The moment the wall collapsed, I checked the smoke rising up and quickly pulled the Stealth Orb from my pocket, then handed it to Joo Seowon.

“You...!”

They clearly had a lot to say, but Joo Seowon was still someone who could grasp the situation well enough. After seeing Joo Seowon bite down on the Stealth Orb, I immediately felt along their wrist and confirmed the guard was there. When I grabbed their shoulder and sent them back, Joo Seowon slipped away from the front on their own.

“What did I say that made you attack so aggressively already?”

Mind Grip (A) is activating.

“Kh...!”

Because of Roman’s Skill, my entire body lifted into the air, then was slammed into the wall in an instant. I felt several fragments scatter over me.

Thankfully, the pain itself was minor, but facing off against him like this was not exactly welcome.

'Throwing won’t work.'

I flipped my hand over, pressed it to the floor, and spread ice over it.

Shhhhhk—

As Roman, who had been kicking through the debris and striding toward me, flinched and staggered, I drove ice into the foot that had lost balance.

As expected, when I saw the ice stop right before him, I slid in and kicked his leg out. Roman slammed the ice in front of him straight down onto my abdomen.

'Oh, fucking....'

I barely twisted away from it, and my collar was grabbed before I was slammed into the wall.

Baaang!

The pain that shot from my head down my spine cleared my mind instantly. I spat out the unpleasant blood left in my mouth and met Roman’s eyes.

“You should always think before attacking a person.”

“Your sense of camaraderie is really... ugh, impressive.”

“I know Chase went around doing strange things. But that doesn’t mean... I wanted him to die like this.”

“Then, kh... you should have managed him in advance.”

Coughs leaked out intermittently, chopping my words apart. I moved my hand slowly, only enough that Roman wouldn’t notice, and grabbed a fragment lying beside me. Whether I did or not, the bastard stubbornly kept spouting nonsense.

“He... may not have a good reputation with the public, but he was good to me.”

“.......”

“...You catch on fast. How did you react right away?”

Fuck, it wasn’t like I was some brainless idiot. In that situation, not figuring it out would have made me a moron.

But instead of answering, I used my body’s recoil and swung the hand gripping the ice shard hard at Roman’s head.

Thwack—!

“Ugh!”

Maybe he hadn’t expected the counterattack, because the hand gripping my collar loosened.

Then Roman quickly cast his Skill.

Mind Grip (A) is activating.

A telekinesis-type, A-rank Skill....

'Excellent.'

Excellent enough that one wrong move could kill me.

But I had one cheat key too. I just hadn’t used it much because I’d been worrying about the risk of mana depletion.

Mimic (S) is activating.

Mind Grip (A) is activating.

Soon, a familiar Status Window entered my sight.

Mimic (S) is activating.

A penalty is occurring due to the rank difference from the target the Skill is being applied to.

Will you use Mimic (S) to raise the Skill rank of Mind Grip (A)?

However, duration reduced due to the caster’s rank (B*) penalty.

Mind Grip (A) duration: 420 seconds

Mind Grip (S) duration: 7 seconds

Do you think I’d hesitate over this?

Mimic (S) is activating.

And....

Mind Grip (S) is activating.

At the same time as mana resonated, Roman’s body lifted subtly.

'Got it.'

I immediately pulled mana up through my body and seized Roman by the neck.

“Kh, ugh....”

After confirming his eyes had widened in surprise, I slammed him straight into the end of the wall.

Baaang—!!!

When his body crashed into it, the wall naturally crumbled and piled over him.

Mana drained from my body in an instant. Without caring, I lifted every fragment and poured them mercilessly over Roman’s body.

Crunch. With a vicious sound, Roman’s hand dropped limply to the floor.

'Shit.'

Chase alone was one thing, but if this bastard died too, it would be hard to hear anything good about it. I slowly approached the spot and kicked away the rubble with my foot.

I dragged the unconscious Roman out and checked his pulse and pupils.

'He’s alive.'

That was fortunate, at least, but... this put us right back at square one.

We ran here to avoid the Automatons, called for someone to save us, and then some bastard overflowing with camaraderie stormed in and made a scene, nearly getting me killed.

“Ha.... You fucking bastard.”

After confirming he was completely unconscious, I shoved him over to one side of the wall.

'How much time is left?'

I hadn’t spent much time fighting, but I couldn’t be certain. Belatedly, I ground my teeth and lifted my head.

'We have to get out now.'

Then what about Joo Seowon? Instead of calling Joo Seowon, I stepped out past the collapsed wall and opened the Status Windows around me.

But Joo Seowon’s Status Window was not the only thing that entered my sight.

Automaton 123 (C)

A being remaining in A Brilliant Tomb.

It still moves to reenact the glory of that era.

Automaton 72 (A)

A being remaining in A Brilliant Tomb.

It still moves to reenact the glory of that era.

Automaton 51 (D)

A being remaining in A Brilliant Tomb.

It still moves to reenact the glory of that era.

