“Teong-!” The shovel-struck skull flew high into the sky. Beside it, Noah brought his pickaxe down on the zombie’s skull. More precisely, on zombified Hunters.

“Lots of zombies! Feels like I’m back in my hometown~.”

Riet laughed as she bashed another zombie with her shovel. Noah nodded.

“Thankfully these low-grade zombies are slow.”

“Originally they should be faster.”

Hwangrim, holding a Chinese hotpot, said. He had been protecting Park Yerim, whose strength was relatively diminished compared to the other three due to her smaller frame.

“Maybe because it’s a dream. The popular zombie trope must have influenced them.”

“Fast zombies have been mainstream forever. Where are the slow ones these days?”

“Still, classic zombies are slow. When you think of zombies, it’s those crawling corpses whose limbs rot off—that’s the charm.”

“Uncle Kidnapper, you’re surprisingly old-fashioned.”

Park Yerim’s words made Hwangrim look sad.

“I’ve never heard that in my life, little Hunter.”

“You showed up in a Hawaiian shirt, though.”

“Well, that was for the vibe—”

“You kept insisting you weren’t old-fashioned. If you’re confident, show it with actions, not excuses.”

“Speaking of actions, I—Riet! Can’t I go to her side! I can’t talk to the little lady!”

Noah, instead of Riet, threw a roll of box tape to Hwangrim. Hwangrim tore off a piece and stuck it over his mouth. Park Yerim raised an eyebrow as if to ask what he was doing.

Perhaps because many Chinese Hunters had turned into zombies and convulsions had broken out across the continent, unexpectedly more zombies than monsters appeared. Thanks to that, they were actually easier to deal with. Without mana, humanoid enemies were far easier to handle than beasts.

“They don’t have keys here either.”

Noah checked a car parked by the roadside and said. When Riet asked, “What?” he realized his mistake and informed her in French that there was no key.

“Noah really has improved his Korean a lot, hasn’t he?”

“I tried to use Korean more often. I had my translation item off in the building. People didn’t notice because I had it on. My accent’s awkward, right?”

“A bit. It’s amazing the translation item can handle even clumsy Korean. Fascinating.”

Without the translation item, communication was a problem. Fortunately, Hwangrim knew Chinese, Korean, and English, and Noah had learned French, English, and Korean, so they could interpret for each other.

“I’m glad the kidnapper is here. No one else speaks Chinese, after all.”

“Mmmph mmmph mmmph.”

“Why do you keep covering his mouth? It’s weird to watch.”

Hwangrim peeled off the tape and said,

“The leash is okay?”

“It’s suspicious, so we have no choice. They said they teamed up with a Dollmaster Transcendent. How can we trust them? They could vanish again any moment.”

“It’s unfair. How hard I worked taking care of Jini.”

“You kidnapped someone once, tried to kidnap the director once. Wasn’t Gyeol planning to kidnap someone too?”

“I swear on Jini that it’s not true.”

“Why put our uncle on the line? So what’s the Dollmaster aiming for? And why did that Song Taewon guy try to kidnap him?”

“Crash!” Riet smashed a display window with her shovel. Noah sighed and opened the glass door next to the showcase. Riet shouted, “It’s fun!”

“Well, that’s—”

Hwangrim bent toward Park Yerim. She tensed slightly and leaned in.

“It’s a secret.”

“…What does that mean!”

The fire axe in Park Yerim’s hand whooshed through the air, slicing past Hwangrim’s hair. Hwangrim feigned injury, “I’m still non-awakened!”

“I’ll just say you’re a familiar face!”

“Familiar nothing!”

“I was surprised too~.”

“Put the tape back on! It’s not helping!”

“Ah, look, a cellphone!”

Hwangrim pointed to a nearby signboard. Park Yerim turned to look. A familiar cellphone company logo came into view.

“Isn’t that right? That helps, doesn’t it?”

“Even without knowing Chinese, a logo tells you it’s a phone. Useless.”

“When you use a phone—”

“You can change the language on phones these days, you know?”

“It hasn’t been ten minutes since you said you were glad the kidnapper was here, lady.”

“It became useless in ten minutes? Reflect on that.”

“…Truly fitting for Jini’s family!”

Soon a phone appeared in Park Yerim’s hand. She couldn’t make calls. After a moment’s thought, she installed an SNS app. Upon logging in, she saw a photo of Han Yujin.

“It’s uncle!”

Han Yujin smiled awkwardly. I’d been worried after the last sighting, but thankfully he didn’t seem injured. He looked fine.

“He says he’s in Busan, Korea, heading home. Let’s take a photo too!”

Quickly they all took a photo and posted it on social media. Park Yerim shook off the shadow that had faintly been cast over her and smiled brightly.

“Let’s go home quickly!”

Then they spotted a car with the key in the ignition. The four set off for the airport to hijack a plane.

Mana is thin. The Flame Horn Lion felt its adult body much heavier than usual. At the same time, it noticed the presence of the human before it had significantly weakened.

Peace was a tamed monster. But the Taming skill, barely functional even in its spirit-form days, was low-grade, and with items failing to perform properly now, its influence was even more diminished.

The current Han Yuhyun is weaker than me. He was undoubtedly stronger than ordinary humans—he still had considerable mana compared to most beings now, but it paled in comparison to before. Above all, the difference in mass was too great. Even an ordinary lion could weigh over 200 kg. The adult Flame Horn Lion boasted a size several times that.

Without skills or item effects, even delivering a fatal wound was difficult for its bulk. Meanwhile, the human was much smaller. Han Yuhyun’s stature was substantial, so among humans he would be unbeatable. At the very least, protecting himself wouldn’t be difficult. However, no matter how seasoned the Hunter, when the difference in species mass is so severe, his chances were slim.

