* * *
Kim Jinsoo’s eyes narrowed as he maneuvered his robot further.
The deeper they ventured, the darker it became, requiring extra caution.
“What is that? It’s huge, furry, and… is it a monster?”
Before Jinsoo could finish, Doyoung stepped forward.
“Wait, Secretary Do! It’s dangerous!” Jinsoo called out, alarmed.
Ignoring the warning, Doyoung pressed on.
He knew there was only one creature massive enough to block an entire corridor.
Realizing something, Song Jihee quickly followed him.
The rest, hesitant but unwilling to stay behind, reluctantly trailed after them.
“Yeo Giwon!”
At last, when the massive form came into view, Doyoung’s voice boomed through the corridor.
The mound of fur twitched, shuddering at the sound.
“Yeo Giwon, snap out of it!”
As Doyoung shouted again, the group realized the creature’s identity—it was a transformed Yeo Giwon, now a hulking werewolf.
Growl…
The beast let out a low, guttural growl, its enormous body shifting violently.
“Ah! Team Leader Yeo, be careful! The building’s going to collapse!”
Song Jihee, who had just been hit on the head by falling debris, scolded him.
The werewolf’s tail, thrashing wildly, froze for a moment as if heeding her words.
From his reaction, it seemed his consciousness was still intact.
Doyoung approached cautiously.
“What are you doing like this?”
The werewolf’s massive body was so large it was hard to tell where he was even looking.
Doyoung stopped and waited for a response.
With a rumbling growl, Yeo Giwon finally answered.
“I was protecting the guild members.”
“You were holding them?”
“Yeah.”
Apparently, Yeo Giwon had shielded them from the collapsing building with his enormous body.
Doyoung clicked his tongue at the bitter taste in his mouth.
“The Pantheon Lord too?”
“No. He went further down after noticing something strange.”
“Alone?”
As he feared, the answer was yes.
Suppressing a sigh, Doyoung asked again.
“Are you protecting the others?”
“Yes.”
Relieved to hear the guild members were safe, Doyoung continued.
“Are you hurt?”
“No pain or soreness, so I guess not.”
“Good.”
Reassured, Doyoung allowed himself a moment to breathe.
The lack of a healer in their group had worried him, but at least the injuries weren’t severe.
“You can transform back now.”
“Huh?”
Confused, Yeo Giwon tilted his massive head.
“I’ve reinforced the unstable areas. You can let go now.”
Understanding the situation, Yeo Giwon shuddered.
In an instant, his towering form shrank back to normal size.
Freed from his protective hold, the guild members he had shielded—Jang Jihye and Lee Jihoon among them—were revealed, unconscious and sprawled on the ground.
“They’re all out cold,” Song Jihee said, clicking her tongue as she checked their vitals.
Doyoung examined the others and sighed.
“Before the building collapsed, some strange machines attacked us. They went down as soon as those things touched them,” Yeo Giwon explained.
“Machines?”
“Yeah. They looked like wires or maybe tentacles. Something like that.”
“And that’s why he went to investigate?”
“Yeah.”
Doyoung stared into the darkness ahead, frustration mounting.
Whatever it was, it had to be dealt with—but first, they needed to get the unconscious guild members to safety.
Doyoung glanced at Park Bora.
“I’ve already contacted them,” she said, understanding his intent.
Jinsoo sent footage of the unconscious guild members via his robot, providing their descriptions to the hunters stationed outside, who swiftly teleported them out.
“You too, Giwon.”
“I told you, I’m fine!”
Yeo Giwon pounded on his chest confidently, and with that assurance, Doyoung stopped trying to dissuade him.
“Let’s move.”
He gave Yeo Giwon a light pat on the shoulder and started walking ahead.
However, he hadn’t taken a single step before being blocked by someone shorter than him.
“I’ll lead the way. You follow behind, hyung.”
“Oh, really?”
Doyoung stared at him incredulously.
This kid had been perfectly reasonable until now—what was he talking about?
However, Yeo Giwon held his ground.
