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The trembling man in front of me seemed to mutter things that he didn’t even understand. All of his sentences started with ‘if you spare me this once’ and ended with ‘I’m sorry.’ I had no intention of cutting his throat as he had been with my cousin Ji-Ae among the Chinese Awakened and had brought her to me. He dropped his head down as soon as he made eye contact with me.
I said coldly, “I’ll keep you alive. Tell me one more thing.”
He fell silent. “...”
I asked, “Is there anything you want?”
His eyes quivered in confusion as if he was still figuring out if this was a dream or not. He lowered his head down again and looked at the ground before slowly calming down. When a drop of fearful sweat dropped on the ground, he replied cautiously, “Please
 send me to headquarters.”
“To Lee Tae-Han?” I asked.
I appreciated Ji-Hoon’s support in reuniting us, so I was going to give him an item if he wanted one. If he wanted to level up, then I was about to put him next to Seong-Il. Ji-Hoon’s strength was that he quickly grasped the situation and learned how to survive in this world although he wasn’t prepared. In fact, he had even become a vice-captain in one of the old Sky Guild squads. Another strength he had was that he had survived the difficulty of communicating with the Chinese so far.
He had a number of disadvantages, of course, but he was someone perfect to put next to Seong-Il. It was easy to tame people like him, who were cruel to the weak and yielded to the strong.
However, he ended up choosing to be with Lee Tae-Han. It was a wise choice. Rather than being by my side and taking on an unknown risk, he was dreaming about soaring up again to the next lane of power.
“Go on,” I said to Ji-Hoon’s back as he shivered frantically. I thought he might have been crying at that moment.
***
Out of all of his relatives, Ji-Ae was my father’s favorite niece. Not only did he occasionally tell me news about her even though I didn’t ask, but he also continued to financially support her until he retired. He might have wanted her to be like my older sister as I was an only child.
“Did you talk to him?” she asked.
I responded, “He chose Lee Tae-Han.”
Ji-Ae’s face slightly stiffened.
I asked, “Why? Were you close with him?”
She shook her bread. “No, but we relied on each other. We were the only Koreans in the group. But I don’t care now because there’s no reason for me to avoid the Koreans anymore.”
I stated, “You should stay with me.”
She didn’t respond right away. Instead, she looked outside the window, where Seong-Il was piling up monster corpses into another mountain.
She finally asked. “Is it only you and Mr. Kwon Seong-Il?”
I responded, “We have you now. Let’s get the quest first before the night raid begins.”
When I took Ji-Ae out of the building, Seong-Il approached us while dusting his hands off. Even then, she was looking around at the monster bodies stacked up everywhere in the city and trying to adapt to the gloomy vibe of the city. The mountains of corpses and buildings stained with blood were vastly different from the amusement park-like setting during the first day of this stage.
As the sun set, the shadows of the mountains looked like thousands of limbs floundering in the street. One of the shadows covered Ji-Ae’s face. Soon, the shadow vanished into the darkness as the sun completely disappeared, and the city became eerier. Occasionally, there were times when the bodies collapsed on their own, and they made a loud noise like a scream, as it was accompanied by the wind sound.
Seong-Il and I were spending another usual day, preparing for a night attack by eating and resting well. However, Ji-Ae became quiet since she was overwhelmed by the city’s atmosphere. I noticed that her focus was fixed on one side, so it seemed like she was checking the information of the equipment I had provided on her window. However, she seemed to care more about the reasons why I had no choice but to give her such a weapon, rather than admiring their quality.
Ji-Ae had experienced several night raids with Chinese Awakened. Therefore, she knew that an overwhelming number of monsters would pour out, so Seong-Il and I wouldn’t be able to take care of her all the time. There was no need for an explanation as we were already in Act Two.
I just said one thing. “Don’t go too far away from me.”
***
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
The same message had popped up twenty times. Twenty levels had gone up in just two hours, so Ji-Ae was now Level 262. Other cities earned XP because they had successfully defended against the night raids, but here, Seong-Il and Seon-Hu were fighting back to get XP. In other cities, approximately ten thousand Awakened were dealing with the attacks while depending on defense facilities, but Seon-Hu was handling everything by himself. It shouldn’t have been surprising as Seon-Hu had destroyed the old Sky Guild alone, then overpowered one of Denmark’s forces and absorbed them into Revolucion.
Seon-Hu’s ability, which she had only heard about, was indeed shocking. In fact, she believed that the rumors had underestimated him and didn’t keep up with the truth.
It’s crazy. This place is insane.
Ji-Ae couldn’t stop the questions from popping up in her mind. Less than two hours after the attack began, she approached Seon-Hu, who was soaked in blood. The damp silence suffocated her. His eyes still looked fierce and ferocious as the battle had just ended. They blazed more than the flames that felt like they would burn down the entire city. Therefore, Ji-Ae felt her mouth turn dry. She couldn’t ask what level he was on as Seon-Hu’s eyes were terrifying. The same was true for his devilish power. This city was abnormal compared to all the others as monsters were being slaughtered here instead of the Awakened.
