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Episode 15
Breaking the cult leader’s focus to cut off his link to the totem was good.
But for it to bounce back like this without warning—what was she supposed to do now?
“You crazy piece of trash staff!”
Saebyeok shoved the Staff of Predatory Power into her inventory and pulled out the Spear of Separation Anxiety she had bought earlier that day.
“Whatever! Kid, grab on first!”
She leapt through the hole, erasing the ring of fire she had drawn to protect the child.
“Fifty…!”
Just as she shouted, the child finished counting to fifty and opened his eyes.
He reacted instantly again, springing up and throwing himself toward Saebyeok’s outstretched arms.
Even with the huge hole in the floor, he didn’t hesitate—he leaped straight toward her.
Saebyeok jumped up like a spring, caught him in midair, and hugged him tightly.
She barely touched the altar with her foot, then flipped backward.
“<Lightning>!”
KWA-BOOM!
A savage bolt of lightning split the altar clean in two.
“Argh! You dare! How dare you defy the great Lord Votis—!”
“Kid, what’s your name?”
Ignoring the cult leader’s furious shouts, Saebyeok asked calmly.
“Kang Sihoo!”
The boy answered bravely.
“I’m Han Saebyeok,” she replied, slipping through the hole in the floor.
“Lightning lady… Saebyeok noona…”
Hearing the boy mumble, she remembered her skill description and chuckled softly.
<Skill: Lightning (S→B)>
Lightning that tears the night sky to summon the dawn is always beautiful.
From a tiny static spark to a world-shaking thunderbolt—everything starts small.
“That’s right. I’m the dawn that shatters darkness with lightning.”
Broken totem pieces and shattered wooden beams crunched under her feet.
The underground air was cooler than the ritual room above, chilling her skin.
Instinctively, she hugged Sihoo tighter and gripped her spear firmly as she scanned the surroundings.
“Crazy bastards…”
She cursed, forgetting she had a child in her arms.
Behind iron bars, nearly twenty people were tied up.
Some looked confused, others terrified.
‘If this many men are here… then the women and children must be…’
She didn’t want to imagine it, but she knew the truth.
Her blood boiled. She clenched her teeth in anger.
Suddenly, Sihoo straightened up in her arms and shouted,
“Hyung!”
Saebyeok’s eyes followed his gaze—
and met the man’s eyes.
“…Found you.”
She whispered.
The man who had vanished without a trace, making her frantic,
and who now appeared in the last place he should have been.
The strange light pouring through the hole bathed Kang Suho’s face.
Saebyeok let out a sigh of relief—tinged with mild irritation.
If only he had stayed put, she would’ve handled everything.
Why did he have to run off and get caught like this?
But at the same time, she found it funny.
The idea that this man—of all people—needed someone’s help felt strange.
This was the man who had scorned the world when he first awakened,
tearing apart monsters and humans alike without mercy.
He had cursed the heavens for giving him this power so late
and loathed himself for becoming the hunter he once despised.
There were times when he seemed like a bigger disaster than Destruction itself.
And yet now… here he was, clothes torn, locked in a crude iron cage,
staring at her with confusion.
‘This really proves I’ve returned.’
She could feel it in her skin—she had truly gone back in time.
More than seeing her brother breathing.
More than seeing Park Woojun’s arm still attached.
This unfamiliar version of Kang Suho made the reality of “now” hit home.
Then—
“Die! <Magic Arrow>! <Rapid Fire>!”
Attacks poured down from above.
Saebyeok rolled aside instantly, holding Sihoo close.
“<Arrow Boom>! <Ice Needle>!”
“<Target Bind>! Tch, she dodged again!”
Their attacks were simple—low-level and predictable.
But Saebyeok realized this fight wouldn’t be easy.
Because she was holding Sihoo.
The small boy held his breath, afraid of getting in the way.
He trembled but didn’t scream—not once.
Her heart ached. She couldn’t afford to play around.
“<Blow>.”
Saebyeok swung her spear upward.
A whirlwind shot up, sending debris from the floor through the hole above.
“Argh! Take cover! Stones are falling!”
“Where are the shields?! Damn useless tanks!”
The attackers panicked, giving her a brief moment.
She turned to the cage and shouted:
“If you don’t want to get hurt, back away!”
