DL Episode 129

#129

Ha-gyeom’s body trembled. Even though he had not yet seen anything inside the blood-red darkness, sweat began pouring down his body like rain.

They stood there, alert, for what felt like several minutes, though it was impossible to tell how much time had truly passed.

Then it happened.

“……!”

Ha-gyeom clenched his teeth as if in pain. A crushing pressure slammed into him, like standing in the middle of a storm. The confusion in his consciousness, which had been barely manageable, swelled uncontrollably like a spreading fire. His chest tightened until breathing itself became difficult.

Haa, haa…

Maybe the real beginning… was now.

A message boomed out, like thunder, as if waiting for this moment.

Baek Seung-woo only widened his eyes, as if he couldn’t hear anything, but Ha-gyeom heard it clearly.

Something was approaching from far away. Even though its form of an eyeball couldn’t be seen, the presence glowed with a sharp, murderous blue light. A voice scraped against his ears like claws, so piercing his eardrums felt ready to burst. As if struck internally, his entire body ached, and soon blood dripped from his nose, streaking down his lips and chin.

Even so, Ha-gyeom endured, desperate to understand and remember whatever was reaching for him. If he truly was destined to become a mediator, then was there no way to escape that fate?

But Ha-gyeom wanted to fight it. He refused to submit, and he refused to live as something other than himself—like Ah-rang. Living that way would destroy the worth of the life Baek Seung-woo had saved.

Was Ah-rang slowly becoming a mediator? Or had she simply been a failed attempt, unable to withstand her assigned fate?

A cold wave of fear washed over him. At the same time, the energy that existed only for his wavelength surged violently. Baek Seung-woo grabbed his hand desperately, trying to pull him away from the entity, but it was useless. Ha-gyeom felt Baek Seung-woo’s furrowed brow and fierce gaze blur in front of him.

…Ha-gyeom!

Words that could not become sound burst from Baek Seung-woo’s lips like breath. His arms wrapped around Ha-gyeom with such force it felt like they might break his ribs.

Ha-gyeom could only gasp for air in his embrace, but in truth, both his body and consciousness had already fallen under the control of the unfamiliar presence closing in on him.

Ha-gyeom’s pupils unfocused. His eyes lost their natural light and glowed red.

His flickering consciousness snapped completely.

A mass of black smoke, shapeless yet towering like a wall, rose before them. Ha-gyeom was lifted off the ground, pulled upward by a deep, swirling force.

Red energy shot from the entity like lightning. Ha-gyeom absorbed it as though he were a lightning rod. Each time the branching energy—like countless blood vessels—pierced into him, light flickered beneath his thin skin.

Mediator.

Suspicion born from Ah-rang. Certainty born from Ha-gyeom’s own experience. And now, a definition he dared to make with his own eyes.

The entity intended to claim Ha-gyeom as its own.

Baek Seung-woo stared at Ha-gyeom, then raised his gun toward the black smoke surging as if ready to swallow them whole.

Bang, bang, bang—!

The rapid bullets meant nothing. The entity took no damage. The bullets only spiraled slowly around the smoke as if bending with its shape. Worse, they all turned back toward their shooter.

“……!”

A barrage of bullets flew toward Baek Seung-woo. The sensation of metal grazing his skin and piercing his muscles was painfully vivid. Muscles and veins ruptured, sending waves of agony through him. No esper ever felt pain like this. It hit him with no time to breathe, spreading through every nerve in his body.

The shock was so overwhelming that his thoughts froze. Struggling to lift the heavy machine gun again, blood splattered down his torso.

A sickening certainty hit him—he would not be able to save Ha-gyeom at this rate. His mission to protect him felt meaningless. His sweat-soaked body went cold with dread, goosebumps rising. The contradiction was surreal, because his body burned with fever like someone thrown into flames.

The black smoke swelled threateningly. In that instant, the whites of Baek Seung-woo’s eyes blazed, and light flashed within them. Veins and muscles bulged as if ready to burst. He had never lost—not once—and fear did not exist in him.

He sheathed his weapon on his back and kicked off the ground with explosive force. In one leap he shot into the air, diving through the energy and smoke surrounding Ha-gyeom and reaching for his neck.

