These Lunatics are Obsessed With Me-Chapter 172

[The core of System Channel AA-345 has been destroyed.]

[The player who destroyed the core of System Channel AA-345 will receive a reward.]

[Connection to System Channel AA-345 will be terminated shortly.]

“Wh-what is this…!”

Max Bryan exclaimed in surprise. The pop-up dungeon had only just opened, yet it was already cleared—he couldn’t believe it. But if it was Kang Yoo-hyun, it was possible, even alone. Especially with my auxiliary skill, Kang Yoo-hyun could pull it off.

"You…!”

"Haha."

I laughed at Max Bryan, who was clearly seething. Kang Yoo-hyun had already received my auxiliary skill. Max Bryan probably hadn’t expected the core to be destroyed so quickly, since Baek Si-hoo was likely interfering with him again, like last time. But for Kang Yoo-hyun, whose stats were amplified by my auxiliary skill, it wasn’t an impossible feat.

Clenching his teeth, Max Bryan thrust his hand toward me. It seemed he had intended to defeat me and seize Yong-sik before Kang Yoo-hyun could arrive. Of course, even though this place was inside the pop-up dungeon, it was an outer area far from the core.

Normally, Kang Yoo-hyun would have taken longer to return, giving Max Bryan enough time to intercept Yong-sik and escape. But Max Bryan had overlooked one crucial detail: Kang Yoo-hyun and I could now track each other’s exact locations thanks to our paired items.

Keeing!

A blue light flashed from the ring before the blue energy Max Bryan had unleashed could reach me. At the same time, something appeared out of thin air and blocked the energy.

Wham!

“Ugh…!”

Max Bryan was instantly knocked back. He stared straight ahead, eyes wide with disbelief. Right in front of him stood a furious Kang Yoo-hyun.

“Damn it… how…!”

“…”

Even someone like Kang Yoo-hyun couldn’t normally get from the core’s location to here in such a short time. No matter how skilled a hunter was, the mana flowing through the channel made it impossible to know each other’s exact coordinates, so warp items couldn’t be used.

But for us, wearing paired items, it was possible.

This was something Max Bryan hadn’t realized. He probably hadn’t even bothered to find out why Kang Yoo-hyun kept frequenting the pop-up dungeons. No matter how much information he had, if he overlooked the truly critical details, it was all for nothing.

“Farewell.”

“Ugh!”

I muttered quietly from behind, and Kang Yoo-hyun immediately swung his sword. Dark energy engulfed Max Bryan, and the blue energy surrounding him dissipated completely. ȒＡΝÒʙÈś

“Kuaghhh…!”

Max Bryan let out a long, pained scream. No matter how powerful an S-rank hunter was, those with mental skills were naturally physically weak. And this was an attack from Kang Yoo-hyun—an SS-rank. On top of that, my auxiliary skill had significantly boosted his stats.

Still, considering everything Max Bryan had done until now, his end was almost ridiculously anticlimactic. I, who had been tense, finally relaxed my body. And it was then.

"Yong-sik-ah…!”

Ping!

Something flew toward Yong-sik. It was a fragment of the blue energy that had surrounded Max Bryan. It had taken the form of a sharp blade, hurtling toward the fallen Yong-sik.

By the time I noticed it, it was already too late. It was moving too fast for Han Yi-jin’s body to block. Reaching out belatedly, all I could do was shout as the flash of blue energy passed by my fingers.

Damn it, damn it, damn it.

I shouldn’t have let my guard down until the very end. I shouldn’t have taken my eyes off Yong-sik…!

And then, the moment I blamed myself, an astonishing sight unfolded before me.

“Oh…?”

The blue energy aimed at Yong-sik stopped in midair. It flickered and crackled, as if something invisible were blocking it.

【What a petty trick…】

Yong-sik's vivid purple eyes were fixed on the blue energy that wouldn’t vanish. I unconsciously tensed and swallowed hard at the voice ringing in my head. The fallen Yong-sik had somehow gotten back on his feet and was now watching the blue energy that had been about to strike him.

Whoosh—

At Yong-sik’s gesture, the blue energy vanished without a trace. Seeing this, Yong-sik closed his eyes again, and his body slumped back to the ground.

“Yong-sik-ah!”

“…”

I hurried over and held Yong-sik in my arms. His eyes were closed, and he seemed unconscious. When I touched his cheek, I felt warmth and the steady rhythm of his breathing. It seemed he had only lost consciousness, just like before.

“Haa….”

I exhaled in relief. For now, it was enough to know that Yong-sik was safe.

What had just happened…? When Yong-sik briefly opened his eyes, he didn’t seem like himself. The sharp sensation I had felt at that moment returned, sending chills down my spine.

Boom.

“…!”

