RG 147

Cha Seohu, staring blankly up at the brightly smiling Cha Sahyeon, stammered out a question, “H-how… how are you here…?”

“Because you’re here?” As if wondering why such an obvious question was even being asked, Cha Sahyeon tilted his head slightly. He was about to say more—

Shrug! The hem of the black robe fluttered, cutting off Cha Seohu’s view.

“…!”

In the blink of an eye, Cha Sahyeon had moved to stand in front of him and swung the massive, pitch-black scythe in his hand.

Clang! With a single strike, the enormous ice spike that had been flying toward Cha Seohu shattered into countless fragments, scattering into the wind.

The weapon Cha Sahyeon wielded was unmistakably forged from shadows.

Could he really manifest a formless skill into such a solid shape this quickly?

‘Just moments ago, during our conversation, Cha Sahyeon’s hands were empty.’

The sheer speed of it made Cha Seohu’s fingertips tremble. Even the pre-regression version of Ryu Seonghyeon, who had achieved incredible growth, hadn’t been able to solidify skills this fast. It hit him anew that Cha Sahyeon being designated “L-class” by the status window wasn’t an exaggeration.

‘That weapon…’

Cha Seohu’s gaze dropped to the scythe Cha Sahyeon held. Black tendrils of mist curled up from the ground, wrapping around the scythe like vines. It was a weapon he found familiar. Overlapping with the figure of Cha Sahyeon, standing protectively before him, was another figure in Cha Seohu’s memory—

A man even taller than now, his long hair whipping around as he swung a black scythe.

Cha Seohu’s vision blurred, and his face paled more than ever before. It felt as if an invisible hand were squeezing his throat, suffocating him. His heart thundered violently, while his limbs slowly turned to stone.

It wasn’t the cold from the demon monster. It was pure fear, pure helplessness, that was swallowing him whole. He knew—rationally—that the person before him was Cha Sahyeon, not the “Great Calamity,” and that he would never hurt him.

But he couldn’t stop the terror flooding him.

When he lifted his head, he saw Ryu Seonghyeon and Song Ji-un staring in shock at the scene.

In Cha Seohu’s mind, the nightmarish images of that day replayed relentlessly. Fear was devouring his reason.

‘Get a grip.’

Someone whispered. It was a voice he knew well, laced with contempt—it was Cha Seohu’s own voice.

‘Did you come all this way just to sit there and watch like an idiot?’

Between the broken fragments of his mind, the mocking sneer continued. It wasn’t just mockery now—there was clear, cutting malice.

‘If you were going to act like this, you should have stayed in your room like the big bro told you. No, you never should have come to the mountain at all. Stop being a fool.’

The voice grew faster and faster.

‘Getagripgetagripgetagrip. Youhavetostopthisoritsgoingtogoreallybadly.’

Ding!

Cutting through the swirling whispers, a bright, cheerful system alert sounded.

Through the flurry of snow, a smooth, translucent system window popped up.

《My Eyes Don’t Lie (Class F) activated!》

《Maintains composure in any situation and activates the brain to enhance memory and judgment.》

“Ah.”

In an instant, the fog in his mind cleared, and the voices whispering in his ears vanished completely. The sound of the howling wind and the cold brushing against his skin snapped him back to his senses.

‘Right. I got that specialty, didn’t I?’

He should have used it sooner. Cursing his own stupidity, Cha Seohu hurriedly reached out and grabbed the hem of Cha Sahyeon’s robe. “Don’t kill her!”

Ten seconds was short. In that fleeting moment, the very first thing Cha Seohu did was latch onto Cha Sahyeon. Before the specialty activated, his body had been frozen by fear, but now it moved freely, just as usual.

Cha Sahyeon, who had been about to swing his scythe, paused and looked back at him. “Why?”

“She’s rampaging uncontrollably. I don’t care if you have to tie her up or knock her out, but you can’t kill her. We need to find out why she’s rampaging.” Licking his dry lips, Cha Seohu rushed to explain as much as he could before the specialty wore off.

“Why don’t we kill her to find out?”

“No. She has to live.”

Three seconds, two seconds. 

There wasn’t much time left to explain everything properly. Just before the specialty ended, Cha Seohu squeezed out one last plea, “I want to save her…”

“…”

《Specialty: My Eyes Don’t Lie (Class F) has ended!》

《Specialty is now on cooldown. (Remaining time: 5 hours 59 minutes)》

The moment he finished speaking, the specialty’s effect ended. 

After silently staring at Cha Seohu for a beat, Cha Sahyeon let out a brief sigh and answered, “Alright. I’ll subdue her.”

Only then did Cha Seohu slowly release the breath he had been holding.

And belatedly, he realized something.

‘…Did I even activate the specialty myself?’

He hurriedly waved his hand through the air, but the system window had already disappeared. Biting his lip uneasily, Cha Seohu tried to shake off the uneasy feeling. He wasn’t sure whether he had activated the trait unconsciously, or if the system had intervened after sensing something was wrong. Either way, even to himself, it was clear that his mental state wasn’t exactly stable.

Clang! Shhhk!

Meanwhile, another massive ice spike flew at them, only to be shattered into pieces by Cha Sahyeon’s scythe again. As Cha Sahyeon narrowed his eyes in irritation, something black and shadowy surged up at his feet. “There’s too big a gap in skill between me and that thing. I can’t guarantee I won’t kill it by accident.”

