a pretty obvious reaction from him. The boy had practically lived the life of an ascetic on the Martial Spirits' Mountain—to him, the provocative delicacies of the outside world were assaults to his senses.
'With 10 million won, I can buy…'
He thanked EunAh again for being able to taste those cakes. He had, at that moment, relearned the true value of that large sum of money.
"Yeah, go ahead~ Actually, why don't you just buy this whole place?"
EunAh waved her black credit card around in a sarcastic manner. Her joke, however, didn't seem much like one to YuSung.
'…It really doesn't feel like a joke when EunAh is the one saying it.'
He was getting used to the other girl's quirks. That attitude was how she expressed her feelings of friendliness towards another person, even if she was being obtuse and clumsy about it.
As the sole daughter of a chaebol group, EunAh didn't even deign to hold a conversation with someone if they didn't interest her.
Her current display of kindness was proof that a measure of goodwill had been formed from her towards YuSung, past the initial intrigue.
EunAh looked outside the window and began to speak to YuSung.
"So you're going to go back as soon as the patrol is over?"
YuSung nodded his head in reply.
"That's what I'm planning to do. What about you, EunAh?"
"Me? I…"
She paused. Her next destination after the end of her shift was the hospital. She wanted to visit her brother before heading back to the school herself.
But EunAh didn't want YuSung to know about that. Rather, she didn't want to talk to anyone about her brother. She was sick of garnering people's sympathy. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
"…Dunno, shopping, maybe?"
Unconsciously, she avoided the other's gaze as she gave her response. YuSung watched her as he stood up from his seat.
"We should go."
Right then…
Weeeewooo–!!
A speaker in the café began to blare loudly—it was the noise of the siren that was only used during emergencies.
"N-no way!"
EunAh checked her Pocket, but there was no warning message to be seen.
[This is a city-wide announcement for Metro City]
[A villain has been reported to have emerged from the Metro City Hospital. Civilians in the area, please evacuate the area as quickly as possible.]
After listening to the announcement, YuSung looked towards EunAh and began to talk to her calmly.
"We aren't in charge of that area."
The hospital wasn't under YuSung and EunAh's jurisdiction, even if it was in the same city. Despite that fact, EunAh's face was oddly pale.
"…A villain at the hospital?"
Her comatose brother, Kim JunHyuk, was in Metro City Hospital. EunAh clenched her jaw.
'They were definitely aiming for the 7th floor!'
"What are you doing? A villain appeared! We need to go to the hospital, now!" She frantically spoke to YuSung.
"EunAh, we need to protect our own area. That's our mission."
There were other hunters who were in charge of the hospital. It was important that one protected their own assigned area.
Even if the city was currently peaceful, something could happen at any moment. If they left their posts, another villain could use the lull in security to commit their own crimes. Alternatively, another gate like the one from before could appear.
EunAh clenched her teeth hard enough to strain her jaw. She gave YuSung an intense glare.
"…Then don't stop me. I'll go on my own."
EunAh ran out of the cafe, ending their conversation. The owner looked at the entrance that she had just left through with a worried look on their face.
"I can't believe the siren rang twice today. It usually only rings maybe once a month."
At their words, YuSung recalled the conversation that he and EunAh had earlier.
[I'm…going to buy another drink.]
Should he stick to the mission and follow the rules? Or should he follow EunAh?
[What's the issue? You told me you've never been to a café before since you were stuck in the mountains.]
YuSung wouldn't normally think too hard about his decision—but something was different that time. He had initially approached EunAh to try and recruit her as an ally due to her skills. As they began talking to one another, however, his reasons to do so began to grow.
[Come on! The café sells a bunch of things, like cake. Go ahead and order whatever you want.]
YuSung narrowed his eyes.
Right when he was about to lean towards a decision, EunAh's expression from earlier suddenly popped up in his head.
[…Dunno, shopping, maybe?]
There was something behind her eyes back then, a thought that had cast a shadow over her face. YuSung had a bad habit of not being able to ignore those he had a soft spot for.
"It can't be helped."
He made his decision. Right after, he made a call to someone.
* * *
* * *
The 5th floor of Metro City Hospital…
Booom!
A side of the hospital was blown to smithereens.
Woosh.
The dust formed by the debris of the demolished wall blew away into the air. Right after, a man emerged from the hole in the side of the building.
"Urgh! Keuuk…"
He let out a guttural cry from his throat while clenching his head between his hands. His eyes were bloodshot and unfocused, the picture of horror.
"Aaaargh!!" the man roared in pain.
The hunter that had been dispatched to the area was absolutely terrified.
"How can someone destroy a building like that with his bare hands… and without any special abilities…"
The Association's rank 3 hunter, Yu AeRi.
Her first-ever emergency dispatch mission was driving her to tears.
"Senior, can't you come up to the 5th floor? I can't stop him on my own!"
–I already told you I can't! And capture him no matter what it takes! You know who this berserker guy is, right? Don't forget, if he dies, it's over for the both of us!
AeRi's senior colleague scolded her harshly.
"How am I supposed to capture him when I don't even know if I can beat him…"
Her sentence trailed off as she teared up.
But it was too late for any regret.
The hunters who were stationed near the hospital were AeRi and her senior. Aside from them, there were some city guards who had been stationed at the hospital itself. That was it.
