"How did you get this?"

KangWoo touched the two demonic energy stones from Kim ShiHoon.

They were small compared to the ones inside El Quero's head.

There was far less demonic energy inside them, too

But that wasn't important.

KangWoo, the Red Rose Guild, and the Hwarang Squad had been searching for them for two weeks, and they weren't able to find a single one, but ShiHoon found not only one, but two!

"I first got this yesterday. I was hunting with the party members when I felt something chilly on my back. How could I describe this... Oh, you remember I said I felt a weird sense of discomfort when I first met you?"

"Yes"

"It was similar to that."

"Oh."

"So I followed that sensation and then saw a weird monster."

"Weird monster?"

"Yes. We were mostly hunting minotaurs, but its outer appearance was a bit weird. It was as if it had become tinted black. It seemed to have gone crazy."

"So when you hunted it, you found this inside of it?"

"Yes."

Kim ShiHoon nodded.

"You found two inside the same monster?"

"No. Today, while hunting, I felt the same sense of discomfort; I followed it and found another weird monster, and this one came from it."

Kim ShiHoon pointed to one of the two stones.

KangWoo's eyes sank, and he began thinking.

'He felt the same discomfort as when he first saw me.'

The first thing he thought was demonic energy.

Maybe he felt discomfort when he was around someone that had demonic energy.

"ShiHoon, did you feel the same when you first met Echidna?"

KangWoo pointed to Echidna, who was sitting next to him.

As the topic changed to her, she looked at KangWoo while tilting her head.

"KangWoo, do I discomfort you?"

"No, that's not it."

"No. Although I met Ms. Echidna for the first time today... I didn't feel that kind of discomfort."

"I see."

It wasn't demonic energy.

Echidna was different from demons, but she still had demonic energy.

'Then...'

Leaving demonic energy aside, what did he have in common with monsters?

Nothing immediately came to his mind.

He kept thinking.

At that moment, he remembered Kim ShiHoon saying that the minotaur was tainted black.

'Was it in the process of becoming a demonic monster?'

If demonic energy turned humans into demons, it wouldn't be weird if it made monsters become demonic monsters.

The words demonic monster made him think about the hellhound and the buer.

"Ah."

He let out a short exclamation.

It was as if he'd managed to complete a puzzle.

'Fissure Fragments.'

When he killed demonic monsters, he received messages saying he'd killed Fissure Fragments.

And when hed arrived on Earth, he remembered hearing that a Fissure Nucleus had appeared.

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Fissure Fragment and Nucleus

There was no way those two words weren't related.

'Kim ShiHoon subconsciously feels discomfort at the presence of a being that's a fissure.'

It made sense.

Kim ShiHoon had been chosen by the Gaia System, a transcendent being that was able to seal KangWoo's strength.

ShiHoons role was to become the protector

A being that could replace the Gaia System.

'If the Gaia System was the thing that was blocking the Fissure Fragments'

It wouldn't be weird to feel a sense of discomfort.

'So, the Demon Cult is creating Fissure Fragments on purpose?'

He thought he was starting to understand why they were putting those stones inside monsters.

A smile appeared on his face.

He wasn't sure why they were trying to create Fissure Fragments

But he was sure that Kim ShiHoon would be able to find them.

Rather than trying to find a needle in the middle of a desert, it was more effective to use a metal detector.

If it were Kim ShiHoon, he would probably be able to find monsters with demonic energy stones planted inside them from a distance.

"ShiHoon."

KangWoo grabbed ShiHoon's hands.

KangWoo had never felt as proud of Kim ShiHoon as he did at that moment.

It was the first time he thought that it had been worth how much he'd invested in him.

"Hyeonngnim?"

"You're going to have to help me."

"As long as I can be of help to Hyeongnim, I'll do it... But what do you want me to do?"

"You don't need to do anything other than following me."

"What?"

"You're going to be helpful just by staying at my side."

He was just like a human navigation system.

Just guiding KangWoo in the direction he felt discomfort from would be enough.

Of course, in the future, he would probably be able to do more than serve as a navigation system.

KangWoo thought about the words he'd used.

'Damn.'

KangWoo separated his hands from Kim ShiHoon's.

"Hyeongnim, if you say so..."

'Don't blush.'

"I'll do my best. After all, I already decided to follow Hyeongnim."

'Hey, don't blush.'

He covered his face with his two hands and regretted what he had just said, but it was already too late.

'How should I explain this?'

KangWoo couldn't help but remember Han Seol-ah's pale face..

