* * *
“There have been two cases in the last five years in this area, and if we include those near neighboring villages, there are seven.”
With the information he needed, Doyoung looked at Beom Sinje.
However, before he could speak, Beom Sinje addressed the matter.
“I’ll request support from the local guild to get the data. Given the evidence, they’ll likely comply.”
“Good.”
At times like this, they seemed perfectly in sync.
Of course, this also highlighted Beom Sinje’s exceptional capabilities.
Not just words, Beom Sinje immediately made a call.
From the conversation, it seemed he was contacting the local guild as planned.
“They said they’d send it over soon. Then we should wrap up for today…”
Before Beom Sinje could finish his sentence, a rumbling sound echoed, followed by the ground shaking as if in an earthquake.
“Ah…!”
Doyoung staggered, his legs giving out momentarily.
In truth, he hadn’t been in the best condition since earlier.
Long flights, jet lag, and the exhausting journey had taken their toll.
While his mind held strong, his body crumbled under the impact.
Yet, before he could fall, strong arms wrapped around his waist, supporting him.
Blinking in surprise at being caught in an embrace, Doyoung looked up.
“Are you okay, hyung?”
“Yeah.”
Beom Sinje steadied Doyoung, carefully checking his complexion and condition.
Realizing he was fine, Beom Sinje quickly turned to the guild members.
“What was that?”
Park Chanoh began to answer, but another voice spoke first.
“The water stored below sloshed violently, followed by the movement of a massive creature.”
It was Lee Namsoo, who had been silently observing.
Everyone’s attention turned to him.
He briefly glanced at Doyoung and Park Bora, as if seeking their permission to continue.
Understanding his intent, both nodded.
Observing them closely, Beom Sinje smiled internally.
‘The trust they have in Doyoung hyung is remarkable.’
Even when they launched an assault, he found it peculiar.
Regardless of the circumstances, Antithesis was notorious for being a den of villains.
Their reputation suggested they were always ready to betray and scheme against one another.
But reality was different.
When Beom Sinje tried to infiltrate Doyoung’s, or rather Antithesis’ leader’s, office, they fiercely resisted.
Seeing them ready to sacrifice their lives was honestly surprising.
Among the hunters he had encountered, loyalty existed, but such devotion was rare.
Even more surprising was that despite the organization’s collapse and their leader’s disappearance, their attitude remained unchanged when he reappeared with the enemy.
‘That’s why I’m curious about you, hyung. So many people look up to you, yet you treated me as special.’
No, he knew now this wasn’t mere curiosity.
His desire to have all that attention focused solely on him had grown stronger.
“We need to find a way down…”
While Lee Jihoon eagerly searched around, Lee Namsoo began walking, with Doyoung following behind, prompting Beom Sinje to silently join them.
Soon, the others followed the guild leader.
“Where are you all going?”
Realizing belatedly that everyone was leaving without him, Lee Jihoon hurriedly caught up.
Lee Namsoo stopped in front of a wall and turned around.
“There are stairs behind here.”
Meeting his gaze, Doyoung nodded once.
As if it were natural, Lee Namsoo pressed a spot on the wall, revealing a hidden passage.
“Whoa…”
Lee Jihoon, arriving last, gaped in amazement.
Finding such a hidden mechanism without any apparent signs intrigued him.
Lee Namsoo, unexpectedly, explained.
“With my sight, I can see through things.”
“Ah!”
Hearing they shared a special ability, Lee Jihoon felt a sudden kinship and became friendlier towards Lee Namsoo.
“So, how far can you see?”
“……”
No answer came this time, suggesting Lee Namsoo was quite reticent.
The conversation naturally ended as everyone started entering the passage.
“Be careful in the dark.”
Walking half a step ahead, Beom Sinje advised.
Just as Doyoung stepped onto the first stair, he gave Beom Sinje a look of disbelief.
“I can see well enough, thank you.”
It seemed Beom Sinje was under a misconception.
Although Doyoung had lost some strength due to excessive use of his abilities, he hadn’t lost it completely.
This meant he still had keener senses than the average person, allowing him to see well in the dark.
“I wasn’t underestimating you. I was just concerned.”
Doyoung felt more embarrassed at that point.
“Yeah, yeah.”
As Park Bora and Song Jihee exchanged glances while observing the two men talking, Park Bora shrugged her shoulders once again.
Song Jihee also shaped her mouth into an “O,” indicating it was nothing surprising anymore.
The stairs were dimly lit from below, so they weren’t entirely dark.
However, the narrow steps and the thin metal railings, combined with the spiral structure, gave an unsettling sense of instability.
“What exactly was this place used for?”
Lee Jihoon whispered to Lee Namsoo as he followed at the back.
He didn’t really expect an answer, but surprisingly, Lee Namsoo responded.
“It’s a passage for people.”
“People? Does that mean… not just people?”
At that moment, there was a loud rumbling noise from below, shaking the entire building.
“Ugh!”
“Whoa!”
The group stopped abruptly, bracing themselves against the walls and gripping the railings to maintain their balance.
Unlike before, the violent tremors continued several times.
“Lower your stance and hold,” ordered Beom Sinje, deciding it was no longer safe to move forward.
“What could possibly be down there?”
Doyoung peered into the unseen depths.
“Something massive is moving around,” answered Lee Namsoo, supporting Lee Jihoon, who nearly fell.
With his ability to see through objects, he could clearly see a dark, submerged shape in the water.
However, due to the special liquid mixed in the water, he couldn’t identify what it was in detail.
“Hmm?”
Lee Namsoo’s eyes suddenly narrowed.
He spotted water around the mysterious object swirling violently and being sucked somewhere.
‘Are they draining the water?’
It might seem like an automatic process for purification, but it felt different.
Just as he was focusing more intensely to use his abilities, his body jerked back.
“What is it?” Doyoung asked, startled by his sudden shout.
But before Lee Namsoo could answer, another massive tremor shook the building.
The force was incomparable to before, causing the group to clutch the walls or grip the railings and crouch to avoid falling down the narrow stairs.
A loud crashing sound echoed through the building, as if something had broken.
“What on earth is going on?”
The group looked around in confusion, unable to comprehend what was causing such intense shaking.
‘And a water creature, of all things?’
That was puzzling, considering they were in the African savanna, not a region closely associated with water.
“Mr. Lee Namsoo, what is it exactly?”
Since they all knew Lee Namsoo had x-ray vision, their eyes naturally turned to him.
However, he was busy examining what only he could see, his face set in concentration.
He, too, was struggling to understand what he was looking at.
“A large hole sucked in the water and then suddenly expelled it all.”
The unidentified creature in the water suddenly seemed to stop moving.
Then, a massive pupil formed, and all the water was drawn into it.
Just before the rapidly lowering water level revealed something above the surface, it erupted like lava, causing a violent tremor akin to an earthquake.
“A monster that absorbs and expels water?”
Doyoung raised his eyebrows in disbelief.
“What’s wrong, hyung?”
“Hmm… it looks familiar.”
But where had he seen it before?
He couldn’t quite recall.
He was sure he had seen it somewhere…
“Let’s continue down for now.”
Once the tremors subsided, the group resumed their descent.
According to Park Bora, they were just one floor away, but the ceilings between floors seemed unusually high.
This implied that the water level on each floor was quite substantial.
‘What is that?’
As Doyoung tried to recall a faint memory, he accidentally bumped his head against Beom Sinje, who had stopped.
“Ah…”
“Are you okay?”
Doyoung rubbed his forehead, embarrassed, and looked up. Like before, he saw only the wall ahead.
* * *
