CHAPTER 61: ICE DEMON

"YOOL-ssi, where’s my sister?"

Oh, shit.

Yool cursed internally when the one who greeted him as soon as he got out of the VIP Helicopter was Yeon Soobin.

Wonhee told Ahyeon to land on the helipad on the rooftop of the Sarang-hee Hotel. She also said that Shin Geon would be waiting for them there. But she failed to mention that Yeon Soobin would also be there.

[Yeon Soobin is harder to deal with than Shin Geon...]

"Wonhee has already left, Soobin-ssi," Yool said, acting as calmly as possible. "As you can see, she’s not here."

Soobin knitted his eyebrows. "What are you saying? Did our Hee-ya lie when she texted us and said she’d arrive in her private helicopter?"

"Wony didn’t lie, Soobin-ssi."

Geon, who was standing next to Soobin, gasped. "Did the System summon our Hee-ya?"

Yool nodded, subtly gesturing Ahyeon– who had just gotten out of the private helicopter – to stand beside him. "Wonhee said the System is bringing her to Hunter Graham."

As expected, both Soobin and Geon looked shocked.

"The System brought our Hee-ya to Graham?!" Soobin said, his thick bloodlust lingering in the air. "Has it gone crazy?!"

Yool’s knees instantly buckled because of Soobin’s sudden outburst.

Fortunately, Ahyeon was there to grab him by the arm.

"Soobin-ah, calm down," Geon said, extending his hand to Soobin. "Bring me to Graham. Our Hee-ya might be an S-Class Guide, but she’s still a rookie. She may not be able to handle Graham in his berserk mode, so I’ll come and guide Graham myself."

What?

Soobin nodded and was about to reach for Geon’s hand...

... but Yool yelled, startling the married couple.

"Ahyeonnie, now!"

"G-Got it, Hyung!"

Ahyeon raised his hand, and then almost instantly, the four of them were trapped inside a semi-transparent barrier shaped like a dome.

Yool wondered if Ahyeon had to trap the two of them with Soobin and Geon.

What happened?

[I told Ahyeon earlier that the only person he needs to trap inside his barrier is Geon...]

"I-I’m sorry, Hyung," Ahyeon, who somehow read Yool’s mind, explained while his face turned red as if he was embarrassed. "I p-panicked."

Ah.

Yool nodded and patted Ahyeon’s back before Ahyeon cried. "It’s alright, Ahyeonnie. You did well."

Ahyeon nodded and swallowed his cries.

"Nothing is "alright,"" Soobin growled while glaring at Yool and Ahyeon. "I’ll hear your explanation later."

Soobin then grabbed Geon’s hand.

It was obvious that Soobin tried to teleport.

That got Yool nervous.

[I didn’t expect Yeon Soobin to be here, so I thought we could trap Shin Geon in Ahyeon’s barrier. After all, Shin Geon is a Guide and not a Hunter.]

Hence, he got worried that their plan might fail.

But, in the end, Yool had nothing to worry about because it was painfully obvious that it didn’t work judging by how shocked the S-Class Hunter looked.

[Why, though?]

"My skills aren’t working," Soobin said in disbelief, then he looked at Ahyeon. "What did you do?"

Ahyeon immediately lowered his gaze to the floor. "I-I can’t reveal all the details about my skill, Yeon Soobin-nim. B-But while you’re inside my barrier, y-you won’t be able to use your abilities unless I g-give you permission to do so."

Soobin and Geon looked surprised.

Yool was shocked, too.

[I mean, Yeon Soobin may not be a naturally awakened S-Class Hunter. But he still became an S-Class due to sheer hard work. But he couldn’t do a thing inside a barrier made by a C-Class Hunter?]

That was amazing.

[Ahyeonnie is cool. Does the Fall Guild know about how powerful Ahyeonnie’s barrier is? Oh. Is that why the Fall Guild treats Ahyeonnie well?]

"Then I suppose your skill will be rendered useless once you’re dead?"

Yool was shocked when Soobin threatened Ahyeon’s life.

And Geon looked like he didn’t have any intention to stop his husband either!

[This crazy couple...!]

Yool stood in front of Ahyeon protectively. He was the only sane adult there. Hence, it was his duty to protect Ahyeon. "Are you crazy, Yeon Soobin? Ahyeon is Wony’s friend!"

"I don’t care," Soobin said coldly while pulling out a handgun from his Inventory. "Our Hee-ya is more important to me than the two of you combined. I’d rather have a sister who resents me for the rest of her life than a dead one."

Tsk!

[This is the crazy Yeon Soobin depicted in the novel as the future villain!]

"You don’t have to kill them, Soobin-ah," Geon said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I reckon you only need to knock Do Ahyeon-ssi out for his barrier to disappear."

[These bastards are serious!]

"Hyung," Ahyeon said in a serious voice. "Please hide behind me."

Oho?

Ahyeon didn’t stutter this time.

[I commend his bravery, but I can’t let a child handle these misbehaving adults.]

"Wony agreed to guide Hunter Graham in his berserk mode in order to save Shin Geon’s life."

Ahyeon gasped. "H-Hyung, why did you tell them...?"

"What are you talking about?" Geon asked, knitting his eyebrows. "Save me from what?"

