The man was a bit unkempt, but he was genuine, without a trace of falsehood. That was why Joo Sang-ah had chosen the man named Yuk Cheol-wan. Even after their marriage, he remained devoted to his work and his family.
Though his job paid quite well, he was far from arrogant, and he would head out for emergency calls at dawn without a single complaint.
Yes.
It was the same on that day. Hearing they were short on volunteers, her husband went out to a rather distant region, and in his absence, ‘they’ appeared in our apartment complex.
“Kyaaaaaaahk!!”
She thought it would have been better if they had just torn her body apart like other Monsters. The fiends shot something invisible, torturing people's minds. The women she attended neighborhood meetings with strangled each other to death, and a father and son who were always together tore out and ate each other's intestines until they died.
I should have just died then. Joo Sang-ah, who had fainted from the immense psychological shock, was later diagnosed with mental corruption. Her body couldn't move, but her mind was alive.
Every moment she breathed, she was subjected to mental abuse. Even the dreams she had when she fainted from the pain would return to the day of the Ambush. Joo Sang-ah was in agony.
The mental corruption she was experiencing was unbearably difficult, but watching Yuk Cheol-wan's condition deteriorate with each passing year was too painful to bear. No matter how good his protective gear was, the cumulative effect of even trace amounts of poison was bound to take its toll.
Dark circles had long since settled under his eyes, and a bald patch had appeared in his once-thick hair. When he turned away to cough, afraid it might spatter on her, drops of blood would sometimes stain the tissue. So, Joo Sang-ah began to practice.
To write letters by repeatedly moving her pupils. He wouldn't understand at first, but if she moved her eyes periodically, her husband would eventually notice. From the moment they first met until now, Yuk Cheol-wan was a man who had meticulously cared for her every move.
Joo Sang-ah soon became adept at moving her eyes. The words she wrote were just five letters. . Every day was like hell, but she was able to endure thanks to her husband's care.
However, watching Yuk Cheol-wan slowly break down while trying to heal her, Joo Sang-ah no longer wanted to live. You've done enough, my dear. So please, let me rest now.
And I hope you find peace too. Joo Sang-ah was now so proficient that she could write the words even with her eyes closed. Today, no matter what he said, she planned to repeat the same motion.
He would throw a fit at first, but eventually, he would understand her wishes. He was, after all, a gentle husband who would jump out of bed in his sleep if she called for him.
Click.
It was getting late, and she thought he might not come today, but the door opened in the middle of the night. Visiting hours were usually not allowed at this time. It was a relief she hadn't fallen asleep.
When she woke up from sleep, her eyes didn't move as she wanted them to.
“My dear….”
Yuk Cheol-wan did not look well. He appeared fine on the surface, but Joo Sang-ah could tell. He was in a state of extreme exhaustion.
But separate from that, an indescribable expression was on his face.
“It’s been hard, hasn’t it…? I’m sorry.”
“……!!”
This was different from usual. Unlike the times when he would boast with a bright face that she would be cured soon, his eyes were now filled with clear water.
‘Ah….’
Is that it? They say a married couple shares one mind. Perhaps her husband was thinking the same thing.
In truth, the fact that he had nursed her for so long was an overflowing luxury. Isn't there a saying, ‘There are no filial sons at the bedside of a long-suffering patient’? It seemed even her warm-hearted husband couldn't bear it any longer.
But she wasn't sad at all. Nowhere in the world would she find another man like her husband. There was just one regret.
That she couldn't convey the words she wanted to say until the moment she departed. She desperately wanted to say "thank you" and "I love you" with her own mouth. The only words Joo Sang-ah had practiced were ‘Please kill me’.
I should have practiced other words. Joo Sang-ah was suddenly filled with regret.
Thud.
The door suddenly opened, and two people came in together. For years, she hadn't seen any faces other than her doctor, nurse, and husband. Were they officials here to confirm my passing?
One was wearing a strange martial arts uniform, and the other was in a tracksuit. The young man in the tracksuit particularly stood out. The youth, still with a hint of boyishness, had a strikingly handsome face.
He was as charming as Yuk Cheol-wan in his bachelor days.
“My dear. Brace yourself. Soon….”
