I’ll Retire After Saving the World

TL: SHW

He opened the cap of the potion bottle.

Through the thick smell of char, the cool fragrance of the potion came through. Hong Seok-young carefully examined Woo Hwijae's wounds.

He wasn't sure what had caused the explosion. It didn't really matter now that it had already happened.

"...Tch."

If he'd been wearing any armor, the injuries wouldn't have been this severe. He should have made him put something on back in the helicopter. Hong Seok-young regretted it belatedly.

Woo Hwijae's wounds were concentrated on his back. Given that he'd mentioned his brother, he must have been shielding the boy.

Hong Seok-young clenched his jaw. He'd been asked to save the brother. He couldn't afford to waste time.

He pulled the blade embedded in Woo Hwijae's shoulder. The Insolent Sword flared up just as it had the first time he'd ignorantly gripped it. Hong Seok-young forced the sword to snap with mana. The flames licked within his grasp, then lost their momentum.

He poured the potion on immediately after pulling the blade out. Proper medical treatment was still necessary, but this was enough for first aid. He took out a few more potion bottles and sprayed them over Woo Hwijae's back. Just in case, he tilted a bottle and let some trickle into his mouth as well.

Hong Seok-young's son, not his successor.

He hadn't attended Pilot High School, and had apparently enrolled in a regular university and even made films.

If not for something like this, he would almost never have seen real combat. He'd said he had a hunter license, so at most he'd run a few dungeons. Because Hong Seok-young, if his kid said he didn't want to, would certainly never have forced him.

'Dad.'

Hong Seok-young smiled faintly.

He'd thought the boy had a bit of a young master air about him. Must have raised him soft. Obvious even without looking.

He needed to hurry, but he couldn't leave the kid behind in a space where another explosion might go off at any moment. The first aid with the potions should hold for now. Hong Seok-young carefully propped Woo Hwijae up.

He moved to a small lounge area a short distance from the kitchen.

Hong Seok-young laid Woo Hwijae down on a wide sofa. In the meantime, Woo Hwijae seemed to have regained some consciousness; his eyes opened hazily.

Hong Seok-young covered those eyes with his palm, closing them again, and spoke.

"Dad will bring your brother back, no matter what."

"......"

"You don't have to worry too much."

Woo Hwijae mumbled something. Thinking he might have more to say, Hong Seok-young leaned in to listen, but all he heard was incoherent grumbling.

What's he saying. Babbling nonsense again. Doesn't he ever get tired of it.

Hong Seok-young snickered.

"Leave everything to Dad and rest."

*

'You already know what my magic is like, Teacher Hong?'

In the Study, Kim Chae-min spoke quickly.

'You probably have a rough idea, but let me explain in more detail.'

The Villa was, naturally, large. Kim Chae-min couldn't move from her position because she was busy surveilling and defending the hundreds of pyeong of space. But with roses blanketing the entire Villa, she was keenly aware of everything happening inside.

'My magic isn't airtight. It's fundamentally made of vines. Of course there are gaps.'

'I know that.'

'But that doesn't mean it can't block things. Why can't fish escape a net? My vines act as that net. Even if something tries to crawl through the gaps, it gets caught.'

'Hm.'

'Right now, something keeps jabbing through those gaps from the inside.'

'Where?'

'Near the kitchen. Judging by how it hesitates before my vines can pull it in... Teacher Han must be holding it back. Still, it won't last long, oh. It looks like Teacher Woo went that way too. Someone's moving.'

'I sent him. Told him to find I-rok.'

Kim Chae-min's face brightened slightly.

'Still, given that my magic's nature is to push things outward, catching an intruder inside is tough. They get dragged out quickly. So rather than trying to catch them inside, it's better to catch them when they try to run....'

Hong Seok-young stepped outside the building and called Kim Chae-min. She picked up before the first ring even finished.

─Teacher Hong?!