Ugh…!

The smoke coiled around him like poison, and his first attempt failed. He crashed onto the soft ground with a heavy thud, momentarily dizzy from the worsening blood loss.

The lower half of his torso was soaked in blood. Glancing down at his combat uniform with a detached expression, he immediately pushed himself back to his feet.

The unfamiliar entity, shifting shape at will, attacked without sending any message like Ha-gyeom had described. Of course he couldn’t hear anything. If these beings chose only guides as mediators, it was obvious what he must look like now—an intruder trying to steal one from them.

They had awakened his power.

A dog rushing in to bite the throat of its own master?

Red energy spread deeper and wider around Ha-gyeom. And the black smoke that had first appeared as a single mass now multiplied as it encircled him. Three, four—? Its form was too indistinct to count, but at this rate, it was only a matter of time before Ha-gyeom was completely consumed.

Baek Seung-woo clenched his fists so tightly they trembled, breathing raggedly. When was the last time he had felt a threat this severe? He couldn’t even remember. And he realized, all at once, that he had never—not even once—imagined what it would feel like to have Ha-gyeom’s life, the one he had saved with his own hands, stolen away by someone else.

Unacceptable. Unforgivable.

He could not endure another second. Guided only by the faintest shred of reason, he hurled himself back into the air, breaking through and diving straight into the clustered smoke. Everything looked drenched in red, as though he had fallen into a pool of blood. Ha-gyeom looked the same.

But this time, he finally succeeded in reaching him. He shot out his hand and grabbed Ha-gyeom’s wrist roughly. Only then could he see him clearly through the red light.

Eyes open but unfocused. Lips parted with no breath or color. Skin pale as death. Blood trickling from every opening in his body.

“……!”

Ha-gyeom was being swallowed whole. No—he looked like he was dying. Baek Seung-woo instantly lost the last of his restraint. He seized Ha-gyeom by the back of the neck and yanked him away from the invisible shackles with inhuman strength. Even if it risked hurting him, he dragged all his energy together and pulled Ha-gyeom into his arms.

Fwwiiiish—!

The entities deprived of their guide erupted in fury. The storm of smoke coiled violently around them, but Baek Seung-woo broke through again. Holding Ha-gyeom’s burning body tightly, he ran toward what he believed was the exit. Even if he didn’t actually know where it was. He ran by instinct, not by sight.

To him, this place was no different from the anomaly’s exterior. The problem wasn’t entering—it was the fact that the exit refused to reveal itself.

Even sprinting at esper speed, fast enough to outrun anything human, the black smoke trailed close behind, ready to engulf them. But Baek Seung-woo did not stop. He knew the entity wasn’t after him—it was after Ha-gyeom.

He ran toward the unseen end, lungs burning, legs pounding so hard they felt near collapse. Every time he thought he’d lost the smoke for a moment, it closed in again. Relentless. Threatening.

The smoke, which should have passed harmlessly through his body, suddenly sharpened like blades. This time, their bodies—not bullets—were the weapons. A slicing agony cut across his back as if cleaved by a long blade.

But he didn’t look back.

He didn’t dare.

He didn’t have the time.

Who knew how long he ran.

From somewhere ahead, the salty smell of the sea brushed his nose.

He still couldn’t see the exit, but he sensed they were close. Yet no light appeared, and there was nothing to use as a landmark except that faint scent.

Fwish—!

The moment he paused for a breath, the smoke attacked again, aiming for his head. Baek Seung-woo ducked low and whipped out the knife strapped to his chest, slicing into the soft, organ-like ground. But before he could pry an opening, the fissure sealed shut like a healed wound.

More smoke swarmed in a spiraling vortex overhead. Monsters of unknown origin crowded in from every direction. With a long exhale, Baek Seung-woo grabbed the machine gun once again and spun clockwise, mowing down the creatures storming toward them.

He knew his blood was pooling beneath him. He could feel it. But there was nothing he could do. He stood firm despite the wounds and the exhaustion—but he was cornered.

He was truly cornered.

“……!”