"Huff..!"
Yeon Yujun hides behind the rock swiftly, still holding the little girl in his side as his eyes search around the area for any threats.
His hand reaches up to the little girl's hair, attempting to calm her down, "Calm down and stay quiet, alright? We'll get out of here soon..."
The little girl frantically nods, clinging onto Yeon Yujun as she tightens her grip at Yeon Yujun's sweatshirt with trembling hands and broken sobs.
Yeon Yujun adjusts their place behind the rock, he turns his head just enough to watch Seo Hwigeon fight the vortex boss.
"Can't handle me, huh!?"
Seo Hwigeon howls as he pounces right after the injured serpent, it hisses and screeches in pain while he claws the monster effortlessly.
When the
Seo Hwigeon pants, rolling his shoulders as the shift bleeds out of him and returns to his human form. His fur recedes, the broad wolf frame shrinking back into something human — well, almost.
Even returning to human form, the wolf snout melted into his familiar broken mask. His real face still hasn't been revealed. Seo Hwigeon stretches out his limbs as he looks down at his own appearance, torn tactical shirt, and ruined pants.
At least his pants are still intact.
"Kitten! Are you alright?" Seo Hwigeon shouts for Yeon Yujun, as if signaling them that it's all done.
Yeon Yujun helps the little girl get up from the ground as they get out behind the stone, now in Seo Hwigeon's sight.
"Come on, let's get you out of here." Yeon Yujun gives the sobbing little girl a small reassuring smile as they both walk towards Seo Hwigeon.
But before they could expect the notification from the system to open a portal, Yeon Yujun feels like something is wrong. It's taking way too long.
"Hold on, Hwi-geon, what if—"
—SWWIIIISHHH!!
Something beneath the sand. Moving.
Seo Hwigeon quickly acts, moving in front of Yeon Yujun and the little girl. The dagger slowly materializes in both of his hands as he stands in defense.
"Don't go anywhere," Seo Hwigeon warns, keeping Yeon Yujun close behind him while the little girl whimpers in Yeon Yujun's arms.
"M-mister...! I'm scared...!"
"Sh... Just close your eyes, okay?" Yeon Yujun tries assuring the kid, but he knows it was futile — he knows that she won't calm down at all while they're still inside the vortex.
"Damn it... We definitely killed the bait, not the actual boss," He hears Seo Hwigeon sigh in annoyance and then —
SWAAAAAAAA!
Another serpent comes out of the sand, lunging straight for Yeon Yujun, jaws wide. This time, it's five times bigger than what Seo Hwigeon killed earlier.
'A Rootsand Snake!'
This time, Yeon Yujun acts on instinct — he grabs the dagger from Seo Hwigeon faster than he could and stabs it right through his own wrist.
"Hngh...!"
"YUJUN!" Seo Hwigeon shouts from behind him, almost panicking, taken aback by Yeon Yujun's action as the blood splatters right onto the serpent.
( "[S] Reoccurrence" is passively in effect! )
Before them, the serpent falls three inches away from them, wiggling and burning into ashes.
"HISSSSSSSS!!!" the serpent cries in pain.
The little girl still has her eyes closed as she clings to Yeon Yujun, still trembling and sobbing.
"I... I miss my umma..." the little girl whimpers, soaking Yeon Yujun's sweatshirt with her tears as he sighs, reaching to gently rub her head to calm her down.
"It's done, don't worry."
Seo Hwigeon just stares at them before his eyes land onto the dead body of the serpent lying in the cracked and dry ground. He takes a deep breath before walking towards the dead creature, picking up the stone that the serpent had dropped.
"Rootsand Stone," he mutters, putting it into his inventory as the notification screen appears in front of them.
[ YOU HAVE CLEARED THE VORTEX. ]
[ All the Gods are looking at you. ]
Yeon Yujun just ignores the last message as an orange portal appears in the distance, he carefully guides the little girl with him.
"C'mon, let's go."
Then his grey eyes land on Seo Hwigeon, who seems to be startled by what just happened with Yeon Yujun.
'Now I can't deny to him that I'm not Eight, he saw everything.'
He is almost confused by Seo Hwigeon's quietness. Shouldn't he be proud of himself that he witnessed Yeon Yujun activate his powers and that his insistent assumption is correct?
The injury in his wrist gradually heals, fades like it was never wounded in the first place, and the dagger in his hand disappears into dust.
"Yeon Yujun," Seo Hwigeon calls out in an almost soft tone as he reaches out to stop Yeon Yujun from entering the portal.
"What now? Are you happy that you're right? That I'm Eight? The one you've been trying to find?" Yeon Yujun scoffs, shaking his head while the little girl just stares up at the both of them, confused but she doesn't listen to their conversation.
