IRTPTA 11🌸

Episode 11

“Move faster!”

A man, clearly an Awakened, shoved his weapon forward as he dragged the captives out of the cart.

The moment his rough hand reached for a child, Kang Suho shouted.

“Don’t touch him!”

Even with his hands tied, he lunged forward at the man.

But how could an ordinary person fight someone with awakened powers?

Thud!

With a single strike, Kang Suho was thrown to the ground, rolling across the dirt.

“Brother!”

The boy’s cry rang out, but all he got in return was Suho’s painful groan.

“Hey! Didn’t you hypnotize this guy?!”

“I… I did! But sometimes, if a normal person has a strong enough will, it wears off quickly…”

“Damn it! You useless fool! You can’t even hypnotize one ordinary guy properly?!”

The man turned and yelled at another Awakened holding a staff. They wore the same hooded robes, but the one with the staff shrank back like a subordinate.

“Tch. Just my luck today.”

Wham!

The man kicked Suho hard in the stomach, leaving him unable to stand.

The younger brother tried to run to him, crying loudly, but the cultists grabbed him before he could move.

“Separate those two. This is why we’re supposed to pick kids with no family.”

The man spat his words out irritably and kicked Suho once more before walking deeper into the building.

“Saebyeok… those people…”

Kim I-han spoke in a low voice as he watched from a hidden spot. But when he turned to look at Saebyeok, his words trailed off.

The hunter, who usually showed only boredom, mockery, or indifference, now had eyes full of a sharp, burning anger.

It was almost strange to see such an expression from her.

Kim I-han, sensing her emotions stirring the surrounding mana, quickly placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Hunter Han Saebyeok.”

The touch seemed to snap her back. She took a short, sharp breath, and the rage in her eyes faded a little.

“I didn’t know you had this side to you. You actually have a sense of justice?”

“I just… can’t stand people who commit crimes against children.”

She answered carefully, hiding the real reason—that she reacted like this because of Kang Suho. If she admitted it, I-han would start asking questions about who he was and what their connection might be.

Luckily, he nodded as if convinced and looked back toward the scene.

“So what now? Are you going to rescue them?”

“I’ll rescue them, yes. But that’s only part of it. The real goal is to wipe this place out.”

“If they’re a cult, doesn’t that mean most of the people inside are brainwashed? It won’t be easy.”

“The followers inside are, sure. But the scavenger guild members? They’re not part of the cult—they’re just in it for the trade.”

“And what kind of cult is this anyway?”

“I don’t know exactly. Something like a demon. They like ‘pure’ sacrifices—children, virgins, that kind of thing…”

“They’re insane.”

Saebyeok nodded in agreement just as a personal alert appeared before her eyes.

System Alert

Buff Applied: Riding Words Without Feet (S)*

• Increases the power of all active skills under the title “Spear Master of Dawn” by 18%*
  (*Value changes in real time.)

• No effect from the title “Server Administrator.”

System Alert

Buff Applied: Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth (A)*

• Reflects abnormal status attacks with 24%, elemental magic attacks with 16%, and melee attacks with 8%* power.
  (*Values change in real time.)

• Can activate up to three times. (0/3 used)

Saebyeok’s lips curled into a faint smile.

This was why Kim I-han was known as Korea’s top buff hunter.

The A-rank weapons she’d seen earlier only raised fire damage slightly, yet his buff increased all of her skill power at once—and not just for her, but potentially for an entire raid party.

She had seen his buff reach as high as 64% once. If it applied to twelve people at that level, the overall effect was beyond imagination.

What if the limit wasn’t twelve? What if it worked on fifty? And the buff rose to 80% or even 90%?

It would be an absurdly overpowered ability.

She glanced back at him.

“I thought you only cared about your own popularity. But you have a righteous side after all?”

She returned his earlier words with a smirk.

“If acting righteous earns me points with you, then I’ll do it anytime.”

Whether he meant it or not didn’t matter. What mattered was what came next.

“Then… since you’re trying to score points, I’ll ask one more thing. I think I should make better use of your status.”

“…?”

Saebyeok stood halfway up.

“Listen carefully.”

Inside the iron cage, Kang Suho struggled to cut the ropes binding his hands and feet.

But the more he moved, the more the rope bit into his skin, refusing to break.

“Damn it…”

“Just give up, man.”

The man next to him sighed. He wore a bucket hat pulled low over his face and filthy, ragged clothes, giving off a strong stench.

Not just that man, but almost twenty people inside the cage looked the same—worn out, filthy, and hopeless.

“The enemy are Awakened. People like us can’t do anything against them.”

“Shut up.”

“Wow… someone’s got a temper.”

Bang!

Kang Suho threw himself at the iron bars.
Of course, they didn’t budge. The only thing that moved was his own body, which rattled with pain from the hard impact.

“Ugh…”

His ribs, not yet healed, felt like they were splitting apart again.
Breathing became hard, his lungs squeezed by pain.
He collapsed to the ground, gasping.

The other injuries he had gotten at Seoul Station came rushing back too.

Even though a Hunter from the Association had treated him, it wasn’t a full recovery.
Or maybe… his body was just too damaged for one treatment to fix.

Since childhood, having a broken bone or two was nothing new for Kang Suho.

His mother’s abuse.
Hard labor to earn money.

He had lived with pain so long that he barely remembered what it felt like to be completely fine.

“Told you… it’s useless…” the man next to him clicked his tongue.

Suho clenched his teeth but couldn’t move his body as he wanted.
Still, the thought of reaching his younger brother gave him the strength to rise once more.

Shihu… just wait. Your brother will—

But then reality struck him.

And then what? You think you can escape from here?

The homeless man was right. Their captors were Awakened.

He couldn’t even handle low-level D-rank monsters without nearly dying. And now he thought he could fight an Awakened?

Even if he did escape, what then? He would go back to that same miserable life.

Hiding from his father.
Keeping low so the police and the Association wouldn’t notice him.

Working himself to death just to scrape together enough for a single meal.

Yesterday, he thought of Shihu and almost accepted more help from the Association—blankets, food, supplies.
But the uneasiness in his chest wouldn’t go away, so he had only taken basic treatment and fled.

They said the Association had changed under its new leader.
But what if they were still connected to his father?
The thought refused to leave his mind.

In the end… aren’t all Hunters the same?

Paranoia devoured his thoughts.

He couldn’t trust the Association.
The police were useless.
The world was merciless.

If he wanted to survive, if he wanted to protect Shihu, he needed strength.
He needed money and power.

But how?

Gates. Awakened. Monsters.
This world belonged to them.
Ordinary people were nothing more than background scenery.

Kang Suho had learned that bitter truth his whole life.

He had no real reason to exist.

Maybe that’s why he wanted to protect his brother so badly—because it was the only thing that made his life feel like it had meaning.
Like someone had given him permission to keep living.

But now… even that was about to end.

“Damn it…”

He pressed his forehead to the cold floor, curling up.

The pain he had been holding back since yesterday—or maybe his entire life—crashed down on him all at once.

How am I supposed to keep living now?
For what?

Do I even have a reason to live?

Why keep going… in this miserable world?

Then, suddenly—

A flash of red light streaked through his mind, along with a clear, bright voice.

“Follow me!”

A refreshing voice woke him up.