How Exactly do you Deal With a Greedy Protagonist?

by SugoiiLemur

Summary:

Kim Dokja recalls a Hidden Scenario from Ways of Survival that could be useful in the upcoming scenarios, the only down side is that for once tls123 gleaned the details of it. He makes an idiotic mistake of doing it by his lonesome, despite the company's dissent. So now here he is, in another dimension, trying to save another world from it's doom by helping the Shadow Monarch's successor.

Like Yoo Joonghyuk so lovingly put it, he was a fool.

Chapter 1

Notes:

Welcome to my first fanfic! I'm pretty nervous to submit ngl ;-; but I really like this ship idea that came out recently and I was shocked by it's possibilities. I'm going to just say that I'm a die hard Jongdok shipper, but this one is also really good, and I'm a sucker for crossover ships xP

Kim Dokja is both fun and hard to write at the same time... I really tried to convey him properly but it's kinda off and on that I am able to write them in character :T

This might be really bad and I have no idea what I'm doing, but just bear with me here if u want more XD

*

[Hidden Scenario #73 The Heir's Aid]

 

Category: Hidden

 

Difficulty: S

 

Clear Conditions: Aid the Shadow Monarch's heir in saving the Earth of a distant worldline from the apocalypse.

 

Time limit: 6 months (it will seem as if you were gone for 6 hours to those in this worldline).

 

Compensation: ??? and 1000000 coins

 

Failure: Permanent stay in a distant worldline.

*

Huh.

Kim Dokja legitimately didn't expect to wake up after a good rest. Only to be welcomed by a Hidden Scenario panel while in his sleeping bag on the filthy dingy floor of a cave he read about in WOS. Yoo Jonghyuk had come to this same exact cave to collect another companion that had been extremely powerful. He needed that companion for the upcoming Main Scenario.

The author of WOS described them as a tall shadowy figure named 'Greed'. WOS however for once didn't describe or explain what happened during the scenario. It had just swapped the point of view to Kim Namwoon, he really didn't like that part. Why not Lee Jihye or Lee Hyunsung??

All Kim Namwoon did during his 6 hours in the book was bully and slaughter a mob of incarnations for not agreeing with his philosophy. In the end of that he nearly died but Greed sweeped them before he almost kicked the bucket finally in that round.

This was the 276th round for Yoo Jonghyuk, but later on in the round he claimed it was a waste of 6 months to only get Greed. Even though Greed was quite useful. However he ultimately got vaporized by a probability storm by the Bureau for 'making the scenarios too easy' shortly after he was introduced.

Dokja however didn't get the scenario right away like Yoo Jonghyuk did in the novel, so he ended up hanging around for a while, eventually falling asleep.

He assumed it must've been some sort of requirement, but all he did was sleep.. Oh well, not to mention he had already warned the company about his departure for 6 hours. It would have been awkward if he had come back with nothing to aid their progression in the scenarios. Han Sooyoung would've cackled so hard she would almost topple over, while Yoo Jonghyuk would call him a fool. Jung Heewon and Lee Jihye would snort as Lee Hyunsung would try and tell him something encouraging laced with military knowledge. Shin Yoosoung and Lee Gilyoung would also be nice about it, excluding the military metaphors. While Yoo Sangah would just softly smile and welcome him back.

Although his departure earlier was nowhere near as smooth as that prediction..

The children had clung onto his legs and spoke in unison.

"We're holding him down, get him!!"

Lee Jihye produced a bat from somewhere and tossed it to Jung Heewon. She snatched it from the air and a crazed glint shone through her eyes as she snapped it on her other open palm. The Judge of Chaos rose it high, blocking the light from the ceiling from his eyes. His eyes shook at the frightening display.

"Batter up you rat bastard."

As it connected with his head he had one thought.

What the hell??!

He couldn't try and keep his ignorance on what his past actions may have been like to affect his companions like this. Dokja learned that his sacrificial plans have traumatized his companions when he had come back after 3 years and gotten drugged after being thrown around a little by them. However they were to save them, they were the only, more like easiest, solutions to those problems. If he hadn't gone inside the Indescribable Distance and made the contract with the Secretive Plotter, then they all would have died!

He sighed as he recalled himself waiting in the same chair they had confined him to after they drugged him the first time they had seen him in 3 years. Thanks to them using the drug on him frequently because of his demon king powers, he had gained a resistance for sedatives. So the moment Yoo Sangah stepped out after keeping watch on him, his eyes snapped open.

He jerked out of the chair and tumbled limply onto the floor of the room. Dokja leapt to his feet and quickly turned his eyes towards the door.

… Good she didn't hear me.

He zoomed to the window and slid it open. He dove out and activated his status, sprouting his luxurious black wings and short stubby horns. His white dimensional coat billowed around him as he flew upwards and hastily made his escape, somehow going unnoticed by his companions until it was too late.

And now he was here, stuffed in his little sleeping bag in a dark dingy cavern with only a Hidden Scenario panel keeping him company.

Dokja grunted as he stood up from his makeshift bed. He read the window with a blank expression and gave a long sigh.

He had no clue at all what could happen in this other worldline. Honestly, he didn't understand why he wanted to embark on this 6 month journey all by his lonesome, but he felt a kind of gravitation pulling him to it.

Dokja grabbed Unbroken Faith off the ground and latched it onto his belt. Then sifted through his pockets to make sure he had everything he needed.

Once he finished preparing he finally looked back to the Hidden Scenario info.

*

[Hidden Scenario #73 The Heir's Aid]

 

Category: Hidden

 

Difficulty: S

 

Clear Conditions: Aid the Shadow Monarch's heir in saving the Earth of a distant worldline from the apocalypse.

 

Time limit: 6 months (it will seem as if you were gone for 6 hours to those in this worldline).

 

Compensation: ??? and 1000000 coins

 

Failure: Permanent stay in the distant worldline.

*

Dokja spun to the gaping entrance on the side of the cavern he made a camp of, and strode through it.

As he passed he felt the probability shifted violently making him gasp as he staggered and tried to get himself stable on the stone walls. However the tunnel was a lot bigger than its small entrance and he toppled over on the ground with an 'oomph'.

He grumbled grumpily as he pulled himself up and squinted around in the dark. The [Fourth Wall] giggling at his expense, the brat.

Ideally this heir of the 'Shadow Monarch's should be somewhere near here, but all he saw were clusters of glowing blue crystals that actually helped illuminate the area pretty decently.

Maybe if I hang out there, the heir will pass by eventually.

So he waited.

.. Waited.

… And waited.

The only thing that stumbled upon him was a weird human and snake hybrid. He assumed they were Nagas, because he had fought a couple in previous scenarios. Dokja had asked it if it was the heir of a Shadow Monarch but it's only answer was to screech and swing it's axe around like a maniac, so he assumed it wasn't.

… Hopefully it wasn't..

He carved through the corpse and came across another crystal.. This place and it's crystals…

Dokja shook his head to clear the straying thought and observed the gem. It wasn't the same as the other crystals. The blue crystals gave off more energy. While these also had decent energy, but they seemed to be more malleable. These are good for crafting gear it seems.

Occasionally more Nagas would appear, and he would instantly slay them before they spotted him. Eventually he saw a torch light and he slunk behind the crystals and did his best to hide his status.

There were 2 figures that looked human, but he couldn't be for sure, but…

Oh my god.

That's a lot of shadow monsters.

Is this the heir of the Shadow Monarch??

The army of shadows weaved around the figures with the torch like moths to a flame as the light uncovered a horde of Nagas he hadn't been able to see before.

Dokja was glad he had taken care of the other ones so quickly and quietly.

He watched the Nagas eventually realize their imminent defeat to the Shadow monsters and start to attempt a retreat. However not one was spared as they were brutally massacred by the shadows.

He noted how one of the humans looked shell shocked as they openly gaped at what was happening. They also wore some pretty flashy armor, is that made by the monster crystals?
While the other...

The hell?

Dokja did a double take at the remarkably handsome face he had, he swore that jawline could’ve cut diamonds with how sharp it was. His nose looked like it had been sculpted by the gods, needless to say he was attractive enough to slap Yoo Jonghyuk’s cheeks twice. His sun-kissed skin stuck tightly to well-toned muscles on a lithe body.

Without a doubt he was in the main cast of characters in this dimension, protagonist, antagonist, or whatever he was in the story, he had no clue.

He was too caught up in gawking at the raven’s visage, to see the imposing shadow ant looking creature looming over him.

"I've found a lowly rat, my liege!!!"

He yelped as an ant thing that was composed of black and flaming blue tackled him to the floor and seized him by the neck. It hoisted him off the floor in the infamous Yoo Jonghyuk hold. Dokja choked as his mind whirred on how to escape this conundrum he had just run into.

---

Notes:

Next chapter is gonna be in Sung Jinwoo's pov so be ready, it also might be a little ooc. In case u haven't noticed I'm not the best at keeping characters in character.

Might have also observed my lack of additional tags eheheh... Yeah well I'm adding them on my phone, and idk how to add custom tags so I might have to come back later on a computer and put those in XD

Thanks for reading this! Please leave comments or something cuz I'm starving for some solace for this junk xP

Orv x SL discord server

Chapter 2: Chapter 2

Notes:

So I've decided on uploading every other day! Hopefully I can pull it off xP but I've written up to 4 short lil' over 1k word chapters so I should be fine.

Oh and this isn't beta read we die like Kim Dokja (I've been meaning to tag that xP)

Meh fam likes hogging our laptop so I still haven't finished tagging X'D

Sung Jinwoo smirked as his summons swiftly dealt with all the hostile Nagas in the vicinity as they walked through the cave. He was making good progress in his preparations for the double dungeon key he had collected.

Woo Jinchul couldn't seem to stop gawking at the carnage as they passed by slashed and mauled corpses that were already being scavenged by the monster pillaging unit. While the mining unit lagged behind clearing all the crystals.

Everything was proceeding smoothly.. That is until he showed up.

"I've found a lowly rat, my liege!!!" Beru screeched as he tackled something by a large clump of Mana crystals.

He heard a sharp yelp as Beru and something crashed onto the ground. Beru grabbed whatever it was, no whoever it was by the throat and hefted them up to show to him.

Sung Jinwoo froze along with Woo Jinchul as they eyed the man in a white trench coat. A system tag floated above his head, however it’s contents kept copiously glitching nonstop. It seemed to swap between three names nonstop '*&mo! ?*ng Sa*v%*i$n', 'Wa!*her o% Li!h* a&d D@r%*e$s', and 'Ol$e*t Dr*!m'. Jinwoo quirked a brow as the tag faded away without fixing itself, that definitely got his attention.

His brain halted at the sense of strong Mana radiating his form as he dangled from the firm grasp on his neck. Instantly Jinwoo felt a wave of pure desire as he stared unblinkingly at the man. He had dark hair, and obsidian eyes of starlight that were framed by incredibly long eyelashes. His pale milky skin stretched over his slim frame, and he looked to be Korean.

Not only was he strong, but he was kind of adorable. This wasn’t really the time to be thinking that though, Woo Jinchul was giving him a funny look as he stayed silent for too long

Jinwoo didn’t really care did he?

No, not really just a little he supposed. There was something else that he did care about though. Three things actually.

Why can he feel his Demon King’s dual blades thrumming in his inventory?

What’s the best way to draft this guy into his growing infantry?

Why did he feel immense interest from Kaisel in their connection through his shadow?

The man in the coat shakily and slowly held his hands up in surrender. And Jinwoo's eyes followed his throat as he gulped and gave a nervous smile.

"Hi… I was just passing b-ok ok don't tighten your grip.!" He wheezed.
Woo Jinchul was rendered speechless as the possible monster newcomer spoke fluent Korean, Jinwoo almost broke out laughing. He looked Korean why wouldn’t he be able to speak it?

"Who are you?" Jinwoo interrogated.

"Kim Dokja."

"Korean hm? Were you a hunter that got lost in the dungeon?"

"You can't possibly think he is human, that overwhelming aura, not to mention that no one who gets lost ever returns!" Woo Jinchul exclaimed,"Maybe he's a special monster that can talk."

Jinwoo squinted at Dokja and watched him flinch.

"He is human, my liege, but not completely."

"What are you?" Jinwoo asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm Korean." Dokja said with a confused frown before he snorted,”Oh! Do you honestly think I look like one of those Nagas?”

Jinwoo hummed and eyed his attire more. The coat he wore managed to hide his long sheath that was strapped to his hip by his belt. He eyed the elegant yet simple design on the scabbard, unwittingly curious at the blade it held

"Say…"

Jinwoo's eyes snapped up to Dokja's face as his voice lilted.

"Are you the heir to the Shadow Monarch?"

Jinwoo stiffened as Igris and his faction all got ready to slaughter at a moment's notice. The rest all became alert at the knights’ reaction. Beru's clawed hand squeezed so tight that Dokja wheezed and grappled his hands onto the offending hand to get relief. This led Jinwoo to snap at them.

"Enough, let him finish, I will decide if we kill him." Jinwoo growled.

They all instantly became docile and Beru went back to the normal grip. The ant scrutinized Dokja as he gasped to refill his lungs.

"He's dangerous Jinwoo, and your summon said he wasn't completely human." Woo Jinchul warned,"Just give him a quick painless death if you feel bad because he looks human."

"I'm right here… Jeez.. what is up with overpowered main characters and their nonexistent manners?" Dokja mumbled under his breath, he haughtily blew his bangs as he looked to the side,"Yoo Jonghyuk would fit into this cast seamlessly.”

Jinwoo decided he would open that can of worms after he got his first and foremost questions answered,"Why did you ask if I'm the heir?"

"... Because I'm here to help you if you are."

"Who are the Monarchs?"

"Can't say I know, I was just sent to help the heir to the Shadow Monarch with a difficult task." Dokja said less hesitantly, in fact he answered it as he was hoping for them to know the solution themselves.

Immediately, the knight faction of his army completely calmed down, and did he sense a little bit of curiousness on their mental link? He wished Igris could speak to explain, he seemed to be the only one along with his knights who knew about the Monarchs.

".. Who told you to help the heir?" Woo Jinchul finally spoke up.

"You wouldn't believe me if I explained."

“Ok, then how about this, is this part of you that’s not human just your mana? Or is it in your heritage?” Jinwoo finally gave into the burning question and asked .

...

Dokja chose to remain silent at that, and Jinwoo recalled his rule about making shadows suddenly.

Never make human shadows.

This oppressive mana might not be mana to begin with, but in his blood as he had asked. So the rule is absolved, and he could be useful in the upcoming double dungeon.

"Do as you wish Beru." Jinwoo aquisiced, he ignored Kaisel’s cerebral pout from his shadow, however it didn’t last long as some high orcs he had left in his shadow comforted Kaisel.

It actually hurt the tiniest bit to see Dokja's eyes widen in disbelief at the authorization. He and Woo Jinchul watched as Beru's grip tightened around his pale neck. They could hear the grit sounds of the Shadow flesh on skin, and Dokja choked as he struggled and kicked around to get out of the hold.

He wheezed and clawed at the hand frantically.

"F-ine, you want to know what a part of me is eh? Th-this is what I am." Dokja grunted.

His aura grew even more as midnight black lustrous wings extended from his back and two small black shiny horns grew out from his hairline. Instantly, Jinwoo felt his Demon King’s Dual Blades in his inventory thrum more incessantly. Kaisel also emitted a howl, begging to be released from Jinwoo’s shadow, the high orcs ultimately giving up on taming his emotions.

Is he a demon of some sort? That was the only theory he could come up with, the daggers never reacted like this to any monsters. Kaisel was getting his message across pretty clearly, he wished to greet this guy like they were old friends. He didn’t have either of them until after he left the Demon Castle Dungeon and Demon King Baran was defeated, so he wasn’t sure.

Woo Jinchul shouted in consternation as Dokja seemingly activated a skill of sorts, and a turbulent wind flung the A-rank hunter across the cavern. Jinwoo managed to brace himself and keep his feet rooted to the ground, but even then he still had to take a couple paces back from the sheer blast to stay standing tall.

Dokja gave a strong wing beat, and Beru was slammed into a wall as a wing clipped him across the incisors. Dokja levitated in midair for a couple seconds before he promptly zoomed past them all through the cavern into one of tunnels that led out of the cavern.

I can't let him escape.

Jinwoo chose one particular shadow for the job.

'After him.'

His shadow grew impossibly large, a monster rising from it’s depths. A ghastly dark wyvern with a misty blue aura emanating from it’s sacrilegious form, rose and promptly darted after the white blur with a trill. It’s luminous sky blue eyes blazed with absolute loyalty to its king, although they also indecipherably held a hint of regard for the target.

---

Notes:

Kaisel is like my favorite winged lizard ever ( sorry Abyssal Black Flame Dragon xP) and he doesn't show up as much as I wanted in the novel and web comic so I yeeted him in here lol

(Spoilers) I almost cried when he got vaporized by Antares ;-; rip...

Hope y'all like high speed chases, cuz I do 🤭 fufufu

I'm overjoyed by the support that this fic has been getting and I really appreciate it!! Oh and since I'm an aspiring artist, depending on if it keeps doing well, I suppose I can also try my hand at sketching some of the scenes in this!
( If ya wanna check out meh art too here's the link to my Deviant art account Sirblack4

Orv x SL discord server

Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Notes:

I know I said that I would upload every other day... But I had a blast reading and replying to the comments yesterday, and I found that some peeps wanted posts everyday. So I figured that since these chapters r so short and I have been getting no shortage of creativity, I will try out uploading every day. I already wrote a rough draft up to 5 and 2 days is plenty time to stay on top.

(My way of saying I'm kind of a pushover X'D)

WELP enjoy~

Dokja internally screamed as Way of the Wind and his status sent him blasting through the underground. He flew like a derailed train, and made a wise decision of never flying through a cave system at this speed ever again as he nearly crashed for the nth time.

Suddenly he heard a thud and looked behind himself to see a shadow wyvern catching up with an incredible speed mouth ajar. When it snapped it’s maw and just barely missed his feet, his scream became external as it lurched forward again for a second attempt to snap of it’s jaws around his legs. Dokja hastily used Way of the Wind on the flying creature to slow it down, and it just barely missed him.

As the flurry managed to fulfill his will, the racing wyvern gave a harsh flap of its wings and broke past the challenging winds. Dokja cursed and unsheathed Unbroken Faith, the blade gave a harsh shriek as he input his white pure star energy into the blade and chose to use the divine element to do the deed.

“I don’t want to end up as your next meal, so kindly leave me alone?”

The wyvern warbled throatily and gave another beat of its wings, Dokja cancelled Way of the Wind, and descended to just below it’s belly as it passed him overhead, the blast of wind roared in his ears. He decisively used Unbroken Faith to slash it down its chest to the beginning of its tail. It gave a yelp and stuttered in it’s dash, causing it to crash into a wall.

Dokja fled as fast as he could, he heard an enraged belt from the wyvern. He sheathed his sword to focus on his flying. He zoomed through another fork in the system of shafts. As he pondered on where to go he snapped back to the present in a startle, and used his wings to catch on the air to a screeching stop with a squawk.

Right in front of his nose was a vertical swirling ominous blue whirlpool looking thing that stretched from wall to wall, floor to ceiling across the stoney burrow. If he didn’t continue his escape, the shadow thing would kill him.

Perhaps it won’t expect me to go through it? Besides, if whatever this is kills Dokja he can revive himself. He’s well acquainted with death anyways, what’s one more death to add to his track record? The company will never know. Dokja chose to wing it, pun not intended. Just before Kaisel barreled into the tunnel, he gave a strong swing of his raven black wings, and with the aid of Bookmark and Way of the Wind, he launched himself into the mesmerizing stormy pale blue portal.

Kaisel trilled and regained himself as he began to search for a trail. He could recognize the aura of a half-demon from anywhere. They were a Demon King without a doubt, and he felt elated at the discovery. He wished to try and communicate with them, but sadly his Sovereign declined his wishes.

The wyvern had pledged a vow to stay loyal to only one master after the Monarch of White Flames met his demise by his present master. So he trampled over his wishes, and forged onwards as he found a trace of the demon in the worst place possible in the tunnel. Kaisel felt dread well up in his gizzard, and across his link with his king.

It led out to the Human World...

...Crap..

Kaisel could feel his king questioning him, after all he was the one who helped him recover from that slash so fast. He failed him, and he let the dread go across their link along with a sulk.

‘... We’ll discuss this later, return for now.’ His king ordered.

Kaisel punctually followed the command, and returned to his king. Always proficient, he had already defeated the Boss of this dungeon before he arrived and merged back. Woo Jinchul was too busy observing the slash marks Jinwoo had left on the supposedly impenetrable boss’s hide to eavesdrop on them.

Jinwoo held a contemplative face. This was quite the issue.. A likely monster masquerading as a Korean human had just escaped his clutches.

“Oh my king.” Beru asserted.

“Yes Beru?” Jinwoo asked, long given up on fixing the ant’s speech.

“The Wyvern of White Flames has informed me that the target escaped through the gate.”

… That was decidedly bad, not only did they manage to get the better of Kaisel, but he was now skulking around people, hopefully he doesn't hear the voice like other monsters. Forget being adorable, Dokja was a migraine that took root in his head.

“I have a better nickname for the newcomer, my liege.”

“What?” Jinwoo questioned curiously.

“He is a rat, my liege.” Beru continued,”But squid works all the same.”

Rat huh? That actually fits pretty well, squid too.

“Good job Beru, you’ve created a perfect nickname, Woo Jinchul?”

Woo Jinchul promptly snapped to attention.

“Yes?”

“We have a rat to catch.” Jinwoo enlightened the head of the monitoring division with a smooth smirk.

---

Notes:

Author: Kaisel is a darling, I love my scaley boi

Dokja: *rakes Unbroken Faith across Kaisel's chest down to the base of his tail like a fish being prepared for dinner*

Kaisel: *crashes into wall*

Author: I'M SO SORRY SWEET BABY FORGIVE MEEEEEE DOKJA HAD TO ESCAPE

(Thx for reading~)

Orv x SL discord server

Chapter 4: Chapter 4

Notes:

(none of this is beta read, (I still haven't done the tagging lol) so have mercy on me if there are typos)

The next couple of chapters will have less DokJin content I apologize xP Dokja needs to be locked into the worldline airtight before I proceed. It's muy importante ya know?

(I also can't believe I pulled the 'platonic companions' card in this chapter ;-; I ship JongDok like a fanatic and I made the companion excuse genuine oof. (But we need DokJin content so I can deal with that although it felt weird when I wrote it XD))

Welp enjoy~ ;3c

Dokja was having a bad day.

Why did he plan on doing this stupid hidden scenario alone?

Well he thought that since the author gleaned the details that it was going to be easy and not too difficult despite the difficulty that was stamped on the scenario window. Not to mention a distant part of his mind seemed to want to do it alone for absolutely no reason.

He was wrong about the difficulty, and Dokja just couldn’t comprehend why tls123 didn’t describe anything. Did they want to cycle through other character perspectives? Try and see how far they can make him hate one character? Well it worked, stupid Kim Namwoon and his ideals.

Anyways

The first two people he meets are extremely hostile, and one of them has a scary army of shadow creatures. He escapes by the skin of his teeth by going through a weird portal. The first thing he sees is another horde of people, although thankfully not shadow things. However if he learned one thing in the first 20 minutes of being on this plane, it was that they were quick to scuffle with unknown entities. So he hightailed it out of there as fast as possible, no telling if the shadow will go through the portal, and also if these people are actually secretly extremely strong too.

The cameras and news equipment they held crushed his theory, but he had to leave now.

Dokja, with a flap of his wings, zipped up high into the sky. He didn’t pause for a break as he resumed his ascent into the heavens until he reached a decent zenith just below the clouds, and finally let out a breath. He decided he could finally get a reference to his surroundings..

This place looks like Seoul? He can work with that actually.. So this world should roughly be the same as his, albeit without gigantic serpents and countless savage beasts ravaging anything in sight, alive or not. Luckily there doesn’t seem to be any Constellations or Dokkaebis. However something else caught his attention.

There were other little portals sprinkled around the city. All varying sizes, and some had people around them, some had groups entering them, or crowds cheering as others exited the disc like portals.

He dived down from the sky like Icarus, and swooped onto a rooftop of a building next to a big portal that had a batch of armored or robed people exiting a portal. There was a bustling crowd of seemingly news reporters trying to possibly get a good scoop from the people who came out. Dokja deactivated his status and watched calculatingly.

When the reporters tried to crowd around the people, some other people in dark suits stepped in the way and acted as crowd control.

“How did your hunt go??” One reporter questioned.

“How is the Fame guild reacting to the Knights guild’s success at the moment?! Do you plan on taking on more gates to even out the playing field in your rivalry?? Will you hunters take it lying down?!”

“Of course not, we plan on increasing our dungeon intake and show the Knights guild that we are just as capable as them.” One of the Hunters piped up.

“Ma Dongwook is already spreading his wings and taking more gates as we speak.”

The reporters seemed satiated with these few crumbs finally of input, and left quickly to write their articles.

Dokja had managed to catch the exchange thanks to his extended hearing. He pulled out his phone from the infinite space coat’s pocket. Although Ways of Survival was useless in this regard, he could jot down notes on vital information. He opened an empty document and started hastily recording info. He began to pace away from the short wall of the roof as he typed
and stewed in his mind what he had just learned. Dokja skimmed over the document with the aid of his skill.

The portals are called gates. There are people with an occupation called hunters and they can work in ‘Guilds’, so far I know there is a rivalry between two of them (the Fame and Knights Guild). What, do they sign up to take on and venture these gates in groups? Not to mention it seems like a famous job, the reporters are garbling up all the crumbs they can on the topic like they are starved. Are those people who are managing the crowd for the hunters.. Are they the government or something?

He stuffed his phone back into his pocket and pondered. Dokja concocted a couple hypotheses, and chose that he would need to know and understand these features in this realm. He couldn’t help but think that these gates might come hand in hand with the apocalypse that is on the horizon for this world.

I wonder if coins work here, most likely not, I might need to collect some funds to effectively help the heir. He set a hand to his chin, eyebrows furrowing in concentration.. Suddenly a light bulb lit above his head, and Dokja craftily smirked to himself.

“Funds.. So a job, hoh~ this hunting job might suit my needs perfectly. My skills fit in it pretty well.” Dokja said softly to himself, a dulcet tone to his voice.

[ K im Dok ja is unfai thful ]

“What do you mean???” Dokja demanded, ah he was wondering why his special attribute was being so silent. It didn’t help much during the Wyvern fiasco and now it’s the same old [Fourth Wall] with it’s cryptic nonsense. Could it be that it thought he wasn’t in danger? Why did it think he was fine??

[ Ki m D okja thin ks: thi s will le t him s ee the ho tty more ]

Dokja immediately spluttered with a fierce blush,’O-o-of course not!! Even so, how does that make me unfaithful?!’

He felt as if if the wall had a face it would be giving him a deadpan look right now with the silence that answered him, making Dokja sullenly glare at nothing.

‘We’re companions of life and death, it isn’t like that.’

[ Su re ]

‘Brazen little punk.’

[ Idi ot ]

Dokja feigned ignorance to the wall’s insult, and glanced back at the gate, the hunters all were slowly leaving in a couple of black cars, exiting the site as the gate sucked into itself and vanished into thin air. He went to the entry door on the roof, thank goodness it was unlocked, and began his descent down the stairs. Once Dokja arrived at the first floor, he entered the front office. There were quite a few people inside so he used them to leave unnoticed.

Dokja opened the front door and was welcomed by the for once bustling city streets of Seoul. He soaked in his surroundings for a couple of minutes, unused to the liveliness after seeing them completely desolate for so long. He huffed and merged into the crowd on the sidewalk.

Maybe this scenario will work out after all, as long as he stayed out of sight of those two troublesome hunters.

Little did Dokja know that fate had the exact opposite thing in mind for him in the near future.

For you can’t just capture the attention of a greedy protagonist and simply slip from their grasp. They will keep searching for you, flipping the world upside down to find you if they must. Sung Jinwoo will do exactly that if it is necessary to catch a particular rat.

---

Notes:

When I wrote this I realized something... I FORGOT THE FOURTH WALL!!! D:< completely slipped my mind so I had to patch that up, probably not seamlessly... Anywho this chapter is pretty simple.

Kim Dokja bursting out of the gate, observation galore, chat with fourth wall, and brewing plans for him to assimilate properly into the world of Solo Leveling.

Like I said in beginning notes, Dokja will be spending the next couple of chapters (2 ch?) Building connections. After that we're gonna go heavy on interactions and dynamics between the characters.

So ye, thx for reading!!

Orv x SL discord server

Chapter 5: Chapter 5

Notes:

[The Constellation 'Lemur that Thirsts for Coffee' is pleased with this chapter, and hopes the readers are too]

Dokja felt much better now, after he swigged a bottle of Ellain’s Forest Essence as he continued his stride down a once bleak city’s sidewalk. The difference in regards to the crowds and buildings was very jarring. Fourth wall decided to keep its silence like a petulant child, and Dokja was entirely ok with that. Thankfully he blended in well with the crowd, and maybe those Hunters won’t show up too soon. Despite his tendencies, Dokja doesn’t really relish the thought of being crunched by a vengeful shadow wyvern.

At this, the [Fourth Wall] finally broke the silence in his head.

[ Kim Do kja h as a mes siah comp lex ]

‘No I don’t.’

Dokja huffed as he heard the [Fourth Wall] let a snide snicker echo in his temples, the brat. As he continued through Seoul he found a building that wasn’t in his Seoul. It looked quite the impressive building too, so this location is definitely important in this world. I’ll check this out before I look for somewhere to stay, got plenty of time before nighttime.

He wandered inside and found a receptionist at a desk, she looked like a stereotypical by-the-book kind of girl. She had tidy bob-cut black hair, and large circular black glasses rested on her nose. Her fingers clacking with incredible speed against her computer’s keyboard. There were a couple other people loitering about in the space, some socializing with business talk.

Dokja made a beeline over to the receptionist and stationed himself at the front of it forlornly. He stood there for a couple minutes, burning holes in the girl’s head with a stare, as her eyes were glued to the screen, . Not only did he hear the witnesses in the room sneakily giggle at the scene, but the [Fourth Wall] was joining in on the amusement.

Eventually he obnoxiously cleared his throat and that startled the girl, he didn’t feel sorry in the slightest.

“Oh I’m sorry sir! How can I help you?” She questioned.

“What is this building for?”

“Huh?”

“What purpose does this building serve Agassi?” Dokja reiterated.

She genuinely looked puzzled, probably thinking this was a prank, making Dokja sigh.

“Yes, I just arrived from overseas, and I got curious, could you please answer my question Agassi?”

“Ah, sorry you didn’t look foreign so I got confused, sorry about that Ahjussi!”

Dokja bit the inside of his cheek the honorific reminding him of his company. I wonder how they are faring, he mused. Just like Lee Jihye said he supposed he did have ‘old man vibes’, if this lady used that honorific and it wasn’t just biased opinion.

“Well, welcome to the Korean Hunter Association Building! We, the staff, are in charge of the Hunters’ rights. We protect their confidentiality, do our best to support them, and keep them in line if need be.”

Ah, so these employees were the people in the black suits maintaining that crowd.

“Ah, I see then may I visit the Chairman, Agassi?”

“GO GUNHEE-SII??! I-I’m truly sorry about what I did ear-!!”

Dokja interrupted,”There must be a misunderstanding, I’m not going to tell him about your customer service habits, Agassi.”

“I wish to speak about something else with him you see.” Dokja continued with a smile.

“I apologize, but I don’t think he is available right now Ahjussi.”

“When will he be then?”

As she was about to answer a man in a dark navy blue suit stepped into the room through the hallway that led further into the building. They caught the receptionist’s attention with frantic motions of their hands. His eyes snapped to Dokja and he gave a quizzical look to both of them as the man looked at him, and the Agassi gazed at the man. The man’s eyes were piercing as they seemed to evaluate him.

The man coughed to break the tension as he noticeably sweatdropped.

“The Chairman wishes to have a word with you sir.” He informed.

Ah, well that was easy.

Dokja nodded, ignoring everyone in the room's jaws hitting the floor, and followed the suited man out into the hallway to the elevators. They both entered an empty elevator together.

“Ah, please look away sir, we don’t let people who are not employees to see what floor number his office is.”

Dokja heeded his plea and turned away, as he did he saw a camera in the corner of the elevator, he swore he saw the lens contract. The man grunted out an ‘ok’, and Dokja swivelled back around to face the door again. After a couple minutes of uncomfortable silence the elevator took mercy on them and gave a friendly ding. They both exited the elevator and strode down the walkway, employees swerving out of their path as they passed by.

Eventually they made it to a big office door and the employee knocked twice.

“Come in.”

The employee opened the door for Dokja and he thanked him as he made his entrance. An elderly man with a build not dissimilar to a pro wrestler greeted him, an amicable smile plastered on his face.

“Greetings, why don’t we sit down Mr.?” Go Gunhee welcomed.

[The exclusive skill ‘Fourth Wall’ is shaking!]

The Status that this man was emanating put Dokja on edge. Dokja ogled the Status that was fitting of a Narrative-Grade Constellation with befuddlement. While the man back in the caves who was (c̶r̶i̶m̶i̶n̶a̶l̶y̶ ̶g̶o̶o̶d̶-̶l̶o̶o̶k̶i̶n̶g̶) most possible candidate for being connected to the Shadow Monarch had a status that was as strong as one of the stronger Narrative-Grade Constellations. Are most of the Hunters like this? Who requested for the creation of this Hidden Scenario, these people seem perfectly capable of preventing the destruction of this place??! He was too busy, calculating the Status and pondering the plausibility of the Scenario, to notice the emphasized question, his mind blanching when he realized the expectant look.

“Yoo Jonghyuk, it’s a pleasure to meet you Go Gunhee Chairman-nim,” Dokja blabbed, then cringed at the mistake, then corrected himself lamely,”Er- I’m Dokja actually.”

Gunhee coughed to hide his amusement, who seemed to have misunderstood the introduction,“Oh there’s no need to be so formal Yoo Jonghyuk, so you’re a lonely child?” ”

“Well yes, but it’s in ‘reader’, I meant my name is Dokja, Kim Dokja.” Dokja’s lips formed a rueful smile,”I am an only child though.”

“I see.”

They both sat down in the sofas that faced each other across a low coffee table.

“I must say Kim Dokja, you have quite the impressive aura of Mana surrounding you, you’ve piqued my interest.”

Mana? Is that what they call Status in this worldline? Dokja chose to file that information away.

“Is that so?”

“In fact it reminds me of a certain Hunter’s, I’m assuming that you might have a clue about who I’m talking about?”

“Sorry, but I’m not completely up to date on the latest Hunter wise..”

“Oh, of course, my messenger told me about you when they saw you on the cam in the front office. They said that you didn’t even know this building’s purpose, and then you asked to see me?”

“Haha, yes, that exactly.”

“Anyways, do tell me your business with me.”

“I’m looking for a job, Go Gunhee-ssi.”

“A job in the Association?” The Chairman asked.

“Hm.. I’m not sure… But a job that has to do with Hunters is what I was looking for, however… My records have admittedly.. Been wiped, so I can’t apply for anything and I’m running low on finances. I was wondering if you could assist me out of this dilemma?” Dokja fibbed, hoping the matter wouldn’t spark any probing from the so far kind elderly Chairman,”I don’t think I can tell you the details of my circumstances at the moment however.”

“Hm… Those are some odd issues Dokja.” Gunhee adopted a troubled expression,”That’s quite the pickle you’ve gotten yourself into Kim Dokja, do you recall your general information?” Gunhee queried as he went over to his desk,”If you’re as desperate as you seem, I can see what I can do.”

“Thank you Go Gunhee-ssi! You don’t know what this means to me, and yes, I remember my info.”

“It’s no issue,” Gunhee said as he sat back down on the couch, tablet in hand,”Just list off what you know, and I can recreate the document.”

Kim Dokja obeyed and told the Chairman all his general facts, once they finished the Chairman both printed them out, and shared the document digitally.

“What can I do to repay you Go Gunhee-ssi?” Dokja questioned, he was extremely relieved that this man has sorted out any hijinks in his plans in the near future.

“Just be a good Hunter, that is payment enough I believe.”

Dokja was shocked by the heart of gold the Chairman possessed, not many people were fond of him outside of the Company and his allies, and he managed to become what almost seemed like a kinship between old friends with Gunhee. Yes… If things continue like this the scenario should progress smoothly enough for him not to be too afraid of being stranded here. Dokja’s lips curled upwards into a blinding gratifying smile.

“Go Gunhee-ssi is very generous.”

Gunhee gave a matching bright smile at the compliment.

“No worries! Hopefully this minor setback won’t cost you too dearly Kim Dokja,” Gunhee continued,”I’m assuming you don’t know, but in order to become a Hunter, you must go through an evaluation. I wish you best of luck.”

Dokja’s brilliant smile morphed into a smirk,“Of course, I think I have a workplace in mind Go Gunhee-ssi.”

“Hoh? Well you better get to it, it was a pleasure speaking with you.”

Kim Dokja stood up along with the Chairman bowed and made his exit, as the door quietly clicked shut Gunhee let a pleasurable smirk of his own split his face. He finally let his stiffness leave his body and sat back down on the couch, picking back up the tablet, he skimmed the details he had typed down for Kim Dokja

“Another strong figure has made their entrance hm?”

Forget being as strong as Jinwoo, that aura was even more oppressive than he expected. Kim Dokja could easily be a National-Level Hunter. Jinwoo was getting to that level though. He was curious about how things will play out, what with the sharp rise of Gate appearances. However Korea should be safe for the time being as long as those two worked together intermittently.

---

Notes:

Do u guys like Go Gunhee? Cuz I do!!

(Spoilers) CURSE U MONARCH OF FROST!!! U GOT WHAT WAS COMING O:<

anywho thx for reading!

PS: Apologies guys, but I'm having difficulty balancing this fic with school and such, I might have to slow down the updates back to the original plan of every other day. School finals r next week and I have a lot of work to get done. I will try and post ch 6 tmrw but after that it's every other day.

Orv x SL discord server

Chapter 6: Chapter 6

Notes:

Yeet more filler lol, next chapter gonna be the Jinwoo's, Dokja's, and Jinchul's meeting take 2.

Sorry my readers but I'm having difficulty posting daily and balancing it with school and life. I will have to go back to the original plan and post every other day xP I have finals next week and I need to cram my studying.

I'm not going to go on a break or discontinue, I just need to pace myself cuz life's getting busy.

Jinwoo and Woo Jinchul exited the A-rank gate to be welcomed by a crowd of news reporters, however they’re vanity was questionable. A few yelling so much, they were flinging spit everywhere, others were throttling their cameramen by the neck. All of they shouting things like “DId yOU caTcH ThaT”s, “whAt WaS tHAT”s, and “Sung Jinwoo hunter-nim and Woo Jinchul of the Monitoring Division might know”s.

It was absolutely chaotic.

In the midst of it all, Jinwoo issued his orders to his shadow infantry.

‘Stay out of sight as you search for Kim Dokja, If you see him inform me immediately.’

Beru affirmed over their connection as the speaker for all the shadows,’Yes my liege.’

Bits and pieces of his shadow split off to commence the manhunt, this can’t be too hard right? Kim Dokja can’t have gone far, he most likely is still in Seoul. Besides he might not even know what to do after he got away from Kaisel. Jinwoo relayed his plan to a disheartened Woo Jinchul (Jinwoo’s ridiculously strong!!! What even was that raid?! Thought a hysterical Jinchul), and told him to keep an eye out, to which the A-rank acquiesced.

As he was about to open his car’s door in a parking lot near the Gate, an especially frantic reporter managed to break through the blockade of Hunter Association employees, thrusting a mic in Jinwoo’s face. His jaw clenched tightly in frustration at the invasion of personal space.

“Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim!! We recently saw a black and white blur zoom out of the Gate!!! Do you have any notion on what it was?!? Did a monster manage to escape your grasp?!”

Jinwoo’s eyes narrowed, his mood souring ever so slightly, 𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘺. However they must’ve seen Kim Dokja exit the Gate, Jinwoo stored the thought for later revision.

Jinwoo ignored the irksome man resolutely, and swung open the door in their face, making the reporter start to get angry himself.

Before the news reporter could try and pry an answer out of Jinwoo again, Igris had had enough and he felt the rage of the knight directed at the reporter’s indecency to his king. The noble knight manifested from his shadow and stepped towards the reporter. The reporter squealed feverishly when Igris grabbed him from the scruff of his suit, and dragged him back to the crowds, unceremoniously tossing him past the wall of Association employees.

His butt skidded on the pavement, and the discombobulated reporter jumped up and hid behind a young camera woman who glared at the man peevishly. Jinwoo huffed as Igris bowed then rejoined his shadow and he got in his car, driving off to the Ah-Jin guild’s office.

-- Korean Hunter Association Building Chairman’s Office --

Woo Jinchul stood in front of the Chairman's office’s closed door, collecting his barings. He huffed out, and tightened his tie before entering the room after giving a few quiet knocks. Go Gunhee was reading something on his tablet on the sofa by the table when he entered.

“Ah, you’re back already? Welcome.”Gunhee greeted in a friendly tone,“How did the raid go Woo Jinchul?”

“It was not a raid… It was a one-sided-massacre…” Jinchul instantly losing his color,”Except for that one part..”

At this Gunhee boisterously guffawed at the Head of the Monitoring Division’s expense.

“Hoh? I suppose there was no shortage of excitement today.” Gunhee remarked,”Why not sit down and recount your observations?”

At this, Jinchul sat himself on the other couch and began discussing how Jinwoo had swiftly dealt with the high grade-monsters, Nagas, with his summons. While a portion would deal with the corpses another would be in charge of the mining. After they had been about halfway inside the dungeon, the Nagas took a hint and began attempting to flee from Jinwoo’s shadows. To no avail as the shadows were a lot faster and they swept the Nagas brutally.

Then they had the encounter.

“A man in a white cloak with an incredible aura was found by one of Jinwoo’s summons?” Gunhee asked, his eyes widening at the details, dare he say a hint of recognition danced through his eyes? Jinchul was rightfully confused by the reaction.

“Yes, an ant found him hiding behind a cluster of Magic Crystals. However Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim and his summon noticed that he wasn’t entirely human, but he looked Korean and was able to speak it fluently.”

Gunhee seemed to reach an epiphany at the info, making Jinchul even more muddled.

“Did… He by chance come this way, Go Gunhee-ssi?”

“I believe so, however he and I had a private talk right here. He didn’t seem to be hostile, in fact quite the opposite. Are you sure he was a monster from the dungeon?”

“Then if you met him, you must’ve seen his aura… It’s very intoxicating.. What did you talk with him about?”

“He claimed that his records had been wiped off the system, to which he said he couldn’t specify how. Before that Kim Dokja also asked what this building was when he came into the reception, before I had someone on staff bring him here. I told him about the profession of Hunters and he held no recognition to the name.”

“Did he say where he might be by any chance after you chat?”

“I pointed Kim Dokja to the evaluation area, he had magnificent potential to be a Hunter and he even wanted to apply, he should still be there doing exactly that. He said he already knew where he wanted to work after that, he didn’t clarify though, then bowed and left.”

“Bowed? So he’s familiar with customs?”

“And honorifics.”

Jinchul will be honest and say that his mind was very muddled by this new perplexing information about the anomaly that is Kim Dokja. Was he a monster masquerading as a human, who has enough wit to fool them all, then backstab them once he gained their trust? Or is he legitimately a man who is part monster but doesn’t want to hurt humans, and help whoever this heir is? Whether or not he didn’t mean harm, he was hiding something 𝘣𝘪𝘨, and none of them had a clue at what it was. Unless they're all looking at the wrong things laced in his sometimes ambiguous answers.

Jinchul knew that Gunhee was exceptionally gifted in judging character and reading behind the lines, being a businessman you had to be able to after all, and he had deemed Kim Dokja as an honest person. Were he and Jinwoo mistaken? Should they call off this cat and mouse game and maybe try and help Dokja in finding the one who will inherit the rank of Monarch from whoever this ‘Shadow Monarch’ is?

That brought back memories of their first meeting.

{ "Say…"

Jinwoo's eyes snapped up to Dokja's face as his voice lilted.

"Are you the heir to the Shadow Monarch?" }

Did Dokja think that Jinwoo was the heir? Why? Because of his summons? Jinwoo did seem a likely candidate if his monsters came from his shadow.

{ "Why did you ask if I'm the heir?"

"... Because I'm here to help you if you are."

"Who are the Monarchs?"

"Can't say I know, I was just told and sent to help the heir to the Shadow Monarch with a difficult task." Dokja said less hesitantly, in fact he answered it as if he was hoping for them to know the solution themselves. }

Dokja is looking for the heir of a ‘Monarch’ when he seems just as clueless as they were on these ‘Monarchs’. Who ordered him to find the successor? What is this difficult task? What is Dokja’s origin?? So many questions left unanswered..

“So you think that Kim Dokja might not be our adversary, but might be on our side? What if these Monarchs are our foes? Will he just swap sides like that?”

“Well whoever commanded him seems to have high authority over him. So yes, that is a possibility.. However… We have Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim correct?”

“... Yes.” Jinchul conceded, not understanding what the Chairman was getting at.

“I think you can connect the dots just as well as me, he asked Sung Jinwoo if he had ties to the Shadow Monarch, yes?” Gunhee recapulated,”The most likely person so far that we know of who could be the successor is Sung Jinwoo, Kim Dokja could be our ally, we do need the support with Gate emergence rising, their difficulty to match.”

Jinchul tossed the thought around in his head, eventually he nodded in understanding.

“I see, but what of his seemingly monster descent?”

“We’ll clear that hurdle when we get there.” Gunhee replied,”I have a feeling we won’t need to worry about that, he’s well mannered enough.”

Jinchul arched a brow almost imperceptibly at that, making the Chairman break out in a chuckle.

“I will go and make sure the evaluation goes smoothly, thank you Go Gunhee-ssi.” Jinchul said as he stood up and bowed.

Gunhee nodded in response to the bow,“Of course! Will you relay me the details about the evaluation too? I am quite curious..”

“Certainly sir, if you’ll excuse me.”

Jinchul left the office, heading to the evaluation area at a steadfast pace. Wondering how much of a ruckus Kim Dokja will create. Jinchul thought as he waited in the elevator. Once he left it on the bottom floor he could already hear the commotion from the analyzing section in the floor. He gave an exasperated sigh and treaded towards the ruckus. Not noticing the seemingly roiling shadows as he walked by.

---

Notes:

If u haven't noticed... HOORAY I FINALLY managed to make it keep my slanted text (yes the original chapters on my Google docs have bold and slanted text, bUT IT DROPS IT WHEN I POST IT HERE >:T srsly..)

Thx for reading!!! 🙃

Orv x SL discord server

Chapter 7: Chapter 7

Notes:

Thx for being understanding ya'll cya Friday

Dokja lounged comfortably back in the stiff cushioned chair in the waiting room. He was completely lax, unlike the other testers. He had snagged a brochure from a folder when he registered to be assessed for the job before entering this room. Apparently once you got evaluated, you couldn’t raise your Hunter rank in any way possible. It was like a permanent marker was used to label you, and of course your rank determined if you would either be extremely successful or not.

Dokja however had nothing to worry about unlike them, for he highly doubted that the test would hinder his growth. Whatever these Hunters got their innate strength from, it wasn’t from the Star Stream oddly enough. Which begs the question… What was causing Hunters to manifest incredible abilities if not the Star Stream? Did this world have its own system? No one seemed to question it much oddly enough, they just seemed to accept it as it was.

He snapped out of his thoughts when he saw something inside a shadow in his peripheral blaze. Dokja didn’t turn his face towards it, instead he swivelled his eyes to the strange phenomenon.

And a pair of blazing sky blue eyes stared back. Dokja could feel the hairs on the back of his neck rising at the chill he felt, and a shiver ran up his spine. He did his best to hide the reaction and gulped along with a sweatdrop.

[ K i m Do kja tho ught: O h, that’ s b ad. ]

For once the [Fourth Wall] caught his thoughts exactly. Dokja tried and failed to not visibly quake in his chair, and now he fit right in with the other examinees. His Personal Skill aided him a little in staying somewhat brave and calm, though not much. It wasn’t that he was scared of one soldier, he had a wandering suspicion that the army could be the eyes and ear of that… 𝘔𝘢𝘯. If one found him, the shadow man would not be too far behind. Although Dokja knew he could take him head on, he didn’t want to make an enemy with him.

He averted his eyes, and covertly set a hand on the hilt of Unbroken Faith. If the thing so much as 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 from it’s position, Dokja was going to 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘁 right in this very lounge. No one seemed to notice the chilly tension. The standoff between Dokja and the shadow mixed right in with the highly strung room’s atmosphere thankfully.

“B-rank! Score!! I don’t have to worry about my debt anymore!!!”

Everyone’s heads snapped up at that, all except Dokja sharing the same thought.

𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘺, 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘰!

“Who’s next?” The Association employee, a ravenette male in a dark suit, called.

It seemed to flip a switch as everyone became eager to get evaluated, the tested-to-bes all clamored to get inside first. The employees tried to break it up and get them in order, but to no avail. Everyone forgot about the Dokja who smoothly stood up. He managed to mask his elatedness, although the facade cracked as a smirk slightly curled the edges of his lips, as he strode to the door. The examiner and Dokja exchanged nods of greeting and ignored the people who were cursing at Dokja for ‘skipping in line’, to which Dokja scoffed. This reaction was familiar to him.

“What?” Dokja asked, spinning around to face the testers.

“You skipped me!! I was supposed to go first! Do you have any idea who I am?!” One of the people spat,”I’m 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨!! Son of the CEO of 𝘏𝘦𝘹𝘢 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺!!”

Dokja rose a brow and taunted,”Hoh~ relying on your family name to get what you want? What would your daddy think of you?”

“He would agree with me wholeheartedly!” They spluttered.

“Ah, a spoiled rich kid hmm?” Dokja breathed, his sly smirk became more pronounced,”Well tough luck buddy, first come first serve.”

Dokja turned and left, smug as a peacock, not missing the squawks rising from the folks in the waiting room and stationing himself by a gigantic orb, St- er Mana was emanating from it like a curtain. He didn’t notice the shadow following him inside the other room before the door closed. The employee stood behind a consel, waiting for him.

“Ok, set a hand on the sphere and I’ll gauge your Hunter rank sir.” They instructed.

Dokja obeyed, and laid a palm on the instrument, the aura seemed to waver, then it’s color changed from golden to a variety of colors. There was dark red, bright blue, white, and hints of green. Suddenly he felt his Stories stir deep inside him, growing restless, then [Fourth Wall] got his attention.

[ Ge t a w ay fro m t he ba l l, K i m D okja ]

Dokja promptly withdrew his hand away from its surface, thankfully the inspector seemed to have all they needed. He could still feel his stories unease swirling in his core, but they were calmer now. The giant story ‘The Torch that Swallowed the Myth’ was even growling at him, however ‘Demon World’s Spring’ settled down relatively easily. Dokja realized that the Orb must’ve sampled his stories and skills to test him and they got provoked.

“Immeasurable??!” The employee gasped,”Man, and Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim only got reevaluated what? 2 months or something ago? Guess the news was right about the fluctuation in Gates and Hunters.”

Suddenly a familiar man barged into the room through the doors Dokja and the employee had come in through. Dokja internally squeaked in fright, sure this man didn’t seem as menacing as the handsome shadow man, but he was also decently strong. If they spoke of his appearance in a dungeon the evaluation would be in shambles!!

“Ah, you’ve already been evaluated?” The discernable man spoke,”Kim Dokja right?”

“Er- Yes.”

Suddenly a shape began to surface from a shuddering shadow. Now this made Dokja’s pupils dilate in fear.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯!!?

After he rose from the shadow, his hands became wrapped around two deadly looking daggers from thin air, some sort of inventory skill? He got into a stance threateningly, and Dokja subtly laid a clammy palm on the handle of Unbroken Faith for the second time, surveying the threat. He also placed his feet into a stance for instantaneous action. Dokja was on edge after the frightening hunk had made the verdict of death on him earlier in the cave, his hackles rising. He could feel animosity rise in [Fourth Wall] along with his stories.

His eyes gleamed an eerie cornflower blue, an aura flaring from his broad shoulders to match. Suddenly the man burst forward towards Dokja despite the other man calling for them to stop. The reader hastily unsheathed Unbroken Faith and conveyed white pure star energy from his blade, choosing the divine element. Unbroken Faith shrieked at the input power and clashed with the dual blades. Sparks flew where their blades grinded against each other, and Jinwoo went for a couple more versatile swift strikes. Not only were they speedy, but they packed a punch, but Dokja didn’t back down. The reader grit his teeth as he easily shoved his assailant away and across the room, Jinwoo managing to stop himself before he hit a wall. The guy proceeded to get back into his stance as if nothing happened.

[The Personal Skill ‘Fourth Wall’ is showing its teeth in a threatening manner!]

The poor employee who was currently petrified behind the computer decided he had other places to be as he booked it out of the room with a squeal, probably hoping he never tests an S-ranked Hunter again if this was what happened. Dokja agreed with the sentiment.

[The Personal Skill ‘Fourth Wall’ has offset some of the mental stress!]

Dokja abruptly felt a deep calm seep into his mind, soothing him into tranquility to think clearly. Dokja stopped giving Unbroken Faith energy and slowly made a show of putting it back in it’s sleeve, the scraping sound of metal filled the room until it was sheathed. The incredibly attractive man seemed a little shocked at how Dokja let down his guard, while the other seemed grateful. The freshly evaluated S-ranker gulped, although the [Fourth Wall] did a wonderful job in calming him down, he still was slightly fearful. The brunette cleared his throat and continued where he left off, Jinwoo reluctantly willed his blades away and got out of his stance.

“Did the employee tell you the results?”

At this, the two ravenettes shot inquisitive looks at the man.

“Ah, I apologize, neither of you seem to understand.” The man said,”Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim, Kim Dokja talked with Go Gunhee-ssi after he escaped.”

“You’re affiliated with the Chairman?” Dokja questioned.

“Yes, he’s my boss.” The man explained,”I’m Woo Jinchul, A-rank Hunter and Head of the Monitoring Division.”

Jinwoo seemed to get the memo as he also spoke in the same rumbling baritone,”Ah-Jin Guild Guild Master and S-rank Hunter, Sung Jinwoo.”

Dokja nodded in greeting, along with the other two.

He had read about the departments in the Hunter Association. The Monitoring Division was basically the only thing that acted as a shackle on villainous Hunters. There were also multiple divisions that dealt with spreading information on Gates, collecting data on things related to the topic of Hunters, and so on. Also, each country had their own Hunter Association.

He hasn’t heard about this Ah-Jin guild though, is it big?

“Go Gunhee-ssi was right, you are familiar with customs.” Jinchul remarked, eyeing how Dokja had greeted them both with a nod.

“I would hope so.” Dokja uttered.

“What did you get evaluated as?” Jinwoo queried with a blank expression, but if you looked closely enough you could see curiosity in his eyes.

“He said immeasurable.”

“Ah, of course, so you will have to get evaluated again for your Hunter class,” Jinchul chuckled quietly,”Well Go Gunhee-ssi gave you the ok so I’m fine with you staying around if you do pass the second test.”

Jinwoo eyed Jinchul,”You have a lot of faith in Go Gunhee-ssi, Woo Jinchul.”

“Of course.” Jinchul said as he turned away to leave, he had to go inform Gunhee of the outcome of this ordeal.

“Wait, Woo Jinchul is it?” Dokja piped up,”I have a question for you sir.”

Jinchul arched a brow and rotated back around to face Dokja. Jinwoo stood off to the side, if Dokja didn’t know any better, Jinwoo seemed to be sulking. Did he want their brawl to continue? Dokja was glad he had enough sense to not fight him more here, it would be difficult to do that here in this cramped space, and make sure said cramped space didn’t get demolished. Dokja cleared the thoughts and went back to addressing the Head of the Monitoring Division with a sly smirk.

“Are there any job openings in the Monitoring Division, Woo Jinchul?”

---

Notes:

Sorry if the misunderstanding seems short lived I couldn't think of a way of the three of them still being suspicious of Dokja and vice versa after the evaluation and chat with Go Gunhee. I didn't plan out this story that much lo siento.

And holy mackerel, I just found the Moonstruck playlist, and MZ did a great job :V Apparently it's a fanmade ost for ORV I think, I've been listening to it while studying and writing here's a link if ur interested. I wish I had found it while I was reading the novel, think I'll reread after finals ;P

 

MZ playlist

 

My favorite track is Sacrificial Will (the second track)

Thx for reading!!!

Orv x SL discord server

Chapter 8: Chapter 8

Notes:

Come n' get ur sweet potatoes~

Sun Wukong would ripping his hair out of he were watching this Hidden Scenario lol

‘I’m a little intrigued.’

Jinwoo thought as he cleared yet another dungeon, this time with Yoo Jinho when he was pondering about recent events. He wasn’t paying attention to the carnage around him, and only gave short answers to Jinho’s questions about mundane things. Eventually Jinho took the hint and went on a long rant about finances and family things, basically stuff that Jinwoo didn’t have to answer to to keep the conversation going. Jinwoo appreciated the thought from Jinho, and it’s not like he wants to be rude to one of the only people outside of his family who is important to him.

However he had some major things to reflect on, like that rat Kim Dokja for example.

The guy invaded his thoughts to a level almost similar to addiction. He was a (beautiful) mystery after all.

… Ok Jinwoo was more than a little intrigued.

That’s it, that’s all it was, he just wanted to solve the interesting puzzle that was Kim Dokja.

Kaisel’s chirrup inside his head from his shadow pulled him away from that train of thought, well the wyvern seemed pleased that Dokja was verified as an ally now. His blades had also stopped thrumming after finally confronting Dokja in the evaluation room, he didn’t expect for the weapons to be.. Sentient? No that was too strong of a word, but they do react to the man.

Something else that was odd is that the System tried and failed to label him, that has never happened before. It also kept switching the text between.. Jinwoo wanted to say three names, was it because he had three titles? Does he have a skill that blocks the System from fully analyzing him? Or was it because somehow, even the System didn’t recognize him?

Jinwoo filed away his speculations for later, and moved onto how Dokja had single-handedly managed to overpower Jinwoo despite the difference in physique, how? He wanted to fight more than just one measly clash, but Woo Jinchul had dissuaded it strongly. Jinwoo thought about how not even a ridiculous muscle man like Baek Yoonho could do that. Well muscle isn’t everything Jinwoo supposed.

He didn’t give this rat enough credit apparently, and he really wanted to tussle with him.

No one, not even the strongest bosses he’s fought in the past after he gained the system’s guidance could hold back and still effortlessly shove him away like that. It’s a shame that the cat and mouse game was going to be ended so soon, however Dokja apparently wasn’t their foe at the moment.

Of course, if the moment he ever becomes an enemy occurs, it will resume. He would be a great addition to his infantry after all, it would be a waste of talent to just slaughter him and be done with it.

However, with the help of the system, he might eventually be able to overpower Dokja. Jinwoo is willing to hold back his voracity until their next chance of a duel, he knows when to stop pursuing subjects of his greed after all. What an anticlimactic ending to such an exciting game.

Not only that, but Dokja didn’t request to be in his Guild, if not in his shadow army, then he could’ve still joined Ah-Jin. Jinwoo didn’t know why he wanted Dokja to join his Guild, he didn’t want even Cha Haein to affix herself into his guild, but Dokja was welcome? He actually knew Haein unlike Dokja, he hardly had any knowledge on the man. No, instead the newcomer had chosen the Monitoring Division?? Jinwoo suddenly felt jealousy roil in his stomach at the thought.

Hah.. Has the rat weaseled his way into his mind and made himself at home there?

‘… Or somewhere else.?’

Jinwoo bit his inner cheek and resumed his exit out of the dungeon. He had bigger things to worry about besides whatever this was. Such as the key…

He opened his inventory and pulled out the ‘Key to the Cartenon Temple’. This key was given to him as an invite back to the Double Dungeon dubbed ‘The Cartenon Temple’, the place where he had been adopted by the system. The place where this strenuous journey began. Not only did he get this, but a colossal Gate had sprouted in the skies of Tokyo.

There has been quite the culmination of bizarre activities occurring lately, Jinwoo mused.

With that thought he and a now slightly mopey Jinho left the Gate’s domain, heading to their Guild’s office for one last stocking and patching up tomorrow’s schedule. Before exchanging farewells for the day and heading to their respective homes for the night.

-- Korean Hunter Association Building --

It was nighttime now.

Unlike back in Dokja’s world where there was no light pollution to speak of, the city lights blocked out some of the twinkling stars. Despite Constellations probably not even existing in this world, the reader still habitually found himself glowering at the celestial bodies. Due to the Scenarios, he had long lost his admiration for the brilliant specks.

Dokja recalled how he would gaze at them and remember ‘Ways of Survival’. Thinking about Yoo Jonghyuk and his team conquering the universe with incredible vigor. The persevering tragic hero living on a near eternal nightmarish stage. If he could face such evils then Kim Dokja could too, is what he thought back then when he stargazed through his window. Deaf to his parents’ yells and shouts that spat the most toxic venom at each other, echoing through the thin walls of his dysfunctional family’s home.

Dokja snapped out of his introspection, leaving his childhood bedroom, and found himself back in Chairman Go Gunhee’s office. After the encounter with Woo Jinchul and Sung Jinwoo, Dokja had placated his stories and the [Fourth Wall] with ease, probably because of the absence of Jinwoo. They seemed to now be extra peevish when he was near the S-ranker, but that was to be expected after two attempts on his life.

Anyways, here he sat in Gunhee’s room, accompanied by Jinchul, fresh from an interview. Well, he didn’t really need to be interviewed, Dokja figured Gunhee must have skimmed through his info. Jinchul and Gunhee were conversing about him behind the desk, they seemed to think he was capable, but they wanted to be completely sure he wasn’t scheming anything by joining.

The thought wasn’t unfounded, they seemed to know that he didn’t do things without thought or rationale, Dokja didn’t move without purpose.

Why did he wish to join the Monitoring Division you might ask?

His intuition told him that this Shadow Monarch was a Hunter, they were the only beings that held supernatural capabilities. And it seemed being a Hunter paid well, and anyone who has potential applied to join the dangerous raids to get a couple extra won. However, that was just plan B for his approach to finding the heir.

Dokja was eyeing Jinwoo with utmost attention.

It was highly likely that he was the successor.

First of all, Jinwoo was strong.

The only person that Dokja knew that was closest in regards to strength was the Chairman Go Gunhee.

Second, good-looks.

That’s right, if Dokja has read hundreds of novels, he knows that important people almost always are easy on the eyes. Yoo Jonghyuk for example, or Yoo Sangah, almost everyone in the company basically, heck even the insufferable Han Sooyoung looked nice..

He was never going to tell her that, her ego was big enough.

However that fact wasn’t always the case, take him for example. They were right about him being plain, but Dokja felt that the titles ‘Ugliest King’ and ‘Ugly Squid’ were kind of pushing it, look he wasn’t that ugly.

Gunhee and Jinchul seemed to reach an agreement so Dokja woke from his thoughts.

Gunhee enlightened,”We have an available position, that was proposed to someone else recently but got rejected, so it’s still open and you fit the requirements.”

“Great, which one?” Dokja queried.

“Assistant Manager.” Jinchul informed.

Assistant Manager? That’ll give me good clearance, not bad.. Whoever rejected the offer is crazy!

“Thank you very much for allowing me to join, I know that I’m quite suspicious.”

“Hahaha, don’t sweat it, Woo Jinchul why don’t you show him to your offices.”

The Monitoring Division Head nodded in assent and bowed to the Chairman, Dokja giving one of his own before they left. They were both in the elevator now when Jinchul broke the silence.

“I expect for you to stay out of trouble and behave yourself, Kim Dokja.”

Ah, this was the same with the Company. Although it’s only been a day, thanks to so many things happening today it felt like it had already been a long time. Gosh today was long.. Dokja needed to wash up, eat, and sleep after this last thing. He shook his head at that trail of thoughts as if to expel them from his head.

“Oh do not worry Woo Jinchul!” Dokja reassured lightly,”I won’t step too far out of line!”

Jinchul seemed to accept his assurance and turned back ahead of them, when he wasn’t facing him, Dokja let loose a cunning smirk.

[ K i m Dokj a has a si lver to ngu e ]

Kim Dokja’s Company would have noticed the hole in his affirmation, but Jinchul was blissfully unaware, he never said he would be completely in order.

And he bet that their definitions of being reasonably in line are way different, alas they left the elevator and had at the office without further conversation. Jinchul isn’t very talkative, Dokja noted. The reader paid no heed to the fierce staring that he received as he and the Head traversed the office to a closed door that was next to the Head’s office.

Jinchul unlocked the door and opened it, allowing them to both walk in, shutting it behind them. The A-rank switched on the lights for them to see the room.

It was smaller than Gunhee’s office obviously, and had a blank interior. It had about the same layout but a lot less lived in. Empty bookshelves along some of the walls, clean desk facing the door, a couple filing cabinets, and two cushioned chairs stood next to each other to the right side of the door. There was also a polished coffee table off to the left corner by the entrance with some more chairs facing each other across from each other.

Much like the Chairman’s office, the wall behind the desk was composed entirely of glass. He could see the lovely boisterous lights of the traffic and buildings of Seoul for miles. Dokja inspected the layout and was humbly pleased.

Perfect, it bore some similarities to his room back in the Industrial Complex too.

“Here are your keys, be sure to lock the office door whenever you leave for the day. I will be next door in my own office if you need anything.” Jinchul instructed as he passed over the key.

“Thanks.”

Jinchul nodded and left the room, he could hear the other agents in the division discussing something in a quite loud manner when the door opened, what they were chattering about Dokja didn’t know. The office fell into silence once the door was closed. He strode over to the desk and eyed the comfy chair that was placed behind it. Dokja flopped down into it and squeaked when the cushions were a lot more plump than he had calculated.

He sat there for a moment, shutting his eyes as the chair absorbed him, and huffed a sigh.

“So longgg~ I hope every day here won’t be so packed with activity, I feel like an Ahjussi..”

The reader relaxed further, but decided he should get moving before he passed out. He got up, and planned out what he should do next.

“Well, I need lodging… Oh, I know just the place! I bet that the apartment I used to live in also exists here, that should fit well.” Dokja spoke to himself.

He felt the [Fourth Wall] approve of his idea and he gave a tired yet cheerful smile.

An hour later, it was 8:00 and he had got himself a place to stay for the duration of the Scenario, and some Cup Noodles for dinner. He already missed Jonghyuk’s cooking… This is going to be a long ride.. Dokja sat on a couch, and guess what… Another coffee table! This world and it’s coffee tables.. He turned on the Tv that faced him across from the table and began to scarf down the bowl of noodles mixed with cheap chicken flavored spices and broth. Eyes never leaving the news that played on the TV. As he watched, eventually something crazy appeared on the screen..

The heck??!

His eyes shook at the broadcasting of a behemoth of a Gate, his jaw hit the floor at the size. Dokja hurriedly read the headline.

‘Huge S-rank Gate Appears above the City of Japan, Tokyo, who can conqueror this threat?’

“The Japan Hunter Association is currently sending messages to any prominent Hunters that could partake in the raid of this monstrous Gate. They are practically defenseless against the Gate however due to the deaths of a large sum of their S-ranked Hunters in the Jeju Island Raid.” The reporter enlightened,”Due to the small number of S-ranks they have now, they are calling for help globally, however none have responded yet except for the ‘World’s Best Support-type Hunter’ Yuri Orloff!”

Dokja was enraptured as he hastily pulled out a notepad and pen he had bought at the store along with his stock of Cup Noodles. He messily scribbled down notes onto the paper: Yuri Orloff, types of hunters, and the Jeju Island Raid…

“Many were enraged that Korea didn’t help Japan with this traversity, but the Korea Hunter Association’s Chairman Go Gunhee released evidence of Japan’s attempt to double cross the Korean S-rank Hunters in the Jeju Island Raid.” The reporter continued,”Due to this information many agree with Korea’s course of action, to the chagrin of the Japanese. Thankfully the recently debuted Korean S-rank Hunter, Sung Jinwoo, uprooted their plot and cleared the Dungeon single-handedly.”

Jinwoo did?? Dokja jotted down one more note onto the paper: Japan plotted something bad in the Jeju Island Raid, something that would affect Korea..

The news didn’t continue that topic and went right back to the Gate above Tokyo.

That’s all I’ll get for tonight..

With that Dokja shut off the TV and tossed the cup into the trash in the kitchen. He showered then changed into simple pajamas, all the things he bought at the store, and lay in bed for a while contemplatively. notepad set on the nightstand by the bed. Wondering the same thing before heaving a sigh and turning onto his side and pulled the covers over his prone form.

Finally he managed to get some shut eye and not have to worry about the Monsters of the Star Stream, his thoughts were plagued by Jinwoo until he fell into a peaceful sleep.

---

Notes:

Fufufu till next time on... Maybe finally bond development between two emotionally inept people and maybe even office shenanigans??

Thx for reading!!!

PS: just found out something while writing ch 9

I'm having trouble remembering the Solo Leveling LN, like I remember all the arcs, but I will be needing almost every detail in those arcs and I can't recall all of that off the top of my head xP

So I'll have to reread each upcoming arc as I write chapters which means they might take longer to release.

Not to mention that finals is next week.

Luckily I've been also readin' the manhwa so I can remember up to the tokyo gate arc's end, so I don't think I guys will have to worry about this getting irregular updates.

Orv x SL discord server

Chapter 9: Chapter 9

Notes:

Sorry bout posting this so late in the day XP today has been quite busy

Dokja is having some issues with getting into doing standard chores again..

This morning he had woken up with a fresh mind, ready to face the day. The sun was shining through his window and the birds were chirping amongst themselves energetically. It was a great day to work on completing the Hidden Scenario he was assigned.

That is until he realized he had to wrack his brain on how to function the laundry machine… Look it’s not like people went to laundromats in the middle of an apocalypse, He bet that there was some skill the people used. Dokja, courtesy to his massive stash of coins, just bought a replacement through the Dokkaebi Bag when they got particularly dirty. And he doesn’t want to mess up his laundry and have his clothes ruined.

