Possession really was a cheat skill.
I mean, seriously.
I’d only blinked for a second, but everything was already over?
And to think I supposedly fought Lucius myself.
Not only did I block his attacks, but I killed him with a simple wave of my hand.
And yet my body had no side effects whatsoever.
Not even the faintest muscle ache.
‘…It’s absolutely insane.’
Judging by performance alone, it was definitely worthy of an SSS-rank skill.
The cooldown for a skill on this scale was only a week?
You’d think it was a balance-breaking cheat, but everything in this world happens for a reason.
In return for lending me his power, the Demon King made a mess and left.
"Wow, you let the Demon King possess your own body for the sake of your first love. That’s seriously moving."
"Explain yourself, Brother."
Aris raised both arms like a set of scales as if the whole thing was absurd,
and Rachel glared at me with a sullen expression.
Ever since hearing the bombshell the Demon King dropped right before Possession wore off, they’d been like this.
"No, it’s just that…"
I only saved someone who was dying with pure intentions, yet now I had the image of a foolishly devoted man.
‘Come on, normally when you use a skill like this, keeping the caster’s secrets is basic manners.’
Who would ever use a skill like this!
They should at least write a warning label or something.
At the very least, balance-wise, I should be able to see the other party’s secrets too.
I was on the verge of going crazy from the injustice,
but there was no one to blame, so for now, resolving this situation took priority.
"I think there’s some kind of misunderstanding. It’s just that someone was dying right in front of me, so…"
"So you’re saying this woman isn’t your first love?"
"That’s… not exactly untrue…"
"If it were someone you didn’t know, would you have done the same?"
"That… probably wouldn’t have happened either…"
Even this damned mouth wouldn’t listen to me.
I understood why casual speech mode was activated on the 1st-floor hidden stage.
But why couldn’t I even tell lies?
I was starting to disappoint myself.
"But if you two were in the same situation, I would have made the same choice."
"Br-Brother…"
"What’s with you all of a sudden…"
Still, times like this weren’t so bad.
Since I spoke with complete sincerity, the two of them seemed somewhat mollified.
"H-Hmph! Did you think we’d fall for you just because you said that?"
"Hehe! Hearing that made me feel better. After all, I’m the one by Brother’s side."
【The 'Truth Confession' buff expires.】
【Caster: the Demon King.】
So this is what it feels like to have your nose cut off right in front of your eyes.
To think he’d planted such a ridiculous buff inside my body before leaving.
【Demon King – Master of Chaos】
You’re blacklisted.
If possible, I’m putting you dead last on my possession priority list.
Well, anyway.
Their anger cooled, the two of them conversed with flushed faces.
"Right, and objectively speaking, we’re prettier too. And we’re bigger up top!"
"Aris, your abilities are amazing too!"
"Your swordsmanship is incredible too."
Since when did those two get along so well?
Their sudden mutual praise felt awkward.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend, I suppose.
‘I don’t even like Yu Seolhwa anymore, though.’
Well, whatever works.
I shrugged and looked at Yu Seolhwa, who had collapsed on the ground.
"Ungh…"
Yu Seolhwa stirred.
Looked like she was about to wake up.
After putting on a disguise hat and sunglasses,
I spoke to the two who were still busy praising each other behind me.
"Let’s get going."
"Huh? After going that far for her, you’re okay leaving without seeing her face?"
"Exactly. Weren’t you waiting around so the two of you could talk?"
The two tilted their heads.
I shook my head.
"Come to think of it, I think it’d get complicated if I ran into her."
Yu Seolhwa was affiliated with the Association.
And she was insatiably greedy for talented people.
What kind of reaction would she have if she knew I saved her?
I could tell at a glance she’d latch onto me.
‘I hate it when things get annoying. And I don’t want to see her face anymore anyway.’
Honestly, I wanted to just leave,
but what if I left her behind and the Black Oxes tore her apart?
