* * *
Hwi Saul quickly ensnared the fallen mermen with thorny vines, but they stubbornly rose to their feet again.
Even as flesh tore and scales ripped away on the thorns, they didn’t seem to feel any pain.
Some even went as far as to wrench out their own joints to escape the wooden prison.
The once-confident expressions of the team began to change.
Seo Jaewon felt it too.
“They keep coming back to life.”
If this turned into a war of attrition, they’d be at a disadvantage.
They had a small elite team, and even with a Guide on their side, humans had their limits.
Ji Myunghoon clenched his teeth as flames sparked from his hand again.
“This is insane! What the hell are we supposed to do?!”
It was surprising, but not unheard of.
With experience, one learned not to panic in situations like this, but the team still seemed green.
Usually, it boiled down to two types:
Either the corpses were being revived by some external force, or they needed to be completely annihilated to stop regenerating.
If it was the former, they could deal with the source.
But if it was the latter… things were going to get messy.
A small strike team like this wasn’t well-suited for that kind of problem.
They might have to retreat and regroup—if they could get out alive.
“Where the hell is Joo Youngha?”
Jaewon looked around, but the guy was nowhere in sight.
He hadn’t been expecting much to begin with, but this was worse than anticipated.
“Zombies? Are these zombies?!”
Min Yoomin let out a timid shriek and clung to Seo Jaewon.
He looked like he was about to cry.
Jaewon calmly patted his back.
“It’s okay. They’re just fish.”
“Liar! If you’re going to lie, at least try harder!”
Just then, a small stone crunched underfoot behind them.
This weight… it wasn’t a normal human.
A chill ran down Jaewon’s spine.
“Shit…!”
Jaewon grabbed Min Yoomin and flung him behind him.
Min Yoomin, caught by the collar, yelped and tumbled back, confused.
Two mermen fully emerged from the shadow of the trees.
Their glistening eyes scanned Jaewon, then shifted to Min Yoomin, who was crouched closely beside him.
They seemed to assess the situation among the Espers, then lowered their bodies and whispered to each other in breathy, hissing voices.
“Crap.”
They must have realized that something about him was different from the others. Human-type monsters were annoying because of their high intelligence.
Other than the regeneration, they weren’t a major threat to Espers.
But for a Guide, the story changed.
The sheer strength behind their thrown spears was overwhelming for a regular human to handle.
Min Yoomin looked up at Jaewon, face pale.
“W-Why are they looking at us? It’s not like there’s anything to eat on a fragile Guide’s body…”
“Don’t move carelessly.”
Jaewon tightly held Min Yoomin, who was about to bolt.
If they scattered now, it would only get worse.
The two mermen began to advance quickly.
Jaewon stayed calm and pulled Min Yoomin further behind him, shouting:
“Saul-hyung! Vines!”
As if responding to his call, thick tree vines shot up from the ground and lashed out at the attackers.
Moving vines had a narrower range than thorny brambles, but they were much better at restraining enemies.
It consumed a lot of energy, but securing the Guide’s safety made it worth it.
Suddenly, flames surged into the air like a dragon’s tail.
Jaewon ducked immediately.
“…Ah!”
Ji Myunghoon’s fire blasted toward the mermen—but also burned away half the vines.
Jaewon cursed silently, dodging the heat.
‘You’re an S-rank and you still can’t control your damn flames?!’
“Jaewon-ah! Watch out!”
Saul hastily regrew the vines, but the two mermen were already too close.
Thin vines sprouted and snared their ankles, but they only managed to restrain the smaller one.
The other tore through them easily—the vines hadn’t had time to strengthen.
“KIEEEEH!!”
The freed merman spread its fins wide and charged at Min Yoomin.
Saul tried to intercept but was blocked by the other one.
“Shit…!”
No time to think.
Jaewon moved instinctively—he shoved Min Yoomin aside and drew his pistol, firing rapidly.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The bullets hit the merman dead-on—forehead and jaw.
