After Damage (1)

Byung-Gyu, who had been dropped to the ground just earlier, forced himself up, his body still unsteady.

Seeing Joo-Hee's state, he quickly approached and cast layered healing spell over her injuries.

"Ms. Lee, please don't move—I'll heal you now," his voice was gentle yet firm as warm green energy wrapped around Joo-Hee's mouth and neck.

As he got a closer look, he sighed at the damage. Her tongue and throat were so dry and cracked that they looked as if they had been scorched until charcoaled.

'Sigh... she really pushed herself too hard,' he thought.

"You should've taken it easy, Miss Lee," he murmured, shaking his head. "This level of injury will take a while to heal."

While the soothing glow of his healing magic worked its way into her wounds, Byung-Gyu glanced around at the sheer devastation in the room.

He hesitated before asking, "But… is that really your ability? It's… incredible, Miss Lee. Though it's still unstable for now, I'm sure that once you train and get used to it, you'll be able to use it without as much strain."

He flashed her a reassuring smile.

Joo-Hee tried to return the smile, but her lips trembled.

She was utterly exhausted after using [Fragmented Tongue of Babel] twice in a row.

She couldn't even taste anything anymore, and the roof of her mouth felt like it had dried up and cracked.

Every slight movement of her tongue sent sharp pain through her jaw, making her wince.

Not only was her body in bad shape, but her mind was also strained.

This was the first time she had used her origin skill consecutively, and she realized that it didn't just consume mana—it drained her mental power as well.

While Byung-Gyu continued his treatment, expressing his amazement, Eunseok, still sitting on the ground, let out a long sigh of relief.

"Whew, finally, it stopped. I almost thought she'd keep going until this entire building was nothing but rubble."

All the remaining S-Rank Hunters turned to Eunseok after his careless remark, their expressions flickering with irritation.

Instead of showing gratitude that the damage had been somewhat minimal, the guy had already been picturing the entire Hunter Association Building reduced to rubble.

Go Gunhee, with a brief twitch of his brow, forced a smile, "Mr. Park, are you suggesting that even with five S-Rank Hunters present, we would be so helpless that my building would just collapse as you said?"

Eunseok, feeling the shift in atmosphere and catching the faint yet unmistakable killing intent from the chairman, realized that he had spoken his inner thoughts out loud.

He awkwardly scratched the back of his neck and let out a nervous chuckle, "Haha, sorry, slip of the tongue! Of course, I'm grateful that we're all safe. Right, Yoonho?"

He quickly turned to Yoon-Ho for support with pleading eyes, practically throwing him into the line of fire.

Yoonho stared at him, his expression unreadable as he thought, 'What is this mutt doing? Is he seriously trying to drag me into his mess?'

But since they were friends (unfortunately), Yoon-Ho simply coughed and said, "Eun-Seok's right. At least we managed to contain the damage to this extent."

Go Gunhee let out a long sigh, his sharp gaze sweeping across the room.

He closed his eyes for a moment, carefully assessing the destruction as he released his mana to observe.

Indeed, the damage had been limited to this room. However, just thinking about the upcoming board meeting made his head ache.

'Those old men are going to complain endlessly about this…'

But then, as if remembering something, he twitched as a small smile crept onto his face.

He turned his head toward Choi Jong-In, who immediately felt a chill crawl up his spine.

Choi Jong-In, who had been silently observing the room, noticed the chairman's unwavering gaze on him.

He gulped, a sense of unease creeping over him as he stammered, "M-Mr. Chairman, why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?"

Go Gunhee, still smiling, spoke in a calculating tone, "No, no, Mr. Choi, I just happened to notice how nice the suit you're wearing today is. But now that I think about it… didn't Mr. Choi agree earlier to cover any damages?"

His voice lingered on the last word, his raised eyebrow adding weight to the question as he glanced at Yoon-Ho and Eun-Seok for support.

Not being dense again, Eun-Seok immediately straightened up and nodded as he made up for his earlier mistake, "Yes! Jong-In definitely said that, Mr. Chairman."

