RG 99

“Hunter Cover, are you alright?” Ryu Seonghyeon rushed over, his expression a mix of surprise and concern as he extended his hand.

Cover, who had been slumped on the head of the dead Leviathan, felt a surge of emotion and was about to take his hand. But before he could, another hand, clad in a black glove, suddenly appeared and grabbed his wrist.

“I’ve got a question,” Eun Woojeong interrupted abruptly, pulling Cover’s wrist toward him. “If I ask, will you answer?”

“What?”

“It’s something I’ve been meaning to ask for a while. After what just happened, I’m even more curious.” Forced upright by Eun Woojeong’s strong pull, Cover narrowed his eyes at the hint of amusement in the other’s tone. Eun Woojeong turned to Ryu Seonghyeon and Kwon Taehyeok, making sure they could hear him clearly, and asked, “Why don’t you use your skills?”

“…”

“In the ranking match or competitive battle, sure, maybe it’s fine since there’s no real danger. But just now, you could have used them. So why didn’t you? Why do you keep holding back?”

Ryu Seonghyeon, who had been frowning at Eun Woojeong’s sudden intrusion, turned his gaze to Cover at the question. Even Kwon Taehyeok, who had been about to stop Eun Woojeong, stayed silent. The truth was, it wasn’t just Eun Woojeong who found Cover strange—Kwon Taehyeok and Ryu Seonghyeon felt the same way.

When Cover was swallowed by the Leviathan and dragged into the sky, they’d been terrified. Watching anxiously from below, they could only wait as Cover somehow found the reverse scale and brought the Leviathan down.

While they were relieved that Cover had survived and defeated the beast, they couldn’t help but wonder: Why didn’t he use his skills in such a life-threatening situation? Did he even have skills that could be perceived by the naked eye?

Eun Woojeong had voiced the question they’d all been too hesitant to ask. A tense silence settled over the group.

‘So this is how it’s going to be…’

Cover glanced at Eun Woojeong gripping his wrist, then at the silent Ryu Seonghyeon and Kwon Taehyeok, clicking his tongue internally. He wasn’t naive enough to miss what they were thinking. He knew it was suspicious. He’d always known a moment like this would come.

Finally, he turned to Eun Woojeong and spoke, “I did use it.” Cover let out a scoffing laugh before continuing, “How do you think I figured out the Leviathan’s weak spot?”

“…Are you saying that discovering weaknesses is your skill?”

“Exactly.” Agreeing easily, Cover suddenly leaned in close to Eun Woojeong, so close his lips almost brushed against the mask the other was wearing. Lowering his voice as if sharing a secret, he whispered,  “So be careful. I might’ve already figured out your weak spot too. Got it?”

“…”

With that, Cover smacked Eun Woojeong’s hand off his wrist and climbed down from the Leviathan’s massive head.

“I dragged the corpse all the way here, but there were people caught in the crossfire. Some Hunters fell victim to the Baphomets too. We need to clean this up quickly.” He turned to Kwon Taehyeok and asked, almost urging him, “What’s the plan, Guildmaster?”

It was his way of saying Forget about the skills. Focus on the task. Kwon Taehyeok sighed lightly, understanding the intent, and began walking.

“First, we’ll assess the damage. Hunter Ryu Seonghyeon, check the area around Heungnyemun. I’ll head toward Gwanghwamun.” He glanced at Cover and added, “You’re coming with me.”

“Uh…”

Caught off guard, Cover hesitated, his reluctance clear. Kwon Taehyeok raised an eyebrow, his expression suggesting he wouldn’t hesitate to drag him by the scruff if necessary. Realizing this, Cover suddenly had an epiphany.

‘Wait, could this actually work in my favor?’

Originally, he’d planned to slip away unnoticed to Geunjeongjeon and transform. But now that he thought about it, hadn’t he already left Gwanghwamun as Cha Seohu earlier? If Cha Seohu were to reappear coming out of Geunjeongjeon, it would definitely raise suspicion.

‘If I move with Kwon Taehyeok to Gwanghwamun and slip away at the right moment, this could actually work.’

It seemed like Kwon Taehyeok had assigned him to tag along to keep an eye on him, but that decision inadvertently gave Cover an opportunity. Smiling faintly behind his mask, Cover turned to Eun Woojeong, who had been silently standing nearby. “You help too. If you’ve gone so far as to accuse someone, you might as well make yourself useful.”

“Alright,” Eun Woojeong replied with unexpected ease, nodding. “I don’t want to dig myself into an even deeper hole here,” he added.

Unfortunately, the hole had already been dug pretty deep. Still, if he was offering to help, that wasn’t a bad thing—so long as Eun Woojeong didn’t follow him later when he slipped away from Gyeongbokgung.

“Then let’s split up into teams of two.”

Although feeling sorry, he paired Eun Woojeong with Ryu Seonghyeon, who was tasked with checking the area around Heungnyemun. Cover knew there were plenty of injured Hunters from Heungnyemun to just outside Gwanghwamun. Ryu Seonghyeon, being diligent, would keep Eun Woojeong too busy helping the wounded to snoop around.

***

“Ugh…”

“My arm… it feels like it’s burning…!”

