The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low

Chapter 196

A long silence hung in the air.

Lee Sayoung stared blankly at the outstretched hand before him. It was a strong hand, calloused from wear, yet clean, without the lingering scars from the poison that had once melted his skin. His dry lips moved slightly as he asked:

“Do you think you can do it?”

A direct response followed.

“I’ll make it happen.”

“...”

“I’ve failed twice already, but... I believe there’s something to be learned from failure.”

“...”

“You wouldn’t want your efforts to go to waste, would you? Am I wrong?”

“...”

“So help me.”

Sayoung didn’t answer, but Uijae could guess what he was thinking.

He was someone who had held onto the world for the sake of a third chance. There was no way he’d want to waste this hard-earned opportunity. After a moment of silence, Sayoung tilted his head slightly. He didn’t seem inclined to take Uijae’s hand, so Uijae awkwardly withdrew it.

“Answer me one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Why do you think you were sick in that world?”

“...”

“You never gave an answer. That person never did—not even in his final moments...”

The reason why Cha Uijae in the second world had been sick. Uijae rolled his eyes, recalling how Hong Yeseong had mentioned that in the first world, Cha Uijae had been so powerful that even using the clock didn’t break him.

Oddly enough, Uijae felt like he knew the answer. In fact, he *did* know it, as if someone had implanted that knowledge in his head. Without realizing it, he began to speak.

“When I rewound time in the first world, I became the axis.”

“...”

“A human who becomes the axis of time is subject to limitations until the previous world is completely erased. They continue to lose their lifespan until the world is destroyed. That’s the penalty of the clock.”

“...”

“But since it was me, I managed to survive for a long time. Usually, if someone becomes the axis, they’d die the moment the world resets from the backlash.”

...Was that it?

“Ah...”

Sayoung let out a low hum, lowering his head. He crossed his arms, muttering to himself.

“So, that’s what Hong Yeseong meant when he said he fixed it...”

It seemed so.

Uijae replayed the scattered fragments of memory in his mind. It was a jumbled mix of things that were his and things that weren’t. When it looked like Sayoung was about to speak again, Uijae quickly raised a hand to stop him.

“Hey, hey! Quiet for a second.”

“...”

Was there a clue in there somewhere? Uijae hurriedly tried to organize his thoughts. Unfortunately, most of the memories were trivial and useless—thoughts about dinner, how cute a cat on the street was, a song he liked at a convenience store, scolding from Jung Bin, snarky remarks from Honeybee...

‘Damn, my memory is annoyingly good at useless things. Why can’t I recall anything important?’

Frustrated, Uijae ruffled his hair. Whose memories were these anyway? But then, he realized it might not even matter whose memories they were.

‘They’re all...’

They were all *Cha Uijae’s* memories, after all.

Oddly enough, the unfamiliar songs were his taste, and the yawning cat perched on the railing of the road was also his taste. But why were they surfacing only now?

The fragments that had risen to the surface slowly began to fade like breaking waves. Before long, they vanished as if they had never appeared.

During the silence, Sayoung suddenly lifted his head, looking up at the sky. Uijae, still furiously ruffling his hair, also followed his gaze. A thin, black crack had formed in the air. With an emotionless face, Sayoung tapped his cheek with his fingers.

“I was wondering when it would happen.”

“Huh?”

At that moment, the small crack split wide open like the jaws of a snake. Uijae immediately stepped back into a combat stance. Soon, a jet-black blade shot through the gap. The blade gleamed ominously, the shape unmistakably familiar. Uijae straightened up slightly, frowning.

“...A fang?”

It was the Basilisk’s Fang—the one he had stabbed into his own chest.

The next moment, a hand gripping the sword’s hilt emerged. A red hand with bulging veins. Uijae’s eyes widened.

‘Isn’t that Sayoung’s hand?’

As if to confirm his thoughts, a cold voice echoed from the void.

“I never agreed to wait for you as well.”

Black boots, long legs, and a fluttering coat tore through the gap. Soon, a pale face emerged from the tear in the air.

Sayoung, who had stepped through the crack and into the space, landed lightly on the ground. White dust billowed around him. He expertly swung the sword, flicking off the blood and darkness clinging to the blade. The tip of the straightened blade pointed directly at the throat of the other Sayoung.

“Time’s up.”

What?

“What’s going on now?”

Uijae looked back and forth between the two Sayoungs, bewildered. Judging by what little he overheard, it seemed they had some kind of deal or agreement. Uijae had no idea what was happening.

The Sayoung who had been staring at the new arrival raised both hands, shrugging.

