The Hunter's Gonna Lay Low-Chapter 156

Cha Uijae absentmindedly fiddled with the watch on his wrist. The round dial displayed three small sub-dials, two of which had stopped while the last one continued moving busily. He pointed at the tiny clocks.

"You're talking about these little clocks?"

"Oh, you’ve been keeping it on. Yeah, that's right. Originally, there was only one big clock, but I modified it for better visibility," Kkokko said, puffing out its chest with pride.

"That’s all thanks to me."

"Why did you modify it? Not just for looks, right?"

"I did it because it was necessary."

"What was it necessary for? You modified it when Lee Sayoung from the ruined world was using it, didn’t you? When I first used it to turn back time, there weren’t any of these small clocks."

"Wow, you actually remember that? I thought you didn’t know anything," Kkokko chattered on, but Uijae sighed and rubbed his face. Then, in a low voice, he called out.

"Hey."

The lights in the small house flickered ominously before suddenly going out. The table hummed. Looking up, Uijae saw blue eyes gleaming in the darkness. A chilling, sharp energy filled the room, freezing the air from the depths of his core. From the shadowed face, where his expression was barely visible, a calm voice flowed out.

"You must think I’m doing okay if you're joking around like that."

“……”

"But I’m not. I’m really on edge right now."

The heavy atmosphere started to distort. There was a sharp crack as a glass cup fractured. The pressure in the room became suffocating, like a grip tightening around his throat. Yet the voice remained peaceful.

"I didn’t come all this way to joke around with you."

“……”

"I came here to find out why this is happening and how to fix it. I don’t have time to waste."

“……”

"So just get to the point. You said this was the last chance, right? We need to cooperate."

Just then, Uijae sensed movement from the room next door. He quickly turned his head. Beyond the half-open door, Lee Sayoung was tossing and turning under the covers.

Uijae let out a short breath and ran his hand over his face. The lights blinked a few more times before coming back on, and the oppressive pressure that had been weighing down on them vanished as if it had never been there. Hong Yeseong, who had been curled up and trembling on the floor, regained his composure.

Uijae exhaled deeply.

"Sorry."

Kkokko flapped its wings and shook its head.

"No need to apologize. You’re right, though. But for me to explain this properly, we need to move to a different location. There are things I can't say here... Are you okay with that?"

"I’m fine."

"Then, focus on my eyes."

Uijae lifted his head and met Kkokko’s gaze. The golden markings in the chicken’s eyes began to spin rapidly. His consciousness seemed to be drawn into them, gradually fading into the distance. Uijae didn’t resist the flow and closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, he was standing in the middle of Hong Yeseong's workshop—the same one he had seen at the edge of the Memorial Dungeon. The monochrome space, devoid of color, felt like a frozen moment in time, like looking at an old black-and-white photograph. It gave off a strange, nostalgic atmosphere, as if he was peeking into someone’s personal photo album.

Uijae turned his head and saw a man sitting in a chair without a backrest, wearing a tracksuit. With a confident smile, the man flashed a peace sign. It was Hong Yeseong, his hair tied into a short ponytail.

Although his lips didn’t move, his voice echoed in the space.

—I won’t keep you here for long.

He, too, was part of this black-and-white photograph. His entire body was monochrome, except for the golden markings on his eyes, which were the only things with color and life. The Hong Yeseong before him seemed different from the person Uijae knew.

‘He looks much more experienced and relaxed.’

He had the aura of a veteran.

Hong Yeseong’s voice resonated throughout the workshop, though his figure remained still.

—I hadn’t planned to explain everything in detail or get involved like this… But I didn’t expect Lee Sayoung to end up like that. I decided it’s best if you know everything. You’re the only one who can handle these variables quickly, my friend.

“……”

—My role was just to observe, but now that we’re in a crisis, I’ll explain everything from the very beginning.

The golden markings in his eyes slowed down, regaining their original pace.

—Let’s start with the watch. It’s used to turn back time, yes, but more accurately, it erases the previous world and starts a new one.

"Okay."

—So, from the start, that watch was a single-use item. It’s absurd to think you could use something that rewrites time and erases entire worlds more than once.

“……”

—It could only be used once. After that, it should have disappeared completely. That’s why, when we first turned back time, we said there would be no next time. We said the next would be the last.

Uijae touched the watch on his wrist, feeling the cool metal under his fingers.

"But the watch is still here, in my hands."

—That’s exactly the problem. From what I can see, the issue started from the very first use.

The markings in Hong Yeseong’s eyes tangled in a complex pattern.

—Your power, which became the core of the watch, was too strong. Instead of being erased, a portion of that power lingered. So, instead of disappearing, the watch retained some of its ability to turn back time, albeit incompletely.

“……”

—The power is so incomplete that while it can still turn back time, it’s become a risky, unpredictable item. After the second world, you still had it, but when you died, it ended up in Lee Sayoung’s hands.

“……”

This content is taken from freёnovelkiss.com.

—I modified the watch to reduce the side effects, and Sayoung used it. But even though he took on most of the burden, the side effects couldn’t be completely avoided.

Side effects. Uijae thought of Lee Sayoung, who had wandered the ruined world endlessly, his eyes hollow and full of tears when they finally met. As if he had turned into something beyond human, a being devoid of emotion.

‘I thought everything I did… meant nothing.’

Was that also a part of the side effects? Being left behind in the ruined world as its warden, endlessly wandering, waiting for an end that might never come, never knowing if he succeeded or failed.

That was too cruel...

Uijae, at a loss for words, stared at Hong Yeseong. Thoughts surged and receded in his mind, but none seemed worthy enough to be spoken aloud. He clamped his mouth shut, afraid that unspoken words might slip out.

Hong Yeseong murmured, his voice carrying a hint of sorrow.

—One of the side effects... you’ve experienced it too.

"...Me? What?"

—The West Sea Rift.

A hammer seemed to strike his mind. Uijae’s head throbbed. His mouth fell open slightly. Hong Yeseong, still locked within the black-and-white frame, looked at him with his usual confident expression.

—I told you, the watch erases the previous world and creates a new one. But since the watch is incomplete, the previous world wasn’t erased properly. That’s why the ruined world continues to affect the present world.

“Then... the West Sea Rift too?” Uijae’s voice trembled slightly, and his stomach churned. His vision swam, and he felt like he might throw up. Hong Yeseong’s voice softened with sympathy.

—Didn’t you find it strange? The West Sea Rift kept growing, swallowing Hunters whole until you entered it. After you went inside, did any other Hunters follow you? No. You were the last.

It was true. None of the Hunters who entered the rift before had survived. The ones who went in with Uijae had all died, and after he killed all the monsters and drove a blade into the Basilisk’s head, no reinforcements had arrived.

“……”

The rift had closed because its purpose had been fulfilled.

It had been targeting Cha Uijae all along.

A heavy voice delivered the final blow.

—The ruined world was looking for you, the first core. The price the current core paid wasn’t enough, so it sought the rest.

Hong Yeseong paused and let out a short sigh. The golden markings in his eyes dimmed.

—You know, my friend, we made a promise once.

“……”

—You don’t remember it, but…

His voice carried a trace of melancholy.

—You would turn back time to stop the end…

“……”

—And I would watch over it.

"Why would we make a promise like that?"

Hong Yeseong’s tone grew heavier.

—To save the world, of course.