He had no intention of discussing the Flying Tiger Sect’s future with anyone else, but Kang Dohyun was different—he needed to know.

Not only did he need to persuade him, but there were also matters ahead where he would need to request his cooperation.

As Kang Dohyun regarded him with a puzzled expression, Seo Kangrim continued speaking.

“I saw the future through the Guide of Destiny. A few years from now, you and I will be killed.”

He needed to persuade Kang Dohyun, but revealing that he was a regressor was still out of the question.

At the mention of having seen the future through the Guide of Destiny, Kang Dohyun’s gaze sharpened slightly.

As a Death Messenger himself, he had at least some knowledge of prophecy items.

“You and I die? How?”

“It was an ambush. I don’t know the reason. I only know the killer’s name and face. The name was Baekyoung, and her rank was First Divine Grade.”

“…….”

“So I can’t quit being a hunter. I need to get stronger to stop that woman.”

Kang Dohyun’s expression grew complicated.

Rather than explaining further, Seo Kangrim glanced toward the entrance.

“We should continue this conversation outside.”

Multiple footsteps were approaching from the entrance.

A moment later, Ahn Nabi and the Earthen Figures appeared.

“For now, we’ve gathered all the survivors.”

“Oot!”

The Earthen Figures were hoisting people up and carrying them away.

The number rescued easily exceeded twenty.

Some were still unconscious, while others sobbed and murmured words of gratitude.

“Thank you, thank you……!”

“I really thought it was over. No one came for months…….”

Despite hearing those words of thanks, Seo Kangrim showed no sign of joy.

Kang Dohyun was much the same.

Ahn Nabi read the atmosphere and spoke up.

“We should head out first. We need to transport them quickly.”

“……Yes. Let’s do that.”

When Seo Kangrim threw open the doors of the hall, the scenery of an abandoned factory appeared beyond them.

At the same time, a notification window surfaced before his eyes.

[You have successfully cleared a First Human Grade Demon Realm!]

[Clear rewards have arrived!]

[Through the exploits of Manshin ‘Ahn Nabi,’ the name of Guardian God ‘Tailed Guardian’ spreads widely. Recognition Level increases!]

[Through the exploits of Manshin ‘Kang Dohyun,’ the name of Guardian God ‘Son of Ghost and Human’ spreads widely. Recognition Level increases!]

[The name of Hunter ‘Seo Kangrim’ spreads widely! The gods have begun to take notice of you.]

Clearing a Demon Realm immediately posted a record to the community, so both people and gods would have learned of this situation.

Meanwhile, Ahn Nabi and Kang Dohyun were busy gathering survivors without a moment to savor the joy of clearing the Demon Realm.

“Yes. There are no critically injured. However, many survivors require recovery, so we’ll need Death Messengers with recovery abilities…….”

Ahn Nabi was on the phone with the Protection Bureau, requesting additional personnel.

Seo Kangrim glanced at her briefly before turning to leave.

‘It seems difficult to talk with Kang Dohyun right now. He knows he dies too, so he’ll come find me soon enough.’

The emotions Kang Dohyun still harbored toward him seemed closer to love-hate than simple goodwill.

Even so, with his own life on the line, he would eventually cooperate.

Just as Seo Kangrim was about to leave, Kang Dohyun grabbed him by the back of the neck.

“Hey.”

Kang Dohyun stared at him intently, then let out a low sigh.

“Where are you going alone? You said we’d talk in detail? Just wait until I’m done here.”

It was gruff, but not entirely abrasive.

He released Seo Kangrim and said,

“……Let’s go home and talk.”

* * *

Seo Hwakyung’s house, which I hadn’t visited in a long time, was far quieter and more desolate than I remembered.

The flagpole I had seen on my first visit remained, but the flag itself was gone—whether rotted away or fallen, I couldn’t tell.

“Come this way.”

Kang Dohyun led me inside the shrine hall.

The shrine hall was clean, but with no Manshin to enshrine, it had the atmosphere of an abandoned building.

In the center of the shrine hall sat an urn containing remains.

“Do you know how my mother died? Did the Guide of Destiny tell you that too?”

“She died in a fire.”

Seo Hwakyung had died in the annex behind the house.

Kang Dohyun had been sleeping when he heard a sudden cracking sound. He rushed to the annex and found the building ablaze with Seo Hwakyung inside.

The fire had only subsided after consuming the entire annex.

I was told that Seo Hwakyung’s remains were so badly damaged they were barely recognizable.

“Do you also know why she made that choice?”

I shook my head at that question.

Seo Hwakyung had left a suicide note, but it offered us no answers.

The note was written in frustratingly vague terms.

[“I choose the best path among the destinies available to me.”]

Seo Hwakyung had seen her future and chosen what she believed was the best path.

That this path was self-immolation was something neither Kang Dohyun nor I could accept.

I wanted to summon her spirit and ask, but she never answered our calls.

“Some great item. The Guide of Destiny isn’t all that.”

He muttered as much and began pasting talismans throughout the shrine hall.

They were talismans designed to block the approach of spirits.

After affixing talismans to all four walls, Kang Dohyun plopped down on the floor.

“No other gods will be able to hear us. I’ve also asked our patron deity to close his eyes and ears for a while.”