He could hear the [Fourth Wall] mockingly giggling at his sucky memory, making a blood vessel pop on his forehead, the punk!

Dokja scathingly glared at the innocent machine as if it had just told him that his dog died, then kicked the poor appliance in spite, why do they make them so complicated??!

He knew he had to separate his whites from his dark fabric, but then what temperature should he set the water? What cycle??

Dokja tried to figure it out from memory but ultimately gave up and looked it up on his trusty phone.

Curse you laundry!

Ok, he was ready!! His clothes felt extra comfy after washing them, there must be some other feature thanks to Mass-Production Maker’s expertise besides automatic fitting and infinite pocket space. They felt unreasonably nice in some indescribable way. However in the duration of him being here, Dokja discovered that the Dokkaebi Bag wasn't available for usage here.

So the only access he had to the Star Stream he had was the Scenario Window, and you already know what happens when he tries to open his Attributes Panel.

Thankfully Dokja came well prepared for this, in fact he had anticipated the link being severed between him and the Star Stream until 6 months from now. Thanks to his Infinite Dimension Space Coat, he had all his goodies stored in his pockets.. Not to mention whenever he left it unattended, Han Sooyoung would rifle through his storage, that foxy woman.

It can be awfully unorganized in them sometimes.

Dokja chose to move on from that train of thought and bound Unbroken Faith to his belt then left his apartment, locking the door after he shut it and placing his keys in his pocket along with everything else. As he began walking to the elevator, a door opened a couple paces ahead of him and he gaped at who came out.

Sung Jinwoo lives here too?!?

[ Stu pid K i m Dok ja, did y ou wa nt thi s de ve lop ment? ]

‘No!!’

Jinwoo locked the door, seemingly not noticing Dokja who openly stared at him. He eventually felt the holes being burning the side of his head, and looked to the source, spotting the petrified reader.

“Nice day.?” Dokja asked more than greeted,”Didn’t know that you lived here too.”

“... Yes.”

With that Dokja dashed for the elevator and began to repeatedly assault the button with brisk pushes. He could already feel the [Fourth Wall]’s and his stories’ growing displeasure at the other’s presence. With this in mind he hastily spammed the ground floor nonstop like some 3rd grader waiting to cross a crosswalk. Jinwoo followed unhurriedly, a coy smirk gracing his face. He likely had the wrong idea for Dokja’s reaction, but Dokja didn’t care to elaborate and wanted to high tail it out of there.

Jinwoo entered the elevator with him and it seemed like the elevator finally understood the rapid button mash as the doors slid closed. They stood shoulder to shoulder, Dokja staring pointedly at the doors while Jinwoo side eyed him with a raised brow. The soothing elevator chimes doing nothing to placate the tension in the tiny room.

It gave a cheerful ding and the doors finally slid open, Jinwoo was opening his mouth to say something. However Dokja bolted leaving Jinwoo who reached out dejectedly, the Guild Master heaved a sigh before also exiting the elevator and going to the parking lot.

‘I’ll talk to him later when I come home maybe,’ Jinwoo planned.

With that thought he got in his van and drove to his Guild’s office.

-- Korean Hunter Association --

Dokja exhaled heavily as he flopped himself in his office’s chair. What to do, what to do.

His reevaluation part 2 was tomorrow is what Woo Jinchul had told him this morning, so what else could he do?

He eyed how his file baskets and organizers were almost completely empty, what were the files he had?

Dokja curiously plucked a file folder from the basket and leafed through its contents. Ah, the Monitoring Division’s guidelines, I suppose I do need it..

How to calculate a Gate’s energy, overview on Hunters, reading between the lines on reports, guide to dungeons.. They didn’t leave a thing out huh?

[Personal Skill ‘Reading Comprehension’ has activated!]

With this he was able to read everything breezily in only a minute when it should’ve taken much longer. Now he knew how to test a Gate’s energy, and everything to know about Hunters and dungeons. He didn’t really need to be told to read between the lines of reports, Dokja was quite well acquainted with that skill actually.

With this, Dokja got up from his chair.

Dokja went over to Woo Jinchul’s cubicle and knocked on its small wall to grab his rapt attention from a file, he might as well have fallen into the piece of paper with how absorbed he was.

“Ah, good morning Kim Dokja.”

“Good morning Woo Jinchul, where do I go to get files and reports?”

“I’ll show you where we keep them, come with me,”Jinchul instructed as he left his desk and Dokja followed him, like a duckling trailing after it’s mother, through the Division workspace much like yesterday.

Another thing much like yesterday was the occasional giggles ringing in the room’s cubicles. People weren’t so discreetly exchanging whispers. Dokja resolutely shunned the chatter, this place can be pretty unprofessional huh? Han Myungoh would have a field day telling everyone to focus.

They arrived at a storage room door, Woo Jinchul opening the door and switching on the lights. It was an adequately sized room about the size of Go Gunhee’s office. Bookshelves covered the walls, along with bookshelves laid out in the middle of the room in rows not dissimilar to a small library. Dokja examined the contents on the racks and collected a couple into his arms.

As he did so, Jinchul stationed himself by the door, patiently waiting for the Assistant Manager to finish sorting through the file books.

“Oh, and Kim Doka?”

“Yes?”

“We want you at a Gate site by noon, go ahead and read as much as you can of those until then.” Jinchul explained,”It is at a school, a small Hunter Guild will be exploring it’s dungeon, you just have to stick in the area and manage the situation with your seniors.”

“Yes, Woo Jinchul, I will be there.” Dokja affirmed and Jinchul almost indiscriminately relaxed,”You mentioned a Guild, is Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim going to be there?”

“No, It’s only a C-rank Gate, he focuses on more dangerous dungeons. We want you to get used to field work before we give you bigger tasks.”

At this the [Fourth Wall] openly laughed at him like he had just said the funniest joke in the world. He felt a blood vessel pop on his forehead, and he nearly tripped over his own feet. The brat was finding his honest question funny...

Ah great, Jinchul was sending him a funny look now, Dokja wasn’t sure if it was his enraged reaction or his stumble so he chose to hit two birds with one stone.

“It’s dark in here, I couldn’t see where I stepped.” Dokja lied then continued lamely,”And I got angry about it...” but then he suddenly took extreme interest in the shelves around them when he noticed the lights were brightly illuminating the room.

Jinchul sighed and motioned for them both to leave back to the Monitoring Division’s main room.

Dokja nodded and they headed to their offices. Paying no mind to the agents ogling the hefty stack of files Dokja was carrying. As per Jinchul’s suggestion, Dokja spent the next couple of minutes using ‘Reading Comprehension’ to finish swiftly reading the documents.

After that he snatched up all the ones that had reports that seemed to make him skeptical of them. Before he left for the site, they promised he would be welcomed with paperwork once he got back from his escapades.

Some other people from the Monitoring Division accompanied him too and let him drive in their van with them to the Gate’s site. Once they arrived the employees set up a blockade around the area to keep the reporters at bay. They tasked Dokja with measuring the Gate’s magical energy to make sure they had gotten the rank right. They had another employee help show him the ropes of calculating the energy.

“You press and hold this button down and let it collect a sample of the energy, after a couple seconds it should tell you the measurement of its energy.” The female agent instructed.

Dokja followed the other’s directions and waited for it to load, he felt like a cashier scanning groceries, probably not far from the truth.

“Seriously, this Guild could be so annoying sometimes…” His senior agent huffed,”They always brag about their loot that they rummage, and when they don’t get much they just. Don’t. Stop.. Complaining.!”

Dokja huffed a laugh at their remark, but noticed they didn’t join his laughter, so he looked at the other inquisitively, who was now giving him an unreadable look and another agent came up and elbowed her not so gently. She grunted and held her side, sending a light glare at the other.

“Don’t mind her, she’s the aloof type.”

“Ah, ok.” Dokja said thoughtfully and handed over the scanner.

“Here they are now.” An agent informed, pointing to some people exiting their van who then promptly began equipping armor from the back.

… It was quite bulky armor for some of them, while some wore robes, are they Mage and Tank class Hunters? Oh, one has armor more for maneuvering capabilities, a Fighter-class he guessed. Maybe one of the people in a robe was a Healer.

Someone walked up to them with a clipboard, and Dokja did a double-take, it was the reception lady! She asked them a couple of questions and wrote down some stuff on the paper she held, then nodded at them.

“Good luck!”

With that the Association employees watched as the Hunters entered the Gate.

After that not much happened for about an hour. Dokja and his agents loitered around the area, it seemed that, thanks to this being a low-ranked Gate, no reporters showed up to get a scoop on the raid.

That is until he showed up.

A van sped towards them and it’s tires screeched as the driver seemed to have slammed the brakes. The figure got out of the car and strode to the Gate much unlike his car’s pace. The reception girl squawked and ran over to the man.

“Why are you here? Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim??” She growled in a begrudging tone.

The namedrop instantly caught Dokja’s attention even more so.

“I’m here to clear the dungeon.”

“There is already a group of Hunters raiding it.”

“Is there a reason why you need to clear it Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim?” Dokja intervened.

Everyone’s scrutiny fell on him now and he did well to fight the urge to squirm, and keep on a subtle curl of a smile on his lips.

“Yes, they are in danger.” Jinwoo clarified his will, eyes never leaving Dokja,”It is a double dungeon.”

“What makes you say that? Why do you think that the raid is in jeopardy, and even more so that it is a double dungeon?”

“.. I can’t answer that at the moment, I need to hurry.”

With that Jinwoo went through the portal and entered the dungeon’s desolate depths. Dokja cursed and before anyone could react, he dashed inside, chasing after Jinwoo and leaving the outside world behind.

---

Notes:

Thx for reading!!!

Orv x SL discord server

Chapter 10: Chapter 10

Notes:

Hey hey hey, we in the double digits ya'll for chapters things gonna start heating up now that Dokja is tucked in hope ur ready kekeke

Finals r also underway and I apologise in advance if I end up uploading later in the day this week.

Anywho I hope u enjoy the ch!

“Hey! Can you answer on the way at least? Maybe I could be of your assistance in these troubling times??”

“I must hurry.”

With that Sung Jinwoo dashed in an incredible speed through the dungeon, thanks to his familiarity with the interior of the dungeon he instantly came to the entrance of the abyssal tunnel that led to the temple.

He heard Dokja curse and race after him, and a tunnel that would have taken quite a nice amount of time to traverse was crossed in mere seconds. Jinwoo had made it to the small raiding team’s location that was right outside the temple’s doors, they seemed to be struggling to open the hefty doors unlike when he first entered the temple. Their eyes were filled with unveiled greed and hunger for whatever loot might be on the other side of the door.

“Back away from the door.” Jinwoo commanded, making the group whirl around to face him in shock and rage.

He also heard a scoff behind him and caught sight of Kim Dokja’s unimpressed look. He could feel his shadows roiling slightly annoyed that he received a negative response at his order. The annoyance seemed more pinned on Dokja for some reason. He couldn’t fathom why they cared about Dokja’s reaction, the demand wasn’t even directed at him.

“Who the hell are you?? We signed up for this Gate! You’re the one who should back off.”

“Wait is that S-rank Hunter Sung Jinwoo?!?” One of them said incredulously,”Who’s the other guy? Could he be a member of the Ah-Jin Guild??”

“No you idiot, he’s in the Monitoring Division! Didn’t you see him earlier?”

“Oh.” They spoke dumbly.

Jinwoo was starting to get tired of this idle chatter, he had places to be.

“Hey! Agent-nim, get Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim out of here, this is our dungeon!!”

Jinwoo promptly moved past the squawking crowd and summoned the dark key, fitting it inside the lock, and the door easily pushed open when he prodded it. He stared impassively at the gawking Hunters who spoke up again.

“Hey what are you doing?!”

“Why are you interfering?!?”

“Do you know what’s behind the door??”

“Go ahead and check for yourself.”

The seemingly leader of the group strutted up to the door with confidence bursting from every gesture he made. However just before he got to the door, a firm hand settled on his shoulder. He swivelled his head towards the owner of the hand and adopted a shocked expression. Dokja wasn't looking at them, but was observing the room past the large door. The man flustered at their proximity and Jinwoo felt another rush of jealousy, like before in the evaluating room, for reasons unknown to the S-rank.

“Don’t enter that place, I’m sensing something fishy.” Dokja warned.

“Fishy?” One of them echoed,”Are you just scared?”

Dokja huffed,”And you were going to let him go inside? Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim I’m not pleased.”

The Agent reached down to the ground and grabbed a small monster snake and tossed it past the doorway. However it never passed the entrance as an axe swung down out of nowhere and chopped the poor snake in half.

Jinwoo found a need to defend himself from the accusation, so he spoke up,”I was going to stop him before that happened.”

With that Jinwoo walked past the door, without any surprises to greet him much unlike the piteous reptile. He heard Dokja give instructions to the raid team who hurriedly complied. Jinwoo eyed the door, expecting Dokja to stroll through and low and behold he did. His hand twitched to defend the Agent from the statue standing guard, but as the axe lurched downward, Dokja lifted a hand and met the collision head on with his palm.

There was no scream, not even a yelp as the blade met his skin. Instead of chopping through the skin like butter as usual, the skin held firm like it was steel- no, diamond. Dokja shoved the assaulting weapon away and the guard went flying. Jinwoo couldn’t help but give a whistle at the blatant display. He truly was in another league to pull something like that off.

A smug smirk cracked Dokja’s face as he went to Jinwoo, eyeing the scenery, surprisingly the other statues didn’t move to repel the unwelcome intruder from their holy sanctum. Jinwoo shook his head to dispel the addle thoughts from his mind and began to examine the ominous aged statues that lined the ancient walls. He found himself staring up at the colossal God statue, reminiscing on how it had easily slaughtered his raid party back when this all started. Reminding him of the angel statue with the plaque of rules they had to follow to survive.

With that wandering thought he averted his eyes to the robed statue that still clutched the tablet with the inscribed rules scrawled on it. Jinwoo sauntered over to the figure and waited. He noticed that Dokja was also eyeing it up, his hand was inconspicuously resting on the hilt of his elegantly designed sword sheath. Jinwoo also could sense the energy emanating from it’s form that he didn’t notice before as an E-rank.

{[Ah, you have finally returned…]} A male voice drawled.

The shadow from it’s robe’s hood blocked the features of the angel’s features, but a pair of paralyzing and baleful red eyes glimmered in it’s depths. The creature leered at Jinwoo approvingly, completely ignoring Dokja who stood to the side, eyeing the encounter. That is until Jinwoo glanced at Dokja for a split second then decided he should begin asking questions, however the Angel crushed the stone tablet with ease, making Jinwoo raise a brow.

“There was no meaning behind those rules in the first place.”

{[There was meaning, but that doesn’t matter anymore]}, The angel said before addressing the trespasser.

{[And who is this? An intruder managed to overcome the guard? That has never happened before..]} The angel wondered, ogling Dokja,{[Hm?! The system is struggling with identifying you??!]}

Glad to know that Jinwoo wasn’t the only one shocked by the thought of the system failing to name someone or something. But they had other things to discuss.

“Did you summon me?”

{[Yes.]}

“Are you a monster?”Jinwoo asked.

{[That’s the wrong question]}, The Architect said, almost disappointedly,{[You should not be asking who I am. You should be asking what you are.]}

Jinwoo displayed his displeasure with a deadpan to the statue.

“What the hell is going on here?” Dokja piped up.

At this the Architect lost it’s patience, that it managed to hold with Jinwoo, and glowered at the Agent. Dokja seemed unfazed by the blatant ominous bloodlust directed at him.

“What? It’s a credible question you have to admit, do you two know each other?”

{[Hmph, technically yes, he doesn’t but I do. Back onto the topic, Player, this will be your Final Test..]} The angel rumbled crankilly.

Final test..?

With this spoken, the numerous ancient statues that lined the circular room showed signs of stirring from their dormancy. The inside of their helmets glowed an eerie red, not dissimilar to how the Angel’s eyes did. Excess rubble fell from their rousing forms as they began walking away from their posts.

“What is this system.?” Dokja broke the dramatic moment, making them both stare at him unflatteringly.”Look I know I should be freaking out about how these old rusted tin-cans are sentient, but I’m dying to know what this system shtick is all about.”

Jinwoo and the Angel shot a flat stare at Dokja who formed a sullen expression.

“What?? Gosh can I not ask a couple questions? This is confusing and I’d very much like for someone to explain, because I want to jump on this bandwagon.”

The Architect seemed to decide to completely ignore Dokja’s intrusive presence and spoke to Jinwoo with a bone chilling grin.

{[If you’re still standing after the Test, I will tell you everything]},The Architect said,{[That is the reward I will give you.]}

‘Easy, I have been preparing for this..’

“Arise.”

{[We can’t have that]}The Angel declared and snapped his stone fingers,{[This is the Final Test after all.]}

[Class Specific Skills are limited for the Final Test.]

Jinwoo gained a stunned expression at the limits being set.

[Usage of various potions and stores functions are prohibited. And status recovery effects from leveling up and quest bonuses are also prohibited.]

“What?”

[You cannot exit until the end of the Final Test.]

With that the only passageway into the chamber slammed shut, Dokja squeaked and whirled around to see the doors firmly closed. Jinwoo clicked his tongue as the odds stacked against them.

“So it’s going to be like this?”

“What are you mumbling?”

Jinwoo side eyed Dokja then informed him of their conditions.

“... I can’t call out my summons.”

“What do you mean you can’t summon them??” Dokja asked incredulously,”So we have to fight these things on our own? Ah, that’s great.”

The Angel flapped his three sets of wings and elevated himself above their heads, then hovered in place. Watching them for a few moments as they both drew their weapons and charged towards their assailants. Jinwoo fluently dealt with the statues, dodging a blade and grabbing it with his bare hands, chopping off a section and hurling into a statue’s helmet.

The S-rank glanced at Dokja to see white and blue electricity dancing along his form as he sent waves of it at his enemies, then cut them down with his shrieking blade, fire weaving around the sword scorched the statues.

Interesting. He can control lightning and has an elemental sword..

The Angel seemed displeased by how easy their teaming up had made the Test easier than he would have liked.

{[Hm...The intruder is able to destroy the statues easily,he might make this Test too easy..]} The Angel hummed to themself.

Jinwoo manifested his Demon King’s Daggers from his luckily still accessible inventory, and split a swiping axe’s edge in two. He leapt off it’s wielder’s head to another one and dug his dual blades deep into the stone of it’s head.

{[But you have grown well..]} The Angel remarked in a proud voice,{[You really are amazing.]}

A statue aimed their bow at him and he got ready to deflect the arrow once it came. But Dokja came to slashed their arrow arm clean off their body and kicked them to a crowd of assaulting statues, knocking them over like bowling pins. Jinwoo grinned and they exchanged looks before continuing the Test.

{[Definitely too easy... He must go.]} The Angel said before snapping his fingers again.

A system window popped up on the edge of Jinwoo’s vision as he punched an arm into a statue's torso, making it’s hard exterior crumble and fall apart. Dokja sped past him and cut yet another statue down.

Jinwoo gave a glance to the system pop-up as he joined Dokja in massacring the horde and his eyes widened in disbelief.

[An Emergency Quest has started.]

..!!!

[Defeat the enemy ‘*&mo! ?*ng Sa*v%*i$n’ in the allotted time.]

[Time remaining: 10:00]

...

[9:59]

---

Notes:

Hoh boi wonder how this'll play out.. Will Jinwoo go along with the quest? Or will he ignore it?? Who knows???

Thx for reading my peeps!! Cya next time!

(Oh and um... I-oh dear- I wrote smut ;m; on my Google doc for this pair... I was going to think about posting it soon, but some peeps ik irl found this fic... So I'm going to stew on that, do u guys want me to post it? If so do comment ur opinion).

Orv x SL discord server

Chapter 11: Chapter 11

Notes:

Hey hey hey wassup peeps? Back with another chapter!! Muehehehe enjoy~

Everything was going swimmingly.

Kim Dokja and Sung Jinwoo were demolishing any statues in their paths, thankfully the ginormous god statue stayed in his throne. Although he had the distinct feeling that the thing was observing them along with the crux of the matter, ahem, the Angel that’s ego seemingly knew no bounds. Heck the snob was looking down his nose scornfully right now as he cleared another group of statues via Electrification and sword. The Angel’s attitude was very familiar, and it really ticked him off so he took it out on some more ancient sculptures.

[The exclusive skill 'Bookmark' is activated!]

[The exclusive skill 'Electrification' Lv. 12 (+2) has been activated.]

Thanks to his status that now overcomes the limitation of having to use ‘Miniaturization’, Electrification’s kick had become more potent and easily wiped out a couple of statues with ease.

That is until Jinwoo seemed to be having trouble comprehending who the enemy was..

“Whoa!!!” Dokja squawked as he ducked out of the way of a malicious dagger that’s movements whistled through the air.”Hey! What are you doing??! Now isn’t really the time to spar!”

Jinwoo’s normally stoic face, held a contrite expression as he began fluidly swiping his blades at Dokja who blocked each strike.

[K i m Dok ja th oug ht: He lo ok s re morse ful.]

[Your understanding of the character 'Sung Jinwoo' has increased.]

.. What.??

[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint stage 2 has been activated!]

‘.. Sorry Kim Dokja, I need to clear the quest.’

‘Quest??’

‘Your death is necessary, I’m already stuck in between a rock and a hard place, I can’t clear the Final Test before ten minutes.’

‘...’

“I see.”

Their weapons clanged as they held each other off with their swords, staring each other down. Dokja saw a glimpse of determination in Jinwoo’s eyes.

“Did whatever this system is give you a bounty quest for me?” Dokja questioned sedately.

‘Can he see the system window too.?’

Dokja rose a brow and looked around the air for a panel of some sort, but there was nothing. His reaction garnered Jinwoo's eyes to widen in shock.

“You can read my thoughts.” Jinwoo stated more than asked.

Dokja cringed and confirmed”.. Yes I can.”

Dokja broke the clash of their swords and leapt a couple feet away. The statues that were repelled away by their duel closing in on them again now that the fighting had paused.

“I’m assuming that Angel is a part of this system you’re talking about?” Dokja questioned.

Before Jinwoo could answer, the ground shuddered beneath their feet and a loud crumbling sound echoed in the chamber. They both whirled around to see the god statue finally rising from his seat, now standing menacingly tall. Dokja saw its stoney eyes swivel downward to him and Jinwoo, then they began to glow.

That can’t be good…

Jinwoo seemed to share his thought as he braced his grip on his daggers and got ready to run.

Ah, nevermind Jinwoo seemed to still be set on killing him, as the S-rank dashed towards Dokja.

The reader spun around to face Jinwoo head on and used the Divine element in Unbroken Faith, his sword shrieking as the energy traveled into it. Their blades grinded against each other, sparks flying with each strike and block. Dokja was now able to use stage one of [Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint] on him and easily parried each strike.

A sound akin to furious hissing split the air and Dokja sent Jinwoo away from him and he glanced up at the god statue.

It’s eyes were blazing now and he cursed.

Does it have laser beam eyes??!

Dokja yelped as he saw Jinwoo coming at him again unrepentantly.

Their powerful collision hurtled them both a couple yards away from where they met. The hissing sound evolved into a thunderous bang and the lethal beam shot from the monstrous statue’s eyes.

A statue that got caught in the ray was utterly disintegrated, and when the streak struck the floor the temple reverberated violently. The result of the beam was astonishing, it almost looked like the aftermath of a probability storm.

However he didn’t have enough breathing room to look at it as Jinwoo surged towards him again.

Jinwoo and Dokja continued combatting with each other, their onslaught cleared statue after statue in the crossfire.

“I’ll deal with that pompous Angel, while you handle that god statue?” Dokja suggested.

“I need to clear that quest, I only have 5 minutes to finish it.” Jinwoo growled.

“Just do as I say darn it! I bet that if one of us kills that bird brain up there the quest could cancel itself, he is the one who administered it right?”

“... Fine.”

Dokja didn’t even get to reply as Jinwoo sped past him like a missile towards the god statue that’s eyes were beginning to illuminate again.

['Demon King Transformation' has been activated!]

Dokja’s raven wings spread from his back along with his small shiny black horns from his forehead. With this, he launched himself into the air towards the Angel. They didn’t notice him until he was just before them, and they hastily swerved out of the way of Unbroken Faith. Dokja fed the sword darkness pure white star energy and an abyssal aura swallowed the blade.

“Come here you crusty fowl player.!” Dokja hissed as he catapulted himself at the Angel with a wing beat,”Trying to get between us isn’t going to work!”

The Angel sprouted three more arms on either side of its torso beneath its original two. With this the two made a mighty clash of two incredible powers, the connection sending a shock wave.

---

As this occurred Jinwoo dodged another roaring luminous beam and hopped up onto one of the god statue’s arms.

He sped up to it’s shoulder and got into position. Jinwoo then unleashed a long tirade of strike after strike with his dual blades whistling through the air.

‘... It’s only grazing the stone..’

The statue tried to swat him off its shoulder but Jinwoo vaulted out of the way and off his perch.

‘If cutting won’t work, then I’ll use pure force.!’

He sailed through the air in a graceful arch.

‘Ruler’s Authority!!’

The Skill sent him zooming towards the god statue at an impressive speed. Jinwoo using the momentum and his Skill to deal a savage blow. The attack left a decent dent and numerous spiderweb cracks sprawling across the god statues left half of its face, concrete debris flew everywhere. But he didn’t stop there, as he continued to use the opening to dish out two more overwhelming hits. The statue formed a flabbergasted expression as it keeled over from the overwhelming force.

The S-ranker hopped off of the statue and onto the floor. His eyes scanned the air and he found The Angel spitting insult after insult at Dokja who had transformed with his sword engulfed in an eerie darkness. The Angel had also sprouted three more pairs of arms and was wielding an assortment of the weaker statue’s weapons. Not only that but its face’s left side had seemingly crumbled away the concrete and was now glowing an iridescent light blue, a red gemstone was embedded in their forehead. Their once male voice was a jarring mix of the system’s voice and their own.

The thing was having a complete 𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘵𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯, Jinwoo formed a smirk as it screamed deliriously.

{[You inferior morta!! How dare you ruin the King’s resurrection!!!]}
[You inferior mortal!! How dare you ruin the King’s resurrection!!!]

{[I am the Architect, founder of the system!]} The Architect yapped on,{[Know your place!!]}
[I am the Architect, founder of the system! Know your place!!]

“Well maybe if I actually knew what this system shtick is all about I would actually be at least a little bit intimidated.” Dokja taunted.

Dokja didn’t seem to even bat an eye as they clashed, blasts of wind spreading across the sanctum with each parry. Jinwoo realized that Dokja possibly was going easy on him, and it irked him. Despite the Architect having more arms to do both ranged and melee attacks, Dokja weaved around everything, though his movements could get clumsy sometimes. He obviously hadn’t trained in the sword much, but he seemed to be quite familiar with reading someone’s move pattern.

Jinwoo looked to his notification as he was about to speed towards them.

[1:21]

His eyes widened, and he flung himself up into the air using both his muscles and ‘Ruler’s Authority’.

---

This Architect must be a cockroach masquerading as an Angel or something.

He just wouldn’t die.!

Not only that but he was screeching bloody murder right in his face, describing countless ways he would enjoy to brutally slaughter him. This guy.. His behavior and attitude are very similar to the Constellations.

“I think I get the message Architect, so kindly shut up will you?”

The only response was yet another ear bursting scream that was both femine and masculine at the same time in a jarring mix. Ah, well he tried.

They clashed again for the nth time, however this time 3 things happened at the same time..

One, Woo Jinchul and some people he’s never seen before barreled into the dark temple through the entrance.

Two, he recognized a familiar whistling sound and he looked to see Jinwoo darting towards them.

Three, the Angel caught him by surprise and shoved him away making him cry out in shock as he lunged at him.

The reader rushed to parry the myriad of weapons trying to wound him. Thankfully Jinwoo came and kicked the rabid Architect away. Dokja rotated around to see the god statue toppled over on the floor that was littered with countless fissures and craters.

The Hunters that had just recently arrived seemed to notice that the Angel was one of the monsters, for a man with scarlet hair and glasses with a magnificent cape flung a fireball at the robed creature.

However the magic didn’t do anything except slow him down a margin.

{[More pesky intruders?]} The Architect growled, and began to start fighting the new arrivals on the ground,{[I’ll put you in your places before I activate the memories.]}

An absolutely stunning blonde with dual blades and the man flinging spews of fire lead the fight bravely, the other Hunters giving support and trying to deal with the statue foot soldiers.

---

“Kim Dokja, Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim!!!” Woo Jinchul hollered.

“We’re ok!! Just a little scratched up!” Dokja assured then turned to Jinwoo,”Hey I’m assuming that quest is timed, how much more left?”

“.. Thirty seconds left.”

“Crap..” Dokja breathed.

Suddenly they heard a hissing sound that they were both acquainted with and turned around to face the god statue. Jinwoo shouted and got out of the trajectory quickly thanks to ‘Ruler’s Authority’, expecting Dokja to do the same, however he didn’t.

‘What is he doing?!?’

“Kim Dokja!!!” Jinwoo called out, not hiding his bewilderment.

Dokja seemed to snap out of his trance and looked to Jinwoo. He had an odd smile curling his lips that he wasn’t able to read. He even gave a small wave.

“I’ll be right back.” Dokja stated blithely, as if a beam that could vaporize solid concrete wasn’t aimed right at him. As he waved his creamy white coat shimmered out of existence from his form.

“Wh-?!” Jinwoo began.

“KIM DOKJA!” Jinchul exclaimed from below, just before the Architect broke past Choi Jongin and Cha Haein and the Monitoring Division Head clashed with the cackling Angel.

Jinwoo attempted to reach out and grab Dokja, but the ear splitting sound of the dazzling beam resounded throughout the chamber before he could make it. He watched in horror as the winged figure of Kim Dokja was consumed in the beam completely. The beam diminished gradually, the only thing left of Dokja was his sword that clattered to the ground along with a singed black feather fluttering down to the floor to join the weapon.

Jinwoo saw red.

---

Notes:

Reader: *cocks guns to my head* Ehhhh?? What do you think ur doing author-nim? Another cLiFfHaNgEr?! DoN't tElL Me iT's So

Author: idnehqimKDMWBZILGMW mercyyyyyyy I'm sorryyyyyyyy ;m;

Also figured that I should clarify but Dokja used an inventory Skill cuz if he didn't well... He would lose both his coat and all the goodies he has in it oof.

Thx for reading X'D

Orv x SL discord server

Chapter 12: Chapter 12

Notes:

Wassup, back with ch. 12!! THis turned out longer than I expected it to be, but guess what… No cLiFfHaNgEr!!! 8D NO WAY RLLY??? Yes way >:D

Oh and in case none of u have heard, I have decided to draw a scene from this (yes I'm that desperate for fanart and I didn't think that this'll get good enough for someone else to draw. So I'm doing it XDD) So expect a link in the near future in the notes ;)

Sung Jinwoo has felt this rage before..

.. Kim Dokja sure has made himself comfortable in his head it seems…

For he has only been this mad when those revolting goblin vermin had invaded Jin-ah’s school and put her life at risk.. Jinwoo was never one to let his rage get to him, but having someone that you would like to get closer to get vaporized right in front of you crossed that line. Dokja was interesting, and even his loyal shadows seemed slightly fond with him after only so much time.

It was a potential close bond shoved in the blender, and that ticked him off.

Too bad, he couldn’t obliterate the Architect and his trashy marching band of puppets with his shadows, he would make him wish that he never set that foney quest up. It was hard enough deciding to kill Dokja with his own hands, but he would’ve at least made it painless if he hadn’t fought back.

Jinwoo seethed as he used ‘Ruler’s Authority’ and sent a powerful crushing force towards the god statue’s face, the attack squashing it's head like a melon. He set his sights on the crusty Angel, the thing had focused on taking care of destroying the Hunters with whatever plaster warriors he had left. He seemed to think Jinwoo would take his side and let him finish them off.

He zoomed towards the corroded conniver and crashed into his unsuspecting back. The monster shouted with their grating voice at the surprising momentum. Jinwoo went ballistic and gave slash after endless slashes on their back. Their wings decayed under the strikes and got lopped off and onto the floor. They both plummeted to the floor together, Jinwoo not stopping for a single moment.

{[W-wait!]} The Architect clamored, trying to knock Jinwoo off his back with his already somewhat eroded arms,{[Don’t you want to know the secrets of the system?!?]}
[W-wait! Don’t you want to know the secrets of the system?!?]

At this Jinwoo stabbed a blade into the pretentious Angel’s back making them quiver with a grunt.

“This is what you get for thinking you can control me,”Jinwoo snarled quietly,”And if you think finally sharing your secrets will save you, you are wrong.”

{[Yes, yes of course!!]} The Architect rambled, scared out of his wits, {[I expect no less!! J-just let me reveal the truth of the system, and you can do as you please after!!!!]} [Yes, yes of course!! I expect no less!! J-just let me reveal the truth of the system, and you can do as you please after!!!]

… This reeked of underlying intentions, but Jinwoo pushed himself off of the Angel anyway and they scrambled up onto their feet in brisk movements. The S-rank noticed the confused looks Cha Haein, Choi Jongin, Woo Jinchul, and the extra elite Hunters were sending him.

“Well?” Jinwoo drawled with fretful impatience coating his voice.

The Architect had the gall to smirk deviously at him before they brought two fingers to his forehead. There was a brilliant glaring light that shone around him in a flash, the brightness blocking out his sight. Jinwoo felt like a lightning bolt shot through his body from the contact, dizziness overcame him and he felt like his ears were stuffed with cotton. He toppled over and he heard the Hunters shouting his name, concern overflowing in their voices. And everything went dark, the Architect’s cackling sending him off deep inside his subconscious.

When he opened his eyes he was airborn high above a desolate landscape. However he quickly took notice of the entire expanse was blanketed in an incomprehensibly numbered army of monsters. The individuals spread to as far as his superhuman eyesight could see, his jaw hitting the floor at the sight.

So many.!!

They were all looking up at the skies confusingly.

Are they waiting?

Suddenly the heavens opened up and thousands of portals that looked not dissimilar to Gates manifested. From these portals, hundreds of thousands of winged, silver armored, soldiers gushed out of the entryways ceaselessly. Their numbers equaled the monster army on the ground easily. They made their descent and greeted the variety of monsters with their swords and spears.

To say it was a complete bloodbath was an understatement, the silver soldiers were overtaking the monsters, though some of them died valiantly at the monsters assault as well. However as the silver soldiers proceeded to their imminent victory, a new appearance arrived.

It was a nightmare horse composed of shadows, mounted by a dark armor clad swordsman. The dark knight wielded a long greatsword, it’s blade a shade of lavender with a black handle. An ebony cape rested on his shoulders and drifted behind the horseman, and a billowing mane of light purple blazed from the back of his helmet. His attire was all made up of shadows.

Not only that, but he had Domain of the Shadow Monarch backing his steed’s stride.

Jinwoo couldn’t peel his eyes away from the sudden twist in the continental battle for even a second, spectating on at what his powers could become if he were to continue to train diligently.

---

Today is an utter disaster.

Woo Jinchul decided as he faced off one of the few small statue warriors remaining. There were only four including that insanely strong Angel luckily. The remnants of other sculptures littered the ground, along with a passed out on his feet Sung Jinwoo, and Dokja’s gleaming sword accompanied by a single raven black feather.

Thankfully Jinwoo had swiftly dealt with the god statue that could shoot lasers from its eyes, like that popular American comic Superman some of his colleagues discuss on one of their breaks during work.

They had finally gotten an S-rank on the Division, as they direly needed one, and only one day in on the job and they got completely incinerated. Unbelievable, look, Jinchul understood that this wasn’t exactly the safest job by a long shot, but still. One day.!

Now they had defeated the last of the soldiers, via a string of fire spewing from Choi Jongin’s palm, but now they had to worry about the Angel.

{[You are all extremely fortunate to bear witness to the resurrection of the King!!]}
[You are all extremely fortunate to bear witness to the resurrection of the King!!]

“King?” Jinchul echoed.

Jongin fired billowing bright licks of flames at the Angel, the statue didn’t even bother blocking and came out unscathed. The thing only mockingly guffawed in that jarring voice it had at their puny efforts to wound it. Jinchul and a couple of the Hunters kicked off running at the Angel, and they all swiped their weapons out at it at varying times.

Luckily, it was now rendered flightless thanks to Jinwoo’s rage prior. However it was quick on its feet, and dodged some of the sweeping strokes. Then it used a couple of it’s remaining arms to grab hold of a couple of the Hunters’ gadgets along with Jinchul’s, and flung them along with their instruments away across the threshold.

“I’ll try and give us an opening!” Jongin yelled,”We need Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim to deal with this thing, we need to wake him up!”

“I’ll do it.” Haein volunteered.

The Ultimate Soldier sent another hypnotizing spiralling pillar of fire at the Angel, it delayed the monster not for a second and it howled in fury as it barreled towards her. They collided before she could make it to the sleeping S-rank, and she attempted to impede the Angel.

{[I won't allow you to interrupt the King's slumber!!]} The Angle opposed.
[I won't allow you to interrupt the King's slumber!!]

“Change of plans, I’ll hold him off, someone else try!” Haein hollered,’𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦!!’

Her movements became as fluid as liquid as her refined swordsmanship weaved through the air. Some of the Hunters tried to also assist in holding the Angel back. Jongin joined in the fray with more greedy flames. This attack actually managed to slow down the winged menace, and Jinchul took the opportunity to get to Jinwoo.

He passed the two dancing figures, and clambered over to Jinwoo’s standing form. The Monitoring Division Head began attempting to wake the S-rank up.

“Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim!! Wake up, we need your assistance!”

It seemed like he was already about to rouse from whatever the Angel did however, as he blinked and his eyes rapidly gained clarity, Jinchul couldn’t hide his sigh of relief. However he began to sweat at the pressure Jinwoo was producing. This killing intent is insane… Instead of the periwinkle his aura usually was composed of, it was a deep violet. Somehow he felt like he had leapt a couple levels stronger than how he was before, which should be impossible! He had already reawakened!

“That bastard…”

“Huh?”

Jinwoo didn’t even deign a response for the poor A-rank, and he moved so fast he didn’t even see him move.

Before he knew it Jinwoo had taken the reins in Haein and the Angel’s fight, the woman gratefully sagging in relief already at the break.

“Not only did you kill Kim Dokja, but you also tamper with my body.” Jinwoo growled.

“For that,”Jinwoo breathed as the Angel cried out in agony as he ripped a flailing arm from his body,”You die.”

“You’re not the King..” The Angel croaked,”How could you stand in the place of the King?”

Jinwoo didn’t reply as he stood on top of the Angel, exerting strong pressure to pin it down. His glowing mauve eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly as he quickly lost self restraint to kill the monster.

---

‘Who is this King? He’s speaking as if this King was going to replace me..’

{[No… The Shadow Monarch, do you think the other Monarchs will just stand by and watch?!??!]} The Architect screeched startled ferocity.

‘Shadow Monarch… My job title, it doesn’t seem like he is talking to me though..’

Jinchul perked up in his peripheral at the name the Architect had just spouted, likely thinking the same thing as him.

‘.. Kim Dokja..’

Jinwoo gave a little glance at the singed black feather and sword laying across the expansive room, just thinking about that smile that he could only describe as unlucky made his blood boil from more than just exertion. Suddenly there were rumbling and scraping noises as the previously defeated statues began to get back on their feet.

‘I paused for too long..’

{[Hahaha, this wasn’t supposed to happen…]} The Architect commented ruefully,{[Do you still plan on killing me? If you do, who will stop these statues?]}

Jinwoo used Ruler’s Authority to unleash all his previous daggers from his inventory, they floated menacingly around him in the air.

“I’ll kill you first, and then your puppets.” Jinwoo said matter of factly.

{[If you kill the creator of the syst-...]}

“I will go back to E-grade? I’ve thought about it,”Jinwoo breathed,”But even if the system’s creator disappears. The system that has already been created won’t fall apart.

At this, the Architect hyperventilated in terror and managed to stand up and get a few paces away from the S-rank. Then tried to use the system to stop his heart. Instead all he got was hundreds of scrolling system alert panels, all with the same message.

[The system has blocked the creator’s access.]

{[How can the system?!]}

Jinwoo declared, ”I devoured the system.”

With this, Jinwoo’s phantasmal amethyst aura flared out, wisps of his abundant Mana blazed from his eyes. His shadows growing around him, the scene displayed horrifying danger to its target.

Jinwoo didn’t say another word as all his vicious daggers lashed out and dealt the final brutal blow. Jinwoo’s hands on his knives tightened so much that Jinchul was surprised that they didn’t snap like twigs, his fists shaking slightly. He didn’t even have to see his face to know he was scathingly glowering down at the wrangled body beneath him.

All of its six previously magnificent stone wings were reduced to stumps, and its torso was now missing more than half of its arms. Not only that but it’s head has split in half. It teetered on it’s fragmented feet. And before the Architect keeled over he pointed a hand that was falling apart at Jinwoo, then somehow managed to speak through its mouth on it’s cleaved face. However Jinwoo’s back was already turned away from his display.

{[A prediction, no the prophecy.. When the pillars of fire are built to uphold the heavens]}, The Architect foretold ominously,{[An inevitable death shall find you…]}

And with that, the Architect fell over onto his back onto the debris ridden ground. Jinwoo eyeing him over his shoulder, eye gleaming a faint purple.

“.. Of course.”

With this done, Jinwoo swiftly dealt with the newly revived statues with ease, his newly acquired ‘Black Heart’ aiding him immensely in clearing incredibly fast. The Hunters gawked as the statues they had difficulty confronting together were annihilated with proficiency.

Jongin sighed in amusement at the spectacle along with Jinchul and Haein. While the reinforcement elite Hunters that managed to survive the fight look like their world had just been flipped like a pancake.

Once he finished demolishing the statues, Jinwoo found himself standing above Dokja’s sword and feather. Although his face remained expressionless, his eyes conveyed his sadness. The S-rank picked up the blade, examining it’s blade.

It was awfully pristine, not even a single nick chipped it’s edge, perhaps it was new?

His eyes turned down to the single slightly burnt long flight feather that lay innocently on the ground at his feet. Jinchul walked up to him, also observing the remains. Jinwoo bent down again and plucked the feather off the ground as well, the Monitoring Division Head arched a brow at him.

“Do you plan on keeping those?” Jinchul questioned, he seemed to want to store away the sword or something, but he couldn’t do anything if Jinwoo wanted it.

“... Yes, I’ll keep them.” Jinwoo answered.

Jinchul nodded.

“The dungeon will be collapsing soon, we should leave.” Jinchul added.

Jinwoo began making his exit along with Jinchul, sword and feather in hand.

---

Notes:

Hey hey hey my peeps, did ya know that a black feather is a sign of protection from your guardian angel?? Well I didn’t, I looked it up while writing this and I’m like, ’oOOO me like symbolism~’

FINALLY the Architect is dead!! Tried to get the dialogue as close to the manhwa as it could. I mean it couldn’t be exact cuz of stupid Dokja, had to tweak it a bit..

Although I wasn’t sure while writing this if the Architect and his statues faced enough punishment from Jinwoo or if I accidently let them off ez… I’m not the best at writing action, it’s kinda on and off when my brain can think of interesting attacks.. Hope this brutality lived up to all of ur expectations XP

Thx for reading!!

Orv x SL discord server

Chapter 13: Chapter 13

Notes:

Crap, sorry for being so late XP fOrGiVe Me!!!

And did I create an entirely new item in ORV just so Dokja could revive? Yes sue me 😏 I have trashy memory and I'm in dire need of rereading ORV (rlly should've done that before starting this but eh)

I'm lAzY Ok?

Anywho enjoy~

Kim Dokja saw everything.

The reason why?

Jinwoo thought about him so strongly, that it activated his Personal Skill, ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’ stage 3, automatically.

The reader spectated on with an astonished expression as Jinwoo absolutely trashed every statue with brutal motions.

[K i m Dok ja th ou ght: H e lo ok s ev e n m ore h o t wh en ma d.]

Dokja grew incredibly flustered at his Skill’s mocking words.

‘No I don’t!!’

[Ki m D okj a i s in d e n i a l.]

‘Not. Another.. Word.’

His childish Skill heeded his order by instead laughing at him, the brat.

Ah, it seems Jinwoo has cooled down a little from his temper tantrum, Dokja thought as he saw Jinwoo, although hesitantly let the Architect get on his feet. He rose a brow at the behavior change.

… Oh it’s trying to stall for time by giving information finally.. Why did he so easily fall for it’s scheme??

The Angel smirked slyly and brought his fingers to Jinwoo’s forehead, there was a bright flash that spread like a wave from the contact, with this Dokja shaded his blinded eyes. The S-rank toppled over and they both blinked and found themselves in a desolate landscape, covered completely with various monsters.

Him and Jinwoo watched as great winged warriors flew down from the heavens through portals and clashed with the monsters. After some time when the monsters were facing an imminent defeat, a swordsman with nightmarish armor and sword, sitting on a horse seemingly constructed of shadows arrived and turned the tide of the battle against the silver soldiers.

---

[Ki m D ok ja tho ught: T ha t wa s a n int er est ing re vela tion.]

For once the [Fourth Wall] caught his thoughts exactly.

That horseman on that dark steed revived the monsters into those same shadow monsters that Jinwoo summoned.

Then there was all the stuff that the Architect had spewed about the ‘King’s reincarnation’.

Dokja was right in his theory then, he has officially started the Hidden Scenario it seems.

Jinwoo is the Shadow Monarch’s heir.

No, he just had to wait for the item he used for revival this time to finish it’s dormant period, then he could start helping Jinwoo challenge this ‘difficult task’. His Stories and the [Fourth Wall] seemed pleased that he managed to figure out who the successor was, some of his especially supportive Stories even cheering him on.

[Some of your Stories have begun their storytelling!]

Dokja smirked as he watched the spectacle, but it fell when he saw the recent developments.

A ginormous white wolf followed a warrior clad in illustrious armor, their helmet frame with two long horns. Both followed by an army made with a mix of more armored soldiers, and feral ripped creatures with savage claws and teeth some fur accented their figures as well.

The newcomers assaulted the Shadow Monarch’s army, them and the silver soldiers slowly turned the tables.

That is until the Shadow Monarch easily decapitated the warrior with the extravagant horns. Although the Sovereign who ruled over the shadows was weakened by the threes’ joint efforts, the great white wolf looked rather terrified, and retreated back to the portal, tail between its legs. The sight made Dokja want to laugh, the view all too familiar with the pompous Constellations back in his worldline.

With both commanders gone the army fled as fast as they could away from the battle. The Shadow Monarch took a knee after they left, eyeing the commander who had got his head lopped off. Eight especially elegantly armored silver soldiers circled above him as they descended down, but they didn’t seem to be going down to the being in nightmarish armor to fight.

Before they could greet the kneeling form, the illusion ended, and Dokja found himself back in the temple.

He grumbled peevishly at missing a possibly important part in the mirage. The reader watched as Jinwoo swiftly dealt with the Architect, claiming he had devoured the system, and easily cut him down with multiple floating daggers. He might as well have a knife kink or something at this rate, who needs that many blades??

What really was the kicker however was Jinwoo taking his blade and his feather. Dokja felt his hand twitch as he plucked them both off the ground, he understood the sword, but why his feather.?

Did he know what that feather was going to become? Impossible, but the way he was looking at it made Dokja really felt out of his depth in understanding Jinwoo and his subtle expressions.

[Name: Phoenix’s Tear

Rating: SS

Description: The tear of the legendary bird of revival in the legends of Vedas. It can only revive you if you are burned to death but leave something behind after you’ve passed.]

This item was a pain to get a hold of through the Dokkaebi Exchange, but thankfully Dokja got it just before starting this Scenario. Not to mention that his situation fit the requirements of usage to a tee. It should take three days for it to completely take effect however. It truly was a life-saver though.

Just as Jinwoo was about to leave the Gate site area, he fainted. Ah, he must’ve overexerted himself in the temple.. That must’ve been quite difficult to handle all those statues twice.

‘It’s truly a good thing he has such a reliable companion like me,’ Dokja thought smugly, ‘The Constellations must be smiling down on him truly.’

Dokja was shocked to see that when they tried to detach Unbroken Faith and his feather from his hand, his fingers didn’t even budge a centimeter. Sheesh, does Dokja have a clingy companion or what? They gave up and transported him to an ambulance, Dokja following them inside as well.

Not too long after, he found himself standing by the window in the hospital room. Jinwoo was still conked out, not showing any sign of waking up soon. A kind looking woman with a worried expression visited the S-rank, along with a crestfallen teenage girl who took the chair that stood by Jinwoo’s bed.

Dokja looked at them from his spot by the window however didn’t turn to face them. He didn’t feel inclined to see their fright, the scene only reminded him of what he didn’t have before the scenarios. Instead, he took interest in Seoul's night-time skyline. The lights of the buildings shone brightly. Along with the passing of traffic on highways and streets in general, a clash of red and yellowish white flowing down the segments.

[Ki m D okj a th ou ght: St ill n o t u s ed t o it.]

Dokja mentally agreed with his Skill, it was a jarring sight that told him a specific message.

He doesn’t belong here.

Well, six hours for his company, six months for him, Dokja will be back soon enough and they will reach the ■■ together. Perhaps even enjoy some pizza by the Han river with Lee Gilyoung and Company, or go to a PC bang with Lee Jihye, live in a big house with everyone..

But first he needs to think about the present and how to get to their desired ■■.

Dokja needed Greed to help ease the burden in the upcoming Main Scenario. Sure he might be extinguished by a brutal Probability Storm soon after helping them, but he just needed to wait until he was absolutely necessary to use. They needed as many cards to play as possible to clear the final Scenario after all.

Dokja was willing to do whatever it takes.

---

It’s been three days, Jinwoo was still unconscious, and his feather was now pristine. There were no more singe marks on it which meant…

Today’s the day to get back in action.

Hopefully his surprise return to the Division wouldn’t be too chaotic, but his Company’s steadily growing alarming reactions doused that flaming hope with water. Just Dokja saying he was going to be gone for six hours made them knock him out, and bind him to a chair now, when back then they would’ve said a fond ‘good riddance’.

What happened to cause them to have such a dramatic mood swing?? Dokja had absolutely no clue.

It was going to be weird reviving if Jinwoo was still holding his feather. Yes, even though the doctors attempted to pry Unbroken Faith and his flight feather from his death grip, it was a fruitless endeavor.

Geez.. Dokja just couldn’t fathom why they were so inseparable. It was almost cute how Jinwoo clung onto the inanimate objects even in his sleep. Almost as if he were a stubborn baby with it’s toy. When he seems to be a, (devastatingly hot), grown man in his early 20s..

The [Fourth Wall]’s goading snickering filled his head, making Dokja utterly offended.

‘What?’Dokja questioned in annoyance,’You have to admit he is a tall glass of water! Just look at that carefully sculpted face!! He puts those statues to shame, and their supposed to look like models!!!’

His disobedient Skill just dissolved into giddy giggles, Dokja gave up.

The feather began to glow, and Dokja snapped to attention, even the [Fourth Wall] silenced it’s amusement.

Not only that but Jinwoo’s eyes slowly opened as well, wow what a coincidence.

Dokja blinked, and now he found himself straddling Jinwoo on his lap in the Hospital bed. They both froze, and stared unblinkingly at each other for what felt like ages. Dokja felt the [Fourth Wall] relieve some of his mental stress, and his face formed a calm poker face. Jinwoo however wasn’t blessed with a mental skill like Dokja, and was now being straddled by a deadman in his eyes. So of course his eyes are practically popping out of his head at the appearance, most likely thinking he has finally lost his sanity.

“Er- Hi… I’m alive?” Dokja greeted, pointedly ignoring their position.

“You’re alive…” Jinwoo echoed, more to himself.

“.. Yes.”

Their terrible socialization skills aided in the collapsing of the conversation, and the room fell into tense silence. Their eyes bore into each other vehemently instead, adding more awkwardness.

Dokja felt a rush of confidence from who knows where, and smirked self-satisfactorily, he felt Jinwoo’s legs twitch beneath him.

“Greetings, heir of the Shadow Monarch.” Dokja purred and offered a hand for a shake,”Shall we begin our pursuit of a happy end in this world?”

Jinwoo eyed the hand, and took it firmly. They shook on it in agreement, both thinking the same thing.

‘He must not die, no matter what.’

---

Notes:

They have officially become partners!! Yay!

And now it's time to save Japan, double yay!!

Sorry if their reunion seemed anticlimactic and didn't live up to ur guys expectations. I just feel like the Jinwoo thing to do would be to tease him later on, and vow for Dokja never to have to resort to sacrificing himself again. Kinda like a mix of Han Sooyoung and Yoo Jonghyuk's reactions :P

Thx for reading, cya next time!! 😁

Chapter 14: Chapter 14

Notes:

Forgive me if there r typos oof I scrambled to get this done today XP

I might have to stretch out my update schedule for this again guys D: not only am I back in for school this week, but I also will have to reread the novel for SL to update this with an accurate timeline •~• really sorry 😔

Welp cya next time~ 😉

“N-now if you’ll excuse me..” Kim Dokja tried and failed to seem calm as he began getting off of the hospitalized man beneath him,”I’m just going to get right off.. Heheh.”

He noticed Sung Jinwoo cringe as Dokja clambered off as coordinated as a fawn, so not very smooth.

Just as Dokja was going over the railing, the door burst open, a brunette charging through but then promptly mirrored Dokja’s clumsiness at the sight before him.

“W-W-W-WHAT WERE YOU TWO DOING??!?!?” The brunette spluttered.

“Forming a pact.”

At this Dokja witnessed the newcomer’s brain crash as they began stuttering incoherently. He felt like if he squinted hard enough he could see steam wafting from their ears and off their face.

Jinwoo seemed to decide to ignore his, friend’s? Dilemma, for his eyes averted from the unreasonably flustered man to Dokja.

“How are you alive?” Jinwoo went ahead and asked the million dollar question.

“I had an item that I used to revive myself. It took.. Three days for it to finally take effect though.”

Jinwoo's eyes widened.

“Three days?”

“Yes, it has been three days, you and I have been out of action for that time span, Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim.”

“Jinwoo.”

“Huh?”

“Just call me Jinwoo, Kim Dokja-ssi.”

Dokja eyed Jinwoo for a couple of seconds curiously.

“Alright Jinwoo, then you can call me Dokja.”

At this the brunette made a noise not dissimilar to a screeching tea kettle, however both the S-rankers have already begun using their well-trained selective hearing skills to ignore it.

“Alright Dokja,” Jinwoo then finally addressed his hyperventilating friend,”Yoo Jinho.”

“Y-yes!!” Jinho piped up in a shrill tone.

“What happened with the Gate in Japan?”

With this, Jinho finally regained his composure with a clear of his throat, and began to drone on about Yuri Orloff’s failure and the Giants that broke through and annihilated Tokyo and it’s citizens. How the S-rank monsters didn’t stop there, and began their conquest, spreading out across Japan and decimating more cities and their occupants. Then about how one of them was currently traversing across the sea towards China. Not only that but he talked about how the Korean Hunter Association had let it get out that Japan had been trying to double cross the Korean Hunters in the Jeju raid.

How apparently another S-rank Gate had shown up in Maryland, United States, so American Hunters were too busy to assist in Tokyo’s Gate.

“That’s the rundown, Hyung-nim.” Jinho concluded.

Jinwoo seemed to ponder on the newly attained info, so Dokja figured he should get to know Jinho.

“You already heard Jinwoo say it but, my name is Kim Dokja and it is a pleasure to meet you.” Dokja greeted with a small smile.

“N-nice to meet you too!” Jinho chirped his cheeks, oddly enough, had gained a little bit of color,”My name is Yoo Jinho.. Wait...”

“Kim Dokja?!” Jinho shrieked,”I-I read the double dungeon’s raid report! They said you died!!”

“Nope, I haven’t kicked the bucket yet.” Dokja said lightly, as if he was discussing the weather and not his own death.

“Er.. Right… Well haha, don’t know how they mixed that up in the report but I can't wait to work with you!” Jinho replied with an easy grin,”That is if this pact is what that is for.”

“Yes, we will be working together in the foreseeable future.” Dokja concurred.

---

His shadows were wild.

Jinwoo had just woken up to find his supposed to be dead acquaintance perched on his lap. Then he got slapped in the face with the fact that not only was he asleep for three days, but said acquaintance said he actually did die but used an item to come back.

Although he was overjoyed, it was kind of difficult to do much with the situation he was in.

For one, he had just woken up from a three day slumber.

And two? His shadows were going out of their minds.

He felt his connections being overloaded with shock, elation, and even a little bit of rage. The anger was probably for making them think he had died, which he could agree with honestly. That only covered the surface, thank goodness Beru was the only one who could talk. Because even with only him being able to be vocal, that ceaseless shrieking and screeching of all those old timey words of joy was really getting old.

He pushed past the snakes in his head and tried to speak like a normal person. Thankfully the slight slowness of his actions blended in well with his already stoic personality, so Dokja and Jinho didn’t pick up on it.

Just as Dokja was swinging over the bed’s railing, Jinho barged in and emitted a noise that sounded exactly like his shadows’.

Jinwoo asked for him to tell them both what had happened with Japan’s Gate, and were both informed of the catastrophe that occurred while they were out of commission. The complacent Yuri Orloff blew it and Tokyo was trashed now, but the Giants didn’t stop there, as they fanned out their numbers across the island country. One even migrating through the sea to China.

He felt like he could kick himself, I should’ve not taken so long to wake up..

As his brain began brooding over his failure, Jinwoo felt someone set a hand on his shoulder. He looked up the owner of the hand and saw Dokja smiling at him empathetically.

“Don’t cry over spilt milk Jinwoo,” Dokja encouraged,”Just plan on what you can do to try and remedy the issue to the best it can be made out of.”

Jinwoo felt his black heart, that had been silent until now, give a beat. He couldn’t help but note that his shoulder still felt warm after Dokja took his hand back.

“Right, I will think about what actions I should take.”

They both seemed pleased with that choice, and he did too.

---

As Dokja brought his White Dimensional Space Coat out of his inventory and let it comfortably wrap around him, he was absolutely terrified.

He was going to have to come to the Korean Hunter Association Building, and face the music for presumably dying three days ago.

It can’t be that bad right? Sure his company had set the bar of extremity quite high reaction-wise, but he only met these people for only a day. Maybe there might be some rumors, maybe he might be scolded by Woo Jinchul and Go Gunhee, but that’s it. He barely knew these people, how bad could it be?

Dokja will regret that thought later as he got his brain rattled by Jinchul, with an iron grip, shaking him by his shoulders. He scolded him as he made Dokja stagger on his feet from the force.

“C-calm down!!” Dokja urged, grabbing Jinchul as well to maintain balance.

“You died back at the double dungeon, how are you here??!”

“I-I had a revival item that brought me back!” Dokja said,”Cool your jets Boss!! Let me get my head together before you ask anymore!”

At this, Jinchul finally relaxed and let go of Dokja who sighed in relief.

“My cubicle, now.” Jinchul gritted out.

“Yes sir.”

They traversed the tense office of the Monitoring Division. All eyes stared at them, and Jinchul seemed to notice as he paused in his stride.

“Get back to work everyone, this doesn’t concern you.” Jinchul growled.

Dokja held back a whimper at the thinly-veiled fury that lined his voice, he really dug his grave this time huh? Dokja was hoping he could stay in Jinchul’s good graces for longer than only a day. Now Jinchul was already on his case, Dokja went from the frying pan and into the fire. However this reaction didn’t hold a candle to the companys’ take on his sacrifices, so he let some of his stress leave his body. He would’ve been knocked out before he could have even blinked after what he just did.

Jinchul sagged into his chair, and pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

“Go Gunhee-ssi was anguished when I told him the news of your status.”

Dokja felt his hand twitch and guilt seeped into his heart, Gunhee had been incredibly kind and accommodating for him. To hear that his farce death disheartened him did sting a little.

“You also promised that you wouldn’t step too far out of line,”Jinchul continued,”And then you disregard your senior officers’ orders and chase Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim into the Gate of another Guild’s and clear it with him. It may have been an emergency, but instead you should’ve called the Association for backup.”

“But I sent the Guild out to get backup, what if Jinwoo needed my help?”

“First name basis?” Jinchul questioned in astonishment,”And the Guild reported that you and Jinwoo barged past them and locked the door though, you didn’t even explain to them what was going on and denied their access to the double dungeon without their consent.”

Ah, he should’ve known that there were people like that here too. Dokja was getting rusty on judging people’s character, the ease of this world has softened his edge it seems.. The Monitoring Division agents had told him that the Guild were attention seekers, what better way to get what they seek than spreading malevolent rumors on an up and coming S-rank and a newly hired agent of the Monitoring Division.

After all, what happens in a dungeon stays in the dungeon, the public would be none the wiser.

“They lied Boss, Jinwoo and I showed them what could’ve happened if they had tread through that door. I also ordered them to go out and get reinforcements just in case.”

Jinchul gave him an exasperated look, showing him just how believable that story was.

“Jinwoo can attest to that story Boss, they lied to try and defame the Monitoring Division and Jinwoo. Also, don’t you know what my senior officers said? They said they are attention hogs, they must be basking in the glory right about now.”

Jinchul sighed,”You didn’t listen to your senior agents’ orders still though. They wanted you to stay out of the Gate, but you ignored them.”

“.. The Gate’s buzzing blocked out their calls, I was already too close to it to hear them,” Dokja lied,”I didn’t neglect their command purposefully.”

Jinchul searched Dokja for a single lying bone in his body, but seemed to see no signs. After a few tense moments, the Monitoring Division Head’s rigid shoulders slumped. A small smile curled his lips, it was such a gentle expression that left Dokja speechless.

“Welcome back Kim Dokja-ssi, we’re glad to have you back.” Jinchul admitted.

Dokja mirrored his smile along with a slight tilt of his head.

“Thank you for having me.”

---

Notes:

I'm still working on that drawing idek when I'll finish but it is on the road to be shared eventually :'D

Did I make that Guild backstabbers? Yes. Do I regret that development? Mm.. nah, seemed realistic to me with how I hinted at my perception of them XP

I also didn't expect for WJC and KDJ to get so close so fast! Much like HSY said about writing characters they have a mind of their own half the time. I guess they just wanna be friends 😂 or at least my interpretations of their personalities do oof

Can't help but feel that they r all OOC in this fic but I'm trying to capture it

Chapter 15: Chapter 15

Notes:

So sorry, I meant to post this ch yesterday but I had quite a number of things to get done XP

Such as... Finish the drawing for this!! https://www.deviantart.com/sirblack4/art/How-Exactly-do-you-Deal-With-a-Greedy-Protagonist-868877518?ga_submit_new=10%3A1612120029 here ya go!! 😋

And when I finished I didn't feel motivated to write a ch and I wanted the ch to be the best it could be and lose this fic's momentum so I waited until I felt like it. (I'm running out of excuses oof)

This was stressful.

Dokja fiddled with his coat, he didn’t know how he should show himself to Go Gunhee. Back in his worldline, he didn’t care how people outside of his circle thought of him. Dokja didn’t care if they thought he was cold, didn’t care if they thought he was a malevolent demon lord who uses his companions to hog all the rewards from Scenarios, and he definitely (did) didn’t care if they said he was the ‘Ugliest King’...

Not at all.

Oh, why don’t I do it the way I always do it? Pretend that it never happened, that’ll do!

Dokja finally announced his presence with two knocks on the Chairman’s door, a muffled ‘come in’ rumbled through the barrier. The reader entered and didn’t face the Chairman until he had closed the door behind him. Dokja pivoted on his feet and faced Gunhee, the man had a radiant smile curling his lips that eased some of Dokja’s still tense nerves. Gunhee sat behind his desk, piles of paperwork placed on top of it along with his computer.

“Good evening, Go Gunhee-ssi.” Dokja greeted.

They both nodded to each other.

“I’ll be honest, that… Recent event brought me into quite the unpleasant stupor, Kim Dokja.” Gunhee stated.

“Jinchul-ssi informed me, I am sorry for frightening you.”

“How in the world are you even here right now? The reports said that the beam vaporized everything of you except a single feather and sword.” Gunhee’s small smile wilting into a poker face,”And.. Are you sure you’re fit for being a Hunter on the front lines.?”

Ok, that hurt his ego. Dokja can handle the front lines absolutely fine! Maybe if an angel that acted like a spider on crack, didn’t threaten to kill an important possible ally of his, he would’ve swept them all off their feet.

[Y o u wa nt hi m to b e m o re t ha n an al ly t ho ugh.]

‘Hush, I’m trying to prove a point here.’

His Skill didn’t deserve his patience truly. Now back on the subject.

Dokja felt that Jinwoo wished to keep the system a secret, so he opted to try and work around that in his explanation.

“Go Gunhee-ssi, I can assure you that I wasn’t at my best yesterday,” Dokja said,”Yesterday was just an extremely long day, can you place your faith in me again?”

“Don’t get me wrong Dokja, I’m not discrediting your potential, but I just want you to stay safe,” Gunhee replied,”Whatever miracle that brought you back today might not happen again, people usually embrace death only once.”

‘Yeah? Well I’ve died seven- well eight now actually- times.’

Don’t even get him started on Yoo Jonghyuk.. That sunfish has died 1,863 times. Haven’t Lee Hyunsung and Yoo Sangah also both basically died once too? Of course they revived

Why am I comparing our worldlines’ death tolls?

Dokja sat in the chair that stood before Gunhee’s refined desk, facing him entirely.

“I assure you that it won’t happen again Go Gunhee-ssi.” Dokja mumbled, finally lowering his dark eyes from the straight-faced Chairman.

Gunhee’s expression broke surprisingly from it’s blank discerning look. His eyes glimmered, and a doleful smile resurfaced on his face, he shook his head as if in sadness. The Chairman got up from his desk, and Dokja promptly stood up as well. He watched skeptically as Gunhee walked around the table to the sheepish reader.

He didn’t expect to be hugged in this meeting, but it did admittedly feel nice.. Dokja however wasn’t sure how to give it back so he stood stiff as a board in the cozy embrace. Due to the other man’s build being similar to a wrestler he couldn’t see Gunhee’s face.

“I’m sorry that you had to go through that Dokja,” Gunhee apologized for no reason,”You may have revived, but it must’ve still hurt. The Association couldn’t properly protect you like we promised to.”

Dokja gulped thickly, he wasn’t used to this reaction.. No he was, the kids would hug his legs when he revived, but this was a little overwhelming. Gunhee seemed to notice that he wasn’t going to reciprocate so he moved away from him, instead opting to place his hands firmly on his slim shoulders.

“Sorry Go Gunhee-ssi, I’m not used to physical interactions like hugs..” Dokja told him,”And it was out of your hands, it was my choice after all.”

Dokja gave as strong a smile as he could, but it didn’t seem to reassure the Chairman, making him cringe inwardly as Gunhee gave him an odd look.

“Am I allowed to keep my position in the Monitoring Division?” Dokja probed.

“Yes, of course Kim Dokja,” Gunhee verified as he gave Dokja more space,”However I ask that you give me a report everyday on any recent developments on your search for this Shadow Monarch’s heir.”

Dokja smirked smugly and puffed out his chest in pride, making Gunhee raise a fond brow.

“Ah, well you see I managed to discover who that lucky person is Go Gunhee-ssi,” Dokja declared, satisfaction lacing his voice heavily.

“Oh? Well done Kim Dokja, who was it?” Gunhee humored his display, though also curious at the results. Of course he already had a couple guesses on who it could be.

“It is none other than Jinwoo, Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim.” Dokja acclaimed.

Gunhee hummed at the thought, he seemed to easily agree with the verification. He must have already had a couple guesses then.

“So now that we know who the successor is, we should find out what this difficult task is so we can all prepare accordingly.” Gunhee said.

“Yes, but unlike with the manhunt that had some clues sprinkled around what with Jinwoo’s abilities,” Dokja crossed his arms and set some fingers at his chin,”I don’t know for sure, but I have some theories. I won’t share them until I’m sure though.”

“Hm… I can accept that, but do tell me if you find anything in the investigation Kim Dokja.”

Dokja nodded his assent to the Chairman’s demand.

“Well it’s good to have you back with us Kim Dokja.”

“Same here, thanks for welcoming me back.” Dokja responded,”Though…”

Gunhee eyed him curiously as his utterance lilted.

“Without a doubt, this ‘difficult task’ is correlated to Jinwoo Go Gunhee-ssi.”

Their eyes met, stygian starlight and glaucous grey. Dokja gave a sweet smile that crinkled his eyes, perhaps a hint of glee resonated in it as well. Gunhee looked at him inquisitively.

“Do you think that I can be assigned to specifically monitor Jinwoo?”

Gunhee's eyes scanned him calculatively for a few moments, Dokja became slightly self conscious. That is until the Chairman seemed to have found what he was looking for as he nodded with an upward curl of his lips.

"As long as you have what it takes,"Gunhee aquisiced,"Then by all means, take him away."

---

Notes:

The update schedule for this is now once every three days now and not every two days anymore. School and life is hectic along with having to reread solo leveling's webnovel cuz my memory succs 🤣

CYA NEXT TIME AND THX FOR READING!!!😆😆

Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Notes:

Back to u with another ch!!! YAY

Reading the novel has been helping greatly when writing this ngl, hopefully it turned out well, i didn’t revise it so I’m terribly sorry if there is a hole in it cuz i didn’t write this in one sitting. That also means that i might’ve completely forgotten what i had written before.

I’m thinking about, (once I finish this), about rewriting it all over again and post them all when i finish revising them in one day.

I’ve also come to attention to a really good AU idea, I really like it!!

… The roleswap AU!!! Dun dun DUN

Idk KDJ being the protag of WOS while YJH is the reader sounds pretty interesante to me ;}

Oh!! Almost forgot! I also have been looking at 'The S-classes That I Raised' for a while and I've finally picked it up!! It's pretty good so far I might even put some easter eggs from that in here so keep an eye out 👀

“The Japan Hunter Association and their Government are having a terrible time, it seems our viewers! They have been holed up in Osaka ever since Tokyo was obliterated by the Giants that came out of the Gate! The S-rank Yuri Orloff referred to as the world’s best Support-type Hunter was one of the first in the casualty report for the incident! Just how will they handle this crisis??”The reporter lady rambled.