The captives, who had been pressed up against the bars, scrambled backward—
tripping, falling, climbing over one another in fear.
Only Kang Suho stayed in place, watching closely.
Whether it was courage or trust, she couldn’t tell.
Saebyeok gripped her spear tightly, guiding it with her fingertips—like a master performing a trick.
“<Sprout>.”
The sharp spear tip touched the bars—
CLANG!
People expected the iron to shatter.
But instead, roots sprouted from the spear.
They twisted, tangled, and grew into thick, deadly vines, spreading into the cage.
“Ahhh! Spare us!”
“This isn’t what I survived for…!”
The captives scattered in panic, shoving one another.
Only Kang Suho stood firm.
The vines shot upward, drilling through the stone ceiling at the back of the cell—
until moonlight poured inside.
Everyone froze.
Saebyeok broke the silence.
“<Glimmer>.”
Tiny orbs of light bloomed from the vines,
like decorations… or fireflies lighting a path.
They floated not only along the escape route but into the night sky—
a signal to Kim I-han, just as she had planned.
“Follow the lights! Once you get outside, the Glory Guild will protect you!”
Saebyeok had told them to call in the ‘insurance’ waiting outside.
“With their protection, the Association will arrive soon, so everyone just—”
“Waaah! We’re free!!”
“Move! I’m getting out first!”
People began shoving, tripping, and crawling over each other to escape.
Even after suffering together, they still stepped on one another to survive first.
It showed the ugliest side of human nature.
Saebyeok sighed and turned to look at Kang Suho.
Unlike the others, he hadn’t moved an inch.
He just stood there, frowning, eyes locked on her.
She had expected this.
Reaching into her inventory, she pulled out several items and tossed them through the bars.
Sliding to his feet were:
a dagger, a cloak of concealment, and a phone.
“I’ll be back soon with your brother.
Until then, find somewhere safe to hide.”
No sooner had she said this than attacks rained down from the hole above.
“Damn it! The cult leader escaped! Because of her, we lost him!”
“Then kill her instead!”
The Blow she had sent earlier to stall them had worn off.
“<Sword Pierce>!”
“<Scream of Agony>!”
Saebyeok moved lightly, dodging while holding Sihoo close.
“<Blow>.”
Wind swirled around her ankles, lifting her toward the ritual chamber.
Attacks came from all sides, but she slipped through gracefully.
No one here had the skill to catch her.
‘There are too many cultists,’ she thought.
The real problem wasn’t their strength.
It was that there were still too many ordinary people mixed in—
people who could get caught in the crossfire.
Brainwashed or not, most were just victims.
Saebyeok tightened her grip on her spear, forming a plan.
“Not this time! <Giant Fist>!”
Behind one of the guild members, a massive fist-shaped energy formed—
so huge it filled the ritual chamber and kept growing, smashing walls and ceiling alike.
Allies were getting caught in it, but the man didn’t care.
“Die!”
The giant fist punched forward, following his strike straight toward Saebyeok.
“Noona…!” Sihoo gasped.
“Ugh, there’s no real counter for brute-force attacks like that,” she muttered.
She twisted her body, curling around Sihoo to shield him—
Whoosh.
“Agh!”
Something flew up from the hole in the floor—
a black object, slicing the tanker’s cheek.
He flinched instinctively, pulling his head back.
His massive fist missed Saebyeok and smashed into the ceiling instead.
Boom! Boom! BOOM!
The wooden three-story building was blown open all the way to the roof.
“Uwaaaah!”
Debris rained down. Scavenger guild members panicked again.
“There’s an enemy in the basement!”
Some of them rushed toward the source of the attack—
but found nothing.
“Damn it, I can’t see them! Must be an assassin with stealth!”
“Forget that! The slaves we locked up are gone too!”
With no sign of the attacker and the prisoners missing, chaos spread like wildfire.
But Saebyeok, who had shielded Sihoo with <Sprout>, knew what had hit the tanker.
It was the dagger she had thrown to Kang Suho moments ago.
“Ha…” Saebyeok let out a breathless laugh.
“Even before awakening, he was already another level.”
Still just a normal person—
yet calm enough to aim a dagger perfectly through the bars,
hitting a moving target in the middle of a hunter battle.
If that’s not talent, what is?
