RG 97

In the shock of the moment, the final message displayed on the status window burned sharply into Cover’s bleach-white thoughts—

Current location of the source: Next to Geunjeongmun Gate

Thud. Thud! His heart pounded violently, nausea rising in his stomach. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to turn away, ignoring everything else.

Nothing made sense. The sudden sub quest was suspicious. The broken status window displaying gibberish was suspicious. Even the fact that the location of the cause was so readily revealed was suspicious.

But none of that mattered. There was only one thing to do: seal the rift and deal with the monsters. Resolve the situation as quickly as possible and return to Cha Sahyeon. That was all that mattered. Grinding his teeth, Cover pivoted sharply and dashed toward Geunjeongmun through the middle of Yeongjegyo Bridge.

“Hunter Cover!”

Ryu Seonghyeon’s voice called out from behind, but Cover didn’t have the luxury to respond now.

Screeeeech!

“Ugh…!”

Before he could take more than a few steps, a Baphomet blocked his path. Anxiety prickled as Cover bit his lip and raised his sword. But then—

Swish!

A silver chain shot through the air, coiling tightly around the Baphomet’s limbs. The creature snarled, baring its teeth, its wings flapping wildly as it struggled against the chain. Cover inhaled sharply and swung his sword before the Baphomet could break free. With a decisive slash, its neck was severed. The head, its teeth still bared in a grotesque snarl, fell to the ground and rolled. The body, now lifeless, collapsed with a thud.

Cover turned to sprint once more, but before he could, a powerful grip wrapped around his waist.

“Going somewhere?”

A chill breeze carried a faint, icy scent, and as he turned, he caught sight of flowing silver hair. The question was brief but sharp, as if demanding an answer.

Eun Woojeong, his masked face calm, silently urged a response with his piercing gaze. Reluctantly, Cover opened his mouth.

“…Near Geunjeongmun.”

Without needing further explanation, Eun Woojeong nodded. He summoned another silver chain to his hand, which extended and hooked onto the decorative structure of Geunjeongmun in the distance.

Gripping Cover tightly around the waist, Eun Woojeong leaped into the air. The chain retracted, pulling them swiftly toward their destination. Once they landed in front of Geunjeongmun, Cover pushed Eun Woojeong aside and immediately sprinted left.

The quest hadn’t pinpointed the exact location, but Cover had a hunch. The spot where Kwak Seunggyu had stood earlier during the ceremony. The pile of rubble he had glimpsed earlier.

Cover’s feet hit the dirt floor, caked with blood and dust, as he rushed to the rubble. Without hesitation, he began clearing it away with his bare hands. Even as bits of monster flesh and body parts clung to the debris, he didn’t falter.

Thud!

Finally, he uncovered something hidden beneath the largest fragment. Cover’s eyes widened as he took in the utterly foreign sight.

A flower.

Nestled amidst the rubble, it had somehow remained uncrushed. Its black stem and leaves stood in stark contrast to the vibrant, green petals that spread outward like an open hand.

He stared at the small flower, swallowing dryly.

He didn’t need anyone to explain; he could feel it in his gut. The unsettling, ominous energy emanating from it. This was no ordinary flower. The black and green hues made that abundantly clear.

“This is…” Eun Woojeong, who had followed closely behind, narrowed his eyes as he caught sight of the flower. “A flower, isn’t it?” His tone carried layers of meaning.

Cover hesitated. Could he show him this? But it wasn’t as if he could hide it now. Resigned, he let Eun Woojeong observe the flower as he deliberated.

‘What do I do with this?’

The sub quest had instructed him to destroy the flower, but it didn’t sit right. This could be the key to understanding everything. If this flower had been planted by Kwak Seunggyu and was the cause of the rift, it was an invaluable clue. He had to preserve it as much as possible, for analysis later.

However, even so… ignoring the sub quest’s directive to eliminate the flower and treating it like a precious gem was not an option. Destroying it was the only way to close the rift and put an end to this hellish ordeal.

There was no time to sit back and think.

Even now, Kwon Taehyeok, Ryu Seonghyeon, and many other Hunters were locked in a fierce battle with the monsters. Cover had to eliminate the cause quickly and join them in the fight. Especially since, while they could barely hold off the Baphomets, the massive Leviathan looming above…

“Snap out of it.” A calm, cold voice cut through Cover’s thoughts. Eun Woojeong gave Cover’s shoulder a firm squeeze before letting go. “I understand the situation, but just staring at it won’t solve anything.”

“…”

Of course, Cover knew that. But sometimes, when faced with an overwhelming reality, he couldn’t help but freeze.

Experience was necessary for flexible thinking, and Cover—no, Cha Seohu—had lived a life where thinking was a luxury. He’d only ever chased after what he thought was the best option in the moment.

“I don’t know what this flower is, nor why you rushed here to find it, but…”

Without hesitation, Eun Woojeong reached out and grabbed the black stem. With a steady pull, he yanked the flower upward. The flower came free far too easily, exposing its roots. Like the stem, the roots were black, but the sinister energy emanating from them was even more intense.

