Chapter 15
The forest was shrouded in thick fog.
At the sound of rustling brush, Han Seorin unfurled her whip and began scanning her surroundings.
-Thud! Thud!
Through the thick fog, she could faintly make out densely packed old trees.
But the fog was so dense she couldn't see an inch beyond them.
Hearing footsteps coming from all directions, Han Seorin began breathing heavily, as if panicking.
Sweat beaded on her forehead, and just as her heart began pounding like mad,
Asmode's voice rang calmly in Han Seorin's head.
“Han Seorin, can you hear me?”
“Hah, hah……. I can. Lord Asmode. I think something's happened to me.”
“I know. I'm watching everything. First, calm down. Steady your breathing, activate the devil's power, and do as I tell you.”
“……Ugh, all right!”
Terrified, Han Seorin took a deep breath and calmed herself.
Her mind grew clearer, and she gritted her teeth and unleashed the devil's power.
Her eyes turned red, and a black aura began emanating from her body.
Just as all of Han Seorin's senses sharpened, Asmode shouted.
“……Right!”
-Whoosh!
At Asmode's words, Han Seorin swung her whip hard to the right.
The black body of a gorilla-like devil leaping at her was cut in half.
-Kieeeek……!
“Now northeast! The one crawling toward you!”
“……Got it!”
-Slash!
“They're coming at you from both sides and the front. Dodge backward and attack exactly two seconds from now!”
“One second, two seconds……!”
-Whoosh!
As Han Seorin leaped backward, the gorilla devils charging from three directions collided with one another.
She seized the opening, slammed her whip against the ground, and used the recoil to sweep it in a wide arc.
The devils' heads were cleanly sliced off, and fountains of dark red blood began spraying out.
[Remaining Survival Time: 7 minutes 41 seconds]
[Remaining Survival Time: 8 minutes 12 seconds]
[Remaining Survival Time: 9 minutes 53 seconds]
Asmode watched Han Seorin through the mirror.
Seeing Han Seorin's remaining survival time rise with every devil she killed, she continued reporting their positions to her.
Asmode instantly read the movements of the frenzied devils and thought,
‘There must be dozens of devils. At this rate, Han Seorin will definitely……!’
-Whoosh! Whoosh……!
Han Seorin's whip began to move noticeably slower.
The remains of devils were scattered around her, but they kept charging at her without any sign of giving up.
“Damn it. They just keep coming……”
[Remaining Survival Time: 8 minutes 43 seconds]
[Remaining Survival Time: 7 minutes 59 seconds]
[Remaining Survival Time: 6 minutes 41 seconds]
“Han Seorin, hang in there, even if it's hard! Draw out the devil's power as much as you can! Your life comes first right now!”
“……You're finally giving me permission. Then let's get serious.”
Just as Han Seorin staggered,
the black aura enveloping her grew thicker, clearing the fog around her.
At last, when the dense fog lifted, Han Seorin could see the devils charging at her.
“……Found you!”
-Slice! Slice! Slice!
Without hesitation, she swung her whip and charged forward, beginning to slaughter the devils.
As she unleashed the devil's power to its fullest, she let out an unsettling laugh each time she chopped one apart.
“Kukuku, kahaha. Hahahahaha……!”
-Slash!
At last, just as she decapitated the last remaining gorilla devil,
Han Seorin, her clothes drenched in devil's blood, continued lashing the devil's corpse with her whip.
-Slash! Slash!
Unable to bear watching any longer, Asmode shouted at Han Seorin.
“Han Seorin. It's over! What are you doing!? Snap out of it!”
“Huh……. Huh?”
Han Seorin came to her senses at Asmode's shout.
She clutched her forehead as a sudden headache struck, then her legs gave out and she collapsed.
The moment Han Seorin's eyes returned to their original color and the aura surrounding her body vanished,
a status window appeared before Asmode's eyes as she watched anxiously from beyond the mirror.
[Remaining Survival Time: No abnormalities]
[Soul erosion rate for ‘Han Seorin’ has risen from 35% to 52%!]
[Notification: The soul erosion rate for ‘Han Seorin’ has exceeded 50%.]
[An abnormality has occurred in ‘Han Seorin’!]
‘An abnormality……?’
Just as Asmode was flustered by the cryptic message, she sensed something approaching Han Seorin again.
She swallowed hard and glared into the mirror.
……The one approaching Han Seorin was none other than Baek Seol-a, holding a laser gun.
“Ms. Han Seorin, there you are! I've been looking for you ever since we entered the Gate. It seems we ended up in different locations.”
“……”
Baek Seol-a hung the laser gun at her waist and approached Han Seorin, who was sitting on the ground.