Dokja idly slurped up his nth cup of microwaved noodles from their plastic canister, notepad left on the table in front of the couch he sat on. Her partner on the show was a man who held an unsure expression. You could tell that he was Japanese with ease, it was a little sad how they were having him in this report on his homeland’s blight. But after the 6th scenario in the small world occurred so long ago, he didn’t care much about Japan. Dokja didn’t hold a seed of remorse, not to mention that in this world they tried to sabotage Korea during the Jeju raid.

“Due to the Korean Hunter Association’s release of evidence of foul play in the Jeju island raid, no big countries seem to be willing to aid in this disaster, not like they were before the reveal.. I’m terrified for my family that also live in Osaka. I hope that some country or some Hunter takes pity, and pushes our Governments schemes aside and possibly save my country. We the citizens didn’t know a thing about their underhanded plans!”

“You said ‘Hunter’ as in singular, does that mean you're hoping for a National-level Hunter might come to the rescue?!”

“I feel that their aid would be necessary in this cataclysmic event, don’t you? These Giant-type monsters are incredibly strong after all.”

Dokja hummed, when he had read through all the files back at the Division, he had read one about these ‘National-level Hunters’. They were the Hunters that survived the raid of the first S-rank Dungeon, the Kamish raid. They each gained the recognition of having the power of a nation itself, and were treated as such by international Governments. So basically they were kind of like spoiled VIPs huh? Surprisingly, Jinwoo hasn’t quite reached that peak yet, this thought made his hand twitch.

Their names were Liu Zhigang of China, Thomas Andre and Christopher Reed of the USA, then Siddharth Bachchan of India were the ones Dokja knew. However Dokja couldn’t recall the last one oddly enough. Perhaps he didn’t contribute much and wasn’t memorable.. But there were five of them in total.

There people stronger than Jinwoo? What monsters, I may be able to handle them but still! They must seem like gods to the Unawakened civilians, what stilted power dynamics!

“This just in from the Korean Hunter Association’s Conference!! The Chairman, Goh Gunhee, just informed the present reporters of Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim volunteering to go to Japan!! Could this be Japan’s only hope of liberation from the Giants?!?” The lady reporter exclaimed shrill.

At this the Japanese male reporter jumped out of his seat, pure joy and gratitude written all over his face. He whooped and celebrated merrily, him and the lady hugging each other tightly.

Jinwoo huh?

What could he possibly want from Japan? Why didn’t he go there earlier before Tokyo got eviscerated? Did he by chance accidentally miscalculate the difficulty of that Dual Dungeon?

He switched off the TV and tossed the bowl in the trash can.

Tomorrow, I will start my official activities in the Monitoring Division, of keeping an eye on Jinwoo. Apparently he has a habit of disappearing suddenly for a couple days at a time.

Dokja washed up and flopped down onto his modest bed, he didn’t care much that his still slightly damp hair soaked his pillow. Ok maybe a little, he grumbled as he moved his head to find a dry spot and sighed when he settled into it. Just as he closed his eyes he heard a loud muffled knock on his apartment room’s door.

He huffed as he got up from the bed and padded over to the entrance grumpily. As Dokja was about to reach out to open the door, he gave a deep breath to calm his peevish attitude. Slipping on the ‘amicable and friendly neighbor’ mask along with a bright smile. When he went to grab the knob another dull thud resounded on the door, someone’s impatient it seems..

Dokja opened the door and his eyes widened at his visitor.

Jinwoo.?

The S-rank had his usual sotic expression, however there was a tint of deadpan in it, crap did his superhuman hearing hear me? Dokja flushed in mild embarrassment, though he swiftly decided that it was Jinwoo’s fault for coming over so late. It was 10:00 at night, of course Dokja would be crabby! However he did drop the facade.

“I didn’t think that us being partners would mean that you would come over so late at night, should I get a refund?”

Jinwoo gave a small snort that admittedly made Dokja’s groggy mind snap to attention immediately.

“Sorry for coming over so late, I don’t think that this matter could wait until the next time we meet.” Jinwoo explained.

“We’re meeting tomorrow you know?”

At this revelation, Jinwoo’s eyes also widened although minutely. Dokja smirked smugly at seemingly finally getting a reaction out of Jinwoo, though little did he know he had already achieved that a number of times.

“Really?”

“Yes, I’ve been assigned to monitor you instead of Jinchul-ssi starting tomorrow.”

Jinwoo gave a soft hum in possibly acceptance, that’s right you better accept me.

“So did you want to share with me about your visit to Japan at 10:00 o’clock at night?” Dokja arched a brow inquisitively when Jinwoo averted his eyes to the space just above his head almost shyly.

“Yes, you saw the news?”

Dokja shot him a flat look,”Of course, it was reported just now. I’m confused.. Why do you want to go there??”

Jinwoo should be the last one who wants to save Japan. He had been in the infamous Jeju raid, and they had said that he was the one who discovered Japan’s scheme! Countries that had nothing to do with it were turning a blind eye to Japan’s crisis, yet Jinwoo wanted to lend a hand?? He has every right to let them face their karma and not lift a finger.

“Why do you want to help them?” Dokja reiterated incredulously, because if he really had no other reason besides wanting to help people. Then Jinwoo was truly a saint of some sort, Dokja would’ve just laughed at their misfortune if he was in his shoes.. Then again, Dokja wasn’t a good person in the slightest.

Jinwoo’s eyes assessed him appraisingly, possibly wondering if he could share something about himself with Dokja. Dokja waited for once patiently as Jinwoo seemed to dive into his subconscious in thought. His eyes flashed a slight purple, regaining Dokja’s full attention.

“I’ve recently been told that I am a King,” Jinwoo stated,”And that Kings can do whatever they want.”

“Huh?”

His explanation had fallen flat, because what did that have to do with any of this?!

“Japan also might be able to help me become stronger.”

“... Aren’t Hunters supposed to not grow stronger? Are you saying that you continuously become stronger??” Dokja breathed.

Jinwoo looked as if he had accidentally let something slip, so he didn’t mean to share that huh? He was still stubborn about not informing Dokja about the System, does their partnership mean nothing to him? Why wasn’t he telling Dokja anything that happened back at the Dual Dungeon?!

“Fine,” Dokja grumbled, ignoring Jinwoo’s hand twitching,”Don’t tell me about whatever this ‘getting stronger’ bit is. But if you’re wondering if I’m coming to Japan with you, then yes. Can’t have you dying before whatever the difficult task is.”

Could this calamity be that task? Wouldn’t that be nice, but the Scenario has just barely started and it's six months long! This however could be connected, we might get more hints like with that vision and the Architect if we go.

Jinwoo’s face cringed slightly at Dokja’s disgruntled voice but he nodded nonetheless to his assent.

“Good night Dokja, see you in the morning tomorrow.” Jinwoo said.

With this said and done, Jinwoo left and Dokja closed the door. The reader shuffled back to his bed and flung himself bodily onto it. He pulled the comforter over him up to his shoulders and wiggled into a comfortable position. The pillow had dried after he had gotten up earlier and he fell into a sleep that was less restless than usual for once.

---

Sleep didn’t come easy last night for Jinwoo.

He didn’t know if it was because of the thought of going to the now tarnished Japan to clear the Giant infestation, his late night talk with Dokja, or about how to go about breaking it to Jinah that he was going to ignore her wish and go to Japan. Due to the Dungeon break at her school, she was a lot more quiet now, it dismayed him how much her personality had changed after that event. It was understandable to be traumatized by a near death experience, but that doesn’t mean that it didn’t disconcert Jinwoo.

It was nice to wake up to smell his Eomma’s, Park Kyunghye, cooking. He could smell the spicy stewed fish and bean sprout rice’s delicate and pleasant aromas wafting through the apartment. His Eomma had refused moving out despite his massive fluctuation in wealth due to being an S-rank, saying that she wanted to wait for his father to return. Her undying hope felt almost melancholic at this point, but Jinwoo would stick by her every step of the way.

Jinwoo stepped out of his room and knocked on Jinah’s door softly… She didn’t answer and he felt himself wilt slightly. He tread to the kitchen and exchanged ‘good morning’s with his Eomma. As they ate, Jinwoo could hear the rebroadcast last night’s report on Japan’s catastrophe. He was eating a bit of Kyunghye’s delectable savory omelette, arbitrarily thinking about Dokja, when she piped up.

“You’re planning on going to Japan, aren’t you.” Kyunghye started off.

Jinwoo’s eyes snapped up to her imploring dark charcoal colored gaze.

“...”

His silence was answer enough, and he saw her somehow both tense and relax at the same time.

“Your father was just the same..” Kyunghye reminisced,”Whenever he heard that there was a fire, he would drop everything he was doing and go to the rescue. Even while he was eating.”

Jinwoo paused in his munching and listened to her attentively. Kyunghye smiled softly to herself at the remembrance of his father, her eyes distant as she submerged herself in fond memories.

“You two are very alike.” Kyunghye remarked,”I’ll pack up your bags after you’re done eating.”

“... Thanks Eomma.”

She giggled gently and they finished their breakfast without anymore tension. Jinwoo went to Jinah’s room, as Kyunghye went to pack up his necessities and packed a portion for Jinah for when she was ready. He knocked on the door, but instead of moving on when there was no answer, Jinwoo entered Jinah’s room quietly.

“..Jinah-yah?” Jinwoo said,”Are you asleep?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s talk.”

“I need to sleep.”

The room was dark, the blinds drawn across the window obstructing the encroaching light. Jinwoo could see the mound under the sheets on her bed, it seemed she had burrowed herself into her cocoon of blankets. He sat on the side of her bed in the unlit room and pondered on what to say.

“You see..” Jinwoo began,”I almost died recently.”

He realized that he might’ve made a mistake in that explanation, so he hurriedly turned to look at Jinah under the blanket now.

“Er- that’s not what I meant, so I’ve always been in danger of dying,”Jinwoo rushedly elaborated, wincing as he realized that was worse,”But it really felt like I would die that time or something, it was pretty dangerous!”

Silence hung thick in the room, no answer coming from Jinah. But he knew she was listening so he continued.

“Anyway, I still made it back alive,”Jinwoo said,”Every time I return home alive, I’m thankful for it.”

“So I’ll come back alive this time too,” The S-rank promised, then tacked on some reassurance,”I have a trustworthy ally too who can help me out as well, maybe you could meet him sometime I feel like you two could get along.”

“Back on topic, thank you,” Jinwoo spoke as he settled a gentle hand on Jinah’s exposed head,”For not stopping me from leaving this time.”

He heard a weak sniffle and the form under the blanket shifted,”You’re going anyways.”

“Yeah, I’ll be back.”

His shadow flared out into glorious flames, some ants emerging from the depths of the brilliant black, purple, and blue. Jinwoo’s eyes glowed a lilac shade as he pledged safety will stay with his precious Yeodongsaeng.

“And don’t worry, I’ll protect you even when I’m far away.”

---

Jinwoo thanked his Eomma as he exited their apartment with his nicely packed luggage. With this he looked up and saw Dokja leaning against the railing in all his familiar smirk and pearly white trenchcoat’s glory. It seemed that Dokja was either not sour about him withholding information from him, or was doing good at not letting it show.

“Good morning Jinwoo,” Dokja greeted to which Jinwoo nodded and returned the sentiment,”Are you ready to go save a country from further devastation?”

“Yes, let’s go-.”

“WAIT FOR MEEE!!!!” A voice hollered.

A wild Yoo Jinho rounded the corner, a huge bulky backpack hefted up on his back, smaller packages hanging off of it swinging around as he bolted towards them. Once he reached them he panted profusely, both of the S-ranks sweat dropping at his display. Once the D-rank composed himself, he snapped his back ramrod straight and pointed a finger aggressively at the two dumbfounded Raveonettes.

“I’m coming with you two too!!!” Jinho enlisted daringly.

---

Notes:

(A/N: Yeodongsaeng = younger sister) ah and also (A/N: Eomma = mom)
Also noticed that my note for ‘Agassi didn’t show up in… forgot which ch but it was what KDJ used to address the receptionist XD
(A/N: Agassi = young lady)

Having fun rereading Solo Leveling’s novel while writing this, though I scrambled up the events a little so that it could all fit together and make sense in this ch sorry if it confuses u!! I originally was using the manhwa timeline but then I saw a comment saying that they didn’t agree with the manhwa’s derailment from the novel.

Ngl I agree with that, I just forgot about the changes, (It’s been a while since I read the novel ok?), I really should’ve reread it before even posting any of this but here I am

Hope u enjoyed! And thx for reading!!

Edit: oml S-classes that I Raised fits in so well with Solo Leveling 🤣 their so similar but both r really good!! Mmm another gud novel ^^ I rEcOmMeNd

Chapter 17: Chapter 17

Notes:

Meant to upload yesterday but I forgot to work on it Saturday and then I went to watch the Super Bowl with family 😖

So sorry for late update!!

“I-I know that I might be forced into the role of third wheeling but-!”

“What.?” Jinwoo and Dokja both said at the same time.

Jinwoo sped walked over to Jinho and leaned his mouth to his ear.

“What are you talking about?”

Jinho’s eyes darted between the two of them conspiratorily, letting his explanation hang in the air.

‘Does he..?’

Jinwoo straightened in a flash, and stared at the D-rank like he had unravelled the universe’s deepest secret. His Shadows were rooting for Jinwoo, as if they agreed with Jinho’s misunderstanding. Although no matter how much he wishes it was true, it wasn’t. Dokja was giving him a questioning look, who knows how he might react to Jinho’s theory.

“It isn’t like that.” Jinwoo decided to rain on their parade, his Shadows falling silent and sadness blatantly going across their mental link, some even booing.

Now it was Jinho’s turn to say,“What?”

“Isn’t like what?” Dokja asked, confusion coloring his voice.

Jinwoo felt as if they would be calling him a coward if others besides Beru could speak, thankfully that wasn’t the case.

“We’re not a thing.” Jinwoo repeated, ignoring Dokja, he didn’t want to tell the other about this.

At this, the D-rank’s eyes snapped to Dokja who had given up on being a part of their talk and was now leaning against the railing with his arms crossed sullenly, a pout on his lips. His eyes scanned Dokja, as if taking in every detail then he looked back at Jinwoo, it was an unreadable stare. The conversation hung in the air and fell apart when Jinho said nothing and held that odd expression as he directed it at Jinwoo. Finally something seemed to click in Jinho’s head as his face lit up in understanding, Jinwoo felt like Jinho probably didn’t as his best friend cracked a radiant smile that looked smug?

“Do you need help with it Hyung-nim?” Jinho questioned giddily.

“With what?” Jinwoo asked.

Jinho’s eyebrows danced on his forehead in a suggestive manner,”To woo a man?~”

Jinwoo’s brain stopped functioning that very moment, his eyes zipped over to Dokja. Thankfully the other S-rank was ignoring them and giving an exaggerated pout as his dark eyes roved the skyline. He seemed to know how to be exceedingly dramatic. Jinwoo ignored that detail and focused on the pale skin of his hands and his neck. His small cute nose, long eyelashes-.

That was when his brain kick started and the bombshell of his emotions finally fell.

‘Am I interested??’

Instantly he felt his Shadows feelings overflow the bond tying them together. Igris seemed to take pity, along his other commanders, as they settled them all down. However Beru let his ants’ excited screeching continue so the others soothed them in his stead.

“We will discuss this later, we need to go to Japan.” Jinwoo said and began walking away from the elevator, Jinho’s eyes scanned Dokja. They both eyed each other then Dokja began to trail behind Jinwoo like a duckling to their mother. Jinho raced after them both, adding onto the duckling count.

“Hm… Yeah, I see why Hyung-nim likes you.” Jinho piped up lightly.

“... What?” Dokja asked incredulously.

“Don’t mind me Dokja-ssi!” Jinho chirped.

---

Things have gotten weird ever since Jinho joined them on their adventure. He kept sending Jinwoo knowing looks when he grabbed Dokja’s attention, probably because the stoic S-rank always side eyed them when that did happen. But Dokja figured Jinwoo wanted to hang out with his basically younger brother figure, he doubted he cared enough to get to know Dokja himself. Their companionship was only a business-like relationship, there was hardly any need to get to know each other right? Right.

“What do you like to do as a past-time Dokja-ssi?” Jinho asked.

“I like to read.”

“Oo, what do you read?”

“Er-,”Dokja wasn’t sure if he wanted to say what, but decided to do it,”... Webnovels.”

“Really?? I also like them too! I really like Geunseo! Another good author is Yoo Ryeun Han!! How about you?”

Ah, surprisingly Dokja had found a fellow man of culture, they seemed to be fine with webnovels. However he wasn’t exactly comfortable sharing the name of tls123.

“You probably don’t know them..”

“I don’t mind!”

“.. Tls123, their novel ‘Ways of Survival’ is one of my all-time favorites, but it’s on paywall now.” Dokja elaborated.

Jinho said in a discontent manner,”Sadly I don’t know them, but it sounds interesting.”

Dokja hummed in affirmation. ‘The novel was deleted from the website so he won’t be able to find it’, Dokja decided to just keep that to himself though.

Once they reached the airport, they found that there was a crowd of raucous paparazzi flocking the quarters. Dokja’s fellow Monitoring Division Agents were keeping them at bay with their small barricade, tape, and bodies. He nodded in a brief gratitude and the three strode smoothly to their waiting flight.

Go Gunhee had shared a few words with Jinwoo, probably talking about how he didn’t want South Korea’s strongest S-rank to go overseas. One look at Dokja and Jinho however brightened his complexion, seemingly finding solace in their journey if Jinwoo had company. The Chairman shared a handshake with Jinwoo and they resumed their stride to their private jet, commissioned by the Japanese government.

Jinho rushed to stuff his bags anywhere else but his back, Jinwoo packing his own luggage in the overhead compartment while Dokja went to sit by the window. It was nice having infinite pocket space, not having to carry any bulky bags and shove them frenziedly into any crevice possible. And likely breaking some of your supplies in the action.

---

‘I’ll sit next to him.’

Jinwoo thought as he finished putting away his belongings. Then he saw Jinho hurriedly go to Dokja’s row of seats. The D-rank was about to sit next to Dokja, but Jinwoo fluidly swooped in for it. He blatantly deadpanned at Jinho who gawked at him in shock, Dokja snorted at the exchange beside him.

“You guys do know there are other rows right?” Dokja queried amusedly.

There were in fact quite a few rows packed in the jet, however they ignored the comment and squeezed into the row. Dokja yelped and flustered when Jinho petulantly shoved Jinwoo into his space. The two S-ranks now squished together like packed sardines.

When has Jinho ever acted like this??! He must be getting too into his self-appointed wingman duties or something. Jinwoo tried to pay attention to anything else besides Dokja’s slim figure pressed against his, his fragrance, or hot and moist breath fanning out on Jinwoo’s cheek. His attempt was to no avail, and he was about to move Jinho away when the D-rank leaned over to his flushed ear.

“Let me help you Hyung-nim.” Jinho whispered.

Dokja seemed to have had enough of the little breathing room and stood up abruptly, causing a domino effect of Jinwoo being forcefully pushed off of his side, thus pitching Jinho out of the row with a squawk.

“I’m moving.” Dokja said firmly as he brushed past Jinwoo’s legs and went to the row behind him.

He felt his Shadows’ disappointment at the missed opportunity to sit with Dokja, why are they fond of him already? Because of that stupid sacrifice?

‘Oh my king.’

‘What is it?’

‘This servant is merely glad that you have found a potential mate, my liege.’

Jinwoo’s mind blanched, ‘.. What?’

‘Your body reacted when you were pressed together just now my liege.’

His eyes snapped down to his pants and he sighed in relief when there wasn’t anything there. Jinwoo felt his Shadows amusement across their link, what other reaction were they thinking??

‘My liege, you began releasing pheromones,’ Beru elaborated,’Though I’m confused on why you are interested in someone of the same gender, we’re happy for you.’

Jinwoo sighed, was he that interested in Dokja? Jinho had recollected himself and sat in another row as well, across from Jinwoo. He gave his best friend a long suffering look from across the jet, to which the brunette whistled innocently and suddenly took interest in the jet’s ceiling. A pilot that was possibly waiting for their scuffle to end came out and greeted them, telling them that they would now begin the flight to Japan.

With this they all regained their wits and the flight began, the trio on their way to aid Japan in it’s apocalyptic crisis. All ready to face the Giants and emancipate Japan from their short reign and become stronger. All of the civilians, who have access to technology, on the islandic nation hope was manifesting. However most of the unlucky Japanese were oblivious to the tables that were soon to be turned. But most of the world debated on the dicey situation.

What could one S-rank do to defeat such a large sum of Giants? Well their eyes will be opened to the new world order soon enough.

---

Notes:

Shenanigans in the jet? Finally we got one of the wingmen planned for this fic, it was fun writing Jinho's role 😂

Also, if u don't know what pheromones r.. Their kinda like an indicator that u want some? Surprisingly humans also have them too but they aren't as potent as our animal brethren 🤔 Beru noticed through Jinwoo's attitude change and reactions gene he got annoyed that Jinho shoved him against Dokja

But Dokja's *cough* close proximity *cough cough* made his body react, I guess that's a good enough explanation 😂😂

(If ur a fan of ABO dynamics then u would know, mm great AU idea, very intimate~~)

And yes, in irl humans have pheromones, I looked it up 😉

Thx for reading!!!

And I still don't know how to fix the missing dialogue some of u r experiencing XP I think it has to do with the bold, italic, and strike through text, I might just not do characterized text from here on,

Apologies for the inconvenience 😰

Chapter 18: Chapter 18

Notes:

Did I spend most of today thinking it was the 10 and not the 11th? Yes. I procrastinated, well not really, I mean school XP. But I procrastinated on writing this for 2 days and I lost track of time then someone corrected me and said 'tis the 11th' and I scrambled to get this written and out.

(Forgive me if there r typos or grammatical errors, I rushed through this with no plan whatsoever)

Mm I had thought about Dokja using the Giant's Liberator story, but I'm not very good at understanding the Sorry dynamics in ORV.

Fear not the stories will do stuff 😂 just not until I fully wrap my head around how to write what they do..

Yes I read 500+ chapters of ORV and could never fully comprehend them 😭😭 maybe someone could help explain? Idk anyone irl who's read ORV it makes me sad 😟 THEY'RE MISSING OUT HECC THEY HAVEN'T EVEN READ SOLO LEVELING!!! Smh

Things were progressing relatively smoothly.

It was almost comical to Dokja how versatile the Giants were. Despite their bulky and ripped frame, they could give quick reactions to attacks. Of course it was nothing he and Jinwoo couldn’t handle.

Jinwoo had spread out his shadow legions in sections based on numbers and species, all across Japan. Dokja couldn’t tell if they were doing good or not himself, but he figured they were if Jinwoo’s small pleased smile was anything to go by. Then Jinho had kindly taken up the duty of driving their Jeep across the ruinous terrain for them. The debris littering the land and wreckage was a lot less jarring than Korea’s pristine city, reminding him of his own world.

‘I wonder how the company is doing, perhaps they might be scouring the lands in search of me. I did tell them I would be gone for only six days, but who knows with them.’

Back to the present, the trio of Hunters swayed in their seats, due to the bumpy ride. Dokja stuffed his hands in his pockets, wondering if anything in them could assist in wiping out the pesky Giants. He realized that Jinwoo was not so subtly side eyeing him, is he curious about what I have?

Dokja halted what he was doing and shot the S-rank a flat look,”Could I help you?”

Jinwoo’s grey eyes flashed a pale purple when they shot up to his face from his hands, and shook his head then averted his eyes to the window to his right. Dokja lightly scoffed and resumed his search.

‘Lets see… Ah.’

… Why’s this here.?

Dokja stared incredulously at a tentacle in his palm. Jinwoo snorted to his right and he scowled at him, shoving the object back inside his pocket space.

“Why is there a tentacle in your pocket?” Jinwoo asked amusedly, then coughed to hide his mirth.

“That’s the wrong question Jinwoo,” Dokja skillfully deflected his question,”You should be asking how it fits in there.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

Jinho, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation, squawked as he slammed on the brakes. Everyone shifted forward and off their seats from the shift of gravity but got flung back onto the firm cushions. All except Jinwoo sighed in relief, they had almost crashed into a ransacked store.

“... Jinho, do you want me to drive instead?” Dokja offered.

“N-no! I can do it,” Jinho then gasped and pointed to a hospital,”L-look! That hospital is in the path of that Giant!!”

Their eyes all shot towards the medical building and as Jinho had said, a Giant was on its way towards it. There was a military vehicle outside of it as well, zooming away, though they noticed that people were still in it. What were they doing??!

Jinwoo said, “Dokja, lets go.”

Dokja nodded and the Jeep skidded as it bolted to the facility. Jinwoo summoned a towering beast the same size as the Giant. It looked as if it had just come out of Atlantis, gills and fins decorated it’s scaly figure. It’s torso twisted down into a long tail resembling a snake. Impressive dorsal fins began on each of it’s shoulders and extended down to it’s back.

Pretty much, it looked like an enlarged version of the little Nagas back in that dungeon he had come into this world from. Dokja gaped at it through the window in awe, Jinwoo’s lips curling at his reaction unnoticeably.

It sped towards the Giant with a hasty slither, outspeeding the car, raising it’s trident to assault the beast. The Giant had just eaten someone and jumped to the Hospital. Dokja managed to see with his enhanced perception a soldier by its feet. They raced to the Medical center, and veered to a stop before they all leapt out of the car.

The colossal Naga had managed to keep the Giant away from the civilians and lone soldier, . Though the Giant seemed to be pushing it back slightly as they jabbed their trident and spear at each other.

“I will go check up on the patients and doctors.” Jinwoo informed before going to the building.

“I need to reassure the soldier, Dokja-ssi do you wish to come?” Jinho offered.

“Sure.”

They went up to the gawking soldier who couldn’t seem to peel their eyes off of the gigantic clash. Once they stepped up by the Japanese soldier’s side, his glassy eyes snapped over to them then instantly welled up with tears.

Jinho extended a vibrant handkerchief, to which they gained a quizzical look.

Ah, classical language barriers.

Well thanks to him talking with Asuka Ren, he was somewhat familiar with the language, though Yoo Sangah would probably be better for this situation.

Dokja spoke in wonky Japanese, “Take it,” he pointed to his eyes, “Crying.”

They gingerly took the cloth to wipe their dirty face clean from the blood, grime, and tears. Jinho smiled brightly then turned to Dokja.

“You can speak Japanese?”

“Hardly, but enough to get the point across.”

At that moment the Giant punctured it’s spear into the Naga’s shoulder. The Shadow tearing it out of its shoulder and hurling it back at it’s opponent.

“I’ll handle it.” Dokja volunteered nonchalantly.

“WH- Dokja??!” Jinho squawked as he spun around to face Dokja.

Dokja unsheathed Unbroken Faith and chose the fire attribute this time and released his status as the Demon King of Salvation. Impressive raven black wings unfurled from his back and a pair of stubby ebony horns sprouted from his head. Jinho and the soldier violently shuddered at his side at the feeling of his chilling status. Blood gushed out of the soldier’s nose from the pressure, a little less splurging from Jinho’s.

“Sorry about that.” Dokja apologized to them, not expecting such a reaction, he would have to be more careful when releasing his status, let alone his true voice.

And with the aid of ‘Bookmark’, he triggered his signature combo of skills.

[Exclusive skill, 'Way of the Wind Lv.10', is activating!]

[Exclusive skill 'Electrification' Lv. 12 (+2) has been activated.]

The Giant scrambled to flee when it saw Dokja hurtling towards it, but Dokja was significantly faster than it thanks to his skills, status, and a few stories.

[Story ‘Right Arm of the Poor Sword Master’ has begun it’s storytelling!]

Dokja moved so fast that his motion created a whistling noise like Jinwoo. White lightning and wind danced around Dokja as he shot through the air to the Giant head on. The monster, despite having a remarkably great reaction time still wasn’t able to do anything as Dokja slashed his shrieking blade downwards. Thanks to Dokja’s story, his swordsmanship had improved greatly and he managed to cut through the Giant in its entirety. He landed back down and sheathed Unbroken Faith, the Giant toppling over in halves.

As Dokja came back from his display, Jinwoo had joined the audience some time during the collision. He might’ve sensed my status, that might’ve all been a little much for a measly Giant. But Dokja wanted to show Jinho that there was no need to worry about him.

For ever since they had landed, Jinho had been trying to get Jinwoo to fight his own fights. Dokja can do things too, he knew the other saw Jinwoo as a role model, but come on…

Now Jinho and the soldier were gawking like fish, and Jinwoo had a pleased expression. That's right I'm a great companion what would that sunfish do without me? Die? Most likely. Dokja felt smug of how much he contributed to these two protagonists’ welfare. That is until it dawned on him.

‘What should I nickname Jinwoo?’

Dokja realized he didn’t really know much about Jinwoo, just about as much as everyone else apparently. People knew where he lived, worked, past..

‘I’ll have to get to know him better after this skirmish, so we can work better together of course! I might get a useful Bookmark slot skill from him if I get to know him more too..’

[K i m Do kja w an ts t o go o n a da te.]

Dokja scoffed and trudged back to the others.

“Wow Dokja-ssi!” Jinho breathed,”I didn’t know that you were so strong!! Do you think you can beat Hyung-nim?!”

Dokja hummed. Then eyed Jinwoo who froze when he looked at him, strange… Could he be a little nervous now that he’s seen more of what I can do? It was only one Giant though..

“I think I can take him on.” Dokja said, confidence lining his voice.

Jinwoo seemed to snap out of his mental conflict and a challenging smirk spread across his lips, does he think he can fight me? Well he seems to need to be taken down a peg.

“How about we have a full on duel with each other unlike last time.” Jinwoo dared.

“Challenge accepted, let's focus on this right now though.” Dokja acquiesced.

Jinho went inside the Hospital and handed the people a phone to contact the Japanese Government. And with this, the three went back to the Jeep not without the civilians cheering for them as they drove off to their next destination in the wastes of Japan.

---

Notes:

Btw, I'm a hardcore persona 5 fan if I've seen my bookmarks then u would know. And KDJ, SJW, and YJH r in japan... P5 takes place there... SO I MIGHT DO AN EASTER EGG KEKEKEK

Welp toodles, thx for reading~

Chapter 19: Chapter 19

Notes:

It's Valentine's Day for some of my readers so here's a special chapter to celebrate!!! 😁👍

Oh and here r the definitions of stuff u might not know about that r mentioned!!

Tengu-a type of mischievous supernatural being, sometimes considered the reincarnated spirit of one who was proud and arrogant in life. They r also renowned swordsmen.

Prosthodontist-a dentist who focuses on treating facial matters like the jaw

Happy Valentine's Day, hope u enjoyed the special!! 💕💗💖💖💗💕💕

To say that people all around the globe were flabbergasted is a vast understatement.

Here they all were, doubting Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim’s capabilities and skills. Some even betting on his failure to save Japan. However it turns out he had more incredible abilities than his own brutish strength. There was another thing about him they may have overlooked.

Namely being, collecting seriously overpowered companions.

The helicopter’s blades slashed through the air as it hovered up in the sky, overlooking a Hospital that a Giant had been heading towards. They all watched in horror as it moved at an incredible speed.

That is until an absolutely enormous Naga that looked like it was made of Shadows collided with its Giant opponent.

“C-camera! Catch that on camera that’s one of Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim’s summons!!” The reporter commanded their cameraman who fumbled to get their camera ready.

“Welcome to this broadcast on the possible cleansing of Japan viewers!” The reporter hollered more than greeted over the chopper’s blades, then pointed down towards the brawl between the two behemoths,”As you can see, that is one of Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nims summons fighting one of the Giants! It seems like he is diligently clearing the Giant’s infestation of Japan!”

Two figures stepped out to stand beside a Japanese soldier, a ravenette in a pearly white coat and a brunette with a hefty backpack. The cameraman zoomed in on the interaction between the three.

“That…”

‘Where is Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim??’

The cameraman and viewers watching the footage eyes’ immediately latched onto the ravenette. They were absolutely stunning… What the heck possessed them to be a Hunter?! They could’ve gone for a safer career choice as like an actor or model!

If they learned something more about Jinwoo, looks could correlate with strength sometimes.

‘How strong is he? Is the brunette also strong?’

If he shows what he’s capable of, it could help moral phenomenally

Their hopes were answered as the coat clad man stepped forward, unsheathing his righteous sword. They all expected him to just deal with the Giant with possibly spectacular swordsmanship, but more happened than that.

Midnight black wings stretched from his back along with a pair of small dark horns. Not only did his appearance change, but a heavy wave of mana aura soaked up everything near the ravenette, even the helicopter. The occupants of the aircraft gasped at the cold pressure that felt like it enveloped their hearts. The machinery in the chopper lagged for a moment and the camera got a wave of static before assimilating to the wave

“WHOA!! Look at that!!!” The reporter squawked.

The camera was just barely able to follow the movements of the part beast part man, now laced with white lightning and gusts of wind. The ravenette went for an aerial slash with impressive swordplay, slicing the Giant cleanly in half.

The viewers on the program roared in victory at the swift defeat of the Giant that was able to defeat a skilled S-rank like Yuri Orloff instantly. Their hope was shooting through the roof of their evacuation centers and around the world.

“W-we did it..” A woman sobbed as she clutched her child,”W-w-we have help on the way.!”

“We’re saved!!!” The crowd cheered joyously.

One person that cried out,”Long live the Angelic Tengu!!!”

That got all of their attention… Angelic Tengu.?

And with that a title was born.

“THE ANGELIC TENGU HAS COME TO DELIVER US SALVATION!!” Someone roared.

“YAYYYYYYY!!!” uproarious cheers were sung through the room.

Surely if the infamous Sung Jinwoo had a comrade like the Angelic Tengu on his side, Japan would be saved!

---

If Jinwoo was interested in Dokja before, he was head over heels now.

And he had an underlying feeling that what Dokja had just displayed was only a fraction of his capabilities.

Ba-thump, ba-thump.

His black heart that had been silent until now produced beats of exhilaration when he saw Dokja’s aerial slash. He experienced the immense want to turn him into a Shadow soldier, but was that really what he felt.?

Perhaps it's the newly discovered crush I have…

Jinwoo decided to make do with reviving the Giants. They would be a good addition anyways to his ranks. Jinwoo brought back Jima and then ordered in a deep tone.

“Arise.”

The Giant’s Shadow rose up from its brutalized corpse and joined Jinwoo’s Shadow. The heir then began walking back to the Jeep, all the while Dokja was helping Jinho shove his bulky backpack into the passenger seat of the front row.

‘I had been thinking about attaching one to Dokja… But does he need it?’

His thoughts jumped back to the recent battle with the Architect and his complexion hardened, a steely glint in his glimmering lilac eyes.

Better to not take any chances, he might pull one of those stunts again..

‘... Iron.’

His Shadows cheered Iron on, and was that a bit of jealousy he felt? Jinwoo’s Shadows have become strange since that squid showed up. The nickname made him flashback to Dokja blasély pulling out that tentacle in the Jeep. He bit back a snicker when he recalled the item’s description.

[ Item: Fragments of Squid Kim Dokja’s seventh tentacle
Item Class: S
Type: Healing Type
A Kraken Leg disguised as fragments of one of Squid Kim Dokja’s tentacles. Contains the ability to heal grievous wounds, namely dismemberment. ]

Jinwoo supposed that the squid nickname truly fit Dokja well, though that item did seem like it could come in handy under certain circumstances. Though… Kraken Leg? He shook his head to clear that train of thought, he had things to do other than ponder about Dokja.

Iron had risen from his Shadow while he was thinking, the Shadow was positively thrumming with glee.

‘Keep an eye on Dokja for me, will you?’

Iron nodded enthusiastically and gave him two thumbs up before flattening out into a shadow on the ground. The Shadow sped across the area to Dokja who squawked when he apparently saw it rushing towards him. Iron went inside Dokja’s Shadow as the reader was getting inside the vehicle when he apparently saw the anomaly darting towards him. Dokja panicked when he saw it enter his shadow and stay there. Dokja whirled around to face Jinwoo, looking for an explanation.

“What was that??” Dokja queried.

“A bodyguard.”

“Did you not just see what I just did to that Giant?” Dokja said incredulously,”Do you need new eyes???”

Jinwoo gave him a deadpan expression and Dokja clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“It’s to protect you from yourself Dokja,” Jinwoo elaborated,”I don’t want you to go sacrificing yourself like back at the temple.”

Dokja opened his mouth as if about to reproach Jinwoo but no words came out from his lips. He continued to open and close his mouth like a fish, before giving an exaggerated huff reminiscent of a teenager. Jinwoo, Jinho, and Dokja all entered the Jeep after that and continued on their merry way of following Jinwoo’s separated legions. Jinwoo using ‘Sensory Perception’ to keep track of their progress. Collecting new Shadow Giants from the remains left behind by the Shadows.

He switched to Beru and saw his Commander crush a cameraman in a Helicopter’s camera. Jinwoo praised Beru to which Beru replied.

‘Oh my King, thank you for commending this servant.’

Jinwoo was starting to get tired of that old timey language Beru used all the time. As he was about to criticize Beru, Jinho interrupted him.

"Hey Hyung-nim? I know that you spread out your Summons, but why use the Nagas?"

Jinwoo deactivated ‘Sensory Perception’ and was brought back to the rumbling vehicle. It was a valuable question, Jinwoo knew that he didn't really need the Shadow Naga's help, he could've easily dealt with that Giant on his own like Dokja did. However he would like to level that Nagas up.

They were all far weaker than the rest of his infantry due to being collected only recently. It would be a good idea to boost their levels through this.

"I should get familiar with them, so I plan on keeping them around me for a little while to get to know them better."

"Huh."

Dokja was giving him a sidelong glance, did he see through me? Well I can't really go and tell Jinho that I can get stronger endlessly can I? Dokja must've noticed that his shadows were growing stronger over the short time he's known him.

Which was actually pretty perceptive of him, even when he steadily progressed from E to S-rank no one noticed. Well maybe Jinho and maybe a select few S-ranks realized.

Jinwoo met Dokja's gaze, and then a window popped up in front of his vision.

[Kim Dokja has used Midday Tryst!]

[Kim Dokja is seeking consent from Sung Jinwoo!]

‘What is this for.?’

Jinwoo ultimately accepted Dokja’s invitation.

[Sung Jinwoo has agreed to communicate with Kim Dokja!]

Oh? A communication device, this might come in handy.

[The Midday Tryst has started!]

- I have a rough idea on why you lied, I won’t tattle on you.

Dokja started off with that message, though Jinwoo wasn’t ready to feel the other’s voice drift directly into his ear. He felt his ears heat up and his black heart gave a solitary beat. This isn’t good for my hearts Jinwoo decided.

- Good.

Dokja arched an elegant brow at the single word answer, but left the tiny conversation at that, Jinwoo secretively sighing in relief. Instead, he leaned forward to the front row.

“That’s a big Giant.” Dokja breathed.

Indeed it was..

The Giant was so tall and muscular that it dwarfed all the buildings around it with ease. Jinho noisily swallowed and parked the car on a hill near the ruined capital. They all exited the Jeep and stood at the edge of the hill to get a good view of their soon to be opponent.

How could something like that exist?? I will have to deal with that soon, I should call back my army to take it out. Jinwoo could practically feel Jinho’s jaw hit the grassy floor.

“Your jaw will fall off at this point.” Jinwoo simpered, his eyes softening.

Jinho spluttered,”H-hyung-nim.”

Dokja giggled airily beside them at the interaction,”You might want to see a Prosthodontist, Jinho-ssi, that mouth might need to be rehinged.”

“Not you too Dokja-ssi!!”

Jinwoo hummed, but then became more serious as he shot a glare at the Giant guarding the Gate.

“Get to a safe distance Yoo Jinho.”

“... Yes Hyung-nim.”

Jinwoo and Dokja watched him climb back into their car and drive away and off the hill. The two shared a look and nodded determinedly to each other. Jinwoo’s Shadows roared through the mental links at the prospect of taking down a powerful opponent.

They would initiate the battle soon, once his Shadows reconvene.

---

Notes:

Did I base most of the nicknames I made off of Yokai and other mythology?

... Yes I did 😅 JSBWKVNE

There will also be a chapter tomorrow like it was originally planned!! So stay tuned, it might come out late in the day tho 👀

As always, thx for reading!!!!

Chapter 20: Chapter 20

Notes:

Andddd another one!!!

Now it's Valentine's Day for me too 💖♥️💞♥️💖💖♥️💓💗💗💕💕💖💝💝💓💞

Guess this is Valentine's special part 2 huh? 🤣🤣

And a friendly A\N:

Enenra - Are mostly considered to be demons or divine beings of darkness and smoke, they are sometimes originally humans who have died and were transformed.

Fufufu now Jinwoo's custom nickname is given!!

Jinwoo wondered what would have happened if he hadn't come to help Japan in their time of need.

The country possibly would have perished beyond even more recognition. Not even it’s Government was trying to clear the Giants anymore, seemingly had long given up. He stared into the licking flames the sun having set shortly ago. Dokja’s figure illuminated by the light’s flickering was off to the side, looking through his pockets again. Those pockets were like a magician’s magic hat or something, he kept pulling out all these wonky items. Each one having useful purposes, Jinwoo gave up on understanding how such strong items existed.

Then again he had some items that were incredibly useful as well.

Jinwoo flashbacks to the Japanese Hunter Association Chairman, Matsumoto Shigeo, groveling at his feet in the airport right after he and the others landed.

“P-please I beg of you!” Shigeo clamored, his whole body quaking,”Focus on defending Osaka as the centre!!”

He heard Dokja scoff behind him and saw Jinho squirm uncomfortably. Jinwoo could share the sentiment with the both of them. This was the man who tried to impair Korea into becoming an extra source of materials for them, deceiving it’s citizens into feeling indebted to them.

Jinwoo growled,“I refuse.”

Dokja giggled lightly at his side at the alarmed countenance the Chairman adopted, Jinwoo smiling inwardly.

“Th-then what are you here to do.?” Shigeo spluttered.

And with this question, Jinwoo separated his legions across Japan, eliminating any Giants they came across in their expedition. He was oblivious to the crowds crying out in shock, some began labeling him with a nickname. Jinwoo paid hardly any attention as he heard whispers of the ‘Conqueror of the Enenra has come to save us!’.

Now here he was waiting for them to meet the rendezvous, he felt Kaisel racing at a blistering speed, why was the wyvern moving so fast?? He felt excitement and elation across the link, the Knight the shadow wyvern was with expressing exasperation. Soon enough he didn’t see Kaisel’s murky black, but he saw the flaming purple belly and wings up in the sky’s horizon.

There was a whistling sound like a bomb dropping as the wyvern came closer at an accelerated pace.

Kaisel wasn’t slowing down…

Jinwoo hurriedly got to his feet by the fire. He saw Dokja in his peripheral turn his head towards the sound and do a double take. Kaisel was approaching with all the speed of a meteorite towards their site.

---

Dokja’s eyes quaked as he observed the wyvern darting across the heavens to meet them.

Gosh darn, it may be on my side now, but it scared me back in the cave!

[The exclusive skill 'Fourth Wall' has offset your mental shock!]

Instantly Dokja felt an unnatural calm flood his mind, soothing his nerves with ease. As he stared at the incoming wyvern, Jinwoo shot towards him and grabbed him in a firm grip. Dokja squeaked when he roughly propelled them both away from the derailed freight train’s range of landing. Dokja felt himself stiffen as he was held tight against Jinwoo’s very much robust front. Right after they moved Kaisel crashed into the ground in a rough landing.

The wyvern took no notice of the crater it had created and moved towards them with all the mannerisms of a curious kitten, much unlike how it was just prior. Dokja couldn’t see Jinwoo, but he felt like the S-rank was currently reprimanding the Shadow if it’s now dejected attitude was anything to go by.

Then it’s head swivelled from Jinwoo to Dokja, he could see now that it was trying to convey an apology. Jinwoo slowly let go of Dokja, and the reader hesitantly stepped away from him towards the wyvern.

“What’s his name.?”

“Kaisel.”

“... It’s ok Kaisel, were you just excited to see Jinwoo?”

Although happiness returned to Kaisel, it both shook and nodded it’s head, to which Dokja rose a brow.

“Kaisel wanted to see both of us.”

“Me too??” Dokja said incredulously.

Kaisel cheerfully nodded it’s scaly head, Dokja giggled, he felt like he was talking to a sentient dog or something. Shin Yoosung would have enjoyed this, Lee Gilyoung probably would’ve liked to talk with that shadow ant as well.

The wyvern moved closer to him and Dokja became unsure, why was it moving closer to him?

[K i m Do kja tho ug ht: I wa nt to p e t it.]

‘Do I really want to though..?’

… To heck with it.

Dokja gingerly reached a hand out to the wyvern. The reptilian Shadow was all but happy to oblige, forcefully thrusting it’s dark head clad with six lilac horns against his offered palm. Dokja marveled at how the remnants of shadows clumping off of it’s scales softly wafted around his hand. It almost felt like that sensation where you set your hand right on the surface of water, that magnetizing feeling.

Dokja was officially addicted, it felt almost therapeutic to pat Kaisel’s head. He massaged the silky scales and heard Kaisel begin to.. Is that purring??? He heard Jinwoo conspicuously cough behind him, did he find this amusing?

Petting Kaisel made him remember stroking Biyoo’s white fluff, and the childrens’ hair too. Heck even Yoo Jonghyuk that one time.

[Ki m Dok ja li kes t o giv e o u t he ad p at s.]

Dokja, for once, couldn’t deny the Fourth Wall’s assessment.

Later on, after massaging Kaisel’s scalp, the three didn’t have to wait long for the rest of Jinwoo’s Shadows to arrive. Dokja couldn’t help but notice that Jinwoo’s army had steadily grown stronger than before they divided to exterminate the Giants. Unlike what the files back at the Monitoring Division said, Jinwoo seemed exempt from the limitation on Hunters not being able to grow stronger after awakening.

Could it be because of the System that he refused to spill the details about? It could be bad, Dokja supposed, if word got out to the public that he could constantly grow stronger. He may be able to protect himself, but can he also keep his family and all those close to him safe 24/7? Jinwoo will probably wait longer until he was certain that he could do exactly that before telling Dokja anything.

Just as he left his thoughts, Jinwoo had walked up to him after giving out orders to his Shadows.

“We’re heading out now Dokja.” Jinwoo informed.

“Ok.”

With this, the two Hunters and the Shadow infantry infiltrated Tokyo, heading towards the Giant guarding the huge Gate above Shinjuku. The guard wasn’t the only Giant stationed in the beating heart of Japan, but they were prepared to take on any opposing odds. A knight draped in murky armor, cloak, and red plume elegantly wafting from it’s helm, swung an impressive great sword. A wave of lightning unleashing itself from the weapon and cleanly killing a Giant that was chasing after a little girl.

The knight picked her up to move her to a safer destination, as this happened, the horde of shadow ants surged forward as a wave, barbarically ripping apart another Giant that was already fleeing. An especially lively one even shrieking in victory, ah that was the one that almost killed him.

The shadow that had joined his own rose from the ground and gave a bellowing roar as he charged forward. Another soldier took on the roll it seemed as Dokja saw another one enter his own shadow.

[Iron has used 'Skill: Shout of Provocation'!]
[The Giants have fallen into an 'aggro'ed' state!]

The Giants that were once retreating swerved around to confront the burly Shadow man, who used his shield to block them triumphantly. The tank along with other excess Shadows all picked the enraged Giants one by one. A shadow orc with red skin with markings on it, clad in a cloak. The orc held up an orb in one hand and raised the other, spewing out a bout of greedy flames

Jinwoo truly was something else huh? And he was still growing too.

Dokja shuddered, but steeled himself as he unsheathed Unbroken Faith, selecting the fire attribute. He then told Jinwoo through Midday Tryst what he was about to do, figuring it would need some form of warning.

[Kim Dokja has activated ‘Midday Tryst’!]

Jinwoo, who was about to join the fray, averted his eyes to Dokja.

-I’m going to do what I did before at the Hospital.

Jinwoo’s eyes flashed with startlement along with his aura coloring his eyes for a split second, his slightly oppressive mana flaring slightly. Do his eyes gleam when he feels a strong emotion? Dokja wasn’t entirely sure about this world’s dynamics, but they seemed somewhat similar to WOS.

Dokja released his status, his midnight black wings arching from his back, luxurious ebony horns growing from his hairline.

And with the aid of ‘Bookmark’, he triggered his signature combo of skills.
[Exclusive skill 'Bookmark' is activated!]

[Exclusive skill, 'Way of the Wind Lv.10', has been activated!]

[Exclusive skill 'Electrification' Lv. 12 (+2), has been activated!]

Dashing white lightning and billowing winds danced around Dokja’s form, saw the Shadows all violently shudder and give pause, the Giants hacking up blood. Even the overpowered Jinwoo had a slight bleeding of the nose, though he didn’t seem to mind much as he ogled Dokja.

---

Back at the cave, Dokja hadn’t seemed to emit such an overwhelming aura when he transformed, had he been holding back perhaps? No… He must’ve been weakened or something, but from what?

Jinwoo felt like he might swoon despite his nose sluggishly trickling out warm blood, thankfully he didn’t have as violent of a reaction to Dokja’s current state as the others did. This way he could get a good view of his companion’s prowess, Jinwoo was already looking forward to that duel. Even if it was highly likely he will be defeated.

Dazzling bolts of lightning curved around Dokja along with fierce gales of wind. One moment he was there on the street behind him, and then he was already halfway down the debris ridden street. Swiftly sweeping the stupefied Giants off their feet.

‘I can’t lose to him.’

“Oh my king,” Beru spluttered as he was enamored with Dokja who was now almost as destructive as a typhoon,”I sincerely commend you on finding such a mate!”

Jinwoo hummed and summoned his Demon King Daggers.

‘Quicksilver.’

The evolved version of ‘Dash’ made him speedily move, although he was still slower than Dokja, he cleared anything that Dokja may have missed and swiftly revived the corpses into new Shadows.

Then they arrived at a building near the sentinel of the portal. Dokja and Jinwoo gave pause, the Shadows also catching up to them. They observed the stationary Giant skeptically, it still hasn't moved a muscle.. These Giants reminded Jinwoo of robots, they didn’t do much until they received orders, could this be the Dungeon’s Boss?

Him and Dokja shared a look and nodded resolutely at each other.

They will free Japan from the Giants’ albeit short but gruesome reign of tyranny.

---

Notes:

Don't think I'll be able to get the drawing for Dokja's bday out on the top 😭😭 SO SORRY DOKJA

and YASSSS gosh I luv Kaisel 🥺🥺🥺

Happy Valentine's Day for those that have it today 💓💞💝♥️💗💗💗💖♥️💝💞💕💕

Chapter 21: Chapter 21

Notes:

Me halfway through writing this: Do I need to add a warning? Cuz good lord is this is super gory, I mean this is canon-typical stuff

After finishing it: ... Yeah, definitely…

AlL oN ThE mAgIc ScHoOl bUs!!!!~ (remember that 1 episode where they go inside some peep's body? 🤣)

I’m a sucker for mythology, i mean i read ORV and that’s loaded with it, i bet a constellation for the Thunderbird was mentioned in it, if so i think it would be in Vedas and those peeps can go suck an egg for that darn future they forced on Dokja… though it did give g r e a t Jongdok material so i ain’t complaining too much *WHEEZE*

Thunderbird - A mythical creature in Native American folklore that protected the humans from the monster of the underworld. They are said to be able to control storms at will, and many legends mention how they helped the Natives greatly, giving them important relics and helping them by bringing weather. Though the storms are more bad than good.

Chauffeur (Just in case idk if u all know it XP) - A person employed to drive a private or rented automobile.

The Giant is ginormous, was Dokja’s first thought, though not as big as Briareus, Cottus, and Gyges, it still was sizable.

The plan was simple, meaning it was half baked. Jinwoo was going to have his army charge the behemoth then the two of them, along with the red plumed knight Igris and the especially brutal ant Beru.

And the wholesome wyvern, Kaisel.

While the rest of the forces along namely: the burly bear with a flaming ‘x’ mark on it’s chest named Tank, the other tankish warrior Iron, the Orc mage Tusk, and the supersized Naga Jima. Not to mention each of these commanders had their own forces of their brethren based on species, Jinwoo had even collected the Giants they have found thus far.

The Giant pretty much had a snowball’s chance in hell of winning, the odds against it were staggering.

“My soldiers,” Jinwoo rose an arm up into the air,”CHARGE!”

His Shadows instantly got into motion, moving the sentinel like a raging tide. The legion of ants took to the skies, taking the aerial route as the earth bound soldiers below attacked its feet and ankles. Jinwoo and Dokja accessed the onslaught, observing the Giant’s reaction.

That is until Beru began spouting odd things.

“I think you should give my noble king a chance oh mate.”

Dokja saw Jinwoo’s cheeks gain a vibrant dusting of red, though he kept his eyes resolutely on the battle. Dokja saw Igris facepalm with a deep sigh, Kaisel chortling merrily off to the side as well. Dokja wasn’t sure if the ant was directing it at him so he just stared at it with his best poker face. However Beru was eyeballing him, was he actually talking to him? Why was the ant dubbing him as ‘mate’??

“... Are you talking to me.?” Dokja queried.

Jinwoo, eyes still locked on the fight, chimed in,”Don’t listen to him Dokja.”

Now Dokja was extremely curious, Beru seemed to notice as he continued elaborating.

“My liege is the most faithful, and is monumentallly strong,” Beru described,”He can come to you in your time of need.”

[Y o o Jon gh yuk c an d o th at too.]

The [Fourth Wall] helpfully stated, entering the conversation as well. Dokja glowered at the dainty lettering on the system window in pure annoyance.

‘It isn’t like that!’

Dokja didn’t listen to Beru, who continued on with all these qualities of his ‘king’, Beru not even bothering to check if Dokja was still with him in the conversation.

No, instead he wanted to make sure he got his point across to his skill. To which it finally relented.

[.. . Fi n e, b ut i f Sun g Ji nwo o i s m ean I’ll e a t hi m.]

… What?

Dokja was shaken from his thoughts when the Giant dashed forward swinging his colossal sword around, massacring a quarter of the army with that one hit. The previously slaughtered section materialized back and continued as if nothing had happened.

The swarm of ants seemingly pestered the Giant as it moved to swipe at them, killing off another section which immediately regenerated as well and went back to the attack with no pause. Dokja stared bewildered, could this be..? His eyes shot over to Jinwoo, his mana was running rampant over his form as it looked as if it decreased after each sweep of the Giants sword.

Can Jinwoo regenerate his infantry with his mana? That’s pretty broken, it’s an unrelenting wave as long as he has energy to spare.

Jinwoo seemed to have caught a detail as he had been surveying the battle, as his pale purple eyes turned towards Dokja, then to the Shadows accompanying them.

“It’s weakness is the inside.”

Dokja grimaced, recalling the Ichthyosaur Jonghyuk had tossed him into during the second scenario so long ago. Will he have to kill that Giant from the inside? Dokja noticed that the Giant seemed confident in it’s mana shielding it from the Shadows, however it defended its face whenever they assaulted it’s face.

That will be the best way to get inside the Monster, they all decided.

“Let’s go.” Jinwoo stated, Kaisel’s magnificent wispy wings of black and purple spread wide.

Jinwoo and Igris climbed onto Kaisel, Beru launching with the aid of his gossamer wings. Igris looked to Dokja questioningly when the other didn’t get on. Dokja waved them off, his inky black wings flaring out to get his plan across. The three nodded just as Beru’s remarkably loud screeching rang through the air as he met with the Giant’s face. Kaisel trilled as he threw himself and his passengers into the air, sending them all hurtling towards the Giant that was still wiping out large sections of Shadows. Dokja smirked as he activated his usual two skills, adding another one to the mix as well.

[Exclusive skill 'Bookmark' is activated!]

[Exclusive skill, 'Way of the Wind Lv.10', has been activated!]

[Exclusive skill 'Electrification' Lv. 12 (+2), has been activated!]

[The special skill 'Miniaturization Lv. 10' has been activated!]

Dokja shrunk into a mini version of himself, with a flap of his raven black wings, he propelled himself like a bullet towards the Giant. All that showed he was on the rooftop of the building were a few stray feathers unhinged from the force of the wingbeat.

Igris was sending wave after wave of thunderous energy with fierce swipes of his sword, distracting the Giant by having it block his strikes. Jinwoo could be seen hopping off of Kaisel, his Daggers ready to cleave the Giant’s face as well. Jinwoo’s aura flared as his blades grated through the Giant’s shield of mana and cut through to it’s skin. The present Shadow Monarch raced from it’s face down to the Giant’s forearm, the Monster grunting as it’s life essence spilled through the incision.

[Kim Dokja has activated ‘Midday Tryst’!]

Jinwoo, who was about to do the same thing he did with the Architect of summoning multiple gruesome Daggers from midair, halted to look for Dokja. However even his superhuman sight could spot the small Dokja who was zipping across the air to join the onslaught. Jinwoo seemed to panic when he couldn’t find Dokja anywhere. Eventually Dokja’s voice wafted to Jinwoo’s ear as his voice both soothed and ruffled his nerves

- I will enter from the inside to kill it.

Jinwoo held a skeptical countenance.

Was he wondering if I could get the job done? Oh come one, I showed him a bit of what I can do!

- .. Fine.

However Dokja was already entering the inside of the Giant though the gushing wound Jinwoo had left behind. The Giant cried out as it was shocked by the luminous lightning dancing around Dokja. Dokja didn’t notice the Shadow ant’s entrance and continued to move towards the Giant’s torso front he inside like a mole. He used Unbroken Faith to rake his way to the Monster’s solar plexus. The host of the body was shaking, Dokja could hear the carnage happening outside and the gravity shifted as if the Giant had been almost knocked back.

He found a vein, figuring it would be a smoother way to get to his destination. Dokja held his breath as he dove into the hot sticky murky dark purplish liquid. Eventually when he couldn’t hold on any longer, Dokja cut a chunk out on the side and away from the blood. He frantically gasped for air and wiped his face of the vile excrement.

The reader cringed at how he looked like a drenched kitten, holding back a wretch at the stench of gore. Dokja lamented that he would have to thoroughly preen his wings after this, he should’ve deactivated his Demon King form before entering the Giant’s body.

They were starting to get extremely itchy and the previously luxurious feathers were clumped together revealing the downy fluff beneath the soaked white plumage had repelled the liquid. So at least he wouldn’t have to wash the skin. But still...

Disgusting…

This should be a good enough spot to do it..

[Exclusive skill 'Electrification' Lv. 12 (+2), has been activated!]

This time, Dokja unleashed the full raw power of his skill he had taken from Kyrgios Rodgraim in the small world during the sixth scenario. He heard an ear splitting roar of utmost agony as the Giant was fried like a popcorn kernel in a microwave. Though maybe those roles were swapped since Dokja was doing it internally.

The Giant continued to jostle and jerk under his feet, perhaps too stunned to topple over like

Eventually the nitrogen from the voltaic blast was getting too thick for Dokja to breath in his tiny man-made chamber so he stopped his skill.

Almost instantly, he felt the Giant fall over like a ton of bricks, a shaking similar to a 6.7 earthquake occured, throwing Dokja off his balance. The reader falling over onto the cooling velvety tissues with a squelch. Before he actually did wretch at the texture, the [Fourth Wall] helped pacify Dokja hysterical mind, so all that came out was a dry wheeze as he fumbled to stand up. Has Dokja ever said how much he loves his skill?

..Dokja never wanted to kill something from the inside again.

He then rushed to escape from the corpse, clumsily using his faithful blade to make space. Soon enough, a frenzied Dokja made his exit out into the fresh air ridden in mana galore. He wheezed even more as he gulped up the air, [Miniaturization] deactivated and Dokja enlargened back to his regular size.

Almost immediately after, Jinwoo landed beside him just below it’s gear accented with horns. They stared unblinkingly at each other, Jinwoo had a worried expression. That is until he deemed Dokja unharmed, then amusement flooded his countenance.

---

Jinwoo gave his consent to Dokja’s plan through Midday Tryst, before summoning the Dual Blades he had collected up until thus far. They floated in the air ominously as his aura exponentially grew, the Shadow Monarch’s eyes blazed fearsomely. The mana doused Jinwoo and his surroundings in darkness and licks of lilac shades weaved in the air as he used ‘Ruler’s Authority’ and his oppressive energy.

With this chilling image, Jinwoo pounced from his spot up to the Giant’s face.

‘Violent Slash!’

A resounding thundering crash resonated in the air, the Monster nearly toppling over, but somehow managed to regain its footing. Jinwoo’s skill aided him in dealing numerous blows at a breakneck speed. However he didn’t stop there, as he continued to activate it over and over again. Eventually Jinwoo punctured the Giant’s eye in the relentless blows.

“Beru!!”

“As you command!!!” Beru affirmed.

Beru shot down the Monster’s eye socket and began attacking it from the inside, this should be enough to help Dokja.

Jinwoo and his Shadow infantry continued to fight their formidable opponent, though it was only to keep the Giant distracted from Dokja and Beru. They were going to kill it from the inside and they didn’t want the Giant to excavate them out of its own body before the deed was done.

They didn’t have to wait long though, for Dokja’s signature luminous lightning enshrouded the Giant. Jinwoo brought Beru back to his Shadow when the ant got utterly vaporized instantaneously by the galvanic current. Jinwoo was a little annoyed, couldn’t Dokja have given a warning about that? He accidentally killed his commander after all..

“Oh my king…” Beru’s voice shook minutely.

‘Yes?’

“This humble servant didn’t even feel a thing my liege,” Beru informed,”My king’s mate’s lightning killed me before my body could register it..”

Jinwoo, his Shadows, and a stray News Helicopter all watched as the Giant shuddered violently as the electricity coursed throughout its body incessantly.

… Does that mean Dokja is hurting himself again.?!

Jinwoo’s eyes widened, and he just barely stopped himself from plunging inside the Giant’s form as well to tear Dokja out. But he couldn’t do anything now.

‘This purging lightning will fry me like a shrimp, I wouldn’t be able to save myself let alone Dokja..’

A bitter taste flooded his mouth, was he forsaking Dokja to his chosen fate again? Jinwoo bit his lip harshly, only his incredible durability stopped his lip from splitting under the pressure. Before he could go deeper down his downwards spiral of thoughts, the voltage currents that draped the Giant ceased. The behemoth of a Giant collapsing like a puppet that had just got it’s strings cut off.

[You have defeated the enemy.]

A bone chilling silence filled the air, the abundant mana and a billowing wind the only thing breaking the tension. Jinwoo brought back all his Shadows into his own shade.

He felt them trying to comfort him through the mental link, though Jinwoo paid it no heed, instead keeping a vigilant eye out for Dokja who would surely return to his side. If Dokja died, maybe he’ll revive again.? No, who knows how many times he can cheat death, it should be impossible anyways.

Then he saw a figure expand on the Giant’s corpse at the Monster’s solar plexus. Jinwoo rushed towards the spot and sure enough there was Dokja panting from exertion splayed out in all his transformation’s glory. Dokja cracked his eyes open and Jinwoo and him stared at each other. Jinwoo’s Shadows were howling in relief and happiness across their connection. Though Jinwoo stayed observant as he made sure his companion was ok. The anxiety flushed out of his tense figure when he couldn’t see any noticeable injuries.

In replacement, an amiable flow of amusement filled his heart at the sight.

“You look like you bathed in grape juice.” Jinwoo snickered at Dokja who was matted with rapidly drying violet blood.

Dokja joined in on the crazed giggles, and cringed at the feeling when his wings shifted. He seemed to hurriedly deactivate his transformation, horns and wings receding back into his body. Beru piped up in their link.

“Oh my king…” Beru rumbled,”I understand just how uncomfortable it is to have dirty wings.. My liege should clean his preferred mate’s wings, it could help your relationship…”

That wasn’t so bad of an idea, surprisingly Beru seemed to be better at this than Jinho.. Why was Jinwoo even thinking about this?? Jinwoo coughed to clear his thoughts, and offered Dokja a hand. The other gladly took it and Jinwoo hoisted him up onto his feet. When they let go Jinwoo felt a lingering heat where their hands had clasped together. Jinwoo stared at his hand and pondered about the residual warmth from such a small contact.

He really was whipped huh?

“Jinwoo?” Dokja inquired.

Jinwoo snapped back to reality and blurted out.

“Want me to help groom your wings after this?”

“.. What do you mean after this?”

“That Giant wasn’t this Dungeon’s Master.” Jinwoo informed.

“Are you kidding me?” Dokja breathed incredulously as he tried to brush off the flakey blood off his previously pristine white coat. Jinwoo was glad that he didn’t wear white often.

It was true, the system hadn’t told him that he had cleared the Dungeon, in fact the incredible mana the Giant contained was being absorbed into the Gate as they spoke. The possible Dungeon Master was recalling its energy, it could help them find it and kill it.

Dokja seemed to notice as he too directed his black eyes towards the warp.

“It’s in there huh?”

Jinwoo nodded, that was his lucky guess as well.

“Well we better get this over with! I don’t want this to permanently stain.”

Dokja didn’t show all that much worry to the situation as he trudged through the Gate. Jinwoo’s Shadows gave their bits of encouragement and Jinwoo hastily followed Dokja into the unknown future.

Meanwhile up in the helicopter. The news casters were elated and overjoyed at the footage they had caught. The ant hadn’t come up to destroy their tenth spare camera and they were able to catch the entire match up. They had never seen so many viewers on their program ever before. Capturing Hunter’s work proved to be the best way to get paid, the topic was quite popular after all. All major Social Media platforms were being overloaded with countless questions on who Jinwoo’s new companion(?) was. Many marveling at the tremendous powers the both of them held.

With this Dokja unwittingly received yet another title from this remarkable event.

The title ‘Miniature Thunderbird’ was born alongside ‘Angelic Tengu’. Jinwoo even received two titles of his own.

The ‘Conqueror of the Enenra’ and ‘Savior of Japan’. Jinho got one of his own, the ‘Saviors’ Chauffeur’.

The entire world besides the civilians of Maryland were enraptured by the heroics of the duo, and the skills they had that backed them up. Many bedazzled and enamoured by the new addition to the community of Hunters. The Japanese viewers were crying out in pure happiness at the successful liberation of their homeland, endlessly grateful to their saviors.

---

Notes:

It’s going to take a while longer to go back and fix the box texts in the prior chapters sorry
( 　ﾟ,_ゝﾟ) I’ve been busy juggling school, life, and this fic. Let alone me being able to fill in some requests that I’ve collected for ya guys XP

It takes time making these chapters at the utmost quality I can make them and they still have quite a few flaws apparently, so thx for having mercy on me and supporting me in the comments.

LIKE HOLY CANNOLI I never expected to get so many readers! Hecc I didn't expect a quarter of the kudos and bookmarks I have now! I’m truly overjoyed that my readers have been having fun reading and how my story helps ppl out in their days ᕙᓄ(☉ਊ☉)ᓄᕗ

Thx for reading my fic!! It makes my day as well when ppl read my stuff d-(◕ヮ◕ )z

(Edit: BRUH IM SO ANNOYEDKAKSNJD 😤😡 I was just chatting about fanfic with an online friend and some peep from my clan on the game said I was flirting REEEEEEEEE

I'm so peeved... And now the peep I was chatting with about it is shunning me they prob priv msged them and convinced them 😭 they were so nice too we could've been friends 😱)

Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Notes:

I gravely miscalculated how long Legia's and Jinwoo's interrogation was. This ch is so longgggggg.

Bought abot cutting it, but I really wanted to get this scene done in 1 ch.. so I hope u enjoy this behemoth word vomit X'DDD

It was so fun writing Dokja using his true voice, I always loved it when he used it in ORV!!

And I really sped through the writing, so sorry if it lacks the depth my other ch have had to this point, not to mention it might have typos galore. 🤣🤣

Jinwoo and Dokja traipsed past the Dungeon’s entrance wearily. Both examined the interior of the Dungeon…

Their surroundings took the form of a gloomy hallway, though this passage was incredibly huge. Supersized pillars lined the sides similar to Greek architecture although without the luminous ivory, instead it held a darker tone. Jinwoo held back his gasps of astonishment at the vastness of the Giants’ origin. His eyes softly glowing in the darkness, Jinwoo not noticing Dokja eyeballing him from off to the side curiously.

Jinwoo could visualize that at some point before the Gate opened up to the outside, this hall was filled with all the Giants that ravaged Japan.

He almost felt unwelcome in the Dungeon, Jinwoo always feels like that during raids. But the feeling seemed to be a lot stronger in the ominous darkness. He felt his Shadows roiling, ready at any time to be unleashed if their Monarch saw fit to summon them.

As his feeling of discomfort grew, Dokja seemingly sharing the sentiment, an eerie cackling echoed from deeper inside the abyss. The sound almost broke the tension, that is if they actually knew who it was that let it out. Dokja cringed at the noise, probably weirded out by it, Jinwoo agreed. His Black Heart began to beat a couple times at the sheer power he felt coming from the inner depths of the Dungeon.

“That’s one sinister laugh.” Jinwoo remarked then said a little more quietly,”What an odd one.”

Dokja nodded then chortled at his added bit, his reaction did manage to give Jinwoo some relief unlike the other one. A fuzzy feeling soothing his nerves, though Jinwoo remained vigilant.

This was likely the real Dungeon Boss, and they were laughing like that as they invaded its inner sanctum? It was sort of frightening that the Giant outside with such a strong aura wasn’t the Boss. If all his veteran experience as a Hunter said anything, that thing should’ve been the Boss, it was leagues ahead of all the other Giants. However this other mana that seeped through the currents of this place was the strongest he has ever felt before besides Dokja.

And it still was nothing compared to Dokja, Jinwoo thought smugly, he truly is something else.

Jinwoo said,“Let’s go.”

The two continued to trace the mana leading them deeper into the darkness, at this rate the Boos was guffawing in… Seemingly elation.? What an interesting fella huh? His Black Heart accelerated as he saw the mana up close with its owner.

[[Oh how humorous this is! So very humorous!! All of you detestable Ruler bastards, take a good look at who had come to see me first!]]

