A little further away, Kim Doo-eon and Baek Sang-ho were having a low-voiced discussion about new weapons. Sleepy people finished their lunch boxes and went into the caravans to sleep.

The occasional chirping of insects broke the silence of the field. A sky like black drawing paper, densely studded with white stars, embraced them. Eating a makeshift meal atop the truck felt quite romantic thanks to the surrounding scenery.

Having emptied their lunch boxes, they washed up and returned to the truck. Yoon Tae-ha asked Cheon Geon-young, who had climbed into the cargo bed,

“Do you want to go into the caravan and sleep? We have to drive for almost twelve hours from now. The place with the light on over there is where the men are sleeping.”

“I’m not sleepy. If I force myself to sleep, I’ll be more tired later. And you should be the one sleeping, not me.”

“If I sleep right after eating, I’ll still be sleepy even after waking up.”

Yoon Tae-ha, who refused for a similar reason as Cheon Geon-young, also climbed back into the cargo bed. They laid out their sleeping bags, sat down, and wrapped themselves in blankets.

Leaning against the wall separating the cargo bed from the seats, Yoon Tae-ha couldn’t think properly. She had so much to do that her mind felt temporarily blank. Just then, Cheon Geon-young, who was sitting next to her, quietly spoke.

“I succeeded in long-range ignition.”

It was a story about his training as an esper. Yoon Tae-ha checked her surroundings once more. There were no espers with more developed senses than her in this expedition. No one nearby could hear their voices. Having finished her check, she whispered as quietly as possible.

“The distance?”

“Thirty meters.”

Her mouth fell open.

“Already?”

“Vertical is difficult, but horizontal is about that much.”

“No way.”

“Is it fast?”

“It’s not just fast, it’s incredibly fast. For natural element users, summoning the element they want to a specific location is one of the biggest challenges. Already thirty meters, how far are you planning to summon it later?”

He raised the corners of his lips as if satisfied.

“It’s because my teacher is competent.”

“Is that so? Then I should raise your tuition a little more?”

At her playful retort, he went a step further.

“Send me your account number.”

“Wow, that sounds a little serious.”

“You still haven’t told me what you want as payment. Your wish ticket. Do you remember?”

The one she was supposed to receive in exchange for helping remove Orca from CH. Yoon Tae-ha lightly stroked the back of her neck with her palm. Perhaps because she thought of it as a superficial contract, she hadn’t thought deeply about the wish. It was also difficult to say what she wanted without revealing her situation.

“Don’t feel pressured, just tell me.”

“How do you know I won’t ask for something materialistic?”

Cheon Geon-young was relaxed. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? The person asking should be relaxed, and the person giving should be anxious. She wanted to make a slightly mischievous request.

“Then the most expensive thing you own. As a single item.”

“The most expensive thing as a single item.”

As he mulled over the request, Yoon Tae-ha confidently raised her chin. This should be a pretty difficult question.

“Think carefully. I don’t know your vault situation, so I’ll accept whatever you choose in good conscience. Especially on credit.”

After a moment of contemplation, Cheon Geon-young poked the center of his chest with his index finger. His head tilted slightly to the side.

“This?”

This? Th-this? Her head spun at his one word. Yoon Tae-ha looked up at Cheon Geon-young with a confused expression. Even in the darkness, the sparkle in his eyes was clearly visible. He was quite serious.

“This is the most expensive thing, ma’am.”

“I’m not your customer.”

“To access my personal bank account, I need my eyes, my fingerprints, and my voice. I can’t just give you all of that. I need to be able to shoot a gun too.”

Good heavens. What kind of guy is this?

Pleasure was evident on Cheon Geon-young’s lips. The wound near his lips, which had healed unusually slowly, tingled again. Yoon Tae-ha hurriedly replied, afraid that he might notice her discomfort.

“Too expensive.”

“You said you wanted the most expensive thing.”

“It also looks difficult to manage.”

“That’s right. I need to recharge often.”

“Wow, if anyone heard that...”

They’d think he was an esper. But thinking about it, he is an esper. She defensively pulled the blanket closer. Cheon Geon-young seemed to have a remarkable talent for unsettling others. Every word he threw out was too heavy.

Cheon Geon-young, who had been looking at the night sky, placed his hand on Yoon Tae-ha’s hand resting on the blanket. The light touch soon led to intertwined fingers where they could fully feel each other’s body temperature.

“Stop touching my hand.”

“You’re lacking guiding.”

“I’m fully charged.”

“The portable battery listening in will be upset.”

He grumbled and bumped her shoulder. She leaned her body weakly in that direction. Cheon Geon-young, confirming that she was leaning properly, said lightly,

“Comfortable.”

Why are *you* saying it’s comfortable? I’m always the one leaning.

Yoon Tae-ha closed her eyes with a feeling of helplessness.

*

“It’s stained with blood. It probably won’t come out for a while.”

Rehv looked at his fingernails with a tearful face. At the Suin boy’s grumbling, a woman nearby turned around. It was Margo, one of the members of the Black Lions.

In her hand, she held a glossy reddish-brown staff. It was the staff she had been using to stir up the closed laboratory just moments before.

“Still complaining about your nails?”

Margo frowned and approached Rehv. She lightly grabbed the tip of the boy’s fingernail. Soon, a humid breeze blew over the back of his hand, and Rehv’s fingernails became clean.

“Worrying about your nails while killing chimeras isn’t composure, it’s arrogance.”

“You came with me! And these are mass-produced. They’re very weak.”

