Hunters Keep Coming To My House - Chapter 149

Chapter 149

The air grew heavy.

With the appearance of the Black Dragon, the already heavy air became so thick that it felt like water, making it difficult to breathe. 

This was no surprise, considering the overwhelming mana emitted by the Black Dragon since Evan’s appearance. Though the darkness made it difficult to confirm properly, if the surroundings were brighter, it would undoubtedly reveal black mana filling the air in every direction.

I alternated my gaze between the Black Dragon and Evan, my hand covering my mouth.

I couldn’t fathom why I found myself sandwiched between them, but I knew I needed to get far away from here, at least for now.

I trod cautiously, more so than when a mouse sneaks around to steal food from its nest. Though my mind suggested distancing myself as much as possible, I still wanted to hear their conversation. No, I needed to.

‘The atmosphere is serious, isn’t it? Something must be happening.’

Even if faintly, I needed to know what was going on. Maybe Cha Jae-joon was involved in this. His disappearance remained a mystery.

When I asked Jung Tae-il if he had seen Cha Jae-joon when he visited the place with the Black Ego Sword, the answer was… ‘no’.

‘…Thankfully, the Ego sword was intact.’

That meant Cha Jae-joon would probably return there at least once more. Next time, I’d ensure he doesn’t fall under the Black Dragon’s sway.

Even if it meant restraining him…

‘If he keeps being manipulated, Jae-joon might die.’

That’s something I must prevent.

After briefly glancing at the villain before me, I positioned myself behind Evan. For a moment, it felt as if the Black Dragon’s gaze met mine, but she still seemed unaware of my presence.

The Black Dragon twisted her lips into a smirk as she addressed Evan.

“Why are you silent, my light? Are you perhaps no longer willing to illuminate this darkness for me? Ah… You’ve already betrayed me. That’s why you’ve come to betray me.”

“……”

“Where did your promises to do anything for me go? What happened to your ambition to move for my sake because you loved me?”

“….…”

“Answer me, Evan.”

Her words came out barely audible, filled with deeply buried anger. Yet, one could still sense the love she held for the lover who betrayed her, amid the icy words.

Evan couldn’t possibly be unaware of the intense emotions I, too, could feel. Yet, he remained silent, merely gazing at the Black Dragon.

Observing him, the Black Dragon curled one corner of her mouth and mocked him.

“Are you here to seek forgiveness?”

“….…”

“Do you think your forgiveness will work on me now? Don’t assume that confessing your love for me will make me give up my desires. You were merely a pawn.”

“…Inu.”

“You don’t have the right to call my name.”

Emotions that were swirling around seemed to have been sorted out, as the Black Dragon, Inu, looked at Evan with completely indifferent eyes. Then, she reached out toward the faint light in front of her.

At that moment, Evan, who had only managed to utter her name, hastily reached out and grabbed her wrist.

Instantly, darkness engulfed Evan’s hand. The already faint light of Evan dwindled even further.

Still, Evan didn’t let go of Inu’s wrist.

“This can’t happen, Inu. Not this… it can’t.”

“Now, I have no reason to cherish something like your heart. So, this shoddy Ego sword is the same.”

“…Inu.”

“Begging won’t help. It was decided since you blocked my way with that child’s hand.”

I can’t tolerate this childish play anymore.

Inu, muttering softly, roughly shook off Evan’s hand. Then, she completely confined the faint light in her hand.

In an instant, the faint light turned into a sword.

‘The White Ego Sword……!’

It was the White Ego Sword that Evan had lent me once. It emitted a much brighter light than the one I had used before.

But that was only for a moment.

The sword held by Inu gradually corroded into darkness, turning black.

Evan, who was watching this, reached out again to take back the sword.

“Hah! Do you think you can reach me with that weak power, Evan?”

Inu didn’t allow it. Instead, she sharpened the black mana to deal with the intruder and then flew toward Evan.

In a fleeting moment, Evan couldn’t avoid Inu’s attack.

No, to be more precise…

‘…He deliberately took the hit.’

Even at such a narrow distance, there’s no way Evan couldn’t have dodged it. He intentionally let himself be hit by Inu…

Why…?

Feeling puzzled, I stared at Evan, who had collapsed under the attack. But Evan just looked at Inu, not retaliating.

From that sight, I could understand.

Evan is now apologizing to Inu.

I don’t know what he’s apologizing for, but Evan seemed resigned as if he had done something expected…

…Not only the sword but even Evan started to be engulfed in darkness.

Inu looked at Evan with cold eyes and then swiftly disappeared into the darkness. At the same time, Evan fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.

Completely tainted black all over his body.

Unable to breathe properly, Evan groaned while clutching his heart. And then, for a moment, he lost consciousness and collapsed.

At that moment, I felt something abruptly cut off within me. It wasn’t a surprise or relief.

It was just… a strange feeling that’s hard to put into words.

“What is this…?”

Wait… Did I just speak? Huh?

I whispered again, barely audible. It sounded as clear as if I’d been speaking all along. My confusion doubled.

What on earth is happening… The Black Dragon attacked Evan with the White Ego Sword, but… they were lovers and Evan betrayed her?

Is this some kind of drama?

“…Ugh, I don’t get it. I should go ask Allen.”

But is this sent by Allen? Is this the truth of the world or something like that?

“I don’t think so.”

As I furrowed my brows and pondered the previous situation, a system window appeared before me.

[<Mental Defense(??)>

Remaining time for skill: 00:00:29

Please escape this space quickly.]

…Ah.

I knew the remaining time well because I had been checking it intermittently while listening to their conversation. If the time ran out in the middle, whether it was a conversation or whatever, I kept checking what to think.

Since the Black Dragon disappeared, there seemed to be no need for the skill anymore, so I had been wasting time…

“…If it includes escaping from here, you should have told me in advance.”

I thought I had to escape within the time limit… Damn it…

With narrowed eyes, I hurriedly opened my inventory to check if there was something I could use.

Perhaps there might be something useful that I could use.

Thanks to having put in items that seemed useful until now, my inventory was filled with many items.

However… none of these seemed useful.

‘…Why did I put in a scrub brush and a doll?’

Well, I can understand these. But why is an empty snack bag in here…?

As I scrutinized the inventory, which could be seen as a trash bin, I noticed something strange.

“…Portable tent?”

…Why is this in here?

This tent should be installed where the Black Ego Sword is, right…? Did I buy another one? I don’t remember buying another portable tent like this…?

With curiosity, I blinked and took out the tent from the inventory.

Then a system window appeared before my eyes.

[Portable tent ver2.

New features were activated due to system reboot.

– You can move to other portable tents installed.

Just like a portal!

However, there is a 24-hour reuse period after one-time use.

And it can only be used by two people simultaneously.

Good luck then.]

…What’s this?