Jinwoo and Dokja both rose their brows at the display they came upon in the depths of the Dungeon. So this was the Boss?

There was a ripped bearded man with dark grey skin chained down onto the center of a magic circle. His messy mop of black hair flying as he laughed like a madman, eyes emanating a vibrant red along with an aura similar to Jinwoo’s.

Jinwoo and Dokja shared looks at this detail.

‘Could he be..?’

The chains made the man completely immobile, the only thing he could move freely was his head. Some of them piercing his body with barbs gruesomely, whoever put these on him wanted no chance of him being able to escape.

‘What could he have done to warrant such treatment?’

It must’ve been direly bad if this was anything to go by, even his kneecaps weren’t safe from the steely grasp of the binding.

As the man began asking Jinwoo to release him of his confines, Jinwoo noticed something. He fumbled to activate the mental communication that tied him and Dokja together, eventually getting it up.

[Sung Jinwoo has activated ‘Midday Tryst’!]

-Those chains, their absorbing mountainous amounts of his mana.

-And yet his power seems like it could be equal to yours, if he weren’t tied down by them as well I don’t know who would win.

Jinwoo swallowed, Dokja felt that if the Giant had these chains attached to him but could still move, he might still lose.

What a dangerous opponent, they truly are the real Dungeon Boss.

[[I know what the Rulers are planning.]]

The both of them snapped back to attention as the Monster began spouting curious things.

[[The other Monarchs must know quickly...]]

At this the Monster did a double take of Jinwoo, eyes scanning him skeptically.

[[You…]]

The chained beast’s cheerful tone turned sour as his glowing crimson eyes squinted and a scowl schooled his face. A crinkle appearing between his brows.

[[You are not the one I know.]]

The being seemed to flinch when it’s eyes shot to Dokja, it better be careful for it’s eyes might pop out of this head now. It ogled Dokja with a flabbergasted countenance, Jinwoo feeling an unnameable emotion rear its ugly head inside him at how it stared at Dokja unblinkingly. His Shadows also seemed livid by the incredulous interest the Boss seemed to have for Dokja, Beru screeching about him ‘impeding on his king’s courtship’, Jinwoo gave up on understanding his right-hand Shadow.

[[W-who the hell are you??!]] The Boss stuttered hysterically, Dokja arching a fine brow at its reaction.

“Yoo Jonghyuk.” Dokja lied, not giving a single telling sign of his deceptive name.

..He’s skilled at dishing out flimflam? If Jinwoo didn’t know any better, he would believe him. Jinwoo shot an inquisitive look at Dokja, to which his companion explained his ploy.

-It might be wise to not tell it my real identity.

-Should I also do that?

-Yes, he seems to only be familiar with your predecessor. Only tell him when he asks you though, if you seem eager to say your name it might expose your lie.

-Ok.

Jinwoo decided to try and squeeze out some unanswered questions the Architect had left behind through this Monster. He was bound at the moment so they had no need to fear his latent strength.

“Are those Rulers or whatever responsible for doing this to you?”

[[They are trying to use me.]] The man informed [[As a stepping stone for the foundations of the true war that is to come.]]

‘He seems to be able to explain his origins unlike the other intelligent Monsters I’ve faced..’

“Who are these ‘Rulers’ you speak of?” Jinwoo asked.

The Boss answered,[[Ancient enemies of the Monarchs.]]

“Enemies of the Monarchs?” Dokja reminisced,”Does that mean they are our enemy as well?”

The Boss nodded almost frantically, did Dokja rile up his nerves?

“... You’re a Monarch aren’t you.” Dokja stated more than asked.

[[Yes, I am a Monarch as well.]]

So their guess from earlier was right huh? This tangible of an aura, even when suppressed, still was far superior than most Hunters in the world. If he wasn’t bound… They wouldn’t have had an island country to save. It would already be wiped off the map or maybe end up like Jeju island.

[[All the Monarchs and Rulers most likely have you on their sights.]]

[[As you are now, young Monarch, you do not possess the strength to face them all.]] The prisoner rumbled on,[[You require support.]]

Jinwoo stared doubtfully at the Boss, does he not see Dokja standing right beside him? Does he have a brain?? Or is he just that conceited?

“Are you saying that Yoo Jonghyuk, my Shadows, and I wouldn’t be able to take them on?” Jinwoo challenged,”You wouldn’t be able to take on Yoo Jonghyuk and win in a millionth chance, and you haven’t even seen my army.”

The Boss seemingly averted his eyes to Dokja, then back to Jinwoo. However there was no iris so neither could really tell where he was looking.

[[The more the merrier don’t you humans say?]] Then he added,[[Well partially human I suppose.]]

-He’s sketchy, I advise to stay sharp. His words may seem slick but there could be an underlying factor that we haven’t realized yet.

Dokja said through their communication, Jinwoo agreed with his critique, a Monster helping a human? How laughable. The Boss seemed to take heed of their lambaste looks, as he seemed to think up on something that could remedy the affair.

[[Then I shall make you believe me.]]

Suddenly, the Giant began emitting a sound similar to that of nails on a chalkboard that Jinwoo and Dokja didn’t know was even possible to make. Then a few system windows popped up for each of them.

[King of the Giants. The Monarch of the Beginning, Legia, has activated the skill: ’Pledge of Honesty (Deal)’!]

[Once the skill: ’Pledge of Honesty (Deal)’ has been granted, both the initiator and the acceptor cannot lie to one another!]

[Will you accept the ‘Pledge of Honesty (Deal)’?]
Y/N

‘Kings of Giants huh? What should I do..?’

-This might be useful to us, let’s accept.

Dokja gave more input, Jinwoo nodding along.

They both gave their assent at the same time, Legia grinning as the resulting system windows began popping up.

[‘Pledge of Honesty (Deal)’ has been formed!]

[By the mutual consent of both the initiator and acceptor, both parties will be unable to lie to one another until the contract is terminated!]

Legia immediately repeated his earlier proposition.

[[Release me from my seal.]] Legia said,[[I will help you.]]

Dokja seemed to want to test out the limits of the contract.

“We wholeheartedly believ--” Dokja began but his sentence deteriorated into garbled stuttered sounds before a cute soft grunt,”-Egh.”

Jinwoo, admittedly, could not peel his eyes away from Dokja who was now bewilderingly lifting a hand to his lips. Legia rumbled in deep amusement as Dokja gingerly let his hand fall to his side.

[[Yes that is the power of the Pledge of Honesty.]] Legia said,[[The curse prevents you from lying.]]

Dokja nodded in understanding, this Pledge was the real deal.

“Why is it possible to freely converse with you, unlike other Monsters?”

[[Monsters?]]

Did he not know? He’s a Monster himself though..

“The Monsters that come out of the Gates.” Jinwoo elaborated

[[Aah… you mean the denizens of the Chaos World.]]

Jinwoo figured that they meant the same thing so he nodded along.

[[Well I also have a question.]] Legia said,[[How could you even think of placing mere denizens of the Chaos World on the same pedestal as the Monarchs that rule over them?]]

The Monarchs rule over the Monsters? Jinwoo and Dokja looked at each other. The Monsters the Monarchs controlled were brutally massacring humans at any chance they got, were the Monarchs on their side? Jinwoo inherited the power of the Shadow Monarch so he was one of them, but he was human. Legia seemed to think he should explain the circumstances of these Monsters to clear up their thoughts.

[[All the denizens of the Chaos World that emerge from the Gates are remnants of defeated armies.]] Legia continued,[[They are those that were captured after being overcome by the Rulers’ own armies.]]

The Rulers? If the Monarchs that were likely enemies of mankind were fighting against these Rulers, then perhaps they are on the Rulers’ side instead? After all, your enemy’s foe is your friend right?

Legia informed,[[They have been leashed for a painstakingly long time, they have long lost their sanity, their egos deteriorated.]]

Jinwoo and Dokja weren’t entirely sure how to react to this easily given enlightenment. Legia wasn’t holding anything back it seemed, openly spewing out useful information like a fountain. Dokja seemed to be soaking it all up like a sponge. His charcoal eyes locked onto Legia, a glint in his eyes.

[[However I am a king. Unlike them, I have managed to retain my sanity.]] Legia said,[[I have been patiently waiting for the fated day when I can escape from their grasps.]]

[[And now here we are, you and me.]]

 

“When you said the armies of the Rulers,” Dokja queried,”Do you mean those aerial soldiers in silver armor?”

Jinwoo almost got whiplash from how fast he turned his head to Dokja, the other wincing.

-I saw that vision of the previous Shadow Monarch as well.

Before Jinwoo could even ask how, Legia answered Dokja’s question.

[[Correct, they are the soldiers of the Rulers.]]

‘… Why were those Rulers unleashing those Mon- no- creatures upon humanity through the Gates??’

Jinwoo voiced his inner questions out to Legia who smugly smiled in satisfaction. Dokja seemed to be ruffled by this expression, his brows furrowing slightly.

Legia said lightly,[[They are preparing for war.]]

[[They intend to transform this world into a battlefield, and fight the Monarchs once again.]]

Were the Rulers actually not a possible ally? It seems like they were controlling the Monsters into attacking humans on sight, perhaps the Monarchs were actually an ally.

Or perhaps they have to create a side all of their own in this collision of powers.

“How will sending Monsters to earth make it into a battlefield?” Jinwoo asked.

[[It’s simple..]] Legia breathed,[[It’s all to inject magical energy into your world.]]

That… did make sense. If Monsters were calamities spawned from the Gate, then magical energy was a blessing. Even people who weren’t Hunters knew this fact. Magic crystals and stones, objects coalesced with energy were the most bountiful with energy worldwide. They were products highly sought after by anyone, but what would people think if these had a rationale for being created by these Rulers? Footholds for a war? The world would be an utter uproar at the notion.

[[The Rulers decided to use their captives to create a non-existent strength.]] Legia stated,[[The magical energy grows by the day. It is the fruit that is cultivated from the blood of the Monsters.]]

[[Their plan is to create a world that could withstand the effects of war.]]

“By war you mean?”

[[Another war between the Monarchs and Rulers.]] Legia said almost flippantly, can’t he take this seriously?[[Soon enough this world of yours will become hell.]]

Dokja shot Jinwoo a worried and empathetic glance when Jinwoo gained an astonished countenance. How could he be empathetic with a post-apocalyptic world?? He wished he knew Dokja a little bit more. Legia continued on through this exchange.

[[There is no time. Once it is known that you have made contact with me the Monarchs and Rulers will make their move.]] Legia said,[[It is likely that the Rulers’ envoys are already in motion.]]

“Why are they targeting me?” Jinwoo interrogated.

Legia gave a wry smile,[[You really don’t know anything.. Your powers weren’t always yours, and the fact that you even contain them is a sign that the original user has betrayed the Monarchs.]]

[[Thus you are both an enemy to the Monarchs and the Rulers, you are an unknown variable in our war.]]

So Jinwoo, Dokja, and his Shadows were a third party to this clash of universal powers? His predecessor betrayed the Monarchs, and the Rulers don’t want to adopt him to their side? Neither of the two sides seemed to care about humanity. Perhaps the Rulers, but their solution to protect humanity was also killing people everyday too along with the Monsters. They seemed to believe the ends justifies the means, what an errant way of thinking.

[[However I swear that I will fight on your side, release me from my confines and I can aid you in the coming war.]]

Before Jinwoo could reply to the proposition, Legia seemed to hurriedly hit reverse.

[[Before that though, I wish to know who this companion of yours is.]]

Jinwoo’s eyes narrowed, he didn’t know why but he felt annoyed whenever the prisoner paid too much attention or curiosity to Dokja.

Dokja answered peevishly,”I thought I already introduced myself, are you deaf?”

Jinwoo was baffled by how sassy that sentence was, was Dokja trying to even fit into his fake name’s role? Legia didn’t seem to mind the attitude he got, instead he guffawed at it like it was a joke.

[[You are a cheeky human.]] Legia remarked with mirth,[[But that isn’t right, you’re not completely human are you..]]

[[Your aura reminds me a lot of my old friend Baran, he was also a Demon King you see.]]

And suddenly everything clicked, Kaisel’s amiable bond with Dokja and his Demon King’s Daggers acting up. Dokja was a Demon King?? He recalled one of Dokja’s titles the system had tried to label him with.

‘*&mo! ?*ng o# Sa*v%*i$n’

Demon King of… Jinwoo wasn’t sure what the last word was.

“Congratulations, you guessed right,” Dokja said lightly,”I am a Demon King.”

[[What are you the Demon King of exactly?]]

“Salvation.”

Demon King of Salvation huh? Jinwoo supposed it did fit Dokja, his mind flashing back to the Double Dungeon. The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth. Legia hummed.

[[Where did you even come from? I’m almost certain we wouldn’t leave such a monumental variable in this coming war go unnoticed..]]

“I refuse to answer.” Dokja deflected,”Jinwoo? Do you plan on setting him free?”

Jinwoo sauntered forward and into the eerie magic circle that surrounded Legia’s chained form. He unlatched Legia’s left arm but then paused.

“I have another question that will decide the outcome of this..”

Legia snapped to full attention at this.

“Do you plan on also helping humanity and not just me?”

Legia didn’t boast his willingness to answer this time. Instead he remained deathly quiet, the silence answered enough in his words stead. Jinwoo’s eyes narrowed as they blazed in his aura’s color, mana flowing amply throughout his limbs.

“Answer me, will you also protect mankind from the incoming war?”

Legia held his silence, and instead he shot his hand out at Jinwoo. Jinwoo was going to block the weakened appendage, however Dokja acted first.

Dokja’s aura flashed to life, his polluted wings flaring behind him as they sprouted from his back, his stubby horns composed of ebony also surging out of his head. However instead of doing just that, Dokja performed another entirely new skill. Of course he gave Jinwoo a quick warning.

-Cover your ears.

Jinwoo hastily muffled his ears from most noise in the room. Legia was absolutely flabbergasted, and was too caught up in gawking at Dokja to continue his attempted assault on the young Shadow Monarch.

Dokja’s voice held an abyssal depth to it, giving the feeling that if you went against it, you would be given an excruciating death. Even with his palms blocking out sound, he could still feel the surge of energy as Dokja’s tone reverberated throughout the enlarged chamber. Much like before, Dokja’s copious aura made his nose gush with blood as Dokja spoke up. Jinwoo’s Black Heart was beating rapidly at the display of prowess the Demon King was showing.

[Know your place.]

Those simple three words made Legia actually emit a squeak.

[You dare try and harm my companion in front of my eyes, have you no shame?]

[[S-s-sorry!! I beg for forgiveness!!!]]

Dokja sneered at Legia as he strode towards the Monarch of the Beginning, who was shaking like a leaf in his spot. Jinwoo watched as Dokja utterly dominated the being who was apparently at Jinwoo’s same strength only when bound by the mana absorbing bondage. The Demon King slammed a heel down into one of the barbs that pierced between the thigh and knee of the Monarch.

[Forgiveness.? Not only did you attempt to kill my companion.] Dokja growled out,[But you also harshly told him how his world might end up, do you have any idea how much it hurts to know that your world will face utter destruction soon?]

[And what, because of some stupid rivalry? Or is that another thing you don’t wish to share?]

Legia seemed to be scared out of his wits, not able to utter out a single syllable besides gasps and whimpers. Dokja’s gaze grew more judgemental at the Monarch of Beginnings becoming a feeble mess.

[You should be asking Jinwoo for forgiveness, you big oaf.]

At this Legia frantically swivelled his head towards Jinwoo, but Jinwoo was too focused on Dokja to care. The King of Giants began rambling apologies and promises to be loyal to him.

-Should I kill him?

Dokja’s significantly softer and normal tone wafted into his ear through the Midday Tryst, to which Jinwoo shook his head.

-I will handle him

Jinwoo then spoke up Legia instantly halting his stuttering as Dokja stepped away for Jinwoo to take the forefront.

“If you’re going to be on my side, it’d be better if I were to simply turn you into a Shadow.”

Legia seemed shocked by his proclamation, his eyes scanning Jinwoo for a second. Legia recollected himself then responded, although still slightly shakily and hesitantly.

[[Both Monarchs and Rulers possess spiritual bodies, their bodies are destroyed when they are killed. So we can’t become Shadows.]]

“That’s a shame.” Jinwoo remarked, though he didn’t feel or show any pity.

Before Legia could speak, Jinwoo brought out one of his Demon King’s Dual Blades. Then stabbed the serrated edge into Legia’s chest, violet murky blood sprayed from the wound.

“If I let you free, you might become a calamity after all.”

[[You are wrong… The calamity isn’t me… but you.]]

The King of Giants tried one more time to savagely kill Jinwoo with only his head. However Jinwoo acted out first, pulling his dagger out and dealing a couple more blows. Legia vomited out blood from his mouth as he slumped over, Jinwoo stepping out of the way. Jinwoo heard a soft slow clapping, and he looked to where it was coming from.

During the exchange, Dokja had deactivated his transformation, gone were his wings and horns. Jinwoo realized belatedly just how menacing those features could make his companion look.

“Good job Jinwoo,” Dokja praised Jinwoo along with a pat on his shoulder. Jinwoo felt a fuzzy feeling shroud his heart at the brief contact and praise,"We've saved Japan, and now we need to save the whole world it seems. Can't catch a break huh?"

"I can put in a request for a short break from this, I doubt anyone would mind."

"Oh? We'll have fun with that then, I need to hurry and finish my Hunter license before anybody noticed m
I'm not registered." Dokja sighed as they both began leaving the Dungeon side by side.

Jinwoo suggested quickly,"I feel that you should relax too Dokja."

Dokja stopped walking and Jinwoo took a few more before stopping as well, turning to face Dokja. The Gate swirled behind Jinwoo as he looked at the other and the other looked back at him.

"Wouldn't you like to wash up? All that Monster blood must be uncomfortable in your wings." Jinwoo stated,"And your clothes should be washed before they stain. They are white."

"Oh, you don't have to worry, it's easy to wash stuff out of my coat." Dokja replied,"Although.. I suppose a break would be nice."

With this said, they exited the Dungeon, and reconvened with Jinho in the streets of Tokyo. Japan was officially saved now that the Monarch of Beginnings had been slain, and now it was time for a much needed rest for the three.

---

Notes:

Like srsly, I was going to also have the hot spri- lol u didn't see that 😉😏 anyways I was going to have another scene in this ch but stinkim' Legia man gosh darn Giant weasel...

Hope y'all enjoyed it, cya next time!!!

THX FOR READING!!! 💕💕😁

Chapter 23: Chapter 23

Notes:

Bruh another long ch, I guess my ch lengths r starting to grow I didn't expect for this one to be so long 😑😅

And here's some vocab I used in case u don't know cuz I sure didn't 🤣🤣

Shoji - is a window or room divider that consists of translucent paper over a frame of wood.

Genkan - the welcome pit just inside the front door that serves as a gathering place for shoes, spiders and guests. When you enter a Japanese house, you leave your shoes in the genkan and proceed into the rest of the house in slippers.

Hip-and-Gable roof - a roof that is the combination of a Hipped and Gabled roof. Hipped roofs have a style where all roof sides slope downward over the walls of your home. Gable roofs have two sides or peaks that slope downward towards your home.

[[How interesting..]]

A sharp voice influenced by a deep baritone rumbled out its owner’s remark. Said owner was on the edge of his throne’s seat. A smirk gracing his lips, sharp canines peaking through the upturned seam. He had the appearance of a middle-aged man with a dark scarlet mane of hair that grew into a beard to his chin. His eyes barely contained the burning pyre in their insidious depths, vertical slits acted as his pupils.

The Monarch of Destruction had just received an intriguing report from one of his Monarch underlings, the Monarch of the Iron Body. The weaker Monarch was fashioned in a white coat that had elegant golden armored shoulder pads. It’s popped collar exposing a bright rose red. His eyes glowed a pastel green and his blonde hair was slicked back on the sides but his bangs flopped down in the middle.

The Monarch of the Iron Body had just dealt with a Fragment of the Brilliant Light’s vessel with the aid of the Monarch of Beastly Fangs and Plagues. Also having caught word of the events of the small island nation of Japan. To which they found that the young Shadow Monarch was not alone, and had a talented companion with him.

The Monarch of Destruction, otherwise known as Antares, was thrumming with curiosity in his seat. He had just been told of an unknown variable aiding the young Shadow Monarch? How curious that not only that but this new addition to their game was highly capable, and could’ve killed the Monarch of Beginnings with ease even if he wasn’t imprisoned?

His smirk grew sharp at the thought, it would be a waste to destroy this new one like everything else. Perhaps Antares could try to veer him to the Monarch’s side? It would likely take a lot of convincing..

The Monarch of the Iron Body was slightly shaking, he seemed either scared of this new person or Antares’s thrilled smile. Possibly the latter Antares bet. Antares snickered at the thought.

[[This man could be useful if we have him on our side.]] Antares stated,[[We will see about recruiting him, it would be a waste to kill off such a fine specimen after all.]]

The other Monarch hastily nodded in agreement, he seemed eager to impress Antares. It was comical how the other Monarchs tried to please Antares in their efforts.

[[Good, tell the others this.]] Antares said,[[If any of them come across this person, tell them to try and win him over. If that doesn’t work then kill him]]

[[.. But sir, we received word that he had been killed by the Administrator, But he had revived himself.]] The Monarch of the Iron Body added,[[What if his death isn’t permanent when we kill him?]]

Antares contemplated this, he doesn’t think he has ever heard of someone being so strong that they could cheat death. Surely there was some way to work around that to cancel out his reviving. He could only think of a couple of plans, however one was far easier than the others. Antares told his Monarch underling the plan and their sage green eyes gained a glint in them.

[[That is all, continue in the extermination of the Fragments of the Brilliant Lights’ vessels.]]

[[Yes my lord.]]

The Monarch of the Iron Body disappeared in a lick of hellish flames, leaving Antares to darkly chuckle to himself.

He will soon unleash his splendid destruction upon the earth for the tenth time, and he will make sure nothing gets in the way.

---

“Hey, hey!! How did it go?!”

Jinho asked enthusiastically in his driver’s seat, excitedly spinning the wheel to dodge all the debris from the cataclysmic fight from before. Jinwoo sighed when another sharp turn pried Dokja’s white knuckled grip on the handle above his seat off and crashed into Jinwoo. Dokja squeaked and hurriedly shuffled back to his seat, not without Jinwoo seeing a slight dusting on his cheeks.

It was humorous how that big strong Demon King from before was this same flustered person clutching anything to keep him from flying around the vehicle’s space.

“It went smoothly.” Jinwoo replied.

“Why is Dokja-ssi drenched in Monster blood Hyung-nim? What happened??”

Dokja took the liberty to answer it for Jinwoo,”I went inside a Monster to kill it.”

Jinho seemed to not be able to find any words to say to that, it was a bizarre method of killing after all. Now the Jeep was cloaked in silence as Dokja tried his best in cleaning the blood out of his hair and Jinho focused on actually driving this time. Jinwoo, the only one who was usually quiet out of the three, embraced the silence in open arms. The Giant guarding the Gate had depleted a nice chunk of his mana after all.

Eventually they got out of Tokyo and were speedily making their way to Osaka. The place where they had landed when they first arrived. It proved to be a lot faster of a drive, as they had no worries about covering as much ground that wasn’t able to be covered by Jinwoo’s Shadows as possible.

As the car raced across the ravaged landscape, they came across another vehicle although airborne. It wasn’t a news helicopter thankfully, so was it..

The Japanese Hunter Association?

Jinho pressed down on the brakes and the Jeep came to a stop. The aircraft descended down to the ground and Hanekawa climbed out along with a couple other Japanese Hunter Association employees. Jinwoo, Dokja, and Jinho also exited their transportation as well

“I am here in the stead of the Japanese Hunter Association’s Chairman Matsumoto Shigeo.” Hanekawa informed,”Congratulations on clearing the Giants from our land. We humbly thank you for your endeavors to save this nation.”

Hanekawa and the employees all bowed sharply for a long time before straightening up again.

“Before you arrive back in Osaka, we wanted to ask you what you would like for us to give you as recompense for the past and present.”

“Anything?” Jinwoo questioned.

“Anything.” Hanekawa affirmed.

Jinwoo thought about it for a moment, holding a hand to his chin in deep thought.

‘... I’ll say what I wanted from this the whole time then.’

“I want to take on all the Gates that sprout here in Japan.” Jinwoo stated.

Hanekawa made a flabbergasted expression at this request, she was probably forming a misinterpretation of his answer. Jinwoo was looking for Gates to grow stronger as fast as possible. Jinwoo wanted to be strong enough that he could take on these Rulers and Monarchs that were threatening the world. Which meant his family and close friends as well.

What if Dokja wasn’t strong enough to take on all of them? Jinwoo might as well be dead weight at this point if he didn’t have such a large regeneratable army. It was mandatory to level up even more so he can take on these new opponents he learned of.

At these thoughts, his hand clenched into a fist determination burning bright in Jinwoo’s pale purple eyes. The expression seemed to deepen the misunderstanding, and Hanekawa formed a relieved smile on her lips.

Hanekawa said,“Ok, anything else?”

“I would also like to request for a… Hot spring.” Jinwoo listed.

At this Hanekawa’s eyes zipped over to Dokja and she cringed at the sight, Jinwoo couldn’t help but agree. Dokja looked as if he bathed in grape juice with his clothes on, however he looked even worse now as the blood had rapidly dried and became crusty wherever his crazed brushing hands couldn’t get it off on the ride. Not only that, but he smelled as if he had been sprayed by a skunk.

“Yes yes, right away.” Hanekawa hurriedly said,”And um… I don’t know your exact name sir so.. Angelic Tengu? What would you like for us to do for you?”

Dokja spluttered at the nickname, looking absolutely shell-shocked. They all waited a moment for Dokja to reorganize himself.

“... What did you just call me??”

“.. Angelic Tengu.”

Dokja’s face scrunched up at the nickname,“You can’t be serious.”

“Almost the whole world is calling you by that, or the Miniature Thunderbird.” Hanekawa explained,”Because no one knows your name, let alone who you are.”

Dokja’s face became unnaturally blank at the enlightenment. Jinwoo couldn’t hold back his snort at the exchange any longer and Dokja shot him a half-hearted glare, it was worth it though, Dokja didn’t seem to like his newfound titles much.

“My name is Kim Dokja, Agassi.” Dokja told Hanekawa who nodded.

“Nice to meet you Kim Dokja Hunter-nim, what would you like for us to do for you?”

“I just want the same as Jinwoo’s second request.” Dokja replied.

“Ok, and you the… Saviors’ Chauffeur.?”

Jinho smiled blindingly at his own title, Jinwoo growing a small smile. Jinho did come here to be recognized by the world, not only that but useful as well. Although it was incredibly dangerous, Jinwoo was glad that he came along. The short time they had all spent in their borrowed car had been enjoyable. Jinwoo may have not said much, but it was nice hearing Jinho and Dokja get to know each other better. He could already see them getting close, and not just because Jinwoo apparently had a crush on Dokja, but an actual bond. His Shadows had been pleased with the attention paid to Dokja by his younger brother figure, much unlike Legia’s curiosity.

And it was heartwarming to see two people you care about bonding, Jinwoo realized.

Jinwoo snapped out of his inner thoughts when Jinho answered Hanekawa.

“Nope!”

At the ecstatic negative answer, Hanekawa and the employees’ faces blanched. But Jinho has already gotten what he wanted so he seemed fine with no requests.

“Alright, well we also have a call for you Yoo Jinho Hunter-nim.” Hanekawa walked forward and handed Jinho a phone.

Jinho tilted his head and took the device, lifting it to his ear. Jinwoo noticed his expression hardened at whatever came across the line. He said a quick affirmative to the caller and hung up.

“Sorry Hyung-nim, I won’t be able to help you out with your relationship in the hot spring.” Jinho said as he gave it back to Hanekawa,”I have a family emergency.”

Dokja’s expression grew worried,“What happened?”

“I don’t know.” Jinho answered,”But don’t worry about it!”

“If you will Yoo Jinho Hunter-nim.” Hanekawa gestured to the helicopter,”And I told the Japanese Hunter Association your requests, by the time you get to Osaka the spring should be ready for use.”

Jinwoo and Dokja both nodded and said their goodbyes to Jinho, both watching as the aircraft flew off into the horizon.

“Who’s going to drive?” Dokja questioned.

Jinwoo didn’t answer, he was pondering what family issue it could’ve been. Then it clicked.

‘Could it be.? I should go over there after we wash up.’

Jinwoo volunteered as he got in the driver’s seat,“I will drive.”

The rest of the drive was the opposite of before Jinho left, a tense atmosphere permeated in the car as they both kept their silence.

“Do you think..” Dokja began and Jinwoo looked over at him,”That Jinho and his family are alright.?”

Jinwoo thought back to his guess, if it was right then no, the Yoo family would not be fine. Since the current Head, Yoo Myunghan, was now stuck in eternal sleep. With the illness, the victim might as well be dead. Jinwoo remembered how incompetent and terrible he felt about his mother possibly never waking up again back in his days as the weakest. Believing he would never see his mother moving around again besides little twitches or shuffling in the hospital bed. He felt so hopeless, and he would never wish it upon most of the people he knows.

It will take some time to use Shadow Exchange to get to South Korea and back, he and Dokja should first clean up before he heads over. Not to mention the time it would take Jinho to get there,

He will wait, but for now…

“.. You reek.”

“Wow, thanks captain obvious, I didn’t know.” Dokja replied blandly.

They both chuckled, easing their nerves. Dokja seemed to pause as he listened to Jinwoo’s vocalized amusement, a light dusting spreading over his cheeks as he stared. Sadly Jinwoo didn’t notice as he continued driving them to one of the only still functional cities in Japan at the moment. Soon enough they arrived at the city, only to be surprised by what was occurring.

They were both greeted by a boisterous crowd of Japan’s citizens partying around. All had merry smiles on their faces as they commenced on numerous festivities. They were all screeching in their mother tongue so neither could tell what most of what they said when they showed up was. Jinwoo could imagine them all screaming Dokja’s nickname, perhaps they even made one for himself too.

Japanese Hunter Association employees and Government officials worked to control the crowds that tried to get up close to their vehicle. The officials and employees guided them through the lively town to the springs. They found themselves at a fork in the road, a dirt road leading off into the wilderness of the hill from the paved road. A worker for the Japanese Hunter Association stepped forward and Jinwoo rolled down the window.

The employee said in disjointed Korean,”Springs.. Up ahead. Dirt.”

Dokja replied,”Thank you.”

They flustered and nodded then stepped back for Jinwoo to swerve onto the route.

“Have you ever been to the hot springs before?” Jinwoo questioned.

“Mm.. No I haven’t.”

“How about Japan in general before this venture?”

“Nope, and I’m assuming you haven’t either?”

Jinwoo hummed his affirmative as they pulled up to a quaint building. It was fashioned with traditional Japanese architecture. The walls were designed with shoji screens and wood, it’s roof made into a hip-and-gable design. The two Hunters climbed out of the Jeep and headed inside and stepped onto a Genkan right behind the door.

Fluent Korean from an aged voice entered their ears,”I’m assuming that neither of you know, do please discard your shoes at the entrance.”

They both looked up to see an elderly woman and possibly her grandson standing past the Genkan. Dokja bowed along with Jinwoo.

“Oh no need to bow! You’re our saviours and visitors after all!” She said,”Although it does seem like you came for good reason, haha I’ve never seen someone bathed in Monster blood that much.”

“I did get pretty messy.” Dokja agreed.

Dokja and Jinwoo both took off their shoes and the grandson gestured for the Hunters to follow them inside after they got in the offered slippers.

“Sadly my son can’t speak Korean for the life of him, he was so lively when he saw the news!” The grandma said amicably,”You should have seen him when we got the call that we would be treating our nation’s saviors!”

Her grandson gritted out a few words of japanese and his grandma guffawed.

“Especially the mysterious ‘Angelic Tengu’ that no one has ever heard about, everyone’s chatting up a storm.”

Dokja bit his lip but seemed to somehow manage to keep his protest in. The Grandson groaned in embarrassment.

“But of course Jinwoo’s reputation has also grown exponentially, ah sorry if I’m making you two tense.” She continued,”Back to business, I know how intoxicating rumors and fame are.”

Both Jinwoo and Dokja released a tension neither of them noticed they had built over the duration of the conversation at this sentiment. Both thankful that they were spared from it for now.

“We will take your clothes after you both have gotten inside the springs to wash them, would either of you like us to use a specific detergent?”

“Any detergent is fine with me.” Dokja answered.

Jinwoo responded,“Same with me.”

She nodded in acceptance and they found themselves at the entrance to the bathing area.

“Well, we both hope that this will soothe your aches and pains from your battles,” She said breezily and bowed along with her relative,”We will be whipping up dinner while you two relax. Do tell us if you need anything.”

And with this said the two owners of the hot springs strode away on the tatami flooring of the hallway. The sun was setting now, a golden glow shooting through the shoji walls and tingeing the inner walls in a honey hue.

They both entered the changing area of the establishment, Jinwoo shedding his own stained clothing. Although it was nowhere near as dirty as Dokja’s own. His eyes looked over to Dokja who was also stripping out of his own clothing. Jinwoo hurriedly shot his eyes directly in front of him to the cubbies they both faced filled with baskets. He swore that his eyes moved just on reflex. But he has already accepted his gargantuan crush he had on the other so his defense was weak at best.

However he only took a quick peek, just saw Dokja’s pale and creamy skin. Well maybe his supple thighs as well… And…

At this train of thought his Shadows all began cheering at him to which he inwardly commanded that they all silence themselves. He needed to have space for his other thoughts as well, all their commentary was clogging up his mind.

Jinwoo took the basket and shoved his clothes in it and pushed it back inside, before snatching up a towel and wrapping it around his hips. He finally allowed himself to face Dokja who was.. Ogling him.? There was a bright shade of flush spread across his cheeks as his dark eyes widened. He was also clenching the towel that he also had wrapped around his waist.

Jinwoo wouldn’t be surprised if Dokja’s eyes popped out of his skull with how enlarged his dark eyes were getting.

“Is there something on my face?” Jinwoo asked.

Dokja answered all to frantically,“Nothing at all!!!”

Jinwoo figured he should drop the question, and instead focus on something else that they had planned.

“It wouldn’t be good if you went inside the spring before rinsing off all that gunk, let’s head to the showers to wash off.” Jinwoo began walking to the pre-entry shower area.

The spot consisted of detachable shower heads hooked to a low wall along with a stool and drain.

Dokja followed after him and they both stared at each other for their next course of action.

“I’ll wash your back for you.. Along with your wings.” Jinwo volunteered.

“Why do you keep saying that you will groom my wings?” Dokja wondered incredulously.

“They look uncomfortable with all that excrement in them, and I doubt you would be able to clean them efficiently.” Jinwoo explained.

Dokja plopped himself down on the small stool in front of the shower station, well let’s get this started.

---

Dokja jumped when he felt a dollop of cold soap land on his shoulders. And then-

Oh, oh.

Dokja had to admit… Jinwoo’s good at this, he felt like he could start purring from the attention he was getting to his back. Jinwoo diligently spreads the liquid soap, making the material into foamy soap suds as he scrubbed. Even without Jinwoo soothing his back and kneading out any hijinks he found, just one whiff of the soap’s scent almost lulled Dokja into a nap. It was a soft and sweet scent, he couldn’t quite name it, but it was similar to vanilla.

Not only did the cleaning smell and feel nice, but he also saw frothy water tinged in a shade of purple. At long last, Dokja was getting washed from the Giant’s nasty blood.

Dokja was on cloud nine, until his snooty skill laughed at him for how much he was enjoying the treatment. What does the [Fourth Wall] want him to do??

[K i m Do kja tho ug ht: I w ish th is nev er e n ds.]

And Dokja agreed, for once his bratty skill caught his drift.

Then Jinwoo found a certain spot on his back Dokja startled, making Jinwoo lightly flinch as well.

“What’s wrong?”

“... Ticklish..” Dokja answered hushedly.

Jinwoo rose a brow and leaned forward to try and hear better. Was Jinwoo even aware of their position right now?!? The other was covering Dokja’s back like a mantle as he angled forward.

“What?” Jinwoo questioned.

“TICKLISH!!!”

Jinwoo reeled back at the sudden volume and Dokja sighed when the although comforting weight left his back. Darn you Jinwoo and your firm and muscular and-

Dokja was getting off topic here he realized.

“Ok…” Jinwoo drawled,”Take out your wings for me?”

“... What?”

Jinwoo’s hands spread out on his shoulders,”Transform so that I can groom your wings please.”

“You’re so set on grooming them..” Dokja remarked,”Do my hair first.”

Jinwoo seemed to deflate, and pettily got back at him for the denial by dropping a fat chilling glob of shampoo on his head. Dokja bit back a shriek, the difference in temperature surprising him. Soon enough, those elegant and large hands began to leaf through his dark hair and scratch his scalp. This time Dokja hummed contently paying no heed to how Jinwoo’s probing fingers paused in their movement at the new sound before resuming.

It almost felt like his head was a crystal ball and Jinwoo was the fortune teller with how he was rubbing it. The thought made Dokja laugh lightly, making Jinwoo snap out of some sort of reverie he was experiencing himself.

“What?”

Dokja hummed then explained his humor. Jinwoo chuckled afterward and Dokja couldn’t count how many times his stomach flipped at the sound. Jinwoo reached forward from behind Dokja and snatched the extendable shower head from the wall. Dokja tried and failed at keeping his mind off of Jinwoo’s firm front pressed up against him again. The feeling of steamy water rinsing out the shampoo in his hair clearing him from that train of thought.

Jinwoo petted his hair to help the water rinse out the hair product before hooking the shower back to the wall. Dokja felt a lot better now, although he knew they still had to take care of his wings. He could already feel Jinwoo’s hands expectantly thumbing his shoulders in small circles.

Dokja huffed before activating his status, he felt Jinwoo’s weight on his back grow at the sudden pressure. Probably a little overwhelmed by his aura.

Dokja’s newly regrown impressive set of midnight black wings drooped,“Sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry”

Jinwoo’s hands almost reverently brushed against his exterior and flight feathers. They were thoroughly messed up, feathers clumping together because of the now dried thick life essence of the Giant. He saw Jinwoo grab the shower head again and he began fingering his feathers, the water aiding in making the flaky excrement off. Dokja felt his wings’ muscles convulse and then he promptly became putty under Jinwoo’s preening. Unlike his smooth skin, his wings had sucked up the liquid like sponges, so the water going down the drain was a lot darker than before.

A moan was ripped from Dokja’s mouth when Jinwoo was done on the outer layer and now went past if to the downy fluff beneath it. They both stiffened at the noise, before Jinwoo went back to scratching the fluffy white cloud-like feathers below his dark flight feathers. When he angled the head of the shower just right- Dokja shuddered, electrified as the hot massaging water got under his black feathers and to his sensitive skin and plumage.

Jinwoo began kneading his wings, calming any cramps his slender fingers came across. Then he went to Dokja’s other sullied wing, the other thoroughly washed. Dokja purred as he did the whole process all over again, petting out the liquefying blood thanks to the spray of water, then moved to the velvety down underneath and fingering that too. Then massaged his frail muscles in his wings.

All too soon, Jinwoo had finished his grooming. Dokja held back a sound of discontent at the missing contact but a cackling could be heard in the back of his head. Dokja was so thoroughly turned into butter, that he didn’t even pay enough attention if the [Fourth Wall] had commented on his reactions or thoughts.

Jinwoo got up behind him, and Dokja rushed to stand up as well. But when he stood up he got a little lightheaded and wobbled on his feet. Jinwoo easily stopping him from falling over, Dokja’s thoughts going into the dark territory.

Such muscular arms…

Dokja rapidly shook his head and he felt the [Fourth Wall] ease his mental stress. He looked up at Jinwoo determinedly.

“Allow me to clean you as well.”

“I’m clean enough, let’s go inside the spring now.”

Dokja’s eye roved over Jinwoo’s almost naked form, he flushed and frantically nodded. Jinwoo laughed at his expense and Dokja swatted his arm before they both headed towards the spring just past the outdoor walkway.

---

Notes:

This was a lot longer than I thought It would be 😖😖 4k words... Wowie I really word vomited 🤣

Stinking Antares.. smh wut could he be scheming? I luv the Monarch of the Iron Body's design so muchhh 👍👍 it was not at all how I expected him to look like oof

O and btw it is so annoying to use his Monarch title, so can maybe someone comment name suggestions please? I'm trash at naming, and I would like to let I guys interact with the story as well!! 😁👍 OH and a.name for Monarch of Beastly Fangs too I forgot he wasn't named either 😑

(I'm so not going to call him by title this whole fic, y does he not have a name mentioned in canon??!?🤨😾)
THX FOR READING 💕💕

Chapter 24: Chapter 24

Notes:

I honestly expected for them to happily get to know each other a lot more in the spring. Both opening up about their origins and personal stuff about them. But then gosh darn Dokja and his stinkin’ traumatic past i swear-

ily sweety but y do u never listen to me and do what i want u to in my chapters?? What a rebel sheesh

Here’s vocab that yet again, I’m not sure if u know it but i sure didn’t *WHEEZE*

Abeoji - the korean honorific for dad/father

Zabuton - traditional japanese pillow seat (look i wasn’t sure if i should use this word or just pillow XDD)

Chichi - the japanese honorific for when speaker is addressing their own dad/father

Futon - japanese traditional style of bedding

Oh and SL never mentioned Jinwoo's fav food so I improvised 🤣

Jinwoo and Dokja slipped into the spring, both sighing at the feel of the warm water. Dokja had tucked away his transformation again before dipping inside the natural pool.

Jinwoo was ignoring Beru’s and his Shadows’ booing, probably because he denied Dokja in helping clean him too. He had two reasons that he carefully crafted for saying no.

First of all, he was already quite clean.

And secondly, Jinwoo was going to lose his goddamn mind if Dokja went through with it.

He already saw Dokja earlier eyeing his arms when he caught him, yes Jinwoo wasn’t really dense. Jinwoo’s status as a top-tier S-rank helped unravel things remarkably clearly for him, and there was no room for denial.

It was likely that Beru’s, Jinho’s, and his own attempts at getting closer were working. Or maybe perhaps they were failing monumentally, but Dokja was close to him anyway. And it seemed that Dokja was probably none the wiser to the scheming.

… But.. He was acting all shy at the moment.

Jinwoo stared intensely at Dokja who was slumped against the edge of the spring. He seemed to be looking past the swirling drifts of steam, fuming from the hot water, to the sky. However, instead of the usual faces filled with awe and wonder when they stargazed, Dokja was solemn and.. Was that a hint of ire?

“What did the stars ever do to you?” Jinwoo tried to joke and tease the other.

However it seemed to fall flat as Dokja only said four words that turned the atmosphere a little drabber.

Dokja said quietly,“A lot of things.”

Jinwoo’s Shadows all instantly fell silent, it was as if they had all been doused with a bucket of ice cold water. Despite the heated pool they resided in at the moment.

Dokja seemed to realize that had ruined the mood, as he changed the subject,”Hey Jinwoo, how old are you?”

“I am twenty-four.” Jinwoo answered, hopping on the bandwagon of a conversation, he will probe about the stars later,”And you?”

“Ha, I’m older than you Jinwoo-ah,” Dokja smirked triumphantly,”I’m twenty-eight.”

He’s.. Older than me?

“And yet you’re so thin and short, Hyung, you really had me fooled.”

Dokja laughed at his remark and Jinwoo’s lips curved into a small smile, his Shadows regained their ambient atmosphere, however he still felt some worry for Dokja. Kaisel wished to be free to coddle Dokja, to which Jinwoo regretfully declined, the wyvern was too big to come out in this space. However Jinwoo did secretively slip Iron into Dokja’s shadow again, the other didn’t notice the movement under the steamy tranquil waves of water.

“Where are you from?” Jinwoo asked.

“.. A world similar to yours, in fact they are almost exactly the same.” Dokja answered after a brief second of thoughtfulness,”Excluding all the Gates and Hunter profession.”

“You’re from a different dimension that is like our world prior to the Gates?”

Dokja seemed to hesitate before clarifying,”My original worldline was a post-apocalyptic place.”

Jinwoo flashed back to the Demon Castle Dungeon, remembering the fiery hell of a city. All the buildings encapsulated in greedy flames, the demonic Monsters that ravaged the city endlessly. He then recalled the words Dokja had spat at Legia when he scared the Monarch out of his wits.

[Forgiveness.? Not only did you attempt to kill my companion.] Dokja growled out,[But you also harshly told him how his world might end up, do you have any idea how much it hurts to know that your world will face utter destruction soon?]

Jinwoo now had a clue to why Dokja was so enraged, he knew what it is like to face the end. He knew just as well as Jinwoo what the apocalypse and end of humanity could be like. Jinwoo could imagine it, one day you could be completely unsuspecting, but then you could be blindsided by the cataclysmic destruction.

Jinwoo figured that this apocalypse that occurred in Dokja’s world was tied to the stars, although he didn’t know how. He chose to also lay that down for later after he asks more personal questions.

“What’s your favorite food?”

“Murim Dumplings with Chicken Broth.” Dokja said excitedly, gaining a dreamy look, he flushed in embarrassment and Jinwoo chuckled,”What’s yours?”

“Hm.. I haven’t really thought about it… I suppose either.. Korean Barbeque or Fried Chicken.”

Dokja hummed and cracked a smile, Jinwoo’s heart throbbed at the sight.

Jinwoo asked,“Did you have any parents?”

Immediately the atmosphere died as Dokja’s smile wavered like the humid mist curling around them and the air. Does he..?

“I do.” Dokja said in an artificial calm as he placed his palms on the edge of the water,”... But I sometimes wish I didn’t.”

Jinwoo tensed at his claim, thankfully he never thought that about his own family. His Eomma had reassured Jinwoo when he had accidentally spilt the boiling hot water on her neck, and instead asked if he was ok. His Dongsaeng Jinah who used to poke fun and tease him incessantly, but was now suffering alone in the house. His Abeoji who was swallowed up inside a Dungeon while trying to save lives.

But he knew that not everyone had families like his own, and that was a saddening truth, especially when the victim is someone close. Jinwoo stared at Dokja with sympathy. But Dokja seemed to misunderstand it for an imploring gaze, because he glanced and gave a long breath.

“My abeoji.. He wasn’t the nicest man. He got drunk often, particularly when work stresses him out.” Dokja said in a scarily blank voice,”He would get violent often, but my eomma would hide me away.”

“He’d take it out on my eomma sometimes she screamed back. You would be surprised at some of the things they shouted at each other.” Dokja remarked,”The neighbors every once in a while called the police. Of course they both said it never happened, and just got a light reprimanding and to ‘mind the neighbors’.”

“Hyung, you don’t have to tell me everything if you don’t want to.”

Jinwoo couldn’t take Dokja’s ambiguous expression anymore, it was obviously hard for him to share no matter how long ago it took place. Dokja’s eyes met Jinwoo’s for the first time after starting his storytelling.

“Thanks Jinwoo-ah.” Dokja beamed at him so brightly, that he could have rivalled the sun.

They both stared at each other for a long time after that, neither of them wanting to break the moment. Jinwoo’s Shadows regained their positivity joyously.

‘Oh my king, ‘twas so courteous of my king to disrupt his mate in that conversation. My liege would make a wonderful mate to any partner.’ Beru piped up on their link, admiration thickly coating his voice.

Jinwoo blatantly ignored Beru, but the ant seemed to only gain more awe at this. Beru seemed to appreciate Jinwoo’s undivided attention on Dokja who was staring back.

‘I really am so smitten with him,’ Jinwoo heartily thought.

Dokja’s face, that had risen a brow, was now flushed a worrying scarlet. His eyes were the largest he’s ever seen, even wider than when he revived on Jinwoo’s lap. Dokja’s long eyelashes quivered along with his eyes. His beautiful onyx eyes that looked in a certain light that they contained starlight in them staring at him.

Jinwoo inquired concernedly,“Have you spent too much time in the spring?”

Dokja to think on it, or more like something else as his eyes scanned Jinwoo, Jinwoo’s Shadows were preening at the attention their Monarch was gaining.

‘Quick do a pose to intrigue him! Flaunt your defining traits!’

Jinwoo’s body automatically followed Beru’s encouragement, he tilted his head to the side and a lazy smirk curled his lip. He leaned back against the stone wall behind his spot and threw an arm out behind him. Jinwoo held in a massive cringe at his pose, and Dokja achieved the impossible by becoming even more red in the face. The flush reaching his ears and neck, and Jinwoo realized just how much his muscles were flexing in this position belatedly.

He flashed back to when Dokja had eyed his arms for a little too long, could he..?

Jinwoo’s smirk sharpened and Dokja jumped.

“Does Hyung have a muscle ki-?”

“NO!” Dokja squeaked in a mortified tone.

“Ehh... You really had m-.”

“Not.. Another.. Word.” Dokja gritted out, his stance rising.

Jinwoo hummed and waited until Dokja relaxed, before he would begin to tease him more. But Dokja knocked his socks off by taking the stage for himself.

Dokja smirked smugly as he crossed his arms,”Does Jinwoo-ah have a wing kink?”

Jinwoo choked on his own spit at that and coughed to recollect himself. Once he finished regaining his composure, Jinwoo looked at Dokja in stunned silence. He felt as if he had just been slapped.

Dokja had a soft expression as he looked at Jinwoo through the clouds of steam that reached skyward and lost visibility at their zenith. Almost as if they were attempting to touch the sky but couldn’t quite. As if they wanted to meet the celestial bodies far far away. Jinwoo decided to make his next move at this moment.

He moved as smooth as an owl swooping in for its kill, until he stood all close and personal with Dokja’s front. The poor reader had no idea what was going on with Jinwoo, who had adopted a flirtatious demeanor.

‘Does he always get like this at night??’ Dokja wondered.

[K i m Do kja i s an i di ot.]

“Kim Dokja.” Jinwoo inched closer, his stormy eyes flashing lilac for a second.

Dokja squeaked out,“What?”

“...”

“..?”

“I…” Jinwoo said lamely.

Jinwoo’s plan erased itself from his head, his mind pulling up blanks. His Shadows’ screeching and cheering getting in the way. Beru frantically, with the help of the other generals, tried to silence the jarring noises ringing through his cranium through the innumerous mental links Jinwoo had.

Dokja was looking expectantly at him, he seemed to want to leave, but something was keeping him back. Jinwoo wondered if he had something in his head like himself with his Shadows.

Alas, his generals’ attempts of pacifying his Shadows were coming up fruitless. It seemed to be as difficult as herding cats, in fact they were only fanning the flames. Jinwoo gave up on salvaging the situation, not without saying a few choice words to his raucous Shadows.

‘If you want this to happen, you need to give me space to think properly.’

His Shadows finally ceased, sulking for letting their emotions get the better of them. Some letting apologeticness float across the link.

“I’m going to pass out at this rate, let's go eat dinner.”

Dokja looked befuddled as he stared at him, but he thankfully seemed to shrug it off.

“Sure.” Dokja agreed.

---

With this they both exited the spring, to their hosts. Both putting on robes since their clothes had been taken to be cleaned.

Said hosts were finishing their cooking, the elderly woman and her grandson were practically dancing around each other in the kitchen. Dokja was reminded of Jonghyuk when he really started showcasing his godly cooking skills. However it was a singular dance, well maybe he weaved around his… audience he would attract with the ambrosiac aroma.

However the sight was broken when the grandson glanced their way and stumbled over nothing and dropped the bowl of powdery substances he was taking to the trash can. Creating a huge mess as it threw out all of the mixture. Jinwoo’s eyes seemed to sharpen, Dokja had no idea why though. Dokja averted his eyes from his companion and saw the owners giving him strange looks.

“My sweety, your nickname does ring true!” The woman chirped,”You’re angelic in more ways than one!”

Dokja squeaked,“Huh??”

“And Hunter Sung Jinwoo isn’t so bad himself.”

Jinwoo formed a dorkish smirk and Dokja spluttered.

“Oh don’t mind me!” She waved her hand in a placating gesture, laughing at their reactions. Then she scolded her son in japanese, before turning back to them as he scurried off to get something to clean it up,”Go ahead and sit down wherever you two want.”

They both meandered over to a low table, sitting on the comfy zabuton that surrounded it. Dokja looked around at the interior of the room. There was the classic cat with a coin moving it’s paw back and forth endlessly on a shelf. The shelf holds all sorts of souvenirs. Some nick-nacks were flowered hairsticks, scented incense, small mythological creature figurines, stones, and so forth. Dokja’s eyes roved to the wall closest to their chosen table and saw a beautiful painting.

He may not be familiar with art and it’s maker’s skill sets, but Dokja could tell how much heart and soul went into the piece. It had a woman in traditional clothing carrying a child. The way she was looking at the baby had so much compassion and numerous other interpretations, it really captured true motherly love it seemed. The moon could be seen behind her along with a wicked yet elegant looking branch.

Dokja couldn’t take his eyes away and Jinwoo followed his eyes to the painting, curious of what caught his eye. He also seemed to like the picture, a fond smile appearing on his face. Soon enough their hosts arrived along with the dishes for tonight. Both Jinwoo and Dokja looked away from the art to their delectable looking meal, not without the amicable elderly woman catching their sights. She also formed a warm smile as they set down the dishes filled steaming with tofu, bean sprouts, mushrooms, onions, thin-cut beef, raw eggs, and soy sauce.

“That is the ‘Sayuri’, it is a family heirloom for us the Kitagawa family, although it isn’t really ancient.” The grandmother informed,”My Chichi, Yusuke Kitagawa's, mother created it. Though you may not know it, he was in a small guild. All anyone knows guild-wise about Japan is the ‘Draw Sword’ guild.”

“What was the Guild’s name?”

“Why the ‘Phantom Thieves of Hearts’ of course!” Kitagawa-san said proudly,”Although they did more undercover work as Hunters, they didn’t hunt down Monsters in dungeons, but lizards. I’m sure you know what I mean by that.”

“.. So they investigated Dungeon raid documents for Hunters that committed crimes in Dungeons?”

“Exactly! Pretty cool huh?”

Dokja questioned,”So lizards are Hunters that lied in Dungeon reports to escape the law?”

“Yeah.”

Dokja hummed thoughtfully, that was one of the things the Monitoring Division was in charge of.

“They would’ve never let Matsumoto Shigeo and the Chairman of the japanese Government have the chance of trying to reduce South Korea into a meagre resource battery for them.” Kitagawa-san almost spat out,”.. Sadly they were mysteriously wiped out.. I think I know why though, one day poor Yusuke just never came back.”

The atmosphere died for the nth time that night, however they grew past that.

“Anyways! We will be serving Sukiyaki for tonight! You crack the eggs like so..” Kitagawa-san opened the eggs and poured it’s contents in a small bowl. Then whisked it until the golden yolk mixed with the misty albumen.”Then you dip the beef into the egg to get the full Sukiyaki experience, enjoy!!”

The hosts left, and the two Hunters gave a hurried ‘thank you for the meal’, before digging in ravenously. Thankfully the atmosphere healed as they gorged themselves, they definitely worked up an appetite when clearing the Giants. Neither having any more room for chit chat besides mumbled compliments, how could this meal be so good? This cooking was close in level to Jonghyuk’s and they both were in bliss.

Soon enough they had finished, both happily satiated, however they didn’t feel like going into food comas quite yet. The Kitagawas came back and collected the dishes soon after they were done.

“It was really good Kitagawa-san!” Dokja praised, Jinwoo nodding in agreement.

“Phew I’m glad that you two enjoyed it! Though it seems it didn’t give the desired effect, neither of you are tired?” Kitagawa-san remarked,”So this is the stamina of S-rank Hunters, you both cleared all those Giants and you’re not sleepy.”

“Yeah, but we are relaxed though.” Jinwoo replied.

Kitagawa-san hummed then spoke,”We have a ping-pong table down the hall that way,” She pointed to a door,”Why not grab some milk too while you have fun, just be sure not to break the table or any furniture!”

They all chuckled at the joke, however Kitagawa-san’s grandson seemed to not understand what was said, but he joined in the laughter anyway.

Later on you can find Jinwoo and Dokja on opposite sides of the ping-pong table, Dokja deviously smirking at his opponent over the wood of his paddle. The ball cradled in his other hand. Jinwoo’s smile matched his own, both looking at each other with manic glee.

“Are you ready Jinwoo-ah?”

“I was born ready Hyung.”

With this Dokja activated a skill before tossing the ball up into the air. Dokja snapped his paddle forward, and gave a fierce serve. Of course not without also activating [Bookmark] and [Way of the Wind].

As Jinwoo sidestepped over to the ball that evolved into a bullet from the force, the ball swerved out of its original trajectory line and veered sharply to the right. It bounced off the table and Dokja cheered in victory, that is until it was sent flying back to his side and struck the table. Dokja was flabbergasted when he saw an almost invisible force shaped like a hand had swatted it back at him. He also saw Jinwoo’s hand reached out towards the space..

Dokja smiled, he wasn’t the only one who had tricks up his sleeves it seems. He grabbed the ball and tossed it over to Jinwoo to serve. The latter snatched it from the air and readied to serve it.

[Exclusive skill ‘Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint stage 1’ has been activated!]

[Left]

Jinwoo slammed his paddle down, sending the ball like a missile, Dokja deflected it back to his side. They found themselves in a rapid fire volley, Dokja’s skill filtering in Jinwoo’s aim, while Dokja parried it right back. They were dashing around their sides of the table, doing all forms of maneuvers. Dokja manipulated the ball with small currents of wind to try and fake him out. While Jinwoo used whatever skill he had to send it back when he couldn’t reach it with his limited paddle.

[Right]

Dokja countered, and Jinwoo raced after the bullet and sent it back.

[Center]

[Left]

[Right]

Then Dokja began a story to give more of a kick.

[Story ‘Right Arm of the Poor Sword Master’ has begun it’s storytelling!]

---

Dokja’s arm seemingly moved more swiftly as it bashed the ball, the object shot true and slammed against the table and out of Jinwoo’s reach. Jinwoo activated ‘Dominator’s Touch’ and tried to slap it back to Dokja’s side, however…

The ball didn’t give under the pressure as it held his hand back, Jinwoo clenched his jaw as he tried to shove it back, popping a small blood vessel all the while. Dokja sat back at his expense, sipping on his forgotten bottle of milk.

“Try and counter that Jinwoo-ah~.” Dokja dared in a boastful tone.

Even his ‘Dominator's Touch’ at the moment, that could overpower the God statue wasn’t able to compete with this momentum. He couldn’t keep it at bay, and the ball shot past his invisible force, and lightly thunked against the wall, what??

“Wouldn’t want to destroy the interior now would we?”

“.. How did you make it weak before it hit the wall?”

---

Dokja grinned smugly, he had used [Way of the Wind] to ease the speed. He pondered on if he could tell Jinwoo about Stories, perhaps when he explains the Star Stream he could tell him. And then maybe he could explain this system

Dokja held a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture,“It’s a secret.”

Jinwoo gave him a flat look but accepted the answer as he also chugged down his own milk. Dokja tried and failed at averting his eyes from Jinwoo’s bobbing throat.

[K i m Do kja tho ug ht: T h at’ s re all y h o t.]

Dokja inwardly shrieked,‘Shut up!!!’

Dokja could hear his skill’s distant cackling at the back of his head, the punk..

“Want to go a couple more rounds?” Jinwoo challenged.

Dokja smiled haughtily as he got back to his post at the table,“Of course.”

Dokja won all of the matches that night. After that, they found themselves in their room on two separate futons. Both changed into the pajamas that were given to them.

“Goodnight Jinwoo-ah.”

“.. Goodnight Hyung.”

They both slept peacefully that night, although they were still worried for Jinho. Said close friend had just landed in Seoul airport.

Later on, the concerns seemed to get to one of them, as Jinwoo rose from the bed and went to get his newly washed clothes. His eyes glinted as they glanced down to Dokja's form in his own separate bed.

'I'll be back before you know it, Hyung.' Jinwoo thought,'Shadow Exchange.'

With this he transported himself to Jinho's location at Seoul General Hospital in a flash. He heard most likely Jinho and a worker in their company trudge away solemnly. He even heard sniffles, that really made him feel bad it hurt to hear Jinho cry. Jinwoo's figure loomed over the hospitalized man who was attached to all sorts of gear.

He popped open the 'Holy Water of Life' and helped Yoo Myunghan drink it before making his exit from the hospital. Not leaving a single trace besides a single witness at the entrance. He wandered around the nightly streets of Seoul. Already wanting to be back in his bed, albeit separate from Dokja.

Jinwoo wished that it was one bed.. But that would be weird wouldn't it?

In the morning the birds that had flown back to Japan were twittering merrily, as if the people of the land weren't the only ones rejoicing the Giants' doom. Jinwoo woke up in his futon and spent a little bit more time than he'd like to admit watching Dokja. The other peacefully sleeping away, small soft snoring filling the room.

Jinwoo smiled satisfiedly.

---

Notes:

I promised a persona 5 easter egg and i delivered FINALLY!!!

I bet u didnt expect the ping-pong, ME EITHER :D i felt like they both had enough goofy energy to go at it a couple times.

OHHH I almost forgot to mention that one bit i put in the hot spring.. (Yes Jinwoo was GOING to confess but he couldn't think properly cuz of his rowdy Shadows(I keep wanting to say think straight but it isn't really straight is it-)) y did he suddenly try to confess? Well he noticed Dokja’s reactions and that made his confidence grow XD

I tried to make the easter egg subtle by only mentioning the ‘Sayuri’ but then i got hooked on creating more backstory for it, can u guess what was the cause for the Phantom Thieves’s sudden disappearance?? (I promise it isn't hard to tell, in fact it is canon-compliant with the game)

OH, and i got a name suggestion for Monarch of the Iron Body! His other name is gonna be Aaron! And i just now realized that the Monarch of Beastly Fangs never got a name either -_- any suggestions? XD

Oh and forgive me if this doesn't seem fluffy, this is my first time ever writing super soft thing 🤣😅

Chapter 25: Chapter 25

Notes:

I had the weirdest nightmare last night 😑🤣 in it my sister put a plastic bag of Cheerios in the microwave and the microwave didn't like it so it kept making loud poppin noises as it melted the bag.. and then it began creaking as if it was going to fall from it's spot above the stove and we both screeched and began running away. AND THEN IT HAD AN ESPECIALLY LOUD POP LIKE A GUNSHOT and everything went dark 🤣🤣

Even funnier, it absolutely terrified me. A stinkin' microwave scared the ever loving crap out of me *WHEEZE*

ANYWHO hope y'all enjoy the ch!!

Today is a beautiful day, Dokja decided.

The wildlife were resuming their normal lives now that the menace was gone, the sun burned bright, white fluffy clouds speckled the sky. The landscape was being fixed by the inhabitants of the island nation of Japan. He and Jinwoo had yet another good meal for breakfast, courtesy of their hosts too.

However it was high time he and Jinwoo left.

As Dokja was putting back on his now pristine pearly white trench coat, Kitagawa-kun knocked and stepped in carrying a Panasonic home phone

“Angelic Tengu sir? You have a call.”

“... Please just call me Kim Dokja or Dokja-ssi, or just ANYTHING else but that, Kitagawa-kun.” Dokja said with a strained tone in japanese, Kitagawa-kun frantically nodded.

Dokja sighed as he took the phone, first Jinho and now him with the phone calls?

“Kim Dokja?” The caller questioned.

“Woo Jinchul-ssi?”

“Ah good morning, you may have not seen it yet but Ah-Jin Guild has been chosen to represent South Korea in the upcoming International Guild Conference.”

“Is that so? And let me guess, you want me to join Jinwoo-ah?”

“... Jinwoo-ah now..?” Jinchul breathed out in disbelief and coughed across the line to regain himself,”Yes, could you? You’re our only person who can adequately keep an eye on him, you will be tagging along.””

“Yes, I can.”

“By the way... You really are reckless Kim Dokja..”

Dokja did not like that tone, what did he do this time?

“You caused complete pandemonium by doing these insane things you did while you and Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim were clearing out the Giants! Using skilled swordsmanship to cut a Giant clean in two, electrocuting a Giant from the inside?! If they found out you defied death as well, who knows what would happen!”

He figured Jinchul was a level headed person who was hard to rile up, so hearing him raise his voice did surprise the reader. Dokja didn’t know what to say, well if what Kitagawa-san said was right, he had gained quite a reputation from the broadcasts that the news crews managed to sneak in.

“Huh.”

“That’s it?” Jinchul asked incredulously,”Nothing to say?? Just imagine ‘The Miniature Thunderbird Takes The World By Storm With His Elusive Strength And Wit’ we’re utterly swamped with paperwork and calls from worldwide countries. Much like with Hunter Sung Jinwoo, almost everybody and their dog is asking for your information.”

“C-calm down Woo Jinchul-ssi!” Dokja cried out,”I understand I’m sorry!”

“Expect a mountain of paperwork at your desk when you get back, you’re in charge of flushing it out.” Jinchul grunted,”Oh, and we had to make you a fake Hunter’s license, there would be a huge uproar if they found out you weren’t a registered Hunter. We weren’t sure what class you wanted to be tested as, so we just made you a Mage-class S-rank because of your transformation.”

“.. Yes sir.. And thank you sir.”

Dokja hates paperwork… Dang it.

“The plane will be waiting at Osaka airport for you two, it is set for Incheon airport, tell Hunter Sung Jinwoo this too.”

“Yes sir.”

He sighed as he said farewell to Jinchul and handed the phone back to the baffled Kitagawa-kun who scurried away. Jinwoo entered the room just as Kitagawa-kun exited, his eyes curiously following after the little host.

“Well.” Dokja began, Jinwoo’s eyes turned to him inquisitively.

“I guess you’ve been invited to the International Guild Conference Jinwoo-ah.” Dokja informed.

Jinwoo’s eyes flashed purple, is he surprised?

“Not the Hunters Guild?”

“Nope, their streak of attendance is officially broken.”

Dokja had read about it back at the Monitoring Division before his first assignment, the Hunters Guild had a three year long streak of being the representative of South Korea. But now the Ah-Jin Guild was taking the stage this year. Dokja figured that people were in an uproar, a newly birthed Guild with only the minimum amount of members being invited to the Convention? How absurd, however they should know that Jinwoo had his even more absurdly large army.

He was a one-man-army, Jinwoo was an entire Hunter raiding squad all on his own with his Shadows. He could surely beat any Guild on his own, no matter how many S-ranks it had. And only those with a trained eye could tell, the rest none the wiser.

Dokja felt, however, that Jinwoo hasn’t shown enough of his strength to be taken seriously despite his monumental achievements. It seemed like most of the credit went to himself for saving Japan, what a bunch of fools. Jinwoo was the one who had spread his armies to destroy the Giants as quickly as possible so that they wouldn’t deal too much more harm. The world was looking at the wrong person to give credit to now that they saw the fight with the sentinel Giant.

Jinwoo then asked a question in a worried tone Dokja didn’t entirely anticipate,”And what about you.?”

“I’ll be there as well to monitor you, because I’m probably,” Dokja air quoted,”One of the only people who can adequately keep an eye on you.”

Jinwoo hummed amusedly along with a fond smile, giving Dokja flashbacks of last night’s events in the hot spring. No, I must have not heard him right!

{I really am so smitten with him..}

Thankfully, the [Fourth Wall] influenced him to stay in his calm expression. Besides, it had to be another misunderstanding or misinterpretation!! Yes that was it, eventually he didn’t have to rely on his skill to stay calm. It was just his wishful thinking clouding his mind was all it was, Jinwoo would be disgusted if Dokja asked for clarification for more reasons than one too.

Dokja hummed along with Jinwoo albeit it held a hint of sorrow in it. Jinwoo seemed to pick up on it and he opened his mouth to ask. However Dokja beat him to it.

“Well the plane is waiting for us! It will drop us back off at Incheon airport.”

Jinwoo hesitated before nodding and they both got their things together. The two Kitagawas were cleaning dishes in the sink before they caught sight of the two guests.

“Ah! You two look so much better now that you’ve washed up and have eaten! I hope you enjoyed your stay here.”

“We did, thank you Kitagawa-san and Kitagawa-kun.”

“Kick some butt at the Conference, give ‘em hell!” Kitagawa-san’s smile turned devious.

“You know us so well.” Dokja’s face matched the hostess’s and she guffawed.

“Great, can’t wait to see.” Kitagawa-san said then both her and Kitagawa-kun chimed at the same time,”Have a good day.”

They exchanged pleasantries and left for the airport, today the streets were less lively, the people now barricaded on the sidewalks by tape and officials for the Government and Japanese Hunter Association. Paparazzi followed them to the airport, but they got in their waiting jet with relative ease. However what was supposed to be a private jet, wasn’t exactly that.

A man with strawberry blonde hair and light blue eyes in a formal black suit sat in one of the rows of seats, accompanied by two other agents in suits. Jinwoo seemed disgruntled a bit by the appearance of these people, do they have a bad history?? Dokja hadn’t found anything in files where Jinwoo made contact with them.

“It’s an honor to speak with you again Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim.” He said.

Jinwoo seemed to move past it as he moved to the row and sat down next to the strawberry blonde man.

“Adam White, I don’t believe it’s a coincidence that you’re here,” Jinwoo said,”I hope you aren’t going to write it off as such.”

Dokja tentatively followed and sat down in the same row, taking Jinwoo’s right side while Adam took his left. White seemed incredibly shocked, did he not expect for Dokja to be here? Once they all settled in their seats the plane took off, when they were in the air the conversation resumed.

“Haha, not only are you perceptive as always Hunter Sung Jinwoo, but you also brought along the Miniature Thunderbird?”

[Fourth Wall]’s laughter ringed in his temples, Dokja was going to cry in embarrassment if he heard either of his nicknames anymore.

“I was invited apparently,” Dokja gave him a flat look,”And it’s Kim Dokja, please don’t use that name.”

“Haha! You don’t seem to like it very much, well you will be hearing it a lot more at the Conference,” Adam laughed,”You really popped up out of nowhere like Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim, speaking of..”

Adam sighed in appreciation,”We’ve only met once briefly, yet you still remembered my name, I’m honored.”

