Doing Good Deeds Will Bring Blessings¿

“What on earth is all this?” Han Jaeyeong let out a quiet snicker. It didn’t look like they were laughing because they found it funny. “No, seriously, if this was how it was going to turn out, why did you have two S-rank Hunters on standby?”

Exactly. Despite keeping Yu Hanul and Han Jaeyeong nearby, there ended up being no need to use either of them in the infiltration operation against the Truelight Sect.

Dungeons are essentially other worlds, where the flow of time differs subtly from reality. And this time, perhaps because I had deliberately caused a system error, when I returned to the real world an entire night had already passed. In other words, Yu Hanul and Han Jaeyeong spent the whole night waiting in the car, and only learned what had happened at the Truelight Sect around lunchtime the next day.

Yu Hanul shook his head. “Still, it’s a relief we managed to stop the bombing.”

That was true as well.

After the dungeon was cleared, the only ones who came back alive were a handful of believers, Choi Miyeon, and me. And the believers who barely survived were no longer in their right minds, suffering from the aftereffects of mental magic and terror.

“Lee Manbok is dead.”

Choi Miyeon alone returned carrying Lee Manbok’s head. And, as expected, the moment the believers confirmed Lee Manbok’s corpse, they went into a frenzy. Their eyes rolled back, foam spilling from their mouths. One of them even ran out of the laboratory with an improvised bomb, trying to detonate it, shouting that it would be better for everyone to die and follow their leader. Chaos erupted, and in the midst of it, one unstable homemade bomb actually went off.

Startled by the explosion, the two S-rank Hunters came rushing in. Well, by then, a few believers who had been screaming about wanting to die had genuinely been blown apart by the bomb. Still, it was fortunate that the riot, which looked like it could have escalated further, was suppressed once Yu Hanul and Han Jaeyeong arrived. If not for them, the entire building might have been blown to pieces.

“Eh, for a group like the Truelight Sect, they’ve probably already invested heavily in anti-terrorism measures for the building. A lot of people might’ve died, but the building itself probably wouldn’t have collapsed.”

“That’s such a comforting thought. So real estate is worth more than human lives now?”

It was a line of thinking only a devil would have.

Han Jaeyeong laughed out loud. “Haha. Just kidding.”

But judging by the pout on their face, it seemed they were genuinely annoyed that their busy schedule had been wasted.

At their age, sulking over something like that? How irritating.

“There are a lot of casualties.” Things weren’t exactly pleasant on this side either. Yu Hanul’s expression darkened as he watched the police searching the building. Even his voice carried a heavy gloom. “To think something this serious was happening inside the Truelight Sect. When the tip-off came in, I should’ve just reported it to the police right away.”

There it was. That pointless regret typical of hero-type people. As if it weren’t enough to be lenient with oneself, they go on about how they should have tried harder, lashing themselves with self-reproach. Sometimes I honestly wonder whether people like that lack the most basic self-preservation instinct a living being should have.

I frowned. “The police would’ve jumped right on it, sure. You said they already had a firm grip on public authority. In the end, they probably wouldn’t have been able to catch Lee Manbok anyway. That’s why I decided to infiltrate from the inside in the first place.”

“I know, but…”

“Ah, drop it. I can’t stand listening to pointless talk.”

The past is the past, and no amount of regret can change it. Wasting the present over it is pointless, especially on something as useless as self-censorship.

“I agree that it’s pointless,” Han Jaeyeong said. “So then, Hunter Jeong Daon.”

They looked at me with gleaming eyes. Every time they look at me, it’s with that same curiosity-filled gaze, and it’s incredibly uncomfortable. How is it possible for me to find both of them equally irritating? If I’d known I could handle this on my own, I should’ve told them both to get lost. Being overly cautious is a sin too.

“So, in the end, you got a confession that the Truelight Sect smuggled the smoke and orchestrated the Gwanghwamun terror attack, right?”

“Yeah. I recorded it.”

In the case of the soul core and the bracelet item, there was no proper recording because of the restriction placed on Lee Manbok. But the smuggling of the smoke and the Gwanghwamun Dungeon Break were different. And once I learned the truth, it was even more absurd than I’d expected.

“They said the goal was to let trainee Hunters experience fear, then lure those terrified young Hunters into the Truelight Sect.”

At least, that was what Lee Manbok himself confessed. Apparently, with fewer new recruits joining the sect’s guild lately, he’d started feeling a sense of crisis.

Still, something doesn’t sit right.

For something supposedly carried out by the Truelight Sect alone, the scale was far too large, and the magic used was far too sophisticated. Above all, the most troubling part was that whenever I asked Lee Manbok how he caused the Dungeon Break, his answers were vague and evasive. If it were truly something Lee Manbok had done himself, there’s no way he wouldn’t have been able to explain it.

There’s a high chance he was being manipulated subconsciously.

In reality, this was something the Enemy of Humanity did while targeting me. But I suspect they cut off the tail so that even if the Truelight Sect was exposed, it wouldn’t lead back to them. Either way, I decided to record what Lee Manbok said and hand it over to the police. Whether it was the truth or not, it was clear that Lee Manbok was a card with at least some value to the Enemy of Humanity. That alone made it necessary to thoroughly excise the rotten root known as the Truelight Sect. Once the police investigation began, at the very least, all the research the sect had been conducting would be thoroughly torn apart and examined.

Of course, if that person is really connected to the Central Management, there’s a chance the research data itself will be covered up…

Still, by watching how the government agencies move, we should be able to infer how that person is connected to the Central Management.

“I listened to that recording too,” Han Jaeyeong said, looking intrigued. “What kind of state was he in for that old man to confess while shaking like that?”

