DPGR 157

“Dojin hyung.”

“Ah…”

“It’s okay. It’s okay.”

“Gasp. Uh, ugh…”

“It’s okay.”

Warm yet cold energy surged through the skin where they touched. It felt like vitality was returning to Dojin’s parched, withered body.

‘More, give me more. It’s not enough. More…’

I want to eat you.

As if possessed, Dojin lowered his upper body. The prey beneath him seemed to know where his face would go and guided him toward it.

Dojin’s lips touched the soft flesh. He bit down hard, drinking the blood that welled up as he pushed his tongue into the damp space, stirring it.

“Ugh, hng…”

The prey beneath him let out a moan. The sound had only reached his ear, yet it oddly made him want to tear out his own heart.

Squelch. Slurp. Smack.

Everything flowing into him tasted so sweet. Maybe this was what he had been yearning for all along. The thirst that had tormented him constantly was finally beginning to be quenched.

The spear in Dojin’s hand blurred and then vanished, and the heat of his body began to cool.

Now free, Dojin reached down to tear apart the clothes of the squirming prey beneath him.

“Ha!”

Thud!

A large rock struck Dojin’s head again. Just as his thirst had started to abate and the mana fortifying his body began to dissipate.

Unlike before, this time he couldn’t resist.

“Guh…”

Thud. Strength left his body, and he collapsed, falling on top of the prey beneath him.

“Hyung?”

His twitching eyelids finally fluttered shut.

“Hyung…!”

The hand that had been clutching the prey’s cheek fell limply to the ground.

***

As soon as Dojin lost consciousness and collapsed, a commotion erupted on one side.

“It’s opening! The dungeon is opening!”

“Waaaah!”

The snow had stopped, and the dark clouds were rolling away. Dawn broke through the gap.

The cheers of those who had survived that hellish night shook the earth.

It was over. The boss monster inside the Final Dungeon was already dead, and Baek Dojin, who had gone overload after killing it, had been neutralized.

The faces of the people were a chaotic mix of joy, relief, despair, and sorrow. They had survived, but their comrades hadn’t. Tears fell out of guilt, as if their own survival had cost someone else their life.

In the midst of the crowded confusion, representatives from each country checked for casualties before they had time to process any emotions.

“Too many are dead.”

“There won’t even be bodies to recover…”

Having limbs torn by monsters was the least of it. Most of the bodies had been crushed under monster feet or swallowed whole.

The melted snow was littered with remains so mangled it was impossible to tell who they belonged to.

Kwak Jiheon struggled to make sense of the devastation, wiping his dry face in frustration.

He spotted the Korean team, now gathered close together.

“What’s the situation with Esper Baek Dojin?”

“Um, he seems to have fainted…”

“Fainted? What about the overload state? Is it over?”

“Well, that’s… not clear…”

At the center of the group were the unconscious Dojin, Jiho, and the members of Alpha Team.

Perhaps worried Dojin might overload again, Jiho was lying over his body as if shielding him, steadily continuing to guide.

‘At this rate, he’ll drain himself dry…’

All Kwak Jiheon could focus on was how pale Jiho had become from the intense energy drain.

He turned to the other country’s representatives and explained the situation.

“…If it’s alright, we’d like the Korean team to exit first.”

Fortunately, everyone had seen Dojin’s sacrifice with their own eyes, so they agreed without hesitation. Some even waved them off, urging them to go quickly and get treatment.

“Alright, Korea’s Alpha Team will exit first! There are a lot of you, so let’s move fast!”

Kwak Jiheon thanked them, then hurriedly led the Korean team.

Korea’s strike team was the first to pass through the gate, receiving greetings and cheers from the other international teams.

***

Normally, there would have been a crowd of reporters, onlookers, and Center staff gathered in front of the gate, regardless of the country.

But because this was the Final Dungeon and word of it had spread to the public, only a handful of journalists were there.

It was a meager turnout to welcome the heroes who had saved the world from annihilation, but under the circumstances, it was for the best.

“Yulchan.”

“Yes!”

Kwak Jiheon quickly took control of the scene, brushing past the reporters holding out microphones and cameras requesting interviews.

Yulchan, who had just received an emergency guiding session from Sena, stepped forward with a pale face. He wore a slightly unsure expression as he opened a portal.

“We can’t hold the space open long enough for everyone to move through. We’ll need to evacuate the injured first.”

“That’s more than enough.”

Following Yulchan’s suggestion, the team split up.

The unconscious Dojin and Jiho, who was still at his side pouring out guiding energy, joined the first group. The ones carrying Dojin’s stretcher, Kijoon and Sehun, also joined them.