“I’d say that our first meeting had been too memorable not to remember”

“Once again I would like to offer my apology for that day’s events. We hadn’t expected that there would be a possibility that Hunter Madam Selner’s abilities couldn’t reach-.”

Jinwoo waved his hand in a manner that calmed Adam who had got progressively more nervous as he spoke.

Dokja knew about this, although it had taken a skim through a highly confidential file back at the Monitoring Division. There was a woman that the United States version of the Monitoring Division, the Federal Bureau of Hunters, would prioritize the safety of even over its own president. She was like a guardian goddess behind the scenes, as she was the only Hunter ever that could make other Hunters grow stronger.

It was unheard of for a Hunter’s strength to heighten, the most they could do was cultivate their skills and the mana given to them into a refined weapon. But many were held back by their rank’s limits, a D-rank could never beat a C-rank, a C-rank could never beat a B-rank. The mana formed a resounding boundary of a Hunter’s potential between the ranks that it was calculated in.

Jinwoo gained a displeased expression, his eyes flashing in light purple as he side-eyed Adam.

“I thought our negotiation had broken down completely?” Jinwoo queried, his voice going gravelly, Adam’s smile slipping from his face.

“Yes I am aware that popping up like this is actually rude, but we have an urgent situation on our hands and we needed to contact you.”

Dokja asked,“Did you fail to handle the Gate in Maryland.?”

“Ah, no. Not that.” Adam denied,”That was taken care of with no issue.”

But what could it be that garnered the sudden appearance of an agent of the Federal Bureau of Hunters, surely they had many important things to take care of.. With this thought, Adam gained both of their undivided attention. Noticing this Adam whipped out a notebook PC and handed it over to Jinwoo. The Shadow Monarch held it between him and Dokja, both watching hundreds of firefighters attempting to tame a wild and greedy wall of pyre.

Sizable embers danced in the air, the firefighters warning any bystanders to get far away as the fire’s rage grew hotter. Saying that one ember could scorch a person into a crisp instantly.

“Where is our back-up?!”

“When are they arriving?!?”

Suddenly a helicopter came onto the scene and Mage-type Hunters came down through the ash ridden sky like angels from the heavens. And promptly unleashed relentlessly wave after wave of water-type magic upon the licking flames, the magical water was doing a far better job than the firefighters’ hose water. Although it still seemed difficult to stoke the inferno. Jinwoo’s eyes slightly widened and Dokja averted his eyes from the screen to his face.

[Kim Dokja has activated ‘Midday Tryst’]

-Why the reaction?

Jinwoo gave a faint startle and his eyes snapped over to Dokja, his eyes coloring lilac.

-Those are top-class Hunters.

Ah, he was surprised that it was so hard for top notch Hunters to contain the fire.

Already they could both hear the joyous cheering of the firefighters and bystanders, but the two found that they couldn’t really turn their eyes away at the moment. Dokja was mesmerized by how Jinwoo’s eyes’ purple dimmed slightly as they stared at each other. The reader heard the [Fourth Wall] giggling childishly in the back of his head as if it was pleased with something. Dokja observed not for the first and definitely no last time how handsome Jinwoo was, his mind drifting and listing off it’s details.

“Er- Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim? Kim Dokja Hunter-nim?” Adam intervened in confusion, the two promptly waking from their little world.

Jinwoo looked at Adam with peevish eyes, now back to their slate grey.

“I bet you are both wondering why I showed you this.”

The two Hunters nodded mindlessly.

“.. Let me replay the end…”

Adam tapped it back and it showed the shooter trudging through the charred rubble until they came across a body lying face down. It was a humanoid figure, but their skin looked like it was made of rock, a few horns sprouting from it’s head.

“Could that be..?”

“Yes as expected you recognized him. Indeed it is Christopher Reid Hunter-nim.”

Dokja’s jaw almost dropped at the bombshell. Christopher Reid was known for being one of the few survivors of the Kamish Raid. His survivor status gave him the extra status of being basically treated as his own nation. Everyone bent to the National-level Hunters’ will no matter what, these Hunters were easily capable of demolishing those foolish to get in their way. It would be wise to steer clear of them, Dokja decided, it would create unnecessary issues possibly and delay his and Jinwoo’s progression to saving this worldline.

He also knew that this particular powerhouse was a master at pyrokinesis, thus connecting the dots easily along with the others.

“It is hard to believe, but he most certainly has been assassinated.”

The video showed a firefighter flipping Christopher Reid over to show the aftermath on his body of what looked like a brutal battle of life or death.

“These are photos of the being we at the Hunter Bureau believe is behind this case.”

Adam held out a couple of photos to Jinwoo. The S-rank set the tabet on his lap and grabbed the pictures Adam gave him, his eyes becoming shaking pale violet pinpricks as he examined the photos. An unseen pressure filled the room, Adam was shivering violently in his seat beside Jinwoo at the scathing glower directed his way. Dokja was absolutely clueless why a man who..

Looked somewhat similar to Jinwoo.. Was in the picture, ah so that was why.

The Hunter Bureau had pinned Jinwoo’s father as a person of interest for the murder of a notorious National-level Hunter. Maybe Dokja couldn’t quite return the sentiment, he could understand the silent seething Jinwoo was effusing right now.

[K im Do kja tho ug ht: Su n g J in wo o is ki nd of h o t whe n an gr y.]

Dokja was too shocked to reprimand the [Fourth Wall], because Jinwoo seemingly activated that skill he used in their innocent game of ping-pong to throttle the poor foreigner and make the tablet implode. Adam croaking at the restricting squeeze around his windpipe, Dokja let empathetic pity out to the man. He understood his position at the moment perfectly well.

“J-Jinwoo-ah-!”

Jinwoo gave him the first cold look ever since he had revived, Jinwoo conveying his warning with his eyes alone, and Dokja hesitantly nodded. Jinwoo seemed to show a tinge of apology in his eyes before the orbs sharpened as he turned back to Adam. The agents had stood from their seats but didn’t seem to know what they could do to deescalate the situation.

“If this is your way of trying to play some kind of trick.. You, all of you but me and Hyung won’t walk out of here alive.”

Jinwoo released an incredibly thick killing intent, the threat told with weight behind it, these agents of the Bureau of Hunter’s were walking on a taut rope. One more misstep and they would plummet down into the awaiting hands of the Grim Reaper. The Shadow Monarch’s eyes gleamed a ghastly purple, his face so frigid, it was hard to believe it was the same person who had looked at Dokja so warmly back at the Springs.

Dokja tried to pay no heed to the thoughts that Jinwoo had said inwardly so strongly that it had activated [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Stage 2]. As he had decided this morning, it was just another misunderstanding. He had no context, Dokja didn’t even know if this ‘him’ was even him. Heck it could be Jinho.

[K i m Do kja i s an i di ot.]

Dokja ignored the [Fourth Wall] and watched Jinwoo hoist Adam a little higher in the air. However he caught sight of the two agents getting ready to pounce on Jinwoo, to which Dokja let a little bit of his status waft into the air as well along with a hint of bloodlust.

“You two… What do you think you are doing?” Dokja growled as he stood from his seat, placing his palm on Unbroken Faith,”No funny ideas now.”

The agents squeaked and immediately surrendered, throwing their hands up into the air. Adam gritted out to Jinwoo to try and calm the latter down.

“That being in the photo walked out from a Dungeon! He’s most likely not the person you know!!”

Jinwoo seemed a little baffled by this,”A Dungeon..?”

“Yes! His magical energy was reminiscent of that of Monsters, and then he suddenly attacked our S-rank Hunter too.”

Jinwoo’s gaze lowered in contemplation.

-Why is it so weird that he came out of a Dungeon?

Jinwoo met his eyes for a second before looking away.

-.. He didn’t make it out of a Gate in time and it sealed itself from the outside world, no one has ever come back out of a Gate when it closes.

Ah, so his dad had gotten stranded in a Dungeon. Sadly, even Dokja’s position in the Monitoring Division didn’t give him access to Jinwoo’s especially personal information. He knew about his career, but almost nothing beyond that.

“Remember the accident a few months ago in the HQ of the Hunter Bureau? The explosion?”

“Are you telling me that my father was behind that.?”

Adam nodded,”He beat down one of our Hunters and escaped as if he vanished into thin air. We tried to secretly search for him, but he left no traces behind whatsoever.”

“I understand how you feel Hunter-nim. However that person fits the profile best for this recently committed crime.”

Jinwoo’s eyes narrowed as he scrutinized Adam,”Why did you show me those pictures?”

“The International Guild Conference.”

Of course this answered befuddled the two Hunters, so Adam elaborated.

“During the Conference, where the representatives from the world’s leading Guilds will gather in one spot, the higher-ups of the Hunter Bureau are planning to distribute that person’s pictures.”

So they weren’t going to go for the secretive approach in the investigation of Jinwoo’s father anymore? Obviously everyone would be paying extra attention to what could be the cause of Christopher Reid’s demise. This way they could exterminate whatever or whoever this formidable threat was to mankind, throwing down everything they have to do so.

“We wanted to maintain our amicable relationship with you.”

“So you wanted to inform me before you publicly libel my father as a terrorist?” Jinwoo said with no small amount of disdain.

“L-l-like I said this could be a Monster masquerading as your father! After all it is unheard of for a Hunter to reappear after being stranded in a Dungeon when it seals itself! His energy also held strong similarities to that of a Monster!!”

Jinwoo’s rage lowered to a simmer, however he didn’t ease his grip on Adam’s throat.

Adam hastily spilled out more of an explanation,“W-we figured that if we showed the images of your father without any prior knowledge, you’d be shocked and confused by it! Like you are now.”

Dokja glanced away from the two agents to Jinwoo and Adam, the former critically surveying Adam for a single lying bone in his body. However he seemed to realize that the other was being wholeheartedly truthful as he glanced down at a photo of his own father stepping on the neck of someone.

Said someone was the Korean Hunter with American citizenship, Hwang Dongsu.

“We would like to know if you understand that we had no choice but to do this..” Adam beseeched.

And Adam promptly fell to the floor and he coughed and gasped for air, the invisible force disappearing. Dokja took his hand away from his sword and nodded towards the trembling Adam. They got the message and hurried over to Adam, checking if he was alright.

Jinwoo’s eyes were still roving over the photos of his dad, his eyes gleaming lilac as he thumbed the plastic infused paper. Dokja couldn’t quite understand the sentiment, but he knew that if someone who cherished their father’s memory, to be told that he was labeled as a terrorist, Dokja might’ve been shocked as well. Dokja set a gentle hand on his shoulder, not missing the tiny twitch Jinwoo did at the contact.

-We’ll find him ourselves, and extract the truth.

Jinwoo met his eyes and nodded. Dokja smiled reassuringly at him, Jinwoo smiling back although a little shakily.

[Ladies and gentlemen, the plane will land shortly.]

-Do you have a stealthy skill Hyung?

Dokja smirked in response then began telling a story.

[Story ‘The Stone and I’ has begun it’s storytelling!]

Everyone watched as a pebble took the place of Dokja, none sure what to make of the event.

-Let’s go Jinwoo-ah

Jinwoo nodded and activated what seemed to be a stealth skill and vanished to the agents’ eyes. Both escaped the plane and the paparazzi filled airport, then cancelled their abilities once they were a fair distance away.

“I’m calling Yoo Jinho.” Jinwoo stated, pulling out his phone.

“Ok.”

---

It hardly even ringed once before a cheerful voice chimed through the phone.

-“Ah, hyung-nim!! You arrived back in the country!”

Jinwoo felt like he would smile at any other time, however that smile back at the plane was all he could manage. His mood was still slightly sour from Adam and the Federal Hunter Bureau’s meeting.

“Looks like I’ll have to travel to the US next week after all.”

-”Eh? I thought that you said you weren’t interested, hyung-nim?”

“Situation has changed.”

Jinwoo figured that Dokja’s suggestion was all he could do at the moment.

He will reach out to the truth, and unravel the mystery of the likely Monster that dared to masquerade as his father. The only way was to attend the Conference.

“Can you book Dokja, you, and I plane tickets?”

-”Of course hyung-nim!”

Jinwoo said goodbye to Jinho and hung up before turning to Dokja.

“Let’s go home.”

“Oh.. About that…”

Jinwoo rose a brow at this.

“I’m- I have quite a load of paperwork to finish back at the Monitoring Division..”

Jinwoo wasn’t pleased, he wished that at least he could spend more time with him. But he won’t be too annoyed by such a small inconvenience.

“Alright, then how about tonight?”

“We’ll see.. Woo Jinchul-ssi said it was quite the hefty load though..”

Jinwoo sighed, he was slightly peeved at Jinchul, but he was a close acquaintance. Jinwoo nodded.

“See you around Hyung.”

“See you Jinwoo-ah.”

And with that they parted ways to deal with the aftermath of their uproarious actions back in Japan. Neither any the wiser to the looming threat soon to come.

---

Notes:

I'm not as pleased with the ending of this ch... Urgh after the last 2 chapters did so well I was scared that this was going to not live up to them 😖 o well

And only one person can be stupid enough to deny the reality of Jinwoo's feelings, gj Dokja u won a nobel prize for being as emotionally intelligent as a brick! 🎉🎉🎊

And oml we hit the 1k kudos mark 🤯 so I was thinking... Fufufu.. Want another drawing?? 🤣

Thx for reading!! 💕

Chapter 26: Chapter 26

Notes:

I finished purging earlier chapters of the bold, italic, and strike through text!!! So that should mean no more black censor boxes! 😄 I hope 😅

Big thx to Nihana for suggesting Aaron as the Monarch of the Iron Body's name 💕

Dokja sighed as he finally came back to his apartment, the taxi driver just wouldn’t. Shut.. Up. Then he had gotten even more of an earful from Jinchul. However he enjoyed meeting with Gunhee, Dokja had learned that the elderly Chairman had a knack for teasing, the cheeky old man… But it was more funny than annoying to Dokja, it seems he has gotten closer to Gunhee.

He fumbled for his key through his pockets and unlocked his door, entering the dark room. However he noticed a presence in the shadows, perhaps Jinwoo? Dokja huffed and closed the door behind him, enshrouding the little light let in in darkness.

“Jinwoo-ah?” Dokja called, first he woke me up early in the morning, and now he’s visiting late at night-.

There was a dark chuckle that interrupted his thoughts, that most certainly wasn’t Jinwoo’s,[[You’re back awfully late.]]

[The Personal Skill ‘Fourth Wall’ is showing its teeth in a threatening manner!]

Dokja noticed that the big Shadow with barbaric looking armor named Iron rose from his Shadow behind him as well, sensing the threat. De focusing on the invader as well.

Dokja instantly stood on guard, a hand reaching for his sword then said in the most menacing voice he can without his true voice,”Get out.”

They laughed more instead, and Dokja flicked on the light with his other hand. There was a blonde man sitting on a kitchen stool by the counter. Their olive eyes gleamed ominously, and they were also decked out in a white coat, although it’s upturned collar exposed a red under bottom and it’s shoulders had elegant golden armor accents. Not only that but it looked like he had tried to cook a cup of noodles, but somehow burnt it.

Well it was nice to know that Dokja’s subpar cooking was still superior to some other people.. But he’s wasting Dokja’s food!!

“I swear, if you are some Hunter from some other country asking for my information, I will-.”

[[No no, are you really comparing a Monarch to one of those foot soldiers of humanity?]] The now identified Monarch interrupted,[[I am the Monarch of the Iron Body, Aaron.]]

“... Well Aaron.. Get out. Now.”

[[I have business to discuss with you..]] Aaron stated,[[Demon King of Salvation Yoo Jonghyuk, regarding your position in the upcoming war.]]

Dokja clicked his tongue, they listened in on his and Jinwoo’s interrogation on Legia,”Let me guess, you don’t want me to help Jinwoo-ah in you and the Rulers’ conflict.”

[[Precisely.]]

Dokja feigned thoughtfulness before answering,”I decline.”

Aaron seemed shocked at the utter refusal,[[Are you sure.?]]

“Yes.”

[[You will regret this later on.]]

“Sure I will.” Dokja scoffed,”Now crawl back to whatever crevice you crept out of, you’re not welcome here.”

Aaron made a displeased expression at Dokja’s jab but he seemed to bite his tongue. He got off the stool in a dramatic flourish of his cloak.

[[I didn’t know that such a pretty mouth could be so disrespectful.]] Aaron remarked,[[Too bad, we’ll be back.]]

A portal reminiscent to a Gate but colored by a sinister palate of violet and inky black appeared behind Aaron. He never turned away as he went through it and vanished along with the portal. With this Dokja took his hand off of Unbroken Faith’s handle with an aggrieved sigh, and before he could turn to Iron, the Shadow had rejoined his shadow on the floor.

Scratch that Iron must’ve gone to Jinwoo, because he heard banging on the door making Dokja cringe. Please don’t dent, please don’t dent!! The reader rushed over to the entrance and swung open the door.

“Calm down!” Dokja hissed.

Jinwoo stared down at him, he was in sleepwear and bathed by the silver light of the moon. He looked ethereal even with his panicked expression.

“Where is he?” Jinwoo asked, ignoring Dokja as he brushed past him into his apartment.

Jinwoo searched around despite Dokja’s protests.

“He left through some sort of portal.”

Only then did Jinwoo stop inspecting the cup of burnt noodles on his counter.

Dokja informed,“He cooked that.”

Jinwoo critically scrutinized the food, geez if looks could kill.. He looked up to Dokja after a couple strained seconds.

“What did he come here for?”

“He came with a proposition for me to join their side. I declined of course.”

Jinwoo nodded in understanding.

“Should I stay with you just in case he comes back tonight while you’re asleep?”

“No, you can just leave Iron with me again.”

Jinwoo hesitantly accepted the idea, and sent Iron back into Dokja’s shadow.

Dokja plucked the cup noodles from Jinwoo’s hands and dropped it into his trashcan before ushering him out to the walkway outside,“See you in the morning?”

“.. Ok, good night Hyung..”

“Good night Jinwoo-ah!”

Dokja closed the door and stood there for a couple minutes of silence before trudging over to his bedroom. He flopped himself onto the bed, too lazy to make his own dinner before passing out. Soon enough it was morning, and surprise surprise Dokja was eating cup noodles for breakfast. He missed Jonghyuk’s ambrosiac meals so much he could cry. Instead he slurped up the cheap noodles from their salty broth, Jonghyuk would be incredibly disappointed that this is what Dokja’s diet has become now. Lee Seolhwa would be especially displeased considering that she was the doctor of the Company

Dokja dumped it in the trash can and brushed his teeth. Then shrugged on his pearly white coat and exited his apartment, locking the door behind him. Before going on his merry way, only to be met with a wall of Jinwoo.

“Wh-?”

“Want me to accompany you to the Korean Hunter Association Building?” Jinwoo offered.

“Why?”

“What if the Monarchs show up?”

Dokja sighed,“Jinwoo-ah.. You should know by now that I’m not incompetent.”

“They might pull a dirty trick on you, you might be caught off guard.” Jinwoo pressed.

“Then I will counter their tricks with my own, Jinwoo-ah I’m fine.”

Jinwoo didn’t look at all convinced, why couldn’t he just accept that Dokja was fine?

“You have a Guild to take care of,” Dokja grumbled,”Besides I have Iron with me.”

Jinwoo finally relented with a sigh, the fight flushing out of his shoulders. Dokja felt the profuse need to cheer up the other so Dokja reached out and patted Jinwoo’s shoulder as he passed by him in the walkway.

“Well you can come with me down the elevator if you want.”

Jinwoo matched his pace and they walked towards the elevators together, moving along in silence.

--Korean Hunter Association--

Dokja slumped against his chair with a deep exhale, holding his face in his hands. This paperwork was an utter nightmare…

Jinchul had left to check up on Jinwoo who was most likely just going over paperwork with Jinho for their Guild. The Monitoring Division Head substituted for Dokja while the reader slaved away in their own office. Jinchul should be back soon enough.

He has been slowly chipping away at it since late yesterday after returning to Seoul. Jinchul really wasn’t kidding with the load, but couldn’t he have had more than just Dokja do it?? There was this whole office, heck this one lady who has been playing some dragon app on their phone for the past hour under her desk!! When Dokja squinted at their screen he saw that the app was named ‘Dragon Village M’ and they were playing under the guise of ‘Welkinixio’. The only reason Dokja knew was because he wanted to think about anything else besides work at the moment..

He doubted that Ah-Jin Guild would’ve given this much work, this nearly rivalled Minosoft… Why was he thinking about the Ah-Jin Guild?? Dokja shook his head and went over to his desktop computer to resume the grind.

As he opened up a new tab and was about to click on the email bookmark, something caught his eye.

‘Hunter Sung Jinwoo’s Ah-Jin Guild Is On the Official Invited List For The International Guild Conference! Is A Small Newborn Guild Worthy Of Attending?’

Along with, ‘Will The Angelic Tengu Also Be Joining The International Guild Conference?’

Dokja clicked on the top headline for the Ah-Jin Guild and read its contents with his skill [Reading Comprehension].

Hunter Choi Jongin, Master of the famous South Korean ‘Hunters Guild’, recently was interviewed on the matter of whether Hunter Sung Jinwoo’s ‘Ah-Jin Guild’ was worthy of attending the International Guild Conference. To which he stated of course Ah-Jin Guild is, even going as far as saying that the sole high-ranked Hunter, Sung Jinwoo, could hold his own against any Guild worldwide! Could you believe that? Does the United States’s ‘Scavenger Guild’ also fit on that list? Despite it’s long line-up of S-ranks and even National-rank Master, Thomas Andre? Surely Hunter Choi Jongin is overshooting, and it must’ve been a mistranslation! It is more likely that he meant that the Ah-Jin Guild could defeat any Guild in South Korea. Nonetheless, it is still an interesting observation even with Ah-Jin Guild’s minimal member count!

Dokja felt like he could laugh at the ending, they had no idea about Jinwoo’s capabilities despite the footage of Jinwoo’s Shadow Army during the Jeju and Japan raids.. How idiotic some people could be, just wait until Jinwoo flipped their worldview upside down it will be priceless! Even the [Fourth Wall] was giggling inside his temples, gratefully this time it wasn’t directed at Dokja.

Dokja snapped out of it when he heard a thunk on his desk and he jolted.

“I was diligently doing my wor-!” Dokja automatically cried out.

Jinchul’s silence and expression was so judgmental that Dokja fell flat on his sentence midway.

“Kim Dokja… Why are you dawdling this time?” Jinchul said slowly, as if he was talking to an infant.

“You see that’s not fair Woo Jinchul-ssi, that Agassi over there has been sucked into their phone for the past hour or so.” Dokja deflected with ease, however Jinchul seemed to catch on as he spared the lady a quick glance before looking back and squinting at Dokja.

Ah, Jinchul has had to read between the lines for a long while during his time in the Division, he’ll be harder to trick it seems.. Not to mention that Dokja had also broken the promise about ‘not stepping out of line’, so Jinchul will be extra wary now it seems.

Darn..

The lady fumbled to shove her phone in her pocket and scrambled back to typing whatever she was doing on her computer. Dokja refocused on Jinchul who’s criticizing eyes had evolved into a baleful expression, great.

“Those need to be finished by today Kim Dokja, get it done.”

With that Jinchul left and Dokja practically dove into the piles of papers from Governments worldwide asking to see his information. Hastily scrambling to get it all finished before Jinchul’s deadline.

A couple hours later at dusk, you can find a Dokja leaning over face down on his desk, all the paperwork finally finished next to his head. Almost all the other agents besides a few stragglers had left, one of said stragglers traipsed up to Dokja’s desk and wordlessly took the hefty stack away. Soon enough the Monitoring Division Head also walked up to Dokja’s cubicle.

“Well done, you finished.” The bland words making Dokja dissolve into a manic fit of giggles.

Jinchul grew a small smile,”So have you learned your lesson?”

Dokja hummed as he peeled his face off of the table finally.

“Maybe, maybe not.”

Jinchul sighed,”Well, I tried.”

Dokja huffed an amused exhale and stood up, shutting down his glaring computer screen before straightening his snowy white coat with his hands by the lapels.

“Go Gunhee-ssi and I were going to go eat at a famous Korean Barbeque place, want to join us? In celebration of your and Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim’s raid’s success in Japan?” Jinchul invited.

Dokja would eat anything but Cup Noodles so of course he enthusiastically agreed.

“As long as I don’t have to pay too much of the bill.”

“It will be our treat, come on.”

By this time all the stragglers had packed up and left, so the two exited the office place, Jinchul locking the door. Before they made their way up to the Chairman’s office, Gunhee was ready to go when they arrived.

“Well then let’s go.” Gunhee said cheerfully, all of them making their merry way out of the building to the restaurant.

They didn’t pay heed to the other employees on their last assignments that were gawking at them, stunned by all of their appearances. Soon enough they were out on the streets of Seoul in a sleek black vehicle.

“So how was your trip Dokja-ssi?” Gunhee started off.

Dokja answered,“It was fine, we managed to clear the Giants without any hiccups, and then Jinwoo-ah and I spent the night at a Hot Spring in Osaka. Before returning back here yesterday.”

“Ah, I’m glad that the Giants didn’t prove to be much of a threat to both of your lives,” Gunhee remarked,”I heard about your visit to the Hot Spring, how was it?”

“It was great!” Dokja replied,”Not only did it feel great after we soaked in the spring, but the food was delicious. Jinwoo and I also played a few matches of ping-pong before going to sleep. The Hosts, the Kitagawas, gave a good breakfast as well before seeing us off. Not to mention they had magical detergent that washed out all the Monster blood.”

Gunhee guffawed,”Sounds like you two made the most of your stay, that’s good!”

Jinchul nodded along and Dokja smiled, he decided that these two were worth protecting during his stay. Nothing would happen to either on his watch. After some more chit-chat about things in Seoul during the crisis, they had arrived at the front of the restaurant.

Thanks to a prior reservation, they weren’t held back by the line, a waiter guiding them to their requested table. He handed out the menus and bowed.

“I’ll be back to take your order when you’re all ready.” He said before speed walking away.

The three took the menus, scanning over the offered contents.

Gunhee piped up,”Since it’s the weekend tomorrow, want to have some Soju?”

Jinchul stated,”I’m not good with drinks.”

“I don’t like to drink,” Dokja said.

Dokja and Jinchul’s eyes met and a sense of companionship flowed between the two of them, Gunhee chuckling at the spectacle.

“Haha! I guess not.. That’s a shame.”

At this both of their eyes leapt to Gunhee.

“I’m willing to drink some!” They both chimed at the same time.

Gunhee smiled radiantly,”Well ok then.”

The waiter arrived and they ordered their food doubtlessly.

“We’ll get Samgyupsal, Eomok Bokkeum, and Kimchi please.” Jinchul listed off, the waiter nodding as they jotted it down.

“And get us some Peach Soju with that too.” Gunhee added.

“Anything else?” The waiter asked.

“No.” Dokja answered for them along with a shake of his head sending the waiter off to the kitchen.

The waiter came back with the ordered products and set them on the table before switching on the grill. He then took the tongs and laid the pork belly on the grill in the middle of the table, the savory food sizzling already. He bowed and said a quick ‘I hope you enjoy the meal’, and zipped off. Dokja wasn’t positive that he could cook it, so he told the other two as such, that were looking at him expectantly to start. It was custom after all for the one lowest in position at their company to serve the meal.

Jinchul decisively grasped the tongs,”Alright, I will do it.”

Let the grilling begin.

---

Notes:

I have never eaten Korean BBQ sadly, so plz forgive me if I got what u do in those restaurants wrong 😅

Did I self-insert myself? Yes, 🤣🤣 can u find me? I is curious uwu

Thx for reading!!! 💕💕

Chapter 27: Chapter 27

Notes:

Hey hey hey~

This ch is kinda eh for me, although one scene was particularly fun to write 🤣🤣

As the three Korean Hunter Association employees chowed down on the freshly cooked food, they caught the attention of the crowd.

“Is that the Korean Hunter Association Chairman Go Gunhee?! And the Angelic Tengu too? Who’s the other guy??” A girl remarked.

A girl informed,“He’s Woo Jinchul, the Head of the Monitoring Division! I’m a big fan!!”

“Eh.? Only the Monitoring Division?” Someone replied.

“The Monitoring Division doesn’t get enough credit..” An elderly man drawled.

“You do know that the Angelic Tengu is part of that Division as well right? Haven’t you seen the Hunter forums?”

“Either way, the Angelic Tengu seems a lot more approachable than Sung Jinwoo who vanishes all the time..” The girl stated,"I should know, my Oppa is in the Monitoring Division."

“... You do know that they released his name right.?” Someone said,”Why are you still using his nickname??”

“His name is boring! Who the heck names their kid ‘only child’, I want to meet his parents and scold them for the name!!”

“.. His Hangul is ‘reader’ though..?”

At this, the girl growled and they all promptly became quiet. However whispers still wafted through the ambience of the restaurant. The table with the Korean Hunter Association employees continued to chat lively while they ate and drank. They didn’t gain the attention of just the crowd though, a couple booths away sat Jinho and Jinwoo.

“You should go say hi Hyung-nim~.” Jinho suggested wiggling his eyebrows in that weird way again.

Jinwoo gave him a dead look,”I would be intruding on their gathering, besides we came here to hang out together.”

“Hyung-nim…” Jinho got teary eyed at the sentiment.

The spoken about booth broke out into laughter, and Jinwoo felt his chopsticks slightly splinter in his grip at the sound of Dokja chuckling in the mix. He swallowed thickly and took a bit of meat from the grill.

“Then I can come with you Hyung-nim!” Jinho proclaimed.

“Then we both would be intruding, and aren’t we already barbecuing our food here?”

Jinho whined childishly,”But I want to say hi to him Hyung-nim!”

That’s right, Jinho had grown close and attached to Dokja during the Japan raid. Then he heard about how Dokja sacrificed himself to save Jinwoo. Of course that got the reader a lot of brownie points.

Not only was Jinho begging for him to go hang out with Dokja, but Beru was going over the top with screeching across their link along with his other Shadows booing. At least Igris didn’t give any feedback, but Jinwoo felt like he also wished for him to greet Dokja. Jinwoo’s eye twitched but he didn’t give any other tells that he was listening to their gibberish.

“Another time.” Jinwoo bit the meat he collected from his chopsticks, making a show of chewing for the conversation to end.

Jinho deflated with a sigh,”Ok Hyung-nim, you are right..”

Then Jinho noticed what Jinwoo had taken.

“Wh- m-my Pork Belly!!” Jinho shrieked in dismay.

Jinwoo chuckled and they both continued to eat, both nursing their own Soju on the side. Their small cups clanged together and both drank up.

---

Drinking was not the best idea Dokja should have just refused to begin with. He recalled that one time with Yoo Sangah as well… And then dealing with Yoo Jonghyuk afterwards, he shivered when he remembered his companion not picking him to help with the disasters. That was annoying at the time trying to regain his honor in Jonghyuk’s mind, but he supposed he never had honor to begin with.

But now he couldn’t even keep up with the conversation, his comrade in having trash alcohol tolerance, Jinchul was much the same. The only one at this point carrying the conversation being Gunhee, while Dokja and Jinchul would add a few words in here and there to show that they were still there.

“You two really weren’t kidding, we should probably stop here for today.” Gunhee finally said,”Want me to drive you two home?”

Jinchul enthusiastically nodded but winced at his own actions, however Dokja’s head thudded on the table. He had lost his remaining energy to respond.

“Kim Dokja?” Gunhee inquired.

Suddenly another person arrived along with their friend.

“We can take him home.” one of them, a man, said.

Dokja’s world was spinning, but he knew that it was some stranger from their voice.

“And who are you?” Gunhee questioned.

“A friend of his.”

“Kim Dokja?” Gunhee said inquisitively,”Is what he says true?”

Dokja grunted as he straightened up finally, summoning any last bits of strength. He squinted blearily at the person who smiled disarmingly at all three of them.

“No..”

“He’s drunk sir, not in his right state of mind.” They moved towards Dokja who clumsily shuffled away in the booth.

Gunhee moved an arm to block their way towards Dokja,”Unfortunately I don’t believe you, you two should go home.”

“I don’t know you two.” Dokja slurred.

They tutted and brushed past Gunhee,”He gets like this when he’s drunk.”

Gunhee let his displeasure be known, however he couldn’t do much to a Korean citizen. The man seemed to notice this as he smirked and used it against him.

“Imagine the headlines.. ‘Chairman Go Gunhee Attacks Korean Citizen that was Friends With the Angelic Tengu’, the public would be in an uproar.” He hissed as he snaked an arm around Dokja’s waist.

Gunhee looked like he was going to commit a crime this second, his eyes gleaming a lucid golden, face pinched in a foul expression. Wrinkles between his thick brows. Just as the man wrenched the delirious Dokja fully from the booth Jinchul had sobered up and Gunhee looked like they were about to do something that might ruin their image, a firm hand descended on the man’s shoulder. The stranger’s friend squeaked when they saw who it was.

Dokja could barely tell that it was a particularly enraged Jinwoo and Jinho.

“What are you doing?” Jinwoo growled and he spun the man around with such force that they couldn’t keep their grasp on Dokja.

Dokja felt himself being pressed against a firm front that made him feel at home, his earlier ruffled nerves smoothing out into peace.

“W-we were just going to help him get home-!” The man spluttered and his lackey frantically nodded.

“He doesn’t have any other friends outside of the Association and me and Yoo Jinho,” The stranger turned as white as a ghost,”So who the hell are you? An abductor?”

“N-no I-!”

A phone dinged and they all looked to Jinho who had brought the device back away from his ear and had hit the ‘end call’ button.

“The police are on their way.” Jinho stated cheerfully.

The two strangers squealed and tried to bolt away, Dokja just barely caught the sight of two forms of Shadows gliding across the floor after them and out the entrance. He felt an arm weave around him, pushing him closer into the cozy warmth of the muscular body concealed by its comforting clothing. Dokja dazedly decided that this was his home now as he snuggled closer with a tiny purr that he would never admit to.

He must’ve said that because Jinwoo tensed, but Dokja didn’t feel like talking too much right now.

“I will take him home.” Jinwoo volunteered once they had all paid the bills and were outside.

Gunhee and Jinchul both nodded in acceptance and bid them all a good night and they separated. Jinho took the driver’s seat while Jinwoo sat in the back with the delirious Dokja.

“You have to be careful now that you’re practically a celebrity, Hyung.” Jinwoo told Dokja.

“I know I know, this isn’t the first time my actions have garnered unwanted attention..”

“.. What.?”

“I mean I am a murderer’s son after all.. And other things...” Uh oh he didn’t mean to blab that.

The van’s tires shrieked and he felt two pairs of eyes gawking at him, the van continued driving when a horn was honked at them.

“I-I-.” Dokja stuttered.

Jinwoo pet his head, the calming effect hitting him like a truck. Then his head was pressed against Jinwoo’s shoulder by said hand.

“It’s ok, you don’t have to say anymore.”

Dokja didn’t want to leave Jinwoo’s warmth, not even in a million lifetimes. He thinks he understands why his instincts itched to want to depart on this Scenario alone, but he didn’t want to dub it quite yet. Eventually they arrived at the apartment complex and Jinho gave them a cheery farewell before driving away.

---

Jinwoo helped Dokja hobble up to the elevator, and both waited while surrounded by the elevator music. Dokja huddled against Jinwoo until it gave a cheerful chime and they exited through it’s parted doors.

Soon enough they were in front of Dokja's apartment and Dokja clumsily moved his hands in his pockets. Eventually he produced the key and fumbled to shove it in the socket in the door handle. It clicked and Jinwoo opened the door for him, both heading inside before closing the door behind them.

“Go lay down, I will see if you have Aspirin.”

“I don’t have any.” Dokja said.

Jinwoo hummed as they traipsed to Dokja’s bedroom past the living room and kitchen. He helped Dokja flop himself in bed, and moved a small trash can in the corner to the edge of the bed.

“Here’s a trash can just in case,” Jinwoo stated,”I will buy some Aspirin.”

Dokja nodded slowly and Jinwoo stepped out of the room before summoning a Shadow.

‘Igris.’

Igris rose from his shadow and took a knee along with a bow. Jinwoo began leafing through his wallet for won.

“Go buy Aspirin at the grocery store on the corner of the street.” Jinwoo handed over the cash and the knight’s gauntlet clad hand gently grabbed it as said knight stood up.

Igris nodded and merged back into the darkness, heading quickly towards the closest convenience store. Jinwoo used ‘Sensory Perception’ to watch Igris’s transaction.

The knight with a red plume sprouting from his helmet that matched his ebony colored armor and cape strode gracefully into the Seven-Eleven. Not paying attention to the screaming customers and cashier, all hastily ducking out of sight, Igris strode to the medicine aisle. The knight however didn’t seem to know where the requested product was so Jinwoo helped him out.

‘It’s the white, orange, and green bottle right there.’

Igris tentatively plucked said bottle from it’s stock and squinted at it curiously.

‘Yes that one.’

Igris went to the front counter, the cashier cowering behind the register, the knight tilted his head and set the bottle on the counter with a dull thunk. The cashier swallowed noisily and hastily snatched it from the counter, only their arm showing in the action. There was a beep from behind the counter, did they scan it from the handheld scanner? Then the bottle was slammed back down on the counter frantically, other customers jolting at the loud noise.

Igris lightly set the won on the counter and took the bottle, before leaving. Jinwoo deactivated ‘Sensory Perception’ and filled a glass of water up then went back to Dokja. The knight soon came out from the shadows and proffered the medicine bottle. Jinwoo took the pill bottle and set it on the nightstand by Dokja’s bed. As he turned to leave, Igris rejoining his shadow, A hand clumsily reached out and got a hold of the back of his shirt.

Jinwoo slowly turned around and grabbed the hand, kneeling by the bed. Dokja grumbled incomprehensibly and Jinwoo leaned forward to hear him.

Jinwoo asked gently,“What was that.?”

“Please don’t leave.” Dokja begged weakly.

Jinwoo’s black heart thudded in his chest at the request. He really wanted to stay.. But what if Dokja freaked out when he woke up…

‘Oh my king, your mate is delirious from that funny juice.. My liege can most likely wake up before him.’

Beru claimed over their link, and Jinwoo felt like he agreed to the ant’s thoughts too quickly.

Later you can find Dokja and Jinwoo crammed on the tiny mattress, the two snuggling with tranquil smiles. Both able to stay ignorant to the world’s drama for at least a short while until the sun came up along with the ambient life of Seoul.

---

Notes:

Kudos to all of those who guessed that they would get drunk, probably a lot of peeps X'DDD IK IT CLICHE-

Apologies if Dokja's thoughts got repetitive when he was describing Jinwoo's embrace I really tried to think of other ways he might feel but my brain died on me- *WHEEZE*

WeLp tHx FoR rEaDiNg!! 💕💕

Chapter 28: Chapter 28

Notes:

So... Things happened 😂😂

Ended up getting a new phone already, came home from school and my mom saud that when she tried calling my phone it went straught to voicemail which usually means someone picked it up 😖 and now here I am with a new phone

MY PRECIOUS SCREENSHOT COLLECRION IS GONE NOW I COULD CRIIIIII 😭 MY WONDEROUSLY CULTIVATE DOKHYUK FANART NUUUUUUUUU-

*WHEEZE* anywho in back in business far sooner than expected how funny is that?

If it wasn’t without Dokja’s few years of training to wake up early in a post apocalyptic world, he wouldn’t have woken up so soon after getting drunk off his mind. He grumbled at the ground shattering head ache he had subjected himself to, what was past Dokja’s big idea?? How could he make future Dokja suffer so much…

However, he realized that there was another warmth that definitely wasn’t his blanket spooning him from behind.

[The 'Fourth Wall' is shaking violently!]

This was when Dokja promptly lost it. The reader leapt out of the bed, grabbing a pillow all the while and slamming it down on the prone figure. Said body grunted and sat up in the sheets. Dokja continued hitting them with the firm pillow despite his world spinning around him due to his hangover. The [Fourth Wall] finally getting its act together offset the pain of his head ache and Dokja’s vision cleared.

He noticed that there was a bottle of aspirin along with a glass of water, ah so past Dokja did care enough to grab medicine.

How considerate.

But he didn’t have time, there was a person on his mattress, grunting at the relentless aggression of the pillow. Dokja snatched the bottle and cup along with the pillow and did his best to jog to the door, as fast as his wobbly legs and vision could take him. He whirled around as quickly as possible without falling over, and launched the pillow square in their face. Dokja huffed in satisfaction at temporarily distracting the stranger before grabbing Unbroken Faith as he left for the bathroom.

He will take the aspirin then come out to deal with them if they didn’t understand that they were unwelcome. Dokja didn’t want to accidentally kill himself with his own sword because of being hungover after all. Now that would be an embarrassing fate.

Dokja shut the door and locked it with a click before crazedly prying open the aspirin bottle. He poured out a pill and then swallowed it down along with the whole cup of water. Dokja sighed in relief when it was already easing his headache, the [Fourth Wall] aiding the recovery as well. His back dragged against the wall until he was on the floor. His head thunking when he rested it against the wall.

Now he had to deal with that person if they hadn’t left already.

Dokja groaned as he got up, there were still remnants of that gargantuan headache from earlier, but he could manage. He grabbed his sword and unsheathed it, the metal making a ‘sheek’ sound. Dokja unlocked the door and stepped out, Unbroken Faith in front of him.

The apartment was quiet… Besides the sounds of clanking in the kitchen..

Are they looking for a knife?

Dokja steeled himself and trudged over to the kitchen, to find Jinwoo cooking.. Omelettes? Not only that but it smelled as divine as Eden.

Did Jinwoo come over when Iron probably told him there was a stranger in his bed? Dokja sighed in relief and put his sword back in its scabbard. He realized that the sound made Jinwoo jump in his spot by the stove. Dokja watched as Jinwoo held his hands up and slowly turned around. Jinwoo held a deadpan expression as he stared at Dokja, the latter only now noticing the tiny white feathers in the former’s hair. Jinwoo looked like he was about to say something, but a feather took the place of his words as he coughed it out. The sad little feather wafting down to the floor at Jinwoo’s feet.

“Good morning Hyung.. I come in peace” Jinwoo stated,”... I didn’t expect myself to be so closely acquainted with your pillow when I woke up.”

Dokja felt heat rise to his cheeks in embarrassment. That stranger in his bed was Jinwoo it seemed. It helped a little in easing his trepidation on thinking they were a complete stranger, but having Jinwoo in his bed was too suggestive..

Dokja fumbled over his apologies,“S-sorry about that Jinwoo-ah,” Dokja set Unbroken Faith against the wall,”However… What were you doing in my bed.?”

“You asked for me to stay, so I did.”

So it was drunk Dokja’s fault huh? Dokja sighed aggrievedly.

“Sorry for… Aggressively pillow slamming you.”

“No worries.” Jinwoo turned back to the eggs, hand ruffling the back of his head, dislodging a few stray feathers.

Dokja padded up to right behind Jinwoo and squinted at the cooking dish. It was odd that Jinwoo had all these ingredients that Dokja most certainly didn’t have. Not only that but the Omelettes were emitting a luxurious aroma, what was he using in this recipe??

“Where did you get these ingredients from?”

“Next door, after you went inside the bathroom, I went over and took some of my family’s stuff over to here.” Jinwoo explained.

Huh, he worked fast in getting all this stuff over here and already getting it started. And this was all before Dokja even reemerged from the bathroom. Jinwoo was looking at him oddly so Dokja snapped out of his thoughts.

Dokja rose a brow,“What is it?”

“.. Why don’t you have anything but Cup Noodles?” Jinwoo questioned,

Dokja sweatdropped and avoided Jinwoo’s eyes, of course he would know, Dokja bet he looked through his kitchen earlier to find a not so pleasant surprise..

“I-I’m not good at cooking..” Dokja informed,”Besides I wasn’t going to be here for that long.”

At the silence that greeted that Dokja hesitantly looked up to find Jinwoo’s eyes containing a solemn emotion. He looked crestfallen even and Dokja had no idea why, perhaps because of his diet??

[K i m Do kja is a n i di ot.]

And Dokja couldn’t understand that either.

“I understand,” Jinwoo went back to cooking placing the omelette on a plate before starting another one,”But Hyung you can’t just eat store bought food, you need variety, calories, protein, fi-.”

“Ok ok! Sheesh, what are you a fitness instructor??” Dokja grumbled.

Jinwoo smirked, and Dokja didn’t even ask.

---

They were both happily eating Omelettes at Dokja’s coffee table in the small living room, the TV droning on in the background. It was a replay of Hunter Choi Jongin’s interview on his take of the International Guild Conference’s official invite list.

Dokja held a dreamy expression as he contentedly munched on the egg mixed with onions and all sorts of delectable ingredients. Jinwoo smiled at him as he ate, he felt proud of himself for giving Dokja a satisfactory meal. It was a little aggravating that Dokja’s whole diet was a few cups of unhealthy noodles as well.

It had been one heck of a rude awakening this morning. Apparently even if Dokja was hungover from ‘funny juice’(as Beru had put it) he still managed to wake up before him and pounded him with a pillow. However, that was an easy fix for Jinwoo with some breakfast to calm a wild Dokja down.

Although.. There was something that Dokja let slip last night that wasn’t so easily mended.

His Eomma’s criminal status..

Jinwoo held back a cringe, and he felt Kaisel make it known that she wished to comfort Dokja. Reluctantly he denied her wishes, as she was far too big to fit in this small room. Kaisel trilled depressingly but accepted his will, but Jinwoo wished he could do something as well. He felt his other Shadows give their own encouragement on the matter as well across their mental links with him.

But he couldn’t do anything as he hardly knew a thing about what had happened. And besides it wasn’t even his place to assist in. Sure they were companions, but they would need a more intimate bond to help in such a personal matter. Dokja didn’t even seem to recall blurting out about his Eomma which wasn’t very shocking, he was drunk off his mind.

Suddenly he remembered Dokja calling him ‘home’ as well.

Jinwoo nearly dropped his chopsticks at the thought but thankfully recollected himself before that happened. Dokja’s keen eye however caught the minute slip up.

“Is something wrong?” Dokja questioned.

“Everything’s fine.” Jinwoo said before grabbing another bite of egg.

Dokja hummed and resumed his eating. But Jinwoo’s thoughts were plagued with hundreds of terrible theories on child Dokja’s home life.

{ Jinwoo asked,“Did you have any parents?”

Immediately the atmosphere died as Dokja’s smile wavered like the humid mist curling around them and the air. Does he..?

“I do.” Dokja said in an artificial calm as he placed his palms on the edge of the water,”... But I sometimes wish I didn’t.” }

Jinwoo wished he could address the elephant in the room, but not yet, he can wait even though he wasn’t a patient person. He can wait for Dokja for as long as it takes.

Eventually they finished breakfast and cleaned the dishes and hygiene before heading out. Jinwoo waited as Dokja locked the door and they both went to the elevator. Once they got inside the shaft, Dokja struck a conversation.

“Although I don’t remember much about last night, I recall a stranger trying to ‘take me home’.” Dokja piped up,”What happened to him?”

Jinwoo activated ‘Sensory Perception’ and checked on the two from last night and he smirked smugly at the sight that greeted him.

Jinwoo spoke self-satisfactorily,”Probably getting comfortable in the police station right about now.”

Dokja hummed and eyed Jinwoo with amusement twinkling in his eyes. Then the elevator dinged and they stepped out of it and the building and onto the sidewalks of the streets of Seoul.

“Would you like it if I drove you to the Hunter Association Building? It’s on the way to my Guild’s office.”

“Sure! I’d like that.”

As they drove along the streets of Seoul towards their destinations. They were coming up on a red light when Dokja spoke up in a bright voice that didn’t fit the new topic.

“So.. I told you about my Eomma last night.”

This time Jinwoo cringed, but had enough restraint to not slam on the brakes. But his press on the pedal had more force than normal, causing the van to jerk to a stop at the light. Jinwoo shot his eyes towards Dokja but the latter wasn’t even looking at him but the windshield. Then Dokja turned to look at him with his slate grey eyes that almost looked like they had starry flecks in this lighting.

Jinwoo averted his eyes to the wheel,”... Yes you did..”

Dokja smiled.. But it had no mirth and in fact looked almost unfortunate in some odd way. Jinwoo decided that he hated seeing that expression, and wanted to wipe it off of his face with a k-

No, don't think that way, we’re not even in a relationship yet.

“I see-”

“If you don’t want my sympathy or if you want me to not try and conciliate the issue..” Jinwoo interrupted heartily,”Then let me know, I don’t want to overstep any boundaries and make you uncomfortable, Hyung.”

Silence followed his proclamation and the light turned green, Jinwoo pressing down on the acceleration as they drove through the streets. He looked in the rearview mirror and saw an image that he would never forget as Dokja smiled softly at Jinwoo. Jinwo could feel his ears turn red and he fought to keep the flush off his cheeks.

“Of course,” Jinwoo stated,”I’ll always have an ear open for if you want to vent it out, just don’t feel pressured.”

“Thank you Jinwoo-ah, I will keep that in mind.”

The grin Dokja had splayed on his lips rivaled the smile back at the springs and even the sun, Jinwoo felt like he would have been blinded by it if he were looking at it directly. Jinwoo nodded and averted his eyes from the rear view mirror, and soon enough they pulled up at the Hunter Association. Dokja opened the door and before he left he told Jinwoo.

“I’ll see you later today, I finished that grueling paperwork yesterday and I’m in charge of monitoring you.”

Jinwoo gaped at him, he was in charge of monitoring Jinwoo??

“See you!” Dokja said then slammed the door shut.

And with that Dokja headed for the building, and Jinwoo drove away his mind filled with the epiphany of spending even more time with Dokja. He couldn’t help the smile that sprouted on his face and stayed until he reached his Guild’s office. Jinwoo pulled up in the parking lot and turned off the ignition before heading inside the office. When he entered he saw Jinho furiously typing away on the keyboard, one could almost see fire in his eyes Jinwoo was impressed by the enthusiasm for a moment before looming over Jinho’s shoulder. Said Hunter was shooting down numerous toxic posts about Jinwoo in a second, and were those… Thirst posts…? Well they were more bordering that line, some actually being quite innocent.

Nonetheless, Jinwoo won’t be looking at any online forums for a while. Not like he did that much to begin with…

Jinho spun the scroll wheel on the mouse with more force than needed to come across the next post, Jinwoo tried not to look but ended up doing it reflexively. He promptly felt his brain shut off for a split second at the contents, never mind these weren’t innocent-

“Yoo Jinho please scroll away from that.” Jinwoo announced his presence.

“H-HYUNG-NIM! S-sorry that you had to see that.!” Jinhoo jumped in his chair and hastily changed the tab altogether,”Just cleaning up all these.. Somewhat degrading posts..”

“Are you sure you want to continue this.?” Jinwoo’s eyes caught onto this tab’s contents as well when he finished his sentence.

-- Ara ara~~ Who would pay all their fortune to be stepped on by Sung Jinwoo?? Me~~~💕❤💘💞💞😘

There were about nearly nine hundred likes on that single post and don’t even get him started on the retweets- He couldn’t help reading the top reply.

-- Oh nonono, the Angelic Tengu is where it's at!! Just imagine what he could do in be-

Jinwoo felt his Shadows screeching and he shot his eyes away from the screen, because what the actual heck??!

“Yoo Jinho-”

Jinho noticed and instead of moving to another of his gajillion tabs on the window, he deleted it all together.

“Sorry yet again Hyung-nim!” Jinho flushed,”Well, we have one more day before the International Hunter Conference, do you plan on going to Japan for its Gates again today?”

“Yes, do you plan on continuing… that?”

“Yup!! I’ll go kick some butt on those hate and thirst posts!!” Jinho said cheerfully,”It’s a lot easier to go through those thirst posts for you now that you have reason to decline! I always had to talk about how you would never be so-”

“Wait, why is it easier now?”

Jinho rose a brow curiously,“Ehh.? Isn’t it obvious?? You have Dokja-ssi to go after now of course!”

Jinho smiled smugly,”And you still need little ol’ me’s help, how could you not confess back at the Hot Springs?!? I thought you were the type to relentlessly work to get what you want. Hyung-nim this isn’t like you!”

Jinwoo cringed,”I don’t want to scare him away like when we first met,” Jinho looked saddened at this and Jinwoo didn’t like that look one bit,”He was assigned to monitor me so I will be going back to Japan for today with him, we will be back later on in the evening.”

“Have fun Hyung-nim, tell Dokja-ssi I said hi!” Jinho enthusiastically waved after Jinwoo who extended an arm back on his way out.

Now it was time to go back and pick him up.

---

Dokja nearly broke out laughing when he saw the horrible bags under Jinchul’s eyes, the Head seemed to be trying to keep his image and set an example for the other agents too. And yet Jinchul looked likely to fall from his ramrod straight posture and slump against his desk. Luckily Dokja didn’t work much to uphold his dignity in the office much like the lady who was glued to her phone who was frantically glancing at Dokja and the phone, fingers flying across a digital keyboard.

“Hey Woo Jinchul-ssi, it isn’t professional to be hungover at work~.” Dokja teased, rolling his swivel chair from his desk to the front of Jinchul’s.

“I thought you said you didn’t like to drink..” Jinchul grumbled squinting at Dokja’s relatively clean appearance.

“I don’t,” Dokja agreed breezily,”But Jinwoo-ah gave me a helping hand.”

“Of course he did, why wouldn’t he?” Jinchul grouched and that grabbed Dokja’s attention.

Dokja squinted at Jinchul,”What do you mean ‘of course’?”

Jinchul most certainly got whiplash when he snapped his head up to look directly at Dokja’s imploring gaze, he groaned and held his head in his hands at the movement.

“Kim Dokja… Don’t tell me you think he’s like that with everyone.? He isn’t one who goes out of his way much for others, besides those close to him..”

“I’ve seen him go out of his way to help Japan.”

“Well you know why he did that, weren’t you there when he requested?” Jinchul stated,”I bet you already figured why he wished to go over there anyways before that, in fact he’s already making good on that compensation.”

Ah, Jinwoo wanted to monopolize the Gates over in Japan, Dokja nearly forgot about that, however…

“The time he’s supposedly been spending in South Korea, is in Japan? Where are the Dungeon Raid documents??”

“Back in Japan, it’s only fitting he is doing that work on their land. The files are at the Japanese Hunter Association.”

Huh, so that’s why even while he was flushing out all those foreign business affairs he didn’t get even more to build the pile back. Jinwoo has been going to Japan for the past couple of days and Dokja had no clue. And he was supposed to be keeping an eye on him for numerous reasons, it was his job at the moment, and what if Jinwoo got himself injured in an especially nightmarish Dungeon?? Dokja couldn’t afford to fail this Hidden Scenario or else it will take a miracle to get back to his own worldline-

“We didn’t tell you because you were already swamped with those other papers.” Jinchul assured, ah Dokja must’ve shown his hyperventilation.

“We?”

“Go Gunhee-ssi and I.”

Dokja hummed.

That next moment the door to the office opened and caught everyone’s attention, everyone pausing what they were doing. One could hear a pin drop at the new arrival, and then yet another round of not so subtle whispering, like when Dokja first joined, ensued.

Jinwoo had arrived.

“Ready to go Hyung?”

---

Notes:

Wasn't sure if this was correctly in my idea of the characters at the beginning, I was skeptical about keeping Dokja bwating Jinwok with a pillow in but I was like "to hecc with it, i'm tired and it's funny"😂

tHx FoR rEaDiNg💕💕

Chapter 29: Chapter 29

Notes:

Am i still working on that promised drawing of my fic?

... Yes... SORRY IM SORRY I BEEN PROCASTINATING (well not really i took on another fic and also got school 😑) I promise I will eventually get it out IM kinda get swamped at the moment irl...

This is completely off topic but- one of my parents said that they changed out the bait in the mousetraps we have around and my mind instantly jumped to: Dokja... U better watch out-🤣🤣🤣 THIS IS HOW INFECTED MY MIND IS WITH HIM GOSH IM LIKE YJH AND SJW *WHEEZE*

“Ready to go Hyung?”

Jinwoo stopped talking when he saw that the office cubicle with Dokja’s name plaque vacant, where is Dokja? He recalled the Monarchs and he felt terror seep into his bones.

‘Oh my king, Iron would have notified you like last time if anything of the sort happened.’ Beru said across their link.

Right, Beru was right, Iron was somewhat dopey but he was a professional Tank-class Hunter. He could guard efficiently. Suddenly a chair whirled around in front of the shocked Jinchul’s desk and surprise surprise there was Dokja. Looking as comfortable as ever in the seat.

“Hello Jinwoo-ah, going back to Japan I assume? Why didn’t you tell me this morning??”

“It slipped my mind when I dropped you off.”

The workplace managed to reel in their gossip momentarily but Jinwoo could see and hear the whispers already. They were creating a scene.

“Let’s speak elsewhere.” Jinwoo suggested and Dokja leapt out of his chair and nodded a farewell to Jinchul before following Jinwoo out.

Chaos promptly ensued in the office much to the chagrin of a sad hungover Jinchul.

---

“So did you leave a Shadow or something back in Japan to travel faster?” Dokja queried.

Jinwoo gave a shocked look at Dokja,”You know that I have that ability?”

“Well, didn’t you use it back when I was being examined for my Hunter’s license?” Dokja looked back,”After that I just guessed on what it was that allowed you to do that.”

Jinwoo hummed,”I did do that, didn't I.. Yes, that’s what I’ve been using to go across from here and Japan each day of this week.”

Eventually they came to a stop on the rooftop of the Korean Hunter Association building, the winds blowing fiercely across the high ground. As Dokja eyed the cityscape, Jinwoo made a nonsensical request.

“Come close to me and we will be on our way.”

He said it so blatantly it was almost jarring and Dokja’s eyes darted over towards him. Jinwoo’s expression was unreadable and Dokja was befuddled. He almost wanted to believe Jinwoo’s thoughts back in the Hot Spring were real and he did have a deep interest in Dokja..

But alas, Jinwoo had Jinho, and it wasn’t like he could ask to be sure. It wasn’t his place, they were companions purely for business reasons. Dokja so that he could clear this Scenario so that he could gain more of a punch in the coming Final Scenario and Outer God Kings. And Jinwoo so that he could save his worldline from the approaching apocalypse. Nothing more no matter what Dokja wished for at his weakest moments on this short journey.

He was fine with that.

Dokja huffed and scooted closer to Jinwoo who hooked an arm around him. He flashed back to last night to another previously forgotten moment.

{ He felt an arm weave around him, pushing him closer into the cozy warmth of the muscular body concealed by its comforting clothing. Dokja dazedly decided that this was his home now as he snuggled closer with a tiny purr that he would never admit to. }

Dokja promptly flushed in mortification at his delirious thoughts from last night. He didn’t have the time to remove himself from Jinwoo in embarrassment as Jinwoo’s shadow engulfed them from the ground. It was slightly chilly and he had the feeling of being lost inside the shadow, the presence of Jinwoo the only thing grounding him in the pitch darkness. And soon enough the shadow regathered itself at Jinwoo’s feet and they were both on the now familiar landscape of Japan. They separated and recollected their wits for a couple of moments before looking at each other.

“Well let’s get down to business.” Dokja said.

“Right.”

Dokja figured that he would have to break it to Jinwoo soon enough that it wasn't his Eomma who killed his Abeoji, but himself. The alcohol must’ve scrambled his memory as well, and he wasn't exactly comfortable to share such a touchy story with people.

What would he think once he found out that he had just held a cold-blooded murderer so endearingly.? Dokja wondered.

---

It went as smoothly as expected when clearing all the Dungeons that had manifested in Japan since yesterday.

So, remarkably easy.

Jinwoo only had to reprimand the Ant Shadows, that Beru couldn’t get to, that kept trying to eat the carcasses of the slain Monsters. Other than that he didn’t need to move a finger.

However he couldn’t quite brush off the fact that Dokja’s mind was elsewhere. Don’t get him wrong, Jinwoo knew that Dokja spent a lot of time in that wonderful little head of his. But whatever was infecting his thoughts seemed to be especially unpleasant. Even his calm mask that he wore all the time was chipping away at whatever it was. Jinwoo couldn’t help but notice the deep sadness that showed in his eyes, or his stalling movements.

Jinwoo finally decided he had enough of this mopey Dokja, choosing that he was going to find out what it was no matter what. So he stopped abruptly and Dokja bumped into him from behind. Dokja had a befuddled expression at the sudden halt.

Jinwoo ordered his Shadows that had also paused,’Continue on going on ahead, we will catch up.’

The Shadows sent him encouragement through the links, Beru speaking for them all.

‘Oh my king, good luck.’

They continued the bloodbath deeper into the Dungeon, and Dokja’s eyes darted from Jinwoo and them unrepentantly.

“Hyung, what is the issue?”

Dokja looked stupefied,”Excuse me?”

“Something is on your mind, what is troubling you.” Jinwoo stated slowly as if he was talking to a toddler, Dokja’s expression became annoyed at the tone.

“Everything is just peachy Jinwoo-ah, we better catch up.” Dokja tried to move around him but Jinwoo stopped him with an arm.

Jinwoo’s eyes glinted,”Why won’t you tell me what is wrong? It is obvious, you aren’t thinking about the present right now..” Jinwoo became unsure but steeled him to continue,”Does it have to do with you Eom-?”

“No.” Dokja interrupted and tilted his head so that his bang’s shadows blocked his face.

“Then what is it?”

“I must’ve forgotten about the true events last night, I was quite drunk you know?” Dokja sighed,”It isn’t my Eomma who killed my Abeoji.”

“Who did?” Jinwoo’s mind was blank as he queried.

“... Me.”

---

He did it, Dokja told Jinwoo the hard truth. He already felt calm because of the [Fourth Wall] and getting it off his shoulders. Now he was ready for any reaction, be it disgust and repulsion, or anger for being deceived. Dokja was ready to take up his role in the Scenario from the sidelines without Jinwoo noticing if need be. He felt a wry smile spread on his lips at the plans.

However he received none of those reactions.. No he numbingly realized that he was being tugged into a warm hug. Dokja rapidly regained his senses as the feeling broke past the dissociating filming of the [Fourth Wall] and his thoughts. Much like last night, he felt like he belonged in the embrace which was, not going to lie, scary. He hasn’t really felt this way with people outside of his company, using almost everyone else he knew as tools had felt somewhat strange at first. Although he assimilated to that over time, and now it was as easy as breathing to him to hoodwink the masses in the Star Stream.

But it made a fuzzy feeling in his chest burst and release itself across his body, he felt content, and Dokja still couldn’t help but think that he didn’t deserve this from Jinwoo. He didn’t deserve this compassion from the other, not in the slightest. Dokja bit his bottom lip hard, only his high stats in Physique stopping it from breaking and bleeding. Two blue panels manifested before Dokja's eyes.

[The 'Fourth Wall' is shaking violently!]

['Fr-]

Jinwoo caught his attention before he could read the other panel,“Hyung, from what you said he terrorized you-”

“And that makes it ok?” Dokja’s voice shook slightly as he interrupted the other, but he continued,”Does someone being a horrible person mean that they deserve to die??”

There was a silence that made the hug turn cold and Dokja’s emotions died a little.

“Maybe not in the face of the law.” Jinwoo admitted,”But you haven’t even told me what he did specifically while he was drunk. But I already know that it is unforgivable. Besides it was during the apocalypse ri-?”

“It was before the apocalypse, I was a child!” Dokja feebly tried to get out of the embrace. Albeit his attempts were half-hearted at best so Jinwoo kept him close in a hug growing tighter by each wriggle.

Jinwoo calmly stated,“So you didn’t know any better.”

“You should be able to tell that I was a mature child because of those issues,” Dokja gritted out,“My Eomma paid the price for me even!”

“Hyung, are you even going to let me accept you for what you are? Or are you going to keep on dancing around the truth?” Jinwoo growled and Dokja stilled.

[The excessive immersion has caused the 'Fourth Wall' to shake!]

“A person like you shouldn't still love a cold-blooded killer like me, I’ve killed hundreds of other people in the apocalypse as well! And the pile will just keep growi-”

Dokja hadn’t meant to let the ‘love’ bit slip, he scolded himself internally, he doesn’t see me in that way but Jinho!! Stupid mind.. Jinwoo seemed to brush past that part to continue their argument, despite him basically confessing to reading his thoughts back in that happy moment back in the Hot Springs.

“And I bet they also tried to kill you Hyung, you’re not being fair with yourself.” Jinwoo separated them and shook Dokja,”Where did all this remorse come from? This isn’t very like you.”

Only then did Dokja take notice of the Star Stream windows that had been just over Jinwoo’s shoulder this whole time. However he couldn’t really see it because his vision was tellingly blurry. Dokja furiously wiped away the wetness that had gathered around the long lashes that frame his eyes. And then squinted at it without replying to the now confused Jinwoo.

['Fruit of Good and Evil' is stimulating your guilty conscience!]

['Fruit of Good and Evil' is dragging out your dark emotions to the fore!]

['The Fourth Wall' is shaking violently!]

Dokja sighed shakily, of course he can only feel guilty for his sins only if something riles it up. His forehead thudded against Jinwoo’s firm chest, overcome with even stress. Jinwoo’s large palm came up and cradled the back of Dokja’s head softly, setting his own chin on the top of Dokja’s hair. Eventually the [Fourth Wall] had recollected itself despite the duress of the ‘Fruit of God and Evil’.

[The Exclusive Skill 'Fourth Wall' has offset your emotional trauma!]

“Sorry-I’m sorry-” Dokja frantically began spewing out a string of apologies in a small and cracked voice.

“Don’t be.. Let’s just sit down for a moment.”

They went over and sat down on a little rock that was just the perfect size for them to sit down. Jinwoo took his spot on the stone and pulled Dokja onto his lap sideways. Dokja’s shoulder bumping against his. A pacifying silence hung in the air, the ruffled nerves of the two calming down gradually.

Dokja’s long legs extend out stiffly in the air off the side of Jinwoo’s thighs, not bending over the side to the ground due to the stubborn tension in Dokja’s rigid form. The fruit and the [Fourth Wall] at war with each other in his head, both ready to start throwing hands if either acted out again.

“Hyung.” Jinwoo grabbed Dokja’s attention.

“You need to forgive yourself, I doubt anyone even missed that foul man who you consider your Abeoji.” Jinwoo said firmly.

Dokja scoffed,”Maybe not me or my Eomma, but my relatives who took me in after she was taken away did. They spat venom about her and I everyday, in every chance they had.”

“The public also didn’t try to keep their nose away from where it didn’t belong.. And then she wrote a book to try and help me out from her harsh cold cell. But it did the opposite and the media sharks grew all the more eager for the child’s side of the story. And I didn’t have a good reputation back in school, the bullies beat me down every day because I was the ‘son of a murderer’ how would they feel if they found out I was the actual killer?”

“You don’t need to continue.” Jinwoo said softly.

“I know I know.. But I’m about to get to the good part.” Dokja said with a smile appearing on his face,”I was in the hospital for a while because of a.. an accident, and I came across what became my reason to live.”

Jinwoo hummed imploringly.

“A web novel became my reason, ‘Ways of Survival’, it was such a masterpiece that I lived on each day through every dreary time to see the next chapter. I’d say it was seriously underrated, while everyone else beat it down because it hung on details too much and grew repetitive. Heck, it was a journey of three thousand chapters!!”

“Three… thousand..?” Jinwoo breathed in shock.

“Three thousand!” Dokja affirmed cheerfully,”The characters and their development were spot on, although the main protagonist was a regressing sunfish who died far too often-”

“Sounds like you.”

“Hey!! I only died once while here!!”

“... First off, not many people say that ‘they’ve only died once’,”Jinwoo’s voice became grave,“.. And are you implying that you’ve died more back in the apocalypse.?”

Dokja gulped thickly,”..... I’ve died seven times in my own world…?”

Jinwoo moved away from him to give Dokja a dark brooding look. His stormy grey eyes giving a meaningful look at the reader.

“But I’m still alive.?”

Jinwoo deadpanned and Dokja cringed.

“Did you have people with you in the apocalypse?”

---

Dokja went stock still on Jinwoo, making him wonder about what he said.

“I do, though we aren’t on the best of terms at the moment.” Dokja said lightly.

Is it because of the murder? Trepidation flowed thick through Jinwoo’s veins, because if that was enough to lose their connection he will-

“H-hey!! You’re going to knock me flat on the floor if you stand up!!” Dokja squealed as he felt Jinwoo’s legs’ muscles flex underneath him,”It’s because I came over here while we were in a tough spot.”

Jinwoo decided he would open that can of worms later, instead focusing on the people Dokja associated with. After all he was incredibly curious about these other companions.

“Who are these companions of yours? What are they like?”

Dokja hummed,”Well first there is Yoo Sangah.. She seems level headed and sweet but don’t let that deceive you, she is a force to be reckoned with. You don’t want to get on her bad side,” Dokja added,”But she is really protective of us all, she’s also good at understanding foreign languages."

“Before the apocalypse we actually worked in the same company ‘Mino Soft’, in fact we took the interview together. But she managed to get a full time position there because she got a deal with a foreign buyer, while I was just about to be let off the job..”

“Oh, and she’s died once, but don’t worry she’s fine now.”

Jinwoo choked, what is up with Dokja and his companions dying??

“There is the man that fits the role of ‘gentle giant’ to a tee, Lee Hyunsung,” Dokja continued,”He’s the shield that protects us all valiantly.. He’s extremely polite to anyone and is really loyal to his loved ones. Oh and he used to be an army lieutenant before everything went down, and subsequently he has a habit of associating all sorts of things with military metaphors.. I think he even sometimes refers to me as an ‘empty cartridge’.”

“He has also died once, but is also fine now.”

Jinwoo stared at Dokja, but the reader seemed to misunderstand his questioning look as he continued on.

“There is also Lee Gilyoung, he’s only thirteen! You should meet him, he would adore Beru and the Shadow ants so much!” Dokja began gushing about this kid like he was his parent, is he his parent??”Anything bugs related immediately grabs his attention! His relatives were horrible to him and he had to be taken in by them before the apocalypse due to family issues..”

Ah, so Dokja wasn’t related by blood with him but adopted him.? And Dokja didn’t say anything about the kid dying so Jinwoo internally sighed in relief.

“You can’t forget my precious Incarnation Shin Yoosung though~” Dokja began gushing again, but Jinwoo had a burning question.

