Chapter 375

M E M O R I Z E

The screams that had filled the air gradually began to die down. His heart trembling, he turned to see who had grabbed his shoulder.

In that instant, Shin Sang-yong, who had been about to struggle violently, froze.

"Hyung!"

The voice that rang out again was one he knew well. That familiarity had helped to clear his muddled thoughts, if only a little. He blinked once, twice. As his vision settled, the first person he saw was Ahn Hyeon, gripping his shoulder. And next to him stood Lee Yu-jeong, her gaze chillingly cold.

"Ah, Ahn Hyeon... Yu-jeong... You're all alive..."

"Yes, Hyung! You're alive too. I'm so glad. So glad..."

A faint sob was mixed into Shin Sang-yong's voice as he barely managed to speak. The tension that had filled his body just moments before drained away like a receding tide at the sight of them. In its place, a sense of relief washed over him. Feeling as if his legs would give out at any moment, he let out a thin breath.

"Hyung! This is perfect. Something terrible has happened. We desperately need your help."

"Y-Yes, of course. Something terrible. Ah, we shouldn't be standing here, we need to hurry..."

Shin Sang-yong, who had been nodding his head frantically, was forced to stop. Ahn Hyeon, still holding his shoulder, was shaking his head rapidly.

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

"H-Huh? If-If that's not it, then..."

Shin Sang-yong asked back with a puzzled expression at Ahn Hyeon's urgent denial.

"Sol, I've lost Sol. I have to find my sister."

The moment Ahn Hyeon replied, the relief that had just begun to settle in Shin Sang-yong's body was instantly shattered.

"What? F-Find Sol? What are you suddenly... talking about?"

"It's just as I said. We managed to rescue her, but we got swept up in an enemy attack and I lost her for a moment. I've been looking for her for a while now... but I can't see her anywhere."

Though Ahn Hyeon's words were disjointed, Shin Sang-yong understood him perfectly. And the moment he did, a powerful sense of refusal rose within him.

An inexplicable anxiety washed over him, and his heart, which had just calmed down, began to pound violently once more.

After the 'Tidal Wave of Purification,' Ahn Hyeon, Lee Yu-jeong, and Ahn Sol had, quite dramatically, been reunited.

Ahn Hyeon and Lee Yu-jeong had luckily found each other as the Users who had regained consciousness began to form groups. Their group moved, gathering any allies they saw along the way, and in that process, they were able to rescue Ahn Sol.

Up to that point, he had considered it a stroke of luck amidst the misfortune.

But they eventually encountered an overwhelming number of enemies, and the group was broken apart. While fleeing for their lives, Ahn Sol had gone missing. After barely escaping the attack, Ahn Hyeon had asked for the other survivors to help him find his sister, but they had refused, leaving just the two of them to search.

However, from Shin Sang-yong's perspective, unaware of these circumstances, Ahn Hyeon's request felt unreasonable. No, even if he had known, his opinion wouldn't have changed.

On a battlefield where death could come at any moment, Shin Sang-yong had been running for his life. Yet Ahn Hyeon wasn't thinking about joining forces to escape, but rather about wandering deeper into the heart of the battlefield. It was like willingly sticking his head into a tiger's maw, a request he simply could not accept.

But...

"Hyung! Please help me. You'll help, right? Please?"

The gaze peering out from between the bars of Ahn Hyeon's 'Helm of Courage' silenced Shin Sang-yong. His eyes were filled with an unfounded trust that Shin Sang-yong would surely help. He flinched involuntarily. He knew he should say it was impossible, that he couldn't do it, but meeting that gaze, his lips refused to move.

Suddenly, a memory from the old Clan House surfaced in Shin Sang-yong's mind.

"Hehe. Sang-yong hyung. Could you help me with something?"

"Y-Yes? Help you?"

"Yeah! Soohyun hyung gave me a task. But I'm not sure I get it... You'll help me, right?"

"Haha. I-I see. Of course. I'll help you."

For no reason at all, that memory overlapped with the face of the Ahn Hyeon before him.