"You would die if you go to Hunter Graham now to guide him, Shin Geon," Yeol said sternly. "So, Wony asked us to keep you here at all costs."

Soobin suddenly grabbed Yool by the collar. "Explain everything in detail, brat."

***

[IT HURTS like hell...]

Wonhee may have underestimated Graham’s flame.

She knew it would burn, but she didn’t expect it to hurt this much because she was fine when Graham grabbed her arm while his body was literally on fire.

However, trying to pick up the rock covered in red flame was a different matter.

She only held the burning rock for one second before she dropped it. And yet, her hand was already burned. It even felt like her skin was melting off. Thankfully, it didn’t.

However, the pain still lingered even though she only touched the flame for a second.

[I’ve been reckless...]

"Chu Wonhee..."

Wonhee, while catching her breath, looked up at Graham who looked like he sobered up a bit since the red flame that covered his body was now gone.

[It was probably because he grabbed me earlier.]

After all, she tried to guide him earlier.

Hence, any form of physical contact between Wonhee and Graham would count as guiding from that moment onwards.

That reminded her of the work that she had to do.

"Hunter Graham," Wonhee said, extending her burnt hand to Graham. "Please let me guide you."

"But you’re not Ahn Kisoo," Graham argued. "Only Ahn Kisoo can guide me."

"You know that’s not true."

"Ah."

As expected, Graham must have felt Wonhee’s refreshing energy when he grabbed her arm earlier.

"Hunter Graham, please."

Graham was about to take Wonhee’s hand when, suddenly, he grabbed his head again and shut his eyes tight while growling. "Shut up!"

Oh.

It seemed like the Static was ringing louder in Graham’s head.

[Should I just grab him while his flame hasn’t reappeared yet?]

She hated touching people without their permission, but this was an emergency.

[I’ll just bow and kneel before Hunter Graham later.]

Wonhee stood up, ready to grab Graham by the arm.

But, all of a sudden, she felt something stab her in the waist and legs.

When she looked down, she saw three monster wolves feasting on her flesh. One was biting her in the waist while the other two were on her legs.

The monster wolves were smaller than the one she saw earlier, but their bite hurt.

And the monsters looked creepy.

They were the size of a normal wolf, but they only had one eye. And that eye occupied their entire face– making the monsters look... well, monstrous.

[It hurts, but...]

Wonhee still grabbed Graham by the arm, ignoring the fact that the monster wolves were starting to nibble on her flesh painfully. She just bit her lip and shut her eyes tight while giving all the energy she had to the Hunter.

[Please help me guide Hunter Graham successfully!]

And that was when Wonhee heard the System in her head.

Guiding Hunter Han Graham starts in 3, 2, 1...

***

EMERGENCY!

Fulfill your duty and protect Chu Wonhee!

What?

The Static that kept on ringing in Graham’s ears suddenly disappeared.

But it was replaced by the System’s loud emergency "ringtone."

Graham may have been sober already, but he still didn’t feel good.

[Chu Wonhee....?]

When Graham opened his eyes, the first person he saw was Chu Wonhee– Gong Yool’s actress friend– holding his hand tight...

... while several wolves attached to her bleeding body.

Graham’s eyes widened in shock. "Chu Wonhee!"

Wonhee, whose face was covered with sweat, smiled weakly at him– her eyelids heavy as if she was about to faint anytime. "Your eyes have returned to normal, Hunter Graham."

He clicked his tongue, hating himself for being out of it for god knows how long.

But it wasn’t the right time for self-loathing.

Graham couldn’t attack the monster wolves directly because he didn’t want to accidentally burn Chu Wonhee, so he just stomped his foot on the ground.

Long cracks appeared and spread all over the asphalt.

And Graham used that opening for his "surprise" attack.

Arrow-shaped red flames shot up from the cracks, hitting the monster wolves.

Only then did those grotesque creatures finally let go of Chu Wonhee.

The monster wolves swiftly jumped backwards to avoid the flaming arrows.

Graham wrapped an arm around Chu Wonhee’s waist as carefully as he could without tearing his gaze away from the monster wolves.

Tsk.

He couldn’t believe those monsters came out of the dungeon because of his mistake.

Graham raised his hand to burn the monster wolves, but stopped because of the sudden shift in the air.

The temperature dropped.

The air suddenly turned cold– freezing cold, to be precise.

And then the monster wolves started to turn into ice starting from their feet.

Shit.

[The devil is here.]

Graham nervously looked up and, as expected, Hwang Frost was suspended in the air.

Glowing red eyes.

White and blue-gray hair dancing with the cold wind.

A blank look on his handsome face.

Hwang Frost was dead silent, and that scared the shit out of Graham.

[There’s an infamous saying among Korean Awakened People that goes like this: If Hwang Frost is insulting you from head to toe while sneering, you’ll live– you might end up heavily injured, but you’ll survive. If Hwang Frost curses at you during a fight, then consider yourself half-dead. But if Hwang Frost isn’t saying a single word, then...]

"If Hwang Frost is that quiet, then he won’t only kill you," Graham whispered to himself, then he gulped. "The Ice Demon will murder the hell out of you."

***

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