“What’s an Incarnation?”

Dokja hummed thoughtfully as he looked at Jinwoo consideringly,”I suppose I can tell you about the Star Stream.. That is if you tell me about this System of yours.”

Star Stream?? Jinwoo contemplated this, but he figured that they had some time to get to know each other. It would be a good idea to share stuff about themselves. He sent a message to his Shadows.

‘Take your time in clearing the Dungeon.’

‘Certainly my liege..’ Beru acquiesced immediately.

With this said and done, he shared everything he knew about the System, and Dokja seemed to suck it all up like a sponge in his head. Once he was done Dokja nodded thoughtfully.

“So that uncouth Angel Statue from back in the temple is the creator of this System? And it was made to make a vessel for the previous Shadow Monarch to successfully incarnate on earth? That vessel being you.. But where is the previous Shadow Monarch now? Is he-”

“I don’t know how to answer that, but it might have to do with this..”

Jinwoo set a hand above the right side of his chest, the black heart giving a solitary beat. Dokja eyed his hand curiously.

“... You do know that the heart is on the left side of your chest.. Right?”

Jinwoo sighed aggrievedly,”Yes Hyung I know, I have two hearts in my body.”

Dokja’s rapidly growing shock was washed away by an artificial calm and Jinwoo couldn’t help but snort.

---

Notes:

I honestly didn't expect for them to get in that small lover's quarrel- 😅

They're beginning to open up finally about their backgrounds!!! YAYYYY 🎉🎉🎊🎉

Anywho tHx FoR rEaDiNg 💕💕

Chapter 30: Chapter 30

Notes:

Sorry for this being so late 😖 and it isn't even as long as last update-

I started another fic but I moved it to drafts because I think I jumped into it too soon. I will repost it once it's more fleshed out and I can wrangle the characters to act in actual character- 🤣

Dokja swatted at Jinwoo’s bicep in annoyance at his small snort.

“Well if no one usually admits to only dying once, then no one usually admits to having two hearts.” Dokja grumbled.

Jinwoo hummed amusedly,”I know Hyung, we’re both not normal.”

Dokja nodded before continuing,”I’ll tell you about my companions after I tell you more about my world.”

And with this said, Dokja told Jinwoo all about the Star Stream. He could practically feel the bitter emotions Jinwoo withheld when he told him about the Constellations that watched and laughed at the Incarnations’ struggles. The Nebulae, Probability, Stories, Attributes, Stigmas, Sponsorships, Scenarios, and so on.

“Stories.?” Jinwoo queried quizzically.

“It was an ability I used to scare Legia back when we interrogated him, they can make my status have more pressure,” Dokja elaborated,”You might have not been able to read it because I told you to cover your ears, but you didn’t read it?”

“I’ve also used it a couple other times to say help me in our ping-pong game, back in the plane, and while we killed those Giants” Dokja added,”And they helped me exert more pressure on Legia, that is why he was so scared.”

“I must have been too focused on Legia to pay attention, could you show me?” Jinwoo questioned, but he sounded nervous.

“I won’t use any Giant Stories or anything too hard to read.” Dokja assured as he stood up.

[Story ‘Father of a Dokkaebi’ wishes to be told!]

‘Wait no, not that one-’

[Story ‘Father of a Dokkaebi’ has begun singing its tale!]

---

Jinwoo stared at Dokja as he began to catch the words of a story oozing out of him through his clothes.

It… Was an odd experience, but he found that he enjoyed it. It was as if Dokja was telling it to him but he wasn’t speaking. And he doubted that Dokja could have described it the way this ability was able to, making him perfectly visualize the tale. It was as if the story was projecting its contents directly into his eyes.

Not to mention that the story itself was very sweet and sad at the same time.

The Story took place in a cozy room. Dokja was sitting on a bed with an egg gently cradled in his arms. Jinwoo could see bits and pieces of his body falling off by the minute, but every few seconds it would slow down its destruction for a beat.

“How did you obtain it? I’ve never heard of this from the Wenny people.”

“That…”

Jinwoo stared at Dokja curiously, he wondered also how he had gotten the egg as well and what it was.

Suddenly one of the men took this moment to speak up, their eyes darting between Dokja and the egg with a weird glint in his eyes.. Was that empathy and understanding.?

“It must’ve been hard, childbirth is a painful thing.”

Dokja looked speechless and Jinwoo couldn’t help but think.

‘Wait… Is he..?’

And Jinwoo joined in on the other man’s epiphany, did Dokja give birth to an egg?? Is he a dad?? Who got Dokja pregnant?!?!?? The floodgates of Jinwoo’s mind opened up to hundreds of questions, what the hell was going on in this Story?!

Dokja was giving the man a startled look,”... I think you are misunderstanding something, Han Myungoh. I didn’t give birth to it.”

“I understand.” Myungoh replied solemnly.

Before Dokja could defend himself again the egg shuddered even more violently and another few cracks formed. It seems it was going to hatch now and everyone watched as the creature broke out of its shell. Dokja had a fond and relieved look in his eyes and Jinwoo decided there was no way that this wasn’t his child. Said child had a back of fluffy white, it almost looked like a tiny cloud. It turned around in the egg and Jinwoo could see an adorable face on the fur along with a small singular golden horn above its eyes.

And then it promptly began wailing, its face scrunching up. Thankfully the crying eventually subsided as it looked up at Dokja’s face that for some reason looked slightly guilty.

[The baby Dokkaebi is looking at you!]

[The baby Dokkaebi recognizes you as a parent!]

This was the moment the Story cut off its projection in Jinwoo’s eyes and he rejoined Dokja back in the Dungeon.

---

“You… Hyung are you a parent..?” Jinwoo asked, his voice sounded distant as he stared at Dokja.

“Er- no-”

[Story ‘Father of a Dokkaebi’ is pleased with its performance!]

[Story ‘Father of a Dokkaebi’ is going back to sleep!]

They stared at each other, and Dokja elaborated.

“Biyoo isn’t my child, I had a Dokkaebi I know inject her soul inside a Dokkaebi egg to save her.”

That didn’t help explain at all, Jinwoo thought.

Jinwoo sighed, he couldn’t help but feel forlorn at this.. It all seemed as if it connected.. Dokja could grow wings like a bird, and it seemed only understandable for him to be able to be like that if-

No don’t think about that why did he have such a dirty mind for that moment?

“So that is a Story?” Jinwoo decided to ignore that last thought and continue their earlier conversation.

“Yes.”

Jinwoo hummed,”Could you tell me more about your other companions? I met Aileen and Han Myungoh in that Story just before.”

“Certainly,” Dokja seemed happy to move on,”Your Shadows will be back soon I bet-”

“Oh my king..”

Jinwoo and Dokja looked over to see the Shadow Ant stepping out from a corner, and Jinwoo already knew what Beru was going to say based on his somber look.

“Is your mate already taken my liege.?” Beru questioned nervously, twiddling his fingers in an almost nervous manner.

Jinwoo shook his head and Dokja looked confused.

“Where are the others?” Jinwoo asked.

“They didn’t see the fable.” Beru said as he gestured to the depths and the Shadow legion made themselves known. They were all holding all the resources that they had collected while traversing through the Dungeon.

Jinwoo ordered,”Good, let’s leave now.”

They bowed and moved on past him and Dokja to the entrance with the materials from the Monsters and Magic crystals in toe, and his attention turned back to Dokja.

“We can go over our backgrounds more after we leave this Dungeon, it will be sealing itself off from earth soon now that the Dungeon Boss is defeated.”

Dokja agreed and they both went to exit the Dungeon,”Are there any other Dungeons to visit while we’re here?”

“Of course.” Jinwoo smirked.

They were greeted by the Japanese Hunter Association agents outside, they must have located the two of them via their magical energy signature satellite. They offered to help transport them around and thus they began raiding all the Dungeons that had appeared in Japan that day. Easily clearing all of them, every once in a while Jinwoo or Dokja would help the Shadows out as well. But mostly they chatted about all sorts of things. Such as Dokja’s companions.

---

Jinwoo spoke up as they walked through another Dungeon,”So before I asked about your world, you said something about this Shin Yoosung?”

“Ah! My Incarnation!” Dokja replied,”She’s around the same age as Gilyoung-ah. Yoosung-ah is polite but she can still be stubborn about certain things, and she and Gilyoung-ah seem to have a rivalry of sorts as well. And I am her Sponsor.”

“Since you are her Sponsor, then are you a Constellation?”

“Yes, I am a Constellation,” Dokja answered,”But Incarnations can become Sponsors as well, they just can’t give a Stigma to their Incarnation.”

Jinwoo hummed and Dokja continued on the introductions.

“There is Lee Jihye as well who is a teenage girl,” Dokja stated,”She is quite lively and expressive in her thoughts. She once said that I gave off ‘old man vibes’, and keeps calling me an Ahjussi.. Other than that she is pretty reckless and also looks up to her seniors. She also suffers from survivor's guilt because she had to kill her best friend before we all met.”

Dokja grinned naughtily as he thought of the next individual,”Then you can’t forget about the Black Flame Empress herself, Han Sooyoung. We may have disagreements from time to time, but she’s probably the person who understands me the most out of anyone.. She is pretty witty and her sarcasm really bites at some times.”

“There is Jung Heewon who is the sword of our -”

Jinwoo arched a brow,”?”

“That is the name of our Nebula,” Dokja stated before continuing,”Anyways I don’t think she is very fond of me because of my.. Plans..”

Jinwoo seemed to understand this,”Your self-sacrificial plans.?”

Dokja looked at him before replying,”Yes.”

Jinwoo hummed as he glanced at Dokja, understanding in his eyes. Dokja found that he didn’t like that expression in Jinwoo’s eyes so he continued.

“Heewon-ssi can be fiercely loyal and also bluntly humorous as well, and is very devoted to her personal sense of justice.”

“We have Jang Hayoung in our little Nebula as well, everyone claims that she is a he, but I'm unsure,” Dokja didn’t want to argue over gender thank you very much,”He is a returnee and he admired my modifier ‘Demon King of Salvation’ but not me. He just recently joined the Company too, and doesn’t seem to dissociate me from myself anymore. I had initially met him in the Demon World along with Aileen who also helps our Company’s doctor Lee Seolhwa in the medical department.”

“Wait Hyung.” Jinwoo spoke up,”Is Jang Hayoung the wavy haired blonde.?”

“... Yes.”

Jinwoo deadpanned,”Jang Hayoung is a he I thought? I saw him in your Story-”

“Not you too…” Dokja breathed out in dismay.

“Mhm,” Jinwoo replied,”Jang Hayoung is a man, why do you think otherwise?”

Dokja squinted at him and sighed before leaving that topic be,”I have one more person to give you the rundown over.”

“Then last but not least we have the sunfish himself, Yoo Jonghyuk,” Dokja couldn’t help but grumble the first part,”He is an annoying man I tell you- but it is because of him that I am still alive today for many reasons..”

Jinwoo expressed his curiosity,”What do you mean it is because of him that you are alive for many reasons? Did he save you in the apocalypse?”

Dokja wondered if he should tell Jinwoo about ‘Ways of Survival’ for a while, stopping in his stride through the Dungeon to eye Jinwoo. Jinwoo stopped as well and looked back at him.

He supposed it wouldn’t hurt too much…

“In my childhood.. Back when I was living with my aunt, uncle, and my cousins, and the bullies showed no sign of stopping.. I attempted to kill myself..” Dokja slowly admitted, the [Fourth Wall] helping him greatly in speaking about this topic.

“However when I spent my time in the urgent care unit, I came across ‘Ways of Survival’, Yoo Jonghyuk is the main character of that novel.”

Jinwoo looked shocked at this,”Are you saying..”

“Yes, I haven’t been able to find the author yet, but my world merged with that novel, and the apocalypse began.”

Jinwoo formed a gobsmacked expression and Dokja chuckled before resuming.

“Anyways, that sunfish bastard always mixes up my plans for the Scenarios, not to mention he died 1,863 times in the original novel, but thanks to me he’s on his third regression like at the start of the novel. Ah, I guess I didn’t tell you but he is a regressor, when he dies or is near death he uses a Stigma to hop to another worldline to the beginning of the apocalypse to restart.”

Jinwoo interrupted,”What is up with you all and dying??”

Dokja laughed but didn’t answer his remark, instead choosing to continue.

“Yoo Jonghyuk is a cold bastard as well, he can be so mean at times.. And his signature response to anything I say is ‘I’ll kill you Kim Dokja’ or ‘You fool’ in all his brooding glory. But he is an excellent cook, I'll tell you that!”

Suddenly Jinwoo offered,”I can cook for you Hyung.”

Dokja wasn’t entirely sure why, but that proposal sounded a little intimate.

‘Don’t kid yourself! He’s just volunteering as a friend!! Those thoughts were for Jinho not me!’

[K i m Do kja t ho ugh t: It w ou l d ha ve b e en n ic e th o ug h.]

Dokja grumbled under his breath but eventually accepted the [Fourth Wall]’s verdict. But he hadn’t come here to get into some relationship that would only last no more than six months. Dokja may not know much about couples, but he knew that that was far too short to make a comfortable relationship. Him reading novels unrepentantly paid off it seemed.

“I would like that Jinwoo-ah!” Dokja responded.

As they had had this conversation, Tusk had just dealt the finishing blow in the form of a fireball to the Dungeon Boss. The Boss, reminiscent of a Cockatrice, toppling over lifelessly like a house of cards. Dokja heard Jinwo grouching beside him and he felt amusement at the annoyance in Jinwoo’s deep tone.

“I wanted to deal with that Boss, Tusk.” Jinwoo grumbled.

Tusk frantically bowed over and over again, then pointed over to Beru. Jinwoo and Dokja looking over to the Shadow Ant Commander inquisitively.

“Oh my king… You were busy socializing with your-”

“Hyung.” Jinwoo hastily intervened.

“... Hyung,” It looked as if Beru just saying that was painful to say, Dokja wondered what Beru would have called him if not interrupted,”You were occupied with conversing with your.. Hyung.. So I figured you would like to rather not be pestered. The others agreed with me as well, my liege.”

“I’ll let it slide this time.” Jinwoo sighed,”Let’s go.”

After this they hopped to numerous more Dungeons until it was late in the evening and nightfall was approaching. With all the Dungeons in Japan cleared, the two Hunters used ‘Shadow Exchange’ to go back to Seoul. They arrived at their apartment and before Dokja left for his own next door home, Jinwoo stopped him with another proposition.

Jinwoo proffered,“Would you like to have dinner with us Hyung?”

---

Notes:

Also found some hilarious solo levelimg fanart it isn't mine!! Just wanted to share some giggles about it- 🤣🤣 https://www.reddit.com/r/sololeveling/comments/g4gw9x/imagine_if_jinwoo_decided_to_just_dress_like_wack/ (can i just say that i love this artist's style? It's like drawing goals for me-)

Anywho tHx FoR rEaDiNg 💕💕

Chapter 31: Notice

Hey folks! I will be needing to take a break from updating this for a while 😖 life is getting busy and the chapters have been taking a lot longer to get done and I need that time to do other things at the moment 😅

I don't know when I will be back, but i'll try and come back as soon as possible!

I hope you understand, thanks if you do!!! 💕💕

Chapter 32: Chapter 31

Notes:

AHHH IM BACC 😁😁

thank u everyone for being so patient I honestly didnt mean to be gone for so long but the break helped greatly👌

I hope u all enjoy the chap!!

Jinwoo unlocked his apartment in the apartment complex, letting them both in.

“I’m home,” Jinwoo announced after he and Dokja stepped inside.

Park Kyunghye came to greet them, before getting surprised by the other arrival.

“Welcome back Jinwoo-yah,” Kyunghye smiled warmly and then looked to Dokja,”And who is this that you brought along with you?”

“Ah, I’m Dokja, Kim Dokja, thank you for having me.”

Kyunghye hummed thoughtfully as she looked at Dokja before conspiratorially looking at Jinwoo. Jinwoo rose a brow at her and her smile grew brighter.

“Well come on in! I’m still making dinner, it’s Japchae tonight.”

She went back to the kitchen and Jinwoo led Dokja into the living room, he saw Dokja looking curiously at one particular door down the hallway. Jinwoo figured that Dokja had sensed possibly the Shadows he had left with Jinah, or Jinah herself in her bedroom. They passed by the new looking TV that showed the news, the reporters showing the results of some sort of poll that was taken from their viewers about Hunters. He didn’t care much to watch it so he ignored it as per usual when he sat down on the couch, Dokja gingerly taking his seat in the chair to the side.

“Who is in that room?” Dokja questioned.

“My little sister.”

Dokja hummed,”What is it like to have a sibling?”

Jinwoo thought for a moment about his sister before replying.

“It can be a little bothersome, but I care a lot about her and my Eomma. Sadly I haven’t been able to spend much time with her recently due to some.. Issues.”

Jinwoo noticed Dokja’s grim expression. He supposed that since Dokja shared about his companions, Jinwoo could tell him about his family.

“You must already know that my Abeoji has gotten stranded in a Dungeon when I was fourteen, while my Eomma was plagued by the ‘Eternal Sleep’ up until recently. I had to take care of Jinah-yah while our parents weren’t around, and hunting is an easy way to get paid,” Jinwoo explained,”So I became a Hunter to pay for our necessities, however I was the weakest Hunter back then. Just barely surviving in even the easiest Dungeons.”

“I’ve nearly died from starvation in a Dungeon, and I used to barely be able to kill even a Goblin but I was still able to scrounge up enough money for my sister and I,” Jinwoo continued,”One day however a raid party and I were going to clear a D-rank Dungeon, but it was a Double Dungeon. The second Dungeon inside the D-rank one was the Cartenon Temple.”

“And it was there that I was adopted by the System and continuously became stronger up until today, but I had many near death experiences along the way.”

Dokja hummed in thought before speaking,”So this was like one of those novels about an underdog becoming the strongest huh?”

“... What.?”

Dokja waved his hand as if to fan away his thoughts,”Don’t mind me, I’m just a reader after all.”

Jinwoo stared at Dokja and the reader averted his face away from Jinwoo. The young Shadow Monarch chuckled at Dokja’s expense, before he thought back to what Jinah had become after the school incident.

“.. Unfortunately my sister isn’t quite the same anymore.. Nearly her whole school was slaughtered by some Orcs that broke out of a Dungeon in the school. And they had killed a large sum of her classmates before I arrived to save her. She hasn’t been quite the same after that..”

They were quiet for a long while, the only sound in the room being the sizzling of the Japchae being cooked in the kitchen. And then Jinwoo had an idea light up in his head.

“How about we go say hello to my sister?”

Dokja gave him a baffled look,”But-”

“You two might get along with each other.” Jinwoo interrupted.

They gazed at each other for a long time, the Japchae’s crackling killing the tension that could have been between them. Dokja deflated in acceptance and Jinwoo felt oddly pleased.

“Fine, but I doubt seeing a stranger will help her out at all.”

“But at least she can get to know another one of my friends, our protectiveness goes both ways in this family, Hyung” Jinwoo stated as he got up.

Soon enough they were standing awkwardly outside Jinah’s bedroom door in the hallway. Jinwoo had knocked a couple times but she hadn’t answered once. Dokja crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, sending Jinwoo a look that screamed his message of ‘I told you so’. Jinwoo gave him a flat look and told him.

“Call out to her.”

“What is a stranger calling out to her going to do??” Dokja scrutinized him like he was some sort of dingbat.

Jinwoo sighed grievously before knocking again on her door,”Jinah-yah? Could you let us in?”

A huff just past the door that sounded very similar to Jinwoo’s sounded before the door creaked open. She looked just as terrible as last time. Prominent bags were under her eyes, her hair flowed messily down to her shoulders, and she was still slumped slightly. And he also knew that she must still be angered with him for going to Japan, despite him easily clearing the Giants, besides Legia.

“Oppa can’t you see-”

Her eyes shot towards Dokja who had hastily cleared his haughty attitude to stare at Jinwoo’s sister. Jinah stared right back.

Jinah pointed at Dokja as she spoke,”.. Is that who I think he is.?”

“Yes, he’s the Angelic Tengu,” Jinwoo ignored Dokja’s indignant little kick to his ankle.

“Oppa... Why is he here?” Jinah questioned as she peeked out of the door a little further to fully see the other.

Dokja answered,“I am a companion of his.”

“Are you two hunting buddies like the news says all the time?”

“Jinah-yah could you please let us into your room or do we have to talk out in the hallway?” Jinwoo questioned before tacking on,”Maybe you two might get along.”

At this Jinah stared intensely at Dokja and Dokja mirrored the look, albeit with less fierceness. She eventually relented and opened the door a little wider before retreating back into her room. Just as Jinwoo was walking inside the dark room Dokja graded his arm gently. Jinwoo looked back to see the meek look on Dokja’s face as he looked further into the abyss of Jinah’s room.

“Jinwoo-ah… Are you sure that this is ok.?”

“It is fine Hyung, come on.” Jinwoo grabbed his hand and tugged him through the door.

Jinwoo’s eyes quickly assimilated to the dreary darkness that enshrouded Jinah’s room, and he saw her sitting on the edge of the bed all wrapped up in her blanket. Dokja hung behind him as he looked around the room curiously. Jinwoo sighed and seized Dokja by the arms before dragging him over and plopping him on the edge of the bed. Jinah eyed him past a little peep hole in her blanket cocoon while Dokja looked at him incredulously.

The silence that ensued was deafening, and Dokja was dishing out a highly judgemental look at Jinwoo that he felt he definitely didn’t deserve. Then again he should have known that the conversation would collapse like this. Jinah has been a shut-in for the past couple of weeks and looks terrible, while Dokja seems to not even know what to say.

“Socialize,” Jinwoo ordered blandly.

“Oppa… I heard you call this Ahjussi Hyung earli-”

“With each other, not me,”Jinwoo hastily cut in when he saw Dokja’s face wash over with fake calm at her statement, he was curious as to how Dokja managed to change expression so swiftly. He will have to ask him later.

“Hey Ahjussi,” Jinah began,”What is your relationship with my Oppa?”

The silence that followed was deafening, Dokja quietly sending Jinah a blank look.

“I already said before Jinah-ssi, I am your brother’s companion.”

Jinah gave an answering hum that showed her doubt in the reminder, did she see past Jinwoo?? Jinwoo felt a small twinge of anxiety at this reaction. He was happy that she had started talking, but not about this topic.

"Alright then," Dokja said with a tinge of haughtiness,"what do you think we are hm?"

Jinah actually snorted at this, and began rambling in a scratchy voice,"Something closer than companions that's for sure, like best friends, soulmates, boyfriends, or lovers? I've only known you for a couple minutes and-"

"Jinah…" Jinwoo spoke in a threatening tone.

However his intervention exposed him to her inevitable realization as she stared at him with a look of understanding and her eyes snapped back to Dokja appraisingly. Poor Dokja who was yet again left out of the loop didn’t understand why the burrito that was Jinah was scanning her eyes over him appraisingly. She seemed to like what she saw, as Jinah shot Jinwoo an approving look.

“You pass, but I don’t know what your personality is like, and I will not be pleased if Oppa is with some half-wit.”

Jinwoo let his displeasure be known by exhaling grievously.

“Oppa leave, I think we would like to get to know each other in peace.”

Dokja looked worriedly at Jinwoo as he turned and left the room, the door quietly clicking shut behind him.

---

Dokja wasn’t sure about what to talk about with Jinah, and she hasn’t started talking yet despite being the one who proposed this arrangement. So he just sat there on the edge of the bed, refusing to meet Jinah’s eyes. He heard a small huff that sounded suspiciously of a tiny laugh, and Dokja finally looked over to Jinah inquisitively.

“I don’t bite, you look petrified,” Jinah said,”Am I scarier than those Giants in Japan?”

Dokja scoffed,”No I-”

“Mr. Angelic Tengu is scared of the Conqueror of Enenru’s sister,”Jinah hummed amusedly,”What would the public think of one of their saviors?”

Dokja suddenly took extreme interest in the door, perhaps Jinwoo could salvage Dokja’s pride he thought. Jinah followed his gaze and Dokja didn’t see the small smile that spread across her lips at his mannerism.

“Oppa is a good person, Ahjussi, you should give him a chance,” Jinah said,”And I bet you are a good person as well.”

Dokja felt a twinge at that, if only she knew about what he did back in his own worldline. He knew that he was by no means a good person like Jinwoo, it was painfully obvious. Before he could submerge himself in his recollection, Jinah spoke up again probably sensing his discomfort.

“Hey what is up with that look.?” Jinah asked,”You do know that you saved the entirety of Japan right? It takes a good heart like Oppa’s to do that.”

‘I only went there not for the people, but to protect Jinwoo to make sure that he doesn’t die before this difficult task in the Scenario,’ Dokja thought solemnly.

“You’re having that same miserable look on your face again, Ahjussi,” Jinah chided, and she shocked him by peeping her whole head out of the blankets.

He noticed that her eyes were slightly puffy and red-rimmed, and her nose was likely rubbed raw from tissues if it’s equally red tip was anything to go by. Not to mention that her cheeks were slightly hollowed and her skin was sickly pallid. All in all she looked very gaunt. Jinah noticed what she had done habitually and quickly reinserted her head back inside the blanket cocoon.

“... Sorry that you had to see that..” Jinah apologized.

“Why are you apologizing?”

Silence greeted his question and Dokja didn’t press.

Now they were back on square one, however just as Dokja was about to try and fix their conversation, Jinah took the reins again.

“Ahjussi, I know that we’ve only just met not ten minutes ago.. But I’ve realized that you have a deep sadness about you..”

Dokja panicked and the [Fourth Wall] hastily soothed his nerves as he listened to Jinah.

“It’s very subtle, and I doubt that even Oppa noticed but you’ve likely already told him about the source of your grief..”

‘What is she a physic?’ Dokja tried to joke in his mind, and he heard the [Fourth Wall] scoff at his remark.

“.. I can’t say I understand what this pain of yours is but… I’ll have my ear open if you want to get it off of your chest again,” Jinah continued,”Maybe.. Maybe we could be friends too…”

Dokja was rightfully shocked by this statement, Jinah was willing to befriend him?

[Story ‘One who is Loved by All’ has begun singing its tale!]

‘Ah, is she being influenced by the Story?’ Dokja thought and gained a wry smile, so I have to rely on my Story for others to take interest huh?

[K i m Do kja is a n id io t.]

‘Not right now.’

[Ki m D o kja i s lo oki ng fo r ex cus es.]

Dokja expertly ignored the [Fourth Wall]’s dainty text message in favor of looking at Jinah.

“I.. Have also been through an adversity of my own recently…” Jinah elaborated,”Oppa has tried to help me through the aftermath.. But it is very difficult…”

Jinah added,”So this won’t be some one-sided pity party kind of friendship, I think I just need someone other than Oppa to help out as well.. Part of the issue has to do with him, no it wasn’t his fault. It just opened my eyes to some of the things he has been through during the Dungeon raids…”

“I…” Dokja found that he couldn’t find any words to respond to this

He supposed that maybe Jinwoo was right about this.

“I’d like that,” Dokja accepted with a smile.

He saw the blankets move up and down so Dokja guessed she had nodded.

“Also, will you help me look after Oppa.?” Jinah questioned sheepishly.

Dokja hummed affirmatively and stood up,”Do you plan on eating dinner with us?”

She flinched and shook her head,”No thanks..”

Dokja nodded and opened the door before looking back to Jinah who was still peaking at him through the peephole she made in the burrito.

“It was nice meeting you Jinah-ssi.”

Jinah sprouted only her hand from the side of the cocoon and gave a small wave, and Dokja closed the door. Jinwoo seemed to have been about to open the door to check up on them.

“How was she?” Jinwoo instantly asked and moved away to act as if he hadn’t been about to open the door.

“She is fine,” Dokja answered, and then remembered the,”.. But I think she still needs time to accept her loss…”

Jinwoo formed a pained expression at this, it seems that this matter has taken a toll on Jinwoo as well. He seemed to take his family’s conditions very seriously. It must be the habit that Jinwoo has been enacting since he was fourteen as he took on all the responsibilities as the man of the household.

The two of them went to the living room and watched the news until Kyunghye came in and asked for them to set the table. Oddly enough Kyunghye kept teasing Jinwoo about something that Dokja didn’t understand, an inside joke maybe? He asked about what it was that she was talking about and Jinwoo enunciated his chewing of the Japchae noodles. The brat, Dokja thought that they were going to tell each other things about themselves! Dokja started to regret telling Jinwoo about the Star Stream if the punk was going to withhold information!

In retaliation Dokja obnoxiously slurped on the saucey savory and sweet noodles like a petulant child despite being a guest in their house. Kyunghye chuckled at their shenanigans as Jinwoo flatly stared at Dokja, and the dinner was all too soon over.

Soon enough Jinwoo and Dokja were standing outside and about to say their farewells for the night.

---

Jinwoo watched Dokja who was bathed in the ethereal moonbeams that rained down from the sky and into the hallway. He couldn’t help but notice how the lighting made Dokja’s features look even more soft. With his small nose, his eyes that looked like they contained constellations that blazed in their deep and dark depths that were framed by incredibly long lashes. His milky white smooth skin, and his mop of thin strands of midnight black hair that fanned across his forehead delicately.

Dokja looked as good as always, and Jinwoo felt his heart clench and his mind abruptly go blank. He felt his Shadows’ anticipation, but unlike back in the Hot Springs they were all silent. It seems that they got the memo and Beru was also giving off a threatening emotion in the links towards them to keep them quiet. Jinwoo didn’t feel like he could move his body, until suddenly he did.

Jinwoo stood closer in front of Dokja who had been looking at him expectantly, and cradled his cheeks with his palms gently. Dokja looked flabbergasted but quickly relaxed in his hold, the reaction was the same thing that happens whenever Dokja seemingly got caught off guard.

However the calm expression couldn’t hide the blush that now dusted Dokja’s cheeks as he looked up to Jinwoo lips slightly parted in awe.

“Hyung,” Jinwoo started,”I have something to tell you.”

Jinwoo watched as Dokja gulped thickly and tried to move away, but Jinwoo tightened his hold on Dokja’s face. Dokja cringed and stared at him in apprehension.

“Jinwoo-ah I d-” Dokja began, but Jinwoo could already tell that whatever it was he was going to say was unnecessary. He knew that since he now heard Dokja’s past that he was unfamiliar with this kind of interest. Being the soul-crushingly lonely soul that he was. But Jinwoo had steeled himself for this, he had invited Dokja over to finish what he had meant to do back at the Hot Springs after all.

“I love you Hyung,” Jinwoo informed, putting as much heart into his words as he could which was a lot,”Will you please go out with me.?”

The blush across Dokja's cheeks darkened and his beautiful eyes quaked as he gawked at Jinwoo. Dokja's mouth was also gaping open and his lips were making small movements like a fish out of water.

Dokja seemed unsure of how to respond and Jinwoo was willing to wait all night, his Shadows also obediently kept their silence across their bonds. Dokja shakily sighed and set a hand on Jinwoo's elbow as if to help ground himself. He angled his face downard to hide his expression and Jinwoo waited for Dokja to recollect himself.

"Why.?" Dokja asked in a weak voice,"How could you like someine like me??"

"How could I not?" Jinwoo retorted,"So are you ok with my affection Hyung?"

At this Dokja paused before finally meeting his eyes again.

"I.." Dokja stopped again before continuing,"I love you too Jinwoo-ah."

They watched each other for another extended period and Jinwoo spoke up again.

"Can I kiss you Hyung?"

Dokja formed a watery smile and answered him by slotting their lips together. Jinwoo was mesmerized by how velvety soft they were and he loosely hugged Dokja's waist. Dokja's arms also rising up behind his back and fiddling the ends of his raven black hair on the back of his neck. Neither wanted this moment to end any time soon. And the only witnesses of all of this being the moon and and the starry specks above along with a few stray clouds.

---

Notes:

Kdj and sja finally meet!! 🤗 Idk y but my brain was all like "f r i e n d s h i p m a t e r i a l" 🤣

*Ecastically squealing* IT HAPPENED IT HAPPENED YA'LL tHe CoNfEsSiOn (and sorry that it wasnt all that creative I have never written a confession scene in meh life, and i am not smooth or slick in the slightest 😥)

Also mm i missed u cliffhangers where have u been?? 🤣🤣🤣, nvm i changed the ending for this ch cuz i already made u guys wait so long for this tho u might have to reload if it doesn't have whole confession scene-

Anywho thx for reading!!! 💕💕

Chapter 33: Chapter 32

Notes:

Oof sorry for posting so late 😖

Tried to wrote this and get it out as soon as possible, but I had a long day today.

I went to the beach this morning and then the car broke down and then me and my parent had to wait for an hour for my mom to get there ;_; and then it took another hour to get home. Bruh i is tired 😞

And um i wrote half of this on my phone in the car so there might be more typos on the latter half than usual qwq

Hope u enjoy!!

The night of their confession was awkward afterwards, neither were really sure on what to do after the kiss. Or at least Dokja wasn’t sure, he wasn’t sure about Jinwoo’s indecisiveness, but it was awkward nonetheless. So Dokja chose to break the tension.

“So…” Dokja began,”Does that mean we are in a relationship now?”

Jinwoo gave him a flat look, and ok maybe that was a stupid question. He heard the [Fourth Wall] snickering at him too. Dokja clenched his jaw tightly, do not rise up to the [Fourth Wall]’s bait!!

“Well we have to wake up bright and early tomorrow,”Dokja said lightly, despite the inner rage seething beneath his skin. No he won’t show that to Jinwoo,”We don’t want to miss our flight to the United States now do we? Good night Jinwoo-ah.”

“Good night Hyung.”

And with this they begrudgingly went to their separate apartments for the night.

The next morning it was a nice sunny day, sunlight peeking through Dokja’s curtains in his bedroom comfortingly waking him up. He groggily sat up in the bed, the covers crinkling as he moved. Dokja rolled his eyes over towards the clock by his bed on the little nightstand and his eyes might as well have popped out of his head.

8:00 a.m.?!??!?

The comfortable feeling of having just woken up was ripped off of him as if it was a veil, exposing him to the harshness of the waking world. And he now realized the incessant knocking on his door. Dokja stumbled out of bed, the covers catching around his feet and he gracelessly flopped onto the floor like a squid out of water. He kicked off the sheets and zoomed over to the coat rack, snatching up Unbroken Faith and applying it’s hilt to his belt as he went.

Dokja ushered on his coat across his shoulders, the familiar weight somewhat comforted him, and then swung the door open. And came face to face with a figure dressed all in black. Dokja’s mind instantly hopped to Joonghyuk, but when his eyes snapped upwards he realized it was just Jinwoo. He inwardly sighed in relief.

Why do both of them seem to like to wear black? Dokja has noticed that Jinwoo has only been wearing entirely black clothed outfits since he first met him. But now he was wearing a long pitch black coat, black shirt underneath, and equally black pants and shoes.

Dokja snorted,”You look like some sort of dark lord.”

“Hyung, I thought you said that you are accustomed to waking up early,” Jinwoo shot back.

Dokja grumbled haughtily under his breath and Jinwoo smiled in amusement. But they didn’t have much time to waste and so they went to Jinwoo’s van to start their trip to Jinho's house.

---

Jinwoo drove them both to Jinho’s place to pick him up. The brunette was super enthusiastic about going to the International Guild Conference with them, barely able to sit still in his seat. They all chatted with each other along the way just like back in Japan. Eventually they arrived at the airport, all except Jinho ignoring the mob of paparazzi being held back by the Monitoring Division.

Jinwoo felt the want to hold Dokja’s hand, wanting to have some form of contact with his companion now boyfriend. So he did exactly that, ignoring the way the clicking of cameras became even more aggressive, and Jinho gawking at him like he had just told him that cats could roller skate. But that shocked look quickly morphed into one of the most smug expressions Jinwoo has ever seen.

“Jinwoo-ah not here!!” Dokja hissed under his breath.

Jinwoo shot Dokja a pleading look and Dokja immediately fell under the pressure,”... Fine, just this once, you’re lucky that you’re my boyfriend..”

“Yes, yes I am,” Jinwoo agreed and he enjoyed Dokja’s resulting spluttering.

Jinchul and Gunhee were waiting by the terminal and Jinwoo let go of Dokja’s hand. Dokja smiled at him and went to exchange pleasantries with them. Jinho didn’t waste this opportunity and darted over towards Jinwoo.

“Hyung-nim great work!! Now in order to-”

Jinwoo interrupted,“You don’t have to worry about that anymore Yoo Jinho.”

“...... Eh?”

Jinwoo smirked at Jinho and said,”We are together now, thank you for helping me ‘woo a man’.”

His Shadows also spoke their excitement at his achievement, whoops and hoots filling the subspace of his bonds with them. Beru seemed especially proud, Jinwoo could imagine him puffing his chest in pride.

“A-ah! Don’t mention it, Hyung-nim!!” Jinho broke into tears,”I’m very happy for you two..!! I’m so proud of you. Back at the barbeque restaurant I thought you were going to quit, but-!!”

Jinwoo wasn’t sure what to say to this so he zoned out of Jinho’s rambling when he sobbed out that he was ‘being too subtle’. Jinwoo remembered having Dokja sitting on his lap in the Dungeon in Japan, was that subtle? He looked towards Dokja and saw that he was walking back over to them, a woman in toe. Jinwoo nudged Jinho who instantly stopped his tirade and it was as if he hadn’t just been pouring over the woes of a man in love not a few seconds ago.

“They said that for me to join you I must be Jinwoo-ah’s ‘bodyguard’,” Dokja said, a mirthful tone in his voice,"And this Agassi is going to be our interpreter."

"Hello Agassi," Jinho greeted, to which she bowed back, before giggling,”Bodyguard?”

“Mhm,”Dokja hummed amusedly.

And with this, they all boarded the plane and set off for the United States. Jinwoo sitting next to Dokja and holding his hand again, and even had his head resting against Jinwoo’s shoulder. Beru snuck out of Jinwoo’s shadow as he was busy with Dokja in the form of a small wisp and high fiving Jinho. The Wingmans’ duties accomplished.

After a few hours they arrived at their destination and exited the plane terminal to join a crowd of other nationally recognized Hunters and even more paparazzi.

“The saviors of Japan and their chauffeur are here!!!” Someone screeched and immediately the horde of paparazzi started swarming them but surprisingly kept a good distance even without a barricade of Hunter Association employees. They must have been specifically hired by the Hunter Bureau to be this behaved.

As he, Dokja, and Jinho traversed the airport Jinwoo realized that there was a German Hunter quivering in his boots. He looked as if he had just woken up from a nightmare as he sweat buckets and gawked at Jinwoo and Dokja. Jinwoo looked away as they passed the foreigner as they headed for the exit.

Jinwoo felt eyes boring into the side of his head and he looked over to see Dokja side eyeing him from underneath his lashes. When Dokja noticed he caught his attention he darted his eyes over to the foreign Hunter wordlessly. Ah he was wondering if he knew what garnered such a pale countenance on that stranger.

Jinwoo shrugged and just as Dokja opened his mouth, Jinho piped up cheerfully.

“Do you see someone you recognize Hyung-nim?” Jinho questioned.

“No, but a foreigner is staring at us.”

Jinho hummed curiously before saying,“Well your name is all over the news, they must be a fan who wants your autograph!"

Jinwoo doubted this, as they seemed too professional to be just some fan looking for autographs.

"KYAAAA SUNG JINWOO AND THE MINIATURE THUNDERBIRD ARE HERE!!!!" Someone screamed at the top of their lungs, so loud that it could be clearly heard above the clutter of cameras.

Instantly the furious flashes and snapping sounds of the cameras.

"Argh, it's so loud here.." Dokja huffed,"But what do I expect? Jinwoo-ah is here."

"And you too Hyung," Jinwoo added, curling a hand around Dokja's. But he didn't forget the other,"And you as well Yoo Jinho."

Jinho formed a blinding smile at this while Dokja gave him a shocked look at the sudden hand holding. But he didn't move to disconnect their hands. Jinwoo squeezed his slightly smaller hand comfortingly, and Dokja gingerly squeezed back.

The paparazzi were going ham over this interaction. Jinwoo paid no heed to how they began exclaiming all sorts of versions of "Are they a thing??!" Dokja looked not so sure, eyeing the cameras warily.

"Do you care about how they feel? I can stop," Jinwoo offered.

Dokja seemed to think about it for a moment before shaking his head and giving Jinwoo a smile,"No, it's fine."

They continued walking until Jinwoo noticed some familiar people in the crowd yonder. He poked Jinho to grab his attention and directed his chin towards the group of people he recognized.

"Over there. It looks like they are here to escort us," Jinwoo guessed.

As he had foretold Adam White, who had two amply muscled agents of the Hunter Bureau with him, smiled disarmingly as he headed over to the group. Jinwoo hesitantly let go of Dokja's hand as he expected to greet the group of American agents.

As they got closer Jinwoo realized that the two agents were the same people back on the plane the Dokja had held back for him. Jinwoo saw that when they made eye contact with him and Dokja they both suddenly took great interest in the tiles that composed the floor.

Ahaa, they must be embarrassed for thinking about stopping him despite the massive difference in power between them and him and Dokja back on the plane. But even then they still had hopeful looks on their faces like puppies. It seemed like they might want autographs if the opportunity presented itself. Jinwoo bit back a laugh at the prospect and nodded in greeting to them. Then accepted the hand that Adam had extended during the exchange.

"We were waiting for your arrivals, Sung Hunter-nim and Kim Hunter-nim." Adam said chipperly as he gave Dokja a handshake of his own.

"I seem to remember hearing that you are in charge of the Asia Branch of the Bureau. Was I wrong Mr. White?" Jinwoo inquired.

Adam answered,"Aha, I was, but now I'm exclusively responsible for the matters of you two, Kim Hunter-nim and Sung Hunter-nim."

Adam then greeted their interpreter and Into with a welcoming smile and then guided them to outside the airport.

---

"Let's get going shall we? We have cars waiting outside." Adam stated, and now that the Bureau were here, the paparazzi scooted over and out of their way. It was as if they were the sea and their group was like Moses, Dokja mused.

As Adam had said, there were two cars waiting out by the curb.

Dokja and the interpreter were being guided over towards the vehicle in the back, Dokja was about to voice his complaints about the arrangement. He didn't want to be separated from Jinwoo, thank you very much! But Jinwoo spoke up first.

"Hyung is coming with me."

Adam replied,"Er about that Sung Hunter-nim…"

At this Jinwoo eyed Adam challengingly, and he sweat dropped and wetted his lips before continuing.

"We would like to take you elsewhere, Sung Hunter-nim, before bringing you to your hotel where your group will be," Adam continued,"If you don't mind."

Jinwoo's expression sharpened into an icy glare. His irises emanating his aura's ominous pale purple, and Dokja felt the flood of mana drop the temperature. Ah he must think that this is about his father, Dokja realized. Adam seemed to notice the rapidly cooling atmosphere as he frantically waved his hands around.

"It's definitely a story that will benefit you, Sung Hunter-nim. Haven't we already clarified our thoughts about you??"

Dokja decided he should butt into this to try and help salvage the situation.

[The character 'Kim Dokja' has activated Midday Tryst!]

-Jinwoo-ah, I think we can trust them at this point.

-I believe that they genuinely do not wish to taint their relationship with you.

Jinwoo's eyes went back to their natural slate grey, and Dokja watched Adam give a small sigh of relief.

"Are the topics we will be talking about confidential?"

Adam eyed Dokja and gave an awkward smile.

"... Yes a few of them do belong to the 'top secret' category."

Jinho nodded understandingly and began making his way to the car in the back that the interpreter had already got on. Jinho nodded at Dokja and smiled as he got in, Dokja nodding back. But he hung outside, unsure about whether he should also get in or not.

"Why can't Hyung come along?" Jinwoo questioned,"If I'm allowed to come, then shouldn't he also?"

Adam bit his lip at this and fished out his phone,"I will check in with my superiors.."

A couple moments later Adam hung up on the phone and turned around to smile brightly at them.

"Kim Hunter-nim can join us if he wishes to."

And with this Dokja and Jinwoo were in the front car along with Adam, and the driver being one of the burly agents. Dokja watched as eventually Jinho and the interpreter's car eventually went out of sight. Once this happened Jinwoo filled the silence.

Jinwoo spoke up,"So, where are we going now?"

"We're heading straight for the Hunter Bureau's HQ."

The Hunter Bureau huh?

If Dokja remembered correctly the Conference was being held at a rented venue somewhere around the hotel.. If that was true then this car wasn't meant for the Conference at all right?

"Isn't it fine to tell us already?" Jinwoo asked impatiently.

At this Adam promptly hit a button in the vehicle and a pane of glass rose up and separated the front cabin of the vehicle from the back. In the thin air there was a holographic english word 'Soundproofed' that continuously flashed in and out of existence.

Huh, the technology in this world was actually pretty neat. Dokja marveled at it internally, not wanting to display his childish wonder in front of professional company. But then again he has seen the exact same display of floating panels almost everyday back in the Star Stream. It was still interesting how humanity was able to make this a reality too though.

Adam seemed to be expecting more of a reaction from them though, he began to look a little sheepish.

"This is the latest available technology, but… You aren't surprised..?"

"Well I've seen something similar to this everyday, so……" Jinwoo drifted off, and was that amusement in his eyes.

Adam deflated, but "... And you Kim Hunter-nim.?"

"Mm, same here," Dokja replied scratching the back of his head, he shared an amused look with Jinwoo when Adam began to subtly pout. The [Fourth Wall] laughed at Adam's expense in the back of his mind.

"Please hold on for a second," Adam said before knocking on the divider as if to make sure that it worked.

"In all honesty, we're currently under some serious pressure."

Dokja remembered the footage he and Jinwoo had seen on their flight back from Japan. The death of a National-Rank Hunter like Christopher Reid was no small loss after all. So Dokja couldn't imagine what the Hunter Bureau must be going through at the moment due to losing one of it's two American-citizenship carrying National-Rank Hunters.

"Christopher Reid Hunter-nim was one of the United States' pillars of strength, and now we are scrambling to fill the void that he had left behind," Adam continued,"Thanks to us not informing the public of his death things are still calm at the moment. Right now we are scouting out possible substitutes for him, and we will spare no efforts in doing so."

"Are we two of the candidates?" Dokja asked.

Adam nodded in response and Jinwoo's brows furrowed.

"I thought that part of the conversation was done for good."

"Yes of course," Adam aquisiced, but his eyes told a different story. They were still bright with hopefulness.

And then he pulled out his phone and opened a file in the gallery that had several pictures in it.

"This is a completely different offer though."

Adam tapped on the first picture that displayed…

A colossal dragon surrounded by a blazing inferno with russet red scales. The winged creature had a greyish orange scaled underbelly and charcoal dark grey horns. It's eyes glowing a pale orange.

Dokja was able to recognize what this picture was of.

It was the greatest calamity humanity has ever experienced.

Kamish.

---

Notes:

U cant tell me that Jinwoo's outfit during this arc doesn't make him look like Voldemort, HE DOES AND THEN HE HAS SHADOW DEATH POWERS KAKCNKCKEHDV

Lol had some trouble coordinating where Dokja should interact in this chap, I tried (AND IM TRASH AT FLUFF AND TRYING TO MAKE THEM ACT LIKE A COUPLE so I just made them hold hands from time to time 🤣🤣😣, maybe i should've waited some more before having them get together so i don't make a fool of myself by trying to make things soft and floofy)

Alas I shall push forward, and im kinda mad that they didn't have the scene where Jinho was going to get in the front car to leave with Jinwoo in the webtoon, what's up with that??! I liked that scene it showed more of his bond with Jinho then him just being "aH I gUeSs U sHoUlD Go tO ThE hOtEl ThEn JiNhO CYA-" REEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Also Lolol last night on orvcord was absolute pandemonium 🤣🤣 and now the whole server is themed after SSSSS grade infinite regression 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I had a lot of fun contributing to the chaos, we were very crazy because of hsy's b-day

ANYWHO tHx FoR rEaDiNg!!!!💕💕💕

Chapter 34: Chapter 33

Notes:

I realized i made an oopsy for the scenario description as i decided on it being 6 hours in kdj's world but then My brain swapped it to days for a while before back to hours. Apologies, this 6 month journey will take up 6 hours in kdj's world!!

Also I received word that I messed up the honorific for some characters, I will need some time fix that but do know that I will work to fix it

Sorry for yet another late upload, my family is having some issues and i wasn't feeling so well yesterday and wasn't really feeling like writing. And I procrastinated the other two days XP

I might have to make the update speed even lengthier, meaning the chaps will be coming in once every 4 days XPPP sorryyyy

Anywho hope u like it!!

Adam continued to flip through the images varying in all sorts of topics related to Kamish. One showed an image of a ripped blonde man holding two fangs that were likely from Kamish’s very mouth. Another also contained the full skeleton of the dragon, only the bones were left untouched it seemed. Dokja felt something in Jinwoo’s posture change, and he snuck a glance at the Shadow Monarch. Sure enough Jinwoo was sitting up straighter and his eyes were now fully focused on the skeleton. Dokja felt like he could read what Jinwoo was thinking at that moment.

Ah this greedy man… Dokja smirked at the thought of what Jinwoo wanted, Jinwoo wants to become even stronger, huh? That would be a great idea, Dokja mused. Jinwoo caught his eyes and he gave an almost imperceptible devious smirk. Adam, oblivious to the exchange, continued to scroll through the gallery so they looked back to the screen.

A couple other copies of those photos were flipped through until they came upon another different one.

It was of a couple Mage-type Hunters pulling out what seemed to be Kamish’s rune stone from the said dragon’s corpse. At this Adam kept it open and continued to explain.

“As you know, the value of a rune stone is proportionate to the power of the Monster it was extracted from.”

Adam then tapped on the next icon and it opened up a picture of Kamish’s rune stone being held up in a glass container that was in a highly secured room. Dokja marveled at how much security they put up to protect some rock, but he remembered that it was a magical rock. Therefore it was justified. The [Fourth Wall] snorted at this, seemingly not pleased with his attempt of humor.

[ K i m Dok ja is f ai lin g at b e in g f u nn y.]

Dokja inwardly sighed, humor aside, he couldn’t deny that the security was justified. Who knew who would want to get their filthy paws on such a powerful rune stone. He did know that Kamish had managed to demolish nearly the entire west coast of the United States.

“To elaborate, this rune stone can be used by a Mage-type Hunter to add a new extraordinary skill to their arsenal. But none of the National-level Hunters are Mage-types so they couldn’t use it..” Adam continued,”And we are still looking for a new owner of this rune stone.”

After this Adam tried and failed to secretly sneak a peek at Jinwoo, and Dokja could feel the elatedness and hope radiating off of him when he also saw that he had hooked Jinwoo. Dokja almost found it cute how he acted like a puppy. Almost.

“The photo… Can you go back please?” Jinwoo requested.

At this Adam did a double take,”E-excuse me.??”

“Jinwoo-ah wants to see the prior photos,” Dokja reiterated for him.

Adam tilted his head curiously but complied, scrolling through them slowly until Jinwoo stopped him.

“That one.”

It was the one of Kamish’s skeletal corpse.

“Where is this?”

---

Jinwo hadn’t expected for them to still hold Kamish’s corpse, it was crazy. People usually never left a single scrap of anything from a Dungeon go unused. Let alone such a valuable corpse such as Kamish. However the fact that this photo had several pillars in the background proved his theory as false. They likely had stored away Kamish’s skeleton inside a chamber of sorts to preserve it. Perhaps the United States wished to keep the skeleton as some sort of memorial or a memento of the disastrous outcome of the fight of humanity against Kamish.

Hundreds of thousands of the most elite Hunters worldwide, except for five, were massacred in the face of Kamish’s wrath.

“Could it be that America has been storing Kamish’s intact corpse until now?” Jinwoo could hardly hear his words over the mad thumping of his black heart. The mere thought of the corpse still being around kicking up the beating.

“W-well yes. We have, but…”

Adam seemed to be struggling to understand why Jinwoo had taken such interest in the corpse and not the rune stone. Gulping thickly when Jinwoo’s flashing lilac eyes met his own cornflower blue.

But Jinwoo didn’t want to wait for Adam to understand, he wanted to go over there now. So he jabbed his finger at the screen.

“Where is this place? Let’s go right away,” Jinwoo emphasized his question.

“... Pardon me?”

Dokja who had kept quiet until spoke up.

“Mister White, Jinwoo-ah wants to see the corpse, are you going to heed his request or not?”

“I…” Adam breathed.

“I’ve been willing to humour the requests of the Hunter Bureau until now. I’m pretty sure that I have the right to demand this much from you.”

Adam looked thoroughly defeated at this. While Dokja seemed curious about what Jinwoo meant by ‘humouring the Hunter Bureau’, he supposed it wouldn’t hurt to tell him later.

Adam formed a thoughtful look after a moment, cradling his chin with his fingers in thought. And then his eyes brightened.

“Actually, even I don’t know the location of where they store Kamish’s corpse. But I do know that my higher-ups do and are prepared to let me know,” Adam stated,”Unfortunately..”

“That might take some time for them to fulfill your request, are you willing to wait?”

Jinwoo was pleased with this. Sure Kamish has been dead for eight years, so the chance of ‘Shadow Extraction’ failing would be extremely high. This endeavor might also inconvenience many people but..

He would never know unless he gave reviving Kmaish a shot. Jinwoo could possibly also gain the strongest Shadow soldier in all of history by doing this. As long as the Americans agreed to this, then Jinwoo was willing to likely waste his time trying to bring back Kamish.

“We’re on our way to the Hunter Bureau correct?” Dokja asked Adam. Ah Dokja must’ve caught on, he supposed his smirk earlier gave himself away though.

“Yes we are,” Adam answered.

“Since we’re going to be waiting, why don't we wait there instead?"

Adam looked absolutely stupefied by this and just gave a small 'huh…'.

Jinwoo was pleased when Adam sheepishly pulled out his phone and started a call. The ringing being the only thing filling the deafening silence.

---

The Director of the Hunter Bureau didn't know what to say. He wasn't even sure if he should be elated or saddened. And was sure that his face displayed his feelings.

"Ok, so Sung Hunter-nim is in this building with us right now?" He questioned.

Adam nodded his head stiffly.

"But what about the rune stone? Did he say anything about that?"

"No sir, during our trip he showed no interest in the rune stone." Adam answered.

They had decided prior to meeting with Jinwoo that Kamish's rune stone was worth it to use as bait. Using it to bring Jinwoo to the United States of America. But for him to completely ignore such a treasure for the corpse of its previous owner? What could possibly be going on inside Jinwoo's head??

"... What about the Miniature Thunderbird.?"

".. I admittedly didn't try too much to hook Kim Hunter-nim sir.. But he didn't seem to care much either," Adam gulped before continuing,"He just helped Jinwoo a little in voicing what he wanted from us."

The Director sighed aggrievedly, massaging his temples with a hand before cradling his head in them instead. It seems that being overpowered like Thomas Andre, Sung Jinwoo, and Kim Dokja made them act differently. Why did they have to be so difficult.?

"... He wants to view the dragon's corpse..?"

"Yes, sir."

The Director hummed,"I would like to discuss this with the Deputy Director first before deciding. Please leave the office so I can discuss for a moment."

"Understood sir," Adam turned and exited the room, the door clicking shut behind him.

"What do you think Sung Hunter-nim's motives are for requesting this?"

The Deputy Director who had been standing beside his desk during the exchange had an unsure expression. It was the million dollar question of the day after all. Many Mage-type Hunters would kill to get the rune stone, so why was Jinwoo so obsessed with the corpse??? The only thing left on that dragon's frame were it's bones, the rune stone was far more valuable than the skeleton.

"We can be absolutely certain that he isn't a tourist, but it's likely that Kamish's corpse contains more value to him than the rune stone," The Deputy Director said.

The rune stone was supposed to give the holder an impressive skill. They were what made a Hunter's strength. They were what helped a Hunter survive Dungeon raids. But Jinwoo expressed interest in Kamish's skeleton.

The Deputy Director seemed to be thinking the same thing as him now.

"Perhaps this is tied to Sung Hunter-nim's ability."

It was only thanks to the Hunter Bureau's most incredible information gathering network that they had some basis on Jinwoo's skills. They had also tried to use this network to see if they could dig up anything about Dokja. But all they found was basic info about him, there was nothing, not a single nugget of information about his abilities. It was almost as if he hadn't existed in this world before he popped up in Japan's raid.

But right now they will focus on Jinwoo, and maybe if they reel him in, Dokja will come along as well. They did seem close to each other, possibly a hunting duo team.

The Director questioned,".. But wasn't it only applicable to Monsters he has hunted himself.?"

But this question only opened his eyes to an even bigger theory. This theory of Jinwoo's powers being possibly able to… The Deputy Director seemed to reach the same conclusion.

The Director exhaled, his eyes quaking,"Oh my god…"

"He's planning on making Kamish into one of his summons!!" The Deputy Director gasped.

Jinwoo was planning on making the greatest calamity humanity has ever faced into a soldier. Just the mere thought was enough to make shivers run down his spine. This man was crazy.!

The Director shook his head,"We can't allow this, we simply can't let someone wield so much power."

"B-but sir!! If we don't comply our amicable relationship with Sung Hunter-nim will be in jeopardy and it will be hard to move forward!" The Deputy Director rambled, sweat dropping at the idea of displeasing Jinwoo. Then Dokja who had been sticking around mostly quietly until now might join Jinwoo in his annoyance, and then any possible communication with him would be shot. It would be like killing two useful birds with one stone!

The Director hummed,"Well we have Thomas Andre and nearly fifty S rank Hunters, do we really need to keep pursuing Sung Jinwoo? Perhaps Kim Dokja will stay neutral and we can see if he will budge, perhaps a visit from Madam Selner will convince him.."

At this the Deputy thickly gulped before telling the Director another bit of info about Jinwoo.

"Yes sir, we can ask Madam Selner to meet with Kim Dokja. But I also have something I think you should know.."

The Director raised a brow,"What?"

"Agent White told me.. That Sung Hunter-nim managed to use telekinesis back on the plane when he told him about his father. I'm sure you know the depth of what this implies.."

The Director was absolutely flabbergasted. His eyes bulging out of his head at this epiphany. He knew Jinwoo was stronger than an average S rank Hunter, but not this strong!!!

"H-he's a National-level Hunter???!"

"Yes, sir."

The Director coughed into a fist to regain his wits,"Do you think that he is worthy of our trust?"

The Deputy Director paused before answering this time,"Can you imagine what would happen if someone pointed a gun at Thomas Andre or Liu Zhigeng?"

The Director didn't even need to think to answer this question.

"It would be horrific."

"Well… Hunter Sung Jinwoo isn't like that. If something like that happened he was someone who you could still talk to and help defuse the tricky situation without violence." The Deputy Director continued.

"And since he and Kim Dokja seem to be close in power, albeit Hunter Kim Dokja seems stronger based on reports.."The Director stated,"What if Kim Dokja also comes over with Sung Jinwoo? Is Kim Dokja also trustworthy?"

"... I don't think any of us have the answer to that sir.. We hardly know anything about him but he seems to follow Hunter Sung Jinwoo around pretty loyally. We will just have to trust Hunter Sung Jinwoo's faith in him.."

The Director worried his lip in thought.

"Not to mention that Hunter Sung Jinwoo and Hunter Kim Dokja volunteered to clear the Dungeon break crisis in Japan. And when all of the other global Hunters refused."

Argh… Maybe they were worthy...

"Fine, I shall guide him personally. This could be a very good opportunity to witness and observe his ability from up close.”

The Deputy Director seemed pleased with the outcome of their debate, but he had another question.

“By the way, where exactly are Kamish’s remains stored, Director?”

Hearing that question, the Director smirked.

“Have you ever wondered why our HQ has twenty underground floors?”

---

"I would have wished to have met under less stressful conditions but… I'm sure that this is what you two want, yes?" The Director, no David Brennan stated.

Adam hastily translated David's words to the two Korean Hunters. To which Jinwoo nodded while Dokja replied verbally.

"Don't get us wrong Mister Brennan, we got excited from the thought of your Bureau containing Kamish's corpse," Dokja remarked,"Although I'm surprised that you built your Bureau's building on top of the site.."

Adam immediately repeated Dokja's words in fluent english to David. David hummed with a smile.

"It is fitting isn't it?"

Adam once again said in equally fluent korean and Dokja nodded in agreement. It did fit Dokja supposed.

Silence filled the elevator but it didn't feel tense or anything of the sort. David did seem to glance at Jinwok every now and then but said nothing. Eventually the elevator reached its destination, the 24th underground floor, and the doors opened with a little chime. The sight of a long large passageway greeted then along with four other agents of the Bureau.

Small vermillion red LED lights were dotted along the walkway in the hall, almost like a runway in airports at nighttime. Minimal lighting filling the corridor as well. The colossal wave of mana that they experienced was startling. Even though Kamish had died eight years ago, there was still this much bountiful mana. Dokja was pretty thrilled about this experience to be honest, and the [Fourth Wall] watched his back by helping him stay calm.

The four agents greeted them and joined them and after some walking and David unlocking the door with his ID card, they were in an enormous chamber.

Unlike the hallway before, the space was very well lit, luminous field lights spread along the ceiling.

"... Hunter-nim are you satisfied now.?"

"Everyone step back," Jinwoo replied.

Dokja however was too focused on analyzing the interior.

On one of the walls there was a humongous one way window. Pillars accentuated the walls as well, and numerous smaller platforms of varying extension that gave its occupant good views of the main attraction of the room.

Said attraction being the very corpse of Kamish itself, the biggest calamity humanity's ever had to face. The renowned dragon itself, in all its skeletal glory. The bones, mostly pristine, still showed signs of the intense battle Kamish had faced that had led to its doom.

It truly was a huge dragon, maybe smaller than the Apocalypse Dragon, but perhaps around the size range between Shin Yoosung's Chimera Dragon and Abyssal Black Flame Dragon's size. Dokja could already imagine how excited Yoosung's would have been if she had encountered Kamish while it was alive.

She probably would have tried to tame the dragon, maybe boast about it if she succeeded to Dokja.

Dokja snapped out of his observations and caught up to Jinwoo who had stepped away from the group of Hunter Bureau agents. Jinwoo was standing at the foot of the dragon, eyeing Kamish's skull.

[The character 'Kim Dokja' has activated Midday Tryst!]

-Go on Jinwoo-ah, it won't bite.

Jinwoo huffed amusedly but became serious again. Dokja felt him pool up his almost oppressive mauve aura. Jinwoo's eyes flashed in the same color sensuously and Dokja watched him raise a hand towards Kamish.

"Arise." Jinwoo spoke, and Dokja felt the raw power that he let ooze into his voice as he said it.

The shadows of the skeleton quivered and danced around for a moment before dying back down into a stagnant stillness.

Jinwoo took a deep breath disguised as a sigh before repeating.

"Arise."

The shadows quaked more violently this time and they gathered and Dokja heard the other occupants in the room gasp in shock.

There stood Kamish, in all of its now lavender and inky black glory. Five remarkable lilac horns sprouted from the blackness of its scaley smooth head. The rest of its body was midnight black, accentuated by hints of lavender. And its eyes were a blinding pale purple, the hazy shade drifting from its eyes. This very being was now perching on its own corpse.

Kamish rose its head up, cracked open its maw, and unleashed a reverberating and resounding roar. The harrowing no use shaking up the whole room. And multiple screams joined in on the chaos.

Well, Dokja thought as the [Fourth Wall] readied itself to protect him, this turned out just swell.

---

Notes:

Btw i wrote the latter half of this chap on my phone so it might have more typos than usual 😅

Thank u for reading!!! 💕💕

Chapter 35: Chapter 34

Notes:

U may realize 2 things

1) I changed my prof name

That's temporary I'm going to die if my older sister or irl friends find the mpreg 'cuz dear GAWD terrifying

So I'm basically like a sand crab frantically digging further underground to escape the claws of devilish children 🤣🤣 U CAN'T CATCH ME-

And if u've been sticking with this for a while, yes they found me months ago but haven't looked at my prof since before 'Don't Bottle it Up' so I'm hoping they forgot the details of my acc

2) I updated earlier than new schedule

That's 'cuz my brain wanted me to write this chap yesterday and didn't want to do anything else and so i did, we r doing every 4 day update after this 😂😂

Anywho hope u enjoy!!

Eventually the reverberating roar died down and the [Fourth Wall] eased some of it's protectiveness over Dokja. Thinning it's layer over Dokja so that he could be more immersed in what was happening at this moment.

Kamish seemed to have finished with it's dramatic entrance huh? Dokja thought as it angled it's head to look down at him and Jinwoo.

“Were you the one summoning me? Oh, King of the Dead, Shadow Monarch.. And who is this.? A dragon hearted child? Is this one of my kin your companion as well?”

When Kamish mentioned his heart, Dokja could feel said heart stutter in it's beating and some other stories began their storytelling as well.

[Story ‘Broken Heart of a Young Gold Dragon’ has begun it’s storytelling!]

[Story ‘One Who is Loved by All’ has begun it’s storytelling!]

[Giant Story ‘Season of Light and Darkness’ has begun it’s storytelling!]

Jinwoo was watching Dokja curiously, and Dokja saw something foreign enter Kamish’s eyes. A strange softness entering it’s blinding mauve orbs. Kamish began rumbling out a low sound, and then that sound that could act as nightmare fuel for any lesser person evolved into soft cooing.

“You are an interesting hu- no you aren’t even human anymore are you?” Kamish stated, eyeing Dokja like he was something peculiar and yet something to be cherished,”You also have a part of my kin in you oh child, and you even managed to defeat the Apocalypse Dragon of another worldline.? Oh Shadow Monarch you have chosen well indeed.”

Dokja wasn’t sure how to even react to this,”You know about the Apocalypse Dragon??”

“Why yes, you told me about it didn’t you?” Kamish rumbled amusedly.

Ah, of course, his story must’ve told it’s tale to Kamish. Instead of him saying it directly from his mouth. The [Fourth Wall] was even giggling in his temples at his question, the brat.

“But…” Kamish continued, the happiness leaving it's voice.

Dokja and Jinwoo watched as the dragon sneered at the other occupants in the room.

“.. Humans… Humans.?” Kamish said and echoed itself inquisitively, and then a deep hatred tainting it's tone of voice,”Every single one of you… I shall kill you all.”

Kamish rose it's head high, so high that the chamber that was built to be able to hold said dragon that despite that it's head hit the ceiling. The rampant dragon showed no sign of being hurt by the collision, and it's head smashed the concrete. The impact creating spiderweb cracks and small fissures in the well enforced ceiling.

Kamish cracked it's jaw ajar and an orb of bloody red energy that felt like it could destroy almost anything in it's line of destruction manifested between rows of vicious teeth. Soon enough the awe that the people felt at Kamish’s tameness made way for terror, as the dragon built up the wicked dark energy to invoke death on all the humans there. Dokja could hear a drowned out ‘Oh my god’ from behind them likely from David, and he couldn’t help but agree this truly was a somewhat frightening turn of events. And several other shouts of agents trying to evacuate the Director, but David argued that there was no escaping Kamish’s Breath.

Dokja gawked at the change of attitude, the [Fourth Wall] starting to thicken it's layer over him again. Jinwoo opened his mouth and took a deep breath before shouting so loud that it could be heard over every other sound.

“That’s ENOUGH!!!”

Kamish immediately snapped it's mouth shut and the energy ball dispersed into thin air. And Kamish even had a look on it's face that wasn’t unlike a kicked puppy. Could Kamish please pick a mood and stick with it? Dokja might get whiplash at this rate.

“The magic crystal in your head has been taken out long ago,” Jinwoo continued,”You do not have to follow the orders of the Rulers anymore.”

At this, Kamish completely settled down, a slightly sullen look still in it's eyes though.

“So this is what it feels like to submit to the Shadow Monarch…” Kamish breathed out in awe before lowering it head back down to the floor. The concrete from the ceiling dropped a few chunks and crumbles of concrete after it's head stopped holding it up. Kamish paid no heed to some bits tumbling off of it's body as it practically kissed the floor as it bowed,”This lowly servant who once used to serve the Dragon Emperor pays respect to the new Monarch.”

Dokja glanced at Jinwoo who looked taken aback slightly, his elegant gaze widening slightly. But that shock made way for an almost childish glee as he stepped forward towards the bowed head. Dokja smiled when he saw the broad grin splitting Jinwoo’s face and stepped forward off to the side behind him, hanging behind him though.

Everyone watched as Jinwoo splayed a hand on Kamish’s head, and when Jinwoo began petting it's head, the dragon was looking imploringly towards Dokja. Jinwoo looked towards him too and smirked as he motioned for Dokja to come over to them. Dokja sheepishly went over to them, and Jinwoo guided his hand over to Kamish’s head as well.

It was the exact same feeling as when he had patted Kaisel on the head back in Japan. The black shadows were still softly brushing past and through his fingers and palm. And the actual firm outline of the body covered in the darkness and hues of lavender could be felt. The sleek and smooth feeling felt like polished obsidian under his hand. He realized Jinwoo had also resumed his own petting.

Dokja heard a couple gasps behind them and spared an ear to hear what they were saying this time.

“I-Is Kamish wagging it’s tail sir??!” Adam asked incredulously, followed by sharp inhales of breath and a small ‘Jesus H. Christ….’.

Dokja darted his eyes over to where the tail was curled, halting his rubbing, and, sure enough, Kamish was indeed wagging it’s long spiked tail. This is the greatest calamity that humanity of this worldline has ever faced, and Kamish was more like a puppy at this moment.! And then when Jinwoo followed his gaze and stopped petting as well and the tail abruptly stopped, Dokja nearly snorted at the behaviour.

Kamish said in embarrassment,“Oh dragon hearted child.. Do not pay heed to my disgraceful behaviour…”

“It’s just cute that everyone thinks dragons are killing machines, and here you are acting like a little gargantuan puppy,” Dokja teased.

Kamish gently headbutted him and rumbled amusedly,”You truly don’t need to compare me with a dog.”

“I rather like that comparison though.?”

At this Kamish gave a single hardy laugh,”You may be a part of my kin, but don’t go comparing all of us magnificent dragons to those little fluffy critters that chase their own tails.”

