Hunters Keep Coming To My House - Chapter 123

Chapter 123

Meanwhile.

“…Ugh!”

With one hand gripping his left side, Jung Tae-il slowly got up, staggering. 

The hand pressing against his side was covered in bright red blood.

“…Hah, this is driving me crazy.”

Taking out bandages from his inventory, he quickly wrapped them around while catching his breath, gazing at the cause of this injury.

It was Cha Jae-joon.

Seeing him swinging his sword, his consciousness lost in a blackened state, Jung Tae-il clenched his teeth. He hadn’t expected Cha Jae-joon to go berserk in such a short time.

He shouldn’t have done that in the first place.

Sighing deeply, Jung Tae-il recalled the memory.

It was after having a simple breakfast,

Cha Jae-joon seemed much more relaxed than he had been before entering Seo Yeon-oh’s house yesterday.

Whether it was because his tension had eased or because he was confident there was someone who could protect him, Jung Tae-il didn’t know… but the nervousness that always lingered on his face had disappeared.

So, Jung Tae-il felt relieved.

Meeting Cha Jae-joon again while dealing with the cobra in front of Seo Yeon-oh’s house felt completely different from what he had known before.

Originally, he had never had such mischievous and eccentric traits as now. He used to be calm and laid-back, which made people around him tease him a lot.

Especially Yoo Seol-ah found him very cute. She would tease him with words like being popular with girls due to such a personality.

Well, Cha Jae-joon would just blink and say, ‘I see’, every time. So, Yoo Seol-ah, who couldn’t beat him, might have teased him even more.

Anyway.

It seemed like going through a life-threatening experience could change a person’s personality 180 degrees, Cha Jae-joon had become like a reed in the wind.

He used to be strong and full of self-confidence. But now, he was barely holding himself together in anxiety and tension.

It was frustrating to see him as if he would collapse as soon as he took a step. Especially considering he was from ‘Overflow’, it was alarming.

He was truly a troubling presence.

Jung Tae-il observed Cha Jae-joon scrubbing dishes roughly with his head held high. Seeing nothing unusual, he decided to stop watching and go out to the yard.

But then.

“Oh, Jung Tae-il. Could you spare a moment to talk with me?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll finish this quickly, so please wait a moment.”

Cha Jae-joon approached him with a cheerful smile after vigorously washing the pink rubber gloves and placing them on the sink.

“Let’s talk outside for a moment since it’s not something to discuss indoors… No, let’s go outside.”

“Do we have to?”

“Yes. I’d prefer if Han Seung-hoo didn’t hear this conversation.”

“He probably already heard it.”

“Well, I can’t help it then.”

Thanks to that, Han Seung-hoo chuckled incredulously. It was enough to make fun of him, but Cha Jae-joon treated Han Seung-hoo as if he were invisible, only focusing on Jung Tae-il.

The answer was already set, so it seemed like he was saying, ‘You might as well respond.’

“…Hah, fine.”

“Thank you.”

With a casual expression of gratitude, Cha Jae-joon entered the room, mentioning that he had something to take care of. Jung Tae-il couldn’t help but feel puzzled by his actions.

Yesterday, Jung Tae-il and Cha Jae-joon used the same guest room. However, Cha Jae-joon hadn’t left anything behind in there.

Perhaps there wouldn’t even be a trace of Cha Jae-joon having stayed in that room, so what could he possibly be taking?

Along with his confusion, something caught Jung Tae-il’s eye.

“…?”

Something was sparkling on the spot where Cha Jae-joon had just been.

Jung Tae-il bent down to reach for the sparkling object. It disappeared frighteningly as soon as his hand touched it.

Jung Tae-il concluded that it must have been something Seo Yeon-oh or Arvani had dropped, as he couldn’t sense any mana or anything else.

Just as he stood up, Cha Jae-joon came out of the room at the perfect time. He was dressed completely differently from before.

Cha Jae-joon used to wear somewhat loose clothes, saying he didn’t like tight-fitting ones. But now, he was wearing a snug top.

Seeing this, Han Seung-hoo, who had been watching from a distance, burst into laughter.

It was understandable.