"Teacher Han and Teacher Woo are hurt. I've poured potions on them, so they should be fine for now, but they need treatment."

─Hurt, yes, yes! I'll send the Daseon hunters out now.

"And the intruder ran. I'm going after him."

Kim Chae-min went quiet.

"You didn't let him get away, did you?"

Hong Seok-young scraped the garden dirt with the tip of his spear and waited. Fortunately, before Hong Seok-young's patience ran out, Kim Chae-min spoke up.

─I told you, my magic is trickier on the outside than inside? Do you think I'd let him slip?

"Then?"

─He hasn't gotten out yet. North, within five kilometers. If it's you, teacher, you'll find him right away.

"Thanks."

Inside the dungeon, Sem Bloom had gained wings.

What Hong Seok-young had learned from years of hunting monsters was that a monster's appearance and abilities generally matched.

It wasn't complicated.

If it had wings, it could fly. If its leg muscles were developed, it charged. If it had sharp claws, it slashed. Spider-like ones spat webs, and sheep-like ones lived in herds.

Sem Bloom had grown a monster's wings. Given their size, it was questionable whether he could actually fly, but it wouldn't be strange if he'd gained some kind of mobility-related ability.

The fact that someone who'd been at a hotel in Seoul had arrived here in mere minutes confirmed it. But Kim Chae-min had said it hadn't been long since the intruder had started seriously probing for gaps to breach. Unless he'd detoured somewhere, it wasn't a teleportation ability like Alex Hope's.

And if it was physical movement, catching even a glimpse of his head was enough.

Just like right now.

Hong Seok-young kicked off the ground. A beat after he launched forward, the earth split open and a sonic boom followed.

The blue-haired mage, struggling to break free of the vines, only realized Hong Seok-young was there after hearing that sound.

"Gkh...!"

The wings were already in tatters. Han Tae-kyung and Woo Hwijae's handiwork.

Hong Seok-young slowed down right in front of Sem Bloom. The man's eyes wavered. He couldn't track the speed. If the man had been alone, Hong Seok-young would have swung his spear and cut him down on the spot, but Sem Bloom was holding the limp, unconscious form of Woo I-rok, so he couldn't. Instead, Hong Seok-young twirled his spear.

He reversed his grip and jabbed the blunt shaft into Sem Bloom's solar plexus.

"Huurgh!"

Sem Bloom failed to dodge and crumpled to the ground clutching his stomach. This is why mages. As the impact weakened Sem Bloom's resistance, Kim Chae-min didn't miss the opening. The vines rushed in again and coiled around Sem Bloom. They couldn't completely restrain his movement, but at least he wouldn't be able to suddenly fly off and escape.

This was why having a trustworthy mage made things easier. The problem was that most mages couldn't be trusted. Bringing Kim Chae-min had been the right call after all. Without the runes, catching him would have been difficult.

...Come to think of it, he really owed a great deal to his son from the future. If he let the bastard slip here, he wouldn't be able to face him.

"Stay back!"

Sem Bloom flailed and pulled Woo I-rok toward himself. It was nothing like the detached composure he'd worn in front of the monster. This side of him was more human, if anything, and certainly more lively, but if what he was doing was using a child's body as a shield....

Hong Seok-young made no effort to hide his displeasure.

"You think taking a kid hostage will make me go easy on you?"

"Everyone knows Hong Seok-young has a soft spot for children!"

"...Is it a foreigner thing? The phrasing's a bit off. If you're going to say it, could you at least call me a man who's gentle with children?"

Hong Seok-young set down his spear. It hit the ground with a heavy thud. Hong Seok-young scratched his head.

"And if you know that much, how do you not know that I don't let people who take children hostage live?"

Hong Seok-young's weapon of choice was the spear. A spear taller than Hong Seok-young himself. Perhaps because of the presence and intimidation the weapon commanded, people often forgot that Hong Seok-young was more than capable without it.