Dokja actually did snort at this and they looked to Jinwoo in expectation.

Jinwoo mused,“I didn’t see it, but I’m sure that you are exactly that.”

Dokja giggled and Kamish gave a long suffering huff.

“I have a question,” Jinwoo started, and they became serious again,”You said that you used to serve the Dragon Emperor, right?”

“I served the King of Berserk Dragons, the Monarch of Destruction.” Kamish acquiesced as it rose it’s head up from it’s groveling posture.

Jinwoo cradled his chin in thought, and Dokja joined in on the brainstorming.

[The character ‘Kim Dokja’ has activated Midday Tryst!]

-So we so far know of three Monarchs, huh?

Dokja sent it through the chat log, and Jinwoo looked over to him.

-Yes, the Monarch of the Beginning, the King of the Giants, and the Monarch of Destruction, the King of Berserk Dragons..

-And then you the Shadow Monarch, the King of the Dead. Do you think that there are other Monarchs?

Jinwoo’s brows furrowed and he looked away for a moment in thought.

-Yes, the System told me before that there were nine of them in total.

-And then we don’t know of any of the Rulers…

-For now, I’m just going to find out Kamish’s real name.

Dokja nodded, and left their thoughts at that. Jinwoo opened his mouth to address Kamish.

“Alright then. What was your original na-?”

He was interrupted by the sight of Kamish shuddering violently as bits and pieces of the shadows that composed it’s sacrilegious form began scattering and diffusing into thin air. Dokja watched as Kamish dematerialized as if the dragon was but a pile of leaves dispersing due to a gust of wind. The spotlights that lit the room flickering violently up above.

“Regrettably, my king and kin…” Kamish said in a voice drenched with remorse, it’s legs shaking all the while,”I must bid you two farewell.”

Dokja could sense the raw sorrow emanating from Kamish because it was so strongly felt. He felt that he would have cried at these waves of depression and misery that oozed out of Kamish along with bits and pieces of it’s own new body. But the [Fourth Wall] hurriedly tried to shield his mentality from the duress.

Kamish had only just been revived and he already felt like he could have had a good decent relationship with the reptilian Shadow like the rest of Jinwoo’s Shadows.

This event reminded him of the event he experienced around the beginning of the Scenarios.

{ ⌜ It hurts. I’m going to disappear like this. ⌟

“Now I can die in peace. Something really might change..”

⌜ I don’t want to die... ⌟ }

“It seems our meeting has come far too late, my Monarch…” Kamish lamented as it fell apart.

Dokja snapped back to the present, slightly gasping for air, he didn’t realize he was holding his breath. This reminded him too much of the fourty-first round’s Shin Yoosung who had been affected by that damn Paul’s forceful control. Who he had later hatched her soul from a Dokkaebi Egg as Biyoo.

Dokja heard Jinwoo calling for the System, frantically trying to see if he could save Kamish. But it was no use. To be honest if it weren’t for the [Fourth Wall] he would probably be ripping everything out of his pockets in search of something to try and help. But he found that the sounds in the chamber were becoming white noise as his mental skill covered him like a mantle.

“I am truly envious of your Majesty’s soldiers, as they are now tasked with serving you two for all of eternity..”

Kamish continued to speak solemnly, to it’s king that didn’t want him to let go of his soldier. But Kamish carried on speaking, but this time it spoke advice to it’s king.

“Oh, my king..” Kamish exhaled and began talking more hurriedly as more than half of it’s body was blurry now,”There are four humans who have borrowed the powers of the Rulers. Please, you need to be wary of them.”

Kamish’s voice became even more indistinct, as the blurriness grew as the dragon disappeared.

“I was honoured to be in the presence of a new king and his companion…..” And with this Kamish was completely and utterly gone, not a trace of the massive Shadow dragon soldier was left now. It was as if Kamish had never been revived, the only thing left being it’s sad skeleton. The field lights that illuminated the large chamber regained their strength and resumed their brightness without any flickering.

It was as if Kamish was just some mirage.

The [Fourth Wall] retreated back into the recesses of Dokja’s mind, though still staying vigilant to any possible threats as always. Along with it left his dissociation.

Dokja glanced over to Jinwoo and saw the absolutely murderous glint in his eyes and paled. It was as if Jinwoo was moving in slow motion as he languidly rose a clenched fist into the air.

“Jinwoo-ah!!!” Dokja gasped and rushed over to try and stop him from doing what he thought he was doing.

Jinwoo’s fist connected with the floor and the whole structure jolted and shook under everyone in the building’s feet. It was as if there was a mini earthquake. The lights flickering for a moment before recovering again, a little bit of dust raining down from the ceiling along with a few loose rocks from when Kamish’s head had hit the ceiling. Well at least most of the people besides the people who had joined them to see Kamish were gone, or else there would be a lot of screaming again. But Dokja could’ve sworn he heard some people in the upper floors shouting.

Jinwoo pulled his fist out of the ground and stormed out of the chamber without another word. Dokja only caught a brief glance of his slightly bruised knuckles that were rapidly healing themselves as he brushed past everyone.

Dokja gulped and hurried after him, he will have to comfort him it seems. David, Adam, and some other unnamed agents of the Hunter Bureau followed after them. Adam checked them both out at the front desk, recollecting their phones, before they left for the car. They got in the same car as before with Adam in the back along with Dokja who sat next to Jinwoo in the back row.

“I’m in charge of accommodating your needs during your stay in the U.S.,” Adam stated,”So if you need anything, please don’t hesitate and give me a call.”

“... Got it,” Jinwoo’s reply was cold and despondent and Adam cringed frightfully.

Scary…

Dokja gingerly extended a hand over to Jinwoo’s that were clasped together on his lap. He could see the inner sad rage that stayed in his eyes until now, it didn’t sit right with him for Jinwoo to be like this. He gently laid his hand on top of Jinwoo’s, and Jinwoo’s eyes flashed a mauve hue as his eyes snapped up to meet his own. Dokja tried to convey his message with his eyes alone and thankfully Jinwoo seemed to get the memo as his eyes softened almost imperceptibly.

[The character ‘Sung Jinwoo’ has activated Midday Tryst!]

-You have been through this before, Hyung.?

-Yes, you are not alone, Jinwoo-ah. I am here if you need help, I know that you really wanted to have Kamish..

-... Thank you Hyung.

After that they kept their hands together, and thankfully it seemed that Dokja’s hand helped in grounding Jinwoo. He gave a reassuring squeeze, and Jinwoo squeezed back. When he, Jinwoo, and Adam arrived at the hotel for the night, they were greeted by the Korean Hunter Association’s interpreter but not Jinho.

This was odd, Jinho was always enthusiastic about meeting up with them. And yet he was nowhere in sight, had he gone to sleep? Gone to the bathroom??

“Welcome back Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim, Kim Dokja Hunter-nim..” She, their translator, acknowledged, but she was stiff because Jinwoo had a tiny hint of residual sadness in his attitude still,”Why wasn’t I able to get into contact with you? Woo Jinchul Hunter-nim had asked for me to keep tabs with you all just in case.”

“I was temporarily in a place where no calls could go through.”

After all their phones had to be confiscated before entering the Hunter Bureau’s HQ. It was only understandable as they had many things and people that they would like to keep confidential. Such as Madam Selner and Kamish’s rune stone.

“Did you get to meet with Yoo Jinho Hunter-nim?” She questioned, looking around them as if she would find him hiding behind them.

“Huh?” Dokja asked intelligently, why was she asking this??

She clarified,“Earlier he received a message to go over to the Hunter Bureau’s building.”

“That’s where we just came from,” Dokja informed,”So what are you talking about??”

Adam, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation, intervened,”There is no Yoo Jinho Hunter-nim in the visitors log.”

“But how can that be? He was picked up by an S-rank Hunter personally about two hours ago,” Now their translator was extremely puzzled, her face scrunching up in confusion.

“Hold on, which S-rank Hunter was it?” Jinwoo interrupted.

“Hunter Hwang Dongsu.”

At this Dokja noticed that Adam, who had been standing off to the side, flinched.

[K i m Do kja tho ug ht: Su s pic iou s.]

Dokja couldn’t help but agree.

Jinwoo’s eyes also became tense at the mention of Dongsu’s name, why was this? Dokja pondered on it for a moment as Adam said he was going to try to call Dongsu’s Guild. After a minute he suddenly remembered one of the Dungeon raid reports that he had read to gain more intel on Jinwoo. It was the one where Jinwoo and Jinho were the lone survivors of a C-rank Dungeon out of the entire raid team of Hunters who had been higher ranks than them. Of course this was before Jinwoo reevaluated.

But there was a particular man who had a certain brother who, when evaluated as an S-rank, moved from South Korea to the United States.

Hwang Dongsuk’s younger brother.

Hwang Dongsu.

Just as quickly he felt that connection raise hundreds of red flags and he felt as if there were alarm bells going on inside his head. Dokja hastily swiveled his head over towards Jinwoo and Jinwoo nodded resolutely towards him. Dokja looked back over to Adam who was now holding out his phone on speaker, telling the person across the line of what was happening.

A calm and tranquil feminine voice floated across the line, what is she a robot?

-”Have Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim or Kim Dokja Hunter-nim learned of this situation yet?”

Adam looked up towards the two of them and they both shook their heads.

“No neither have been informed of this yet as they are still stuck in the Hunter’s Bureau,” Adam lied smoothly,”But their interpreter called us to ask about this.”

-”Ok, we will find out as soon as possible.”

And with that the call ended with a mechanical beep, not even a good-bye? Sheesh.

But Dokja didn’t have time to think about that as Jinwoo began moving towards the hotel’s exit, not before telling Dokja.

“I’m going to go search for him,” Jinwoo stated,”I would appreciate it if you helped.”

Dokja jogged to catch up with him,”Who do you take me for? Of course I’ll help.”

Once they passed through the exit they hastened their speed and veered into a back alley off to the side. Jinwoo’s expression turned stormy and Dokja didn’t doubt that his own expression looked similar. A Hunter using Jinwoo’s name took Jinho away, and the Guild is giving vague answers and abruptly ending the call? That sounded fishy no matter how much you looked at it.

The shadows were writhing around them unnaturally, and Dokja could see hundreds- no thousands of pale purple specks sprinkled in their depths. The spectacle almost reminded him of a starry night. But unlike the sky that has now turned ugly in his eyes, this inky darkness with bright flecks was actually beautiful.

Jinwoo commanded in a tone that no one would dare to go against,”Find him.”

And with that the shadows shot across the ground and up the buildings in search of the lost Yoo Jinho. Jinwoo and Dokja also hastily joining the shadows in the manhunt leaping up to the rooftops of the office and apartment buildings.

“Just you wait Jinho-ssi,” Dokja said to himself, leaping off the edge and activating [Demon King’s Transformation] and [Ways of the Wind] and taking to the skies. While Jinwoo moved at an impressive speed of his own along the roofs of the cityscape,”We’ll find you.”

---

Notes:

F for Kamish

Jinho is not having a fun time... So sorry poor bb 😞

I'm wondering on if I should delete the notice chap, I don't see much reason to keep it but idk-

Thx for reading!!!! 💕💕💕❤

Chapter 36: Chapter 35

Notes:

Aha this chap sure is action packed 😂 as it should kdj and sjw need to save Jinho pronto!!!

Also huge thanks to Nihana for suggesting the Monarch of Beastly Fangs's name!! He is Shiranui now ⬜ 🐺

I hope u enjoy the chap~💕

Antares smirked at the gathered Monarchs, each of them giving him undivided attention to the leading Monarch of Destruction.

[[I am assuming that you have all heard the Monarch of the Iron Body’s statement?]] Antares spoke up,[[It would be difficult to deal with the Fragments of Brilliant Light if Yoo Joonghyuk and the young Shadow Monarch are nearby. We mustn't delay in the slaughtering and they are in the way so we should go through with the plan soon.]]

A collective [[Yes sir]] rang out in the large eerie room.

[[However I do have to ask, sir..]] The Monarch of Transfiguration, Yogumunt started,[[Why go to such lengths to deal with only one contributor to the War?? Don’t we have bigger foes like our arch nemesis, the Rulers, for example? This is only one man on the young Shadow Monarch’s side.]]

[[I agree with the Monarch of Transfiguration, sir. Don’t we have bigger fish to fry?]] The Monarch of Beastly Fangs, Shiranui, seconded.

The Monarchs of Plagues, Querehsha, and Frost, Hockwan, eyed the two warily. But they held their tongues.

[[The young Shadow Monarch is bad enough on his own and his pesky Shadow army,]] Antares stated,[[It would be wise to deprive him of any allies that actually prove dangerous to us. Yoo Joonghyuk is a dangerous individual that if excluding me, he could easily deal with any of you. Just the same as the young Shadow Monarch.]]

At this, Yogumunt and Shiranui nodded in understanding hesitantly. Joonghyuk could pose as a huge threat if he was teaming up with the young Shadow Monarch.

[[Have we come to an agreement?]] Antares queried, and was answered by another nod from all of the Monarchs.

[[Good,]] Antares rumbled, satisfaction coloring his deep and sharp voice,[[Then we shall go through with the plan the Monarch of the Iron Body told you of. Did you find a spare of one of the Rulers’ holding chambers?]]

[[Yes, sir. We have found another one of those.]] Querehsha answered.

[[Good good…]]] Antares breathed,[[Now it’s time to put the bird in it’s cage. And then we can continue killing off the Fragments of Brilliant Light without issue.]]

---

An out of place sharp whistling sound pierced the air of the night in a city of the United States. Pedestrians and people in their vehicles eventually became wise to the sound and reflexively looked skyward. The high pitched hissing noise grew louder and soon enough a winged figure shot in and out of sight, another figure not as high as the other darting overhead right after. The people gasped at the sight and one thought came to mind.

“Th-the saviours of Japan!!”

Said people were heedless to the chaos left in their wake as they searched for Jinho. They will uproot the cityscape and shake it upside down to find him. Eventually, Jinwoo shot up to Dokja’s height with the aid of ‘Ruler’s Authority’.

Jinwoo said,“I’ll split up with you to cover more ground.”

“Ok.”

Jinwoo launched himself onto the top of a skyscraper and used ‘Sensory Perception’ to see through the eyes of his Shadow infantry. All while reprimanding himself and wanting to hit himself. How could he forget to reinsert the Shadow into Jinho’s shadow after visiting his dad in the hospital? It was all because of that little mistake that he was now working his butt off to find the missing Jinho. Swapping from one after another continuously and then stopped at one particular High Orc Shadow.

“What did you say?” A gruff voice growled out the question, his voice could hardly contain the smugness oozing into his tone.

There was a bout of silence before he heard a familiar voice curse the other out, and Jinwoo heard an especially loud thud and a gasp following quickly after the sound.

A raucous voice jeered,“Oi! Did you just kill him??”

"Mister Hwang, be more careful will ya? I don’t want to become a murderer’s accomplice just because of money, alright?” Someone else questioned.

“... I’ll be more careful..”

Jinwoo heard other voices speak of their doubts on what they were doing as well.

Jinwoo willed the High Orc Shadow to sprout from the ground and turn around the corner to confirm his beliefs. He only now realized that the High Orc was shaking like a leaf. He mused that it might have to be due to his all consuming inner rage at the moment. He watched through the High Orc just as a bulky figure turned around and began heading towards the Shadow.

“...... An Orc..?”

“Is there a Dungeon break happening nearby?”

“Mister Hwang that thing is terrified of you.”

“... I don’t have time for this,” Hwang Dongsu sighed and bright white rays of light collected around his fist.

Right this moment Jinwoo breathed out the magic word.

“Exchange.”

As Jinwoo emerged in the Shadow High Orc’s place, he heard Beru who was left in South Korea with his family speak up. All while the Hunter thugs in the abandoned factory comically paled

‘Oh my king. Please compose yourself. I shall get to your side immediately.’

Jinwoo instantly replied across their mental link,[You… Don’t make a move.]

‘I shall obey,’ Beru slightly shakily replied.

With this done, Jinwoo brushed past Dongsu who had become as stiff as a board along with the other Hunters at his arrival. Preparing a healing potion for Jinho as he got near. He numbly took in the brutal bruises decorating his skin, his swollen eye, blood freshly dripping over dried trails again from his nose and mouth. When he fed him the potion however he was greeted by a System window that made his emotions grow even more numb and chilly.

[When the remaining HP is less than 10%, it is impossible to recover HP with healing potions.]

The innocent glass bottle shattered into a million bits of glass in his hand. And he noticed the lower ranked Hunters squeak and flinch. He needed healing magic, but the one Shadow that could use it, Beru, was busy house-sitting at his family’s home.

“You… You, what the hell??? That Orc, just now.. What the hell did you do???!” One Hunter spluttered.

Jinwoo said in a deadly calm tone,“Is either of you a Healer?”

The Healer-type Hunter reflexively nodded his head, to which Jinwoo answered by pointing towards the battered Jinho slumped against the wall. A spider web crack scrawling from a crater above him in the wall.

“Heal him now.”

---

Dokja swooped over the city, and at this moment he wished that he had some sort of tracking skill of some sort. There weren't any channels here so he couldn’t amplify his vision much. Although it was still better than the average person’s, he couldn’t use the full scale like when he entered a channel. The only thing he had access to Star Stream wise was the Scenario window, items, and his abilities in general.

*

[Hidden Scenario #73 The Heir's Aid]

 

Category: Hidden

 

Difficulty: S

 

Clear Conditions: Aid the Shadow Monarch's heir in saving the Earth of a distant worldline from the apocalypse.

 

Time limit: 4 months remaining (months are converted to hours in your worldline).

 

Compensation: ??? and 1000000

 

Failure: Permanent stay in a distant worldline.

*

Dokja closed it again and continued his soaring through the fresh and cool air of the night, stray moonbeams piercing through the small number of clouds. He lost altitude to be able to see any especially fine details that might give him clues, and hoped that if Jinwoo came across something he would have enough sense to tell him through Midday Tryst. His attitude before he left seemed pretty absent-minded, Dokja would know after dealing with Joonghyuk for so long.

However one thing caught his eye down on a highway that snaked around all over the city. It was a sleek black car getting the passenger’s side door ripped off it’s hinges from the inside. Dokja aligned himself to be right above it and watched closely as a ridiculous muscle man with long blonde hair and black tattoos adorning his skin leapt out and took leaps and bounds towards a certain direction. Dokja knew who this was, it was Thomas Andre, one of the five National-level Hunters.

.. And the Guild Master of the Scavengers Guild, the same Guild that Dongsu was a member of.

He must’ve found out where Dongsu was and is now trying to de-escalate this. The thought of them trying to cover this all up ticked Dokja off, they really will do anything to try and stay in their good graces, huh? And even not give proper justice for Jinho if they find Dongsu first.

Dokja won’t let another ally be lost today, not like Kamish.

He pulled out Unbroken Faith, the blade shrieking with vigour as he gave a strong beat to dart over Thomas with ease. Then tucked in his wings and dove groundward to meet him. Right at the last moment he spread out the masses of midnight black feathers to catch the wind.

---

Thomas hastily moved leaps and bounds towards the abandoned factory, however suddenly something unpredictable happened.

Hundreds of yards ahead of him the silhouette of a winged being descended from the nightly heavens. Their wings of inky black feathers spread out and caught them in their fall, and Thomas gawked as they gave a flap and instantly darted towards him with all the speed of a bullet train. Thomas also noted the eery black sword with a dark element oozing out of the blade that’s screeching grew louder as the figure - no man - sped towards him.

It was the Miniature Thunderbird!

Thomas hurriedly veered out of the way however a force of wind met his movements and slowed his motions. He wasn’t able to breach the veil despite using his full strength against it, and the sword of the Thunderbird cried out along with his own grunt when it gave a gruesome cut along his legs, but not hacking them off. His skin shouldn’t be so easily penetrated!! Thomas thought as he watched the Thunderbird swerve back around behind him in front of him again.

He flapped his magnificent wings and hovered before him, and Thomas was reminded of why some called him angelic despite his pitch black wings and horns. His soft features staring back at him wigrewrim determination.

“Where is Hwang Dongsu?” His voice prim with thinly concealed irritation,”I know you know, Thomas Andre.”

“Haha, Miniature Thunderbird..” Thomas noticed said man tense at the use of the title,”I don’t have the time for this, why don’t you just fly off somewhere. Go back to the hotel. Leave this to the professionals.”

“We wouldn’t be out here if you knew how to control your rambunctious Guild.”

Thomas growled at this, and the Miniature Thunderbird had the guile to grin with all teeth down at him.

Thomas spat back,“Maybe if you fulfilled your job as the bodyguard of your group this wouldn’t have happened.”

The answer to his retort was for lightning to start crackling around the Thunderbird’s form the white lightning brilliant in the dark of the night. Thomas suddenly felt a twinge of fright as he lifted his sword, black ether bleeding out of it’s blade.

However what shocked Thomas even more was for his voice to change.

[Tell me where he is.]

The Thunderbird’s voice left no room for question, and Thomas hacked out blood at the pressure that nearly crushed him like a bug. The voice was deep and commanding, a depth to it unfathomable, and he felt that if he didn’t answer truthfully right now that he would deeply regret it.

But Thomas wasn’t himself if not stubborn, he won’t let himself be outmatched by some pompous newby Hunter. He will take the Thunderbird’s ego down a couple pegs if not all.

However, just as he was about to use ‘Capture’ to drag the Thunderbird from the sky to meet him on the ground, something caught the Thunderbird’s attention. The restricting gales of wind instantly died down, and Thomas took his chance.

He will challenge him later, although it hurt his pride a little to be leaving the fight, Thomas needed to get to Dongsu quickly or else the other danger might find it. He ignored the choked gasp behind him as he dashed towards the factory.

---

“Final warning. Heal him.”

Instead of obeying Jinwoo’s order, the Healer glanced over to Dongsu, then looked back to Jinwoo. The edges of his lips curling unpleasantly as he piped up with false bravado.

“You see dude, you should talk to the boss first bef-”

Jinwoo promptly greeted his face to the ground, creating an even larger crater than the one above Jinho. No one is able to act out, Jinwoo's action as fast as a snake lashing out for a bite of it’s prey.

Jinwoo stood up and his blazing lavender eyes rolled over to the other American Hunter lackey of Dongsu. The Hunter looked second away from wetting himself with how horror-stricken he was. As he should, he just royally pissed off one of the saviors of Japan, who made S-rank Monsters like Giants look like jokes. Albeit he doesn’t seem to recognize him quite yet.

“Are you a Healer?”

He snapped out of his stupor, his brain seeming to catch on finally as well to who the newcomer was.

“S-S-Sung Jinwoo?!?!?? Hu-Hunter Sung J-J-J-Jinwoo??!” They frantically scrambled away from the glowering Korean.

He spun around and glared at Dongsu.

“Mister Hwang Dongsu! You promised that this matter had nothing to do with Sung Jinwoo!! What the hell is this?! Hah?? What is this crap?!?”

Before Dongsu responded, Jinwoo intervened.

“I asked you if you are a Healer or not.”

He swung around to face Jinwoo who hadn’t broken his scathing glare. And then hastily answered,”N-no. I-I’m not. I’m j-”

Yet again, Jinwoo made the other American’s face closely acquainted with the ground. Not without making the whole building shudder and a reverberating sound to ring out. This time Jinwoo didn’t even touch his head though, instead using ‘Ruler’s Authority’ to do the deed for him. Jinwoo then turned his sights to Dongsu, said S-rank looking like a frightened and cornered mouse when he saw the lilac inferno streaming from his eyes and the immense pressure.

However, a weak call caught Jinwoo’s attention.

Jinho croaked,”H-hyung-nim…”

Jinwoo causing such a commotion must’ve woken Jinho up..

“Hyung.. Nim…”

Jinwoo’s eyes softened as he knelt down to Jinho’s level. It didn’t hurt any less to see his bruised and bloodied face.

“Hey, Jinho. I’m here,” Jinwoo soothed.

Jinho immediately relaxed a little at Jinwoo’s soft voice, barely cracked open his eyes, and struggled to speak. His sentences come out choppy and stuttered.

“Hwang Dongsu.. Little brother… Hwang Dongsuk.. Be carefu-”

“Shh,”Jinwoo hastily silenced him,”It’s fine. Don’t speak anymore.”

“Hyung-nim,” Jinho choked out, tears welling up in his eyes as he grabbed Jinwoo’s hand. Jinwoo squeezing Jinho’s hand back.

“Can you hold on a little longer?”

Jinho nodded. And Jinwoo gently released Jinho’s hand to face the last remaining threat.

He looked at Dongsu coldly. Jinwoo’s eyes flashing a cold reminiscent of the arctic, yet displayed a blazing pale purple pyre of mana in their irises. Dongsu brushed past the serpents in his mind and asked Jinwoo the same question he had tortured Jinho for the answer to.

“It was you wasn’t it? You killed my older brother. Hwang Dongsuk. Am I right?”

Jinwoo began to smoothly stride towards the shaken Dongsu, his scared expression growing closer by each quiet step. At the question Jinwoo’s gaze and aura turned ten times cooler and Dongsu cried out hysterically.

“Answer me!!! Sung Jinwoo, didn’t you murder my brother and his team?!??”

Jinwoo stayed deathly silent, his footsteps just as quiet all the way until he was directly in front of Dongsu. Dongsu gulped nervously and felt like he had just been drenched by a bucket of ice cold water when Jinwoo looked up at him through his lashes. His eyes a blinding pale violet, Dongsu felt that he was facing death at this moment but that didn’t seem far from the truth.

“Ask him after you meet him again,” Jinwoo gritted out.

Dongsu swiftly swung out his fist of light. But Jinwoo breezily ducked out of the trajectory then gave a grueling punch of his own deep into Dongsu's stomach. The impact making Dongsu cough out blood instantaneously.

---

Elsewhere as Thomas escapes, Dokja clashes with an entity that looks similar to what an elderly frost elf would look like if they weren't always youthful.

Dokja sensed his immense magical power oozing out of his figure. The frost elf's tattered white, black, and grey clothing with frayed edges billowing in the wind around him. His eyes a brilliant pale sky blue crackling with mana.

[[I hope you are ready to face the consequences of your prior choice oh Demon King of Salvation, Yoo Joonghyuk]] He stated,[[I, the Monarch of Frost, the King of the Snow Folk, Hockwan, have come to give you one final warning. If you do not accept to join us now. You will be forced to accept, or perish.]]

Dokja smirked, another Monarch huh? His power definitely fit the bill. Dokja might have to find somewhere secluded to fend him off quickly. He didn't have time for this, Jinho was likely dying somewhere at the hands of some slimy Hunter bastard.

Dokja responded with determination,"I refuse."

Hockwan's eyes sharpened and he lifted up his arms, mana congregating around him as he did.

[[So be it.]]

---

Notes:

Will kdj manage to beat Hockwan while holding back to not hurt the citizens?? Ah geez another variable joined in on the already strained scene...

Thx for reading!!! 💕💕💕

Chapter 37: Chapter 36

Notes:

Happy to see the Jindok nation arising lately, color me surprised im so happy to for once be reading instead of writing it 😁

Also... Kim Dokja/Kim Doknya... I somehow accidently orphaned it-yes i made that abomination sue me 🤣🤣 it's called market manipulation, i wanna see that crackship 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣👌

I hope u enjoy the chap, i for one am not entirely pleased with it and then i had to reread monarch war and god, sjw's temp death didn't hurt any less OWWWW

Hockwan shot towards him like a dart, and Dokja raced up high into the sky.

Jinho will have to wait.

[‘Angel Transformation’ transformation is activating!]

The midnight black feathers of his wings lightened until they were luxuriant crystal white feathers. His horns disappeared and in their place was a faint halo. Soon enough the two of them were above the speckled clouds in the silvery moonlight. Hundreds of arrows of frigid ice were shot after Dokja and he spun out of the way of the artillery.

[K i m Do kj a tho ug ht: I ca n’t do an y be tte r to n ot ha rm th e ci ti zen s.]

And so he stopped his ascent and Hockwan did as well once he reached the same altitude. The absurd amount of mana that the elderly frost elf had was still cloaking his figure, and more spears manifested around him.

Dokja changed Unbroken Faith’s ether to ‘Fire’ and flew towards Hockwan with a few wing beats. Hockwan shot out another barrage of ice arrows along with a gust of wind that was similar to the strongest of gales in a blizzard. Dokja used [Ways of the Wind] and negated most of the draft, but some of it dusted frost against his figure. Frost patterns webbed along the edge of the fabric of his coat and his wings became slightly stiffer.

[The Fourth Wall is baring its teeth towards the Frost Monarch!]

Nonetheless Dokja still managed to barely dodge the next wave of icicles due to the [Fourth Wall] soothing his nerves. His stories were roiling to be told, and he struggled to keep them in. If they began to be told, the massive status could easily kill a large sum of the people below in the cityscape. It would be hard to overwhelm Hockwan like he did with Legia without them though..

[The stigma 'Song of the Sword Lv. 5' has been used!]

Hockwan didn’t wait for him, and Dokja negated the next gust again with [Ways of the Wind].

“You’re going to need to try harder than that, Hockwan.”

The Monarch gained a displeased expression,[[The Monarch of Destruction wasn’t kidding about your strength.. Not that I doubted him but I wanted to make sure..]]

Hockwan sent countless more icicles at Dokja the next moment, and Dokja attempted to slash them before they made contact with him. However he yelped when a few got past his defense, and he saw Hockwan smirk smugly. His clumsy swordsmanship is not able to clear them all.

[Story ‘One Who Opposed the Disaster’ has begun it’s storytelling!]

[Story ‘Broken Heart of a Young Gold Dragon’ has begun it’s storytelling!]

Hockwan gasped as he unwittingly saw Dokja’s stories.

[[W-what is this…?]]

Before he could continue, the Maritime Wargod, Yi Sunsin’s, inked words weaved through the air around Unbroken Faith’s flaming blade. White and black bolts danced around him as the words kept being written. And Dokja activated [Bookmark] then [Electrification Lv. 12 (+2)] for good measure.

[Your sword is filled with the words left by the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare!]

「 Shooting arrows like rain and protecting the generalissimo from guns firing on all sides. 」

Dokja smirked as the fire ether of Unbroken Faith began roaring with even more power. It seems that lady luck was on his side this time. His golden dragon heart helped him maintain the stigma and make it even stronger. As this stigma ate up a massive amount of magic, but it was more for dishing out tanking blows if your luck shone down on you.

An enormous magic power emerged and all the burning ethers coagulated in his trusty sword. Dokja swung his shrieking blade and in its wake it left a tail of fire.

「 The chaos was like a thunderstorm. 」

The fire ether took the shape of arrows and as if sentient they zipped towards the befuddled Hockwan along with shocks of blinding white lightning. Said Frost Monarch hastily waved an arm and a wall of ice as thick and sturdy as a glacier manifested in front of him. The wall of ice as sturdy as a glacier exploded into bits, but only a few of the artillery struck the Monarch.

Hockwan could be seen now floating next to a portal of swirling wicked flames. The vertical whirlpool having an eerie black and purple palate. Dokja also noticed that besides that there were a few decent scorch marks on Hockwan’s. Heck, there was even a stubborn arrow of pyre stuck in his chest. Said ancient ice elf looking especially livid as he ripped out the arrow from his own chest without giving any tell of pain.

Huh, that arrow had struck his heart and it didn’t kill him.?

[[We will be back to finish this soon.]] Hockwan threatened, and Dokja mused that he sounded like some boring backwash villain.

“We WiLl bE BaCk tO FiNiSh tHiS SoOn, can you say something else less cheesy?” Dokja mocked. Not sensing any feeling of fear from the childish yet ominous words,”Just face it, you can’t beat me or Jinwoo-ah. Let alone if we were together.”

Hockwan’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits of glowing wintry cornflower blue. However he said nothing more as he wordlessly slinked through the portal. Not before sending another fierce gust of polar winds. Dokja gasped as the wind somehow cut his creamy white wings, but the slashes were instantly frozen by the biting cold. However the frozen wounds made his angelic wings seize up and become numb. More frost was splayed on his clothes as well due to the freezing gale

And suddenly the ground was now rushing up to meet him as he began free falling out of the sky like Icarus.

[‘Demon King’ transformation is activating!]

Another set of untouched raven black wings captured the wind rushing past him as he plummeted in their spread feathers and muscles like a parachute. Horns replacing the faint halo as well as Dokja hastily deactivated his unmoving angelic wings. Having not heard from Jinwoo, he guessed that Jinwoo either found Jinho but forgot to inform him, or he still hasn’t found him. That he highly doubted, after seeing so many Shadows scouring the city? Jinho had to have been found by now; he couldn’t have been taken too far after all.

Dokja sighed and activated ‘Midday Tryst’.

-Hey, have you found Yoo Jinho yet?

The response, unlike every other time, didn’t come. And the silence made worry take root in his core. Dokja went to retrace his movements to find where he had clashed with Thomas, however there was a sudden explosion in the distance. Dokja angled his wings and increased his speed with a couple flaps of his wings and [Ways of the Wind] towards the thundering sound.

That had to be Jinwoo.

---

The skin crawling sound of the flesh being smashed into the ground rang out through the abandoned factory. A dark clothed figure with an oppressive lavender aura kneeling as he pummeled the other muscular man’s face into the now fractured cement repeatedly. As the man cloaked in shadowy robes stood up, they scrunched the other’s collar in a clenched fist. Bringing the limp burly man up to his face, then brought his other fist back to give another grueling blow.

Jinwoo paused in his painfully slow progress in beating the life out of Dongsu when he sensed something - no someone - speedily coming closer to his location. His fist that was about to give the nth punch to Dongsu’s bloodied face halting a hair breadth from said gnarly visage. The S-rank of the Scavengers Guild now looks just as messed up as Jinho.

There was a resounding booming sound and the ground quaked due to the new arrival. Jinwoo calmly looked over to the new person with an immense aura.

Orbs of lilac met golden, and out of the plumes of dust came another burly man with long luxuriant blonde hair. His fluffy blonde eyebrows furrowing over the blazing suns behind a pair of sunglasses. Jinwoo watched his eyes look over to Jinho who was still against the wall to Jinwoo and then Dongsu who was still being held up by him.

---

Thomas didn’t know how, but Jinwoo’s massive emission of energy had completely masked Dongsu’s presence. The mere thought of Jinwoo being able to overshadow an S-rank like Dongsu was a little shocking. Thomas took off his sunglasses and tossed them off to the side in the rubble, the accessory falling beside the unconscious body of one of Dongsu’s lackeys. The clattering sound of its connection to the ground filling the tense silence.

All the while Jinwoo never looked away from Thomas, and neither did he let go of Dongsu who was just barely holding onto consciousness this whole time.

“Hwang Dongsu.. Is he still alive.?” Thomas questioned, using simple loud english so that Jinwoo could understand.

“For now.”

Thomas relaxed slightly, however he wasn’t done. As Jinwoo hadn’t let go of Dongsu yet.

“Let him go. If you do that, we’ll forget that today’s event ever happened. I’m asking you for a favour.”

In answer to Thomas’s words that were intended to placate the enraged Shadow Monarch, said Monarch’s hand tightened it’s hold of Dongsu’s collar,”What if I don’t want to?”

The cold answer didn’t please Thomas in the slightest. So the Goliath showed his steely resolve and peevishness at the retort.

“Then a favour won’t be a favour anymore,” Thomas growled out, his aura flaring to show that he wasn’t all bark and no bite.

Jinwoo answered his statement in kind, his mana cooling the atmosphere when his fury grew impossibly more. Thomas realized that this wasn’t going to be an easy fight, while the Thunderbird didn’t injure him too much and was elsewhere at the moment. Jinwoo was still an opponent that even he couldn’t make light of.

---

But Jinwoo wasn’t either. Anyone else but him in his position right now, they would be wetting themselves in fright. As anyone else would know who this was.

That is besides Jinwoo, he had no clue that he was poking the bear that was a National-level Hunter with his provocations.

But Jinwoo was blinded by his righteous wrath, this man had no right to act as if this was all Jinwoo’s fault that this event had occurred. A bitter taste filled his mouth, it seems that this man is too used to sitting atop whatever his throne was. Jinwoo bet that if anything bad happened to him, he always blamed it on everyone else and never himself. These feelings fueled him to say his challenging words.

“Come then.”

“You… Do you have any idea who I am??” The blonde gritted out his question.

Jinwoo breezily answered,“Don’t know, and don’t care.”

Just as they were about to clash, there suddenly was a crashing sound from above. Sheets of metal fell from the ceiling. The both of them looked upward and saw Dokja diving down to the spot next to Jinwoo. Dokja stood up from his squatted landing, his midnight black wings fanning out behind him.

Jinwoo saw residuals of frost patterns that had formed on the edges of Dokja’s clothing and felt a twinge of worry. But that emotion was overrun with anger.

“You bastard, is this the doing of another one of Hwang Dongsu’s Guild.?” Jinwoo gritted out.

-No, a Monarch came up out of nowhere.

Dokja tried to appease him over the ‘Midday Tryst’. Jinwoo did not feel appeased.

-We will discuss that later, Hyung… But this man is talking about this event like it is our fault.

“Our fault, huh?” Dokja breathed as he looked over to Jinho,”You have some gall Thomas Andre,” Dokja then looked to the ragdoll that was Dongsu,”So this was the bastard who did that to Yoo Jinho.?”

Only then did Jinwoo realize who this was, the Goliath Thomas Andre. But the fact that Dongsu still broke loose off his leash despite having a National-level Hunter as his Guild Master fueled his rage further. Thomas wasn’t glaring at them this time, instead also glaring at Dongsu. Well he seemed to be a smart man, if only his powers didn’t cloud his judgement. Jinwoo bet he was thinking about how he couldn’t act out thoughtlessly against Jinwoo, especially now that Dokja was here.

“Just a minute ago you were talking about how you will stop all of this,” Jinwoo taunted, lifting up Dongsu by his hold slightly for emphasis,”But now that Hyung is also here you are hesitating even more. Are you scared?”

At this, the fire rekindled in Thomas’s eyes, Jinwoo could now see his inner rage become external as his brilliant mana fluctuated. Dokja was also giving him an incredulous look, possibly wondering why he would taunt a National-level Hunter like Thomas. Dokja sighed aggrievedly, and that next moment Thomas had pounced on them.

As he reached out to seize Jinwoo by the head with his big meaty palm, However there was a blinding flash of light just before contact.

Theat next moment Thomas was slingshotted out of the factory, and to where his Scavengers Guild had just arrived. They numerous Hunters had shell-shocked visages as they saw a National-level Hunter slide to their feet. Steam was already rising up from his body, albeit his condition was perfectly fine. Befitting of a tanker.

Thomas got right back up and walked back into the factory, killing intent oozing out of his body as he went.

When Jinwoo saw this, he summoned Kaisel and Igris. The wyvern warbling as it nudged Dokja with it’s head.

“I’m fine, Kaisel.”

Kaisel accepted his statement and then gave Jinwoo it’s full attention.

“Take Jinho to the nearest hospital. Make sure he gets the necessary treatment. Got it?”

Both Igris and Kaisel bowed their heads dutifully and went over to collect Jinho.

After all, this battle was far from over. If the murderous intent spewing into the air from Thomas was anything to say about it.

Jinwoo and Dokja readied themselves as Thomas stepped back in past the rubble of the now shattered concrete wall. Both Koreans glowering scathingly at Thomas while the American shot the look right back.

-He has mobilized his whole Guild it seems.

Dokja spoke over ‘Midday Tryst’, and Jinwoo gave a cursory glance over Thomas’s shoulder.

Ah, if it is only that number… What is it compared to his own Shadow army.?

Jinwoo’s shadow extended like a gaping chasm and hundreds - no a thousand - of Shadow Soldiers spilled out of the shadow, and out into the factory behind him and Dokja. Thomas did a double take and his eyes narrowed as he gave an imperceptible shiver.

This was going to be a long fight indeed.

---

Notes:

ThX fOr ReAdInG 💕💕

Chapter 38: Chapter 37

Notes:

So so so so so so sorry for taking so long to update!!!! My inspiration for this took a dip and then my brain didnt want to write action but... Spicy things.. After seeing that art from liz on twt 🤣🤣 IM SORRY and then i spent even more time procrastinating cuz my brain was sullen for me not doing what it wanted ig

So that im not late for update schedules anymore (hopefully not anymore) i will space it out EVEN MORE to weekly updates (les say anytime on thursdays during PST timezone)

However before the battle happened in full swing, Thomas seemed to have even more to say to them. Dokja inwardly sighed as he opened his mouth to speak again. Maybe Thomas wanted to try and bring this situation down despite him also being aggro. Perhaps he could tell where this fight was going to go. Having to face Dokja, Jinwoo, and a thousand Shadows of quality strength weren’t the best of odds after all.

“If you admit to your mistakes and back off, I promise I’ll spare your lives.”

Jinwoo being the crazy protagonist that he is breezily answered to the sentence in kind by flipping the bird. Dokja pinched the bridge of his nose, what are these two toddlers?? Dokja would’ve also refuted Thomas on his complacent take on this kidnapping event, but maybe not so much as a certain Shadow Monarch. He didn’t even have to look at Thomas to know that the extra provocation had worked, as he felt a strong murderous intent seep into Thomas’s daffodil yellow oppressive aura.

Thomas grinded out through his clenched jaw,“You brat, right until the end.”

Dokja heard a tearing sound and looked over to see Thomas ripping his shirt apart as his muscles ballooned up even more. As if he wasn’t already big before, this guy is like the stereotype of a tank all in one huh?

[The Fourth Wall is showing its teeth in a threatening manner!]

It wasn’t only his personal Skill, but his Stories were also roiling inside him at the sense of raw power oozing out of Thomas’s form.

[Giant Story ‘Torch that Swallowed the Myth’ is licking its chops greedily!]

[Giant Story 'Demon World's Spring' is protecting you!]

[Story ‘One Who Defeated the War God’ is writhing to gain attention!]

[Sto-

The demands of his Stories continued on, all showing their teeth like wild animals at Thomas and his incoming Guild members. Dokja barely holds them back from completely telling their fables.

Jinwoo responded to Thomas’s provocation in kind, his own oppressive pale purple aura fluctuating.

Dokja himself was also mad at Thomas, but maybe everyone can show a tad bit of restraint. He wanted to beat Thomas into next month for what he did, but perhaps poking the bear and making him completely furious wasn’t a good idea. Then again Dokja has done nearly the exact same thing with how many Constellations and Incarnations?

Jinwoo looked over to Dokja expectantly, and Dokja answered the unspoken inquiry.

He flared out his status as well, and all the Scavengers Guild Hunters eyes that were pinned on Jinwoo veered over to him as well. All the while while the Hunters were swallowing their dry saliva, Dokja felt exceptionally calm. Jinwoo seemed to also be on the same wavelength.

“Advance.”

At that one worded command, the Shadow Army launched themselves towards the Scavengers Guild.

“They are coming!!” Thomas called out to his own Hunters.

As the two sides clashed, Thomas came face to face with Iron who had come out of Dokja’s shadow and Thomas slingshotted the other tank across the factory. Dokja winced at that event, but then ducked as a hysterical Hunter tried to knock him upside the head with a bulky hammer. Then knocked them out with the pommel of his sword.

He then surged forward towards Thomas with the aid of [Bookmark] and then [Way of the Wind] and [Electrification]. Blinding white lightning and currents of wind accelerating his movement speed. He shot past Tank who was slashing and head-butting incoming Hunters and hundreds of lower level Shadow infantry as he sped like a bullet towards Thomas. Dokja noted that Jinwoo had the same plan as him, as the Shadow Monarch also shot towards Thomas.

Thomas became wise to their closing in on him and braced himself for impact.

Even when apparently only Kamish was able to move the indomitable tank, the collision made his feet grind into the ground as they all skidded across the concrete. Jinwoo’s dual blades clanged but bounced off of Thomas’s iron like skin, while the shrieking Unbroken Faith managed to break past the fleshy barrier and cut the National-level Hunter.

[The Story ‘Right Arm of the Poor Sword Master’ is continuing its storytelling!]

Thomas gave an almost sharp inhale as they drove him into the ground. Inexplicably, the American managed to shove them both away from him. He gave no respite as he extended a hand towards the two and an invisible force began reeling them back like fish. Dokja hastily used [Way of the Wind] to try and keep both himself and Jinwoo away from the strong force.

[K i m Dok ja th ou ght: Th is g uy i s dec en t ly str on g.]

All the while Dokja was managing to keep himself and Jinwoo at bay.

[The character ‘Sung Jinwoo’ has activated Midday Tryst!]

-Hyung, let me go towards him.

Dokja gawked at Jinwoo but retracted the wind, currently keeping Jinwoo away from the National-level Hunter’s reach. Jinwoo instantly shot towards Thomas, Dokja recognized that he was using his own ‘Ruler’s Authority’ to increase momentum as his eyes blazed with excessive mana.

---

Thomas formed a gobsmacked expression when he saw Jinwoo shooting towards him like a bullet, faster than he intended. And had no time to react as Jinwoo socked him in the jaw with his fist. The force caused Thomas, the Goliath, to spit out blood.

The pulling gravity’s creator was sent flying away across the factory. Thomas had just barely gotten up after bouncing across the floor and shattering the concrete in his wake when he caught a glimpse of a winged figure speeding towards him.

The Miniature Thunderbird again!

Thomas was a fool to be holding back when fighting against these two talented Hunters. It was overdue for him to get serious about this.

“Reinforcement.”

This one word caused Thomas’s already hard skin to morph into golden scaly armor, his height growing a meter taller. His eyes were blazing suns and flame-like canary yellow hair shown just as brilliantly behind his helmet.

He lifted his two jumbo sized gauntlet clad fists into the air high above his head. Thomas took pride when he saw the little Thunderbird falter slightly but all the while continue towards him.

‘Demolition!!’

The fists connected to the floor just as the Thunderbird came within reach, but just at the last second veered off course. Debris flew every which way and the Thunderbird weaved around the hurtling chunks of earth. Thomas gave no reprieve as he continued his output of skills.

“Capture!”

The power of a black hole was born in Thomas’s place, the pulling force disrupting the battle. Jinwoo who had just been about to join in on his duel with the Thunderbird held back. The Thunderbird himself furiously flapping to escape the grasp of the fierce tugging. Hundreds of Shadows were sucked into the vacuum, the Hunters as well weren’t spared from the drift. Screeching as they were dragged kicking and screaming.

---

Dokja frantically beat his wings against the powerful tugging of Thomas’s skill. If it weren’t for him having mentally set a destination in his head he would have given up on fighting the pull.

[The stigma 'Self-Rationalization Lv. 3' has been used!]

He needed to get to Jinwoo, being in mid air will be difficult to keep in one place. The force of this skill was a lot stronger than the one before, Dokja mused as Shadows and Hunters alike flew past him. Not to mention that Thomas’s skill was mixing up the wind, [Way of the Wind] barely helping Dokja fight the current.

Impossibly Dokja was sluggishly gaining distance from Thomas to reconvene with Jinwoo who must be using his own skill ‘Ruler’s Authority to stick in place. Dokja gave even more frenziedly flapping, he wished he could use his [Angel Transformation] however those wings were frozen solid due to the Frost Monarch earlier. Jinwoo extended a hand and Dokja reached out, just as a Shadow bear was about to knock Dokja away, their hands clasped together and Jinwoo firmly tugged Dokja towards him.

Instantly he felt the overflowing feeling of safety in the embrace, and Dokja sighed as he felt like they were in a cocoon that would hide them from the world.

[K i m Do kja th ou gh t: th i s fe els n i c e.]

Dokja couldn’t help but agree.

Jinwoo asked worriedly,“Are you ok Hyung?”

“Yes, thank you.”

They both looked at the centre of the force that had pulled everyone towards him without distinction. Be it Shadows or Hunters, all of the surrounding people except Dokja and Jinwoo were ripped from the ground and to the centre of this seemingly black hole. Soon enough, Thomas activated that same skill that had shattered the ground on everyone and everything nearby.

There was a thunderous booming sound and debris was sent catapulting through the air and raining down in huge chunks along with Hunters and Shadows. Screams ringing through the air here and there as they were launched. Jinwoo and Dokja watched the seemingly gruesome firework show in shock, such destructive power!

“Get away from the Master!! Now!!!” A feminine voice hollered over the ruckus from the entrance of the factory, and immediately all the Hunters bolted away from the aggro Thomas as far as possible.

Suddenly Thomas made a mad dash towards the two Koreans through the pandemonium, his face hidden by the gold armored helm he now wore. He didn’t seem to care about anything else other than putting the two in their place. Dokja and Jinwoo scattered and Thomas raced after Jinwoo, in favor over Dokja. And Dokja made a rebound towards them while Thomas reached a hand out to Jinwoo who had rapidly gained distance between him and the Goliath.

Dokja cursed when the same attractive force from before revived, this time however…

-Hyung, we will strike at the same time.

-Ok.

Instead of fighting the magnetizing gravity, Dokja allowed it to accelerate his progression towards Thomas. He also caught a glimpse of Jinwoo allowing it to pluck him from the ground and send him towards Thomas. Thomas was focusing on Jinwoo, Dokja noticed as he saw Thomas bring back a clenched fist and aiming it for the Shadow Monarch. Dokja input dark ether into Unbroken Faith, the blade shrieking as wisps of abyssal blackness oozed from the blade. Blinding white lightning laced the air around him and tailed behind him as he moved through the turbulence like a comet.

[Story ‘Right Arm of the Poor Sword Master’ has begun it’s storytelling!]

Dokja noted Jinwoo also bringing his fist back to meet Thomas’s own, his muscles bulging as he gathered strength and mana into his appendage.

Just that next second, the earth within a twenty mile radius rumbled and shuddered under any nearby locals’ feet. Jinwoo’s knuckles collided with Thomas’s, and Dokja slashed his sword with surprisingly good swordsmanship thanks to his Story. The ground exploded around them, and the air seemingly fractured into pieces from the shockwave.

Of course Dokja made sure that the strike wouldn’t be fatadye His blade avoiding Thomas's vitals.

Jinwoo rounded a leg, and kicked Thomas aside. However as Dokja was pushing Unbroken Faith into its hilt after the battle was supposedly over, Jinwoo went after Thomas.

“Wh- hey!!” Dokja called as he clamored after him.

Jinwoo didn’t stop, and only did so when he was at Thomas's feet, the National-level Hunter gasping from both shock of the blow and seeing Jinwoo loom over him.

“Jinwoo-ah!”

Jinwoo promptly began beating down the wheezing Thomas, and Dokja flashed back to when he had beaten down Paul for killing the 41st round Shin Yoosung. His knuckles being dyed in crimson, Paul feebly trying to scramble away in the sphere as he mercilessly slugged him over and over-

A sickening crunch pulled him out of his thoughts. Dokja snapped back to see Thomas attempt to knock Jinwoo off of him, but Jinwoo ducked under the big swatting paw. Then doubled down with a brutal punch to Thomas’s gut.

“That’s why I told you before..”

Jinwoo gave an upperward punch to Thomas’s chin, Dokja wincing at the blow.

“It doesn’t matter who you are.”

“Demolition!!” Thomas called out in a scratchy voice.

Dokja gasped as Jinwoo leapt up into the air, and the ground shuddered then shattered underneath him. He hastily leapt off the ground and used his wings that had been left out to keep airborne. That must be the destructive power from before..

Dokja sharply inhaled as he watched Jinwoo descend from his zenith and stomp Thomas in his landing.

“Jinwoo-ah that’s enough!” Dokja shouted, swooping down next to them on the ground,”You’re going to kill him!!”

Dokja offhandedly noticed that a dozen sleek black vehicles screeched to a halt on the sidelines. Adam White being one of the first to hop out among quite a few others. Jinwoo however didn’t deign them any attention, as he pummeled Thomas even more. The Goliath spewing blood from his mouth, his armor crumbling from his form.

Jinwoo seized Thomas by the neck and hefted him off the ground, Dokja’s eyes quaked as Jinwoo tossed Thomas high into the air like a beach ball. Dokja grabbed Jinwoo’s arm.

“I said quit it!” Dokja reprimanded, swatting his shoulder.

“He hasn't yielded yet.”

"... What.?"

Jinwoo glowered scathingly at the air as Thomas met the ground with a solid thud, the poisonous glare turning to the body at their feet. Dokja didn’t stop him from giving a grueling kick to the Goliath for extra good measure. And he also didn't stop him from continuing to obliterate Thomas.

“T-Thomas… Mister Thomas Andre is being beaten up by Hunter Sung Jinwoo!!” An agent of the Bureau yelled.

“I can also see that.”

"We need to stop them!! Do you want to just stand by and watch a National-level Hunter get beaten to death?!?"

"You want us to stop that?? You mean, stop that man?!”

Dokja heard pounding footsteps incoming as Jinwoo, who had tossed Thomas up into the air again and brought him back down to earth with his telekinetic ability, brought a fist back to punch Thomas for the nth time.

“Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim, Kim Dokja Hunter-nim! Please, stop!! I beg you, stay your hand, please!!!” Adam White hollered as he came running.

Dokja turned to look at him in shock, Adam wasn’t a Hunter, but a normal human. If he were exposed to this thick of a magical energy he would perish!

“Agent White get back, are you insane?!” Dokja ordered.

Jinwoo glanced at the two while he lashed out his fist. Dokja watched in shock as Adam rushed towards them, reaching out to try and stop the collision. However just as Jinwoo was about to dish out the blow..

“... I lost..”

The fist stopped a hair’s breadth away from Thomas’s bleeding nose that showed through his crumbling armor. Jinwoo smoothly got back up while Dokja and Adam gaped at him like they were fish out of water.

-Let’s go Hyung.

Jinwoo sent the message over Midday Tryst and Dokja said not another word as they secretly left through the crowd of Hunter Bureau agents. Dokja dreaded what the headlines would be the next day about all the events that had happened on this day. Jinwoo however had a gloomy expression as he resurrected Dongsu into a Shadow, Dokja quietly observing off to the side.

Dongsu, now a tall and burly Shadow, bowed before the both of them. A shock of white was one his face in the shape of a skull. After the display the new Shadow melded into Jinwoo’s shadow without command from his new ruler. The two Hunters then traversed over to Jinho’s hospital room and watched Jinho’s prone form in the bed for a moment.

Jinwoo spoke up,“We will have to swap places with Beru to let him heal Yoo Jinho.”

Dokja nodded mutely in acceptance.

Eventually, Jinwoo stretched an arm out for Dokja and he understood, sidling up to Jinwoo before they were enveloped in cold bottomless shadows. The pitch black cloak that shrouded their vision ebbed away and they came face to face with a sunny day in Seoul. Unlike the dark night that cloaked the United States’s skies, they faced the bright sunshine of the sun. Dokja noted offhandedly that they were at a playground.

“Sit with me?” Jinwoo snapped Dokja out of his thoughts, and the reader realized that he had sat down on the seat of a swing. He hadn’t noticed that he had also brought Dongsu back out, the Shadow groveling to the floor at Jinwoo’s feet on the wooden chips.

“Sure.”

Dokja sat down on the swing next to Jinwoo, and all was quiet for the next couples of minutes. Both eyeing the skyline of the city. He was a little perturbed when he saw that there was blood and a couple brutal bruises painting the back of them. Dokja sheepishly put his hand on Jinwoo’s, and the other instantly positioned his hand to grab back. They spent quite some time just like that, Jinwoo eyeing Dongsu, while Dokja looked up at the blue skies. His pondering on whether to give him something to heal his brutalized hands came to an end.

Dokja unclasped their hands and dove it into a pocket, and fished out a vial of Ellain Forest Essence. The seagrass shaded iridescent liquid sloshed around in the bottle as he handed it over to Jinwoo. The Shadow Monarch eyeing it curiously.

“This can heal your hands, and maybe any other injuries you’ve sustained from the battle.” Dokja informed.

Jinwoo took it and uncorked it before chugging it in a few gulps. Already the marks were fading from his skin and their hands reconnected again. Dokja smiling at Jinwoo and the other softly smiling back.

“Oh, my king. How long should I stay in this position.”

Jinwoo’s lips twitched in annoyance but he answered after a prolonged pause.

“I guess… Until Beru reports back to me that he’s done with Jinho’s treatment?”

Silence greeted that statement, perhaps this Shadow knight is guilty about his faults. It was after another long moment of silence that the fresh Shadow piped up again.

“Oh my king…”

Annoyance colored Jinwoo’s tone and Dokja squeezed his hand,“What is it?”

“Please bestow unto me a new name, my king.”

Jinwoo formed a considerate visage as he brainstormed a suitable name for the Shadow.

“Since you died because of your greed, how about I call you ‘Greed’?”

And suddenly the shadowy figure described in ‘Ways of Survival’ clicked into place in Dokja’s mind.

[K i m Do kja th oug ht: S o th i s is G r e ed?]

---

Notes:

hope ya'll forgive me xP

Also my nickname is back!!! Reason y??

...cuz they found me XD BUT I MISSED LindseyTheLemur ANYWAYS BUT THEY READ MY SMUT IM DYINGGG 😱💀 jinwoo resurrect me into a shadow too plez i must write onward

Thx for reading!! 💕💕❤💕

Chapter 39: Chapter 38

Notes:

Ya'll im not ready to cri when the next sl manhwa chap comes out 😭😭NOT GO GUNHEE NUUUU STINKING HOCKWAN LEMME AT 'EM

*sob*

AnYwHo hope u enjoy~

Once Dokja and Jinwoo had returned to America after Beru reported back his successful healing of the injured Jinho. Dokja pulled out his phone as he sat down on the couch in their hotel room. Jinwoo locked the door and muttered that he was going to go wash up as he passed by for the bathroom.

However a worrying sight greeted Dokja when he hadn’t even unlocked the screen yet.

He may be exaggerating the number, but a hundred unread messages and missed call notifications were in his inbox.

All from Woo Jinchul.

The mere thought made him shudder and his head buzzed with anxiety. Dokja wasn’t quite ready yet to face the music. So Dokja blatantly ignored the alerts as he phone kept buzzing at irregular intervals. But as he got on the web he sighed in annoyance and blocked Jinchul’s number.

As he hadn’t checked on the news in a while, Dokja went to search it up. However something caught his eye. Something that made alarm bells ring raucous inside his head, and the [Fourth Wall]’s snide snickering. The brat. He didn’t have time to reprimand the punk as his eyes practically popped out of his head.

[MagiMerf posted:]
--Ya’ll r busy thirsting and supporting 2 powerhouses that beat Thomas Andre to next year earlier tonight.. Have u all lost ur marbles??😨 These peeps r crazy murderous maniacs who have even less impulse control than Liu Zhigang!!!😤

[xxKeeloxx replying to MagiMerf:]
--And Thomas Andre is collected?? Have u seen what he did to the one endangered bird that that animal sanctuary put on his shoulder for that one commercial?? The poor thing couldn’t hold it’s poop and he strangled it!!😡💀

[ggh_lives_on_in_my_heart replying to xxKeeloxx:]
--Urgh don’t remind me…

[BobtheGypsy replying to MagiMerf:]
--The Angelic Tengu and Conqueror of Enenru r far better than that load of junk 😑 at least they saved an entire nation while Thomas was too busy joining in a raid that already had all of America’s S-ranks. Did they even need his help in Maryland?? Y didn’t he come to help our nation of Japan in our time of need?!!?

Dokja scrolled through quite a few other replies of varying languages. However the platform had a translating feature so it was of little issue to understand them. He could tell that most of the posts that supported him and Jinwoo were Japanese though. It felt very strange to have so much support from them when them and South Korea have had a relationship worse for wear for centuries. And then the whole small world fiasco didn’t help either, the only decent Japanese person he knew back in his own universe was Asuka Ren.

Now thinking about his own universe, Dokja had to wonder how the company was doing without him. Were they searching for him? Leaving not a single stone or tree unturned? Preparing for the arrival of the Outer God Kings? Perhaps they could be waiting for his return..

Dokja just hoped that they didn’t come over here or else this whole Scenario might become a disaster.

He snapped out of his inner thoughts, and began scrolling again.

[s-s-s-simppppp posted:]
-- Are the saviors of Japan a thing? L-like a romantic thing?? Has anyone seen the HAND HOLDING at the airport???

[Blarbex replying to s-s-s-simppppp:]
--Idk whether to be excruciatingly depressed or ecstatic over them being a thing if so, plez.. I beggg… I-I just want Sung Jinwoo to step on meeee T ^T)

[ThePeepsRComing replying to Blarbex:]
--But I mean like, what a power couple am I right? 😳

[SaviorSimp replying to ThePeepsRComing:]
--B-but my posts for them… <:C

[Noodleyos replying to SaviourSimp:]
--Be happy for them 😊 or else I will come after u

[Sangnyan replying to Noodleyos:]
--That’s right >:o just look at how nice they look together
-- [click to see 10 more replies!]

[Potatoessksk posted:]
-- Hey hEY HEY LOOK AT WHAT I SAW EARLIER???🙊👀
{image.png.ANGEL_HELLO??}

Dokja stared incredulously at the picture of him flying up into the sky with his white wings. Although you couldn’t see his features from far away, his signature white coat seemed to have given himself away. Surprisingly the Frost Monarch was just barely in sight but no one took notice of that detail.

 

Dokja looked through the comments, his eyes quaking as he did.

[Goldree replying to Potatoessksk:]
--I-is this who I think it is?? I thought his wings are black a-and y is them just changing color doing things to mevhiwhfeuhwiocuv 😍

[Howdytherepawtner replying to Potatoessksk:]
--Pwettyyyyy haha guess the title ‘Angelic Tengu’ rlly does fit huh?

[Huggosrkey replying to Potatoessksk:]
--I wanna pet them???

[BeepBoopBop replying to Potatoessksk:]
--Wait that’s the Angelic Tengu?? I couldn’t tell because this pic is so blurry👀. And now I understand why my friends have been thir-

Dokja squeaked and his phone flew from his hands when he heard a low hum right by his ear. He could tell that his cheeks were flaming red, these people had no shame! Don’t they know that th-their target of lust might come across these posts??!

And then Jinwoo..

“Why are you looking at those posts, Hyung?” Jinwoo asked amusedly.

“I-I-I’m just surfing the web!!” Dokja stammered,”Give me a warning before you do that again.”

“I did, but you were too sucked up into your phone.. I got annoyed that something was diverting your attention away from me so I wanted to check.”

Dokja turned around to fully look at Jinwoo, said Shadow Monarch had a towel covering his still wet jet black locks. And he wore loose sleepwear.

“Jinwoo-ah, you’re dripping water all over the floor.” Dokja sighed,”And why can’t I pay attention to other things?”

Jinwoo hummed noncommittal,”Could you dry it for me?”

Dokja gave him a flat look but motioned for him to sit down. To which he breezily walked around the back of the couch to seat himself on the cushions.

“You didn’t answer my other question Jinwoo-ah.” Dokja began scrubbing his head with the fluffy white towel.

Jinwoo feigned ignorance as Dokja continued to massage his scalp, Jinwoo’s head was nodding off. So maybe he wasn’t blatantly ignoring him. Dokja will let it slide.

In fact he felt quite proud of his patting skills, as his head patting usually appeased Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung. He had actually noticed that he tended to do this a lot without meaning to, the action being almost as therapeutic to him as the one Dokja did it to. Hopefully they didn’t find it annoying when he did it so often. No matter how good he is, it must be annoying when he does it repetitively.

He missed them all a lot though. Dokja had been trying to think of anything else but them recently, but he still couldn’t stop himself from thinking about them. It was an impossible task after all.

Jinwoo must’ve noticed Dokja’s wistfulness, as he became stock still under Dokja ministrations with the towel.

“Hy-?” Jinwoo began as he started to turn over to look at Dokja.

Dokja’s once tranquil rhythm became frantic and rough and Jinwoo grunted.

“Don’t worry about it Jinwoo-ah,” Dokja chirped, already knowing what Jinwoo was going to do.

“Hyu-!”

“Nope!”

Suddenly a hand seized one of his wrists and it stopped Dokja’s movements.

Jinwoo spoke in a low and dangerous tone,“Hyung.”

Dokja broke out into a nervous sweat,”Jinwoo-ah.”

Jinwoo moved and now they were face to face, an imploring and dark look on his face. Dokja suddenly took immense interest in the slightly damp towel now in his hands on his own lap.

“Talk to me.” Jinwoo ordered softly.

“I, it’s nothing to worry about.”

“Then why won’t you look at me?”

Dokja averted his eyes from the towel and back up to Jinwoo’s stormy grey eyes.

“... I’m just thinking about my companions.” Dokja answered after a long pause, his fingers clenching into the furry fabric of the towel.

It may have hurt to think about leaving them again, but speaking it aloud was all the worse. His eyes felt like they were faintly burning. Suddenly two warm hands were cradling his cheeks and Dokja snapped back to reality. Just realizing the other soft press against his cheek and Jinwoo let their foreheads meet.

Dokja got lost in his grey eyes that looked at him with such intense softness, the burning emotions in them shocking Dokja. Jinwoo often kept his eyes guarded, and the rest of his face did all the talking with a smug curl of the lips. So seeing such rawness in their depths was surprising.

“I may want you to stay with me; by my side forever even after you help me overtake this incoming apocalypse.. But only willingly.” Jinwoo breathed,”I won’t force you and steal you away from your friends. I may want to keep you all to myself and hide you away from the world.. But I won’t put my happiness above your own.”

Jinwoo’s voice came across with a melancholic and bitter tone, and it hurt to hear the usually greedy protagonist speak like this.

Dokja wished that instead of Greed he could bring Jinwoo instead. But like Jinwoo, he couldn’t put his happiness over his own. Would it really be alright to plunder this world of it’s Shadow Monarch?

“Just know that I love you Hyung.”

Dokja choked over his words, not at all used to saying this phrase.

Dokja replied quietly,“I love you too.”

Jinwoo gave a small peck on the lips and moved away, and Dokja’s head was buzzing with hundreds of thoughts.

“You should also clean up,” Jinwoo suggested,”And then we can discuss your meeting with the Monarch.”

Dokja nodded and went to wash up.

---

Jinwoo’s feelings were turbulent as he heard the shower turn on. It hurt him to concede his possessiveness of Dokja. But he wanted to show his support no matter what. Maybe perhaps once they complete the difficult task of stopping the apocalypse, he could follow Dokja to his home universe. And place faces on the stories of Dokja’s companions as well.

However neither of them seemed to know when this apocalypse would happen, and by who it will be kickstarted by. The Monarchs or the Rulers? The Rulers that have been setting death traps to input mana into the atmosphere to start a global war with the Monarchs. Or that one Monarch that had assaulted Dokja while he was preoccupied with Dongsu.

A pained yelp from the bathroom broke through his thoughts. Jinwoo was immediately at the door. The shower was still running past the door, and he heard a hiss. He felt his black heart give a solitary beat and he felt like it was in his throat in his anxiousness.

“I’m coming in!”

“Wh-?!”

Jinwoo barged in and pushed away the curtain and did a comical double-take.

Dokja.. Had creamy white wings and a flickering halo..

Dokja who was turned away from him looked over his shoulder and squeaked in mortification.

“W-why are you in here? Let me shower in peace will you??”

“I saw you at the springs, there is no need to be embarrassed.” Jinwoo deadpanned.

“I had a towel!”

“Not in the actual pool.”

“Well yeah! It is bad etiquette to go in with it, and the water was covering me up!”

Jinwoo sighed and moved on to his reason for coming here,”Why did you yelp earlier?”

Dokja turned his head back away from him. The only thing Jinwoo saw was the now cherry red tips of his ears. And Jinwoo took notice of the frozen chunks in the otherwise majestic and lustrous feathers. When Jinwoo saw that they were shivering somewhat violently, he felt a searing anger at the sight.

“Is this the doing of that Monarch?”

“.. Yes, he was the Frost Monarch.” Dokja answered,”Hockwan.”

Hockwan, huh.? Jinwoo felt a broiling fury rear its head deep inside him. But now he had to take care of Dokja before they talked about Hockwan.

“So the difference in temperature hurts?”

Dokja slowly nodded.

“I’ll help then.” Jinwoo volunteered resolutely. He took the handle of the shower head from the wall and sat down outside of the tub.

Dokja gingerly extended a shuddering wing of ivory feathers out to him and Jinwoo gently took it. He directed the steaming water flying out of the head to the wing and it jolted forcefully in his grasp. Although he couldn’t make it sting any less, he could do this more efficiently than Dokja. This was because he wouldn’t feel it and he had a better position.

Dokja squirmed where he sat in the tub, whining at the difference in temperature. But a wave of fake calm seemed to cloak itself over him. As he became scarily still as Jinwoo continued to melt the ice with the hot water. Jinwoo stiffened when he saw that the water was turning slightly pink and he peered at Dokja’s wings.

There were shallow cuts in the tendons of Dokja’s pillowy white wings, the ice must have been stemming the blood flow. Although it was only tiny streams of blood oozing out, Jinwoo’s superhuman eyesight had caught the slight pink tint in the water.

Jinwoo finishing couldn’t have come sooner, as he stood back up and turned off the shower.

He softly dried Dokja’s wings and back. The only parts of him wet by the time he was done. And Jinwoo left for the living room for Dokja to get dressed, not without grabbing a roll of bandages. And sooner or later they were both in the living room on the couch again, this time with Jinwoo drying Dokja’s hair. Dokja’s pair of angelic white wings tucked away wherever they went when he cancelled his transformation.

“Did this frosty bastard say anything during the fight?” Jinwoo questioned in a clipped tone.

Dokja hastily answered,“A few things yes.”

“Could you elaborate, Hyung?”

Dokja gulped and Jinwoo tried to soothe his nerves by rubbing his scalp more pacifyingly.

“He pressed about the, you know, ‘joining their side’ thing. I declined again and we fought.” Dokja informed smoothly,”And as he left he said they would be back, and then froze my wings.”

Jinwoo finished drying Dokja’s hair and they stared at each other.

“We will have to be extra vigilant, and he managed to wound you,” Jinwoo murmured,”We should avoid having our forces stretched thin like earlier.”

“Yes, I was mostly just unprepared to deal with a Monarch tonight. And Iron couldn’t come out and help because we were airborne.”

Jinwoo hummed,”Then perhaps we should swap Iron out with Kaisel.”