At a loss, Shin Sang-yong shifted his gaze to Lee Yu-jeong. She had been staring at him silently the entire time, a stark contrast to her usual self. The headband she always wore was gone, and her eyes were a deeper shade of crimson than he had ever seen. Faced with Lee Yu-jeong's murderous aura, Shin Sang-yong finally lowered his head.

"Hyung? What's wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?"

Despite the urgent situation, Ahn Hyeon's worried voice continued. But to Shin Sang-yong, it sounded like a demand for an answer.

It was then.

"He's hurt."

Lee Yu-jeong finally spoke. At her words, Ahn Hyeon flinched in surprise and let go of his shoulder. His gaze followed her pointing finger downwards.

"H-Huh?! Your thigh...!"

"Like this... it's going to be a little difficult."

Lee Yu-jeong's simple statement that it would be difficult held a multitude of meanings. Sensing this, Ahn Hyeon's expression darkened rapidly. In contrast, thinking he saw a way out, Shin Sang-yong lifted his head again.

"Hyung... with a wound like that, you've been... Doesn't it hurt?"

"I-It's just a little..."

"Hah... What do we do..."

""

"""

Ahn Hyeon bit his lip with a long sigh. Watching him, Shin Sang-yong swallowed hard.

I have a solid excuse now, Shin Sang-yong thought. With a wound like this, they'll surely understand. No. Better yet, I can use this as a pretext to escape with them. If they stay here, they'll definitely die. So, we'll move under the pretense of getting away from here, and look for Ahn Sol later... This is for their own good, too.

After going through his own process of rationalization, Shin Sang-yong finally opened his mouth.

"F-First of all..."

"This won't work. I guess I'll have to find Sol by myself."

But just as he was about to continue, Ahn Hyeon cut him off, his face set with firm resolve.

"In Sang-yong oppa's condition... Wait. What did you say?"

"I know. So, Yu-jeong, you look after Hyung for a bit. I'll find Sol somehow."

"Are you crazy? Don't overdo it."

"But we can't just stay here like this. We could be discovered at any moment... And if I look around, I might find a priest..."

Shin Sang-yong stared blankly at the two as they began to bicker. At the same time, a wave of shame washed over him. Ahn Hyeon was genuinely worried about him, and the thought that he had just betrayed that sincerity filled him with a strange guilt.

It was in that moment, as precious time ticked away in the hopeless impasse.

"O-Oppai"

At the sudden sound of Ahn Sol's voice, the three of them whipped their heads around in shock.

In the direction the voice came from, there were four Users.

There, as if by a miracle, stood Ahn Sol and another woman, slowly closing the distance.

*

Puk!

A beautiful sword, glowing with a clear light, split the air like lightning. The tip of the blade slid smoothly into a man's neck. It was so fast that an expression of belated shock was still on his face.

The man's gaze slowly drifted downwards.

"I-!"

The moment he saw the sword embedded in his neck, his body collapsed. At the same time, the woman withdrew her blade, her long hair fluttering once in the air.

Thud!

After she finished off the last enemy, a profound silence fell over the area.

Including the man who had just fallen, a total of eleven corpses were scattered on the ground. As the blood flowing from them formed a single stream, the woman's lips parted slightly.

"We'll wait here for a moment."

As the woman spoke, the five people besides her and Ahn Sol instantly dropped into a low stance. They each turned to face a different direction and began to stand guard. The woman stood in the center, her sharp gaze sweeping in all directions.

"Excuse me..."

"Focus. And look forward."

Ahn Hyeon turned his back for a moment to speak to the woman, but her response was nothing short of frigid. On top of that, he could feel an unspoken aura of unwillingness to engage, so he turned back without another word.

He was curious about what had happened and how they had found their location, but the woman permitted no questions. Perhaps that was for the best. He could hear the explanation later; for now, the most important thing was to survive.

But as her older brother, he couldn't just let it be. Ahn Hyeon glanced over at Ahn Sol. She was in the center, trembling uncontrollably with a dazed look on her face.

Just a little while ago, Ahn Hyeon had been in quite a predicament. Torn between his duty to find his lost sister and his inability to leave the injured Shin Sang-yong, luck had once again been on his side.

But the joy of their reunion was brief. Ahn Sol, who had burst into tears upon seeing them, had been trembling ever since. She looked as if she had suffered a severe shock.

