Translator: Vine
Translated At: Nyx Scans
Chapter: 46
Kugugugu...
The floor trembled faintly.
The index finger lazily stroking the head of the triangular-shaped snake paused.
An earthquake? No.
Silver-grey eyes stared intently into the distant depths beyond the gate passage.
"Is something wrong?"
The agent standing guard beside him glanced at Yijun.
Judging by his expression, he hadn't felt the faint tremor just moments ago.
Yijun silently placed his palm flat on the ground.
Seeing the grains of sand on the floor vibrate minutely, he narrowed his eyes slightly.
'Baek Yijun.'
About 20 minutes ago, a telepathic message had arrived.
A telepathy unheard by anyone else here except Yijun, audible only to him.
Yijun knew who the voice belonged to, and also what situation she was in.
'There's been an accident. Send reinforcements.'
Suddenly, Yijun let out a dry chuckle.
The agent beside him tilted his head.
"Hunter Baek? Is there a problem?"
"No, it's nothing."
He offered a faint smile and resumed stroking the snake with a lazy hand movement.
"It's almost been an hour, but there are still three people who haven't returned."
The agent surveyed the main camp, voicing his concern.
Despite the clear announcement that the first search would last one hour, the three hunters—Trickster, the Princess of Dark Flare, and Mobius—were nowhere to be seen.
"Ah, Hunter Mobius is back over there!"
Someone shouted.
Far in the distance, Mobius could be seen walking towards them.
Seeing his pristine appearance without a single scratch, it seemed there hadn't been any major accidents.
Yijun, who had been stroking the snake, spoke softly.
"You're late."
"My apologies. I got lost on the way."
"I see. Glad to see you're unharmed."
"It's all thanks to Maestro putting all the monsters to sleep."
Smiling faintly, Mobius said, "Well then," and turned his body.
Yijun, gazing steadily at his strangely light footsteps, suddenly parted his lips.
"By the way."
The fingers that had been stroking the snake had stopped, rigid.
"Did you happen to see anyone on your way here?"
At the low voice that sent a chill down his spine, Mobius suddenly swallowed hard.
But only for a moment.
Mobius quickly composed his expression and curled his lips upwards.
"Anyone, you say?"
Yijun stared at him as if his eyes could pierce through him.
Sssss...
He felt the fine hairs on his body stand on end.
An unpleasant and unfamiliar sensation, like tiny insects crawling over his skin, made Mobius gulp.
After a short silence, Yijun curved his lips into a faint smile.
"It seems you didn't."
Next, the agent beside Yijun spoke on his behalf.
"The Princess of Dark Flare and Trickster haven't returned yet."
"Ah..."
Trailing off for a moment, Mobius shrugged.
"With all the monsters under the sleeping spell, what could possibly happen?"
"That may be true, but..."
The agent glanced cautiously at Yijun.
Setting aside Trickster, the Princess of Dark Flare was someone the Association was keeping a close eye on.
More important than her survival was knowing where she was and what she was doing.
For that, Yijun's ability was indispensable.
The Association members knew that the snakes Yijun controlled served as GPS trackers.
Though they didn't know he shared their senses of hearing and sight as well.
"Hunter Baek, can you pinpoint her location?"
At the agent's question, Yijun gave a slightly troubled smile and shook his head.
"I don't know what happened, but the signal cut off earlier."
"As if the gate itself collapsed."
Flinch.
Mobius's shoulders trembled.
No one noticed, right?
Mobius hastily smoothed his crumbling expression.
Yijun pushed himself up from his seat.
"It seems I'll have to go check myself."
"What? Yourself, sir?"
It wasn't the agent who was surprised, but Mobius.
No. Anything but that.
"Is there a problem?"
Yijun slowly turned his head.
Mobius, ignoring the cold sweat trickling down his back, managed to move his lips.
"W-wouldn't it be better to avoid having Hunter Baek, the leader, leave the main camp?"
"What does it matter? It won't take long."
"But they might return while you're gone..."
Stammering, Mobius's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Ah, in that case, I'll conduct the search myself."
"You?"
"Yes. The Hwarang guild conducts regular search training."
"Besides, isn't my unique ability specialized for search operations? I'm sure I can work efficiently."
"Especially if the gate has collapsed."
Yijun stared intently at Mobius.
His grey eyes swept over Mobius from head to toe, as if stroking him, before finally narrowing slightly.
"...If you insist."
At his permission, Mobius nodded vigorously.
This was the only way.
"Then I'll be back shortly."
Mobius quickly turned his back.
Or rather, he intended to.
"Leave the snake."
"It's useless now."
Swish.
Yijun gestured with his hand.
Was it some kind of signal?
The white snake coiled around Mobius's shoulder slid towards Yijun as if drawn by a magnet.
Mobius stared blankly at the white snake leaving him, then quickly turned his head away.
Perhaps it was fortunate that the snake had become useless.
At least he wouldn't be able to figure everything out.
Mobius believed without a doubt that this was his chance.
However,
"Then I wish you luck."
Yijun felt the same way.
Eunha returned to the main camp about 30 minutes later.
As she finally appeared after nearly two hours, everyone's gaze focused on her.
Eunha ignored all the stares directed at her and scanned the surroundings.
Mobius was nowhere to be seen.
Hasn't he returned yet?
[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' spits, "Kaak, ptui! Where did that bastard slink off to?" It sharpens its claws, vowing not to let him get away if it spots him.]
'That was my thought too...'