Ji-Ae also had questions about Kwon Seong-Il. He was well known as Seon-Hu’s henchman, but they had fought separately during the battle. Therefore, Kwon Seong-Il often suffered from injuries that an ordinary Awakened wouldn’t have been able to endure. She couldn’t understand why he was still staying with Seon-Hu.
After all, XP wasn’t distributed unless they were tied to a party. It was more beneficial for Kwon Seong-Il to create his own corps instead of struggling in dangerous situations caused by Seon-Hu. This wasn’t his only option. Other cities were welcoming strong Awakened like Kwon Seong-Il. It meant they would give him all the quests and the risk he had to take would be much less. Kwon Seong-Il was capable enough to do so, but he still stayed next to Seon-Hu.
“Are you okay, noona?” Kwon Seong-Il asked.
“I’m okay, but
”
Ji-Ae pointed at Kwon Seong-Il’s legs while answering. It was difficult to see his injury, but it was obvious that his legs were severely wounded.
He shrugged. “I’ll get better after I sleep. By the way, didn’t you level up a lot today?”
What the heck? He is asking about my level-up when he is hurt to that extent?
Seon-Hu’s horrifying eyes had returned to their normal state, and Ji-Ae realized once again that fighting was a part of their daily routine like eating and sleeping. She was once a leader and had interacted with all kinds of Awakened, but she had become shocked after witnessing these two. It felt like she had fallen into a world completely different from the world she had known so far.
The torn pieces of the dead monsters were still burning, and most of the piles of dead bodies had turned into ashes. Tomorrow, there would be new mountains of corpses.
That night, Ji-Ae couldn’t sleep at all. Despite rising twenty levels at once thanks to Seon-Hu’s help, she wasn’t happy. She felt the same as the time when she found out she had been assigned to the Public Security Department in the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. She had felt like she wasn’t capable enough to fit in there. However, she was full of passion and youth back then. She withstood somehow and was promoted to a high position, which was probably due to Seon-Hu’s support behind the scenes.
However, there was an obvious difference between now and then. All she did in the night raid yesterday was follow along. If Seon-Hu didn’t waste his time protecting her, things would have ended in an hour, not two hours. He even shared the XP with her. She felt like she was a distraction.
Things didn’t work that way in the Supreme Office. She had led multiple investigations and completed them successfully. There were many cases where she had to protect Jeonil Group regardless of who was right or wrong, but she was in charge of thoroughly planning, responding quickly to unexpected incidents, and giving commands.
If there were a few more people in the same situation as her, then she would have had a different mindset. She would have done her best to organize a party with them and take advantage of the environment Seon-Hu had created. She would have chosen a path that would benefit both him and her.
However, this wasn’t helpful to anyone. This was
 pathetic.
Ji-Ae stayed up all night and eventually told Seon-Hu that she wanted to go to the guild headquarters.
He asked, “You too?”
She smiled slightly. “I’m happy enough that I was able to see you again. You have given me lots of comfort.”
Seon-Hu responded, “You know how much my father cherished you, right? If I let you go like this, then he will be really mad at me. Tell me if there was anything you were upset about.”
She shook her head. “Hey, I’m not a one or two-year-old kid. I can’t just stay here and rely on you. I’m Level 262 now, mid-Platinum, and that is considered top class. It’s just the beginning for me.”
Seon-Hu replied, “I was planning to carry you up to Diamond class anyway.”
“Huh?” She blinked.
Her cousin continued, “Just stay here until you reach Diamond. I’ll let you go if you don’t change your mind then, but now is not the right time.”
She responded wryly, “If anyone overhears our conversation, they will swear at me and think that I’m a crazy woman who doesn’t know how to take advantage of the situation. Honestly
 I’m a bit nervous.”
Ji-Ae’s heart still pounded fast whenever she thought about the life and death crisis during the night raid last night. It had happened since her protective barrier had worn out. The Baclan Queen’s followers had grasped that she was the weakest out of all of them and persistently targeted her. Of course, Seon-Hu killed all of them before they even reached her, but there were constant moments when she could die.
Ji-Ae was certain that it was such a nightmare even though it was only one night. Everything else like waves, spires, corps battles, and night raids in other cities was nothing compared to last night’s attack.
She continued firmly, “Mr. Kwon Seong-Il is the only person who can stand by you.”
“What are you going to do after heading to the headquarters?” Seon-Hu asked.
“I will have to talk to Chairman Lee. As you know, he isn’t a thoughtless guy.”
Seon-Hu warned her, “You will regret it and keep thinking about last night’s level-up.”
She retorted, “But there’s nothing for me to be worried about because you are my cousin, Odin.”