The moment the four hunters emerged from the ambulance, cameras exploded around them.
Flashes lit up the night like gunfire, and the paparazzi's shouts formed a deafening roar. Beom Seok, limp in the arms of two hunters, seemed almost ethereal under the lens lights.
Kang Chin and a few SS-ranked hunters shoved through the chaotic crowd, barking orders to clear a path, their hands jostling photographers out of the way so the carriers could make it to the hospital.
Sun Hee and Haneul lingered behind, less injured but still winded. They faced the cameras, dodging flashes as the reporters bombarded them with questions.
"How did you clear the dungeon?" one asked, voice trembling with excitement.
Sun Hee's lips tightened. "We… we don't know. It happened too fast. It wasn't us."
"Then who was it?" a second reporter pressed, leaning forward aggressively. Haneul's face remained calm, unnervingly so. "It was Beom Seok," he said, his voice low and precise, slicing through the din like a blade.
[At the hospital]
Beom Seok lay on a gurney, hooked up to monitors that beeped quietly. The doctor circled him, brow furrowed, hands hovering over the boy as if afraid to touch him. Cha Yeol, breathless and pale from the battle, demanded, "Doctor… tell me. Is he going to die?"
The doctor's expression was unreadable. "He's… perfectly fine," he said slowly, tilting his head. "Health parameters are all above normal. And the wounds… there are no injuries. Not a single scratch."
Cha Yeol blinked. He and Yun Jin had seen the boy bleeding, writhing in pain. They had seen him shattered, broken. How could this be possible?
"Then why isn't he waking up?" Cha Yeol asked, voice tight with concern.
The doctor shook his head, equally baffled. "I don't know. But you two—your condition is worse than his. Worry about yourselves first." He led them out, muttering instructions and tending to their bleeding, battered bodies.
As Cha Yeol and Yun Jin were patched up, their minds refused to settle. Questions spun relentlessly: How did he clear that dungeon? How could he survive wounds that should have killed him? Gratitude mixed with disbelief as they replayed the scene in their minds—Beom Seok, single-handedly saving their lives, moving through death itself with ease.
On the news, Sun Hee and Haneul recounted the events, their faces serious. "It was Beom Seok who did everything," Haneul said. The cameras panned to the empty gurney where Beom Seok lay unconscious, amplifying the story's gravity.
Cha Yeol glanced at Yun Jin, eyes narrowing, lips twitching with a mix of disbelief and exasperation. "This hospital… it's about to become a photo shoot site," he muttered.
Yun Jin snorted, though his voice was tight with tension. "I hope they're ready. Nobody's prepared for what's coming next."
The two men knew it already. Beom Seok's awakening wouldn't be quiet. It would draw every eye in the world, and nothing would ever be normal again.