I preferred not to share information about the future with the gods if I could help it.

There was no telling which of them might be my enemy.

Kang Dohyun spoke into the silence.

“Right. You said a woman named Baekyoung will come and kill us?”

“Yeah. So I need your help.”

“My help?”

He looked both bewildered and self-deprecating as he echoed the question back.

“You’d be better off asking your own deity for help. You’re strong enough as it is.”

“I haven’t received a Divine Descent.”

At those words, Kang Dohyun lifted his head.

He clearly didn’t understand.

“You still haven’t received a Divine Descent? Why?”

“One of them killed my parents.”

How could I accept a being that had killed my parents and thrust my life into hell?

Kang Dohyun hesitated before speaking.

“You could have received a different god—not the one that tried to descend upon you as a child.”

“I don’t know which god it was. Even if that one comes disguised as another, I can’t tell the difference.”

Refusing Divine Descent for that reason alone might have been foolish, but I simply couldn’t accept it.

Besides, I didn’t particularly trust the other gods either.

“I can’t stop Baekyoung alone. That’s why I need your help.”

“……What exactly do you want me to do?”

I told him an edited version of my past life.

From what happened in my childhood to the annihilation of the Flying Tiger Sect.

After I finished explaining, his expression grew even more serious.

“So we need to find this woman named Baekyoung. And all you know is her name and face?”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t even know why she killed the Flying Tiger Sect?”

I nodded.

I had a vague suspicion, but nothing certain.

“You said you’d seen Baekyoung even as a child? She was at the scene of the incident, and if you were paying the price for refusing Divine Descent…….”

Kang Dohyun fell into thought for a moment before speaking.

“Isn’t Baekyoung a Manshin of the deity that tried to descend on you? That’s why she targeted the Flying Tiger Sect.”

I had entertained that same suspicion.

Baekyoung, who had been present at every moment of my suffering.

Could she have been acting under the god’s orders, bringing harm to those around me and slaughtering the Flying Tiger Sect as well?

But something didn’t sit right.

“When I was young, all kinds of misfortune came my way, but Baekyoung never tried to kill me.”

Ultimately, the god didn’t want me dead—it wanted me to submit.

That was why it sent spirit soldiers to possess me and make me ill, but never caused me direct physical harm.

“But that time, Baekyoung was filled with nothing but the intent to kill me. The others dying was…… closer to collateral damage.”

She had said she would spare everyone if I surrendered myself.

Whether that was a lie, I couldn’t say, but from the atmosphere, it seemed unlikely.

“And there’s something else strange. Baekyoung didn’t seem to know me. She didn’t recognize my face—she was killing indiscriminately.”

Something didn’t add up.

Several theories came to mind, but they were all just speculation.

Finding Baekyoung and getting answers directly was the most certain approach.

“First, I’m going to look for leads on Baekyoung.”

“How? All you know is her name and face. You don’t even know whose Manshin she is.”

At the very least, it would have been helpful to know which deity she served, but her fate was protected.

With so few clues, finding Baekyoung was an incredibly daunting task.

That was precisely why I needed Kang Dohyun’s help.

“Still, I have a rough idea. There aren’t many ability users at the First Divine Grade level. Someone as powerful as Baekyoung…….”

I looked at the mask Kang Dohyun was holding.

“Like the Bureau Director.”

“The Director?”

He showed a brief flash of surprise before falling silent.

Kang Dohyun muttered under his breath.

“There are definitely suspicious aspects. Her face isn’t known either.”

The Bureau Director’s identity was a top secret—her face had never been revealed to the outside world, not even once.

Even among the Protection Bureau’s Death Messengers, those who had seen the Director’s face could be counted on one hand.

Yet despite her face being unknown, the Director’s presence was immense.

That was because whenever Dragon Grade or Divine Grade Demon Beasts appeared in urban areas, the Director would appear and subdue them in a single blow.

With that level of power, calling her First Divine Grade would be no exaggeration.

“So don’t tell me what you’re about to ask me is…….”

“Yeah. I want you to identify the Director’s true identity.”

He stared at me as if I had lost my mind.

I knew it was an outrageous request.

I had considered joining the organization myself to investigate internal information, but doing so would create too many restrictions.

That was why I had to tell Kang Dohyun about the future.

Obtaining information required at least some explanation of the situation.

At my words, Kang Dohyun furrowed his brow slightly.

“My rank is only Deputy. I don’t have clearance to access top-secret information like the Director’s file.”

“I suppose that’s too much to ask……. It’s fine. I’ll figure something out on my own.”

“Too much to ask?”

I looked up to find Kang Dohyun glaring at me as if he wanted to kill me.

It seemed I had touched a nerve again—his inferiority complex.

I changed the subject.

“For now, at least memorize Baekyoung’s face.”

I used a memory projection item to show him Baekyoung’s face.

He quietly accepted the image and said,

“You’ve gotten shameless since the last time I saw you. Changing the subj——”

Kang Dohyun stopped mid-sentence as he looked at the image.

His gaze was nailed to it as if pinned there.

After a long silence, he opened his mouth with difficulty.

“……I’ve seen this woman before.”

“You’ve seen her?”

When I asked again in surprise, Kang Dohyun nodded with a stiff expression.

“A few days before my mother died, I saw this woman near our house.”