Yoon-Ho, who had been watching the situation unfold, smirked as he thought, 'Heh, this is payback, you sissy.'

He then put on an exaggeratedly pleasant smile and said, "I'm pretty sure that Mr. Choi here made such a promise. Or… could it be that the great 'Humanity's Ultimate Weapon' is chickening out like no man?"

His voice was practically dripping with mockery and hidden disdain.

Go Gunhee, suppressing his amusement, sighed with feigned concern, "Ms. Lee was just a B-Rank before all of this. I doubt she could afford to pay for the damages. So, of course, I can only hope that the magnanimous Mr. Choi here will shoulder her burden. After all, this is all for the betterment of South Korea."

Choi Jong-In's eyelids twitched as he processed the blatant setup, 'These three bastards are actually teaming up to pin this responsibility on me…'

He wanted to protest, but how could he argue when he himself had just acknowledged how destructive Ju-Hee's abilities were?

'And that damn gorilla, how dare?! Chicken out? Me? Was this guy waiting for the sun to fall from the sky? Such cowardice is not written in my dictionary.'

He clenched his fists, 'Or does he really think the Hunters Guild wouldn't be able to squeeze out tens of millions?'

But then doubt crept into his mind, 'But… can we really afford to cover this much damage?'

Still, unwilling to show weakness, Choi Jong-In could only clear his throat and suppress his irritation as he stood there, thoroughly pinned down by their combined attack.

After a fierce verbal battle, the chairman stood victorious, his smile widening as Choi Jong-In finally relented while pinching his eyebrows.

The S-Rank mage stammered, "M-Mr. Chairman, I'm not evading anything. I'm a man of my word! But the 3rd Jeju Island raid is fast approaching, so my funds are a bit—"

Before he could finish, Yoonho scoffed, smirking, "Jong-In, how many excuses are you gonna throw out? If you don't have the money, just ask us to help you. If you beg me, I might even chip in from my savings. Pfft~"

That was the last straw.

Choi Jong-In's face twitched as he snapped, "150 million! That's my limit for now!"

Then, he turned to Yoonho with a glare, "And you, musclehead! If you think there will ever be a day I beg you, keep dreaming, you bastard!"

Meanwhile, Go Gunhee's smile deepened as if he had just won the lottery.

'One hundred and fifty million won! A total of one million dollars! It still isn't enough to cover all the damages, but free money was free money. Haha!'

Deciding that he had milked the Hunter's Guild Master enough, the chairman simply turned away, letting Yoonho and Jong-In continue their childish bickering.

Even Eunseok, hearing the 'magnanimous' donation, couldn't help but clap with amusement as he watched their petty squabble unfold, waiting for some drama to further happen.

Byung-Gyu, still focused on healing Joo-Hee, let out a long sigh at the sheer noise of the hunters behind him.

As the healing magic continued flowing, he muttered, "Loud as ever… When will they ever grow up..."

Meanwhile, Go Gunhee issued new orders, calling for additional healers to tend to the agents who had collapsed from witnessing the terrifying ability demonstration of the supposed reawakened Hunter.

Minutes later, Joo-Hee was mostly healed, but her throat and mouth remained unbearably dry.

Byung-Gyu gave her a reassuring smile. "Ms. Lee, that should do for now. I suggest you hydrate yourself or drink a healing potion if possible. I'll be going now—I need to tend to the others."

Joo-Hee simply nodded with a smile. Even in her disheveled state, she still looked beautiful.

Byung-Gyu, being single as he was, felt a slight blush creep onto his face before he quickly turned away.

Eun-Seok caught the moment and covered his mouth with his hand, snickering as he silently planned to tease his best friend later.

.

.

.

A/N: Hi everyone! did any of you miss me, hehe~? I'm really sorry for not writing for almost three to four months. I have been really busy with my novel, Forsaken Soul in a World Rewritten, and school matters. And I'll be having my internship soon so pray for me guys!