Well, if he's not here, there's nothing to be done.
Confirming Mobius's absence, Eunha walked straight towards Yijun.
Did he hear her footsteps?
Yijun, who had been resting against the inner wall, slowly lifted his head.
Eunha stood stock-still and spoke monotonously.
"There's a problem."
At that, his silver-grey eyes slid downwards.
Her right hand, wrapped in the wet towel, came into his view.
"...You're injured."
He stated briefly and gestured to the agent beside him.
"Call the med—"
"No, it's fine."
Eunha cut him off.
"More importantly, your snake exploded, causing the central part of the gate to collapse."
"Trickster is trapped there alone."
"Is that so?"
Yijun replied very plainly.
Undaunted by his seemingly uninterested attitude, Eunha spoke again.
"Dispatch a search team."
"Search team?"
Pfft. A sound like air escaping was heard.
And then, a chillingly low voice followed.
"Why should I do that?"
Yijun tilted his head slightly, as if genuinely perplexed.
Between the strands of his falling bangs, his silver-grey eyes curved gently.
"The snake exploding isn't my responsibility, nor that of the other hunters here."
"It's Trickster's fault for recklessly blowing up the snake's head."
"..."
"Therefore, I have no intention of dispatching a search team to look for him."
Eunha stared at him silently.
The agent standing quietly beside them widened his eyes.
'Wait, what's wrong with him?'
Just a moment ago, he clearly said he'd go search himself... Why the sudden, excessively cold attitude?
And what did he mean about Trickster blowing up the snake's head?
None of it made sense.
Meanwhile, Eunha was just as perplexed.
"...Are you serious?"
At Eunha's question, Yijun lifted his head.
"You're going to ignore that child?"
Her pitch-black eyes were fixed on him.
Resentment, contempt, perhaps disappointment.
Facing that gaze, Yijun blinked slowly.
"...Yes, I'm serious."
Yijun lowered his head as if fleeing the dark gaze piercing him like an arrow.
However, his voice remained firm.
"I fail to see the justification for me to act for someone who disobeyed orders."
Eunha closed her mouth.
But she didn't avert her gaze from him.
A few seconds passed, feeling like an eternity.
It was Eunha who spoke first.
"Why—"
Clench. She clenched her fist.
"Why did you become like this?"
Her expression didn't change.
But Yijun would know.
Eunha was angry right now.
Likely at the current Yijun.
A white snake gently coiled around Yijun's wrist.
Yijun stroked the snake's head with his long index finger, as if tickling it.
His gaze finally fixed on the snake, a faint smile touched his lips.
"What are you talking about."
Before him, Eunha finally fell silent.
A conversation with him would never happen.
Because he was refusing to engage with Eunha.
Nevertheless, this much had to be said.
Eunha slowly moved her lips, which felt stiff and frozen.
"...I'm disappointed."
Flinch.
The hand stroking the snake stopped.
But only for the briefest moment.
As if nothing had happened, as if he hadn't heard anything, Yijun resumed his slow hand movements.
Eunha, standing stock-still before him, merely stared straight at him, almost glaring, but said no more.
A chilling coldness seemed to descend from somewhere, instantly freezing the surrounding air.
"Uhm..."
The agent, who had been anxiously observing, finally gathered his courage and parted his lips.
"Hunter Mobius departed earlier to search for the missing hunters."
"So—"
Whip.
Eunha turned her head towards him.
A sharp, steely glint emanated from her sharply angled eyes.
"Mobius?"
At the low question, the agent sucked in a sharp breath.
Skin so white it seemed inhuman, contrasted by pitch-black hair.
Her eyes, seemingly holding an eerie light, were even unsettling.
However, while averting his gaze slightly, he still defended Yijun.
"Y-yes. Hunter Baek might speak this way, but he isn't ignoring the missing hunters."
"If you wait just a little longer, Hunter Mobius will return."
"No, that's not enough."
Eunha answered curtly.
Mobius couldn't be trusted.
Naturally, Eunha didn't have even a shred of trust in him.
"If you won't dispatch a search team, I'll go myself."
"What?"
The agent blinked his large eyes.
The other hunters nearby were equally surprised.
"Ms. Hunter, Trickster is an S-Class hunter. He's not the type to meet his end in an A-Class burst gate. But you're different, aren't you?"
The Princess of Dark Flare was F-Class, and a concept hunter at that.
Most concept hunters weren't accustomed to combat.
She intended to jump into the gate without a partner?
And to save an S-Class hunter? It was absurd.
"That's right. If anything, it's fortunate that it was Trickster who got separated from the main group. He'll return without any problems. Because he's an S-Class hunter."
"With all due respect, going to save an S-Class hunter... isn't that a bit... arrogant?"
The surrounding agents began to nod one by one.
The hunters seemed to agree with their assessment as well.
Eunha knew it too.
Trickster was one of the few S-Class hunters in Korea.
He was also the leader of a guild.
But still.
'Noona, this is a gift. I can also make grenades and trucks!'
'It just needs tuning to be complete, want to come see it sometime soon?'
'Really? Wow, awesome!'
The small, chubby hand she had held.
Eyes sparkling like the Milky Way.
Joyful, innocent laughter.
—All of it told her.
"..."
Staring blankly at those trying to dissuade her, Eunha slowly parted her lips.
"He's still just a kid."
If the world hadn't changed,
If he hadn't awakened,
He would just be a young boy, still holding his mother's hand somewhere.
