HVG Ch 15

Episode 15

“Whoever it is, I don’t think it’s me.”

“You… Ah, forget it. Even if I told you, would you even get it? You’re fucking stubborn. Wait—so what? You must be living pretty comfortably, huh? Got time to waste? What happens if my brother shows up? You gonna end up sucking your thumb and collapsing again?”

“No, who said that…”

If anyone touched his food, he’d blow a hole in their head.

Ever since Chorangi showed up, Haewon had developed an obsession with food. Just this morning, he’d endured insults just to snag even one extra meatball.

Part of it was because Chorangi felt like someone he had to protect with his own hands. But more than that, it was because he saw his own childhood reflected in that boy’s helpless, rootless state. In many ways, Chorangi was another version of Seo Haewon.

“And now you’re talking shit about my brother right in front of me…!”

Before Kim Il-hong could raise his voice any louder, Haewon plugged his ears and quickly moved ahead. The two of them then walked silently until they reached the Tree of Good and Evil, where they hid in the nearby bushes to survey the area. Already, there were too many presences felt nearby.

Haewon pulled his mask back up and scanned the slope beneath the Tree of Good and Evil. Unlike other guilds that staked out fixed territories to play their area games, Haewon always roamed different sections to find medicine.

If today someone else was after the same medicine, then this area too would soon be marked with a giant X. He could feel people around him inhaling deeply, holding their breaths.

Fifteen minutes passed, and then, at exactly noon—

【 “Relief supplies” and “food” have been delivered. o(≧▽≦)o Better hurry, or they might disappear soon? 】

The message flooded his vision just as supplies were transmitted beneath the Tree of Good and Evil. Almost simultaneously, people burst out from the bushes.

“Fuck, why the hell is Seo Haewon here?!”

“Hey, Seo Haewon! What the fuck?! Weren’t you supposed to be on the other side?!”

“Seo Haewon’s here? Shit, shit, we’re screwed!”

“Why does everyone start yelling about the other side whenever they see me?”

The Awakened, who had been rushing forward, suddenly turned back and launched attacks all at once. Haewon swung his rifle, braced it against his shoulder, and slid quickly down the slope. The attacks skimmed past his head.

“Who the fuck attacked?!”

“W-wasn’t me! I swear it wasn’t me!”

“That bastard! Hey, that bastard shot first!”

<Wide-Area Shot LV.8>

He fired the loaded mana rounds toward those in front, and explosions erupted in succession. As curses filled the air and smoke spread, Haewon yanked open his bag and shoved supplies inside.

I have to move fast.

His hands and feet began to tremble. What the hell, why did he feel so uneasy? There was no time. If he delayed any longer, his eyes might roll back, and he’d collapse on the spot.

“Medicine… Medicine first.”

While sweeping in canned goods, snacks, and instant rice, Haewon tore through the boxes searching for pill bottles. Normally, the medicine would be right within reach, but today, no matter how frantically he searched, there was nothing. All around him, Awakeners grappled and fought, stuffing anything they could grab into their own bags.

“Medicine….”

Usually, there wouldn’t have been such a shortage, but his overdosing the past few days had left him without reserves. Only one bottle remained. If he stretched that over three days, he’d just barely last until the next relief drop.

Haewon forced himself to stay calm and scanned the area. Then he finished stuffing food into his bag and slung it over his shoulder. He planned to circle around following the tree.

As he searched through boxes and took a few steps forward, he spotted someone running from the opposite side.

The moment he raised his rifle, the man stopped. It was a familiar face. But unlike that day, the man now looked haggard, his eyes raw and inflamed, streaked with tears.

In his hand, he clutched the bottle of tranquilizers Haewon had given him back then.

“You…”

“…My younger brother…”

His lips trembled again and again as if he couldn’t bring himself to say more, stifling his ragged breaths. Haewon already knew what the next words would be, even without hearing them. Finally, gripping the pill bottle tightly, the man forced it out.

“My younger brother… is dead.”

“……”

His brother… The one who’d had seizures.

“When I got there that day… He was barely hanging on, just waiting for me.”

Tears spilled down the man’s face. He took slow steps forward, closing the distance. Haewon’s hand hesitated on the trigger, his eyes trembling.

“His stomach was torn open, and he was choking… but he said he wanted to hold on, to at least say goodbye to his useless brother. Fuck… and I’d gotten the medicine….”

Deaths were common here. But that didn’t mean they could be dismissed. Whatever the reason, when a person died, it was tragic, and for family members forced to witness it, even more so.

“…I shouldn’t have left him alone. I left him alone… Fuck, I…”

But Haewon wasn’t in a state to offer sympathy. Cold sweat soaked his back, chills running through him.

“Then… why did you come find me? It’s not like I killed him.”

‘Why say that to me? What do you expect me to do?’