A weapon only assisted a hunter, after all. It could never be the hunter's skill itself.

And Hong Seok-young was not naive enough to be helplessly bested by someone who couldn't even follow his movements.

He looked at the child in Sem Bloom's grasp. The limp form was concerning, but aside from a scratch on his face, there didn't seem to be any injuries. His breathing was steady. No, more than steady....

He was faking being unconscious.

Hong Seok-young grinned. Smart kid. Thinking that this child would grow up to become Woo Hwijae was both amusing and endearing. Nice to know the core stayed the same even with age.

He'd been about to end it right away, but with the child present, being too brutal seemed bad for the kid's emotional well-being. He had no intention of showing mercy, of course, but still.

There were plenty of ways to take a life without drawing blood. Hong Seok-young wasn't a hunter who only ran dungeons. Domestically and abroad, when governments made requests, he'd often tracked down and dealt with illegal Awakened.

So Hong Seok-young seized Sem Bloom by the throat without hesitation. The mage, as expected, could do nothing.

Snap.

The sound of a slender wooden stick breaking.

Hong Seok-young looked down at Sem Bloom, whose eyes were bulging wide, with a face gone cold. He had no intention of playing around. Even less intention of dancing to Sem Bloom's tune.

Sem Bloom's body crumpled without so much as a scream. Hong Seok-young pried Woo I-rok from those hands. When he lifted the light body and tucked him snugly into his arms, the boy's head lolled backward.

Seriously, who on earth does this kid take after.

"...You can open your eyes now, I-rok."

"......"

"The bad man is gone. Ajussi took care of him."

"......"

Looking at the limp body, an instinct told him that the road ahead in child-rearing would not be easy. A father's intuition. If Woo Hwijae had known, he would have snapped irritably about still spouting nonsense, but Woo Hwijae wasn't here right now.

So Hong Seok-young thought about it rather lightly.

"Shall we go back to your brother?"

Wasn't this what his future self had done? Then he could do it too.

'...Ah. Does this mean I have to work hard to stay alive from now on.'

"......Mm."

The moment he mentioned the brother, the child quietly opened his eyes. He'd been knocked out by the explosion and woken up to find himself with a stranger. An ordinary young child would have been frightened to tears, but there was no sign of that. Instead, he stared at Hong Seok-young with wide, unblinking eyes.

"Is my brother okay?"

"Hm?"

"My brother. That... person from before."

Woo I-rok pointed furtively at the collapsed Sem Bloom. Hong Seok-young shifted Woo I-rok in his arms, pretending to adjust him, and blocked the child's line of sight.

"He said my brother would be dead...."

"He got hurt a little, but he's fine."

"...Hurt?"

Woo I-rok squirmed. Hong Seok-young hurried to calm the child down.

"He's fine, he's fine."

"...You're sure he's fine?"

"He's hurt, but he's receiving treatment. Moving too soon could reopen his wounds, so that's why Ajussi came to get you instead."

Woo I-rok chewed on his lower lip. The same habit as Woo Hwijae.

Then, as if coming to some conclusion, his expression relaxed.

"If my brother's fine, then it's fine."

"Yeah?"

"Unlike before, if there are people who can treat him now...."

"...Yeah."

Woo I-rok was a child born and raised in Ark's Human Research Lab. For a child with that kind of upbringing to have grown up this well, the brother, now presumed dead, must have made a bleeding effort.

Woo I-rok twisted his body and wriggled out of Hong Seok-young's arms, but Hong Seok-young swiftly scooped him back up.

"Hey, what!"

"It's a long way from here to the Villa. Ajussi will carry you."

"I'm not a little kid!"

"It'll still be easier if Ajussi carries you, though."

A deeply scrunched-up face glared at Hong Seok-young. It couldn't be helped since they were the same person, but that face was so identical to Woo Hwijae's that Hong Seok-young blurted out before he could stop himself.

"Want to be my son?"

***

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