Chapter 95
Hong Man-gi's eyes widened.
"Master... haa... I already told you..."
"I know. An AX-rank dungeon. The place that wiped out my party. And... the place where my man is sleeping."
Song Hwa-rin clenched her fist.
"I thought about it all night. I know why oppa told me not to come. He's afraid I'll get hurt. He's afraid I'll suffer again. I know that. I understand it so well that it feels like my heart is being torn apart."
She paused and steadied her breathing.
"But that's exactly why I have to go. He stayed alone in that frozen place to save me. He endured that cold and darkness while thinking only about me. So how the hell am I supposed to pretend I don't know? Because it's dangerous? Because oppa told me not to come? Am I supposed to sit in a warm room and eat while he's still there?"
She shook her head.
"No. That isn't Song Hwa-rin."
"And that isn't Kang Min-hyuk's woman."
Fire burned in her eyes.
"I don't care if that place really is hell. Even if it's a pit full of demons, I'm going in. I'll go there and drag that man out by the collar if I have to. I won't leave him in the cold any longer."
Her determination was absolute.
This was no longer something anyone could stop.
The stubborn decision of an S-rank Hunter.
And the desperate cry of a woman searching for the man she loved.
"So, Hong Man-gi. Help me."
She stared directly at him.
"Oppa's spirit... where is he? He was here last night."
Hong Man-gi looked around awkwardly.
"Well... he disappeared right after you left. Maybe he's still wandering around you, or maybe he's exhausted and hiding somewhere to recover."
"He disappeared?"
Song Hwa-rin frowned.
"Then how am I supposed to find him? You're the one who can see him. I need you to guide me."
"Of course I want to help. But..."
Hong Man-gi carefully chose his words.
His mind was moving quickly.
He respected Song Hwa-rin's decision.
But the Hellish Snowfield was literally hell.
If they rushed in while driven by emotion and without preparation, they would simply die.
And with Kang Min-hyuk's spirit gone, entering the dungeon blindly would be like crossing the open sea without a compass.
"Master. I understand how you feel, but we can't go right this second. We need to prepare. And we should wait until Kang Min-hyuk's spirit appears again..."
"Wait? For how long? One day? Two? And while we wait, he's still freezing in there?"
Song Hwa-rin raised her voice.
"I can't wait. I'm leaving right now if I have to. The helicopter is already standing by. All I need is you. No, all I need is oppa. And if I want oppa to come, I need you, don't I?"
She was being completely unreasonable.
It seemed she had regained her sanity, but the direction of her rampage had simply changed.
A rampage called love.
Then,
[CRASH!]
A loud disturbance came from outside.
"Move! I said move! Who the hell dares stop us?!"
"You can't enter! We're still preparing to open..."
"Shut up! We already know the Master is in there!"
With rough shouting, the restaurant door was thrown open hard enough to almost break it.
A group of men in black suits poured inside.
White lotus badges were pinned to their chests.
The White Lotus Guild.
Leading them was a sharp-eyed middle-aged man, breathing heavily in anger.
Deputy Guild Master Choi Mu-young.
Behind him followed the guild's core executives, each wearing a dangerous expression.
"Master!"
Choi Mu-young shouted when he found Song Hwa-rin.
"What the hell are you doing?! You ordered a helicopter before sunrise, and now you're fully armed..."
"You're noisy."
"I heard you're going to the Hellish Snowfield. You're not seriously planning to go there, are you?"
Song Hwa-rin frowned as if he were annoying her.
"I told you to shut up. It's my choice. It's my guild helicopter. What does it have to do with you if I use it?"
"How can you say it has nothing to do with me?! You're the master of White Lotus! This concerns the survival of the entire guild! An AX-rank dungeon? Have you lost your mind? You barely came back alive last time!"
Choi Mu-young's neck veins bulged.
"And on top of that... you're doing this because of a dead man? Deputy Guild Master Kang died back then! We couldn't even find his body! You're going to risk your life, the pillar of this guild, for a corpse? This is madness!"
The executives behind him agreed.
"He's right, Master! Please reconsider!"
"Absolutely not! We cannot allow you to go!"
They surrounded Song Hwa-rin.
It was open insubordination disguised as concern.
Song Hwa-rin's eyes became sharp.
"Move. If you block me, I won't care whether you're guild members."
"I won't move! If you insist, cut me down first!"
Choi Mu-young puffed out his chest.
Then his gaze moved toward Hong Man-gi.
His eyes were full of hostility.
"Is this the bastard? The scammer who bewitched our Master?"
He strode toward Hong Man-gi.
"I don't know what trick you're pulling, but stop it right now. You're filling our Master's head with nonsense about seeing dead spirits and trying to send her into a death trap. You know she hasn't been mentally stable, so you're taking advantage of her, aren't you?"
He reached for Hong Man-gi's collar.
"You fucking con artist! Because of you, our guild..."
At that moment,
Kang Jae-min grabbed Choi Mu-young's arm.
"Take your hand off him. You're causing enough trouble in someone else's restaurant."
Kang Jae-min's eyes were equally hard.
The presence of a B-rank Hunter spread around him.
"And who the hell are you? Some B-rank trash thinks he can interfere?"
Choi Mu-young released his mana.
The pressure of an A-rank Hunter swept through the restaurant.
"Ugh..."
Lee Yu-han groaned in fear and staggered backward.
The furniture began trembling.
Then,
"Everyone stop!"
Song Hwa-rin shouted.
S-rank mana erupted from her body.
