* * *

A shiver ran down my spine.

What the hell did they feed me?

These insane bastards.

— Once this is resolved, you’ll handle Hongju, right?

— Yes, of course. It’ll be as you wish.

Before I could even process the horrifying realization that they had fed me something, Lee Kanghoon dropped a bombshell.

What the hell was he saying?

It wasn’t enough to draw a clear conclusion, but the implications were alarming.

Kim Kyungmin, who seemed to have tampered with the minds of members of the Somang Guild at will.

And Lee Kanghoon’s promise to handle Na Hongju as he desired.

The combination of the two stirred up some disturbing thoughts.

The idea that Lee Kanghoon might actually be a decent person had clearly been a delusion on my part.

— But what did you bring with you this time?

— Pardon?

As Kim Kyungmin spoke in a low voice, an uncanny sense of déjà vu struck me.

I quickly shifted my focus, and a massive hand filled my vision.

Its shadow loomed over me before grabbing Noeul in one swift motion.

I shared my sense of hearing again.

— … There’s no need to kill it.

Kim Kyungmin muttered, his voice cold and sinister.

— Tell them to experiment on it. I don’t care if it dies in the process.

Frantically, I continued to switch senses.

Noeul was caught and struggled desperately to resist, but the struggle was futile.

It was embarrassing how easily the so-called S-rank had been captured.

Then, all of a sudden, everything went dark.

The connection to my skill hadn’t been severed.

My guess was that Noeul had lost consciousness.

What the hell?

Don’t tell me it’s actually going to end like this.

So helplessly?

These guys… Are they all talk despite their flashy skill levels?

If Noeul gets taken, would they really experiment on him as Kim Kyungmin suggested?

Experiment, huh?

That didn’t sound like anything merciful. It would be torture.

“……”

Memories I had tried to forget came flooding back.

A younger me stood in a cold, sterile lab.

I extended my hand obediently toward the approaching researcher.

In their hand was a syringe filled with an unknown substance.

The moment the needle pierced my skin, the world spun wildly.

Even as I slumped to the floor, the researcher finished injecting the substance and then pulled me back up.

‘It’s okay. Don’t be scared.’

‘…Okay.’

‘Good boy, Heewon.’

The researcher patted my head.

I hated the pain of the injections, but I liked the praise.

I wanted to stay there. Just a little longer.

Then, the researcher gently ushered me into a small room.

My head was spinning, and I was short of breath.

Blood dripped from my nose, staining the floor a bright red.

I stared at the CCTV camera, but there was no response.

Eventually, I gave up on trying to fight it. I collapsed, too weak to stand.

It was just a memory.

A fragment of my life, insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

I forced myself back to the present.

…I was fine. Really, it was nothing. It truly didn’t matter to me anymore.

But not everyone could dismiss such memories.

For instance, when Choi Dokyum was kidnapped, he cried his eyes out.

Even now, as an adult, he couldn’t forget the trauma.

Having your body violated and controlled by someone else is unbearable for most people.

“I have to go.”

I knew what I was trying to save was just a monster.

But even if it was just a monster, even if it was something as insignificant as that… I couldn’t just stand by and watch.

I hadn’t sent Noeul to suffer and die trembling in agony.

I couldn’t leave it to face such a grim fate because of me.

I knew going myself wasn’t the smartest move.

But I didn’t have another choice.

No one else could handle a situation involving a monster.

I made up my mind, but I still had no clear plan.

Noeul’s location was constantly changing.

“I should’ve practiced driving earlier.”

I had gotten my license as a college student, but since I didn’t have a car, I never really drove.

But there was no time to hesitate.

I recklessly grabbed Baek Gunho’s car keys.

Back when he had the car registered to this house, I had thought it was annoying, but now it was turning out to be a lifesaver.

He wouldn’t get mad about me taking the car without asking.

He might yell about me stirring up trouble at Baekmyeon Sect, but that was a problem for later.

As I sped off, my nerves were on edge.

Not only was I worried about Noeul, but I was also terrified of crashing.

Still, I pushed the car faster.

Thankfully, I hadn’t completely forgotten how to drive, so it was manageable.

After driving recklessly, I noticed that Noeul had stopped moving and was now stationary.

However, navigating out of Seoul and getting lost along the way cost me precious time.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed.

The closer I got to Noeul’s presence, the more intense it felt.

When I finally neared the entrance to a mountain, I parked the car.

From my inventory, I pulled out a helmet.

It was a shabby, makeshift piece of equipment I had picked up in a random dungeon. I hadn’t expected to actually need it.

Using the helmet as a crude disguise, I approached Noeul’s location cautiously.

Soon, I spotted a building.

It was a decrepit, abandoned factory that looked ominous even from the outside.

Yet inside, I could sense the presence of numerous people.

It seemed that a high-grade concealment device had been set up somewhere to obscure the view of intruders.

I kicked the door open, sending it flying inside.

Someone let out a groan, likely hit by the sudden intrusion.

The inside was far more sophisticated than the dilapidated exterior suggested.

It was a state-of-the-art laboratory, even more advanced than the one I remembered.