Its head snapped backward. For a moment, Jaewon thought it was over.
“…You bastard!”
He cursed—at himself, at the situation, at no one in particular.
The merman… didn’t fall.
Its scales cracked and blood oozed, but it only seemed more enraged.
“KIEEEEEHHH!!!”
It roared with its bloodied face, its sharp cheek fins flaring open.
Right… back in the day, Guides were only issued low-caliber pistols.
‘They thought Guides were useless, huh?’
Jaewon stood in front of Min Yoomin, slowly backing away.
The mermen now seemed certain that Jaewon was different—and they advanced, focusing only on him.
His thoughts raced.
“I don’t need to take them all down. Just buy time until the others come. Aim for something vulnerable… like the eyes…”
From behind, the merman charged with a crude, wooden club.
Jaewon aimed and shot out its eye, then drew a knife he’d borrowed from Saul.
“KIEEEEH!”
The merman screamed, clutching its face.
Jaewon seized the chance, tightening his grip on the knife and lunging straight into its body.
Thunk. Squish.
The knife slid between the gills, meeting sickening resistance.
Jaewon could feel some unknown organ sever under the blade.
Warm blood spurted, soaking his gloves.
He kicked the merman down and used the weight of his body to wrench the wound open.
But before he could even yank the blade free, he saw another merman raising a spear toward him.
“Shit… my body’s not what it used to be…!”
His mind blanked. No time for strategy.
He wrapped himself around Min Yoomin, shut his eyes tight, and screamed:
“Joo Youngha!!!”
Min Yoomin gasped sharply. Then… silence.
Nothing pierced him. No claws tore through his back.
Jaewon slowly turned around.
The mermen… were frozen in place like statues.
The spear had stopped midair, still floating.
A strange wind swept through, brushing the leaves and branches, making them rustle ominously.
The enemies before them were completely still, as though time had stopped.
“…Ah.”
Looking around, Jaewon saw the other mermen—who’d been fighting Hwi Saul and Ji Myunghoon off in the distance—also frozen like stone.
His teammates were peeking around, just as confused.
Jaewon finally exhaled, trembling.
Min Yoomin’s body collapsed to the ground from his arms—his legs had given out from fear.
Only one person could’ve done this.
“Joo Youngha…?”
Drip.
A dark liquid dropped onto the grass at his feet.
Jaewon looked up—and saw combat boots soaked in merman blood.
They were all too familiar.
With a bright, sunny smile, Joo Youngha landed gently on the ground.
As if he were weightless, his descent was so light and effortless it seemed unreal.
“You called, Jaewon?”
If gods existed, they would probably look like him.
Even Seo Jaewon, who had never been religious, found himself thinking that as he watched Youngha land like a flower petal on the scorched earth.
His calm expression made the situation feel even more unreal, as if this were all just a dream.
No human could remain so unaffected.
The grass, trees, and mud that filled the dungeon—and even the flames and blood—seemed to have no impact on him whatsoever.
…A strange illusion, like a halo shimmering faintly around his face, made Jaewon blink instinctively.
“A present.”
Youngha casually dropped what he was holding at Jaewon’s feet.
A heavy Merman’s head rolled forward and came to a stop at the tips of Jaewon’s shoes.
Unlike the other mermen they’d fought, this one’s head was lavishly decorated.
Intricate patterns were tattooed into its cheeks, and shimmering beads pierced through its fins.
Even as a severed head, it still emitted a faint energy—clearly, this monster had possessed some kind of special ability.
This must be the one.
Jaewon instinctively knew.
The reanimating corpses had to be this merman’s doing.
Just as there are ordinary people and those with psychic powers, some monsters possessed rare and dangerous abilities.
The ones that stayed in the shadows were the most troublesome.
Wait a minute.
Are you telling me Youngha hunted this thing down on his own?
Without even being told to?
Technically, reconnaissance in Team 4 was Hwi Saul’s job.
Youngha, with his telekinesis, could do it too, but he never bothered.
