DEB 11

“Are you sure you smell that person on him? You didn’t just blurt something out without understanding it, do you?” 

Asked the man with red hair

“Would I speak if I’m not sure?”

Responding sharply, Jiwook glanced at Huiyun. 

“Even though my mind was foggy then, I distinctly remember smelling the scent. I will become even more certain after smelling it again.”

The red-haired man tilted his head, hearing Jiwook confident tone. 

Huiyun sensed their gaze and tightly grasped the blanket. Although he couldn’t discern what their intention was, he could tell something was not going well for him.

Would it be okay to let them dominate the conversation like this?

No, he shouldn’t. Being subdued by their coercive atmosphere would undoubtedly lead to things going their way, jeopardizing his peaceful life.

His intuition strongly warned him. He cast a glance at Huigang, urging him to do something, but Huigang avoided his gaze uncomfortably.

“…!”

Huiyun was shocked by his brother’s complete indifference, but he decided to calm down first.

Yes, when a superior comes and acts like this, what can a subordinate do? He could be scolded if he spoke out of turn; he should understand that…

…But what the heck? 

No, my brother shouldn’t treat me like this!

His precious younger brother was surrounded by suspicious and dangerous men! 

Shouldn’t he do something?

When he looked at his brother with betrayal in his eyes, Huigang couldn’t look back at Huiyun and just continued to clear her throat as if in pain.

If you feel sorry, then just help me.

Jiwook’s gaze became colder, the man with red hair seemed intrigued, and the man with black hair, with an inscrutable expression, looked solely at him. Their gaze grew more ominous by the seconds!

This is unbearable.

It’s like a snowball.

The mistake of trusting the system instead of his brother when searching for the gate has led to this situation spiraling out of control.

He bowed his head, gaining a bitter realization. His hair, which had fallen to the nape of his neck lightly swayed, the man with red hair approached, sniffing him.

He’s like a dog…

Huiyun shrunk uncomfortably. The man started near the blanket, then grabbed his hair, and eventually pulled it back to smell his neck. Feeling like he was standing in front of a beast rather than a human, Huiyun’s face paled. Then, he felt the warm breath on his neck.

“What are you…!”

Huiyun exclaimed, pushing the hand that was holding his hair, the person didn’t even flinch from his push.

“What the… I didn’t smell anything?” 

“I didn’t smell it now too.”

“So, what did you smell?” 

“Even so, it was distinct when I smelled him inside the gate.” 

Jiwook asserted with narrowed brows, and the man with red hair shrugged.

“That guy, are you sure he was what you saw inside the gate? It seems unlikely this guy could have entered the gate at all.”

“…How many times do I have to say it for you to understand? I saw him, I smelled him, and I even spoke to him. If you’re going to say my memory is wrong, forget about it. You know it.”

What my ability is.

Jiwook whispered as a warning. Despite the menacing attitude, the man with red hair chuckled.

“You haven’t completely lost your mind, have you? You often do.” 

“Ash.”

Responding to the call that scratched his throat, the man who had been casually observing the situation with a light attitude smirked and stepped back. Huiyun, who hoped they would just fight amongst themselves and leave after causing trouble, felt disappointed.

“I’ll say it again, listen carefully. If it wasn’t a ghost you saw inside the gate, then it was definitely this man. The smell was there when he used his ability.”

“No matter how you look at him, he seems weak…”

It was a moment when Ash’s leader wore a slightly annoyed expression. 

“Then, just make him use his ability.”

The man with black hair, who had been silent all along and casually observed the situation, proposed a solution. 

Huiyun, startled by the matter-of-fact suggestion, looked at him.

What exactly is he planning to do?

It seemed like he thought Huiyun emitted a particular smell when using Yasha’s ability, but in the past three years, Huiyun had never smelled anything distinctive. As he was pondering whether there was a misunderstanding, the man who had approached suddenly reached out his hand. His black nails almost touched Huiyun’s nose.

Nomp. 

“….!”

Something pierced his flesh. And it was something very sharp and hot.