I had to provide this much service so I wouldn’t feel guilty about taking a reward.
Ah, I already took the reward.
I’d helped myself to a thick wad of fifty-thousand-won bills from Yu Seolhwa’s wallet.
Was it theft?
But I’d gambled with my very body; I deserved compensation.
This much was a bargain for a life-risking fee.
‘Still, to think she still carried that photo around.’
I’d found it while rummaging through her wallet earlier—
a photo taken when I was in middle school, tucked deep inside.
"Brother, you were so cute when you were little! Can’t you give it to me?"
"Wow, look at you in your school uniform. Absolutely adorable."
I think it was the first photo we’d taken together.
She probably just put it away and forgot about it.
"I’ll dispose of this as part of the service too."
I slipped the photo back into the wallet and turned away.
***
By the time the three of them vanished beyond the horizon,
Yu Seolhwa furrowed her brow and raised herself up.
"Ugh…"
Her head pounded like she was hungover.
Even so, she habitually checked her status window.
【Rank 1 demon-class entity, Lucius, has been slain by someone.】
【Entry and exit are now possible as of this time.】
The status window displayed a message that the demon had been slain.
Yu Seolhwa’s eyes went wide.
"Impossible."
Someone had disposed of the demon.
But who?
How could anyone kill a demon she couldn’t defeat herself?
In fact, let alone the demon, the Abyssal Minotaur was an opponent Yu Seolhwa couldn’t handle alone.
There was probably no Hunter in the world, not even in Korea, capable of such a feat.
‘There weren’t any Hunters around here…’
She racked her memory as best she could.
Soon, a fragmented series of memories surfaced in her mind.
She had come here to test an S-rank Awakened.
Suddenly the beasts grew stronger, and a demon appeared before her eyes.
The people with her died in an instant, and she seemed to have suffered something at the demon’s hands as well, but…
Strangely, she couldn’t remember anything after that.
Only a feeling remained, as if something precious had been carved out of her.
She didn’t know what it was, yet the moment she tried to recall it, her chest felt suffocatingly hollow.
What on earth could it be?
If she had to name the most precious thing to her…
"Seo Uri…"
Words she had blurted out unconsciously.
Worried someone might have heard, she hurriedly covered her mouth and looked around.
Fortunately, no one had heard.
Only regenerated Black Oxes surrounded her.
"Phew, thank goodness."
If someone had heard, she would have run away from sheer embarrassment.
Just uttering that name made her heart race so much that her expression nearly melted.
She was probably wearing that same expression right now.
And Seo Uri, upon seeing that, would always…
‘…What kind of expression did he make?’
Yu Seolhwa’s face stiffened.
She tried desperately to recall his face, but it wouldn’t come.
His name, his voice, even his scent were still vivid in her memory.
Only his face had vanished, as if carved away.
"What the…"
So visibly flustered that anyone who knew Yu Seolhwa would have been shocked.
She always assessed situations with cold detachment and gave calm answers.
That was the image she had created to protect someone precious to her.
Someone she had secretly recalled whenever things got hard—
yet now she couldn’t remember that precious person’s face.
"W-Wait… Ah, thank goodness."
Yu Seolhwa’s trembling body finally calmed.
She remembered a single photo she had once tried to throw away with a bitter heart, but ultimately couldn’t.
"If I look at that, I’ll remember."
Her hands shook as she desperately tried to stay calm and took out her wallet.
It was noticeably thinner. The money was all gone.
Had she been robbed while she was unconscious?
It was fine, as long as the photo was there…
"Ah."
The wallet fell from her limp hand and rolled across the ground.
The photo was gone.
There was no way to recall his face.
She wanted to find him right away and fill this maddening void,
but she had committed too great a sin against him to face him directly.
Yu Seolhwa could only hang her head.
Only one hope remained for her.
"Whoever it is, I need to find the person who took the photo."
Fortunately, this was a Gate.
If nowhere else, there was only one exit from here.