“Impatient as always.”

“You’re the one who broke the terms first...”

The murderous energy emanating from Sayoung was palpable. The other Sayoung cracked his knuckles. It looked like things were about to escalate into a full-blown fight. Damn, I don’t have time for this! Uijae hurriedly stepped between them.

“Would someone explain what the hell is going on?”

He looked back and forth between the two Sayoungs again, and his eyes widened in shock.

Sayoung’s face hadn’t changed much since the last time Uijae had seen him. His expression was still gloomy, the look of someone who had experienced deep loss. His eyes were dark, shadowed with grief. His gaze was fixed on something behind Uijae. Following his line of sight, Uijae turned around. His eyes fell on...

“...”

It was the preserved version of Sayoung cradling the dead Cha Uijae.

Ah, damn it. Uijae bit his lip. Now that he looked closely, Sayoung’s hands were soaked in blood. There were even faint spatters of blood on his face.

Uijae had stabbed himself with the Basilisk’s Fang.

And now Sayoung was holding that very same Fang, his hands drenched in blood.

“...”

“Ah.”

Sayoung, following Uijae’s gaze, let out a small sound of realization. He waved his blood-stained hand, a faint smile appearing on his face.

“Someone kindly told me... that using this sword would let me cross over into this place.”

“...”

The grinding sound of teeth was audible.

“Thanks to that, I had a rather unpleasant experience... much appreciated.”

“Don’t mention it.”

The other Sayoung replied indifferently. Uijae glanced at Sayoung’s face. His eyes were still locked onto the lifeless form of Cha Uijae. Damn it. Uijae stepped sideways, blocking his view, and asked cautiously:

“You... are you okay?”

“What?”

The response was unusually curt, but Uijae wasn’t in a position to complain. He glanced warily at Sayoung.

“I mean... that.”

“Huh... I don’t know what you’re talking about...”

A bright smile spread across Sayoung’s face. At the same time, Uijae’s internal alarm blared loudly.

“You’re probably in better shape than someone who stabbed themselves... I only pulled out the sword. Isn’t that right?”

“No, I’m perfectly fine. See? Want to check?”

“No need.”

Such a cold response!

Uijae gaped. Sayoung grabbed Uijae’s arm and pulled him protectively behind him. The other Sayoung looked on indifferently, as if he had lost interest. Sayoung snorted sarcastically.

“You spent all that time holding onto him, and in the end, you failed, didn’t you?”

The other Sayoung’s response was icy.

“We both knew I would fail.”

“Hah... That’s why I told you not to even try in the first place. You were bound to fail.”

“Well, Cha Uijae thought otherwise. He said that even if you fail, you should at least try.”

Sparks flew. The two Sayoungs resumed their argument.

Ugh, seriously, these guys... Uijae let out a short sigh, then took a deep breath. And then...

“HEY, YOU TWO, STOP YELLING AND EXPLAIN THINGS PROPERLY!”

He shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice booming from deep within his chest.

A moment later, the two Sayoungs sat at a distance from each other, perched on the debris of the collapsed ruins.

One Sayoung sat with his arms crossed, expressionless. The other, wearing a sullen expression, rested his chin in his hand. Meanwhile, Uijae busily paced back and forth between them, muttering to himself.

“Ugh... what’s wrong with you two?”

After piecing things together, Uijae finally understood how Sayoung had removed the Basilisk’s Fang from his chest and torn through the space between worlds.

Apparently, Sayoung had been

 fighting for control of his body ever since he woke up from a three-month coma. He felt like parts of his body weren’t his own, like they had been taken from him. Uijae felt another surge of frustration.

‘Why didn’t he say something sooner if that was happening?’

Anyway, Sayoung—who hated losing control more than anything—had compulsively stayed close to Uijae. For some reason, while they were together, the intruder Sayoung hadn’t been able to exert any power. Uijae thought back to how clingy Sayoung had been ever since he woke up.

‘...’

Uijae cleared his throat. Right, let’s not think about that anymore.

During that precarious time, Uijae had suddenly vanished.

For a whole week!

During that week, Sayoung had no choice but to have constant conversations with the unwelcome intruder. The other Sayoung had whispered endlessly. There was no way to stop the apocalypse. It was a shapeless disaster that would come regardless. They had already failed twice. But there was a way to save Cha Uijae. You want to save him too, don’t you? Let me have a chance to convince him.

At this point, Uijae felt another wave of frustration.

“And you believed that?”

Sayoung, who had been resting his chin on his hand, twisted his lips.

“Do you think I believed it? It was nonsense.”