Cover grimaced instinctively. If he hadn’t been wearing a mask, he might have covered his mouth against the foul, acrid stench wafting from the roots.

“What now?”

Eun Woojeong’s tone was nonchalant, his expression unreadable beneath his mask. Cover couldn’t tell if he was grimacing like him or entirely unaffected.

Struggling to compose himself, Cover forced his voice to remain calm. “We deal with it. Just look at it—it’s clearly dangerous.”

“Still, I imagine you’d prefer to preserve it as much as possible. It’s your only piece of evidence.”

Eun Woojeong was as perceptive as ever. It was both helpful and irritating.

As he held the flower, Eun Woojeong looked up. The rift above remained unchanged, and the Leviathan continued writhing beneath it. Clearly, pulling the flower out hadn’t been enough to make a difference. 

Then, without hesitation, Eun Woojeong reached out with his other hand and gripped the base of the stem. “Let’s try this.” With no sign of doubt, he pulled again, this time with enough force to snap the stem in two.

And she pulled it with all her might. This time, she didn’t show any hesitation at all.

Snap!

The stem broke with surprising ease, as if a taut thread had been suddenly cut.

Compared to Cover’s hesitation, Eun Woojeong’s bold action was startling. And the results were immediate.

Woooong!

An all-too-familiar, grating noise echoed across the sky. Cover’s face paled as he quickly looked up. Was it another wave of monsters?

But to his surprise, the disturbance wasn’t the monsters—it was the rift itself. Instead of spewing out more creatures, the massive opening began to shrink at an astonishing speed. Its edges blurred, and the rift’s size dwindled visibly with each passing second.

Finally, the rift was disappearing. If left alone, it would likely close entirely and vanish for good.

Cover stood frozen, staring up at the sky in disbelief. That’s when a familiar chime rang in his ears, and a status window popped up before him.

Ding!

《Sub Quest: Eliminate the source of the rift (Class C) cleared!》

The notification displaying the reward for clearing the quest appeared next, but Cover couldn’t focus on it.

What caught his attention was the rift steadily disappearing and Eun Woojeong, who was holding out the now-stemless flower toward him. Despite the severed root, the flower remained largely intact.

“I still don’t know what’s what,” Eun Woojeong spoke in his usual lighthearted tone as he handed the flower to Cover, who accepted it somewhat hesitantly. “But judging by the rift disappearing, it seems like I didn’t do anything unnecessary.”

“…”

“Of course, not everything’s resolved just yet. But with four S-classes here, we’ll manage, don’t you think? Surely we can take down one Leviathan.” The words, directed at the unresponsive Cover, oddly felt like a form of encouragement.

The Leviathan. At the mention of the monster’s name, Cover’s gaze drifted to where Kwon Taehyeok and Ryu Seonghyeon were holding back the Baphomets in the distance.

He turned his focus back to Eun Woojeong, standing before him, and then glanced behind him to where Kwon Taehyeok and Ryu Seonghyeon continued their fight. Seeing the three of them in a single frame, a sudden realization struck Cover like lightning.

‘So that’s it.’

Even with a hidden skill that elevated him to S-class, Cha Seohu’s limits were clear. The more he tried to save the world, the more those limits became evident.

Before returning to the past, Cha Seohu had been confined to his sector and abducted to the lab. The few years he spent with Circle after escaping were his only experience with the world. That’s why he was so vulnerable to sudden, unpredictable situations.

In this rift incident, he had fumbled at every turn, unsure of the right answers. Even though he claimed to value Cha Sahyeon above all else, he’d left him in an alley to save others.

When the military truck overturned, he’d fainted, forcing Cha Sahyeon to use his skill. Earlier, he’d stubbornly dragged Kwon Taehyeok to find Kwak Seunggyu, thinking it was the best course of action—yet every choice seemed to lead to the worst outcomes.

But the people before him were different.

Unlike the false S-class Cha Seohu, they were born strong, armed with skills, and adept at handling “accidents” with agility. They were so unlike him that it became clear why they were the “main characters.”

‘So that’s how it is…’

Cha Seohu realized that as a “supporting character,” he had his own role to play. It was to guide the “main character” Eun Woojeong to the source, enabling him to eliminate it and close the rift. He accepted, almost with a sense of relief, that his purpose had been fulfilled as a guide. After all, he wasn’t like them.

There was no bitterness or envy in his heart—only a strange sense of comfort and ease.

It didn’t matter. If that truly was his role, he wanted to be as useful to them as possible. With that thought, a memory surfaced.

The quest he’d received on the day he returned to the past: Become allies with the main characters. It had all been for a reason.

‘So that’s why I was told to become their ally.’

To be nearby when they needed him. Inside the shell of “Cover,” Cha Seohu quietly acknowledged this.

‘I’ll have to stick closer to the main characters from now on.’

Until just moments ago, he’d felt lost. But now, after uncovering this hidden truth, the suffocating weight inside his chest lightened slightly.

[Main Quest: Locate the lab associate hiding somewhere in the event hall (Time remaining: 5 hours 17 minutes]