Chapter 142

“Hey, you...!”

Roy had a pretty good idea what Han Gyeol wanted to say.

He must be thinking, What the hell is this crazy guy doing right now?

I didn’t want to sacrifice Han Gyeol either, but what else could I do ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) in this situation?

“It’s okay. You’re not going to die.”

Probably not.

Roy gripped Han Gyeol’s struggling shoulders hard, pinning him in place.

Protagonists don’t die easily. All the members who awakened before him survived. So Han Gyeol would survive too.

“Ha ha...! Roy, this is a joke, right? You’re scaring me to death. Let go for a second, okay?”

“Did I ever tell you I almost died on the day I awakened?”

“What?”

Han Gyeol’s eyes shook as he turned his head. He must never have heard this before—Han Gyeol had never gone around telling people.

“Have you heard of the Resurrection Seat?”

“Resurrection Seat...?”

He used to be a hot topic online until Lee Gong-i’s arrival buried the story.

“People who are meant to live somehow survive. And strangely, a lot of people around me have awakened like that.”

Roy named people Han Gyeol knew well, one by one.

“Kim Taeeon, Park Yeonwoo, Kim Hojin.”

“...!”

“You know what those guys have in common? They nearly died on the day they awakened—just like me.”

“Oh, I see. Ha ha. But Roy, I think it’s almost here, right?”

Han Gyeol kept glancing anxiously between Roy and the fiend closing in fast.

Roy had thought about it too: if there was no other way, he’d have to draw his spear.

‘It might fling sparks everywhere, but I’ll control it as best I can.’

He didn’t want to reassure Han Gyeol prematurely with that knowledge. As you know, a true protagonist only demonstrates superhuman power at the most dramatic moment. I’m technically the protagonist, but I’ve chosen the role of helper right now. A good helper pushes the protagonist from behind so they recognize their own power. This was the right move.

키에에에엑!

The fiend had drawn almost level. Han Gyeol might feel it was too harsh now, but soon he’d realize it was all for his sake. And who knows—he might even want to bow down and thank me.

“Roy...!”

Han Gyeol’s body trembled violently. It made Roy’s heart ache, but he had to steel himself.

Roy acted as if he hadn’t noticed and spoke on.

When you’re terrified, having someone keep talking is the only way to dull the fear.

“Did I ever tell you?”

“Damn it...! Seriously, Roy, please. You want to see me die? It’s almost here! You crazy—”

Han Gyeol’s voice rose in pitch until he was shouting curses without hesitation.

“I dreamed you were a wind-attribute Awakener. Imagine that.”

“Roy! You’re taking this too far!!”

Han Gyeol was clinging to the belief this was a joke to keep his sanity.

키에에에엑! The fiend had closed the distance.

“Nooo! Hey!!!”

But Han Gyeol’s panicked thrashing only got worse.

‘Is this wrong?’

Thinking he’d kill someone like this, Roy decided it was time to act.

“Damn it!”

He shielded Han Gyeol behind him, stepped forward, and drew his spear. He drove it with all his strength straight into the fiend’s forehead.

Crack!

Fwoosh!

The blazing spear pierced the fiend’s hard skull.

‘Ugh.’

He felt the unpleasant texture of bone along the spear shaft—no matter how many times he did it, he’d never get used to it. When he released the spear, it crumbled into sparks and drifted away.

Whoooosh!

The sparks met an 850 m-high gale and spread swiftly.

Pitter-patter!

Meeeeh—

One by one, they landed on wool and green grass, kindling tiny flames.

‘Hmm. I’m in trouble now.’

Roy wanted to ask Han Gyeol what he thought of this mess, but Han Gyeol looked incapable of conversation. He was pale, sitting on the ground, staring vacantly at the fiend’s shattered head.

‘I overdid it...? I actually feel kind of sorry.’

It was Han Gyeol’s first time seeing a fiend, after all. Maybe Roy had pressured him too much.

키에에에엑!

키에에에엑!

Faint wails drifted from beyond the hill, and soon two more fiends appeared.

‘Of course there’d be more.’

Roy summoned his spear again. Han Gyeol’s awakening was already impossible now, and there was no reason to let these things come closer.