A loud explosion came from behind. When I turned my head, I saw Kang Yoo-hyun had completely subdued Max Bryan. The cursed sword in Kang Yoo-hyun’s hand was set to strike him. If it had been any other hunter, even inflicting a serious wound could have been a problem. But the opponent was a member of a villain guild—someone who had no hesitation in harming the Odin Guild just to forcibly abduct Yong-sik. There was no way this would end peacefully.

Of course, if Max Bryan died, many villain guilds would likely retaliate. Still, I was under the protection of the Odin Guild and the Alliance. The expected outcome of this plan was either Max Bryan’s death, or capturing him alive and detaining him in the Odin Guild.

But it seemed Kang Yoo-hyun had never intended to leave Max Bryan alive in the first place. The murderous aura emanating from him was overwhelming. I didn’t even think about stopping him; I just watched.

Swish.

“…!”

I felt a cold sensation on my neck. Before I knew it, a long, transparent blade was pressing against my throat. I frowned and muttered.

“Baek Si-hoo…”

“….”

Baek Si-hoo glanced at me with a serious expression, then shifted his gaze to Kang Yoo-hyun and Max Bryan. At that exact moment, Kang Yoo-hyun stopped moving and stared in this direction with a piercing gaze.

“Baek Si-hoo…!”

“Hand over Max Bryan.”

“…!”

The sharp blade pressed into my neck, cutting deep enough that blood trickled out. From where I stood, I could hear Kang Yoo-hyun grinding his teeth as he subdued Max Bryan. I hadn’t seen this coming. I never imagined Baek Si-hoo would arrive so quickly. It seemed he and Max Bryan were also connected through some kind of item, just like Kang Yoo-hyun and me.

Damn it.

I needed to eliminate Max Bryan today. But I couldn’t bring myself to urge Kang Yoo-hyun to kill him if it meant throwing away my own life. With resignation, I relaxed my body.

“You hand him over first.”

“No—you first.”

“…”

Haven’t you two thought about exchanging us at the same time?

I sighed inwardly as I watched Kang Yoo-hyun and Baek Si-hoo’s petty argument. At this rate, the pop-up dungeon might disappear. Since a pop-up dungeon doesn’t have its own portal, even if the connection were severed, we would simply end up back in the middle of the old factory district.

Still, if the pop-up dungeon vanished, the advantage would be ours—there were more Odin Guild members in the area. Baek Si-hoo knew that as well, so he had no reason to drag this out any longer. Yet here he was, caught up in such a trivial quarrel. It seemed even he struggled to keep his composure in front of Kang Yoo-hyun.

“Take him.”

“Urgh…!”

In the end, Baek Si-hoo was the first to let go of me and shove me forward. With Yong-sik in my arms, I stumbled awkwardly toward Kang Yoo-hyun.

“Han Yi-jin! Are you okay?”

“Uh… yeah, I’m fine.”

When I looked over, Baek Si-hoo and Max Bryan were already gone. It made me uneasy, but there was nothing I could do. If Kang Yoo-hyun and Baek Si-hoo had actually started fighting here, neither Yong-sik nor I would have escaped safely.

“You’re bleeding. You should get treated right away.”

“No, I’m fine. Really, it’s nothing.”

I almost told him he should be more worried about his collapsed younger brother, but I swallowed the words when Kang Soo-hyun staggered to his feet.

“Kang Soo-hyun!”

“Ugh… Yi-jin hyung?”

“Are you okay? Hm?”

“Yes… I’m okay.”

Kang Soo-hyun frowned as if his head hurt, then looked up at me. Like Kang Yoo-hyun, he noticed the wound on my neck, and his eyes widened.

“Hyung, you’re hurt?”

“This is nothing.”

“Still, you should get treated right away. Hold on a second.”

Insisting, Kang Soo-hyun retrieved a potion from his inventory. I grimaced at the thought of that awful potion taste, but in the end, I had no choice but to take it from him and drink it.

“But what about him? Did you catch him?”

“…”

Kang Soo-hyun looked around with a serious expression and asked. After all the effort we put into setting the trap, we still failed to catch Max Bryan. I couldn’t help but feel irritated. Missing this chance was something I just couldn’t allow.

“Da… d…”

“Yong-sik!”

At that moment, Yong-sik, who had been unconscious, opened his eyes and met my gaze. I looked at his pale face and asked—

“Yong-sik-ah, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Yong-sik nodded at me with a calm expression and looked up. But something felt off. Now that his eyes were open, there was something unnervingly different about him. Most of all, his body weighed heavier in my arms than it had just a moment ago.

“Everything will be fine.”

“…What do you mean?”

“That man… you’ll never see him again.”

“What?”

I widened my eyes at how calmly Yong-sik said it.