DPGR 98

“You know where Guide Jiho is, don’t you?”

Whine.

Heendungi cried as if feeling wronged. But it didn’t work on Dojin.

It was already widely known that beast-type monsters had an exceptionally keen sense of smell for humans.

If it was Heendungi, he should be able to pick up Jiho’s scent even in this vast and complex space.

“Guide Jiho is in danger. If this keeps up, he might die.”

Whimper…

“Guide Jiho is practically no different from an ordinary person. He could easily be hurt or killed. You should know that too.”

As Dojin’s questioning continued, Heendungi’s ears drooped. He understood what Dojin was saying—and was reacting.

“You don’t want him to die either, do you?”

Heendungi’s nose twitched slightly. Dojin gently tapped his snout.

“You can find him. Hurry.”

Yip!

Heendungi barked sharply and shook his body vigorously. White fur fluttered through the air.

Then his eyes began to shine with determination.

His fist-sized black nose started twitching nonstop.

Sniff sniff! Sniff sniff sniff!

Yip!

Heendungi sniffed the air, let out a bark, and dashed off. Then he sniffed again, ran again, and repeated the process.

As Dojin watched Heendungi devote himself to tracking Jiho, a trace of doubt appeared in his eyes.

‘As I thought… that guy too…’

It wasn’t the first time Dojin had thought something was strange about Heendungi.

His especially strong sense of self, his keen understanding of human speech…

No matter how he looked at it, Heendungi was different from other monsters. It wasn’t just intelligence or empathy—he was on another level.

As Dojin’s thoughts started branching out,

Whine, bark!

Heendungi suddenly started barking loudly toward a closed door.

Dojin set aside his doubts and hurriedly flung the door open.

Inside, a group of monsters greeted him with low, threatening growls.

Dojin clicked his tongue silently and swung his spear into the air.

The sharp weapon sliced through the air with a whoosh, radiating a dangerous sound.

Without taking his eyes off the monsters, he asked Heendungi,

“Where?”

Bark!

Heendungi barked in response, pointing toward the left side of the room—near the terrace.

Dojin narrowed his eyes and gave a faint smile.

“Good. Let’s hurry.”

Heendungi lowered his body and barked bravely.

He looked ready to lunge at the monsters and rip their throats out.

His exposed fangs were menacingly sharp, and the dried blood around his snout hinted at his combat prowess.

But before Heendungi could even pounce, the situation was over in an instant.

Crash—!

Dojin raised his spear and slammed it into his own shadow.

He poured all his magic into the shadow.

The shadow wriggled and expanded, then spread in all directions.

It didn’t take long for the shadow, transformed into spears, to pierce and skewer the monsters from all angles.

Graaagh—!

Screech! Grrrrk—

Kiieek! Kiek! Kyaaak!

The monsters skewered by shadow-spears floated into the air.

Dojin felt his energy rapidly draining because of guiding deprivation and coughed up a mouthful of blood from the pressure.

His head spun and his stomach twisted, but even so, he didn’t stop attacking.

‘Finish this as quickly as possible.’

Once he’d lifted all the monsters, he finally saw human legs where Heendungi had pointed.

A pair of feet sticking out past the terrace door—wearing the sneakers Dojin had personally chosen, bought, and put on for him.

With all his strength, Dojin swung his hand toward the floating monsters.

A crimson flame erupted from his gesture and engulfed their bodies.

The acrid smell of burning flesh, black smoke, and the monsters’ agonized screams filled the room.

Fortunately, though Heendungi had missed his chance to fight, he cleverly approached Jiho and gently dragged him out by the hem of his clothes.

“Take him outside.”

Bark!

From a glance, Jiho looked worse off than Sena.

A black, cobweb-like mark covered half of his face.

If they’d arrived even a little later, things could’ve turned out badly.

Relieved, Dojin glared at the remaining monsters.

He slammed his spear into the floor again, and flames engulfed their bodies.

The flickering fire looked just like a beast’s tongue—

And with that thought, Dojin turned away without hesitation.

His footsteps as he left the room were more hurried than ever.

***

As soon as Dojin stepped into the hallway, the first thing he saw was Jiho strangling himself and Heendungi pacing anxiously nearby.

“Kh-hhk…”

Jiho was lying flat, choking himself as if he truly wanted to die.