Looking at the devil corpses scattered around Han Seorin and the blood on her uniform, she smiled with interest.
“Hmm, you took down all these devils. The more I see you, the more fascinating you are, Ms. Han Seorin. You always manage to achieve impressive results.”
“……Stay back.”
“Huh? What was that? I couldn't hear you……”
-Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.
-Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.
-Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.
-Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.
-Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.
“I said stay back……!”
-Slash!
“……Huh?”
Han Seorin, tormented by the hallucinations whispering in her ear, came back to her senses.
The moment she lifted her head, despair washed over her.
“M-Ms. Han Seorin……”
“……Team Leader Baek Seol-a!”
Han Seorin's whip had accidentally grazed Baek Seol-a's abdomen.
Baek Seol-a clutched her bleeding stomach and collapsed unconscious onto the ground.
“W-What are you doing?! Han Seorin……!”
“……No. I-I thought you were a devil. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry!”
At Asmode's words, Han Seorin let tears roll down her cheeks and hooked her whip at her waist.
Seeing the clear sky-blue color of Baek Seol-a's eyes grow cloudy,
Han Seorin trembled like a leaf and scrambled to her feet.
Then she hurriedly supported Baek Seol-a and began making her way out of the Gate.
……It was the moment she felt firsthand the price of unleashing the devil's power.
*
Lunchtime, infirmary at Devil Hunter Association headquarters.
Han Seorin came clean to the Association staff about the reason Baek Seol-a had been seriously injured.
“So, you swung your whip and accidentally hit Team Leader Baek Seol-a……?”
“……Yes. That's right. I'm truly sorry. Please give me whatever punishment I deserve.”
“Well, even if you ask us to punish you……”
The Association staff member looked at Han Seorin suspiciously.
“Team Leader Baek Seol-a has a barrier ability, too. She should have been able to block your attack.”
“I know it's hard to believe, but it's true. I injured Team Leader Baek Seol-a……”
“For now, I understand your statement, Ms. Han Seorin. Team Leader Baek Seol-a's injuries aren't life-threatening, so let's determine what happened after she wakes up.”
“No, I'm telling you it's true! Are you really more willing to believe low-ranking devils could have injured Team Leader Baek Seol-a than that I might have?”
“……P-please calm down for now.”
While Han Seorin and the Association staff member argued,
Baek Seol-a, lying in bed, slowly opened her eyes, looked at the staff member, and spoke.
“It wasn't Ms. Han Seorin's fault. I was careless and got injured by the devils. Honestly, I was too complacent because I thought the Gate only had low-rank devils.”
“……That's what she says, Ms. Han Seorin.”
“……!”
Han Seorin felt relieved to see Baek Seol-a awake, but at the same time, she was confused.
……Why was she defending the person who had injured her?
In a situation she couldn't understand at all,
Baek Seol-a smiled with her eyes at Han Seorin and continued in a kind voice.
“Good work, Ms. Han Seorin. Although the mission ended in failure, I'm satisfied to have seen your potential. Honestly, it's hard to believe you're a C-Rank Devil Hunter. Oh, you're B-Rank now, aren't you?”
“……Why.”
“Excuse me, could you take Ms. Han Seorin to Suite Room 204? It seems she's traumatized because I got hurt.”
“Why are you defending me, Team Leader?!”
Baek Seol-a ignored Han Seorin's words, gave a small nod, and signaled to the staff member.
The Association staff member placed a hand on Han Seorin's shoulder and began escorting her to the suite.
Han Seorin was confused, but she couldn't refuse the words of the person she'd injured.
Before long, Baek Seol-a was left alone in the hospital room.
She pressed a hand to her forehead, sighed, then began feeling around in the pocket of her gown with the other hand.
Then she pulled out a voice recorder.
……It was connected to the bug Baek Seol-a had planted by patting Han Seorin's shoulder when she got into her car.
‘……She was far more interesting than I'd expected.’
Baek Seol-a put an earpiece in her ear and began listening to Han Seorin's voice playing from the recorder.
-Hah, hah……. I can. Lord Asmode. I think something's happened to me.
-(Static)
-Ugh, all right!
.
.
.
-(Static)
-You're finally giving me permission. Then let's get serious.
‘Ms. Han Seorin, who exactly were you talking to? And who in the world is Asmode?’
Though she couldn't figure everything out from this recording alone, Baek Seol-a became certain of one thing.
……That Asmode was the source granting Han Seorin her power.
‘Hehe, I can't wait to see what happens next.’
Baek Seol-a pushed up the frame of her glasses and made a vow.
……Someday, she would uncover Asmode's identity and make use of Asmode's power.
It was the moment Baek Seol-a's dull daily life became interesting.