But the atmosphere was just as suffocating.

I immediately scanned for Noeul’s location.

Avoiding conflict wasn’t an option.

“W-who are you?!”

“Stop them!”

Security guards in black rushed toward me.

Without hesitation, I struck one down, slamming him against the ceiling before tossing him back to the ground.

“Ugh!”

He wouldn’t die—awakeners like him could withstand such blows—but he’d have a few broken bones.

I pinned the guard against the wall and turned my attention to the researchers.

As they tried to flee, I caught them one by one, piling them into a corner.

Since they were ordinary people, I didn’t throw them as hard as the guards, but they wouldn’t come out unscathed either.

After ensuring none of them could escape, I released a sleep-inducing mist.

Once I confirmed they were fully subdued, I rushed to Noeul.

Noeul lay motionless, not even attempting to move.

Seeing him so unnaturally still sent a chill down my spine.

“You… Are you okay?”

— I’m… fine!

His usually bright voice was faint and faltering.

His attempt to sound cheerful only made him seem more pitiful.

— Sorry… for the trouble!

“……”

I couldn’t find any words and collapsed onto the spot.

Fine?

What the hell was fine about this? What was there to apologize for?

Even though I’d confirmed he was alive, I couldn’t calm down.

My entire body trembled uncontrollably.

When I lowered my head, dizziness overwhelmed me, and the helmet fell off with a loud clang.

I didn’t even have the strength to pick it up.

A research lab. Experimental subjects. And…

A sharp pain shot through my head. My vision flickered rapidly.

Even though I was fully awake, it felt like I was dreaming.

A completely different scene unfolded before me.

Dead researchers lay strewn about, their bodies torn apart by monsters.

The air was thick with the stench of blood, the sight utterly grotesque.

And yet, strangely, I felt exhilarated.

I glanced at myself.

---

His arm was a patchwork of bruises, blue and mottled.

There wasn’t a single part of his body that didn’t ache. He felt drained, like he might collapse at any moment.

But it didn’t matter anymore.

The people who had caused him pain were all dead.

They thought they’d muzzled a lion and boasted about taming it completely.

But what they’d tried to tame wasn’t a beast—it was a monster.

“Even now… do you think you’ll walk away unscathed?”

The sole survivor, the director of the lab, rasped out his words.

His bloodshot eyes glared at him as if to kill, but he only sneered back.

From the moment his uncle died and he was dragged back to the lab, he’d told himself it was fine to endure any pain.

ut there was no going back to those days, when he’d convinced himself it was okay.

He now understood what “okay” and “being loved” really felt like.

He couldn’t fool himself anymore by treating lies as truth.

After his awakening, the experiments grew harsher.

Since he wouldn’t die easily, they conducted tests that would have killed ordinary humans on the spot.

It was excruciating.

Yet, even in that agony, he kept hoping for something good to happen again.

That someone—like his uncle—would save him.

He endured and waited, clinging to that hope. It was futile.

The friend he thought he’d bonded with tried to kill him.

The researcher who pitied him schemed to sell him off at a high price.

The researcher who claimed to care for him only lusted after him.

And the hunter he begged for help just sent him back to the Abyss Guild.

Time and again, his expectations were betrayed.

He no longer cared what happened.

He didn’t hope for rescue anymore.

He only wanted to drag down the humans who had tormented him.

That was why he did it.

“Why… why isn’t it working?!”

The lab director howled in frustration.

There was a bomb implanted in his head—a simple but powerful device that would detonate on command.

He’d seen countless test subjects perish that way.

But the one in his head was a dud.

They’d only discovered this moments ago.

It was one of the few pieces of luck in his life.

“Die.”

He crushed the screaming director, silencing him.

Watching the man die like a crushed insect was overwhelmingly satisfying.

“Ha… hahaha! Hahahaha!”

Why had he endured for so long?

He could’ve just killed them all sooner.

“…Good.”

He felt great.

Euphoric.

A thrilling sensation coursed through him, from head to toe. It couldn’t get any better.

This was just the beginning.

He would kill them all.

Again and again, until nothing remained to irritate him.

And then—

His vision blurred, flickering rapidly in and out of focus.

“Urgh…!”

A splitting headache overwhelmed him.

The vividness of the dream—or delusion—left him dazed and disoriented.

Sweat drenched his body, his clothes clinging uncomfortably to his skin.

“Heewon! Heewon! Are you okay?”

When he came to, Noeul was bouncing frantically on his lap.

Though relieved he seemed fine, Heewon wondered how much time had passed.

“I’m… fine.”

He reached out to Noeul, who eagerly climbed onto his hand.

Carefully, he stood up, ensuring the little one didn’t fall.

That was when a hand shot out from beside him.

He hadn’t sensed anyone approaching.

Only one person could move this silently.

“Ugh…”

Before he could react, Baek Gunho grabbed him by the collar.

“Heewon,” Gunho growled.

The look in his eyes and the sharp edge in his voice were nothing like usual.

His tone and gaze were ice cold—almost predatory.

It was like facing the Gunho from his nightmare.

* * *