“Ugh!”

“Huiyun!”

Startled by the sudden groan, Huigang, who had been watching, rushed over. Huiyun alternated between his bleeding wrist and the man who was casually wiping his bloody lips. 

The man’s fangs peeking through his lips were red.

Did he just bite me? 

And to the extent that I bleed?

“…Hmm, the taste of his blood isn’t anything special. I guess I need to use my ability to discern…?”

And the crazy guy who drank his blood is muttering such nonsense without even an apology?

His head was spinning. As he was about to pass out, Huigang, who was supporting the staggering Huiyun, gritted his teeth and glared at the three of them.

“Please stop.”

Since he was in the position of a subordinate, he did his best to keep his head down, but even he seemed to have reached his limit.

“There seems to be a misunderstanding here, but my brother suffers from mana hypersensitivity and is unable to use his abilities. Moreover, on the day you arrived at the hospital, he was having a seizure. While there may be a slight misunderstanding, it seems unrelated to my brother, so please leave now. He just regained consciousness after he collapsed. He needs stability.”

It stung a bit, but it was a perfectly reasonable statement. Huiyun was about to swing his fist in victory at his older brother who had finally taken his side.

“Since when was it possible for my guild members to rebel like this?”

Jiwook, who had been listening to Huigang’s story with an amused expression, spoke sharply. His voice, imbued with coldness, was clearly filled with resentment and cold anger. Yet Huigang didn’t back down, facing the grim atmosphere directly, refusing to yield even if he might break.

“I have a duty to do my best to protect my brother.”

It was Huiyun who was surprised by Huigang, who was not willing to give in.

It seemed that being bitten on the wrist earlier had provoked Huigang. He’s not usually so straightforward…

Dangerous.

Although Huiyun hoped for help, he didn’t wish for his brother to protect him at the risk of confronting an S-rank hunter. He reached out to grab Huigang’s sleeve in panic, but Huigang turned his head, reassuring Huiyun.

No, I’m not okay.

Amidst the chilling silence, the atmosphere solidified. Sensing activity behind the door, Huiyun saw doctors and nurses waiting, exchanging glances, seemingly hesitating to interfere. Understanding the situation, Huiyun eventually made an extreme decision.

System.

As he silently called, a golden system window popped up.

[No, absolutely not!]

He didn’t even mention the request yet, but the system trembled and refused. 

Ignoring the system window which pleadingly mentioning that they would be disciplined for the third time if they did this.

Let’s change the reward.

Change the penalty exemption into penalty imposition rights, and make me vomit blood right now.

[No. You’ve earned it with great effort! But are you really going to waste it in a situation like this?]

The system window seemed to sympathize to some extent with the absurdity of the situation.

Huiyun felt it was unfair to use the hard-earned penalty exemption in such circumstances. Considering today’s events, there was no choice.

Although the rabbit-like penalty exemption seemed reluctant, Huiyun had to send it away with tears in his eyes. Steeling his resolve, Huiyun ignored the whimpering system window and confirmed the use of the imposition rights. There was a moment of hesitation, but his actions were swift. Pressing the ‘Yes’ button, he was immediately pierced by a lightning-like pain.

“Cough!”

Writhing in pain as if struck from the head, Huiyun couldn’t bear it and coughed up blood. The blood soaked his palms and the blanket.

“Huiyun!”

As Huigang turned his body the escalating penalty began.

Intense agony swept through his entire body instantly. It felt like his blood vessels were bursting, and internal organs were being tortured from within. Having just recovered and awakened, his body couldn’t withstand the successive shocks of penalties.

“Kh! Brother….”

With his trembling hands, he held on to Huigang’s shoulders and called out to him, making Huigang turn pale. As soon as he did, doctors and nurses waiting outside the door rushed in urgently.

Huiyun stared at the several hands supporting him, then weakly raised his head to see the faces of the three men.

Psycho bastards.

Even as he fell and vomiting blood, the three men remained indifferent. 

It didn’t take long for his vision to fade and darkness to come.