“It’s too dangerous. Besides, didn’t I just say? Only Beom Sinje and I were completely fine earlier. If something like that happens again, I need to be the one to handle it.”
“Suit yourself.”
With Yeo Giwon taking the lead, the group resumed their journey.
Before long, they arrived at a bizarre location that left everyone speechless.
“What is all this?”
Before them was a tangled mess of wires, twisted like vines.
At the center, Beom Sinje sat cross-legged, his eyes closed as if meditating.
Doyoung immediately moved to approach him but was stopped by the others.
“Do you even know what that is? Charging in recklessly could be disastrous!”
The usually calm and composed Doyoung had thrown caution to the wind, and the group was taken aback by his rash behavior.
“You’re right. Let me check first. Please wait.”
While the others held Doyoung back, Kim Jinsoo quickly sent two robots into the tangled wires.
Doyoung let out a long sigh, trying to compose himself.
It was only then that he began to notice things he hadn’t before.
The wires weren’t constricting Beom Sinje—they were merely tangled among themselves.
Beom Sinje sat untouched in the middle, seemingly asleep or unconscious.
The real issue was the considerable distance between them and Beom Sinje.
“Beom Sinje!”
Doyoung called his name, but there was no response. His teeth clenched in frustration.
Not seeing him had been nerve-wracking, but finding him like this was somehow worse.
What could have happened to him?
“This is strange,” came Kim Jinsoo’s puzzled voice.
“Strange? In what way?”
“There’s no electricity flowing through it. No mechanisms, no manipulation—it’s just a tangled mess, like plants. Nothing else.”
Kim Jinsoo had checked for electrical signals and machinery but found nothing.
The wires extended from the ceiling and were nothing more than a disorganized cluster, without any controlling devices.
“If it’s similar to plants, should I try examining it?” Park Bora stepped forward.
“It might look similar, but it’s machinery. Can you handle it?”
“I’ll give it a shot.”
Despite Kim Jinsoo’s skepticism, Park Bora attempted to use her abilities.
Unfortunately, nothing happened.
“It seems these wires just spilled out when the building collapsed.”
“Then it should be safe to cut through them and make a path.”
“Well… there’s no current flowing, so I suppose it’s fine.”
While Kim Jinsoo hesitated, Doyoung acted without a second thought.
The group flinched, trying to stop him, but something invisible pushed them back.
“Ah, Na Secretary!”
“You can’t just do whatever you want!”
Doyoung had used his powers to keep them at bay. Ignoring their protests, he pushed the wires aside with his hands and advanced.
The group, tense and on edge, heaved a sigh of relief when nothing dangerous occurred.
“Wait, what?”
The relief was short-lived.
Within seconds of Doyoung stepping into the wires, they began to writhe as though recognizing an intruder.
“Na Secretary, get out of there now!”
“Something’s wrong with it!”
The wires had remained still even when Park Bora had tried to manipulate them.
But the moment Doyoung entered, they moved as if to trap him.
The others rushed forward, but their view was obscured, preventing them from helping.
“What the hell is this?”
“Kim Jinsoo, have you figured anything out?”
“I’m working on it! Just give me a second…!”
Amidst the chaos, Doyoung glanced back, only to be met with a mass of wires enveloping the space.
What caught his attention even more, however, were the glowing letters flowing along the thin wires like streams of liquid.
[…awakened at a training school for hunters and met… They quickly became close, but… began to open his heart despite thinking it was all an act…]
[One day, … noticed that … was occasionally absent from school and…]
At first, Doyoung thought it was a random jumble of words.
But as he focused, he realized it was a story. A familiar story.
“What the…?”
He couldn’t believe it.
The words flowing before him were from a hunter novel he’d read before transmigrating.
Why was this here?
Why was it appearing on the wires?
Doyoung instinctively reached out, and the wires reacted immediately.
They slithered up his fingertips, wrapping around his hand, wrist, arm, and shoulder, eventually reaching his face.
“Ugh.”
The sensation was both ticklish and stinging, making him grimace.
The letters swirled around his head, then slid back down the opposite side of his body.
“What is happening?”
Startled, he pulled his hand away.
* * *