She doesn't seem to have lost her mind completely. Ahn Hyeon thought. She had at least managed to say, "That umni saved me," and cast a simple healing spell on Shin Sang-yong. But it was hard to think of her as normal, and he couldn't shake his worried heart.

Ahn Hyeon sighed. As the woman said, survival was the priority.

The woman's abilities since they started moving together had been incredible. She would point out enemies that were invisible to their eyes, allowing them to avoid them, or, when a confrontation was unavoidable, she would single-handedly take down dozens of foes.

Thinking that she was somewhat similar to Kim Soohyun, Ahn Hyeon tightened his grip on his spear. The surroundings had become unnervingly quiet after meeting Shin Sang-yong, and a thick sense of unease crept over him.

How much time had passed?

A moment later, a faint sigh escaped the woman standing in the center. It was a barely audible breath, but everyone heard it clearly. At the same time, everyone's heart sank.

The woman's lips parted.

"By any chance... Is there anyone here who didn't directly encounter any enemies on their way here?"

At her question, they all stared at each other blankly. Most of them had faced at least one crisis, so they assumed there was no one like that. But then, one person timidly raised his hand. It was Shin Sang-yong.

"I... I didn't encounter any directly."

"...Which direction did you come from?"

"I don't remember clearly. Whenever I thought an enemy was about to appear, I would quickly turn away..."

After Shin Sang-yong finished, the woman fell silent again. A line of unconcealable worry creased her once-calm face. Then, with a sliver of hope, she looked at Ahn Sol.

"You, the priest. Could you perhaps show us the way, like before?"

Her voice was much softer than when she had spoken to Ahn Hyeon. But Ahn Sol just shook her head from side to side, and the woman turned away with a disappointed look.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, one of the Users spoke up.

"S-Queen of Swords. Are we not going to move again?"

The Queen of Swords glanced at him and shook her head.

"We can't. We're surrounded by enemies."

At the Queen of Swords's reply, the User's face turned ashen.

"But I don't see any enemies right now... Could they have just passed us by?"

"Perhaps. We're just lucky. Or maybe lucky isn't the right word... It seems we're caught in a gap."

"?"

Sensing their complete lack of understanding, Nam Da-eun looked to her right.

"It's true they passed us. But I don't quite understand why they did. The meaning behind it."

The Queen of Swords paused for a moment, then gazed to her left before continuing.

"From this direction, I can feel a much more dangerous killing intent. An enemy is definitely approaching."

""

"In any case, I don't know everything. You can think of it as being in the eye of a storm that could vanish at any moment."

At those words, a few of the quicker-witted Users let out gasps of understanding. The phrase 'eye of the storm' finally made them realize the situation they were in.

They had been lucky to survive the initial attack, but in reality, they hadn't survived at all.

"Th-Then. Are we surrounded right now?"

"Not intentionally, no."

"Then if this situation continues..."

"We die."

The Queen of Swords answered plainly. At that moment, Ahn Sol quietly burst into tears.

"Uwaah..."

""

"Oppa... Soohyun oppa... Uwaah..."

Her sorrowful sobs continued, but no one thought to stop her. Just when they thought they had survived, they were faced with another crisis, and their strength momentarily left them.

The hearts of the Mercenary Clansmen grew heavy as well. At that moment, the same User came to all their minds.

If the Clan Lord were here...

"Soohyun?"

Hearing the name amidst Ahn Sol's sobs, Nam Da-eun's head snapped around.

"Ah. Yes."

Shin Sang-yong answered from the side. But Nam Da-eun didn't even look at him, her eyes still fixed on Ahn Sol.

"Are you referring to User Kim Soohyun?"

"If you mean the Mercenary Lord, then yes. He is our Clan Lord."

Only then did Nam Da-eun's eyes widen as she turned to look at Shin Sang-yong.

It was then.

"I-!"

Sensing a group slowly moving towards them, Nam Da-eun whipped her head around. After staring straight ahead for a moment, she spoke in a low voice.

"The enemy is approaching."

At her words, Ahn Sol stopped crying. But it was already too late.

"It looks like there's no escape."