“Guide Jiho, please get some rest.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Around that time, Jiho was showing clear signs of guide depletion from excessive energy use.

His complexion had gone pale, cold sweat clung to his forehead, and on top of that, he was suffering from a splitting headache, fever, and even visual disturbances in one eye.

Despite it all, Jiho couldn’t let go of Dojin and forced himself to pretend he was fine.

“Alright, let’s move!”

While Jiho exchanged farewells with Yulchan, Sena, Jihye, and Geonwoo, who would remain in the second group, the injured in the front began stepping into Yulchan’s portal.

Jiho had to silently take deep breaths, swallowing down the metallic taste of blood rising in his throat over and over again. Whitey, sensing something was wrong, whimpered beside him.

‘I’m okay. Hyung will be okay.’

Stroking Heendungi’s back as hf leaned against him for support, Jiho tried to calm his own anxiety.

Thankfully, the first group reached the exit not long after.

As they passed through the faint light, they found themselves back in the now-familiar underground space of the Center.

“Ha… We actually made it out alive…”

“Everyone stay alert! If you fall asleep now, you’ll die!”

“Call the infirmary! Hurry!”

“I-I’ll do it!”

Since most of the first group were injured, they immediately contacted the Center’s hospital and waited for help.

News that the Final Dungeon had closed must have already reached them, medical staff came running and began triaging and transporting patients on stretchers.

Dojin was also taken to the Center’s hospital right away. Jiho, holding tightly to Dojin’s hand as he was wheeled away, tried to follow at a brisk pace, but then he reached his limit.

“Ah…”

The eye that had been unstable for a while suddenly blacked out, as if a fuse had blown. Blood started dripping from his nose, and a dizzying vertigo overwhelmed him.

“Guide Jiho!”

As Jiho staggered and collapsed, Kijoon and Sehun, following close behind, rushed to catch him in alarm.

Heendungi cried out in a sharp, high-pitched sound and frantically licked Jiho’s cheeks.

He could see medical staff with free hands running toward him.

‘No… I can’t… Hyung needs me…’

He needs me. I have to keep guiding him.

That thought clung to him, but his consciousness quickly slipped away.

In the end, the last thing Jiho saw before losing consciousness completely was Dojin being taken away on a stretcher, his vision blurring into white.

***

Almost at the same time the Final Dungeon opened, the embargo was lifted.

News of the Final Dungeon spread to the general public, who reacted in shock and outrage.

It was only natural for people to be furious at the Center for hiding such a critical fact. Protests broke out, and some even threw stones or waste at Ability Authority buildings.

Just as each country’s Center Directors had feared, crime rates surged in the following days, and suicide rates rose too. But then–

[Final Dungeon Cleared! Who Are the Heroes Who Saved the World?!]

The Final Dungeon, which many believed would be impossible to clear, was conquered in just three days.

Public attention turned toward the heroes who had risked their lives to enter the Final Dungeon. People compiled lists of national heroes and praised them.

Turn on the TV or radio and it was all about the heroes.

Some people who liked attention went around telling stories of what had happened inside the Final Dungeon.

Interviews, TV shows, online articles, YouTube and more.

For days, people repeated the same questions:

“So, who’s the real hero? Who contributed the most?”

The heroes who had spoken up through the media all pointed to one person.

“The SS-class Esper from Korea. He saved us all. Without him, this peace wouldn’t exist.”

“Esper Baek Dojin. He fought a fortress-sized monster without flinching, all on his own.”

“He might be the strongest hero in the world, both in body and spirit. Who else would charge into a monster while knowingly going overload?”

Baek Dojin’s achievements were on everyone’s lips.

Naturally, the media’s attention zeroed in on Baek Dojin, now hailed as the “true hero.”

His personal contact information hadn’t been released, so inquiries flooded the Korean Ability Center.

Was it true he had overloaded? What was the boss monster like through the eyes of an SS-class Esper?

Even just a single word about how he felt now, everyone was desperate for anything.

But the Korean Center only repeated one statement:

“Esper Baek Dojin is currently in recovery due to post-overload symptoms.”

It was a rather formal, restrained response.

As a result, some reporters started spreading fake news, claiming the Korean Center was hiding a global hero, or that Baek Dojin had failed to overcome his overload state and had been killed.

Uninformed people, stirred up by those false reports, began pointing fingers at the Center.

But the Center remained silent.

And silence is a difficult target to keep hitting. When there’s no reaction, interest fades.

Soon, people turned their attention elsewhere in search of a new hero, a new story.

Still, no updates about Baek Dojin ever came.

Just like that, a month passed since the clearing of the Final Dungeon.