"I thought you saw something that doesn't actually exist."
Just how much does this man know? He seemed to be aware that I had seen something just now.
In the midst of a thin silence, his eyes drew even closer.
"Whizz, whizz..."
The bird's labored breathing filled the air. The bird was still dying on the rock.
Perhaps influenced by the scene in the illusion I just saw, I could feel the phoenix's emotions as clearly as if they were tangible.
Pain, sorrow, resentment, the desire to kill those who had made it this way, and an even greater despair.
"I did see something... But, what about the phoenix's condition?"
"It's not good. Even if we remove the contamination, it will only be temporary. The fragments it swallowed will bring it back soon."
"Unless we have that fruit..."
"Fruit?"
Suddenly, Kwon Ji-won spoke up.
"The long-tailed phoenix is said to eat a rare fruit to purify its body. It's called the fruit of Yggdrasil."
"Oh, that one."
I was about to say, "I know what it is, and I have it," when...
"But the fruit of Yggdrasil has never actually been in the hands of hunters. There's probably no way to get it now."
...Huh?
I'm using it to make coffee beans? The coffee fruit that Lime gives me a handful of with my meals?
That... It's really precious...
This morning, Lime filled my bowl with it...
I quickly opened my inventory.
The coffee fruits are stored in a separate space in the shop, not in my inventory. I don't know if the bird can survive the time it takes to fetch them.
But if the scene I saw earlier wasn't a dream, it must be here...
There it is. A dark red, soft fruit.
'This is the fruit the saint gave me earlier.'
Park Hee-young quickly chimed in, saying that since there's no way, we should quickly dispose of the phoenix. I pushed her aside and approached the long-tailed phoenix.
"Kwon Ji-won? What are you doing..."
I pushed the small fruit into the gap between the bird's beak.
To prevent it from spitting it out, I pressed its beak tightly, and I saw the bird's throat move as it swallowed.
Immediately after swallowing the fruit, a wave of light surged.
Was it an illusion? Even though there were no windows, it felt as if a clear breeze blew in. The breeze cleared the damp, foul smell, making it easier to breathe.
Whoosh—
Tiny particles of light melted the darkness on the bird's wings, and the long-tailed phoenix turned into light and disappeared.
Flap, a feather fell onto my palm.
The particles of light that scattered in the air gradually formed a shape, and a new long-tailed phoenix appeared.
"Beautiful..."
I couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
Its straight white wings, its long golden tail fluttering, and its calm eyes that had erased the despair and were now surveying the surroundings.
I immediately understood why it was called a holy bird.
Flap! The bird flapped its wings and came closer.
Ding, the notification sound rang out on time. The long-tailed phoenix seemed to know the content of the notification and suddenly hugged me.
[3. Merge the Offering with the Fragment
Complete the final fragment (Completed)]
[4. Prevent Chaos
This is the final step.
Fly the resurrected bird near the alien gate.
You will stop the chaos summoned by the faceless one □□□□□.
Time limit (02:27:46) - Quest will fail if the time runs out.
Bring the long-tailed phoenix to the target location: (Incomplete)]
Note: 37°33'××.6"N 126°59'××.4"E
All I need to do is complete the final quest. It was time to carry the surprisingly light bird and head to the ground.
"I need to release this bird outside. Let's go together, okay?"
Since the bird was discovered by his guild, Kwon Ji-won must be curious about the whole story. I invited him with that in mind.
"Go ahead."
But Kwon Ji-won lightly pushed me forward.
"I have something to do here."
The barrier set up in the guild's basement not only protects the individual guild but is also part of the barrier that protects the entire city.
There's a lot to do, given the urgency of the restoration and the unclear circumstances of the long-tailed phoenix that swallowed the fragment after breaking the seal.
Still, I thought he would naturally come with me, and I felt a bit disappointed.
"Of course, I have a mountain of questions for you. But... let's talk in detail after I come back."
"Got it."
I felt that it was time to really have a conversation with Kwon Ji-won, after avoiding each other for so long.
"...I'll be back soon."
"Kyu-hyun Hunter, take care of Riul."
With that, Kwon Ji-won and Park Hee-young left the room first.
The sudden quest was now in its final stage. Maybe it was the relief that it would end soon, and I could then talk to Kwon Ji-won about what we hadn't discussed.
Why did I so easily overlook Kwon Ji-won's cold, hardened expression? Why.
* * *
At the target location, near Namsan Park, I released the long-tailed phoenix.
"Wow..."
After flapping its wings a few times, the bird regained its strength. It looked back at me for a moment, then started flapping its wings vigorously.
The resurrected bird sliced through the air.