He was squeezing so hard, the veins on the back of his pale hands bulged visibly.

Bark! Bark!

“Ghk… khk… hkk…”

“Guide Jiho!”

Dojin rushed to him in a heartbeat. Heendungi bumped into Dojin’s side with his head, as if asking why he was only showing up now.

“Guide Jiho. Guide Jiho?”

“Ah… uuh… uh…”

Pushing Heendungi aside, Dojin grabbed both of Jiho’s wrists and forced them down.

Jiho trembled all over, letting out incoherent sounds.

“Stop… hate… no… don’t want… stop it…”

“Guide Jiho. Jiho, Jiho. It’s okay. Shh. You’re okay.”

Even though he knew Jiho wouldn’t hear him while trapped in a nightmare, Dojin continued whispering that it was okay, again and again, in a soothing voice.

Then he leaned over and pinned down Jiho’s limbs, as if to shield him.

It was to prevent Jiho from harming himself again while Dojin entered his consciousness.

“Heendungi. Keep watch around us.”

After giving the order, Dojin took out a star candy from his pocket.

A yellow, thumbnail-sized candy went into his mouth, and then another into Jiho’s.

At the same time, strength drained from his body and his consciousness began to fade.

At last, Dojin plunged into Jiho’s nightmare.

The same freezing blizzard and endless snowy plains he knew all too well.

A horde of horrifying monsters and scattered corpses welcomed him.

***

As soon as he came to, Dojin scanned his surroundings.

He’d seen this space before in his own nightmares—so he quickly realized they were inside the “Final Dungeon.”

The problem was, Jiho had never experienced the Final Dungeon.

‘How in the world did he end up here…?’

Dojin stood still, lost in thought, when—

“Guiding! Hurry!”

“What are you doing? Do something already!”

“This way! Over here!”

Voices echoed from behind. Dojin instinctively turned his head—and saw a familiar face.

‘Guide Jiho…!’

Jiho looked a bit older than how Dojin remembered him.

Still, Dojin recognized him instantly. The man he’d been searching for—his guide.

Jiho’s body was emaciated, as if he hadn’t eaten in days, and his skin had turned a bluish hue like someone near death.

His lifeless black eyes, his lips cracked and caked with dried blood—it was all a shock to Dojin.

But what shocked him even more was the sight of the people surrounding Jiho.

Clearly espers from all over the world—a dozen or more of them, covered in wounds, reaching out with filthy hands to grab Jiho.

Jiho was being pulled in all directions, but didn’t resist.

He just stared blankly at the sky, like someone who had lost all will to live.

But then, just for a moment, a glimmer returned to those dead black eyes.

Suddenly, Jiho reached for a man’s thigh, grabbed the dagger there, and slashed at the air.

The people around him flinched and recoiled.

“What, gonna stab us now?”

They clearly thought Jiho was about to attack them.

But to Dojin, the action meant something else entirely.

His face went pale, and he sprinted across the snowy field.

“No! Guide Jiho!”

Dojin shouted, but his voice was lost in the howling wind.

Please—please…!

He stretched out his hand. Jiho raised the dagger high.

The blade gleamed as it caught the light, then came down toward his slender, pale neck.

“Guide Jiho!”

Thankfully, just before the blade pierced his skin, Dojin managed to reach him.

He snatched Jiho’s wrist and knocked the dagger away.

“Ha…”

That was too close.

Relieved that he hadn’t been too late, Dojin let out a shaky breath.

He thought now all that remained was to wake Jiho and get them out of there.

“Uh… hkk…”

“Guide Jiho!”

But Jiho didn’t even look at him.

As if his only goal was to end his life, he pushed Dojin’s hand away and crawled through the snow, trying to retrieve the dagger.

Unlike the other teammates, who had helped him break free of nightmares once he appeared,

Jiho seemed completely overwhelmed—consumed by this hellish illusion.

Dojin grabbed him and held him tight, trapping him in his arms, trying desperately to wake him.

He raised his voice, called Jiho’s name, pleaded with him, then reassured him gently.

He realized that the calmer he became, the more Jiho’s breathing began to settle.

“Shhh… It’s okay. Breathe. You’re okay. I won’t do anything to you.”

He swallowed to soften his voice as much as possible.

But the fire in Dojin’s eyes as he took in the bruises and scars all over Jiho’s body—burned brighter than ever.