Since he’d spilled everything when I planted extreme fear in him, it was a natural question. Of course, that wasn’t something I could exactly confess to, so I had no choice but to gloss over it.

“Who knows. He was at death’s door inside the dungeon, maybe he felt like repenting.”

Now that I said it out loud, it wasn’t all that different from what actually happened. The only difference was that, instead of repenting before a god as a religious leader should, he had repented before a demon.

“Hm. I was asking about the specific method he used to cause the Dungeon Break. Still, I can’t say I’m convinced…” Han Jaeyeong gestured toward the believers who were kneeling before the statue, doing nothing but crying, even as the police searched the building thoroughly. “Seeing that, though, I do think it’s for the best.”

“That other people are falling into despair?”

“Living through small, daily despair is the ordinary life of insignificant individuals. Everyone goes on about the age of myth, about heroes. It’s time they shed those empty words and return to their miserable reality.”

Well, I wasn’t so sure they could.

I was skeptical about that. People who had already once fled from reality by making someone else’s words, rather than their own, the axis of their lives weren’t likely to return to reality so easily just because their cult leader was dead. It would be far easier to seek out a new object of fanaticism and cling to it than to face a miserable reality.

“The government says it’ll set up counseling centers, so we can only hope that helps.”

Even Yu Hanul, who had a fairly realistic outlook despite his hero-like character, looked gloomy. Right. Reality is such that even if you defeat the boss of an evil organization, it doesn’t solve every problem.

“More than that, I’m worried that reporting this might just lead to more believers killing themselves in imitation. The police won’t put an embargo on this, will they?”

“The police found the culprit behind the Dungeon Break without lifting a finger. Why would they put an embargo on it? Even if you asked, they’d probably just leak the info to a reporter they know. Same with the Management. The media’s been tearing them apart lately, calling them incompetent tax thieves…”

“…It seems all of your friends have personalities similar to yours, Jeong Daon.”

It was then that Han Jaeyeong jumped straight up on the spot due to the unexpected voice.

“Wah—! You startled me!”

That was how quietly the speaker had approached. I was a little surprised too, not because I hadn’t noticed the approach, but because of Han Jaeyeong’s reaction.

Choi Miyeon was standing there, her entire body wrapped in bandages, a gloomy look on her face, leaning on a crutch to one side.

Han Jaeyeong let out a breath and clutched their chest. “I thought you were a ghost.”

“I’m halfway there,” Choi Miyeon replied with a crooked smile.

True to her words, there was no sense of vitality coming from Choi Miyeon now. Even a thousand-year-old mummy would have looked more alive than she did.

Well… it’s not surprising.

It was an understandable situation. Her body had already been fragile, like a water balloon on the verge of bursting. By controlling the desert whale, Choi Miyeon had essentially drawn on every last ounce of power in her soul. A completely emptied, chipped vessel; that was Choi Miyeon now.

“I’m going to the hospital for an examination, and then I’ll be questioned by the police. So…before that, I came to say goodbye to you, Jeong Daon.”

“Oh. I see.”

There was no real need to go that far, but I didn’t show it. It was part of the socialization training Jeong Dajeong had drilled into me.

“Once again…thank you.” Choi Miyeon struggled to extend the hand that wasn’t holding the crutch. “Thanks to you, I was able to see it through…all the way to the end.”

Keeping what had happened inside the dungeon a secret wasn’t particularly difficult.

In Choi Miyeon’s case, it was the murder.

In my case, it was my inexplicable power.

We were accomplices, each with something to hide.

I took Choi Miyeon’s hand in mine. “I didn’t really do anything.”

Perhaps she felt the strength in my grip, because Choi Miyeon smiled faintly. “No. You saved me, Jeong Daon. Thanks to you, I fell from the sky back onto the ground.”

“That doesn’t…sound like a good thing.”

“It means I was drunk on myth and finally arrived at miserable reality. No matter how painful it is, nothing can begin unless you plant your feet in reality.” As she said that, Choi Miyeon looked at the wailing people with a gloomy gaze. “I hope they can do the same.”

Like Lee Arin, it would be difficult for Choi Miyeon to have a happy ending. As a Hunter, she could no longer really function. Her injured body wouldn’t heal easily. Her dead father, the friend she resented, and her enemy were all gone, leaving her alone. All she could do was endure this dragging, lingering pain.

Swallowing a sigh, I held out my phone to Choi Miyeon. “…If it gets too hard, contact me.” I hesitated a little, but with other people watching, it would’ve been awkward to just walk away without saying anything.

Well, she’s interesting as a research subject too…and if she killed Lee Manbok, the Enemy of Humanity might approach her.

It wasn’t because I was personally worried about her or anything like that, none of those Jeong Dajeong–like reasons.

Choi Miyeon widened her eyes in brief surprise, then burst out laughing. “I’ll send you a message when my favorite idol drops a new song.”

“Just don’t send hacking programs this time.”

“Hahaha, that hits where it hurts.” After receiving my number, Choi Miyeon smiled once more. “At least… I’m glad I’ve got one friend to contact before I die. Well then, see you again.”

Choi Miyeon limped toward the ambulance. I watched her retreating figure for a moment, then turned around. Yu Hanul and Han Jaeyeong were both staring straight at me.

“What are you looking at?”

“Well, um…”

“I hate to admit it, but Yu Hanul was right.”

“About what?”

“That you shouldn’t let the two of you stick together.”

What are you talking about?

When I asked what he meant, Yu Hanul just gave an awkward smile and pointed at my phone. “Daon, you’ve got six missed calls.”

"Huh?"

Just as he said.

I squeezed my eyes shut when I saw the missed call log I hadn’t checked yet.

Oh no. Jeong Dajeong is going to kill me.