* * *
Standing in front of the base of the target he had been chasing for a long time, journalist Kim Tae-won's heart was surprisingly calm.
There was no trembling, only a bit of excitement and the joy of finally being able to reveal the truth to the world.
Why had he forgotten this kind of elation until now?
That day, when he drank lemonade at the café in front of the dungeon gate, Kim Tae-won felt like he was reborn.
And now.
"Hey, are you crazy? Don't you know there are big shots behind them?"
"Chief, this is really going to work. You know my skills. I'll definitely make the views explode."
"Explode? If you mess up, it won't be the views that explode, but the company. Don't stir things up, let's stay quiet."
"Chief, please trust me this once."
"You said the same thing when you almost got the company shut down for messing with Muwon."
"That was... I'm sorry. But this time, it's different."
"Enough, the main article for this issue will be the MBTI of the top 50 hunters."
"Who cares about MBTI?"
"Why, MBTI is great. Don't you know it's popular these days? The people who read our articles are all interested in such ranking gossip. Why are you suddenly making a fuss about SinCrown Par?"
"Chief, I said I was going to break a big story on <Hunter Scope>."
"That was just youthful talk. Tae-won, my kids are going to college next year..."
"Ah, bro!"
Bang!
"That damn kid..."
Feeling like a protagonist in a crime movie, he exchanged a few words and finally found this place.
The secret hideout of the illegal guild SinCrown Par.
Smuggling and various illegal activities, suspicions of illegal funds from large guilds, and more. He planned to expose all of it today.
[Paparazzi (E) (In Use)
(Lv.1) Can follow a target without being detected for a certain period of time. (0:38:13)]
There was still plenty of time left for the skill.
Kim Tae-won carefully observed the surroundings and entered the hideout, which was disguised as an ordinary shop.
"!"
He held his breath and waited for a moment, but there were no signs of anyone inside.
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary stationery shop. The display shelves on one wall were filled with stationery items with large slimes drawn on them. On the opposite side were a cash register and discount posters.
But.
When he manipulated a hidden button under the cash register, the display case moved, revealing a hidden safe.
'The number... is it right?'
This information was obtained after treating a secret informant to a fair amount of drinks, money, and meals.
This is a golden opportunity, and his impatience was short-lived.
Click, the safe opened.
Inside were two fairly thick notebooks.
Kim Tae-won immediately picked one up.
When he opened it, the pages were filled with numbers. Could it be a slush fund ledger?
But after carefully scanning the numbers, he realized the content was different from what he expected.
'Disgusting bastards...'
This was a record of the long-tailed phoenix.
They had continuously injected dark ether to gradually contaminate its body.
Then they used it as an offering to summon 'something.'
Rare monster trafficking, illegal experiments... Even without considering the illegality, the scenes in the attached photos were physiologically repulsive.
The other notebook contained the flow of funds to obtain dark ether.
A large sum of money was deposited into SinCrown Par's account. It had gone through several intermediaries, but the source was clear... This was important evidence.
'I'll take pictures of everything.'
Click, click!
If he took the original, there was a risk of being caught. Kim Tae-won was busy taking photos of every page of the ledger.
This made him late in noticing the presence that was approaching.
Thud, thud, thud—
The heavy footsteps startled Kim Tae-won.
There was still plenty of time left for the skill, but had he been followed?
He hurriedly returned the display case to its original position and stood in a corner, hiding behind a curtain. It was a poor hiding spot, but he could only hope not to be discovered.
However, what entered the hideout was not a SinCrown Par henchman, a guard, or anything else.
'That, that, what is that...?'
At first, he thought it was a monster covered in black slime.
No, no. Trapped inside the black slime was... a human.
This shapeless, black mass had engulfed a human and made it part of itself. Moreover, he recognized the face.
'The leader of SinCrown Par's action team?'
He had disappeared just when he thought he had finally found a lead after a long stakeout. At the time, he thought he had been caught.
His thoughts were cut short. His eyes met those of the black slime mass, or rather, the person engulfed within it.
"Ugh..."
Nausea rose sharply. Kim Tae-won covered his mouth and gagged silently.
It felt like tiny needles were constantly scratching his mind and leaving scars. The moment he saw the black slime mass through the gap in the curtain, he knew.
There was no way to maintain one's sanity after seeing something like that. It was like facing the chaos creeping up from the depths of the abyss.
Just as Kim Tae-won's vision began to blur and he was about to collapse.
Whoosh—
A bird with a long golden tail flew across the sky outside the window.
Particles of light from the bird's wings fell onto him.
"Huff, huff, huff..."
The moment he was enveloped by the particles of light, his head cleared.
The nausea and fear had subsided. The black slime mass that had terrified him was melting away under the light particles.