Chapter 180:
“…I owe you my life, and I have to do this? This is so frustrating.”
But there was no other way, so Seo Jae-yi gritted her teeth and nodded.
Hae-wi’s expression softened.
He had known she would agree, even if she was reluctant.
‘Don’t worry; I won’t die, so make it clean. I’ve had my head cut off a few times before; it’s fine.’
Seo Jae-yi sighed and conjured a sword of fire.
Everyone, including Grayson, was startled by her sudden action.
“Jae-yi? What are you doing?”
“I’m going to kill them.”
“…What?”
Grayson was speechless, stunned by her unexpected answer.
“Kill them? What are you…? Aren’t they your comrades?”
“Yes, my precious comrades. That’s why I’m killing them. They’re beyond saving; they’ve exhausted their life force in this battle.”
Grayson quickly looked at Hae-wi and Airok at her calm explanation. They were both breathing heavily, their bodies battered.
That was strange. Airok was clearly injured, but the Mireu had seemed fine just a moment ago. Had he been mistaken?
“You’re… killing them instead of healing them…?”
“It’s not a matter of healing. They’ve used up all their life force.”
Grayson’s face fell, hearing that they were beyond saving.
“So they came here to…”
“To protect me, even at the cost of their own lives.”
It was a hastily fabricated excuse, but it was also the truth, so no one suspected she was lying.
Grayson sighed and looked at Hae-wi and Airok with a sad expression, then stepped back and explained the situation to the others.
Some gasped, while others seemed relieved.
Seo Jae-yi could feel their emotions, their gazes on her back.
No one would question her control over a dragon anymore.
‘I owe everything to Hae-wi.’
The thought made her chest ache.
She felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude and guilt towards Hae-wi and Airok, who had sacrificed themselves for her.
She would spend the rest of her life loving and cherishing them, repaying their sacrifice with her unwavering devotion.
“…Thank you, Logi.”
Seo Jae-yi, gripping the fiery sword, incinerated Airok first. He smiled at her until the very end, despite the searing flames.
Then she turned towards Hae-wi and leaped, the fiery sword arcing towards him.
‘Don’t… agonize over it.’
Hae-wi spoke to her telepathically, seeing the pain and conflict in her eyes as she approached.
But he was ready. He would gladly accept her attack.
Seo Jae-yi, who had become his Yeouiju, couldn’t kill him. It would be a visceral reminder of their bond, of their oneness, so he had no reason to resist.
And there was one more thing Seo Jae-yi didn’t know.
‘Even if I die, Seo Jae-yi will live, so it’s fine.’
The Yeouiju, a dragon’s heart, couldn’t kill a dragon.
Even if a dragon’s physical body perished, the Yeouiju would remain intact, as long as it wasn’t destroyed.
But if the Yeouiju was destroyed, the dragon would die.
In other words, his death wouldn’t affect Seo Jae-yi, but her death would mean his as well.
Hae-wi found that… comforting.
He would probably never tell her.
A sharp, searing pain, and then a strange coolness below his neck. Or was it hot? It was Seo Jae-yi’s fire, after all, even if it was fueled by his power.
But his severed head didn’t roll pathetically on the ground. Seo Jae-yi caught it, cradling it gently in her arms.
“…I love you, Hae-wi.”
She whispered, her voice barely audible, her words meant only for him, her soft lips brushing against the bridge of his nose.
Her simple gesture was filled with a mixture of gratitude, sorrow, tenderness, and love.
She would be bound to him forever now, out of guilt and love, unable to leave him.
If the price of her devotion was his decapitation, Hae-wi was willing to pay it.
A heavy silence fell over the group as they walked back towards the gate.
They glanced at Seo Jae-yi, walking at the front, her head bowed.
She had been the most valuable asset in this dungeon subjugation, the strongest among them.
And yet, they felt a pang of sympathy for her. The dragons she had brought as reinforcements were dead.
And she had been the one to deliver the final blow, to grant them a swift, painless death. She must be devastated.
‘She should have at least tried to heal them…’
‘I was wary of them because they were monsters, but I feel… uneasy now, seeing the dragons who helped us dead.’
‘She looks so heartbroken. I should have tried to stop her.’
They sighed, their hearts heavy with a mixture of guilt and regret.
Grayson, too, felt a deep sense of unease.
‘…I didn’t expect Seo Jae-yi to kill them herself.’
His heart ached for her, knowing how much she cherished Airok.