Whenever a fight broke out, he’d just loiter around Jaewon like he was bored.
If Jaewon finally told him to do something, he’d drag his feet and act like he hadn’t heard, or outright ignore him.
Then, when the mood struck him, he’d intervene in the most chaotic, inconsiderate way possible to end things.
Technically, he did do what was asked—but always in the most infuriating way.
But this?
This was surprisingly clean for Youngha.
No teammates were hurt, the dungeon hadn’t collapsed, and there wasn’t even a single exposed organ.
This isn’t like him…
“Is this one of those ‘good boy’ acts?”
Youngha blinked slowly, his eyes wide and innocent as a calf’s, peering down at him.
Never mind that he’d just brought over a bloodied head—his face was the picture of innocence.
What the hell is he up to now?
He was already impossible to read, and now he was doing something completely out of character—Jaewon felt a chill run down his spine.
He didn’t get it.
He couldn’t get it.
Even Youngha’s playful behavior now felt suspicious, almost deceptive.
“You eat something weird or something?”
Did he get cursed?
Was he dying?
Maybe some emotional shift caused this… Jaewon was spinning in unpleasant thoughts when suddenly a recent conversation came rushing back to him.
“You have to act cute to be treated cute.”
…He had said something like that.
Wait.
This—this is because of that?!
The realization hit him like a slap.
His strength drained from sheer disbelief.
You mean you’re really that easy?! All I had to do was baby you a little?!
If he’d known, he could’ve saved himself so much time and effort running around.
He should’ve just found Youngha a guide he liked and been done with it.
No, wait—he had tried that in their past life.
But Youngha had hated them all.
Knocked them out, treated them coldly, and drove them away.
“…You don’t seem too happy. Then what would make Jaewon treat me cute?”
Youngha stared at him as if waiting for an answer.
Jaewon was sweating.
It felt like Youngha was tugging at him with every word.
Damn it, this was frustrating.
“You—damn it, you can do stuff when you want to—!”
He almost snapped but held it in.
No, no.
Clear rewards and consequences.
Clear rewards and consequences.
Discipline requires praise.
“…Yeah. Cute. You’re freaking adorable.”
Jaewon reached up and aggressively ruffled Youngha’s hair.
‘This is how it works, right?’
Dogs liked being pet like this, didn’t they?
“Let’s just keep it this way, yeah?”
He gritted his teeth as he said it.
It wasn’t like he’d never wanted anything sincerely before… but lately, he really meant it.
“Ah.”
Youngha flinched slightly, making a small, surprised sound.
He raised a hand, almost as if to catch Jaewon’s, but didn’t do anything with it—he just stood still.
He clearly wasn’t used to being touched like this.
That made it kind of funny, so Jaewon ruffled his hair even harder—half out of spite, half because he genuinely wanted to tease him.
Honestly… he’s kinda admirable like this.
See? Isn’t it nice when you behave?
He’s kind of… cute like this.
By the time Jaewon snapped out of his thoughts, he realized he’d been petting Youngha endlessly.
Youngha had an unreadable expression—uncertain whether he liked it or not.
Then slowly, he closed his eyes, as if savoring the touch.
His hair gave off a soft, clean scent.
Hearing Youngha’s gentle breathing so close made Jaewon feel… odd.
No—maybe this was something that happened between a Guide and an Esper.
Just the light contact with Youngha’s skin made his own feel tingly, like all his fine hairs were standing on end.
“…This is nice,”
Youngha mumbled softly, like he’d just come to a conclusion.
There was a small smile at the corner of his lips.
Then, taking it a step further, he brought Jaewon’s hand down and pressed it to his lips.
His long lashes brushed against Jaewon’s palm like butterfly wings.
Soft lips parted slightly, warm breath tickled his skin.
The unfamiliar sensation made every nerve in Jaewon’s body jolt to attention.
Uh…
W-wait. Hold on.
A sudden sense of danger gripped him.
* * *