“But you need Kaisel to get around swiftly when you don’t have ‘Shadow Exchange’.” Dokja pointed out.

“I can run, Hyung. I put a Shadow in your shadow so that they could help you when I can’t. If I can’t use ‘Shadow Exchange’ then you should have an ally to help you.”

Dokja deliberated on that thought for a moment, and sighed in acceptance,”Alright.”

Kaisel chirruped merrily over their mental link, and Jinwoo switched the wyvern with the warrior. Jinwoo felt Iron’s discontentment at leaving Dokja’s side and Kaisel’s smug elatedness.

“Now then, should I wrap up those wings?” Jinwoo eyed how Dokja flinched, was he trying to hide those injuries? “I noticed that they had cuts in them.”

Dokja opposed,”They are shallow at worst, like paper cuts. Those wings will just ache when I use them the next couple of times. My body heals fast.”

“They may have not been deep, but they could still get an infection. With both the Rulers and Monarchs breathing down our necks at the moment we can’t get sick let alone show weakness.”

Dokja grumbled and soon enough his vanilla white wings and faint halo were back out in the open. Jinwoo grabbed the bandages and began tightly weaving them around the heavenly soft feathers. He felt a faint heat radiating off of the appendages, much unlike Dokja’s black wings that held a slight coldness. They felt oddly comforting.

Soon enough Dokja’s wings had all their cuts wrapped up firmly and they were both ready for the conference. Albeit Dokja would have to leave them out for them to heal. As they can’t wherever they go when he has the transformation deactivated.

They hadn’t been able to go to bed properly, as it was already close to dawn. So the most they could do was have some sleepy cuddles. Well tried, Dokja was still not used to physical contact, and he zipped off to somewhere else in the house. He sent a message over the Midday Tryst though as he drifted in and out of sleep.

-You can come back if you are comfortable enough to cuddle.

Eventually, Jinwoo didn’t know how long it took, but he felt another figure sidle up to him. Dokja was pretty stiff against him, likely wondering if it was ok to be doing this. But Jinwoo knew better than to show that he noticed him let alone to tug him closer to him.

So instead he helped make it more comfortable by making it loose for if Dokja ever wanted more space or to leave. And Dokja finally eased up and slid closer to him, his back and wings pressing against Jinwoo’s chest.

Then Jinwoo’s phone rang, and Dokja sprang out of their pile of limbs when Jinwoo sat up. He grumbled as he grabbed the phone but then saw the calling ID.

“It’s Adam White.”

Dokja nodded towards him to answer it.

-“Sung J-Jinwoo Hunter-nim?” Adam’s voice sounded over the line once he answered it and put it on speaker. Anxiousness coloring his tone.

Jinwoo responded,“Agent White.”

-”A-ah nice to hear that you sound ok.” Adam nervously laughed a little,”.. Are you and Kim Dokja Hunter-nim ready for the Conference.?”

Jinwoo looked over to Dokja and the reader made a ‘carry on’ motion with a hand.

“Yes we are ready.”

-”Glad to hear! We are waiting outside of the hotel for you!”

“We’ll be with you shortly.”

With that Jinwoo ended the call and looked over to Dokja who was already by the entrance to their room.

“Shall we go then, Jinwoo-ah?” Dokja grinned and Jinwoo grinned back.

“Yes, let’s go.”

They exited and got in the car, Adam and the other occupants in it staring at how Dokja had an entirely new set of bright white wings and vague halo. But they didn’t question it.

Soon enough they were at the front of the building that the International Hunter’s Guild Conference was being held. Passerbies gasping and trying to sneak photos of the two. That is until they heard a bright voice holler behind them.

“Hyung-nim!! Dokja-ssi!!”

They both spun around and saw a now perfectly healthy Jinho running up to meet them.

“Yoo Jinho.” Jinwoo smiled.

Jinho whined,“You can’t forget me!”

“Of course not.” Dokja replied.

“Ohhh, did you bleach your wings Dokja-ssi?? They’re very pretty, and how did you get that little halo? They are very cute!” Jinho rambled excitedly,”But what is up with the bandages.?”

“This is another pair of wings that I have.”

“Coooool.”

After a little bit of more small conversation, they entered the building. Suddenly two agents of the Hunter Bureau came up to them.

“We’d like it if you gave us some of your time Kim Dokja Hunter-nim.” One of the two agents said.

“Not right now, we have to join in on the Conference, do we not?” Dokja declined, his wings puffing up in display of his annoyance. The agents took notice and gasped before quickly fixing their behavior.

“This is an important matter, sir,” The other stated,”Besides only Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim was invited to enter.”

“Kim Dokja is his bodyguard,” Jinho butted in annoyedly,”Shouldn’t he be allowed to join him.”

“We are well aware of their relationship,” Dokja flushed lightly and Jinwoo couldn’t help the slight upturn of his lips,”But we have a more important place for Kim Dokja to be at the moment.”

“More important than the International Guild Conference?” Jinwoo let go of his pleased emotion of their relationship being acknowledged, the mood turning sour as he formed a murderously stern look.

The glare instantly stopped their attempts and they scurried off.

“I’m sorry about that,” Adam apologized even though it wasn’t his fault,”I genuinely don’t know why they were being so pushy about separating you two..”

Jinho huffed loudly,”It’s their fault not yours! Let’s just go in already before they come back.”

Jinwoo, Dokja, and Jinho now silently entered a large room that looked not unlike a college’s lecture hall. Instantly all eyes snapped to them.

This.. Was going to be interesting.

---

Notes:

Lemme know if the msg format i got going is hard to umderstand, tried to add more details since it is far longer than my earlier attempt

tHx FoR rEaDiNg!! 💕💕

Chapter 40: Chapter 39

Notes:

Hey guys!! This chap is far longer than I anticipated tbh 😂 but i was in a happy mood and wanted to make it a lil’ longer than usual because it was my bday 2 days ago, yay! 🎉🎊🎉

School work however is beginning to accelerate again, but if i follow this weekly schedule i shouldn’t have to go on an extended break again in the near future.

I unfortunately couldnt think up many ways to implement kdj in this chap since it was more informational and going over the same things again from before but i tried xP

Anywho I hope u enjoy it! 😁

As the three walked down the slanted aisle to their row after being given little ear pieces for translations. The noise in the large auditorium grew louder. The crowd chattering amongst themselves about the topic of interest that had just arrived.

After all Jinwoo and Dokja were the two who had beaten Thomas into a pulp last night.

And thus they were restless and shooting looks of fright and interest. However they scooted farther into their rows when they passed. As even though some were curious, the reason for why the two had done what they had done was left to be undisclosed at this time. Instead of attempting to clear up the fog around the subject and discover the truth, they chose to avoid announcing the subject directly.

What if they were just loose cannons, and the reason for why they beat down the Scavengers Guild was because they looked at them funny for too long. They could be just as trigger happy as Liu Zhigang and Thomas Andre for all they knew.

[Ki m Do kj a a nd Su n g Jin w oo h a ve gar ne r ed a l o t of att enti on r ece ntl y.]

Dokja pondered this as they traipsed by, Jinwoo not seeming to care about it himself. While Jinho beside them looked as smug as a peacock in his stride, however him having a slight limp in it dampened Dokja’s mood.

However Dokja felt an intense burning gaze on him, the feeling raising hair on the back of his neck. What did he ever do to gain such attention? Perhaps it was just because he contributed to Thomas now being in the hospital? Who could it be?? He was about to stealthily look behind himself but they were at their row of seats already, the three now veering into their row. The Hunters that were close to them not so subtly scooching their chairs further away from the three.

“Look at all these big figures from across the globe!” Jinho breathed out in awe, looking at the people all over the room.

“Yes, it must be exciting for you, since you are a part of a business man’s family..”

With this they all chatted, or more like Jinho was filling the silence. While Jinwoo and Dokja added their own little tidbits every now and then. Eventually a large number of scientists entered onto the podium at the ground level of the large room. So many in fact, that by the time they had finished giving their theories on the progression of the magical energy in the air, the once somewhat chilly temperature of the room had become lukewarm. However a particular scientist stood up to give his own two cents on the subject.

He was an elderly man with somewhat wild wispy grey hair. Large circular glasses framing his eyes reflected the light from above hid his expression.

“Hello, everyone. I am doctor Belzer.” He began

“You should be aware of the fact that the number of Gates being generated has shot up recently,”He stated,”And the fact that stronger monsters have made their appearances, too.”

Since this statement had been renounced over and over again for the past half an hour or so, no one seemed to care much. Most of the occupants of the room having aloof expressions. However the next thing he said changed that.

“However, there should be almost none of you who have realised that unusual activity has been detected in the skies above us.”

Dokja waited quietly, whereas the other foreign Hunters showed their curiosity openly. All of them wished for him to go on already. Just as someone was about to speak up, Belzer continued.

“The truth of the magical energy concentration found in the planet’s atmosphere getting greater-” Belzer spoke before hastily amending his mistake as he began getting back to what a dozen other scientists had said before,”We all know of this fact since it has been widely reported.”

His draw back to the original topic seemed to enrapture the Hunters even more though. Dokja snorted when he formed a very pleased and happy countenance at the attention he was holding.

“I’d like to use a different term to denote the magic energy found in our atmosphere. Until another more suitable word is invented, how about we use the term, ‘magisphere’?”

In an exaggerated flourish, Belzer waved his hand through the air and a large map of the atlas of the world appeared on the wall behind him. He really was excited, huh? Dokja mused humorously.

Dokja nearly snorted when he whipped out a little laser pointer. The device nearly flying from his hand across the room with his hyperbolic mannerism. Much unlike his apparent elation, he calmly listed off eight countries in a monotonous voice. Until he read the last one with more emphasis.

“... And finally, this is the spot with the highest magisphere concentration. City of Seoul, South Korea.” Belzer directed the blood red laser towards South Korea on the map, the pointer matching with the red spot already on it.

Instantly once the words were translated, all eyes in the room snapped to the three Korean Hunters. However when they met eyes with the foreigners they immediately redirected their terrified gazes. Jinwoo sighed aggrievedly and Dokja felt a twinge of pity.

It was clear that the Bureau hadn’t disclosed the complete truth of the incident last night with the Scavengers Guild. And this knowledge about this ‘magisphere’ wasn’t helping them in the slightest.

Belzer seemed to take notice of the sudden stiffness in the atmosphere as he looked over to the subjects of interest. Gladly taking their spotlight of attention away from them.

“I’ve also read this morning’s article. But folks, you shouldn’t be looking at them that way. If they were capable of causing all this magisphere in the air like that, then obviously, they’re no longer Hunters, are they?”

A few of them nervously laughed in the room, but the joke did little to soothe their nerves.

“As you might have guessed, we couldn’t discover any tangible similarities between the locations I have mentioned.”

Thus they couldn’t discover what the cause of these conglomerations of mana were the effect of. Worry seeped in most of the peoples’ minds in the room. Belzer waved an arm again and another image took the map’s place.

“This here is a shot of the skies above the aforementioned nine spots.”

The pictures were taken from a magic energy detection camera on the spy satellite. And edited to make the energy captured in the shots more visible. Just as was mentioned, there were sizable clumps of the energy, like ominous storm clouds above the locations aforementioned.

Unlike the others with already big lumps of the mana, Seoul was an entirely different can of worms.

Dokja and Jinho gawked at the image, Jinwoo barely hiding his own shock.

Nearly the entire sky of Seoul apparently held a ginormous secret from them all. As there was no spot but the somewhat distant horizons that didn’t hold a large load of energy.

[K i m Do kj a th ou ght: Th a t isn ‘t g o od.]

Jinwoo suddenly spoke up across the Midday Tryst.

-Hyung, I have a theory for the cause of this.

Dokja looked over to Jinwoo.

-I think I have an idea as well, why don’t you share first.

Jinwoo hummed and Dokja tried and failed to pay attention to anything else. Jinwoo smirked then sent another message.

-It is a possibility that these plumes are connected to the Monarchs.

Dokja cradled his chin in thought, that was his own theory as well. So he sent his agreement.

-I see, there are nine after all, but we slew Legia and he was the Monarch of Beginnings.

Jinwoo formed a ponderous expression, but before he could reply, Belzer noticeably looked towards them. His face however didn’t hold the prior happiness, not a hint of a smile in the slightest.

“Our current situation is that, since we don’t know the cause, we also don’t know how to respond to this phenomenon.”

Belzer let that spoken truth lay stagnant in the room, before continuing to conclude his presentation.

“However, let me make it clear. The assertion of being unable to respond does not mean there is no need to make plans. It’s eminently possible that our world will experience yet another seismic shift soon.”

He bowed lowly,”Thank you for your time.” Then left to podium.

In his place, the Director of the Hunter Bureau, David Brennan, came up to the front next. Since this part of the conference hadn’t been on the list of topics, Hunters began mumbling complaints. To which David easily calmed the now noisy atmosphere.

“I have something important I must inform you about, everyone.”

The once noisy setting quieted down quickly. Dokja sweatdropped at the eerie silence and the immense amount of attention the Hunters were pouring into the Director. Jinho shivered beside him as he was unused to the superhuman amount of attention being honed in on David. David sent the three a brief nod of gratitude, for likely sparing Thomas Andre’s life, before piping up again.

“My heart is heavy as I deliver this unfortunate news to you all.”

With the next sentence, everyone in the room noticeably sat up a little straighter.

“About two weeks ago, Hunter Christopher Reid was murdered by unidentified assailants.”

Before pandemonium could completely break loose, a spread of corresponding images were projected onto the wall behind David. Some featuring the rubble of the once illustrious mansion of Christopher, the nearly unvanquishable flames, and even the corpse of the National-level Hunter Christopher himself.

Hunters now knowing better than to fight against the bitter truth, began spluttering out an endless gush of questions. To which David answered with a slow shake of his head.

David replied,“I’m sorry but I won’t be answering anything until the presentation is over.”

David sneakily looked towards the three and could only thinly veil his complicated emotions. Dokja figured that was because Jinwoo was completely stock still, his eyes however gleamed a pale violet, and his arms were crossed in front of his chest.

“We strongly suspect this man as the perpetrator of this crime.” David sighed and the pictures of Christopher were replaced with another man’s.

They were the same photos Dokja and Jinwoo had seen on the plane they took from Japan back to South Korea. They were photos of Sung Ilhwan, Jinwoo’s dad. Dokja watched the Hunters in the room surreptitiously look at them, no, particularly Jinwoo. He himself followed their gazes. He noticed how his jaw was clenched tightly and that JInwoo was biting his lip. A subtle perplexed look in his glowing eyes.

Dokja secretly laid a hand on Jinwoo’s thigh, and the other instantly reacted. His arms uncrossing and a hand cradling his own back. It was hidden enough to where only if you squinted would you be able to see the holding.

---

David continued to elaborate on the identity of Ilhwan, then continued onto how said man brutalized Dongsu during an interrogation. And then he explained Dongsu’s identity as the Korean S-rank the U.S. had adopted into it’s growing list of S-ranks.

Jinwoo however took comfort in Dokja’s hand in his grasp until David went back to Christopher’s case of murder.

“Several human-type monsters possessing that level of power escaped from dungeons and attacked Hunter Christopher Reid at the same time - we at the Hunter Bureau feel that this is the likeliest explanation.”

As David spoke on about the power of this dangerous ‘Suspect S’, Jinwoo however took more attention to the video clip being shown behind him. It was one of ‘Suspect S’ with his foot pinning Dongsu to the ground under immense pressure. However the display of inhumane strength wasn’t what left Jinwoo in awe, no it was what he was trying to do in it besides that.

It was trying to… Engage in a conversation with Dongsu..?

Jinwoo spiked up all of his senses to the maximum extent, and time slowed down and he watched its lips bob as it spoke. Thus reading its lips.

-”… In the country. This isn’t for my son, but for your sake. Even after death, you’ll not be able to close your eyes.”

The results he got made his black heart give a powerful beat, it can’t be.!

The thought of this creature knowing of his powers left his inhuman heart to pound laboriously. Jinwoo squeezed Dokja’s hand and he felt a gentle squeeze back. He felt a little bit more soothed, but he wished to confirm his findings first before settling down.

‘Greed!’

Said newly created Shadow soldier dutifully responded.

‘It is as you suspect, my liege.’

As he stewed in his thoughts, David was coming to the end of his presentation.

“We’re planning to ask you, the Guilds of the world, to help us track down and apprehend this ‘Suspect S’. If you discover this man’s whereabouts, please, give us a call immediately. That is all.” David added.

When he didn’t speak anymore, the Hunters deemed it as the end of the presentation. Thus dozens of hands shot up into the air demanding attention. David’s eyes roamed over the hands until he picked one.

“Yes, the sir over there.”

The Hunter hastily asked their burning question.

“Do you have any proof that this ‘Suspect S’ isn’t a human?”

“We have perfectly matched his magic energy emission to that of monsters. Next question.”

“That creature insisted that he was someone who went missing inside a dungeon. However, did a Hunter like that really exist?”

“Yes, that Hunter did really exist.” David confirmed,“Next.”

A Hunter quickly asked,“If that’s the case, why haven’t you revealed the identity of that Hunter?”

“Oh…” David did his best not to look anywhere near the general direction of Jinwoo.

Even though he tried to avoid completely disclosing the identity, his next words made it even more clear of the relations of the ‘Suspect S’ and another occupant here,“We’ve decided not to reveal that information because the suspect is related to one of the Hunters currently attending this conference.”

Jinwoo inwardly groaned, this guy..

The question seemed to have been what nearly everyone else was going to ask, as hands began to lower. And some were even carefully looking towards Jinwoo, thinking that they were being sneaky.

However someone in the far back raised his hand. David seemed to have taken notice as he was about to call on him, however the man spoke before he was called on.

He drawled his question in Chinese,“Even then, don’t you think it’ll be better to release the identity of that person, if you really want to arrest ‘them’?”

Jinwoo now recognized him as the one who represented China, the National-level Hunter Liu Zhigang. Now this man Jinwoo could recognize due to him not being from America unlike Thomas. He was accompanied by dozens of the top-ranked Hunters of China, all of them from his Guild.

He had thick black hair drawn back in a messy ponytail, his bangs loose in the air. He wore a red dress shirt along with a black tie and blazer. His daffodil yellow eyes shone with mana as he side eyed Jinwoo and his company. He was lounging back in his seat like he was some kind of king, much unlike the other stiff Hunters. A lazy smirk curling his lips.

David seemed to not know how to respond to that without completely disclosing Jinwoo’s relationship with this creature. As silence answered Zhigang’s question.

“Don’t you agree, Mister Director?”, Zhigang continued on to drive the point home.

Instead of answering the question, David begrudgingly lifted the remote to the projector and tapped a button.

Pictures of Jinwoo’s father’s documents were now scrawled across the wall. Gasps ringed out in the room when their theories were confirmed of the suspect being Jinwoo's father. Dokja huffed beside him, and Jinho gasped in astonishment beside them.

---

Zhigang eyed the group of interest further down the rows from him, smirking when he saw them eyeing him. Although he enjoyed Jinwoo’s attention, it was interesting to see the Angelic Tengu’s eyes of midnight black and smoldering starlight on him.

He raised his hand for the second time, not without breaking his side eyeing eye contact. He waited this time for the Director to call on him.

“... Hunter Liu..”

“This time, I have a question I want to ask Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim.” Zhigang replied.

After a moment Jinwoo slightly nodded and turned in his seat to give his full attention. The Angelic Tengu beside him watching the two with well hidden nervousness. Zhigang noticed the two disentangling their hands, how sweet, they were holding hands in the middle of the conference.? He also offhandedly noticed their ‘Chauffeur’’s eyes frenziedly darting between them all.

Zhigang asked Jinwoo,“What will you do if this ‘Suspect S’ really turned out to be your long-lost father, and the Hunters of the world were trying to hunt him down?”

Jinwoo dwelled on the question for an extended period of time.

“If that creature is nothing but a monster, then I’ll kill it with my own hands. However, if it’s not a monster, but really is my father, then…” Jinwoo answered with overflowing conviction,“I shall protect my family, even if that means every single Hunter in the world becomes my enemy.”

Zhigang felt pleased by the honest and upfront answer, let alone he said that in front of all the Guild Masters of the world’s most notorious Guilds. Guilds that collected high-ranked Hunters like they were drawing from capsule machines with ease. He could respect not only his ability to slay all the Giants, but also to speak his mind so nonchalantly.

How interesting..

This was his thought as the Conference was concluded and Hunters hastily made their exit from the room. He watched as the three Koreans walked past his back row, catching the eye of each of them. It was a little funny to see them now following Jinwoo like he was the mother duck, both not so sure in their stride as when they came in after Jinwoo’s proclamation. It was fair to assume that everyone’s eyes were tracking their every movement now, and everyone would be for a long time.

---

Notes:

Oh also, ik i prob dont have to, but i wanna give a teeny weeny apology for not getting to the comments i’ve been getting recently xP just know that i see them and i will reply sometime today xD

aLsO WOWIE WE MADE IT TO 2K KUDOS IM SO HAPPYYYYYY YAHOOOOOO *spazzes out into oblivion*

Thank ya guys so much for all the support! ^^)/ dont think i wouldve gotten this far without it love ya'll 💙

Thx for reading!!💕💕

Chapter 41: Chapter 40

Notes:

Haha this turned out to be prob the longest chap i’ve written for this xD oof im glad i actually spaced out the work i did this time as i usually spend the last 2 days doing writing galore xP

Oh also, i am thinking about changing the tirle cuz it sounds like one of those super long isekai manga titles and i dont like that very much xD

But im trash at titles so i might take some time to make a decent title on my own. But i am open for suggestions!

Anywho i hope u enjoy!! 💕💕

{“I will be back in six hours.”}

Yoo Joonghyuk remembered those words that Dokja had spoken to the company a few hours after the end of their lounging day. The Sub Scenario had left the reader incredibly anxious, him having to appease the Company proving to be too difficult for the man that scammed Constellations with ease. The man who is the one that they follow like lost ducklings. Who has cheated death far too many times.

{“It is just a little Hidden Scenario, I don’t need any of your help.” Dokja hastily added when Jung Heewon volunteered to join him,”It will seem as if I never left!”

All of the Company eyed him warily. Joonghyuk himself didn’t have a clue about what this Hidden Scenario was. Which was saying something considering he was both a regressor, and he had access to Han Sooyoung’s ‘SSSSS Grade Infinite Regressor’. It was after Heewon had knocked Dokja out that he questioned Sooyoung about the missing details. Both standing next to the chair that the unconscious Dokja sat in. The woman replied angrily to his curtly asked question.

“Well I’m sorry for not having an answer to that,” Sooyoung snarked,”I hardly remembered what happened at that part, the dream was too foggy that time I think. Why not pester the info out of Kim Dokja??”

Joonghyuk growled,“You know how he is.”

“Well it isn’t my problem.” Sooyoung sighed and left him.

Joonghyuk eyed Dokja for a long moment, he could’ve sworn.. No he is drugged, he must be imagining things.}

It was during the time between Yoo Sangah and the children switching shifts that Dokja had made his escape. And now for the past two hours they have been scrounging around, searching for the location of this Hidden Scenario.

Joonghyuk shoved an innocent boulder out of the way, the Secretive Plotter in his little bubble scoffed at his peevish actions. To which Joonghyuk answered with a glare directed towards him.

The Secretive Plotter said unhelpfully,“You should just wait for Kim Dokja to return.”

“This is none of your business.” Joonghyuk gritted out as he continued stomping around the clearing.

“You should have faith in your companion.”

“Shut up.”

Joonghyuk will find that pesky squid before the six hours are up, who knew what that self-sacrificial man was up to. The only thing that told him that Dokja was even still alive being the windows that pop up from time to time. As if alerted by his thoughts, a blue glow suddenly lit up beside him.

[Your notoriety is spreading in the Realm of Chaos!]

Joonghyuk clenched his jaw impossibly harder. However, accompanying his great annoyance, there was a wave of relief, as shown when his shoulders minutely slackened. But he continued his search.

He, nor the company, will stop until they find Dokja, wherever this ‘Realm of Chaos’ was. It will be uncovered and they will drag him back if they must.

---

“Were you being serious??” Adam questioned incredulously,”Wh-what you said back there…”

Jinwoo wished to feign ignorance, however he had only said one thing during the entirety of the conference. So there was no room to say something like “What are you talking about?”, what would Dokja have said to avoid this?

Ah.. Maybe?

Jinwoo gave his answer to Adam’s question in the form of a grin, to which the agent paled and nervously chuckled while Jinho snickered. Dokja huffing in amusement beside him.

Jinwoo knew perfectly well who the hunters back in the International Guild Conference were, they were the top 500 Hunters from 120 countries. And he had said that he would go against every single one of them and more if it meant protecting his family.

But Jinwoo wasn’t all that scared about his statement, in fact he felt pleased with his actions. Giving them the truth that he only works to help those that are actually close to him, he isn’t some good samaritan. He has a rationale under almost everything he does, and that is to become stronger.

“There is most likely only one other person who would defy all expectations like that, Hunter-nim.” Adam mused.

Jinwoo’s interest spiked as he eyed the agent imploringly.

“This other person being..?” Dokja seemed to also be curious as he piped up.

Adam clarified sheepishly and made a wry smile,“Er-well, he’s in the hospital at the moment.”

Ah, Thomas Andre? Jinwoo hummed, that man with that conceited personality of his would definitely do something like that. But recalling his expression as he submitted to him had Jinwoo forming a wry smile of his own. He wondered if Thomas would still be the same after he along with Dokja and his Shadows beat him down so brutally.

“A dinner party has been scheduled to take place this evening.” Adam continued onto a list of things that had been planned for the day,“Since we at the Bureau went all out to prepare this grand feast, how about sharing a cordial meal with other Hunters?”

Jinwoo was thinking of declining, as he didn’t have much to say after the Conference. And other things.. He eyed the other Hunters, seeing how they stood around in the halfway in groups and were ogling them.

They have been watching them with poorly concealed secrecy due to the intensity in their gazes. He was irked by some of them even watching Dokja, their eyes filled with wonder as they traced their eyes over Dokja’s bandaged creamy white wings. An emotion that could be described as possessiveness rearing its ugly head despite them only watching, .

However Dokja intervened brightly. Before Jinwoo could speak his mind in an intended not so friendly tone.

“Sure, why not?”

Jinwoo did his best to channel all his disagreement into one pointed look at Dokja. The man feigning ignorance. Jinwoo knew he could see his look and no one could deny it, then a mechanical din sounded in his head as a new message popped up in Midday Tryst. A voice floating into his ears.

-It would be good to get to know any variables that might come into play whenever the world presumably ends.

… Jinwoo supposed that he could make do with shooting down any peoples’ attempts at interacting with Dokja if he deemed them unsavory. He begrudgingly acquiesced to joining in on the festivities that were lined up for the rest of the day.

Suddenly the Hunters that had been glancing at them repeatedly and whispering to one another in their little clusters of groups jumped to the side of the large hallway. Parting like the Red Sea for a figure followed by a decently sized group made their way past them all.

It was the Chinese Seven-Star rank Hunter, Liu Zhigang. Otherwise reckoned as another one of the few National-level Hunters who had survived the Kamish raid. The group behind him being the ‘Liu Zhigang Squadron’, his direct subordinates.

Said man made a beeline for them, not batting an eyelash to anyone else around. It was as if everyone but them were just air that he allowed to bask in his presence.

That was what Jinwoo thought, after all he hadn’t had any positive experiences with a National-level Hunter yet. Thomas having set the bar of Jinwoo’s expectations excruciatingly low.

The foreign Hunters were gasping loudly at Zhigang’s directory of his gait.

“Uwah.!!”

“Wh-what are they going to do??”

Zhigang stopped right in front of Jinwoo’s nose, Dokja and Jinho watching in bafflement. But no one spoke as one could practically see sparks flying between Jinwoo’s and Zhigang’s eyes. The strained tension effectively silenced everyone. Until the other Hunters’ surprised gasps morphed into hushed murmurings.

“What is Liu Zhigang planning.?”

“Perhaps he has something to say about Hunter Sung Jinwoo’s offensive response..?”

“Yup, I was wondering why he kept silent back there after that!”

“You guys,” Dokja said,”Can’t you see the spectacle you’re creating?”

Murmurings and whisperings wafted through the room from the spectating Hunters.

“Or, you know, saying hello to the Angelic Tengu?”

“Why does everyone keep calling him that?? Don’t they have his name on their Hunter forum?”

“.. Well everyone else has been calling him that or Miniature Thunderbird, so I am doing it too.”

All pairs of eyes swiveled over to the reader, Dokja’s white wings fluffing up slightly around the bandages. The emotion Jinwoo had noticed before flaring up and making his Black Heart give a solitary beat. Suddenly however Zhigang began speaking in smooth Chinese, his mother tongue going way over Jinwoo’s head.

… What.. Is he saying..?

Dokja looked equally confused, but he hid it well. Jinwoo looked back to Zhigang and noticed his serious and grave expression.

Jinwoo was legitimately starting to slightly panic and seeds of paranoia took root in his mind. Beru wouldn’t be able to help translate the words across their link either as Jinwoo doubted he'd eaten anyone who knew Chinese. Let alone the Shadow ant not even being present at the moment.

So instead he followed Zhigang’s expression, his countenance becoming solemn. However acting as if he understood what this man was saying made him feel foolish, thus the task was an arduous one he thought darkly. He couldn’t see any other reason for Zhigang to have that look as he spoke other than insulting him.

---

Dokja now would’ve liked it if he had taken Yoo Sangah up on that foreign languages app. Sure, she introduced it to him not even an hour before the apocalypse and he doubted any moderators would care enough to keep it open. But having only facial expressions to go by made translation far too rough around the edges to be sure. Zhigang could be just as nervous as them at the moment with that somber look on his face and they wouldn’t be able to tell.

Dokja wished that he had gotten to know the guy a little better beforehand, maybe then he would be able to understand at least his mannerisms.

Suddenly someone whispered beside the three Koreans what the National-level Hunter was saying.

“He’s saying that he hunted down the Giant monster you missed during your trip to Japan on the Chinese coast recently.” Adam spoke up quietly.

Zhigang kept babbling in the background, instead they were all shooting surprised looks towards Adam.

“You know Chinese as well?” Dokja asked with an intonation of shock.

“Well, I was in charge of the Asia branch, after all. I can speak a few Asian languages. Ah, also, I can speak a little bit of Russian, Spanish, Arabic, as well as German…”

Dokja had the distinct impression that Adam might get along with Sangah, how many languages did he need to learn for his job?? Dokja struggled to wrap his head around how they could learn so many diverse languages.

[Su ng Jin wo o i s g et tin g gr e edy.]

He wasn’t the only one in awe, Dokja noticed a flash of faint avarice pass through Jinwoo’s eyes. Ah, does he want a Shadow that can translate multiple languages.?

Oh no you don’t, Dokja thought as he gave a soft little tap to Jinwoo’s ankle. Effectively catching his attention, and Dokja made the best of it by giving Jinwoo a flat look. The Shadow Monarch sighed but seemed to also not like his previous thoughts himself. Dokja felt slightly bad for raining down on Jinwoo’s parade, perhaps he could make it up to him later.

Meanwhile, Zhigang kept speaking, stone faced as ever. The group returned their attention to him.

“Could you keep translating for us, please?” Jinho requested.

“Alright,” Adam agreed with a determined nod along with an equally determined expression.

“He says that he was surprised from how unexpectedly strong the Giant monster was.” Adam began,”And he also says that it was a difficult battle as he had to fight the monster on the ocean’s surface.”

It was a little loopy to have such large bulky opponents be able to move so fast, but then to have to fight them without any ground to fight on must’ve been troublesome.

“Ever since that encounter, he says, he’s been meaning to meet you two. He has been really curious to learn more about the people capable of easily hunting down all those powerful monsters.” Adam’s countenance was lightening up along with everyone else’s, even Zhigang seemed happier now that they weren’t looking at him strangely,”That’s what he said.”

So happy, that Zhigang extended a hand towards Jinwoo with a blindingly cheery smile on his face. Jinwoo eyed the hand for a moment before shaking it with a small smile of his own. However when Jinwoo saw that Zhigang was moving to give Dokja one, Zhigang’s grip slackening in Jinwoo’s hand. Jinwoo tightened his grasp on the Seven-Star rank Hunter’s hand.

Zhigang looked a little sheepish as Jinwoo now forcefully held his hand. The strength of his hold would have broken any lesser man’s hand! Dokja reminisced alarmingly. Zhigang spoke in a strained tone, to which Adam quickly translated.

“He is asking if you could let go, please.” Adam himself is also gaining tension along with everyone else.

Jinwoo was as stoic as a statue as he coolly eyed Zhigang, Dokja watched his gentle smile sharpen in a smirk displaying all teeth. What was this crazy protagonist doing?!?

“You better not try anything with me, or any of my loved ones, or I’m coming for you next, Liu Zhigang.” Jinwoo breathed out lowly.

When Zhigang looked over to Adam imploringly, Adam was white as a sheet and was hesitating to translate. But he gulped thickly and relayed the message quietly. Zhigang broke out into laughter at what he heard, finding the threat hilarious. Is he an adrenaline junky?? And then Zhigang answered back to them.

Adam said, his gloomy face dissipating into relief,”There is no need to think about that, I would never do anything considered wrong to any of you. He said that.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” Jinwoo relinquished his hold on Zhigang’s hand.

Zhigang offered his hand to Dokja, and the reader sheepishly shook it. Some more chinese flew out of Zhigang’s mouth as they exchanged proper greetings. Jinwoo immediately took notice and his eyes snapped towards Adam.

“H-he said that you look better in person than in the videos, a-and he congratulates you two on your relationship.” Adam flusteredly said and Dokja offhandedly noted that he felt his cheeks start to burn.

Jinwoo kept a wary eye on them as their hands disconnected, only then did he relax. And then Jinwoo formed a small laid back smile. Zhigang then said more in a lighthearted tone colored with amusement.

Jinwoo asked Adam who had a lost look,“What did he say?”

“He says that he’s really happy about you teaching Thomas Andre Hunter-nim a lesson.” Adam’s lips curved up minutely,”He doesn’t even have to take a look to know that it was Thomas who instigated the whole thing first

Jinwoo’s smile grew even more, any earlier negative thoughts thrown out the window. Dokja agreed, he thought that this man was going to be like Thomas but they seemed to have been mistaken. Zhigang didn’t seem rude or arrogant and was in fact a compelling person.

Then Zhigang’s countenance dimmed down and they all paid attention to what he was going to say next. Adam’s smile was knocked off his face and he hastily translated Zhigang’s words.

“That is why he will now pray even harder that ‘Suspect S’ isn’t actually your family member. He says that he doesn’t want to fight against either of you, no matter what.”

Ah, it would be bad if Jinwoo ever was an enemy. Zhigang must be experienced enough to tell when someone is incredibly strong and isn’t all bark and no bite. Dokja could agree, Jinwoo is stronger than he was when he first met him. Even then Dokja wanted to have some amount of space to collect himself to figure out the Scenario and the world.

Jinwoo nodded wordlessly and then someone addressed them.

“All of you are here.”

All of them shifted their gazes over to the man who had spoken. Realizing it was the Hunter Bureau’s Director, David Brennan.

“Can both of you clear some time in your schedule, please?” David requested.

Dokja shot an imploring look over to Adam to which the agent shrugged, this wasn’t in their schedule tonight?

[K i m Do k ja tho ug h t: W ha t cou l d h e wa nt f ro m the m?]

Jinwoo seemed to also be wondering the same as he sent a message over Midday Tryst.

-Two other extremely strong Hunters are being led away from the gathering by several escorts.

Did something happen perhaps? Dokja pondered this.

“Unfortunately Yoo Jinho Hunter-nim won’t be able to join us..” David said.

Jinwoo shot back, annoyance tinting his voice,”Why not?”

David answered right back,“Because you are going to be meeting with a very important person, and they are highly confidential.”

Who could it be??

“I would like it if you accompany Yoo Jinho Hunter-nim, Agent White, and make sure no unsavory people come near him again.”

“Y-yes sir.”

“.. We will see you later Jinho-ssi.” Dokja said hesitantly, Jinwoo watching Jinho carefully.

“Oh don’t worry, I will be fine!” Jinho chirped brightly.

David turned to address Zhigang and the National-level Hunter agreed easily, curious about what this could be about himself.

They found themselves being guided away down another hallway, however they separated from Liu Zhigang’s group.

“Why are we going to a different room.?” Dokja questioned.

“We are meeting with that one person, she will explain everything once you get there.”

Dokja sensed a comforting aura mixing into the air growing stronger as they came closer to a closed entrance at the end of the hall. Who could it be?? Jinwoo seemed to have recognized it, as his eyes were widened a little bit.

“Looks like you found out who it is.” David said as he opened the doors, “We do our best to not to expose her location if we can help it. But then, this issue being what it is, we didn’t have much of a choice…”

“Was she demanded to come?” Jinwoo asked.

“No, no not at all, in fact she wished to meet with you again. And to see Kim Dokja Hunter-nim.” David denied.

The now opened doors revealed who this mystery person was.

It was an African American woman in all beige clothes, a beige blazer, knee length skirt, and a very wide brimmed sun hat. Long thick black hair extended down her back, and her forest green eyes looked over them with a deep calm. She showed a small hint of surprise when she noticed the pillowy whit wings trailing behind Dokja. But regained her calm quickly to address the other.

“It’s been a while, Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim.”

“Likewise, Madam Selner.” Jinwoo acquiesced.

Ah, so they have met before. But Dokja noticed a small amount of tension in Jinwoo’s form, what could’ve happened between them?

“I didn’t expect you to seek me out first, ma’am, so..”

To which Norma answered with a polite bow of her head,”I’d like to apologise for that day. Back then, my mind wasn’t in the right place to-.”

An agent that had taken up the role since Adam was gone quickly translated her words, Jinwoo raised his hand for her to stop. Dokja was severely confused as he watched Norma look to the Director over their shoulders before looking back at them. Well more at Dokja now.

“I don’t believe I have been able to meet you yet, I must say that your wings really are a sight despite the bandages” Norma remarked and Dokja shuffled in his spot,”I am Madam Norma Selner.. And I have the special ability to increase a Hunter’s strength.”

… Weren’t Hunters supposed to not be able to grow stronger? Jinwoo was only able to because of the System he had, but that was the only loophole there was to that rule. This ability must be why the Bureau does all they can to keep her hidden and well protected.

“It is nice to meet you, Madam Selner.” Dokja greeted, along with a nod.

She nodded back serenely,”I do have a number of things to discuss with the both of you both.”

They went and sat on the sofa that faced hers from across the coffee table. Then both waited for her to start, their attention egging her to go on.

“I’ve been having the exact same dream every day.”

Silence hung in the air for an extended moment, until Jinwoo broke it.

“And what was in these dreams?”

“In my dream, I watch the scenes of top Hunters being hunted down by a group of unknown people.”

If this was going where Dokja thought it was going, this did tie back to them. Jinwoo seemed to have come to the same conclusion.

“And a few days later, that dream becomes reality.”

Dokja cut in,“Could you be talking about… Christopher Reid?”

Madam Selner nodded her head. And David intervened in the explanation.

“We had warned Mister Reid ahead of time, but he wasn’t interested in hearing us out. The end result was… well, you know what happened already.”

They have seen his demise in the video Adam had shown them on the plan back to South Korea. The man was incredibly roughed up and beaten ragged, having long died before the fires were successfully put out by the high-tier water mages and firefighters.

“Powerful Hunters supporting this world will continue to die. Those hunting the Hunters will not stop what they are doing.” Norma’s voice wavered as she continued, voice getting thick with emotions.

“So… You also wish to warn us of the dangers..?” Dokja went off on a limb.

Norma apoke immediately and resolutely along with a shake of her head. As if she had that answer ready for a while,“No, that’s not it.”

Norma took a moment to collect herself before looking at them with strong conviction in her eyes,”Please, I beg of you two. Protect these Hunters.”

---

This request..

“Why..?” Jinwoo questioned, cocking his head to the side in confusion.

Norma paused on this for a moment

“... While the dream kept repeating itself, I tried my best to memorise the faces of those hunting down the Hunters. However, it was all for nought.” Norma’s expression grew gloomy at not being able to recall their faces.

Norma continued,“And so, I decided to use another method. Even if it was just a dream, I’d use my ability to look into their true nature, their true form.”

“Was that why you looked into my eyes last time?”

She nodded in answer, it was shocking for her to be so open about her capabilities. As this was highly confidential information that was regarded more important to protect than the U.S. President themself.

The amount of trust making his black heart give a small beat.

“What I found within those people was limitless power. But, when I locked gazes with ‘that thing’, I had no choice but to wake up from my dream.”

Jinwoo’s eyes wandered and he realized that her hands were shaking in her lap as she spoke on.

“When my eyes looked into it… I can still clearly remember the words and voice of ‘that thing’ even now.”

“And what did that thing say?” Dokja asked.

“I-it said that I should… Quietly go back and wait for the war.” It seemed that his prior meeting with Norma was more impactful than he had thought back then, the woman shaking like a leaf in her seat on the plush cushions of the couch.

But Jinwoo was paying heed to her words as well, specifically the word ‘war’. It is not unlike what the King of the Giants, Legia, had told him and Dokja. About the Monarchs and the Rulers preparing for war, injecting mana into the atmosphere through the Gates. The evidence that doctor Belzer had pointed out during the Conference’s meeting came back to him. Just which side was going after human Hunters?

“And I saw the same power inside of you, this is why I have requested you for your assistance..”

The same power..? Jinwoo immediately could tell now who these perpetrators were. His expression became stormy at the epiphany.

The Monarchs were the ones behind this. The same people who kept badgering Dokja about joining them and lashing out violently. He had a few reasons to dislike them. The black heart giving two beats. Norma took notice of his hardening countenance and began to speak again.

“They are existences above the Hunters, and in order to stop them, we need you who possess the power that equals theirs, Hunter-nim.”

It was then that David intervened again,”In all honesty, I wasn’t convinced by the claim that you could protect these Hunters until recently…”

“But with Japan and last night’s fight with Thomas Andre that perception changed?” Dokja piped up.

David answered hesitantly as the truth was pointed out so blatantly,“Yes, you’re correct.”

“Of course, we don’t expect such excellent Hunters to help us without any suitable compensation.” David tacked on.

Anything he wanted, it’d be made available. And that included the greatest treasure Kamish had left behind, its Rune Stone. This offer was unlike their previous declined proposals, instead of wanting Jinwoo’s permanent support, they seemed just fine with settling with borrowing his strength now. As that was all they needed, they just wanted to make sure that their only other National-level Hunter survived these murders.

Norma broke into the tension,“There are Hunters enjoying powerful blessings in this world. They have supported this world with their powers. If they are gone, this world will not be able to hold on for much longer.”

Jinwoo was slightly unsettled on his decision still though.

“... I’m sorry.”

Of course everyone else in the room was baffled by his firm rejection. David scrambling to grasp at straws to find what the issue was.

“I-is it because of some unresolved emotion towards Thomas Andre Hunter-nim….??” David asked hastily.

Jinwoo quickly shook his head, to try and stop them from jumping to more conclusions.

“No, not at all.” Jinwoo answered,“It’s only because I don’t know anything about the enemies I’ll be facing.”

Dokja was side-eyeing him as well.

-Jinwoo-ah, it would be a good idea to be a bodyguard for these people..

-I will think about it, Hyung.

Dokja let it be at that for now and redirected his attention back to the Americans. The silence from Jinwoo’s refusal laid stagnant in the air around them for a long moment before Dokja sighed and broke it.

Dokja drawled,“I assume you want something from me other than that?”

Norma finally broke from her contemplation and nodded.

“Yes, I would like to use my ability on you to dive into your psyche if you don’t mind.”

Immediately Dokja tensed and Jinwoo watched the proceedings warily. Keeping a close eye.

“And perhaps you might like the idea of subsequently growing stronger in return for my intruding your privacy.” Norma continued when she saw his discomfort,”But I won’t do it if you don’t want to..”

That.. Although her seeing into him like that was off putting, it seemed like a decent exchange. Dokja also seemed to think this as he became thoughtful. But Dokja could be a very private person. Besides, perhaps he won’t get blinded by the want to easily grow stronger through Norma’s ability. Jinwoo had faith in Dokja.

“Sure.” Dokja answered, and with that the deal was sealed.

---

To be honest Madam Norma Selner was both excited and nervous about this with the Miniat- Kim Dokja. Dokja was looking at her owlishly from across the table, and it was almost a little funny. He seemed unwittingly curious, and if all things went well in this meeting unlike with Jinwoo’s then they likely would gain another National-level Hunter to substitute for Christopher Reed.

Said Jinwoo was sitting beside Dokja, and the few agents in the room were at the door, keeping a vigilant eye on the three. Word must’ve spread about his interaction with Norma, as they carefully eyed him specifically.

Adam White was even wringing his hands together, as like her he was a witness of her and Jinwoo’s meeting. And this was why she was scared. If the rumors were true, then Dokja and Jinwoo were together, but neither of them had spoken up verbally about it yet.

But holding hands in public? Norma supposed that that was answer enough.

But what if Dokja’s soul was similar to Jinwoo’s? She took note of the familiar saying that ‘birds of the same feather flock together’, as a fortune teller she knew to sometimes not to take idioms lightly. Norma doubted that she could take that if they were the same. But this was for the sake of the United States. She will try and do what she can.

“If you could give me your hand Hunter Kim Dokja?” Norma reached out her hands.

Dokja gingerly extended his own hands and she cradled them in her palms. With this done she activated her ability ‘Upgrader’.

She closed her eyes and when she opened them she found herself in a large and expansive library. Norma stepped forward, surprised by the glory of this library. Her eyes looked upward and found a vast universe of starry flecks in a dark sky. The backdrop of the stars was painted by colorful plumes of astral dust and she marvelled at the beauty of it. It has been too long since she has been out in the far country where there was no light pollution that hid these stars from view. The Bureau not wanting her to be too far away from them to protect her.

Something caught her eye so Norma looked downwards and saw a inky black tentacle hastily move out of view out of the aisle of bookcases she found herself in. And then some mumbled words followed. Norma gasped in fright and then sparks began to fly around her, and felt as if she was being forcefully ripped from the library that was Dokja’s subconscious.

[Wh a t do y ou th i nk yo u are doi ng h e re?]

Norma gawked at the dainty texted words hovering before her eyes, and the somewhat impish voice that spoke them.

She blinked and she found herself back in the room with Dokja and the others, breathing heavily. Dokja looked befuddled as the agents hurriedly checked up on her. But she didn’t have time to recollect herself as those same bolts of static shot after her from Dokja. The shock hurt and she yelped in pain.

“HEY! YOU LITT-!!” An agent hollered and made to grab her gun along with her other fellow agents.

Jinwoo immediately let his displeasure be known,”Stand down.”

Just those two words and the pressure he let loose scared the protective agents into submission.

Norma continued to gasp for breath, shaking like a leaf in her seat. What was that… Thing?!?

One of the agents still shakily whipped out his gun and pointed it at Dokja. David Brennan was about to step in to control the situation when the agent began spouting out frantic words.

“We will protect Madam Selner with our lives, it is our du-”

Dokja interrupted,“Are you done?”

“Why you!!”

“Enough, Agent Thorn stand down!” David growled.

Agent Thorn hesitantly followed the command and lowered his gun. Jinwoo halted his own aggression, and Dokja sighed and plunged a hand into one of his pockets before setting it on the table and pushing it over to Norma. She picked up the vial with a trembling hand and stared in wonder at the iridescent aqua green fluids swaying inside. She hasn’t seen anything like this before..

“... What is this..?”

“Ellain’s Forest Vital Force.”

Jinwoo watched curiously, but the steely glint in his eyes said that he was alert. Dokja nudged him and he relaxed a little more.

Norma fumbled to open the vial. However her limbs and their nerves were still frazzled from the electric shock she had received earlier.

The agents were still sullen, and sulking off to the side but Norma found that she was unable to open the container of the essence. Finding her hands too jittery from the shock she had received in more ways than that bolt earlier.

“Here let me,” Adam held out a hand and she plopped the canister in his palm.

He fiddled with it for a moment and soon enough managed to open it. The scent of petrichor seeping out of the bottle. Adam sniffed it curiously, humming.

“I’ll check to see if it is poisoned.”

Adam took a sip, and immediately felt a refreshing feeling flow through his body as if he had just woken up from a long nap. His fatigue from work washing away like waves lapping away indents in the sand on a beach. He felt replenished after that long night he had gone through due to the kidnapping of Jinho.

He handed it to Norma and she took the bottle quietly after he nodded. She surreptitiously took a sip and stuttered as she felt the effects herself. Then promptly swigged the rest of the contents, feeling the slight spasms, from the electricity earlier, leave her body. Not only that, but the deep exhaustion that she usually got when she activated her skill ‘Upgrader’ had vanished.

Nothing should be able to heal that massive draw back from her ability, but now she felt just like before she had used it on Dokja. And felt that she can use it on another Hunter right this moment. Dokja truly was an anomaly…

Jinwoo was watching them inquisitively, staring openly at the vial in her hands.

She and Adam were stunned silent by the after effects of the ‘Ellain’s Forest Vital Force’. Curious if Dokja had created that himself or found it somewhere. While Norma thought back to the magnificent library and sky with the childish voice following it.

Norma coughed into her fist and furtively eyed the two Hunters, truly they were the only ones who could defend the National-level Hunters. If she couldn’t bribe either to help them, then they would all have to only hope that they accept their request.

She sat back against the cushions of the couch, and everyone in the room’s hackles lowered completely.

---

“Well then…” Dokja said as he and Jinwoo stood up from the couch,”We will be leaving now.”

They quietly exited the room, Jinwoo already thinking up on how he should implant Shadows into the Hunters’ shadows. The Hunters that were the targets of the Bureau’s concern. And pondering on how he should greet the Monarchs when they inevitably show up before them.

He will make sure to have them regret going after the human Hunters, he and Dokja will make sure of it.

---

Notes:

Nearly 6k words this chap dang oh well

I don't really care much for having consistent lengths in chaps, as long as they have all the things i have planned for them in them. And if I see a chance of cutting it off for the next chap I usually don't hold back.

But i did promise to have a certain scene this chap that i had previewed a while ago so ye have a hefty chap *Slams large pile of papers on ur table or lap or ya know* hope ya like cuz my hands sure didn't 🤣🤣

Bet’cha weren't expecting Yoo Joonghyuk either >:Dc

tHx FoR rEaDiNg!!💕💕

Chapter 42: Hiatus Notice

Hey folks, may be wondering why I'm updating so suddenly

Yeah well, you probably know the drill, I'm going on an indefinite hiatus.

Yes, yes I am. I may sound like (pardon my slight profanity) a very sensitive b-word by saying this but I've gotten some comments that really didnt help my already pretty low self esteem. The person responsible might be laughing right now if they actually make it to this chapter of this story.

Back on topic, these comments broke my enthusiasm to write this pretty thoroughly, kudos to them for being so good at breaking my spirit. I feel in my bones that I am on the precipice of another writers block as before I started writing this

To be completely honest, it is going to be quite the long time before I get back to this. I have better things to do then write something that is apparently a "self-insert", i have friends, real life, school, etc.

I'm sorry for those that have been sticking with me, I thought I wouldn't need to go on a break while writing this but you never know. Also I won't say who it was who gave the comments. And I will still be around ao3, I will reply to any other comments you have and eventually will reply to those other comments when I'm ready. Just no chapter updates for a while.

Thanks for reading, sorry folks and see you around maybe? ^^;

Notes:

We got a discord server now!

Pspspsps come join us and talk about orv, sl, and everything between

Orv x SL discord server

Chapter 43: Chapter 41

Notes:

HOWDY EVERYBODY!! Guess who's bacc >;3c that's righttt it's ya buddyyy 🤣🤣

First off! Im really sorry for being gone for so gosh darn long!! And not replying to all the comments last chap!!! 😣😥 there r just so many-- i will reply.. Eventually i actually dodnt expect so many xP yall rlly touched me with ur sentiments but we must understand that the commenter is just as human as us uwu they didnt mean for me to react like that.

Secondly! Since it took so long, my characterizations mightve changed a lil, i never had a firm outlook on the characters so it mightbe changed like the tides so apologies apologies if they seem different now, it's one of the bad things about not writing them for so long.

And thirdly! Not to give excuses, but i accidently mixed up the time line before i left so it was difficult to get it back in order in this chap.. So that kinda played into it, but dw! It should be patched up now, or i will work on it in tge next few chaps xP

As i get back into the flow of my weekly schedule, updates might be a lil slow, my writing got kinda rusty and then im on my final year of highschool so imma be a busy peep. So i might not be punctual, but i will do my best, i hope for ur guys' patience 🙏🙏

Thomas’s mind was washed over with a wave of pure epiphany as he lay unconscious.

He lost.

It was the soul crushing truth that reverberated through his temples along with the lasting pain from his battle with Jinwoo and Dokja. His skull throbbed at the thought of the punches that Jinwoo dealt him mercilessly. The slices from the Miniature Thunderbird’s blade even when all stitched up and numbed with the numbing anesthetic, they still throbbed. But.. Something felt off by calling those two merciless.

His mind stagnated as he slowly opened his bleary eyes to the pure white ceiling of the hospital room. The beeps of the medical equipment pumping vitamins and electrolytes into his bloodstream, and the nearly overwhelming scent of disinfectant and bleach.

He was in the hospital.

When was the last time he had been in a hospital? He hasn’t been in one since after he Awakened at the top of the food chain as a Hunter. His natural healing that usually allowed him to recover inhumanely fast from mortal injuries didn’t seem to have been able to catch him from his fall to the two Korean Hunters he had faced off with along with his Guild. How humbling.

“You are awake,” The familiar voice of the usually robotic toned woman he had hired as his Vice Guild Master was tinged with shock and relief.

Thomas looked over to the side and saw Laura sitting in the stiff seat beside his bed.

“... Looks like it..”

Thomas off towards the window by his bead, the bulky neck brace impeding his movement. It was night time, but he could tell that this wasn’t the same night.

“It.. About one day has it.?” Thomas questioned.

“Yes.”

Laura’s voice now held no emotion, cold and thinly cut, bordering on curt. He looked back to her, as that tone could sometimes mean that she had more to say.

“The first doctor to examine you suggested that I should prepare for the worst case of you waking up several weeks later.” Laura informed.

Only then did the full weight of everything come down on his hazy mind. The full truth of just how bad he lost. To be fair he had anticipated for this to be one of the results of that battle, he was strong, even more so with his guild. But to go against the saviors of Japan was never a good idea, perhaps this encounter will help open his eyes.

There are other predators amok in the world, and that thought alone made a small shiver run down his spine.

Thomas breathed out exhaustedly,“Is Hwang Dongsu.?”

“.. He is dead, sir.”

Thomas didn’t show much of a reaction to this statement, surprising himself. He kept his guild close to him, not letting one member come to too much harm. But he couldn’t find it in himself to react to a deceased member. Only a small ember stewed in his gut in remembrance of the South Korean member.

Thomas struggled to clear his throat before continuing,“Other casualties?”

“There were no other deaths, but a lot of them were injured.”

In such a chaotic battle, that statement was almost funny to hear. Then Thomas realized why after some chewing on the info.

They had gone easy on him and his guild. This had been even more of an overwhelming defeat than he had anticipated. Those two were monsters, being able to do this on their own while holding back. But they were benevolent monsters for doing exactly that, sparing all their lives except Dongsu’s.

A fire lit in Thomas’s eyes, he owed them a favor didn’t he.. Thomas would never let this go unpaid. He should pay them a visit at the venue, it was tonight wasn’t it? Thomas sat up in his bed, and when Laura sharply stood up to discourage him, he waved her off.

“Make sure to give Mr. Hwang a proper funeral, he was still one of our own after all.”

Laura nodded slowly, a flash of uncertainty dancing across her eyes.

“And tell Hunter Sung Jinwoo and the Miniature Thunderbird… That I, Thomas Andre, want to deliver an official apology..”

Laura’s eyes widened minutely in barely suppressed shock, after all Thomas never apologizes. She brushed past her surprise and gave a short nod.

Thomas moved out of the bed, peeling off the neck brace and casts on his appendages. They were still slightly bruised, however he could say with confidence that the bruises would fade by the time he got to the venue for the conference. It was time to make his offer to the two Hunters.

---

Jinwoo, Dokja, and Jinho hung around the halls of the venue for a while longer before Jinwoo figured that it was about time that they left for their hotel to finally catch up on sleep. As the three strode down the halls, glittering eyes traced them, or more like Dokja’s pillowy white bandaged wings.

Jinwoo dearly wished that they could have the appendages tucked away wherever they went when Dokja deactivated his transformation at this point. But they couldn’t heal when nonexistent so he supposed he would just have to deal with the bedazzled eyes for now. If someone were to touch them though…

He pondered on what he would do then, as he held the door open for Jinho and Dokja. Both expressing their thanks to which he answered with a slight smile and nod. Then they continued towards the two cars supposedly belonging to the bureau. Jinwoo could see the hunched outline of a familiar man through the car’s window thanks to his perceptive eyesight, he could assume why the man was inside.

To discuss the matter that Madam Norma Selner had brought to his and Dokja’s attention.

Top ranked Hunters becoming the hunted of mysterious entities.

He didn’t fight at all when an agent directed Jinho into the car behind the first one, the both of them nodding to each other in acceptance. Before he and Dokja ducked into the backseat of the car in front. Adam was still looking haggard from the all nighter he must’ve pulled, still his eyes snapped open when he heard the two enter the car. He must’ve been taking a short nap.

“Ah, you both are here, Hunter-nims.” Adam spoke groggily before telling the driver to start the drive.

-It seems that the small sip of Ellain’s Forest essence wasn’t able to mitigate all of his depleted stamina.

Jinwoo hummed, eyeing him with pitying eyes while Dokja discreetly turned his attention away to the road, opting to not want to call Adam out on his sorry state.

-Perhaps you should ask him for a list of the Hunters they wished for you to bodyguard.

Dokja spoke over the Midday Tryst, it seemed like they were both having the same thoughts about this.

Jinwoo immediately got down to business with the sleep deprived Hunters Bureau Agent.

“Could you get us the list of Hunters suspected of being attacked?”

And suddenly Adam was lively for the first time in the past twenty-four hours, eyes brimming with excitement and relief.

“Have you changed your mind??” Adam questioned nearly so fast that his words spilled out of his mouth in a blur.

“No, but we’re curious about something else.” Jinwoo almost felt sorry for speaking his truthful answer as Adam sagged back into his plush leather seat. Any energy just given back into his limbs sapped just as quickly. However he visibly tried to hide the same emotion from

“I shall draw up the list as soon as I get back to the Bureau.” Adam breathed, and wow, he really was tired wasn’t he. Jinwoo looked over to the time on the car’s clock and winced, it was nearly 9 pm. Perhaps either he or Dokja could mediate the fatigue.

Jinwoo and Dokja shared glances and reached a swift agreement. Jinwoo reached out a bit in front of him and with a few deft flicks of a finger, a healing potion was bought from the System’s Store, although having seemingly popped up in thin air to everyone else in the car. Dokja hummed and watched in amusement as Adam visibly panicked as Jinwoo reached over to cover his eyes that were bulging as he gawked at the bottle of questionable fluid.

“W-wh-what is that--??” Adam squeaked as Jinwoo blocked his eyesight and began pouring the invigorating potion into his mouth after tilting Adam’s head back.

Adam was tense and shivering like a leaf as he swallowed the potion, possibly fearing for his life, but Jinwoo didn’t bother assuring him. He would find out the effect soon enough after all.

Soon enough Jinwoo pulled away the bottle from Adam’s lips and the American agent looked as if he was glowing from the after effects of the potion. His face was positively gobsmacked as his eyes shot from the bottle, to Jinwoo, then to Dokja, before he coughed into a fist and schooled his expression.

“H-how did you do that Hunter-nim--?”

“It’s a trade secret.” Jinwoo smirked slightly.

Adam had an enamoured look in his eyes.

“You are.. Well, how should I phrase this... It feels like you'd have greatly succeeded regardless of what you chose to do, even if that was unrelated to being a Hunter.”

Although the praise may seem too much for anyone who didn’t know the context. Given it was also spoken by a highly intelligent agent who could speak at least ten different languages. Jinwoo's smirk softened into a small smile of satisfaction after seeing Adam’s gratification.

“Could you make an opportunity for us to meet with the people on the list?” Dokja requested.

Adam shook his head in a negative, however the next thing he said brought hope to the both of them.

“It isn’t hard to do, but we already have an event of that kind in motion.”

Jinwoo and Dokja glanced at each other, Jinwoo’s Shadows perking up in interest in their mental links.

“We do still have the ‘Night of the Hunters’ after all tonight.” Adam explained with a brilliant smile.

It was some time later that Jinho, Dokja, and Jinwoo arrived at the venue that would be hosting this event called the ‘Night of the Hunters’.

---

The crowd of the top Hunters in the world were boisterous until the three came into the building, the chatter hushing down into low conversations. The guests parted like the red sea as they passed by.

It was around half an hour into the banquet that Dokja, Jinwoo, and Jinho were all ready to leave. The truth is however that they were ready the whole time, as all the other guests avoided them like the plague much unlike Zhigang. A large portion of them were unnerved by Jinwoo’s statement back in the conference room after all.

Dokja distanced himself away from Jinwoo when a chairman from another nation came up to him asking for remains of the Giants from Japan. Just staying long enough to see Jinwoo pull Jinho to the forefront to work his business magic.

However, whenever Dokja wandered a little bit away from Jinwoo…

Dokja was just about to grab a dumpling from the table, when someone bumped into him and he nearly fell all over the assorted food. His dumpling flew out of his hand in the process and into the chocolate fountain. Dokja grumbled and turned around to face the culprit to be met by a woman with some of the wildest hair he has ever seen.

“Oop! Sorry there Mr. Angelic Tengu!” She frantically apologized, her eyes darting all around them in search of something. Surprisingly despite her seeming to be foreign, she still was able to speak Korean quite well.

Dokja said bitterly,”It is fine.”

A perfect dumpling wasted.. What would Joonghyuk have to say about that?

He should’ve known that all the hunters here have a high enough perception stat to be able to read the mood. His hardly hidden bitterness was revealed to the wild woman. As she glanced at the dumpling that had finally completely submerged itself in the chocolate fountain, the thick molten chocolate made way for its descension.

“Well hey there are plenty more, c’mon Mr. Angelic Tengu, gimme that beautiful smile.” She rambled on,”It’s just a dumpling! Frowning will ruin your features!”

… Dokja felt like he was getting a peek at what it was like to be in Joonghyuk’s position when he was teasing him.

“My name is Kim Dokja, not ‘Angelic Tengu’, miss.” Dokja sighed.

“Don’t think I haven’t seen those forums about you, that name is strange and boring compared to Angelic Tengu and Miniature Thunderbird.” She jabbed a finger at his chest.”I thought you would like these titles!”

“I like being a reader though.”

She exhaled exasperatedly, but quickly regained her spirit. At this rate Dokja was going to get whiplash.

“You know.. They weren’t kidding when they said you were pretty.” She mumbled, her eyes roving all over Dokja.

He felt unease coiling itself around him, and unlike usual he found some comfort in the [Fourth Wall]’s critique. He didn’t need to look at the glowing blue to know the message, as his skill bared its teeth towards the Hunter.

“I thought your wings were black too! And where are your horns?” She slid closer in awe and traced his prized feathers with a finger.

Dokja involuntarily shuddered from the contact, snapping his wing away from her exploring touch,”Could you keep your hands to yourself?”

The woman pouted but gave him space, and then Dokja felt a familiar figure sidle up to behind him. Dokja glanced upward and spotted the familiar dark sharpness of Jinwoo. A hand settled steadily on Dokja’s waist and Dokja felt the annoyance of Jinwoo through the slight twitch of his fingers. This position felt familiar.. Dokja recalling clinking of utensils, the scent of ambrosiac meat, and forceful hands.

The woman formed an understanding look, her eyes full of appraisal now.

“Oh, I see.” She spoke, voice wavering,”You two really are a thing.”

Dokja hurriedly opened the Midday Tryst, trying to keep his expression as blank as an empty canvas.

-Jinwoo-yah.. Don’t sa-

He didn’t even get to get the whole message down before Jinwoo piped up.

“Yes.”

Dokja felt that if he were to clench his fists any tighter he would draw blood from his palms. This idiot, what was he thinking?? To get his feelings across he sent Jinwoo a look that was nearing bug eyed. Jinwoo shot a deadpan expression right back and Dokja sighed before turning back to face the lady Hunter.

“I-.” Dokja began.

She closed her eyes and shook her head,”There’s no need to hide it from me, I should’ve figured the rumors were true. If you wanted to hide it, You shouldn’t have held hands in front of all those reporters though.”

Dokja swallowed his remark about how Jinwoo hadn’t asked first, he should perhaps bring that up to the Shadow Monarch later. As the thought cooked in his mind, the woman bid farewell brightly and scurried off when Jinwoo’s gaze hardened at her.

Perhaps he should scold Jinwoo later about boundaries, Dokja thought to himself as he sent a look at Jinwoo. The glint in his eyes must’ve made Jinwoo even more alert as he straightened up. Dokja squinted his eyes for extra emphasis and Jinwoo diverted their eye contact.

-I would like to have a word with you later, Jinwoo-yah.

Jinwoo gave an almost imperceptible nod at that, his forlornness not lost upon Dokja.

[Ki m D okja is f e e lin g pe tu lan t.]

The [Fourth Wall] chimed in and Dokja huffed but didn’t openly say anything. It’s words having a form of truth in them. Dokja snagged another dumpling from the table, this time an extra one rolled into his palm.

“Well let’s get back to Yoo Jinho, I’m sure he might be a little hungry too.”

Jinwoo nodded and as they began making their way over Jinho, another person grabbed their attention by sidling up to them.

“Agent White.” Dokja said in greeting, Jinwoo nodding in greeting wordlessly, both pausing in their stride.

“Good evening again, I’ve come back with the list you asked for of the Hunters at potential risk,” Adam said as he handed over a tablet with a bullet list of names,”They are organized in a system we made called ‘Hunters Points’.”

“Where would we be on this list?” Dokja asked, to which Adam pointed to around the 3rd and 4th places.

"Sung Jinwoo Hunter-nim would be around here taking his feats in Jeju Island and Japan into account," Adam explained, Thomas Andre, Liu Zhigang, and Christopher Reid were in the positions above,"I'm afraid that since Kim Dokja Hunter-nim has only recently appeared in media with only the Japan hunt under his belt, so he isn't on the list at the moment. But that's subject t--"

And suddenly the hall went deathly silent. Everything besides the large front doors swinging open filling the void left after all noise receded.

Dokja and Jinwoo soon realized what, no who, left Adam quiet as a ghost along with all the other occupants of the grand room.

A familiar exuberant mane of blonde hair flowed as it's maintainer strode towards the Hunter Bureau's Agent and two top class Hunters. The man adorns a new suit to replace his Hawaiian shirt that had been shredded in his last encounter. A pair of sunglasses seemingly just as fresh from the store.

And suddenly the venue became too loud, hurried and franric whispering filling the air. Zhigang, attempted to intercept the guest, however they just brushed past him like he was thin air. The Chinese having a slight glare and pout on his face afterward.

Adam spoke up harshly,"Hunter-nims--"

"You don need to worry." Jinwoo interrupted, his and Dokja's eyes both locked on the figure making a beeline towards them.

Thomas Andre stopped his steps when he reached to be right in front of the centers of attention. Despite everyone else being scared witless, the people who were the ones who should worry the most both had tranquil composures. Albeit Dokja felt a slight nufge of nervouseness in his heart, he didn't let it show.

[K im Do k ja is a fo ol.]

Dokja grumbled inwardly, he had every right to be nervous! However Jinwoo's presence eased his ruffled feathers and nerves.

"Thomas Andre." Both the South Koreans greeted him.

Said man, compared to before had bandages constricting his body meticulously. A thick cast wrapped tightly around an arm in a sling. However it was a far cry from before when he had just come out of their late night battle, having looked like hell warmed over.

"Hunter Sung Jinwoo, Hunter Kim Dokja…" Thomas replied,"I wish to ask you both a question that I believe needs answering."

And just with that, the surrounding Hunters mutterings grew into a crazed commotion.

---

Notes:

i also made a discord server for the 2 fandoms!! Although i left for quite tge span of time i will jang around for a few days but will be taking my leave again after that cuz of my priorities. But join if u wish!! Ive had a blast meeting new ppl on there and rambling about orv and sl and pairings!!

Orv x SL discord server

Onve agaon, thx so much for the patience and support, and i hope yall enjoyed the chapter and that it was at least half worth the wait!!! 💖💖💕

Chapter 44: A notice on our hands

Hey all!! I know this is way overdue but I have had some time to think over some things i want to do differently on here that I feel you all should be in the know of. (Especially since I have essentially practically stopped responding to the comments that still trickle into my inbox every week aghh i feel bad,,)

Things have been busy, as you may hear all the time already, but a lot of priorities and responsibilities have been shifting for me and i haven't continued as i had planned early last year. It's hard to believe how old this fic has become, feels like just yesterday i had been frantically throwing words at my word docs for the first chapter of this fic lol

That's all besides the point though, I have come up with a plan that should help me in pushing out the rest of the fic while having fun with the process again :)

For one, i plan on writing a completely separate fic, of course it will still be orv related (i can't help myself y'all jdjsjs) but with a twist and i had already started this idea quite a while ago and even posted it on here at one point. I also am gonna reread orv and sl because my memory of the chronological order of everything is more mismatched and helpess than scrambled eggs.

Because i essentially decided that instead of continuing where i left off with this fic, I am gonna rebuild it from the ground up and take more creative liberties plotwise and character wise. I realized over these months just how corny it gets at times in the fic and i feel that if i revamp it and not write myself into another hole like i have already done. Everyone comes out pleasantly surprised (crossing my fingers)

However this is going to take a while, ya'll who have beared with me these past several months, your patience is so appreciated and i want to treat us all to something to look forward to. I know i can pull this off, i have grown a lot and i plan to display it in the best work my ape brain can process.

Hope to see y'all soon and that y'all can look forward to the works to come ^^)/ 💙💜❤️💜💙