“There’s another injured person over here!”

As Cover had expected, the stretch from Heungnyemun to Gwanghwamun was full of wounded. Police officers, military personnel, and guild-affiliated Hunters were everywhere, many groaning in pain or unable to move. The situation was more severe than anyone had anticipated, prompting Kwon Taehyeok to act quickly. Cover followed closely, methodically assessing the injured.

Unlike Kwon Taehyeok or Ryu Seonghyeon, who had stayed near Geunjeongjeon, Cover had already scouted the area from outside Gyeongbokgung to its inner halls during the battle with the Leviathan. From atop the beast, he’d seen just how many had been hurt.

Some Hunters had been bitten by Baphomets, losing limbs in the process. Others were suffering from severe burns caused by Leviathan’s toxic fluids, their flesh melting away. Many were barely clinging to life, their breaths shallow and weak. The scene was grim, and the blood of demonkind soaked the ground.

Even if healing supporters arrived, the blood would hinder them from moving freely. Purifying it would require holy skills or special potions, both of which would take at least two to three hours to prepare.

Kwon Taehyeok knelt beside a dying Hunter, placing a hand on the man’s neck to feel for a pulse. It was so faint and irregular that death seemed inevitable. His face contorted in frustration, and Cover watched him quietly, a complicated expression crossing his own face.

Moments later, Cover approached with a resolved look and spoke up. “Guildmaster of Yesung.” His bloodstained hand touched Kwon Taehyeok’s shoulder. He knelt beside him and said, “We need to move the injured to the center and get a count of those still outside Gwanghwamun.”

“What?”

“I’m going to fetch someone who can help here.”

It was clear whom Cover was referring to, even without an explanation. Kwon Taehyeok had been waiting for that person too, though he hadn’t sought him out himself.

As Kwon Taehyeok hesitated, Cover smiled and stood. “Surely, you’re not worrying about how Cha Seohu might perceive this situation, are you? He came here fully prepared for things like this.”

“Wait. If someone’s going to fetch him, I should—”

Kwon Taehyeok instinctively reached out to stop Cover, concern for Cha Seohu overriding his thoughts. But he couldn’t finish his sentence. Cover was an S-class, just like him, and possibly even closer to Cha Seohu than he was.

Cover’s argument was sound. If he was going, there was no need for Kwon Taehyeok to intervene. And yet, despite knowing this, an inexplicable unease churned within him.

“Just wait here for a bit,” Cover said lightly, waving off Kwon Taehyeok’s hesitation. Before he could be stopped, Cover was already sprinting off, his coat fluttering behind him.

Watching Cover’s retreating figure disappear into the distance, Kwon Taehyeok lowered his head. A vague and unfamiliar sense of discomfort lingered in his chest.

***

Cover’s original plan was simple: slip away unnoticed while Kwon Taehyeok was too busy dealing with the sheer number of injured.

However, watching Kwon Taehyeok’s pale face as he checked the faint pulse of a dying Hunter made Cover change his mind. Instead of sneaking off, he decided to reassure him by saying he would bring back Cha Seohu, someone who could use healing skills.

After all, Eun Woojeong had already exposed the fact that Cover and Cha Seohu were acquainted. In this situation, there was no reason for Kwon Taehyeok to stop Cover from fetching Cha Seohu. With that realization, Cover figured it wasn’t necessary to escape stealthily.

Cover ducked into the ruins of a collapsed building near Gwanghwamun. He released his hidden skill and reverted to Cha Seohu’s form. Shedding his outer robes, he changed back into his usual clothes and downed a healing potion.

‘A waste, but it can’t be helped.’

Though his injuries weren’t severe, both of his palms were drenched in blood—a conspicuous detail he couldn’t ignore. After stowing away his hat, mask, and sword into his inventory, Cha Seohu emerged from the building and made his way into Gwanghwamun.

“Hunter Cha Seohu?”

The encounter with Kwon Taehyeok happened faster than expected.

As instructed, Kwon Taehyeok had come to assess the injured near Gwanghwamun and immediately spotted Cha Seohu. He rushed over, concern etched across his face. “Why are you alone? Where’s Cover?”

Cha Seohu hadn’t anticipated this meeting so soon and stammered awkwardly, forcing a smile.

“Ah, well… he had something to do and left ahead—”

“What?”

The moment Kwon Taehyeok heard that Cover had abandoned Cha Seohu, his expression darkened ominously, like a wrathful demon. His piercing black eyes seemed to blaze with fury. Alarmed by the shift, Cha Seohu hastily interrupted before the situation escalated further, “Th-that’s not what’s important right now.”

“What could be more important than this? I knew I shouldn’t have trusted that bastard—”

“We need to focus on treating the injured,” Cha Seohu cut him off firmly.

Reaching out, Cha Seohu placed his clean, pale hand gently over the one gripping Kwon Taehyeok’s weapon. The soft, cool touch made Kwon Taehyeok flinch slightly, his shoulder tensing.

“Guildmaster, hide me for a while, will you?”

[Main Quest: Locate the lab associate hiding somewhere in the event hall (Time remaining: 3 hours 49 minutes]