While exchanging words, Margo felt something damp and gruesome touch her ankle.

She looked down with cold eyes. It was the torso of a chimera, already separated from its head, crawling towards her. Margo tapped the rough back of the chimera’s hand with her staff.

“Thorns of restraint.”

No sooner had Margo spoken than thorny vines sprouted from all over the floor. The vines, covered in thick thorns, bound the twitching torso of the chimera and then exerted a strong force in an instant. The wriggling torso’s movements completely stopped.

“A clean finish.”

“Unwelcome praise, Rehv.”

The place where the two were was an abandoned, closed laboratory that ARC had discarded. In the Green Sea, there were many such buildings, abandoned by humans and emitting an eerie aura.

ARC, which pretended to be guardians of peace in the sunlight, transformed into cruel experimenters in the shadows. They built secret laboratories all over the Green Sea and conducted various experiments. Forbidden research they dared not do in the headquarters’ basement. Eventually, through their research, they created a being that should not be known to outsiders.

A monster created by humans with a purpose, not something that came from the rift. Something born by cutting and pasting whatever living thing they could find. That was the chimera.

Margo murmured lowly, looking at the chimera corpses scattered in the hallway.

“I’m getting tired of wandering around closed laboratories too.”

“Same here. I’d rather fight a human with a proper ego. Chimeras are like lumps of meat.”

They began to leave the messy, abandoned laboratory.

Rehv walked lightly down the dirty hallway where blood had congealed on the dust. His skill in avoiding obstacles was like that of a nimble cat. He chattered to Margo.

“The two large laboratories in the north are the problem. They’re still operating.”

“Have you been there?”

“With the leader.”

“How was it?”

“It’s on a different level than these small laboratories. There’s something that emits a much stronger stench than the mass-produced chimeras.”

The blond boy shuddered as if the unpleasant smell had come back to him.

There were more than one or two terrible experiments that Rehv knew about. Some researchers tried to transfer human minds into monsters. Conversely, there were also researchers who tried to implant the minds of self-aware monsters into humans.

Thanks to this, chimeras filled with murderous impulses frequently wandered near Cocytus, seeking victims. ARC played a significant role in turning the Green Sea into a lawless zone.

Only after leaving the laboratory did Margo finally inhale deeply. When she raised her head, she could faintly see the gloomy gray sky through the dense trees.

“Looks like it’s going to rain.”

“Yeah.”

The two walked through the rough forest path in silence for a long time. Margo lightly jumped over a tree that had been tragically broken, perhaps by lightning. Having landed, she looked back at Rehv.

“Come to think of it. Didn’t they say that kid was coming?”

“You mean Tae-ha? According to the schedule, she’ll probably arrive in Cocytus within 24 hours.”

“Should we go meet her?”

Rehv shook his head frantically.

“Stop it. They said not to touch her when she’s with her guide.”

“Cute. Is she yours or something?”

“It’s not a joke. I’m serious. They said not to touch the guy next to her.”

“There’s no reason to touch her lifeline. I’m just curious.”

“I saw her face! Lucky me, right? Aren’t you jealous?”

While talking and walking through the forest, the two noticed a strange presence and stopped almost simultaneously. Margo pressed her staff firmly onto the ground and rubbed it, raising the corners of her lips.

Opposite them, the figure sitting on a rock slowly raised its head. Crimson eyes, incongruous with the forest, shone brightly even in the dawn mist. A crow that had been sadly cawing gently landed on the man’s shoulder.

“Oh my.”

Rehv immediately sharpened his blunt fingernails. Margo calmly soothed the boy, who was taking an aggressive stance as if ready to pounce at any moment. She confidently straightened her chest and met the enemy’s eyes.

“It’s a prince’s procession.”

*

The short break was over.

While Cheon Geon-young went to wash up, Yoon Tae-ha entered the caravan where Raphael was staying. Raphael, who was putting water into the moving cage containing Kuakua, greeted her with a bright smile.

“What’s wrong?”

“I was just curious if Kuakua was doing well.”

Raphael glanced outside through the window attached to the caravan. Outside was noisy with people preparing to depart again. Yoon Tae-ha said nonchalantly,

“There’s no one nearby. I checked.”

“How audacious. Kuakua isn’t your real purpose, is it?”

She didn’t deny it.

“Is this friend also an animal that came over from your world?”

Kuakua was sending fervent, pleading eyes towards the candied carrot that Yoon Tae-ha had picked up. Give it to me! At the intense demand, Yoon Tae-ha offered a piece. Crunch, crunch. The small hamster deliciously ate the vegetable whose identity, whether carrot or pumpkin, was ambiguous. Soon, its horn turned blue.

Raphael, having closed the caravan door and checked the window, returned to her side.

“You’re not going to deny it now, are you? That’s right.”

“Then is there a separate reason why you’re taking this friend with you?”

“It’s a creature from my homeland that I’ve met after a long time. It’s only natural that I feel like protecting it.”

“I didn’t know you were so interested in nature conservation.”

“That sounds sarcastic, or is it just my imagination?”

As expected of someone in the industry, their intuition is incredible. Yoon Tae-ha gave a slightly insincere smile.

Raphael made a place for her to sit. The interior was cramped due to the presence of various equipment. She barely perched on the edge of a chair.

“Last time, I was too flustered to ask something.”

“Speak.”

“What’s your older brother’s name?”

He froze for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter. Yoon Tae-ha widened her eyes. Why is he laughing?