The owner of the hand stepped out of the helicopter and pulled the trigger repeatedly, his face expressionless.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Large holes opened in Irina’s chest, and red blood began pooling on the ground.
This was different from the warning shots earlier. Each bullet had been aimed at a vital point and tore straight through her body.
Cough!
Spitting out a gush of blood, Irina moved her lips soundlessly.
‘Kill me? Zhenya is killing me?’
The only family she had left?
Without hesitation, Jin Siwon sprayed bullets at her collapsing body.
Nayeon’s eyes widened.
“Why is he over there…?”
At her bewildered voice, Jurim replied indifferently,
“I wondered what was going on when I saw Team Leader Jin inside the helicopter…”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The magic bullets ceaselessly destroyed Irina’s regenerating body.
When blood splattered across his face, he frowned, but never stopped pulling the trigger.
Irina was breathing faintly, her breaths coming in ragged gasps. Her regenerative ability was monstrous.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Jurim, who had not even blinked at the brutal sight, walked toward Jin Siwon, who continued firing.
“Sorry, but I’m in a bit of a hurry too. Team Leader Jin, where’s my daughter?”
Siwon drew in a deep, trembling breath.
“Cough!”
At the spot where he aimed his gun, Irina spurted out a gush of blood.
A faint crack appeared in Siwon’s expression, but he soon composed himself and answered gently,
“Gru is in a guest room with someone from our side.”
“Nothing happened to her?”
“No, nothing happened to Gru… Would you like to go see her?”
“Where is she?”
When Siwon pointed out Alan Kravis’s guest room, Jurim hurriedly left.
“Team Leader Jin…”
Nayeon looked at Siwon sadly, as though her heart ached for him.
“I’m fine, so go. I still have to finish things here.”
“Yes…”
Nayeon nodded once before following after Jurim.
There were only two people left on the rooftop.
Lying on the rooftop as twilight settled over it, Irina spoke while staring blankly through eyes that were slowly closing.
“Zhenya. Now, you’re, alone.”
Siwon stroked Irina’s face with the back of his hand.
“…Ira, Mikola is alive.”
Irina’s eyes wavered.
He had clearly pierced his heart. No potion in the world should have been able to save him. Then how?
As though answering her unspoken question, Siwon calmly continued,
“I had an elixir in my pocket.”
The moment he caught the falling Sergei in his arms, the elixir in his pocket activated.
What had come out of his pocket was none other than an acorn.
A miracle brought by the tiny flying-squirrel angel.
“This country, really, is nothing but one impossible thing after another…”
Irina let out a hollow laugh, her eyes narrowing.
An elixir. Who would have thought such a thing truly existed?
“Why did you do it, Ira?”
Siwon sat down beside Irina and spoke in a low voice.
“I could have done anything for you.”
Even if it meant running away from the orphanage. He would have hidden them under a bridge and somehow managed.
Looking at Siwon, Irina spoke clearly.
“I could do anything for you, too. If there were one less mouth to feed, you wouldn’t have to suffer as much. I was helping you. That’s why I even took Cyrus for you… Everything was for you.”
At her mad words, Siwon squeezed his eyes shut in anguish.
He had always sensed that there was something abnormal about his younger sister. Perhaps this ending had been decided from the moment she was born.
Perhaps it was merely the final flicker of life, for Irina’s breathing soon grew faint.
“…So that’s why you took that person’s hand.”
“That person? Who is that?”
Irina moved her lips soundlessly.
Siwon approached Irina and put his ear to her mouth.
“…Han.”
After whispering the name faintly into his ear, Irina closed her eyes.
At last, Siwon held his lifeless sister tightly in his arms.
Only belatedly did tears begin to fall, as though a dam had burst.
*
Inside Alan Kravis’s guest room.
Yun Arin let out a sigh of relief after confirming that Sergei, lying on the bed, was breathing evenly.
The acorn, hovering about three centimeters above Sergei’s chest, was emitting a warm light.
‘They said there was a hole in his heart.’
At that moment, Gru, who had been pressed close to the bedside, raised her head.
“Unniee… Is Seruhi oppa still hurting?”
Her bright-red lips and nose trembled.
Yun Arin stroked the head of the child who looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment.
“No. See this acorn? It’s healing Oppa, so he says it doesn’t hurt at all.”
