Episode 21
“What?”
Hwan-oppa frowned as if what he’d heard was completely absurd. But Chief Lee looked thoughtful as he asked me,
“Do you still have some unfinished business here?”
“S–Someone’s still there.”
“Someone?”
I quickly gestured for him to put me down, and he hurried to do so.
[10-meter radius: one uncontacted awakened person detected.]
At that moment, a glowing arrow appeared in front of me.
I didn’t hesitate—I knew exactly what it meant and started to run in the direction it pointed.
But just then—
[system] Your contractor warns you that doing so will only cause unnecessary trouble.
I faltered for a second.
‘Even so… I can’t just leave someone to die!’
Ignoring the warning, I dashed forward.
“Miss! Damn it!”
Chief Lee must have used magic, because all the falling rocks crumbled into dust before they could touch me.
When I reached the pillar the arrow was pointing to, I paused to catch my breath, then rushed into the shadowy space beyond.
And there—
“S–Someone’s here.”
“……”
A small boy was crouched in the dark. Our eyes met.
I reached my hand out immediately.
“W-we gotta go! It’s danzer here!”
“……”
“Come on!”
At my urging, the boy grabbed my hand almost by instinct. His hand was cold and clammy with sweat.
I could tell instantly.
‘He’s scared.’
But right now, there were more urgent things to worry about.
“Come. We haftu leave.”
Holding his hand—he was much taller than me—I pulled him forward and started to run.
“Miss! Who is that boy—?”
“Later!”
Hwan-oppa cut Chief Lee off and scooped me into his arms.
“Ah…!”
I lost my grip on the boy, but thankfully Chief Lee caught him.
“What a mess this is…!”
We hurried out of the collapsing exit.
The male lead of The Law of Annihilation possessed a rare and extremely useful special ability. He had also awakened earlier than most.
The problem was that the people who recognized his power were part of an illegal guild.
In those early days—when gates were suddenly opening and monsters occasionally invaded the real world—there weren’t proper systems in place to handle them. The protagonist lost his parents and younger sister in one of those incidents.
An orphaned awakened child made for easy prey, and the guild took him in only to exploit him mercilessly.
He was never given enough to eat or wear, dragged into brutal work sites at a young age, and forced to witness countless unwanted deaths.
Even when he grew older, nothing really changed—only his exploiters did. The illegal guild was replaced by government institutions.
His life was barren and desolate. He became a living weapon, forced to stand on the front lines for the sake of the nation. People treated him so cruelly it was as though they wanted to erase the fact that he was human at all.
Perhaps that’s why, when the Tower demanded a single life one day, he didn’t hesitate to offer up his own.
If the story had ended there, it would have been a tragic but personal tale. Unfortunately, reality wasn’t so merciful.
Under the pretext of “national research,” even after his death, they used him again—reviving him.
They implanted the Heart of the Pole and the Blood of the Comet into his body, engraved forbidden sigils from Samara’s Biblos from his neck down to his toes. Only then did his shattered body reform—never to die again.
‘No… could that really be called revival?’
That body, defying the natural order, was denied even the slightest rest. But what truly broke him was the fact that he could no longer die.
So he decided—he would die, no matter what it took.
Even if it meant destroying the world itself.
‘And that male lead’s special ability was…’
A power that could temporarily seal another person’s special abilities through their shadow.
Called Silent Shadow. Once activated, the target’s magic-based stats and skills were all sealed at once.
‘Which means…’
I didn’t even need to double-check.
The boy I’d just rescued from that dungeon—was the male lead himself, Seo Il-won.
“Miss, are you all right?”
Chief Lee looked at me with concern. I was starting to think it might finally be time to say something about that weird title he kept using.
Luckily, Uncle Shin-jae cut in right then.
“Soo-han.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Are you out of your mind?”
Uncle Shin-jae looked at Chief Lee like he was staring at some bizarre creature.
“Where the hell did you even get that weird title from? And what’s with the honorifics?”
“I’m simply showing the proper respect due to one who has achieved a significant magical accomplishment,” Chief Lee said evenly.
[system] Your administrator is pleased that the fool has finally realized how great their contractor is.
But unlike my “administrator,” Uncle Shin-jae didn’t look pleased at all.
“This is strange. You’re definitely speaking Korean, but I have no idea what you’re talking about…”
“I wasn’t seeking your understanding, sir.”
Ignoring him completely, Chief Lee turned to the boy sitting next to me.
“Since it makes the young lady uncomfortable, I think you should let go of her hand.”
“……”
The boy—Seo Il-won—didn’t answer or move.
Chief Lee’s brow twitched, and I hurried to intervene.
“I-it’s okay. He can holt hand.”
“But—”
“It’s fine.”
I shook my head firmly.
When we’d escaped the dungeon, Uncle Shin-jae had been busy finishing up the rescue of the other trapped people.
He was worried the dungeon might stabilize and remain permanently, but fortunately it vanished the moment the gate closed.
Once things were wrapped up, he came over to us.
“And who’s this kid?”
“I ran into him in the dungeon. It looks like he was being exploited by an illegal guild.”
“Ah.”
Uncle Shin-jae understood right away. Illegal exploitation of young awakened children wasn’t uncommon.
Just then—
“!”
The boy’s small but firm hand slipped back into mine.
“Wh-why?” I stammered in surprise, but Seo Il-won only looked at me quietly with those pitch-black eyes.
“……”
“……”
I hadn’t noticed in the chaos earlier, but now that I could see him properly, I realized he had a melancholic but strikingly beautiful face.
‘His eyes are so dark…’
Just looking at them felt like being pulled into a void.
[system] Your contractor clicks his tongue, saying he doesn’t like the way that kid’s looking at you.
[system] He suggests that maybe you should just leave the boy behind now.
Then Uncle Shin-jae placed a hand on my head.
“A-yoon, are you holding that boy’s hand?”
“Y–Yes?”
He looked at us with a slightly awkward expression, uncertainty in his eyes. I hurried to explain.
“Uh-huh. We werr so scared… so…”
“I see.”
He smiled helplessly and sighed.
“Well, I guess there’s no helping it. We’ll take him home.”
“I thought you’d say that.”
“Haha. Yeah, that’s just how I am.”
And so, after bringing him home, Seo Il-won hadn’t let go of my hand even once.
“……”
He didn’t say much, but—
‘I can feel how wary he is.’
Even so, he clung to my hand like it was a lifeline, and I couldn’t bring myself to tell him to let go.
“So, what’s your name, kid?”
“……”
Even when Uncle Shin-jae asked kindly, the boy didn’t answer.
Seeing his hesitation, I finally spoke up.
“Whass your name?”
“……”
The boy glanced at me briefly, then moved his lips.
“…Seo Il-won.”
“Il-won, huh.”
Uncle Shin-jae let out a small sigh and nodded. I could feel the boy’s grip on my hand tighten slightly.
“Now, I have to ask you a few questions. Can you answer them?”
“……”
He stayed silent, so I poked him lightly with my finger.
“?”
Those black eyes looked down at me. I smiled as gently as I could.
“It’s okay. I’m here.”
[system] Your contractor sighs and rubs his forehead.
[system] He complains that what you just said basically gives the boy permission to get attached to you for life, narratively speaking.
Oh, come on—it’s not like that!
After all, this was someone who’d lived such a bleak, lonely life, never depending on anyone.
‘Right now, it’s not obsession. It’s just… the situation.’