– Khuk.

Peace exhaled a low breath. Its claws lightly scratched the ground. Han Yuhyun, with the beast at his back, calmly but with eyes betraying his anxiety, surveyed his surroundings. It was a small, remote town. Scattered houses and shops came into view.

‘Alphabet… Russian?’

His English was top-notch, and he could speak Japanese and Chinese. But he hadn’t properly learned Russian yet. With no translation item, they barely understood each other. Since it didn’t seem like a big city, people who could speak English would be few.

Han Yuhyun slowly turned around. Two crimson-golden eyes watched him quietly. They weren’t bared in a snarl—instead, that was an even more dangerous sign. The posture of prey that must be ambushed rather than confronted head-on. In that chilling air, Han Yuhyun spoke rather than retreat.

“I need to find my brother.”

Peace’s one ear twitched.

“I understand you want to reestablish your position, but not now.”

Peace hesitated, suppressing the impulse to assert and fortify its position into action. The last sighting of Han Yujin hadn’t been good.

– Grrr.

But Han Yujin isn’t near here. It won’t take long to pin down Han Yuhyun. At the same time, Peace knew well how precious those before him were. Peace was no longer young; it had grown enough to trample and break free.

“If he made it here safely, my brother will surely head home.”

Home. Peace’s tail swung heavily and thumped the ground. It coiled up like a spoiled child expecting a handout, stretching out on the neatly laundered, cozy sheets. But instinct whispered that it mustn’t, that it must leave. The feeling pricked like a thorn in its paws ever since it became an adult.

– Khung!

But look at the human before me. Peace narrowed its golden eyes. Han Yuhyun was strong. Even so, unlike Park Yerim, who was still growing, he had the size that could lead a pack. Though he bore only Han Yujin’s scent among his kind, he was a perfectly developed adult, capable of independence.

Yet he nestled back into his parent’s arms. Han Yujin still treated him like a cub. Peace was confused. An adult should be independent. Instinct said so, yet the spot Han Yuhyun remained in was warm.

A stronger adult stayed there. So why shouldn’t a weaker, younger Flame Horn Lion also linger? Maybe that was natural for Han Yujin’s kind.

“I need his exact location. For transport, it’d be better to rent a helicopter.”

Han Yuhyun turned. He naturally turned his back to a stronger opponent. Peace growled softly. He still liked Han Yujin’s touch. It didn’t want to see him sad. It didn’t want to lose the space where it could roll around freely. And—

“Since you can’t materialize, I need to find one big enough for you to ride.”

Han Yuhyun himself wasn’t bad. Peace lifted its paws. With a bound, it caught up to Han Yuhyun walking ahead. Though it still yearned to ascend on its back, it knew that once mana recovered, Han Yuhyun would return to form. Peace decided to endure a bit longer and lowered its body.

– Kyak.

At the beckoning gesture, Han Yuhyun climbed onto Peace’s back. With red fur and a golden mane streaming, the Flame Horn Lion began to cross the city.

“Achoo!”

Seong Hyunjae sneezed theatrically. A chill wind wrapped around their wet bodies. Song Taewon looked similarly bedraggled. Unluckily, they had fallen into the sea, but fortunately land wasn’t far.

“This will give me a cold.”

In the real world, it was January. Though it wasn’t too cold for winter here, staying wet for long wasn’t ideal. If they were S-Rank Awakened, it mightn’t matter, but with their mana now diluted to a low awakener level, their bodies shivered.

“We should find a nearby town…”

“We should loot.”

At the teasing remark, Song Taewon sealed his lips. A world made from gathered dreams, they said. Nonetheless, the idea of stealing others’ belongings was distasteful.

“A Sesung Guild member must be here too.”

“If they’re asleep. We must dream to do that. Not everyone sleeps dreaming, right? And we might encounter someone dreaming of stabbing their boss.”

“If it’s a Sesung member I know, that’s unlikely.”

“You never know a person’s heart. The one before me could be very different inside.”

Ignoring his question, Song Taewon moved on. Before long, a road appeared. It looked well-maintained, so they must be near a city. A sign they passed bore Japanese characters. As they followed the road, their skin grew paler.

“I might die of hypothermia for the first time.”

“Weren’t we supposed to be immortal?”

“Then tell me if it gets dangerous. My insides are still warm, so I can help.”

“Really—”

Song Taewon fell ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) silent and instead quickened his pace.

“You seem upset.”

“I’m not. But I won’t survive by sacrificing others.”

“Everyone lives causing harm to those around them. We just try to keep it within limits.”

“I hope you make that effort.”

“When we retire, what will you do?”

If Seong Hyunjae, whom Taewon was responsible for, vanished, could he remain? Taewon didn’t answer. Seong Hyunjae sneezed softly.

“I should look for cold medicine.”

He felt a slight fever. The unfamiliar sensation wasn’t unpleasant. After traveling some distance, a village appeared. It was quiet but fairly large. The two headed straight to the shops. They struggled to find clothes that fit, but changed into what they could.

“If Han Yujin made it here safely, he’d head home. Any phones?”

“What do you plan?”

As they approached a motorbike parked roadside, Song Taewon said:

“You intended to kill Han Yujin.”

His initial goal must have been to threaten the Crescent Moon. Also to prevent Han Yujin’s body from being taken again. But it was also sincere. Seong Hyunjae truly intended to kill Han Yujin. Tugging at his loose shirt, Seong Hyunjae shrugged.

“Well. I need to meet Han Yujin first. Maybe he’ll be angry.”

“That would at least be fortunate.”

“It’s Han Yujin’s chronic issue. They say it’s gradually improving.”

A cryptic smile formed on Seong Hyunjae’s lips. A faint moon hung in the dim sky.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep