Chapter 16: Chapter 15

Flash, flash, sharp light split the darkness. Apart from the fact that spark-like lights kept bursting, there was nothing that could be followed with the eyes. It was due to the extreme difference in stats.

Bang! Boom! Crack, crunch, all kinds of thunderous noises shook the entire mountain. It seemed like it might split the mountain itself. It was frightening enough to wonder if the mountain peak would turn into a valley. If left like this, it would become completely unsalvageable.

“Mr. Choi Gang-hu!”

Ryu Seo-ha raised his voice while sitting down and almost hugging the base of a nearby tree. Instantly, the light and sound stopped. The mountain was left in pitch darkness, like a TV screen suddenly turned off.

“Ugh… I almost died…”

Ryu Seo-ha’s eyes widened as he turned towards the groaning sound. A black hand that seemed to have torn through the air was protectively enveloping the boy from Choi Gang-hu’s merciless power.

‘Apostle!’

The Twelve Apostles. Those who can actually borrow the power of the inhuman beings revered by the Cult, and thus reign at the top of the Cult. Ryu Seo-ha’s expression froze coldly as he realized the blonde boy’s identity.

The huge black hand retreated back through the gap in the air. With the boy’s body grasped in it. The torn space was restored as if nothing had happened. It all occurred before he could even decide what to do.

Now only his wheezing, rough breaths were hotly embroidering the air. Ryu Seo-ha, trying to sort out his complicated thoughts, struggled to stand up as he saw Choi Gang-hu approaching with steady steps.

“Thank you for saving… Ugh!”

Choi Gang-hu overlapped his body with the same speed he had been approaching. It felt like being pounced on by a very large beast. When he reflexively tried to step back, a thick arm pulled and embraced his waist.

“Hmmph─.”

Choi Gang-hu, who had completely trapped Ryu Seo-ha in his broad embrace, buried his nose in his nape and took a deep breath.

“Haah…”

The exhaled breath that followed contained intense satisfaction. Like someone who had just drunk clear water after suffering terrible thirst for several days.

Status: Remaining lifespan 27 days 6 hours 7 minutes / Waiting to receive reward

Unlike with other people, physical contact with Choi Gang-hu didn’t reduce his remaining lifespan.

Mana 216

Though slower than before, his mana stat was still increasing. Nevertheless, Ryu Seo-ha’s complexion rapidly paled as he stiffened his body.

This was because Choi Gang-hu had started nibbling on his soft earlobe with his lips. He looked more like an animal in heat following its instincts rather than a person. A red danger signal colored his mind.

“…Mr. Choi Gang-hu.”

He tried twisting his body while attempting to stay calm, but the tightly squeezing arm strength bound him so he couldn’t escape at all. He couldn’t distinguish whose rapidly beating heart he was hearing.

Choi Gang-hu’s body, pressed against him without any gaps, was excessively hot. Much more than Ryu Seo-ha who was suffering from a high fever. Something was clearly wrong. He reached out with trembling hands and cupped Choi Gang-hu’s cheeks.

“Mr. Choi Gang-hu. Do you recognize who I am?”

He was scared. Choi Gang-hu losing his reason? Isn’t that a disaster in itself? But he couldn’t turn away and run. Not only did he lack the ability to do so, but he shouldn’t either. Because Choi Gang-hu was an absolutely necessary existence for Ryu Seo-ha.

“Ryu Seo-ha.”

A deep, low voice resembling an animal’s growl flowed out raspingly. Contrary to his concerns, it seemed he hadn’t completely lost his mind. His eyes were clearly focused too. Feeling somewhat relieved, he lowered his arms.

“I can’t… breathe.”

When he expressed his discomfort while dropping his stiffened shoulders, the arm strength around his waist loosened slightly. But it didn’t completely let go. If he tried to push away, the arms would tighten again.

After several attempts, Ryu Seo-ha stopped moving first. The more he struggled, the more fiercely their bodies rubbed against each other. He was no longer sure if the dizziness making his vision blur was due to his constitution.

“Are you hurt? The smell of blood is strong.”

The terrifyingly low voice tickled his ear. He felt all the hair on his body stand on end at the touch that seemed to be checking the back of his patient gown where the most blood had splattered. His neck involuntarily shrank.

“I’m fine.”

“You seem to have a high fever too.”

A large hand gently caressed his cheek. The touch felt cool on his skin, so his body temperature must have dropped quickly. It was a surprisingly rapid change. He wasn’t some cold-blooded animal.

“I was considering escape efficiency… I’ll heal it.”

“So you were hurt after all.”

Ryu Seo-ha startled and raised his head at the sound of gritting teeth. He saw Choi Gang-hu glaring at the spot where the boy had been until just now. The worry he had put off peeked out again.

The object of the Cult’s worship is the higher being Choi Gang-hu decided to take revenge on. Originally, he should have been gradually uncovering its true nature while researching dungeons, but he had already encountered one of the Twelve Apostles unexpectedly.

What if this kidnapping incident causes Choi Gang-hu to lose interest in dungeon conquests? He needs to obtain the elixir through the FromHell guild. As he connected his thoughts that far, Ryu Seo-ha suddenly felt self-loathing.

“Mr. Choi Gang-hu.”

The city is burning fiercely right before his eyes now.

“Shouldn’t we put out the fire first?”