He clenched his spear and lunged at the fiends when—

Whoosh—

A chill current brushed his cheek.

Roy reflexively touched his face and saw red blood on his fingertips. Definitely wind.

‘Could it be?’

Roy turned around with a delighted face. But Han Gyeol looked worse than before. He’d gone from sitting to collapsed face-down on the ground. Seeing that, Roy’s heart sank.

“Brother! Are you okay?!”

Roy, worried about Han Gyeol, realized someone was approaching fast and that now wasn’t the time. Reluctantly leaving Han Gyeol’s side, he ran forward.

Having faced phantom fiends before, he felt no fear of them now. Only worry for Han Gyeol affected his flame. The fire in his hand flickered wildly, losing its shape.

‘Dammit.’

The fire that had formed a spear couldn’t contain its heat and began to spurt outward, scorching the grass around him.

Fwoosh!

On the opposite meadow, small flames were already spreading. The farmer who’d rushed out was spraying water with a hose, but the fierce wind kept flames thriving.

Roy needed to finish off the remaining fiend and rejoin him quickly. Impatient, he swung his spear in a wide arc.

Shriek!

Flame shot from its tip in a sharp arc, severing the fiend’s neck in one clean stroke.

Thunk—

The head separated and hovered briefly before crashing to the ground.

The stench of rotting flesh burning whipped across the meadow on the wind.

Tumble—

The fiend’s relatively light head rolled helplessly in the breeze.

There was no time to clean this up. The crisis was over, but a bigger problem remained: the fire he’d unleashed.

‘What do I do now?’

Even a pyro-attribute Awakener can’t control flames once they’re free. The only solution was to hold the line and stall until a firefighting helicopter arrived. But first he had to move Han Gyeol somewhere safe.

“Brother! Snap out of it!”

Roy shook Han Gyeol roughly and forced him upright.

“Roy?”

“There are no more fiends. Calm down, and look that way.”

Roy pointed toward the flock of sheep running off.

“From now on, run against the wind. Can you do that?”

“And you? You’re coming too.”

“I...”

Roy glanced at the raging flames. The man holding the hose was about to be cut off by the blaze.

“I’ll escort him. You go ahead.”

Roy shook off Han Gyeol’s grip and dashed toward the fire. Although heat drained him, fire couldn’t hurt him, he reminded himself. Besides, this wildfire started because of him. If anyone died, the guilt would be unbearable.

He leaped into the inferno without hesitation.

“Roy!”

Han Gyeol’s voice called after him, but there was no time to look back. Every second counted.

Thud-thud-thud-thud—

A deafening roar of helicopter blades and a massive shadow loomed overhead. Dust and leaves whirled in the wind as a torrent of water bombarded the field.

Shsssshh!

“Ugh!”

The blast could have inflicted serious injuries. Roy, carrying the man on his back, narrowly avoided the water bomb. But he couldn’t dodge the wall of water that surged across the meadow.

Slap!

He slipped on the water and was swept down the hill.

“Ah! Sir, are you okay? Hey! Who’s aiming like that?!”

In a flash of rage, Roy pointed accusingly at the sky, ranting wildly. Then he froze as a figure jumped from the helicopter and met his gaze.

“K-Kang Saeon?”

Kang Saeon of Special Team 1, Detention Bureau. He approached with that look that said, “You again.”

“Lee Roy. What are you doing here?”

Roy wanted to ask why only Kang Saeon ever showed up for the Bureau. There were no cameras in these fields anyway. He’d planned to leave the man in a safe spot and grab Han Gyeol, but he’d been caught red-handed.

The brazener he acted now, the better.

“I came to see the sheep in Daegwallyeong, what else?”

“...”

That excuse didn’t fly. No one out-foxed the Bureau’s fiend hunter so easily. If they tried to pin this on him—yet another forest fire—he’d be in real trouble. He could practically hear the headlines ending his career on Star Hero.

Then salvation arrived: Han Gyeol, refusing to leave him behind, came charging up.

“Roy, are you okay?!”

If only this guy had awakened, things wouldn’t have escalated like this...

“?!”

At that moment, a status window appeared before Roy’s eyes—Han Gyeol’s awakening notification. But why...?

【Ally “Seo Han Gyeol (F)” has awakened.】