Instead, she just stares at the portal then at the surroundings while hiccuping from crying.
Seo Hwigeon almost flinches at his words and shakes his head, "Not that... I've been looking for you because—"
[ THE VORTEX WILL COLLAPSE IN THREE MINUTES. PLEASE EXIT THROUGH THE PORTAL. ]
The notification interrupted him and he just swipes it away, "The world's going to end, Yujun."
"What?"
"The apocalypse, it'll happen. The Great Vortex is coming back and I need you to be there,"
Those words completely shock Yeon Yujun, his eyes widen — terror first, then guilt, settling like something he'd been carrying all along.
"Are you lying? To get me back to the life I've never..." he trails off, feeling the little girl's hand tighten onto his.
"M-mister..."
In truth, ever since he had awakened as a hunter, he never registered as a hunter for a reason — to at least live a normal life like a civilian while saving and helping people.
What kind of hero turns into a villain? He didn't want to be the villain in the end. He never did.
He just wanted to help people as someone else that everyone could trust, that's why he became Eight in the first place. One of the first awakeners of South Korea and the greatest hunter in Seoul who turned into an overnight traitor of all hunters because of one person.
But sometimes, he yearned, he had always yearned to come back to a life that helps people in any way possible. It was never about power, desire, or fame.
Looking at the little girl's eyes, it felt like he was looking at his own younger self.
Double life never works out in the end.
"I want to help you become a new person, someone more than Eight." Seo Hwigeon murmurs, trying to persuade Yeon Yujun to return to being a hunter.
"You don't know what it's like, Hwigeon. To be hated by everyone,"
"Alright, so the world's ending and that... damn vortex is coming back. Do you think I'll agree with you easily? After all I've been through that hell?"
With a sigh, Yeon Yujun takes the little girl first, he crouches down at her height and gently pats her head.
"Go first, I promise it's safe. I'll meet you there," Yeon Yujun smiles at her, reaching out his own hand and extending his pinky to her.
"I-Is that true, mister...? Do you really promise?" she sniffles softly, also extending her hand to his, raising her pinky.
"I promise." Yeon Yujun nods, intertwining their pinkies to make a promise, finally assuring the little girl as she manages to smile back at him.
"I trust you, mister!" she sniffles and turns back at the portal. She hesitates for a moment and looks back at Yeon Yujun, then she finally takes the risk and crosses the threshold.
When Yeon Yujun was about to cross the portal, he stops in his tracks and looks back at Seo Hwigeon.
"I'll think about it."
"Huh?"
Yeon Yujun grits his teeth, turning his head back to the portal leading back to the real world in front of him.
"But I won't join your guild."
And then, Yeon Yujun exits through the portal and everything goes dark, feeling the familiar current pull him back to his world. When he opens his eyes, he finds himself getting out of the portal and walking out alongside Seo Hwigeon.
The area is already crowded by curious onlookers and people from the news.
Yeon Yujun watched, somewhere in the crowd, a woman screams a name. And the little girl breaks away, running towards the sound of her mother's voice.
And then…
"Guild leader!" Woo Taehwa weeps as he runs towards Seo Hwigeon's direction while Chae Yuna and the others follow from behind.
Yeon Yujun turns to look at Seo Hwigeon and finds him already composed and back to his old playful self.
'Does this guy have a split personality or what? He's acting like nothing happened at the vortex…'
"Master! Master! You're back!" Gim Haesung cheers, her fox-like tail lashes behind her as she sniffs at Seo Hwigeon's scent.
"Eugh… You really do reek whenever you activate <[SS] The Wolf> skill!" Gim Haesung makes a disgusted face and covers her nose, causing her ears to twitch uncomfortably.
"So, you didn't even call us for backup, Hwigeon-ssi?" Chae Yuna grunts, adjusting the sheathed sword in her waist.
"Ever heard of B-ranked vortexes, Yuna?" Seo Hwigeon chuckles, but his eyes secretly linger on Yeon Yujun.
As for Ki Yeonbom, his gaze shifts at Yeon Yujun's direction, almost like he's dissecting a new species. "Who is that, Seo Hwigeon?"
Yeon Yujun looks back up at Seo Hwigeon, as if begging for him not to sprout any nonsense.
"Him? Oh," Seo Hwigeon pauses for a moment, observing Yeon Yujun as he suddenly feels uncomfortable on the spot now that everyone's staring at him.
They don't even know that they're staring at Eight!
"He just awakened today," he laughs, wrapping his arm casually around Yeon Yujun's shoulder while Yeon Yujun is frozen on his spot.
'Awakened today? Damn it! I shouldn't have let him speak for me!'
"He's the one who cleared the vortex and we're taking him to the Division for a screening."
'If only I could choke you, bastard!!!'