He didn’t care whether the Cult’s fanatics lived or died, but innocent people might have been caught up in this. Even if he didn’t know exactly why Choi Gang-hu had set the fires, it had happened in the process of searching for him.

“Why.”

Choi Gang-hu, who questioned back in an impassive voice, nibbled on his soft earlobe with his lips. As if it had already become a habit. He got goosebumps at the behavior that made it hard to believe this was the same person as the Choi Gang-hu in the original work.

“…First, please step away a bit.”

“Do you dislike this kind of thing?”

Then would I like it? How could this kind of rubbing and nuzzling look good? He’s not even homosexual, and he’s clearly a heterosexual who will end up flirting with female characters, so why on earth is he doing this?

“It’s uncomfortable.”

Swallowing a sigh, he pushed away the large, thick body with his hands. Surprisingly, Choi Gang-hu moved away obediently and stared down at his face.

“After putting out the fire?”

“…?”

What does this mean now? Surely he doesn’t mean they can comfortably have skinship after extinguishing the fire? As he was blinking, unable to find words to answer, Choi Gang-hu gently stroked his head.

“I’ll be right back.”

Immediately after the sweet voice brushed his ear, Choi Gang-hu disappeared from sight, and

“…!”

Heavy rain began pouring down on the burning city.

❖ ❖ ❖

As expected, the scale of a cheat protagonist was clearly different. This must be the level needed to set inhuman beings as revenge targets and ultimately achieve that goal. It was a skill utilization befitting a superhuman-level strong person.

“Are you satisfied?”

Ryu Seo-ha, who had been looking down at the city emitting white smoke while sitting on the cracked rocks of the mountain peak, sighed at the affectionate question. Choi Gang-hu was hugging him from behind as if he were a child.

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Then…”

“Now I can take care of the rest.”

He quickly added, worried that strange topics like skinship might come up again. Actually, even this back hug posture was quite burdensome, but he didn’t have the strength to break away right now.

“The rest?”@@novelbin@@

“The media issue.”

Fortunately, the change of topic was successful.

“People still think you’re an arson terrorist, Mr. Choi Gang-hu.”

“Isn’t that a fact?”

Ryu Seo-ha shook his head at Choi Gang-hu’s action of resting his chin on his shoulder while replying in an uninterested voice.

“You’re leaving out the part about it being to rescue me.”

Searching various internet news sites, there was no mention of this kidnapping incident. Even though they were still talking about him being Korea’s first S-class healer and such. The Association must have deliberately hidden it.

The reason was obvious. If people learned about Ryu Seo-ha’s kidnapping, they would demand accountability for the lax management. Even if he wasn’t affiliated with the state, people drunk on national pride would pour out their anger as much as their emotions had been excited.

“I’ll do an interview.”

“Hmm.”

“If I appear like this, the public will take the urgent situation into account.”

As he smiled while slightly lifting his blood-soaked patient gown, Choi Gang-hu tilted his head sideways. He gently stroked the back of Ryu Seo-ha’s hand and put his lips close to his ear.

“Why are you going to such lengths?”

“We can’t let the guild master’s image be ruined.”

“That’s why I’m asking, why are you worrying about that?”

“Because you’re the owner of the guild I’ll be joining in the future.”

The protagonist’s public image plummeting? That wasn’t a good situation for Ryu Seo-ha either. He might have to give up many benefits he could enjoy using the original story content as a prophecy. Like the elixir, or the elixir, or things like the elixir.

The developments were already insanely accelerated. While the Cult issue couldn’t be helped, Choi Gang-hu’s image exposed to the media could be sufficiently corrected. It was a problem that could be quickly resolved just by announcing the fact of the kidnapping.

“Of course, you’ll have to resolve the diplomatic friction with Russia and the punishment for illegal entry on your own.”

“How did you know it was illegal entry?”

“…Didn’t you fly here with your flight skill?”

As he kept asking questions, Ryu Seo-ha wondered if he had misspoken and tried to recall his memory. He thought it would be okay to show he knew this much since he had witnessed the flight skill several times, including just now.

“I came using a spatial skill.”

Ah, I see. As always, it seems you have no intention of pretending to be a newly awakened level 1. You don’t seem to have any intention of hiding your impossibly diverse range of skills either.

“Can you do long-distance spatial movement?”

He should act surprised here. Spatial skills themselves are uncommon, and long-distance movement is even rarer. Choi Gang-hu nodded nonchalantly and spoke again.

“If you’re tired, shall we return to Korea right away?”

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

He hurriedly tried to stop Choi Gang-hu, who was fiddling with his hand as if he could use the skill again right now. If he caused a major incident here and disappeared like that, how effective would the interview be?

“You do intend to manage your image, right?”

“…If necessary.”

Replying in an uninterested tone while nodding, Choi Gang-hu just gently caressed the tips of his fingernails where scabs had formed.

“Then how about generously throwing out some compensation money?”

“Compensation money?”

“You probably controlled the fire range perfectly, but from the citizens’ perspective, they might claim psychological damage.”

The fire caused by the flame skill was under Choi Gang-hu’s perfect control. This means it didn’t spread to other buildings beyond the target, nor did it harm uninvolved people. It was a level of damage that could be sufficiently managed.

“It seemed there was a camera broadcasting the scene live. While doing an interview with me…”

Ryu Seo-ha, who had been continuing his explanation, froze without finishing his words. This was because Choi Gang-hu had turned his head back with his large hand and lightly kissed him with a smack.