‘And that Mireu…’
The sudden surge of life force he had felt during the battle…
The others hadn’t noticed, but he had. He had recognized the source: the iridescent Mireu.
And there was something else…
‘It felt exactly like Baek Joo-won’s Guiding.’
When he had gone to Korea to meet Baek Joo-won.
He had experienced Baek Joo-won’s Guiding then, albeit briefly, having stolen it from Seo Jae-yi, but the sensation had been so unique, so memorable, that he still remembered it clearly.
The invigorating surge of life force, spreading through his body like an electric current, was identical to the energy he had felt from the Mireu today.
‘Baek Joo-won… was the Mireu.’
That explained his exceptional abilities, his unusual presence, so unlike an ordinary Guide.
But that made the situation even more complicated, more troubling.
Because Seo Jae-yi had killed him.
‘Is she… alright?’
Seo Jae-yi would die without Baek Joo-won.
Why had she killed him, knowing that? She wasn’t planning on… taking her own life, was she?
“Jae-yi…”
He was about to call out to her when…
“Ah.”
Seo Jae-yi, who had been walking ahead, stopped abruptly.
Grayson, sensing a presence, followed her gaze and his eyes widened.
Footsteps echoed in the distance.
Someone was walking towards them, across the barren wasteland.
A tall, slender figure in a black combat uniform, soft brown hair swaying with every step, a face so beautiful it seemed unreal, a hint of a smile playing on his lips.
It was Baek Joo-won, Seo Jae-yi’s Paired Guide.
“…What?”
Grayson stared at him, dumbfounded.
Wasn’t Baek Joo-won the Mireu who had died? How…? And he was coming from the opposite direction, from the gate, not from where they had been fighting.
How…?
Seo Jae-yi, after a moment’s hesitation, ran towards Baek Joo-won.
She threw her arms around him.
“You’ve worked hard.”
Baek Joo-won gently patted her back, and Seo Jae-yi tightened her embrace, her arms around his waist.
Grayson stared at them, completely bewildered.
“…Ah.”
Their eyes met, and Baek Joo-won smiled at him. And then Grayson saw it.
A faint red line on Baek Joo-won’s neck, visible between the collar of his combat uniform, like a partially healed wound.
‘Ah.’
Understanding dawned on him in a flash.
So Baek Joo-won was the Mireu who had died.
He had somehow survived, even after being decapitated. And Seo Jae-yi must have known; that was why she had willingly played along, pretending to kill him.
So no one would question her control over the dragon.
“…”
Grayson, realizing the truth, closed his eyes and turned away.
As if he hadn’t seen anything, as if he would keep their secret.
He didn’t care if Baek Joo-won was a dragon or not. What mattered was that he was the only one who could keep Seo Jae-yi alive.
So he would become their accomplice, for his friend’s sake.
The secret of Baek Joo-won’s true identity would be buried with this dungeon, hidden in his silence.
As they emerged from the gate, William Taylor, the US Esper Association Head, greeted them.
“Mac Grayson and twenty-three others have returned after successfully subjugating the Rank 1 dungeon.”
Grayson reported to Taylor, his face grim as he mentioned the deaths of three Espers during the subjugation.
Taylor bowed deeply to those who had returned.
“…Thank you for your service. We are deeply grateful for your sacrifice.”
The world had been saved from a potential catastrophe thanks to their efforts.
Taylor expressed his sincere gratitude.
He then oversaw the retrieval of the deceased Espers’ bodies, which would be returned to their families. The government would arrange their funerals.
He then ordered the retrieval of the dragons’ bodies from within the dungeon. They were incredibly valuable; they had to be brought out before the dungeon closed.
“What about you two? Are you heading back to the hotel?”
Grayson asked Seo Jae-yi and Baek Joo-won, who had completed their mission.
“No, we have… other business to attend to.”
“Really? Do you need anything?”
“Yes. Is Eli busy?”
Grayson looked at Seo Jae-yi, curious, as she asked for Elizer.
“He has to transport the dragons’ bodies to Association Headquarters later.”
“It’ll take some time for the retrieval team to bring them out, right?”
“It will.”
“Then we’ll borrow him for a while. It won’t take long.”
Grayson, seeing her avoid explaining why she needed Elizer, asked,
“What are you planning?”
Seo Jae-yi, instead of answering, looked towards… somewhere, towards someone who was probably tied to a rock, alone.
“I’m going to… fulfill a long-held wish.”
A smile, so feral that even Grayson instinctively took a step back, appeared on her face.
Grayson, sensing it was best not to interfere, decided not to ask any more questions.