“Oh, this is hilarious! There are two Jung Tae-ils here now.”

It was because Cha Jae-joon was dressed similarly to Jung Tae-il. No matter how contemptuous Han Seung-hoo’s laughter sounded, Jung Tae-il tried not to throw a dagger at him.

As Cha Jae-joon continued with his awkward expression, he finally spoke up.

“It’s more comfortable to move like this… and also…”

“That’s it. I’m not the only one who has to dress like this.”

“…Well then, shall we, Mr. Jung Tae-il?”

With those words, Cha Jae-joon and Jung Tae-il moved on. Although they heard Han Seung-hoo’s faint curse of ‘Meet a high-level monster on the way,’ they ignored it lightly before closing the front door.

When they had moved away from Seo Yeon-oh’s house, Cha Jae-joon suddenly stopped and began to take off his clothes.

Perplexed, Jung Tae-il furrowed his brows. Before he could ask what he was doing…

“…What is this?”

“…Haha.”

“What’s happening to your body right now? Answer quickly.”

“As you can see, it’s falling apart.”

Jung Tae-il faced the horrifying sight of Cha Jae-joon, with golden cracks branching out from his heart. It turned out that the sparkling object found on the floor had fallen from Cha Jae-joon’s body.

It was truly horrifying.

There was nothing to say. Jung Tae-il couldn’t find any words to say to Cha Jae-joon, who calmly explained his situation.

He wanted to ask him if there was anything he could do to help, but his low voice was similar to that of someone who had already given up on life.

“I’ll probably die soon in this condition. I don’t think I can hold on for long. Since you seem to be the only one I can say this to, selfishly, I want to share this heavy burden with you. If I happen to disappear…”

Cha Jae-joon couldn’t continue his next words. It seemed like he was biting his lips to hold back tears.

In the end, Jung Tae-il had to speak up.

Let’s try, even if it might not be possible.

The ‘ability’ Jung Tae-il had kept hidden.

The ability that Cha Jae-joon had been so curious about, Jung Tae-il finally used it.

Upon hearing the explanation, Cha Jae-joon’s expression turned blank. It seemed as if he was doubting his own ears, wondering if such a thing was truly possible.

With no further explanation, Jung Tae-il grabbed Cha Jae-joon’s wrist and used the ‘ability.’

And then…

-How dare a mere mortal threaten my child!

Along with a resounding impact in his mind, Cha Jae-joon began to emit dark mana.

It was heading towards the worst outcome.

And now.

Jung Tae-il, amidst the danger he had brought upon himself, wielded a dagger imbued with strange energy in his hand, adjusting his stance to be ready to strike Cha Jae-joon at any moment.

Since he was guilty of creating this situation, he was the one who had to resolve it.

With one hand holding a wire he hadn’t used in a long time, he shot it straight towards the back of Cha Jae-joon. Swish! The wire made a fierce sound as it firmly embedded itself into the tree.

However, the wire, upon touching Cha Jae-joon’s mana, slowly turned black and soon snapped with a loud thud.

It was as if a single movement was perfectly blocked.

But using the ‘Dragon Rise’ wasn’t suitable either.

Currently, Cha Jae-joon’s mana is spread all around. It was a dangerous black mana that could become lethal upon contact, just like the wire.

The black mana pillar, slowly engulfing everything from the sky around it, creating an updraft, was sealed off.

So, there was truly only one option.

“…Hah, I guess there’s no other way.”

Jung Tae-il closed his eyes tightly and then opened them again. Although hesitation briefly surfaced, it soon disappeared cleanly as if washed away.

If he were to use ‘this ability’ now, things would be turned upside down again. Remembering what happened when he used it not long ago, Jung Tae-il chuckled.

The flipped insides haven’t fully recovered yet, and if he were to use it again this time, it would be difficult to move properly for a while.

Smiling wryly, Jung Tae-il watched Cha Jae-joon swinging his Ego Sword, murmuring.

At the same time, he unknowingly crushed a small blue stone with a radiant blue light that he had taken out of his inventory.

Crack!

A radiant blue light pierced through the darkened world.

And in that moment, Jung Tae-il transformed into a dragon-like form made of blue mana, with half of his human form lost.