A thick, black shadow billowed up endlessly.

“If I send this out, it should keep her busy. This one’s S-class too.”

Rumble!

The black shadow swelled wildly as it rose high into the sky, finally taking shape.

Upon seeing its scale-covered head and vertical slit pupils, Cha Seohu immediately realized what it was.

Krrrk!

A massive serpent’s head roared from within the dark clouds. The moment that eerie pressure swept from the sky down to the ground, the serpent dove with its maw wide open.

“Wait—!”

Just as Cha Seohu and Song Ji-un, realizing that the target was the One Who Walks Above Snow and Painting, tried to intervene in shock—

A surge of pure white ice crashed over the serpent like a wave.

Crack, screeetch!

The serpent’s sharp fangs and spiked scales clashed with the jagged ice crystals.

With a deafening roar, ice and shadow tangled and collided. The shadow conjured by Cha Sahyeon was clearly no pushover, as the One Who Walks Above Snow and Painting, who had been relentlessly attacking Cha Seohu until now, was fully occupied trying to fend it off.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Ryu Seonghyeon and Song Ji-un, who had been blocked from reaching them, rushed over to Cha Seohu.

“Hunter Cha Seohu!”

Still sitting on the snow-covered ground, Cha Seohu spotted Ryu Seonghyeon and Song Ji-un, and forced a smile onto his lips. “Are you both okay?”

“Of course we’re fine.”

Seeing the two of them unharmed helped Cha Seohu regain a bit of his reason, even without the specialty’s effect.

Ryu Seonghyeon visibly relaxed when he saw that Cha Seohu was safe and uninjured. He then reached out to help him up. But before he could, a large hand suddenly intervened, grabbing Cha Seohu’s arm and pulling him to his feet in one swift motion.

“Brother.”

The hem of a black robe fluttered and shielded Cha Seohu. Ryu Seonghyeon’s outstretched hand, blocked by the robe, awkwardly hovered in the air, unable to reach him. Startled, his amber-colored eyes met the sharp green gaze of Cha Sahyeon.

‘This energy…’

Feeling the heavy, unfamiliar energy radiating from the man before him, Ryu Seonghyeon recalled a memory from the past. It was from when he had first gotten involved with Cha Seohu, at a B-class dungeon owned by the Yesung Guild.

He remembered approaching Cha Seohu to greet him, only to be stopped short by a chilling murderous intent. The aura he was sensing now was exactly like that one.

‘But back then, it was definitely a child… so who is this man…’

Suddenly, an ear-piercing shriek rang out. 

Krk, screeeech! 

Snapping his head toward the sound, Ryu Seonghyeon saw the shadowy serpent, now partially frozen, collapse to the ground. Behind the trembling snake, the One Who Walks Above Snow and Painting straightened her body.

She wasn’t unscathed either. Her left shoulder and side were drenched in blood, and the arm hanging limply at her side had turned black, likely from repeated bites and the venom taking effect.

“If she’s that beaten up, they should be able to handle the rest themselves.”

Even though his shadow had lost, Cha Sahyeon remained completely indifferent. With a casual wave of his hand, the crumpled serpent’s form crumbled away. A new shadow emerged from him—this time, it took the form of a bird. It flapped its wings a couple of times before naturally perching on Cha Seohu’s shoulder.

Cha Seohu glanced at the bird perched on him, then at Cha Sahyeon still supporting him by the arm, and spoke to Ryu Seonghyeon and Song Ji-un. “Now’s your chance to subdue her. I can heal the wounds afterward… so hurry before she escapes.”

“…Understood.”

With a bitter expression, Song Ji-un nodded and moved toward the One Who Walks Above Snow and Painting, while Ryu Seonghyeon, after exchanging a complicated look with Cha Seohu, followed.

Once the two left, a subtle silence settled between Cha Seohu and Cha Sahyeon.

In that silence, Cha Seohu watched everything unfold—the flash of Ryu Seonghyeon’s skills, the intertwining of ice created by Song Ji-un and the One Who Walks Above Snow and Painting.

As Cha Sahyeon had said, the monster was significantly weakened and was barely fending off their combined assault. She would soon be subdued.

“Brother.”

“…”

“Brooother.”

Cha Seohu, who had been ignoring the gaze and the call directed at him, frowned and turned to look at Cha Sahyeon. Beneath the wind-blown strands of black hair was a smiling face. A soft voice flowed from lips curved in a gentle arc.

“I came back quickly, didn’t I?”

“…”

“I even brought an item that can hide my energy.”

As Cha Sahyeon kept leaning his face closer, Cha Seohu tried to step back, uncomfortable. But Cha Sahyeon’s arm, wrapped tightly around his waist, didn’t let go.

A chill ran down Cha Seohu’s spine. Swallowing back the curses that rose to the tip of his tongue, he muttered under his breath, “Let go.”

“The terrain here is uneven, so I can’t.”

“I don’t care. Let go.”

“I said I can’t. Anyway, Brother, I want to show you the item I brought—”

“I said let go!” Cha Seohu cut him off and shoved him away roughly.

Worried that Cha Seohu might hurt himself if he resisted, Cha Sahyeon let go without protest.

As Cha Seohu walked toward Ryu Seonghyeon and Song Ji-un, Cha Sahyeon silently watched his back, now turned away from him.