* * *

"Then I'll meet you tomorrow afternoon."

"Okay, take care on your way back."

"Hyeongnim! Can't I follow you?!"

"I told you; tomorrow, we're going to A-rank gates onwards. The more people I have to protect, the more dangerous it will become."

"Ugh..."

"Then can you be of help against A-rank monsters?"

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"N-not yet."

"Then you know what you have to do, right?"

"Ugh... Okay. KangWoo, I, Kang TaeSoo, will desist this time, but I won't give up!"

"Okay. I'll be waiting for it."

KangWoo laughed.

He clarified things so there wouldn't be any misunderstandings; then he said farewell to Kim ShiHoon, TaeSoo and EunBi.

If it were just him, he'd go immediately to a gate, but there were many things he had to do.

'I'm going to try to create an effective line-up.'

There were many gates.

Going mindlessly around the gates that were near wouldn't be very effective.

It would be better to explain things to Chae YeonJoo and Baek HwaYeon and determine the most effective route.

'I'll have to visit the Red Rose Guild.'

The Red Rose Guild wasn't that far away from there.

KangWoo turned his head to Seol-ah and Echidna.

"I'll go visit the Red Rose Guild. I could be late."

"Isn't there anything I can do?"

"Not yet."

If there were too many crewmates, it would only make the ship go to the mountains.

To increase effectiveness, he didn't need that many members.

Seol-ah and Echidna looked disappointed but nodded.

"Then I'll go inside. Be careful, and good luck."

"Thanks."

After waving his hand, KangWoo turned around.

Echidna and Seol-ah waited until KangWoo couldn't be seen anymore.

"Seol-ah, you look sad."

"Fufu. It's nothing."

Han Seol-ah patted Echidna.

Echidna grabbed Han Seol-ah's clothes.

"It's okay. KangWoo feels thankful to you. I know it since I'm connected to KangWoo."

"R-really...?"

Han Seol-ah smiled while blushing.

She grabbed Echidna's hands.

"Let's go inside. I'll make whatever you want."

"Hng! Hng! I like steak!"

"Fufu. Okay. Then let's go to the mart..."

Han Seol-ah suddenly stopped speaking. Her expression hardened.

"Who are you?"

Suddenly, a group of men wearing red masks appeared.

"Who are you?"

A group of 12 men wearing red masks and dark robes that seemed to melt into the darkness surrounded them.

"Who are we?"

"You don't need to say that."

They kept talking.

"We only want one thing"

"Your lives."

"What you must do right now"

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"Is call that person."

Each said one thing.

They moved and talked as if they were only one entity.

"To call that person...?"

"Oh KangWoo."

"Call the man you follow."

"...Then your role ends."

Han Seol-ah bit her lips.

"I can't call him. I don't know who you are, but I won't follow so"

"Should I call KangWoo?"

"E-Echidna?!"

"Wait, I'll call him."

Echidna closed her eyes as if she couldn't understand the current situation.

She called him through the connection a summoned monster had with the summoner.

"KangWoo is going to arrive soon."

"You seem to understand fast."

The red masked man began laughing.

KangWoo, who had been going to the Red Rose Guild, soon appeared.

"Who are you?" KangWoo asked in a low voice while looking at the men surrounding Han Seol-ah and Echidna.

"You don't need to know who we are"

"Just follow our orders"

"If you want a painless death."

KangWoo looked at the red-mask-wearing men with great interest.

"Are you members of the Demon Cult?"

"We have no reason to answer."

"You're the one who must answer."

"What an idiotic way of speaking."

KangWoo started to laugh in disbelief.

Echidna and Han Seol-ah were surrounded by them, but he didn't seem to mind.

The red-masked men remained silent after seeing his relaxed attitude.

"Just like that person said, you're rude."

"Someone who doesn't know how the world works."

"You probably think you have everything since you're under Chae YeonJoo"

"But we'll make you realize how big the world truly is."

The men moved behind Echidna and Han Seol-ah and grabbed them from behind.

They aimed shortswords at them.

"Be careful," KangWoo said.

They started to laugh.

"It's already too late. Nothing will change even if they're careful."

"No. That's not it..."

A smile appeared on KangWoo's face.

"I'm talking about you guys."

"...?"

Crack-!!

Echidna, who transformed her left arm into a dragon's, hit the one that had grabbed her from behind violently.

The man was pushed behind as the sound of his bones breaking sounded out.

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"Don't grab me."

Echidna glared at them coldly.

"Only KangWoo can touch this body."