Hunters Keep Coming To My House - Chapter 148

Chapter 148

The light that filled the house burst forth. If a stranger had seen it, they would have believed a flash grenade had gone off inside the house.

Despite being engulfed in such intense light, those inside the house remained unperturbed. However, as the light gradually faded, they began to adopt serious expressions.

“…What is this?”

“…I had a strange feeling, and now this chaos has erupted.”

They exchanged different words. Then the eyes of the two unaffected people met.

Yes, there were three people in the living room, but now only two remained.

…Seo Yeon-oh was missing.

Realizing that Seo Yeon-oh, who had been next to him, was gone, Jung Tae-il raised his momentum menacingly and glared at Allen.

In response, Allen sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

“This isn’t my doing. There are still fragments in my hand, aren’t there?”

“Then what’s happening right now?”

“Probably, someone deliberately took Ms. Yeon-oh away the moment I put my power into the fragments. Originally… Both of you should have opened your eyes within the fragments.”

Things have become complicated.

Allen grimaced as he tightly clenched the fragments in his hand.

“This is empty now. It means Ms. Yeon-oh is currently elsewhere. It seems one of us must have intervened. Prepare for the worst.”

“…So, Seo Yeon-oh is in danger now.”

“…It might vary depending on the situation. Ms. Yeon-oh’s true power is awakening now, so the outcome could vary greatly depending on how we act.”

They can only hope that Yeon-oh is safe.

Allen slowly closed his eyes and murmured. Seeing this, Jung Tae-il slammed the table with clenched fists.

The table made a loud noise as it split in half, but it soon recovered.

As if it were new.

Without knowing the heart of the one left behind.

* * *

It was all black space.

Even if I looked around, there was not a spot of light in that space. Despite it being my first time here, I couldn’t shake the feeling of familiarity.

That dream, or rather, the space in the dream when the black dragon attacked, was very similar.

“……”

…Huh?

I must be looking for Allen, but I couldn’t hear my own voice. It was as if the sound was being swallowed by the darkness around.

I shouted meaningless things loudly again. But just like before, there was nothing audible to my ears.

‘…My voice isn’t coming out.’

Why in the world? Is there a problem? Or did Allen not tell me that this phenomenon occurs sometimes?

I couldn’t find an answer. This was a question I couldn’t answer alone.

Sigh. A sigh escaped involuntarily. I started to look around and then began to walk slowly. There was nothing I could do by staying still.

What could I possibly do in a place so dark? It would be a much wiser choice to at least find a weapon I could wield with my hands and feet than to sit still and wait for someone to come and rescue me.

Or so I thought.

How long had I been walking?

Although it wasn’t particularly hot or cold, sweat dripped down my forehead. After wiping it away with the back of my hand, I took a deep breath.

Despite walking to the point of sweating profusely, I hadn’t discovered anything. If I had found even a speck of dust rolling on the ground, I wouldn’t have felt so empty.

‘…Where on earth am I?’

Muttering curses to myself, I shifted my steps back to where I had come from… and there, in the distance, I could see a faint light.

‘…This is the first light I’ve seen in a while!’

Having been in darkness for so long, the light was incredibly welcome. Like a primitive man discovering fire for the first time, or a castaway finding fresh water, I ran. I felt relieved that no one saw me running like a dog.

Arriving at the spot after running, there was indeed a faint light floating in the air. It was the kind of light that seemed to disappear with the slightest touch of breath.

As I approached, fearing the sole light would vanish, I watched from a distance. And soon after, I had to hurriedly cover my mouth with my hand.

It was a reflexive action, even though I knew my voice wouldn’t come out.

Understandably so.

“…So you hid here, Evan. Don’t you realize that though it’s dark under your lamp, your faint light is bright to me….”

Long hair, darker than the darkest shade, capable of stealing all light, and black eyes that had no white. And even skin as white as snow, contrasting with that.

The one staring at the faint light from the other side was none other than…

‘…The Black Dragon!’

As someone who had only seen the Black Dragon, who had possessed Ellie, it was quite a shock. It was because her presence emitted overwhelming intimidation, to the point where it was difficult to even look at her with both eyes, just as she had said when leaving.

The more I looked at her, the more I felt inadequate and powerless.

‘…I can’t bear to see it.’

I needed to watch carefully what the Black Dragon was up to, but my head was gradually dropping. It annoyed me to keep bowing my head for no apparent reason.

But even though my body, overwhelmed by her immense power, wasn’t moving as I wished…

And then.

[System rebooting!]

[…]

[…]

[Reboot complete!]

[Some system functions will be activated according to Seo Yeon-oh’s current abilities!

You can now access previously blocked information.

Furthermore, Seo Yeon-oh’s ability restrictions will be lifted.

Now you can use even greater power without difficulty.

However, you must obtain the title ‘Perfect Homeowner’ for the ability restrictions to be completely lifted.

Good luck.]

Multiple system windows popped up in an instant. It was so dazzling.

I quickly lowered the window, afraid that the Black Dragon might notice me.

However, the Black Dragon only stared at the faint light in front of her and didn’t even glance at me.

‘…Does she not see me?’

Could it be that I’m in a ghostly state right now…?

But even if I were in a ghostly state, wouldn’t the Black Dragon be able to see me? Perplexed, my head involuntarily tilted.

Wondering if there was a reason in the system, I opened various things to check.

And I found the answer.

[<Mental Defense(??)> 

Currently activated.

– Blocking Seo Yeon-oh from the Black Dragon.

Remaining time for the skill to be maintained: 00:05:49

Please flee before the skill ends.]

‘…So, this is it.’

So, this skill has this function.

Come to think of it, I couldn’t access information about <Mental Defense(??)> before. But now, seeing the content displayed properly, it seemed that the information had been revealed through the previous reboot.

‘I’d like to check right away, but for now, it’s more important to get out of here before the skill ends.’

Perhaps the reason I’ve been able to face the Black Dragon and remain unharmed until now is because of this skill. Unlike before, I felt no sense of helplessness or pressure.

So, I needed to flee before the skill ended and I went completely insane.

But then…

‘Who knows where I should go.’

…Sigh.

I guess that this space is the Black Dragon’s space. If I use the ‘door leading to reality’ in a place like this, I’ll be exposed.

To use the ‘door leading to reality,’ a certain amount of dominance is needed.

If I try to use the door, surely she, the owner of this space, will notice immediately.

So, I couldn’t use the door.

Then, the only means of movement left for me… was none.

Even if I wanted to deceive myself… there wasn’t any.

‘…Damn it.’

Even as I bit my lip, the timer was ticking. Now, there were only three minutes left.

‘…Think of something! Anything I can do right now!’

I racked my brain more than I did during the college entrance exam, but no easy solution came to mind.

But then.

“…Huh, I didn’t know you could walk on your own… Evan, what are you doing here? I thought you wouldn’t come back here again… Oh, could it be that you came to protect this place? To confront me?”

The Black Dragon frowned as she looked at me. It was a very angry expression, but oddly there was a hint of sadness.

Feeling as if our eyes met for a moment, I trembled. But the Black Dragon’s gaze was slightly directed behind me.

Turning my head in that direction, there stood Evan with a sad expression.

Even dimmer than before.