Yuk Cheol-wan's voice trembled. He was so overcome with emotion that he couldn't continue his sentence. Don't worry, my dear.
No matter what happens, I will not resent you. Live the rest of your life for your own happiness. Until the day your life ends, I will bless you from the heavens.
“Let us begin.”
The middle-aged man in the uniform extended a hand to the young man. The young man slowly approached and bowed his head.
“I am a colleague of Clan Leader Yuk Cheol-wan. You've been through so much, haven't you?”
Strange.
It was the kind of greeting one would conventionally offer a patient, yet the young man's face was filled with sincerity. As if he understood my situation better than anyone. If she could, Joo Sang-ah wanted to ask.
‘Have you ever been in pain like me?’
“You will soon fall into a deep sleep. Do not be afraid, and take a deep breath.”
Has the time come? Instead of answering, Joo Sang-ah turned her gaze toward Yuk Cheol-wan.
“……”
My dear.
In our next lives, let's meet again when I am whole. I will love you as much as you have loved me, and even more. Joo Sang-ah's vision began to blur.
I don't want to show tears at the moment of my departure. With that thought, she quietly closed her eyes.
“Do I really just have to place it on her like this?”
“Yes.”
From what I'd heard, the Copper Eternal Flower and Silver Eternal Flower required an immense processing procedure to extract the rare herbs' components. But the method for using the Gold Eternal Flower was absurdly simple. To think one only needed to place it on the body of the person to be healed.
“Do you think it would be called the finest quality for nothing? It means its effectiveness is just as outstanding.”
“I don’t doubt it, since you came in person, Master….”
The man who came with me was none other than ‘Phantom Strike’ Oh Ji-ho. Bi-soo, who had been poisoned by the Gold Eternal Flower, had bowed deeply to Yuk Cheol-wan (…….) in apology and immediately contacted the black market. He had pleaded for them to send an expert in using the Gold Eternal Flower.
It was taboo for black market figures to move about in places that weren't dungeons, but Oh Ji-ho had readily volunteered. Of course, if the method was this easy, I did wonder if there was really a need for him to come(?).
Tremble…….
The Gold Eternal Flower on Joo Sang-ah's body began to tremble slightly. The five-colored light of the Gold Eternal Flower danced brilliantly. And soon, the Gold Eternal Flower began to melt slowly.
In that process, I was reminded of something special.
‘It’s similar.’
It looked remarkably similar to the process I use to extract Black Cores with Ether. Is there something similar between the components of the Gold Eternal Flower and the Black Core? Of course, from the Gold Eternal Flower's perspective(?), being equated with such a murky object might be unfair, but on the other hand, a question arose.
What would happen if I were to absorb the Gold Eternal Flower?
“Eum….”
It was a faint moan, but Yuk Cheol-wan was startled. In nearly ten years, this was the first time Joo Sang-ah had made a ‘sound’.
“My… My dear…!!”
Though I couldn't see him from behind, Yuk Cheol-wan's shoulders were already shaking. He was undoubtedly shedding a waterfall of tears. He had nicked his chin while hastily shaving, wanting to look his best.
The tears would sting the cut, but that was probably the last thing on Yuk Cheol-wan's mind right now. Although her body was gaunt from lack of muscle, Joo Sang-ah's face was still beautiful. She had a pleasant expression, like someone who had just woken from a long, sweet sleep.
It was not the lifeless gaze of the living corpse I had seen when we first met. Her eyes, now open and flickering, were brimming with vitality.
“O…ppa…?”
“Sang-ah….”
In a voice thick with emotion, Yuk Cheol-wan called his wife's name. In this moment, I could feel just how much he loved his wife. He must have wanted to embrace her right away, but he turned his head toward Oh Ji-ho, just in case.
Nod.
Oh Ji-ho indicated there was no problem, and only then did Yuk Cheol-wan, his face a mess of tears, embrace his wife.
“Sang-ah!!!!!!!!!! Uwaaaah!!”
“Oppa….”
I couldn't see Yuk Cheol-wan's face clearly, but I could imagine what it looked like. It would be similar to my sister's face when she confirmed I was fully healed. The thought of it was dizzying.