She had just carried Gru straight to Alan Kravis’s room after finding her in the bathroom.
“The acorn is?”
“Mm-hm. So you don’t need to worry too much. Oppa’s just lying down because he’s still tired, so let’s wait a little longer.”
“Okaaay…”
What a relief. Gru gazed at the acorn in relief.
It had been a good thing she had put the acorn in Uncle Hungsam’s pocket after all.
The person being treated had changed, but… Had the acorn healed Uncle Hungsam’s injuries too?
Just then, as soon as the special investigation team members gathered beneath the bed and watching Sergei’s condition heard the acorn mentioned, they began adding their own comments.
“But an elixir… Does this really make any sense? I’m looking right at it, but it still doesn’t feel real.”
“Exactly. I never imagined an elixir would be shaped like an acorn…”
“This is amazing. I never thought I’d see an elixir like this. But where did it come from? Was it donated by Mr. Alan?”
As he was an American tycoon, it would not have been strange if he had somehow obtained an elixir.
“No way. They look just as clueless over there.”
“Then where on earth did something so absurdly powerful come from?”
Someone let the words slip.
“Could it be from the RP…?”
At that answer, everyone fell silent in an instant.
If it had come from the RP Dungeon, it would belong either to Hyeonak or Team Leader Jin, both of whom were present at the scene.
“If this gets out, there’s going to be chaos…”
It would be troublesome even if it belonged to Team Leader Jin, but if Hyeonak was involved? It would be disastrous if even an unfounded rumor spread.
People both domestically and abroad would turn their attention to Hyeonak.
Guildmaster On already made no effort to hide how irritated he was by interviews. If word got out about the elixir and he took offense, the entire team might be brought down as punishment for offending him.
“Everyone, watch what you say.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Yes, understood.”
Gru, who had been listening with her ears perked up, began huffing excitedly through her nose and kicking her feet.
‘Elixirs were amazing!’
The Supreme One!
Our child was the Supreme One!
Gru rolled her eyes upward to look at the Supreme Snow Rabbit planted in her head, then lowered them again.
Because the Snow Rabbit was a delicate Supreme One, it had opened its cradle and fainted once more.
This time, its rapid, shallow breathing looked so dangerous that Gru began stamping her feet. Beilak clicked its tongue and offered some advice.
“Mium.”
It meant that the Snow Rabbit should recharge its magic beside its master.
When Gru picked up the Snow Rabbit and held it in her arms, it slowly melted into her and sprouted again from her head as a shoot.
‘It’s a little wilted, though.’
The shoot that had popped out of her head had a thin stem, and its cotyledons were wrinkled.
If Gru ate well, got plenty of sunlight, and supplied it with nutrients, it would become healthy again, right?
‘I hope everyone stays healthy.’
Gru had just turned her gaze back to Sergei, who could not open his eyes, when—
Bang! The door flew open.
Several team members gasped at Jurim’s appearance.
“Um?”
Gru rose with a sparkling face, like a puppy greeting its owner.
Ignoring the people who greeted him, he headed straight for Gru.
Gru nestled her cheek against Jurim’s chest and spoke in a muffled voice from his arms.
“Daddy, Seruhi oppa…”
“Yeah, I heard.”
On the way here, he had heard the details from an investigation team member whose route had overlapped with his.
Gnosis had badly injured Sergei, and he was now being treated with an elixir.
“Are you all right?”
At his worried tone, Gru tilted her head in confusion and nodded.
“Did anything happen?”
Anything?
It wasn’t as if nothing had happened.
She had pretended to use the bathroom while making an SSS-rank being her subordinate.
‘She put him in my bag after turning him into a hamster, but how did he know?’
Afraid she would be scolded if she told the truth, Gru rolled her eyes and tilted her head.
“Nooo… Nothin’ happened…”
Jurim carefully inspected Gru, who answered with terrible acting.
She didn’t seem to be injured anywhere…?
What was that sprout doing on my daughter’s head?
“Why is there something like this…?”
When Jurim reached out to pull out the sprout—
“Ggyah!”
Gru screamed.
Startled, Jurim immediately withdrew his hand.
“Whew… My heart nearly jumped out of my chest.”
“No, I mean, that’s even more reason for me to…”
How on earth had she planted that there? No, why had she planted it at all?