'Th-the hospital is… completely destroyed now, of course.'
As she looked at the unconscious guards strewn around the man, the thought that came to her mind was:
'It's impossible for me to subdue him.'
The man suddenly looked over at AeRi and bared his teeth.
"Keuuuk!"
With a pained cry, he began to sprint towards her.
"Kaaaaaaa!"
Punch!
AeRi was thrown into the air by his blow and hit the opposing wall like a sack of potatoes.
"Keuuk!"]
She spat out blood—there seemed to be damage to her organs.
The man had done that in just one blow.
'…I can't block a strike like this.'
She slowly lost consciousness.
AeRi slumped over in the wall she was embedded in. As she fainted, the man grabbed his head again and began to scream.
"Aaaargh!"
The symptoms he was suffering were from one of the chronic illnesses that a hunter could suffer.
—It was called Mana Rage.
There were various reasons as to why someone could suffer from Mana Rage, but the majority of cases were determined to be caused by the overuse of supplements.
A reflux of mana would tear into every nook and cranny of the affected's body and mind, eventually crippling them. A circulation stone could delay the overflow, but it was a treasure of which only a few existed in Korea. On top of that, it was only a temporary measure.
"Keuk…"
The man began to make his way towards the exit. He had completely lost his mind to the pain and was attacking everything in sight.
However, he only managed to take a few steps until a woman's voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Hold it."
The identity of the person with the adamant tone of voice was Kim EunAh.
"Aaargh!!"
The man glared at her murderously. In response, EunAh aimed her index finger at him, then shot a bullet made of electricity from it.
Flash!
"I warned you."
"Keuk, kuhhh…"
He let out a cry of agony as the bullet hit him in the arm. EunAh's face was contorted in pain.
"…Oppa."
She looked at her brother, who had become a complete wreck. JunHyuk was making strange noises with his mouth, eyes unseeing.
"K, hhh, euk!"
That JunHyuk was not the gentle brother that EunAh once knew. It was her job to stop his rampage.
She wanted to turn her head away from the sight, but she didn't. Instead, she stared straight ahead.
"It hurts, doesn't it, oppa? Just… wait for a minute. The hunters will be here soon. Just wait until…"
"Khh, khhhrrr…"
JunHyuk slowly, very slowly, made his way towards his sister.
"Don't move!" EunAh shouted.
She stretched out her hand towards her brother, but he did not stop.
Instead, he met her eyes and approached her.
There hadn't been a single day since Junhyuk had fallen into a coma when EunAh hadn't wished for him to open his eyes.
"Krrr…"
Of course, the JunHyuk who was awake in front of her eyes at that moment was a far cry from the man that she had known.
[Mother scolded you again, didn't she? I know it hurts, but… there's no need to cry. She did that because she loves you. Come on. I'll give you a piggyback.]
The JunHyuk she remembered was considerate.
[Whoa! You're the top scorer again? You're so cool, Oppa!]
He was her pride and joy.
[Haha, of course I have to do well. I need to repay people's expectations, don't I? Our parents', and yours, too.]
A brother who was kind to everyone he met.
"I…"
With a pained voice, EunAh drew out her electricity.
"Told you… to stop…"
Bzzt! Zap!
Her lightning was crackling all over the place, betraying her turbulent emotions.
"Aaaargh!"
JunHyuk ran towards EunAh.
No matter how dearly she wished to become a hunter, Kim EunAh was, at the end of the day, a seventeen-year-old girl. And no matter just how deep of a berserker state Kim JunHyuk was in, he was still the one and only support in her life.
Zzt!
The blue electricity faded.
The loss of her will to fight was reflected in her abilities.
"…Huh?"
Vwoom! Bam!
JunHyuk's fist flew right at EunAh. She crossed her arms to block the blow, but the monstrous strength behind it threw her and embedded her into the opposite wall.
"Gasp! Keuk…"
She was desperately trying to catch her breath.
EunAh was powerless without her electricity. She couldn't move her arms, and blood was flowing from her head.
"Oppa…"
EunAh called for JunHyuk in a trembling voice.
"I…"
She stared at her brother and thought, 'so this is how he's changed'.
"…Actually knew why."
EunAh had previously lied, had turned away from the truth. She knew why JunHuyk had relied on those supplements.
She braced herself against the wall that she had been smashed into and shakily stood up. Her body was screaming in pain from the shock it had just taken. She ignored it.
"That you're…"
The days when JunHyuk would receive his grades from the academy.
Those were the only moments in his life when the parents who he barely saw more than once a month would praise him.
"…Super fucking weak."
EunAh laughed bitterly.
It probably all began back then.
Being a hunter and showing off his skills and strength became the sole way JunHyuk could prove his worth. So when he hit a limit to his abilities as a hunter, he couldn't just accept it.
The talent that Kim JunHyuk so craved had not been given to him but to Kim EunAh.
It was why Shin YuSung was so fascinating to her.
YuSung had been abandoned by his family.
He had an F-rank Trait.
But he had not given up and had continued to become stronger.
"Kr…"
JunHyuk bared his teeth and began to growl.
With one hand braced against the wall, EunAh stared at her brother and began to bluff with all of her might.
"…Come at me. I'll wake you up."
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