Yu Seolhwa began running toward the safe zone.
By the time she arrived at great speed, there were far more people than expected.
"It really wasn’t that big a deal, you know? They couldn’t get inside the safe zone."
"The barrier was sturdier than I thought. If something like this happens again, I think we just need to run into the safe zone."
"Mom! I’m on TV!"
Survivors giving interviews to reporters.
Association employees gathered to handle the situation.
Large guilds that had come fully prepared for a potential disaster.
Yu Seolhwa spotted her direct subordinate among them and secretly called him over.
Then she commanded him as if making a request.
"Bring me the entry and exit records. And who was the Hunter who arrived here the latest?"
"Well… the owner doesn’t keep separate entry records here. And with the situation being chaotic, plus there being no CCTV, it’ll be hard to figure out which Hunter arrived last."
"It’s hanging right over there."
"We checked it earlier to see what happened, but it’s just for decoration."
Hunters getting injured in hunting grounds was an everyday occurrence.
But the Association would nitpick however they could to collect taxes.
The safety distance of the hunting ground, the lack of safety personnel—
and so on.
If there was evidence, the Association would happily fine them.
So they had hidden away all physical evidence.
Realizing the entry records probably weren’t kept for the same reason, Yu Seolhwa pressed her forehead.
‘If it’s like this, there’s no way to find the photo.’
She had thought it would be easy, but now she felt as though she would lose Seo Uri forever.
"Team Leader, you don’t look well."
"No, I’m fine. Go back and do what you were doing until I call for you."
"...Yes!"
Afraid she might shed tears, she hurriedly sent her subordinate away
and sought another way to retrieve the photo.
Just then, citizens giving interviews caught her eye.
Without realizing it, Yu Seolhwa approached them.
***
Meanwhile, at that time,
I had finished showering at home and was watching TV.
How did I get back so fast?
Isn’t it obvious…
"Brother, you were so cute when you were little."
"You had such big, bright eyes back then. It would have been a real treat to teach you magic."
It was all thanks to the two of them lying on the bed, happily looking through my childhood album.
When Rachel sent the Holy Sword to our house, Aris used teleportation magic.
Repeat that process three times, and we could get home in just a few minutes.
A miracle born from combining the Holy Sword’s dimension-crossing ability and the convenience of magic, you could say.
"Couldn’t we escape from similar situations too if we do this right?"
"Hmm, theoretically it might be possible."
"Let’s try it later!"
I should test it in Hell Mode soon.
It’s the same there—no way out, after all.
"By the way, the situation wrapped up nicely. Not many casualties either. Is this really around Hard Mode 90F?"
"Hmm… it definitely felt weaker than last time."
"At this level, it was probably around Difficulty 80F, roughly."
No wonder the beasts that appeared were A-rank.
This is why they say you can’t trust statistics.
With a small sample size, errors are inevitable.
"Still, it’s a relief the Demon King said he doesn’t like me."
At my words, the two flinched and looked away from the album.
"Ahaha… that’s right."
"Y-Yeah! The Demon King isn’t interested in you."
Something felt suspicious, but I didn’t think I had seduced the Demon King.
Love transcending species is only possible in fairy tales.
I turned my gaze to the TV.
The screen showed the scene of the Gate we had been at.
Survivors were being interviewed.
When Yu Seolhwa appeared, every camera turned to her.
She really is pretty, no doubt.
Even live, without any touch-ups, her beauty was flawless.
【Was it Yu Seolhwa, Korea’s SSS-rank Hunter Ranker, who resolved the Gate rampage?】
To think they were already using such a sensational title.
Reporters sure are fast, as expected.
"Well, as long as the aggro isn’t on me, I’m satisfied."
The moment I tried to change the channel in relief,
I froze at Yu Seolhwa’s voice coming from the TV.
【If there is anyone who touched a very important item in my wallet, I will give you a chance to turn yourself in.】
…No way. Was this money really that precious to her?