A Malicious Invitation

[Exorcist.]

“…….”

[Why the silence?]

Baek Hee-do spoke as if he had known all along that I would be the one calling. I couldn’t help but ask.

“How did you know it was me?”

[Because no one else knows this number.]

“…….”

While I froze at his unexpected words, Baek Hee-do continued leisurely.

[Anyway, it’s just like you said. The guy who fed me those rumors was a pro—someone who spreads stories for cash. He confessed he was commissioned by a pseudo-religious cult.]

I felt a wave of fluster as I realized the mastermind behind this was larger in scale than I had anticipated. However, after dropping that bombshell, Baek Hee-do said something utterly absurd.

“Then….”

[If you want the details, show up in front of the hotel by two tomorrow.]

“What?”

[Don’t be late.]

With that, the line went dead.

“Does he think I’m some person with nothing better to do? Some errand boy who comes and goes whenever he beckons? The man is insane!”

Unfortunately, it was a bitter truth that I needed Baek Hee-do’s help if I wanted to get my revenge on Yoo Se-rim….

After much agonizing, I found myself standing in front of the **hotel the next day at 2:00 PM, wearing a sullen expression.

“You’re early.”

And exactly on the dot, Baek Hee-do appeared out of thin air right in front of me.

“…….”

I flinched, but I held my tongue to keep from showing how startled I was. Baek Hee-do gave a sly grin and suddenly reached for my shoulder. His hand moved at a speed I couldn’t even track; I failed to dodge, and my shoulder was caught in his grip once again.

Seeing me shrink back, Baek Hee-do asked nonchalantly.

“Did you treat your shoulder?”

His question dragged back memories of Yoo Se-rim’s attitude from yesterday, instantly souring my mood. I furrowed my brow and retorted sarcastically.

“Yes. I poured a potion on it.”

Baek Hee-do made a sound that could have been either admiration or mockery.

“You’re richer than you look.”

“I wasted a fortune thanks to a certain someone.”

At that, Baek Hee-do suddenly offered to buy me lunch.

“My bad, then. Lunch is on me today.”

“What? No, I don’t care about food, I want to talk about the Thunder Spirit Sword….”

“Aren’t you hungry?”

Ignoring my words entirely, he claimed he was starving and grabbed my arm. He began striding into the **hotel, dragging me along with him. I was practically being hauled away by his sheer strength.

‘Is he crazy?’

Do I look like the type of person who has the leisure to sit down and grab a bite with him?

But it was impossible to shake off Baek Hee-do’s power. In the end, I found myself sitting in a restaurant on the 9th floor of the **hotel—a place I had no business being in—glaring sullenly at him as he ordered with practiced ease.

“What do you want?”

“……Just order whatever.”

“No wonder you’re so scrawny.”

I really want to kill this bastard, too….

“…….”

Instead of snapping back, I kept my mouth shut. To be honest, I felt a bit intimidated because I had never eaten at a place like this before.

‘A C-rank income can’t afford a place like this….’

Even when my brother was alive, he was always cooped up in “that world” rather than focusing on money, so I had to work part-time jobs just to make ends meet.

Because of that, I couldn’t even bring myself to move when the food started coming out. Seeing me frozen stiff, Baek Hee-do let out a small chuckle and began cutting the food on the serving plate, moving the pieces onto my plate one by one.

“Wh… what are you doing?”

I was so startled that I accidentally dropped the formal honorifics, but Baek Hee-do just gave a shrug and started eating his own meal. Forced by his bizarre kindness, I slowly began to taste the food.

“Exorcist, how old are you?”

Once I started eating, Baek Hee-do asked for my age. I swallowed the beef—which practically melted on my tongue—and answered him.

“Twenty-six.”

Since he didn’t seem to care about the casual speech, I decided to keep it up. But that wasn’t the problem.

“Oh. You’re two years older than me.”

“Pffft!”

I nearly sprayed my food at the word “older brother.”

I clamped my mouth shut and scanned him from head to toe. Baek Hee-do was just grinning, stabbing a shrimp with his fork.

“What? You don’t believe I’m twenty-four?”

“……I thought you were at least thirty.”

“And I thought you were twenty.”

‘Dammit. He knows my age and he’s still talking down to me.’

It was absurd, but then I realized that hearing Baek Hee-do use honorifics or call me ‘Hyung’ would be even more skin-crawling. It was something I’d rather pass on.

Baek Hee-do seemed to be of the same mind. He took an elegant sip of water and spoke.