Automaton 99 (B)

A being remaining in A Brilliant Tomb.

It still moves to reenact the glory of that era.

Automaton 300 (C)

A being remaining in A Brilliant Tomb.

It still moves to reenact the glory of that era.

'Oh, fucking hell, this is such bullshit....'

I drew a breath, swept my hair back, and tried to think calmly.

“Fuck!”

Of course, that wasn’t easy.

Once the exhilaration of battle died down, reality naturally set in. My mana was empty, I had to guarantee Joo Seowon’s life too, and there were a fuckton of crazy dolls.

I kicked the unconscious Roman once more. With a thwack, Roman’s body rolled over the fragments.

'If it weren’t for this fucking bastard....'

But venting my anger was pointless. I calmly thought of alternatives.

The call had been sent to an unspecified number of people, so even if Roman had already come, there was still a decent chance Sung Uijae would find this place.

'But is that all?'

Meanwhile, because my mana was completely drained, my body bent forward on its own. I grabbed the wall to breathe and leaned over, slowly inhaling.

I wanted to think a little more, but there wasn’t enough time.

“Ha....”

At that moment.

'What is that?'

From far away, the Automatons began collapsing onto the ground one after another. As if... their bodies were melting down.

And the moment I realized that, I felt a hot wave of heat.

Fwoosh!

Even though it was clearly far away, this presence felt so vivid....

If I thought about it rationally, it would make more sense to say Chase Holt hadn’t died and was coincidentally burning the Automatons here. Unfortunately, I had... an ability that let me recognize the owner of these flames.

'Kwon Taehan.'

Watching the Automatons collapse like dominoes was almost fascinating. Though this clearly wasn’t the situation for that kind of impression.

Crackle, snap....

Flames leapt up, and at last, a familiar pair of shoes entered my sight. I slowly lifted my gaze and faced Kwon Taehan.

“It’s been a while.... Hunter Kwon?”

“Seo Jehyun.”

“I think we’re on the same side, but my tension, mm... isn’t going away.”

I answered with pauses between my words to hide the fact that my breathing was falling apart. Kwon Taehan looked at me with silent eyes, then suddenly grabbed my shoulder.

“Why do you keep going into S-rank Dungeons?!”

“Fuck, exactly. We should kill the son of a bitch who made me come in here right now.”

“What? Who sent you in....”

“Find Seowon first. They should be outside.... Ah, they’re biting down on a Stealth Orb, so take that into account when you look.”

“Hunter Joo Seowon? Why is he here....”

“Taehan, fuck. Talk back one more time and I’ll kill you.”

“...Your condition.”

What the fuck, asking something that obvious.

“Do I look fine?”

“.......”

After the hand on my shoulder fell away, Kwon Taehan slowly turned his head.

At that moment, stepping over the falling bits of stone, Joo Seowon appeared.

“.......”

“.......”

Joo Seowon passed by Kwon Taehan and stared quietly at me as they spoke.

“I tried... to stay calm. I was so worried you’d get hurt, you fucking... I thought I’d go insane, but if I made one wrong move, you’d die....”

“.......”

“Seo Jehyun, seriously... fuck, you’re insane....”

I listened quietly to Joo Seowon’s words, then felt a slight sense of dissonance. They seemed no different from usual, and yet they somehow felt different. I calmly stared at Joo Seowon, then shifted my gaze toward Kwon Taehan.

Kwon Taehan had fixed his gaze on me ever since checking on Joo Seowon once.

As I tried to work my head around this strange sensation, I laughed without meaning to.

“Ha....”

These bastards, seriously....

I reflexively moved to wipe my face, then saw the dust on my hand and stopped. I slowly savored Joo Seowon’s and Kwon Taehan’s gazes, then crooked up the corner of my mouth.

“If this is your first meeting... fuck, you should introduce yourselves. Since you’re both such sociable people....”

“.......”

“.......”

“Why are you acting like it isn’t your first time? How fascinating.”

Cold gradually seeped into my mana-drained body.

Kooong.

The sound of the city collapsing struck my ears again. I watched the two bastards frozen without moving, then slowly straightened up.

“Seowon.”

When I called Joo Seowon, they stared quietly at me. I thought they might flinch, but surprisingly, their reaction was calm.

“Do you have something to say?”

“Do I have something to say? ...A lot.”

Joo Seowon clenched their fist tight and turned their head to look at Roman sprawled on the floor. As I likewise shifted my gaze there, Joo Seowon’s words fell with perfect timing.

“I thought you had an ice-type Skill. But just now... you used telekinesis.”

“.......”

“As if you copied that Hunter’s Skill....”

At those words, I slowly raised my eyes and stared at Joo Seowon. Watching their wavering gaze, I asked back calmly.

“And?”

Joo Seowon slowly drew in a breath, as if trying to control the breadth of their emotions. After a moment, they continued.

“Then you can copy my Skill too.”

“.......”

“The covenant... must not have meant much to you either. Since you can get around it too....”