He swallowed the unspoken words when the man extended the hand holding the pill bottle.

“I thought… you might need this.”

Haewon wetted his lips beneath the mask. He needed it. He could barely restrain himself from snatching it away immediately. The man stood there, eyes brimming with tears, face caught between smiling and weeping, as he held out the bottle again.

“Before my brother passed… I still gave it to him. Because you gave me this back then… I made it in time. I got to see his last moments, at least. But then he said this… that I should give it to someone who needs it now.”

“Why would you…”

“You haven’t heard yet, have you?”

Squinting through raw, inflamed eyes, the man let out a hollow laugh. What? Before Haewon could step closer to ask, a heavy sensation slashed across his back. His hair stood on end, every nerve shrieking. A nauseatingly strong stench of blood stabbed into his nose.

The metallic stench was so thick it felt condensed, and bile rose in his throat. He braced against a tree, head pounding from the reek that seeped through his mask.

What… is this?

His mouth felt damp. Something clammy coiled around him, stirring a faint dread. The moment he realized it, his hands and feet shook violently. It was pure killing intent. The murderous aura pressing down on his whole body made him dizzy.

Boom—!

【 Emergency Event Triggered! Emergency Event Triggered! Oh? Why am I here when it’s not a “Monster Wave”? Well~, the time for <LV.3-2> has come again! ╰(o´∀`o)╯ An unpredictable <LV.3> Emergency Quest! A “Demon” has appeared at the Tree of Good and Evil! 】

The ground shook. It felt as if someone had grabbed the island itself and was violently shaking it, like an earthquake. Awakeners clung to trees to steady themselves, screaming.

Dust clouds engulfed the surroundings, blinding their vision. Then, just as suddenly, the tremor that had been rattling the ground stopped.

【 Feeling safe because it’s only one? Think it looks weak? Nope~ This time’s <LV.3-2> “Demon” is far stronger than the previous “Ureksa”! Why? Because I made it that way. (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ Whoever kills the “Demon” will be rewarded with 2,000P! 】

The stench of blood. Haewon immediately caught the scent and turned. Through the haze of dust, a shadow emerged. The sharper the sound of footsteps crunching closer, the stronger and more nauseating the smell became.

Step—

The figure that cut through the fog was a large-framed man. His skin was pale, his eyes pitch-black without any whites, flickering with madness. In one hand, he carried an axe; his clothes were drenched in blood, making him look grotesque.

He didn’t seem human at all. The man swung the axe into the air, then tilted his head crookedly as his gaze landed on Seo Haewon.

“So this is where that rotten stench was coming from.”

Thud. Veins bulged across the back of his hand as he turned the axe’s grip, his lips curling into a grin that bared his teeth.

“You’re from the Red Cloud Guild, aren’t you?”

“!”

The instant Haewon met his glistening eyes, he ducked sharply. A whistling axe blade cut through the air, slamming into a tree behind him. If he hadn’t instinctively crouched, his neck would have been severed.

Haewon immediately raised his rifle, aimed, and backed up several steps. He loaded it with mana and fired, but the man dodged swiftly and retrieved the axe lodged in the tree.

“But fuck… You’re quick at dodging, huh?”

His hideously twisted face looked like a monster wearing a warped human mask.

What the hell happened…? From what Haewon knew, just moments ago, this man had been one of those scavenging nearby for food. He’d even caught a glimpse of him shoving food into his clothes while swinging that axe.

And now, a Demon?

“No… I was just looking for a bit of food, digging through boxes… then someone smacked me on the back of the head. And I snapped.”

Muttering things no one had asked, he flexed his muscular body, loosening his arms and legs.

“So I drove the axe right into that bastard’s face. Then suddenly, he started screaming for his life. That fucker, did he ever throw me a scrap when I was starving? Awakening without any abilities was bad enough, but fuck, I had to suffer just because he couldn’t share a single piece of bread? Should I really have to put up with that crap? Right? Huh? Don’t you think so too?”

“……”

Haewon kept his aim steady, watching the man closely as he slowly backed away. His throat was seized by the weight of murderous intent. Resentment, hatred, and malice intertwined, viciously clawing at the air. The man’s rage spread outward, hurting everything around him.

Had he re-Awakened? Did all his suppressed bitterness and fury explode at once, driving him into a frenzy? Did he become a villain because of it? And if the so-called “Seonak” system administrator had egged him on, then this was clearly a byproduct of interference.

But this development… it felt familiar.

「 Because of “Seo Haewon’s” misdeeds, the number of victims claimed by the Demon has increased. 」

Caught in a sense of déjà vu, Haewon faltered mid-step. A line of text pierced through his brain, sending a chill down his spine. This was… one of the “misdeeds of Seo Haewon” he had seen written within the system logs.