“I take it you aren’t expecting me to use honorifics?”

I already knew he wouldn’t, but hearing him say it made my stomach churn. I intentionally scowled as I replied.

“I’m not.”

“Good. Now let’s see… I’m a celebrity, so you obviously know my name. What about our older-than-he-looks Exorcist? What’s your name?”

I really wanted to punch him in the mouth every time he opened it.

“……Han Sol.”

“Just ‘Sol’?”

“Yeah.”

“Han Sol, Han Sol….”

Watching him mutter my name, I felt a sudden, first-time wave of empathy for Yoo Se-rim. Someone this rude and reckless, who also happened to be incredibly powerful—it was impossible not to hate him.

As I was lost in thought, Baek Hee-do suddenly asked.

“Han Sol, you said you were Han Seong-hun’s younger brother, right?”

Since that was what I had written in the note, I simply nodded. Baek Hee-do stared at me and muttered to himself.

“You don’t really look like Han Seong-hun.”

Startled by his remark, I lunged toward him.

“You… you knew my brother?”

Baek Hee-do seemed a bit surprised by my reaction, but he quickly regained his composure.

“We met.”

“When!?”

“A few years ago.”

“Then, by any chance, do you know where he went last?”

Baek Hee-do seemed to contemplate for a moment. Seeing the desperate look on my face, the smile vanished from his lips, and he answered seriously.

“Before the monster invasion, he said he was going to the [Citadel of Prophecy].”

“Ah….”

“There hasn’t been a word from him since.”

I felt a crushing sense of despair.

First, because there had been no contact since the invasion, and second, because even if he had survived, it was now confirmed he had gone to the [Citadel of Prophecy].

The [Citadel of Prophecy] was the most powerful and infamous dungeon currently in existence—a place even Yoo Se-rim claimed we weren’t ready to challenge yet.

Baek Hee-do seemed to realize why I had turned pale.

“Trying to solo that place is suicide.”

“…….”

“Still, if it was Han Seong-hun, I thought he might actually clear it.”

I bit my lip at those words, overwhelmed by a complex swirl of emotions. I finally knew where my brother had gone, but the chances of him being alive were bleak. Furthermore….

‘I can’t last in Yoo Se-rim’s party until we reach the Citadel. I’ll be discarded before then.’

I didn’t have the power to reach the Citadel of Prophecy.

“Baek Hee-do.”

I called his name, staring intently at his face.

Baek Hee-do’s expression didn’t change. He looked like someone who wouldn’t budge no matter what I said, someone who wouldn’t listen to a word I had to offer….

“Take me with you. Take me to the Citadel of Prophecy.”

I pushed through my fear and made my plea.

“That’s a bit too expensive for a trade involving the Thunder Spirit Sword, don’t you think?”

As expected, Baek Hee-do gave a light refusal. But I clung to him once more.

“……I have to go, even if it’s just to find my brother’s corpse.”

“It’s been five years. Chances are you won’t even find a body.”

“I still have to go. I can’t….”

I can’t let him go.

Baek Hee-do let out a long sigh as he watched me, as I stared at him without even breathing.

“Sigh…. Hey, C-rank. Why don’t you ask Yoo Se-rim instead? You’re already a member of his party.”

At those words, I screamed as if having a fit.

“Yoo Se-rim will abandon me eventually! He has no intention of taking me to the Citadel!”

“What?”

“…….”

I had no logical evidence to back up my claim. However, a subtle shift of emotion appeared on Baek Hee-do’s face.

“You… you truly loathe Yoo Se-rim, don’t you?”

“…….”

I stared at him in silence. He crossed his arms and looked me over.

“I thought I was the only one who knew what a devious bastard he is….”

His voice trailed off, and one corner of his mouth quirked up. For some reason, he looked quite pleased.

I told him exactly what I knew about Yoo Se-rim.

“Yoo Se-rim sees people as nothing but tools. And I’m just… a tool to be used a few times and then tossed away.”

“Wow, you hit the nail right on the head.”

“The only reason he accepted me into the party in the first place was… to prepare for a moment when he needs to sacrifice someone in a future dungeon.”

“…….”

The dungeon where I had drowned, [The Mermaid’s Treasure], was exactly that kind of place.

It was a horrific dungeon that could be cleared without a fight if the party leader sacrificed one of their members. And Yoo Se-rim… he had chosen me as the sacrifice. And the moment he did, he severed both of my Achilles tendons.