If something had gone wrong in this dungeon, I wouldn't have been able to face my sister even in death. I must become stronger. Much stronger than I am now.
I need to acquire the power to slaughter my enemies even without borrowing Exa's strength.
“Heu heu heu heu heu heu!!”
Yuk Cheol-wan was like a man half-mad, alternating between weeping and laughing. Considering the heartache he must have endured, it wouldn't be strange if it continued all night. But he composed himself faster than expected and introduced us.
“Here… this is the Hunter Cheon Hae-seon I told you about. He is the one who ultimately saved you.”
“Thank you… Huntew-nim….”
Her pronunciation was a little slurred, likely from not speaking for a long time. She blushed as if embarrassed, but it actually made her complexion look better, which was nice to see.
“I didn't do it alone. It was something the Clan Leader and I did together.”
She managed to raise her hand and grasp mine. Her hand was cold, likely due to poor blood circulation. I wanted to infuse her with Healing Ability right away, but I couldn't use my powers recklessly because of the Gold Eternal Flower's components.
“Now that we’ve confirmed her recovery, we will be on our way.”
“Please stay a little longer……. Hunter Cheon Hae-seon.”
“You two have a lot of time to catch up on. We would only be in the way.”
Just as I was about to bow to Joo Sang-ah, who was repeatedly bowing her head, something shiny caught my eye.
“Huh…?”
There was something left. A part of the Gold Eternal Flower used to heal Joo Sang-ah remained on her body. It was a paltry amount, about the size of a single petal, but considering the value of a rare herb like the Gold Eternal Flower, it was something that could not be ignored.
“Please take this, Hunter. It’s not something we can use anyway.”
It was useful for patients, but to an ordinary person, it was akin to a curse. Yuk Cheol-wan, having witnessed Bi-soo's poisoning by the Gold Eternal Flower, offered the petal to me without a moment's hesitation.
“It should be fine for you, Cheon Hae-seon.”
Oh Ji-ho saw right through our concerns. If he said it was fine, then it must be. Wait, what does he know about me to say something like that?
“You speak as if you know me well?”
“I mean that an S-rank Healer can overcome the energy of the Gold Eternal Flower.”
“Ah, so that’s what you meant.”
“Then what did you think I meant that made you so wary?”
“……It's nothing. Just a guilty conscience.”
A wry smile formed on Oh Ji-ho's lips. He's laughing at me right now, isn't he?
“I will greet you again soon.”
Yuk Cheol-wan bowed deeply to us, and Oh Ji-ho and I left the hospital. It was late at night and dark, but because of that, the stars were more visible.
“That man, Yuk Cheol-wan, is a lucky one.”
“Pardon?”
“To finally be able to save the one you must protect is something only the chosen can do.”
Oh Ji-ho, who usually pursued only practical conversations, was spouting some rather unexpected words.
“Did you have a similar experience, Master?”
“……”
What am I supposed to do if the person who brought it up suddenly clams up? Ignoring my narrowed eyes, Oh Ji-ho changed the subject.
“In the end, everything Do I-su said was correct. He really did develop a device that can predict Poison Dungeons in advance.”
“I know, right? He's an amazing fellow.”
“My father will be meeting Do I-su again soon. And he wishes for you to be there as well, Hunter Cheon Hae-seon.”
“Me? Why?”
“Because you are the one who checked the dungeon and came out. He says he will pay a considerable price for this meeting.”
Oho.
A reward guaranteed by Yaksha himself. That was an enticing proposition.
“My secret will be maintained, of course?”
“Of course. You can use a human-skin mask, a regular mask, or whatever you wish.”
“Please tell him I will do so.”
Oh Ji-ho nodded and then vanished in a blur. What will he give me in exchange for attending the meeting? By the way, every time I hear the name Do I-su, something bothers me.
Somewhere in the back of my memory, a person named Do I-su was shouting. Begging me to remember him.
Gosh.
Where on earth did I hear that name?
Pitter-patter.
Suddenly, raindrops began to fall. I don't have an umbrella, so I should use ‘Poison Step’ to get home quickly.
Wait.
What did I just say?
“An umbrella….”
Ah. Ahh.
Only then did I realize. Do I-su and I, we really did have a connection.